Madame Zingara – theatre of dreams

Madame Zingara was an eccentric restaurant (lets pretend restaurants can be described in this way because it did have a personality). It was an eccentric restaurant on Loop Street in Cape Town. I probably went there about twice in my 12 odd years in Cape Town (from posts I assume you’ve already gathered that I do not get out much). Any way this place was a legend and it sadly burnt down a few years ago.

I was therefore gladly surprised when one of my co workers said that it had reopened its doors, but this time less solid doors as the restaurant was now in a tent. A circus type tent to be specific. The Madame Zingara crowd came up with an idea of taking the eccentricity to another level where patrons can sit down and enjoy a show, circus type show along with their four course meal. And so it was.

It took me a while to get to see this spectacle which I almost did not get to see, but, the planets aligned and my wish was granted.

Earlier this year I went to go see the Lion King. It was one of those experiences that when you are in it, your whole body tingles, your body is injected with such positive super charged energy that it becomes difficult to just sit still. You sit there in the dark, toes tapping, shoulders and heard bopping to and fro, side to side and tears of absolute joy and ecstasy flow down your cheeks.

The Madame Zingara gave me a semblance of my lion king experience.

So it’s kinda like a circus show with out the animals but with trapeze artists and the contortionists and strong men. Circ De Soule on a much, much, much smaller scale!

I cried for the Mongolian contortionist, I craved after the strong man Ivan, I was seduced by the host and amazed by enchanted by everything else.

The food was great, Madame Zingara was renowned for its chocolate chili fillet and I was ‘chocochillied’ to find out they had kept it on the menu. Delicious even at 21h00 at night (did not have nightmares at all afterwards!). The food was just great and well orchestrated to fit into the recesses of the show.

Check it out it is amazing.

Five spoons for first timers

Huge bonus about the show is that with all the energy that has been building up and building up (there is a ‘Supremes’-type-group that keeps the music going during the show), you get to release it at the end when they open the floor to some dancing from the audience!!! Cool cool place.

Juno

I am the type of person that does not dislike uncomfortable silences, I do not try to fill these up with inane uttering just so that the uncomfortableness goes away. For me, the inane utterings make me feel even more uncomfortable so it is easier to deal with the discomfort of a silence, at least in that one has a 50:50 chance of coming out with some dignity.

This does not excuse my silence for the past few weeks, or months. The simple truth is that even with the cool movies I’ve see, I just did not have that overwhelming urge to put my take on it on paper for posterity.

But last week I watched Juno and I have to say something about this so that I can read this two years from now and remind myself why I liked it.

There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie, mainly because of the numerous Oscar nominations it received and being crowned the little miss sunshine of 2008.

The hype was deserved. It is a thoroughly enjoyable movie that makes no judgments (except maybe that teenage pregnancy happens and should not), and teaches nothing (except maybe that, in the midst of it all, wit will make the journey a little bit more bearable), and concludes touchingly with the thought that nothing happens as it is planned, but that does not mean that you go off the course and despair.

They called it the ‘little Miss Sunshine’ of 2008 and it is probably that, surprisingly uplifting on the first screening but after the second one you realise how far from reality it really is. And it should be far from reality, why the hell not, after all, we watch movies to escape and entertain other possibilities.

Jason Bateman is awesome, even when he is acting a borderline pedophile, Jennifer Gardner, still has that pained look about her which works for the character, the OZ/SVU guy as the father is also cool like that, the step mom, West Wing’s press woman has a nice scene in the doctor’s office. Juno, on the other hand, was mean little miss know-it-all who got stupid. I don’t think we would have been friends if I went to school with her. She is just plain mean!

Cool movie though.

Three spoons

The other love that dare not speak its name

The Mother
Anne Reid as the Mother and Daniel Craig
Director: Roger Mitchell (of Notting Hill, yes the man that shot, I am just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her)

Daniel Craig’s character has a line in the movie that goes: ‘We’ll be like that one day, nobody wanting us.’ And this is the point of the whole movie. That Daniel Craig (or our own personal version of him anyway) will want us, even when we are 70 years old and have lost hope of any romance or physical attraction. That a superb specimen that is Daniel Craig could actually want us.

Apparently this was a most controversial story, breaking taboos and all of that. What I kept thinking was, would it be just as taboo if it was the other way around? If some 70 year old man was getting it on with a thirty something year old woman? Would it raise any eyebrows and would it be such a touching story to tell? I think not.

So yes, this is a story about an older woman getting it on with a younger not so savoury man. Okay so there are other issues in play, like the fact that the younger man is the woman’s daughter’s boyfriend who is actually married anyway. Yes there are those factors complicating the story, but a good story it remains.

I know my biggest fear in life is that I am not attractive to anyone in the world. That at 65, that will have been made abundantly true is a very real fear and a depressing one at that. So this movie hit home for me. Mainly in confirming the fact that yes, you will not be attractive to anybody else, if you are; they are after something else other than your aging droopy body.

Others may take away from this movie that your soul and essence remains attractive to other souls and essences no matter what age you are. Nnnnnoooottttttt.

I liked Daniel Craig. I liked him as the South African mercenary in Munich and the tormented husband who fails to be a hero in Enduring love. After this movie, I respect and love him even more. He is not just the new James Bond. He is not all about doing characters that will make him a whole load of cash and it is not about always looking good. He is willing to explore other characters that will expand him and bring him that much closer to understanding the human condition.

Daniel Craig, if you ever are around these parts of the world and are looking a good conversation and whatever else, hey look me up!

The Mother is currently out on DVD if anyone is interested. Whatever Freudian questions come up just ignore and enjoy!

4 spoons!

OSCAR NOMINATIONS - 2008

Best motion picture of the year
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney for Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises

Best performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie for Away from Her
Marion Cotillard for La môme (La vie en rose)
Laura Linney for The Savages
Ellen Page for Juno

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There.
Ruby Dee for American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton

Best achievement in directing
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman for Juno
Julian Schnabel for Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Best writing, screenplay written directly for the screen
Juno: Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl: Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton: Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille: Brad Bird
The Savages: Tamara Jenkins

Best writing, screenplay based on material previously produced or published
Atonement: Christopher Hampton
Away from Her: Sarah Polley
Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly): Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best achievement in cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Roger Deakins
Atonement: Seamus McGarvey
No Country for Old Men: Roger Deakins
Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly): Janusz Kaminski
There Will Be Blood: Robert Elswit

Best achievement in editing
The Bourne Ultimatum: Christopher Rouse
Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly): Juliette Welfling
Into the Wild: Jay Cassidy
No Country for Old Men: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
There Will Be Blood: Dylan Tichenor, Tatiana S Riegel

Best achievement in art direction
American Gangster: Arthur Max
Atonement: Sarah Greenwood
The Golden Compass: Dennis Gassner
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Dante Ferretti
There Will Be Blood: Jack Fisk

Best achievement in costume design
Across the Universe: Albert Wolsky
Atonement: Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age: Alexandra Byrne
La môme (La vie en rose): Marit Allen
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Colleen Atwood

Best achievement in make-up
La môme (La vie en rose): Didier Lavergne, Loulia Sheppard
Norbit: Rick Baker
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: Ve Neill, Martin Samuel

Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original score
Atonement: Dario Marianelli
Into the Wild: Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder
Michael Clayton: James Newton Howard
Ratatouille: Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma: Marco Beltrami

Best achievement in music written for motion pictures, original song
August Rush: Raise It Up
Enchanted: Happy Working Song
Enchanted: So Close
Enchanted: That's How You Know
Once: Falling Slowly

Best achievement in sound
The Bourne Ultimatum: Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis
No Country for Old Men: Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland
Ratatouille: Randy Thom, Michael Semanick, Vince Caro, Doc Kane
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers: Kevin O'Connell, Greg P Russell, Peter J Devlin

Best achievement in sound editing
The Bourne Ultimatum: Karen M Baker, Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men: Skip Lievsay
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood: Matthew Wood, Christopher Scarabosio
Transformers: Mike Hopkins, Ethan van der Ryn

Best achievement in visual effects
The Golden Compass: Michael L Fink, Susan MacLeod, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: John Knoll, Hal T Hickel, Charlie Gibson, John Frazier
Transformers: Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russell Earl, Scott Benza

Best animated feature film of the year
Persepolis: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Ratatouille: Brad Bird
Surf's Up: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Best foreign-language film of the year
Die Fälscher (Austria)
Beaufort (Israel)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
Katyn (Poland)
12 (Russia)

Best documentary, features
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War Dance

Best documentary, short subjects
Freeheld
La Corona
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

Best short film, animated
Même les pigeons vont au paradis
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Moya lyubov
Peter & the Wolf

Best short film, live action
At Night
Il Supplente
Le Mozart des pickpockets
Tanghi argentini
The Tonto Woman


Thanks www.mg.co.za

Lion King

If you’ve seen the cartoon, you will love this. But this is just so much bigger than the cartoon. It is so much bigger than Disney and Elton John and Lebo M. This was one of the most incredible theatrical experiences of my life.

The opening act on its own almost got me balling, doing the ugly cry, but I fought with all my might and tried to experience the show through my glistening eye balls.
Now, it’s all about the costumes and the puppets. ( I am sure you’ve seen the documentaries on this). The music is there and it is great but I learnt the music word for word, even the script from the original Lion King sound track. I could sing along and know where all the punch lines are and all of that.

But to see that image of the cartoon translated in such an incredible way into a stage production was amazing.

The greatest t criticism that I get is that I have not travelled and therefore am lacking in my education. But when this kind of production comes to SA and it lives up, no surpasses (!), everything I ever imagined about a particular story, then I do not feel so disadvantaged. The mountain has come to Moses.

I think what made the show for me was the way that it penetrated the audience. As you are sitting there watching in the audience, you suddenly see these incredible spectacles coming down the rows, the elephant, oh, the elephant. The scale of this production is just unimaginable. The puppets! The hyenas, the simple grass!

There are a few things to note, adult simba is gay, and Sello does not make the best choice of Mufasa but it is not even about that. He blends in and contributes to a great South African show.

Even now, three weeks after seeing it, whenever I catch myself in the mirror I look and perform the lion mannerisms.

But why is it, even in SA, hakuna mathatha is still pronounced that way? Maybe they could have found a better catch phrase?

A big change they made with the characters was that for Timone. Nathan Lane did it one way. The SA version is different and I kind of like it. The witch doctor and Whoopi Goldberg’s hyena character are also different and it works. All in all, it is the best thing on stage in the country’s stage at the moment.

The production ends in February and if you can, go and see it. If it comes to Cape Town, I am definitely there!

Heartwarmer, did you go see it a second time?

Let’s play who would kick her ass!

We put female TV characters together and imagine who would kick whose ass.

For example, Ally Mcbeal’s ass can be could be kicked by basically any one including Joan of Arcadia who is still in high school.

Olivia Benson in Law and Order SVU, trumps all, she can kick anybody’s ass from here to the other side of Tuesday.

But imagine these fights, who do you think would win? If you have an interesting combination, let me know.

Ally Macbeal vs Grace (Will and Grace) – Grace would fall for Ally’s pout giving Ally an opportunity to sucker punch grace on the nose. But as Grace falls back her hair hits Ally in the eye and they both go down.

Amy’s mom (Judging Amy) vs Judge Judy? – tell each other to shut up and each tries to take the moral higher ground but there is only space for one at the top of the moral summit. Amy’s mom gives judge Judy a gently nudge with her hip and judge Judy goes tumbling down the moral mountain.

Cristina Yang (Grey’s Anatomy) VS Gabrielle Solis (Desperate Housewives) – One of the dirtiest fights that you will ever see. I am not sure who would win though?

Natasha "Tasha" Yar - Chief of security and tactical officer (Star Trek Next Generation) VS Buffy the vampire slayer. Tasha would just vapourise Buffy I think. She would not stand a chance.

I am Legend

This, and let’s call it what it is, a vampire movie(!), had me salivating at the mouth, in anticipation of a sci fi thriller. That there would be the pondering of the question, what if you were the last man on earth question and presenting very interesting possibilities.

I was looking forward to seeing this one especially after Heartwarmer said she had seen it twice because it was so amazing.

I suppose I just need to get it into my head that me and Heartwarmer just do not have the same taste, she can warm my heart anytime but I would be a Brokensword if she had to choose movies for me. I think on the odd occasion we would agree, like Driving lessons, I thought it was great too, and Hannibal rising we agree was shyte! But most times, eish.

So, I am Legend was great effects and all and it was shit scary. But I hate it when a movie is weakly dressed up as something else. This is a vampire movie with a different beginning. That’s it that’s all.

Having gotten that off my chest, I think it was pretty good and scary and more could have been done. There must be other things that are more interesting that would emanate from being left alone too long would there not be? Like no need for clothes?J. But I suppose reciting the dialogue of Shrek was funny.

The vampires were great! Will is also looking very well cut. And the crying thing, man… I don’t know.

Fright night

I got the biggest fright since I moved to the burbs last night.

Here I was, watching the behind the story of Hakim on e and I am jerked violently out of it by this scratchy bang on my door.

Now, nobody comes to my place without warning me first and usually, if I do not get a warning, I just do not answer the door.

But something told me to get up cover my nakedness and open the door. I walk towards the door and ask “WHO IS IT?” in the most intimidating tone I could master.

I hear a faint response, cannot make it out, cannot recognise the voice even.

At this point I am thinking, this is a security block, if anything were to happen, there would not be any knocking. Maybe it is my next door neighbour wanting me to call the police to get the boyfriend kicked out, or the boyfriend wanting a sympathetic ear? Maybe someone needs my help?

So I unlock the door and before I could register what was in front of me, I hear TRICK or TREAT.

My heart stops and I step back, maybe two seconds go by and my heart starts up again but this time at a much faster pace. My eyes see what is in front of me and it children, dressed as ghosts and were demanding treats. TREATS! Bloody suburbia!

So now I start wrecking my brain on what the fuck I am suppose to do now. What the fuck do these kids want, I start asking them and stop myself as I register the reason for all of this.

I have seen these scenes before, all those American sitcoms and ‘made for TV’ movies…ahhhh it is bloody Halloween, but this is only celebrated in America and Mexico is it not?

Now I am suppose to give sweets or something? I also remember that in some instances in those tv shows, those who were not prepared for Halloween would give away what ever they had, staplers, note pads, you know.

Luckily I remember I had been saving up a packet of cheese and onion popcorn for a binge night and had managed not to open it for a whole 4 days! I hand this treat to them to share.

They look a little disappointed but thank me and wave goodbey. I now see their mother-chaperone lurking in the darkness there making sure I do not give the munchkins apples with razer blades stuck in them.

But ya, that was a first for me and thought I’d share. It took about five minutes for my heart beat to get back to a normal rate afterwhich I just start laughing at myself for being so scared.

I suppose if I am going to be living in the burbs next year I must remember to stock up on some Halloween sweets. Who knew…

I watch the pentultimate episode of Heroes. This bloody series better have a satisfying end is all I have to say.

The Lives of Others

I do not have the language to write about this movie. Not because is a German movie with English sub titles but because it is a kind of spy movie with surveillance and informers and communism etc. But it touched me as well, not because it won best foreign film at the academy awards but because there is a basic element that transcends its genre.

Eastern Germany before the Berlin wall came down. A lonely loyal agent of the eastern German government gets put on an assignment to survey a writer whose wife is having an affair with a Minister. The Minister would like to get the writer out of the way so that he can have the writer’s wife, also an actress, all to himself. As agent goes deeper into the surveillance he starts connecting with the lives that he is surveying mostly because they have what he does not have, love and someone to hold at night. His mission is to find evidence that the writer is actually an enemy of the state and he should be able to prove that by getting recordings of conversations that the writer is not suppose to have or stories that he writes that are ‘counter revolutionary’ etc.

Anyway, things happen that he is a witness to and it comes to a point where he needs to make a decision to expose the writer or let the writer get away with it. The words, “all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” come to mind and his actions and inactions basically lets good triumph.

So I’m watching this movie thinking ‘o lord what the hell did I get myself into’, and checking the time to see how soon this movie would end and surprisingly, the end comes and I am balling my eyes out!?

It is just such a touching movie and one has to ask oneself, is one a spectator in this life or should one get their hands dirty and get in there, get blood in one’s hands so to speak. S

Never mind all the political questions about power and questions about honour and fame and far one would go to attain these? For me it was about what WOULD YOU sacrifice for something you believed in. Is there something?

I give this one four spoons, the one spoon is lost because I just do not appreciate the genre.

On another note, I have been searching and searching for probably over a year and today, of all places, Ii finally found the soundtrack to Rent. If you’ve seen, the film adaptation or maybe lucky enough to have seen the actual production of this amazing musical, you will understand my yearning for hearing again and again, Seasons of Love! Before the movie started at the Waterfront Cinema Nouveau, I had to check out CD Warehouse to see whether they had Heroes, the complete first Season. Alas CD Warehouse was no more, it was now Musica (apparently they are both owned by Clicks and Clicks decided to rename the place Musica!). This just goes to show the incestuous links that there is in Businesses these days. I have far less respect now for CD warehouse and Click for thinking that naming it Musica it would attract more customers. When I walked into the CD warehouse the first time I was impressed and gave respect to this, I thought was an independent place that had its customer as king! Anyway, I am sure Musica has the same philosophy, seeing as it is the same bloody owners! To get back to my story, they, (CD Warehouse/Musica) only had series one Part one of Heroes and I figures that SABC 3 is probable far ahead of part one. So as I usually do I check for the titles that I have been unable to find anywhere else and go straight to soundtracks and there it was! RENT! Suffice it to say my drive home was electric as I listened to how one measures a year. For me in this time of my life, it is sadly, probably in cups of coffee! Will be listening to this one for some time to come. I am sure Gnarles Berkley will be glad to get a break!

Star Dust

It is worth it to see Robert Dinero play a ruthless Captain Shakespeare - who really is a screaming queen that likes dressing up - on a flying pirate ship.

It is worth it to see Rupert Everett for about 2 minutes as a gorgeous prince, only to be killed by being pushed out of a window of a castle that stands as stall as the mountain Gandalf got stuck in before he was rescued by that giant eagle. For the rest of the movie poor Rupert forms a part of a line of ghostly siblings that killed each other off to be king.

It is worth it to see the Michelle Pfeiffer’s boob succumb to gravity in a split second.

Mostly the movie is funny, good funny. It also has that fairy tale element that you struggle to buy into even when watching the movie. But it does its job in terms of escaping the real world even if it is just for 2 seconds.

That’s it, that’s all!

Three spoons.