Sideways and Motorcycle Diaries
Saturday night, we were on our own so we did a double feature. We started out with Sideways. This movie has been written up everywhere. It was written up in every single food magazine that I get, Food & Wine, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. It was also written up in every fashion magazine I get, Vogue and Elle. Very impressive buzz.
The reviews were fantastic. Metacritic gave the movie an impressive 93 rating. Three of our friends had seen the movie and didn’t love it but the content appealed to us so we went.
We loved it. The premise is that 2 best male friends take off to Santa Barbara wine country the week before one of them gets married. The movie is about wine and relationships. There were some hilarious scenes. I loved all the wine talk. The difference between the two friends is so utterly diverse it makes for good comedy. The movie was just a slice of life film. Afterwards, we went to see another film although we were hankering for a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir.
Next film, Motorcycle Diaries. The cinemaphotography in this film is incredible. The story is of 2 friends, Ernesto “Che” Guevera and Alberto Granado, who go on a journey across South America to discover and see the the world at large. It is an interesting film because we all know what happens to Che Guevera so to see that journey through his eyes gives insight into the decisions he made in his life. The relationship of the friends, the people they saw at that time turned their journey into something more than they ever thought it would be. They saw first hand the political and social problems in the early 50’s and it obviously made a huge impact on Che’s life. It is slow but beautiful and the story has stayed with me. I took a 6 week trip with my boyfriend (now husband) through the US after college and it definitely made an impact in my life to see the rest of America. I’m glad I went to see this film.
After leaving the last film we walked over to Veritas. The wine selection is incredible there. There are literally wines on their list for $15,000. I am not sure who is buying it or for that matter how many bottles of that they have but we were hunting for a Santa Barbara Pinot. We ordered the Ojai which was delicious. The food at Veritas is excellent. We only ordered a cheese platter and a wild mushroom tart but it hit the spot. The tart was made of a puffed pastry and filled with a spicy sharp cheese and wild mushrooms. Small greens were arranged over the plate drizzled with a mushroom vinegarette. Really good! It made me want to return again for dins.
All and all, a good movie week since I had seen Vera Drake earlier in the week. Looking forward to the variety of other good films that are about to hit the theaters.