Netflix Queue Review: October 2013

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Now that October is (almost) here Fall is definitely upon us. The days are now getting shorter daylight-wise and the nights are beginning to turn chilly. And alas, with the end of baseball season we’ve got 3 hours or more to fill every night until Opening Day.

If you’re like the Chop, you’re going to be dedicating a lot more nights to Netflix in the next few months, so we’ve decided to put on our movie-critic cap and fill you in on the good, bad and ugly movies we’ve been streaming lately in a new monthly feature we’re going to call Netflix Queue Review.

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Of course we can’t get underway with this series without talking about the 900 pound meth smoking gorilla in the room that is Breaking Bad. The series had its on-air finale last night on AMC and there is near-universal agreement that it’s going down in history as one of the best dramas of all time. If you haven’t watched it there’s no better time than now to start: currently 4 1/2 of 5 seasons are available on Netflix and the second half of season 5 is available through Comcast On-Demand, and should hit Netflix soon. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

It’s been the rule over the last 10-15 years that TV shows do live up to the exact amount of hype they generate. It started when the Sopranos re-set the standards for what could be done in a TV show. Ever since then we’ve had more choice in shows and more opinions being generated about those choices, which have been surprisingly accurate. We all know people who wouldn’t shut up about the Wire but once even the latest of stragglers managed to watch a season or two everyone has agreed that it’s at least as good as everyone said it was, and even better after repeated viewings as great drama usually is. Likewise shit that is unwatchable like Dads or 2 Broke Girls is awful and everyone knows it.

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Another Baltimore-filmed show that’s living up to its exact amount of hype is House of Cards. Now, you may be saying Hey Chop, 3 Emmys might have been a little much for that show don’t you think? Yeah, we do. But we expect that’s probably just the Emmys wanting to appear relevant. The truth is that House of Cards is good but can be slow at times. Part of that is inherent in shows that focus on the inside-baseball nature of beltway politics, but part of it is just that it’s a slow show. It’s got some great moments, but just as often a heated scene will end with a character delivering a line so contrived and hammy that it induces an audible groan from the viewer. If you like politics and Baltimore location spotting it’ll keep you coming back, but won’t have you watching 2-3 episodes in a row. ★ ★ ★

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Netflix excels at television, but their streaming selection leaves something to be desired. And the nature of their displays can insure that hidden gems stay hidden. One such gem we watched recently was 1980’s Ordinary People starring Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland and directed by Robert Redford. Maybe it’s just us but we tend to give the Academy Awards a lot more credence before the Titanic era of movies, and this film received 4 of them. Being Best Picture of 1980, it’s best known as ‘the movie that beat Raging Bull.’ We’re not here to argue which movie is better, but we thought it was every bit as good as any winner you’d care to name for 10 years either way (excepting the Godfather movies). ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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Another old classic which deals with disaffected youth is the Who’s Quadrophenia. We’ve never paid much attention to the Who but as a grown-ass adult we are beginning to develop a much better appreciation for what their music meant, and the great impact it had in its time and place. Quadrophenia can be a bit slow at times, but much like Withnail and I there’s not a single moment that’s not visually and culturally interesting. Plus in the end Jimmy steals Sting’s scooter and drives it off a cliff and we like it when bad things happen to Sting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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Speaking of Withnail and I, if you like that then it stands to reason that you like movies about shiftless, worthless alcoholics. So you might be tempted to check out Tree’s Lounge. After all, it’s written by, directed by and stars Steve Buscemi so it’s got to be good, right? Not really. The whole isn’t equal to the sum of the parts on this one and we turned it off in less than half an hour because it’s that boring. Kind of the way Everything Must Go was boring. Watch Factotum instead. ★

saget

Finally, for what Netflix lacks in movie selection it makes up for in standup comedy specials which are (we guess) cheaper to get the rights to. We like a good hour of standup as much as the next guy, and we’d always heard that TV’s Danny Tanner actually had a non-family friendly standup act, but when we watched Bob Saget: That’s What I’m Talkin About recently we were blown back in our chair. We were expecting like Chris Rock level dirty but without the N-words. This show is actually Don Rickles in 1958 level Filthy with a capital F. But it’s also Funny with a capital F. Saget plays to adults, and with adults you reach a shock value filth saturation point pretty quickly. And while this is absolutely raunchy throughout, it’s got the punch lines to keep you ell oh elling for a solid hour. Highly recommended. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Baltimore Book Festival This Weekend

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Starting today and running through Sunday evening the annual Baltimore Book Festival comes to Charles Street at Mount Vernon Place. And for us the timing could hardly be better. As we gear up to go out to sea we’re going to want to be stocked up on unread books, and trolling through Amazon in ‘just browsing’ mode is a fool’s errand, especially when you can spend those hours browsing titles and meeting authors up and down Charles Street on one of the most pleasant weekends of the year… and not just weatherwise.

But when it comes to browsing books the internet isn’t all bad. The digital universe is giving the printed page a big helping hand at this year’s festival which now has its own smartphone apps for iOS and Android devices. We’ve downloaded ours and we’re sure it’s going to earn its place in the pantheon of the best Baltimore iPhone apps.

For instance, you can mark events as favorites and see at a glance when they’re coming up, even getting notification reminders if you like. And speaking of favorites, here are our favorites for today listed below with descriptions picked from the Book Festival website. See the rest of the weekends events there and be sure to check them out this weekend.

The chance to gawk at the Peabody library is always a highlight of the BBF.

The chance to gawk at the Peabody library is always a highlight of the BBF.

FRIDAY

Red Emma’s “Open Tent” Visit the Radical Bookfair Pavilion to meet vendors from around the country, and browse the books! Enjoy a cup of transparently-traded, cooperatively roasted coffee from Thread Coffee, the new Red Emma’s coffee roasting project, and a vegan treat from Red Emma’s delectable bakery.

Happy Hour at the Baltimore Book Festival Start your weekend off right and quench your literary thirst at Happy Hour at the Baltimore Book Festival. Join John Holl as he provides insight into your favorite breweries and pub grub pairings; Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson as they reinvent the nacho and everything that goes with it; and Orr Shtuhl as he showcases everyone’s favorite cocktails.

John Holl, The American Craft Beer Cookbook John Holl has visited more than 900 breweries around the world, conducting research for his beer-and-travel books as well as articles for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Beer Connoisseur, Beverage World, and many other publications. He has judged beer competitions, regularly lectures on craft beer, and appears often on NBC’s Weekend Today in New York. He is the editor of All About Beer magazine and the host of the Beer Briefing on iHeartRadio.

Literary Happy Hour Swing by the CityLit Stage to chat with CityLit Project staff about Baltimore’s literary arts scene, including the exciting preview-opening of the Poe House in October. Stop at the adjacent Cyclops tent and browse books by CityLit Stage authors as well as an array of books and gifts.

Smile, Hon, You’re In Baltimore: Work! Work! Join a rambunctious cast of writers from the latest edition of Smile, Hon, You’re In Baltimore. Impresario and ringmaster William P. Tandy leads the way with contributing writers from the zine recently dubbed a “Best of Baltimore” by Baltimore magazine. Music by Red Sammy with special guest poet Steve Matanle.

Lee Frank & Rachel Anderson, Ultimate Nachos
 Lee Frank and Rachel Anderson have scoured New York City for the best nachos, searched high and low for the greatest guacamole, and celebrated guacamole in style on their Guac Rock Boat Cruises. Their events have been covered in The New Yorker and The New York Post, and on Serious Eats and Eater.com.

Orr Shtuhl, An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails Former speakeasy operator Orr Shtuhl is a writer and drinker (not always in that order) who for three years penned the Beerspotter column for the Washington City Paper. His work has also been featured on NPR and in major daily newspapers. He lives in Brooklyn.

A Look at the Fiction Industry From the Publishing Side Hear what authors who have also been editors have to say about the publishing side of the business. The industry has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, with genre blending, new technologies, and multi-media projects. What are editors and publishers looking for? How does the industry look from their side of the table? Find out what’s new and what’s tried and true.

Ignite Baltimore @ MICA Brown Center Tonight

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So Ignite Baltimore is tonight. We’re going to go because we enjoy the Ignite series very much and always come away with some interesting perspectives on things we may not have considered before. Tonight’s event will be no exception, and we’re most especially looking forward to talks like Bicycle Lanes: A Path to Sustainable Urban Development and Investing for Normal People.

You can find all of tonight’s 16 topics on the Ignite homepage. In fact, you can find out just about everything you would want to know on the Ignite site including how to submit a proposal, photos and videos from past events, and information on Ignition Grants which are awarded to all sorts of innovators throughout Baltimore.

Ignite Baltimore #13 takes place at the Brown Center tonight. 6 pm.

Ignite Baltimore #13 takes place at the Brown Center tonight. 6 pm.

So there’s really not much point in us repeating everything that’s on their very excellent website. The only two things that you should know about Ignite that aren’t stated on their site are as follows:

1/ That if you ever want to get tickets to Ignite you pretty much have to sign up for the mailing list. The event has a very loyal fanbase who, like the Chop, enjoy going to each event and are subscribed to the mailing list. List subscribers hear about ticket sale dates first, and since the tickets are still only $5 apiece they sell out very quickly.

2/ The beer is free. The event listing always says ‘Doors at 6, Speakers at 7’ but what they don’t tell you is that beer is free during the social hour, so you should actually show up right at 6. Enjoy a couple of beers and pick out a seat by about 6:45 because, like we said, it’s sold out and you might get stuck near iPad guy in the back.

Ted Cruz Sucks: Our Bi-Weekly Political Roundup

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Today is the fourth Wednesday of the month and that means that it is of course the day appointed for the regular meeting of Baltimore’s Drinking Liberally chapter. An informal way for Liberals and Progressives to meet up and connect offline to enjoy beer and political/social conversation DL meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at Dougherty’s on West Chase Street.

Admission is free and open to anyone with views left of center. Just turn up at 8 pm and ask around. And don’t worry: Dougherty’s isn’t like some certain other places we (used to) like where bar owners go around waving guns at their employees.

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So what’s going on in politics anyway? Well, first off we want to bitch and moan about MSNBC moving Hardball to 7pm exclusively. We like Chris Matthews a lot, and along with Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes he’s the only real talent they’ve got on that network (that is to say, not shared with NBC News). Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton are crummy broadcasters. Sorry, but it’s true. Much as we like Hardball though, we’re not going to miss an hour of baseball to watch it, and even in the offseason waiting until 7 is too late, especially when network news comes on at 6:30.

Obama still wants to bomb Syria. We still think it’s a bad idea. He can stand up in front of the UN all he wants but our mind still has not changed. Looks like theirs hasn’t either.

Ted Cruz is officially the worst person in government right now. A batshit crazy House GOP caucus has sent a bill to the Senate which funds the government but defunds Obamacare knowing that it can’t pass and will never get signed. Big photo op press conference and all. Most of them were acting to follow Senator Cruz’ lead, and Cruz now intends to filibuster a bill that he supports. To filibuster a bill for which he is the only supporter.

And the debt ceiling fight is right around the corner. If you think the GOP is behaving badly risking a shutdown, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Oh yeah and Al Shabab has captured a Kenyan shopping mall and killed scores of people. So that’s another cold/hot war we’re going to be in before you can draw up a protest sign and send out a tweet.

5 Underrated Bottles of Whiskey

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In a break with Internet tradition we present to you today a post that is not about the ‘top five’ ‘Best’ bourbons and ryes. After all, the web is full of clickbait articles by phony experts as to what makes one whiskey superior to another. Adding our own opinion isn’t going to do much in the way of advancing that discussion or settling it once and for all. And besides- whiskey is just like anything else: you get what you pay for and if you want to know what’s the best all you’ve really got to do is check the price tag.

But it is Fall, after all. And as of this week our vodka and limes go on the shelf and we’re back to brown liquor until about sometime in May. Things being what they are, we are not of the means to reach up to the top shelf every time we visit one of Baltimore’s Best Liquor Stores. But so too we try to avoid reaching down toward the Heaven Hills and Kentucky Taverns of the world.

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Much more than with unaged spirits going too cheap on the whiskey will taste terrible and leave you with a hangover of epic proportions. The discriminating drinker of modest means must demand value for the dollar from the middle shelves. We all know that Beam and Bulleit and Buffalo Trace and Maker’s Mark are solid mid-level choices, but for your Fall drinking needs this year here are five bottles you may not have considered, but probably should.

George Dickel Old No. 8. There are a few varieties of Dickel Available but our favorite is the black labeled 80 proof version. As a Tennessee whiskey it’s got a much more diverse flavor profile than bourbon does and its relatively low alcohol content allows the flavor of grains and wood to come through nicely. A great choice for drinking straight or on the rocks.

Old Overholt. Ryes are all the rage these days with most whiskey distillers rolling out their own lines and no shortage of artisanal small batch organic-type options around. Overholt is definitely not the best rye out there, but it’s exceptionally smooth and at about $12 a bottle is probably the best cheap whiskey available anywhere.

Rebel Yell. We found a full bottle of Rebel Yell in our liquor cabinet when we returned from sea in May. It was like a nice gift from the Past Chop to Future Chop, and Future Chop appreciated it very much. We’d never bought it before but if it was left when we went to sea then it’s a pretty good bet that Past Chop took a chance on it because Past Chop was also Broke Chop. Would buy again!

Wild Turkey. Wild Turkey doesn’t seem to get much love in Charm City. A lot of bars don’t have it and the ones that do certainly don’t take any pains to sell it. And it’s a damn shame because as mid-level bourbon goes it’s one of our favorites right up there with Buffalo Trace. It’s a great choice for mixing and if you can find a handle at a decent price it’ll hold you in good stead for a while. Hell, if it was good enough for Hunter S. Thompson it’s good enough for you.

Noah’s Mill. We named this as one of our Five Best Bottles to Give as a Gift and this stuff is so good we’re going to name it again here. It’s not cheap, but coming in just under $50 in most stores it still provides outstanding value for a 15 year old whiskey. All that aging disguises the 114 proof, so slow sipping with a drop (or more) of water is recommended.