castlelangley

CASTLE LANGLEY FILM REVIEWS IN (OFTEN) 1 PARAGRAPH- SOMEHOW LINKED TO A RECIPE

HOUSE. This curious horror film- if it is indeed horror, because its so busy smirking you cant decide- is a cult classic. Harrased Vietnam vet returns to his mad aunt's house who has just topped herself, and the house is also where he literally lost his son some time before. Add to the mix an annoying, nosey gastro slob neighbour and an estranged wife, and the pressure keeps cranking up until the hero (William Katt) starts to see things that go ga ga in the night. Now, the creatures that he sees are so cartoonesque you should laugh, but actually their creepy value is more than a some of their latex parts. Theres a classic , fleeting camera shot where you just see an undead Nora Batty usher his son into a bedroom, and its really messed up, somehow. The film never lets up, and masterfully never lets you decide if what youre watching is schlock, B rental horror, or pop psychology on acid. An absolte must, and not to be mistaken for its patchy sequel and dire descendants. Unmissable. 7/10. Now, linking this epic film to food has not been easy, but thanks to the 1955 Radiation Cookery Book (For Use With Regulo New World Gas Cookers) I can bring you....HOUSEhold Stock. Used for purees , thickened broths, stews, sauces etc. Ingredients: Bones, uncook or cooked , trimmings of meat, gristle, bacon rind, pieces of raw carrot, onion, turnip, celery, salt. Basically, bang it all in a large pan, and simmer for several hours, adding more water if required. Strain into earthen ware vessel and leave uncovered. When cold skim off the fat. It said the stock should be reheated daily to preserve it, but I wouldnt do that, mate. Not if you dont want to hug the toilet bowl for 5 days wearing Tena Lady, anyway. 1950's food hygiene was an oxymoron.
APOCALYPTO. This film is strange mixture of Rambo:First Blood, Wildlife On One, Dances With Wolves and Saw. Following the dreadful misadventures of a young hunter/gatherer and his nuclear family, we see their village pillaged by a Mayan war party, and transported back to the Mayan capitol to be human sacrifices. The sacrifice bit is overlong. The film is bizarre, because all thre way through you are never sure of ezactly what Mel Gibson is trying to say about any of it. Are men too macho? Are "less developed" cultures dodgy? Is violence ever clever? You dont get too long to runinate on this during the film, as it is visceral and fast mving, but you leave the cinema feeling uneasy and confused, your moral complass homing device spinning wildly. Yet the film is well put together, with an original if not off kilter take on the ancient world. What Dances With Wolves would have been like directed y Stanley Kubrick. Worth a watch, but not on you first date with a Calvinist. 6/10. Food wise, I have to go for a VINDALOO. Get 5 tablespoons of corn oil, 2 onions, 1 reaspoon of fresh grated ginger, 2 cloves garic, 6 cillies, 6 peppercorns, 1lb lamb cubes, 1lb cubed potato, 2 tablespoon of vinegar, 4 teaspoons chilli powder. Fry all of the above toll browned, then add 3 cups of ater and put the lid on th pan to simmer. When cooked, serve with rice and chilled underwaer. I got this from a mutated form of curry in "The Ultimate Hot and Spicey Cookbook" which looks like one of those renainder cookbooks they sell in cheap bookshops. Next to the Gary Glitter autobiographys.
An Inconvenient Truth
The Keep
Silent Night
The Last King Of Scotland. Totally overatted, even though the excellent Forest Whittaker gave it his all. The script was the standard British "life is really drab up North" that they managed to import into one of the hottest countries in the world. When I think what this film could have been (Amin was much worse than portrayed, toying with cannibalism, genocide and Tartan based mischief far more then the film shows). Youre left with a damp squib of a film, that suggest Amin was more of bling bling poolside coke snorter than the nutter he really was. And why make up a fictitious Scottish GP? Arent htere enough of them already? Avoid. Food link- buy Milo for a late night Rhodesian goody.
Rocky Balboa. This film had such potential. Initially I thought a late 50's Rocky making a comeback absurd but the film somehow convinces you to suspend the disbelief. And the opponent isnt some cartoon baddy but a vulnerable, confused African American swimming with sharks. Instead of exploring this theme and Rockys growing emasculation/irrelevance, the film spends too long inside his Itailan restaurant and suddenly ends, as if the director ran out of budget. A flawed gem worth a look, but will be remembered for what it didnt deliver. Now, food wise, I have to mention the Topic bar. This unsung survivor from the 1970's is actually supernatural, because nobody ever buys it yet it still goes on. Undersize, and tasting "only just nice" ponder all this the next time you eat one. Only for sale in Mistrys Superette, in Leeds.