Movie Minute

I've been taking advantage of all the crazy weather that has either hit or threatened to hit the Northeast by watching movies. Generally I watch my fair share either way but I've kicked it into second gear and have a few quick blurbs regarding some films in theaters and/or for your home viewing.

Couples Retreat -  a movie that undoubtedly made too much money because too many people will blindly see films starring Vince Vaughn. When did I know I was in for a bumpy ride? When I saw Jon Favreau's name in the credits as writer. He's not funny and neither is this cliché filled "comedy" about couples trying to find happiness in their relationships while taking some tropical retreat to "Eden."

Edge of Darkness - hit theaters at the right time, nothing much else going on means a movie with the Kryptonic Mel Gibson might fare well. The conspiratorial film stars Gibson as a cop that is trying to piece together his daughter's murder that happened right before his eyes. The pace is methodical and drags at times making this "thriller" a bit of a lull for long lapses.

500 Days of Summer - it's hard to find some redeeming quality here. This film stars some dude that sits there and pines over "Summer" the new chick in his office played by Zooey whatever her name is. The story jumps back and forth, showing the trials and tribulations of young love. The constant back/forth, she loves me she loves me not was enough to make me want to break the dvd player, so I did.

Zombieland - the phenomenon that is modern day zombie movies takes a turn as a zombedy. Film stars Woody Harrelson, whom everyone seems to enjoy in his quirky film roles and he did not disappoint here. His character is an adrenaline charged human that is hell-bent on killing as many zombies as possible with a myriad of weaponry. Film also features Emma Stone, whom I liken to this generation's Molly Ringwald - cute enough to be endearing and get movie parts but there's something lacking for the long haul. You'll also notice that annoying, paranoid, whiny dude from Adventureland (apparently he likes starring in movies that feature land in the title and take place at amusement parks.)

In summary - avoid Couples Retreat and 500 Days like they have leprosy. Wait for DVD/Blu-ray for Edge of Darkness, and give Zombieland a look if you want some laughs and zombie killing.

Eating Out: NYC

The City so nice they named it twice. New York, New York is home to roughly 14 million people (with illegals, trust me I did my own census), 385,000 pot holes, 459 different languages, 32 variations of the cockroach, and a plethora of restaurants claiming to have the BEST burger that your burger buying dollar can buy.

Surely there are many competitors that are worthy of this title and when it's all said and done, it's hard to truly say that one burger is distinctly better than another. What can easily be said is whether a specific burger/burger joint is worth your attention.

Now, here's a surefire way to tell if a burger joint is just a bunch of hype - you can't have it your way. If they ask you how you want it, and you are me, and you ask for medium rare and they say, "we only cook medium and higher for health/safety concerns." Walk away. Just get up and leave. They are not worth your time, money, energy. If you want a rare burger, get it rare. If they can't/won't do it, say goodbye and go someplace that will.

That said, our quest begins at Genesis. Located in the heart of NYC at 1708 2nd Ave, the Genesis Bar and Restaurant features a great burger that will surely make mouth happy. My judging criteria for many bars that also serve food is simple, give me good wings to start and you've already made friends with me. That said, Genesis serves up a healthy portion of wings (good size and good flavor) for your money. The particular night we dined here, my buddy and I ate outside and the photo at left was taken just before a bird dropped a 2 bombs on the plate. While I appreciated said bird's aim it made me even happier when the manager replaced the 3/4 done order of wings with another full order, no questions asked.

Next on the menu was the burgers. Did Genesis deserve the hype it has already received as one of the very best burger spots in NYC? The short answer is without a doubt. The burger was cooked to order, fresh meat, thick, seasoned properly, and the bun matched the burger. My burger adventures always begin with a plain burger, no cheese, no katsup, no toppings. I enjoy all that stuff when I get my second burger but for the first go-'round I want to taste the meat and solely enjoy the flavor of ground beef.

For those that are  more adventurous  or wanting to dive head first into something that more suits their needs, check out this bacon cheeseburger. Baconator? You got nothing on this. Stay tuned as my own culinary travels throughout NYC for the elusive "best burger" will be highlighted right here.

In closing, Genesis is a can't miss.

Super Bowl Synopsis

With all the hype and hullabaloo, Super Bowl XLIV came and went. The city of New Orleans was treated to their first taste of an NFL title and that's a good thing for the Big Easy.

But it's Monday and there's no more football for a long, long while so please, let's resume some degree of normalcy on our sports networks. Big game's over and there's technically no hot stove league so just ease up for a little while. I realize that football's popularity is rather high, partially because you invest nothing to be a football fan. To tell most of America to sit in and do nothing on Sunday but drink beer, eat wings, and watch tv is not a hard thing to do. ANY sport would be extremely popular if that's all it took to be a "fan." Truth is, investing between 3-10 hours inf front of a tv on a typically slow day during the worst time of year is something that can be construed as a reasonable request. Transforming yourself into a shut-in during the Winter months is not that much to ask for, and many of us oblige.

Sure every sport looks forward to the next season when the last one is written in the books but even the morgue lets the body get cold before going full throttle.

This is just one man's plea to ESPN, et al.  I'm not going to be ready for some football for a number of months so please, let's just focus on the NHL and NBA for now and oh, I heard the MLB season is right around the corner too. 

XLIV Recap

I'm sure I'm not the only nay-sayer out there that questioned not kicking the gimme field goal right before the half and I didn't even have numbers on the game yesterday. That said, Coach Payton turned what many believed to be a costly mistake into an advantage at the start of the second half. As the last 30 minutes of NFL 2009 were about to begin, Payton bucked Super Bowl trends and wrote his own piece of history, starting the second half with an onside kick. With that, everything was changed and a true statement was made.

Payton knows his personnel and has likely seen Pierre Thomas pound the ball into the end-zone more times than any of us at home so he gambled and lost. In hindsight, it was worth it if for no other reason than it gave the heavily favored Colts an even greater degree of hubris going into halftime. While Peyton and Co. were jamming out to the Who, Payton and Co. were prepping a 2nd half strategy that was sure to make a statement. And a statement was made. The Saints were the team to beat in the NFC, the Saints were undefeated most of the way like the Colts. Sure NOLa's team sputtered at the end but that's also a by-product of a long season. With Drew Brees' arm, the running attack of the aforementioned Thomas and the Reggie Bush we all expected coming out of USC, and a deep receiving corps, the team from the Big Easy belonged in the Big Game.

Lost in the (Superbowl) Shuffle, was the great throwing game by Brees, nearly perfect (a record 82.1% completions) and a Super Bowl tying record for completions (32). Lost in Brees' effort was Marques Colston's (7 grabs, 83 yards) claim for a share of the spotlight as one of the better possession receivers in the league (even though he dropped an easy pass when things were starting to look really grim for Saints' fans.)

Now with XLIV in the books and Reggie getting his ring, the entertainment world is curious, does Kim get hers too?