TRAPPER JUAN

The Devil Inside and Contraband reviews

2012-01-15T23:16:00.003-05:00

People hated the ending. I didn't really like the beginning or middle either.

You think yawh the only fuckin guy with a gun!?

Favorite movies of 2011

2012-01-02T01:20:00.003-05:00

Wrote up a few favorites for CP. Some other 2011 movies I loved, in no particular order:

The Adventures of Tintin
A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt
Attack the Block
Battle: Los Angeles
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Bridesmaids
Captain America: The First Avenger
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Fright Night
The Guard
Hanna
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Ides of March
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
13 Assassins
The Trip

Toast review

2011-10-14T00:45:00.001-04:00

Burnt.

Real Steel review

2011-10-10T00:50:00.003-04:00

Hugh Jackman! Robot boxing! Egregious product placement!

The Ides of March review

2011-10-10T00:48:00.004-04:00

R-Gos strikes again.

Warrior review

2011-09-12T12:35:00.003-04:00

Great MMA action and performances scuttled by absolutely insane amounts of melodrama.

Attack the Block review

2011-09-06T20:24:00.002-04:00

Could very well be my favorite movie of 2011 thus far.

The Man Who Couldn't Eat review

2011-09-05T16:46:00.002-04:00

Jon Reiner has written an incredible food memoir detailing his fight with Crohn's disease.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark review

2011-08-27T00:14:00.003-04:00

I still don't understand why this was rated R.

Taking on Auguste Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire

2011-08-26T23:52:00.005-04:00

Gave the Quran of Cookbooks the old ~~I-failed-out-of~~ college try for City Paper. Pic above pretty much sums it up. (Photo: Neal Santos)

City Paper catchup

2011-08-22T00:46:00.003-04:00

- Dinuguan (Filipino blood stew) feature and recipe

- The Guard review

- 30 Minutes or Less review

Captain America: The First Avenger review

2011-07-24T14:48:00.001-04:00

The only decent superhero movie of 2011?

Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest review

2011-07-24T14:46:00.001-04:00

Before I had status and before I had a pager.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 review

2011-07-15T00:22:00.003-04:00

Totally felt like a Muggle* during parts but overall very enjoyable.

* Feel free to kick my ass for using the term Muggle

Friday Saturday Sunday

2011-07-15T00:18:00.002-04:00

Feature on the Rittenhouse restaurant, 38 years young in 2011, for CP.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop review

2011-06-25T15:52:00.001-04:00

Apparently, Coco is human.

A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt review

2011-06-14T01:56:00.003-04:00

Simply an interesting movie about food. Now playing on HBO.

The Hungover Cookbook

2011-05-29T23:03:00.005-04:00

Author Milton Crawford takes P.D. Wodehouse's six hangover types (most feared: "The Gremlin Boogie") and crafts a very funny cookbook around them. I'm not sure how well I would do, in my most severe hungover state, with some of the dishes (you want me to user a blender?! *whiskey-soaked brain explodes*), but good stuff regardless. Peep the recipe for kedgeree.

The Hangover Part II review

2011-05-29T22:58:00.004-04:00

Pretty much the same movie as the first one; Part II has more Asians. OK with it.

Forks Over Knives

2011-05-20T09:57:00.003-04:00

Writeup on the new movie advocating for a wholly plant-based diet. I'm certainly not on this bandwagon but it's an engrossing and thought-provoking documentary. I'm a meat and dairy eater but it definitely has me motivated to get more whole foods (lowercase) into my diet.

I also did an informative (for me) Q&A with Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet and plant-based diet advocate for Whole Foods (uppercase). Esselstyn, who's featured in Forks Over Knives, is the son of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, one of the film's primary subjects and a pioneer in the field of using diet to combat degenerative conditions like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

Priest review

2011-05-18T01:10:00.001-04:00

I apologize that this writeup is basically nothing more than a vehicle to expound upon my gentle man-crush on Paul Bettany.

Thor review

2011-05-08T19:18:00.001-04:00

Hammer time.

Happy trails to Gary Williams

2011-05-05T17:08:00.003-04:00

The University of Maryland icon is hanging it up after 22 years — 461 wins with the Terps (668 career), 14 tourney appearances, seven Sweet 16s, one national title. He'll clearly be remembered most, though, for his striking resemblance to Mr. DeMartino from Daria.

A Full English

2011-05-05T01:36:00.008-04:00

A bit late posting a link to this one, but here is last week's piece on various Full English/Full Irish breakfasts around town. The thought of eating one now makes me want to faint and I only ate seven.

Photo: Jessica Kourkounis

Calentitas

2011-04-12T19:51:00.004-04:00

I love this photo (click to enlarge). Fresh, hot tortillas (calentitas) from Tortilleria y San Ramon in the Italian Market. More on what we did with them on Meal Ticket. Isaiah Thompson's feature on the tortilleria is here.

Reviews: Hanna and Your Highness

2011-04-12T19:40:00.004-04:00

Hanna, I think, is the edgiest and most original mainstream-release movie of 2011 so far.

Your Highness is funny but it probably would've been funnier if I was wicked stoned.

Kill the Irishman review

2011-03-27T23:58:00.002-04:00

Gangster-movie term paper.

Sucker Punch review

2011-03-27T23:16:00.001-04:00

Pretty girls fill graves.

The Lincoln Lawyer review

2011-03-20T22:33:00.004-04:00

Dislike McConaughey? That'd be criminal.

Limitless review

2011-03-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

Drugs are awesome, do drugs!

Mark Bittman Q&A in Cowbell

2011-03-15T18:39:00.003-04:00

Cowbell is a relatively new national music magazine based in Philly, from the publishers of Grid. Check them out!

I did an interview with newly minted New York Times opinion columnist Mark Bittman for their latest issue.

Battle: Los Angeles review

2011-03-12T11:13:00.003-05:00

Yes, that is Ne-Yo.

The most dead-on summation of LOST ever written.

2011-02-20T17:01:00.004-05:00

The "50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010" list has been out awhile, but the more I read Ian Murphy's entry on Damon Lindelof, the more I become incensed at LOST's wackass finale (yes, it's taken nearly a year to sink in)...

Charges: As co-creator of “Lost” and co-writer of the monumentally terrible final episode, Lindelof first conjured a confusing yet entertaining sci-fi epic but then, despite its mechanical sound, the “Smoke Monster” turns out to be the ghost of the father of liberal philosophy, side plots about mental illness and alternate universes go nowhere, paper-thin characters inexplicably commune with the dead, and finally, in a clichéd, Old Testament-inspired supernatural battle, evil is defeated when a big rock dildo is crammed into a shiny hole by a handsome, emotionless doctor. And the whole damn thing—concocted entirely on the fly, with no eye toward resolution—from the plane crash to the time travel was actually just some brightly-lit, stained glass, feel-good, new-age, ecumenical afterlife delirium. Right. Fuck you, Damon Lindelof. Fuck you, for stealing 127 hours of our lives, giving us hope that television needn’t be utterly awful, and then shitting out the most hackneyed, series-diminishing, spiritually pandering, lowest common denominator deus ex machina to ever air on TV. Fuck you. Fuck you with a fake beard.

Aggravating factor: One of his favorite films is Bambi.

Sentence: Something incredibly convoluted, followed by a tremendously unsatisfying ending.

The Roommate review

2011-02-11T00:31:00.003-05:00

One of the worst movies I've seen in a long-ass time.

The Eagle review

2011-02-10T22:13:00.002-05:00

C-Tates: So cute, so stiff.

Late Pass: The Green Hornet review

2011-01-20T00:43:00.004-05:00

Where do you sit on the Seth Rogen Tolerance Index™?

I would like to thank my fantasy basketball league for this

2011-01-11T19:04:00.001-05:00

Radio Radio

2011-01-10T23:52:00.006-05:00

Posted links to these on Meal Ticket recently, but here just for reference, a few fun little radio jawns you might want to listen to ...

- Jason Wilson, the WaPo spirits columnist whose Boozehound I’ve featured in CP, joined Colin Shearn of The Franklin on WHYY's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. They make her drink Green Chartreuse. Listen here!

- I sat down with Kishwer Vikaas and Gino Barrica of the Talkadelphia podcast to shoot the Philly food shit. Listen here!

- I joined food writers like Brian Freedman of Philadelphia Weekly, Kirsten Henri of Philly Mag, Friend of Meal Ticket Felicia D’Ambrosio and Collin Keefe of Grub Street for a taping of WXPN's LIVE at the Writers House. Listen here!

Bistrot La Minette at the James Beard House

2011-01-06T14:15:00.002-05:00

The most fun I've had with a story in some time ... up in NYC with dudes from La Minette.

Tron: Legacy review

2010-12-16T23:37:00.004-05:00

Lots of Jeff Bridges kimono action in this.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader review

2010-12-13T03:20:00.003-05:00

The lion is Jesus just FYI

A fun question for movie nerds

2010-11-21T22:28:00.005-05:00

Got this question in an email from Nathan Lerner:

John Wayne won his only Oscar for portraying Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Now, Jeff Bridges, who won an Oscar for Crazy Heart, is scheduled to play the same character in the Coen Brothers' remake of the film. Can you name another screen character who has been portrayed by two different Oscar winners?

Here's who we could come up with (help from Drew, Lou and Michelle):

- Bob Dylan, portrayed by both Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger in I'm Not There

- The Joker, portrayed by Jack Nicholson (Batman) and Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

- ~~Queen Elizabeth, portrayed by Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Helen Mirren (The Queen)~~ (Oops, they are different Elizabeths, my bad)

- The Devil/Satan, portrayed by Al Pacino (Devil's Advocate) and Robert De Niro (Angel Heart)

- Vito Corleone, portrayed by Marlon Brando (The Godfather) and Robert De Niro (The Godfather Part II)

- Danny Ocean, portrayed by Frank Sinatra (Ocean's 11, 1960) and George Clooney (Ocean's 11, 2001)

- Robin Hood, portrayed by Russell Crowe (Robin Hood, 2010) and Kevin Costner (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

- God, portrayed by Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty) and George Burns (Oh, God!)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 review

2010-11-21T01:17:00.001-05:00

Magic! Angst! Sweaters!

Lots of City Paper food bylines recently...

2010-11-18T01:54:00.003-05:00

- Feature on the 10-year anniversary of Old City's Chloe BYOB.

- Review of Quirk Books' new Recipes Every Man Should Know.

- Review of Eric Ripert's Avec Eric book.

- Review of Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook.

- Interview with The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook author Kim O'Donnel.

- Feature on Katie Loeb's gelato-based cocktail list at Capogiro UPenn.

- Interview with Boozehound author/WaPo spirits columnist Jason Wilson.

Unstoppable review

2010-11-11T22:47:00.003-05:00

Spoiler: The title is misleading!

El Gallo Pinto

2010-10-21T16:26:00.003-04:00

CP feature on the Nicaraguan eatery down in South Philly.

The Geometry of Pasta review

2010-09-10T01:10:00.005-04:00

Caz Hildebrand (a British graphic designer) and Jacob Kenedy (a British chef) collaborated on this cookbook, which is not like the other cookbooks. Hildebrand's black-and-white illustrations, accompanying Kenedy's recipes, celebrate pasta as shape and function.

Machete review

2010-09-04T16:45:00.001-04:00

Trejo!

Philly Mag piece on food blogging

2010-09-03T00:34:00.004-04:00

I'm quoted in John Marchese's recent Philadelphia magazine piece about the food blogging scene in the city. Yes, I apologized to my mother for using the F-word.

The Last Exorcism review

2010-08-28T20:39:00.004-04:00

Better than Paranormal Activity.

Late Pass: The Expendables review

2010-08-18T17:03:00.007-04:00

Kinda like Old Dogs with lots of automatic weapons.

Current favorite photo: Chase Utley and Cat Fancy

2010-08-18T00:05:00.004-04:00

Coveside Crab Shack, Dundalk MD

2010-08-10T01:55:00.004-04:00

Great crabs. Pics:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Find them on Facebook.

Waiting for Good Dough

2010-07-23T01:16:00.003-04:00

Here's my City Paper cover story on the state of Philadelphia pizza.

Full credit to Michelle for dreaming up that headline.

Photo is the San Daniele at Pizzeria Stella.

Gonna go with the fish

2010-07-13T01:59:00.001-04:00

Danger After Dark reviews: Big Tits Zombie 3-D and RoboGeisha

2010-07-09T22:28:00.004-04:00

As you can probably gather, Big Tits Zombie 3-D rules.

RoboGeisha is not as as good as Big Tits Zombie 3-D.

Despicable Me review

2010-07-08T23:33:00.003-04:00

It's so fluffy!

Outside Sycamore in Lansdowne

2010-07-07T17:14:00.002-04:00

Freedom over both fear AND litter! AND sans-serif fonts!

Free Spammer Darko

2010-07-06T04:57:00.010-04:00

Darko Milicic seems to be moonlighting as a spammer. He clearly sent this to my work account before the T-Wolves signed the big man to a four-year contract worth $20 million (?!).

Dear,

My name is Darko, i am from Serbia, and i would like to ask you for donation for me to go in Montenegro. My girlfriend working there and i want to spend rest of this summer with her because i love her so much and i miss her and i can't be without her two months. I came back yesterday from Montenegro because i couldn't find job there but i don't know how to back again. Thank you anyway (if you help me or if you not) for your time spent reading this.

Best regards,
Darko

My official scouting report on Spammer Darko: A true 70wpm typist who thrives in a transparent offensive system. Doesn't get bogged down in syntax and possesses the instincts to cut to the chase, often in an opening sentence. Needs to work on improving grammar, though some European observers have suggested this is a strength masquerading as a flaw (the thinking here is it bolsters believability). Post-greeting moves are raw but intermittently brilliant. Some reports indicate he will be able to extend his range with hands-on coaching. Has been compared to a young Milorad Pavic; tremendous upside.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse review

2010-07-03T00:06:00.002-04:00

The same dude who directed Hard Candy directed this, and that is troubling and awesome.

Late Pass: The A-Team review

2010-06-15T18:43:00.002-04:00

I hate it when a plan doesn't come together.

Sharlto Copley as Murdock reminded me of another performance but I couldn't food the life of put my finger on it. Later realized it was Spike Jonze in Three Kings. The difference is that Three Kings is actually a pretty dope movie.

The Karate Kid review

2010-06-10T16:23:00.002-04:00

Soooooo many yin yangs.

Kobe Doin' More Work

2010-06-10T00:29:00.001-04:00

Crystal Castles' new album cover

2010-05-26T16:39:00.001-04:00

That really is terrifying.

MacGruber review

2010-05-22T14:50:00.002-04:00

Classic MacGruber.

Somewhere in Jersey. Of course.

2010-05-14T16:55:00.004-04:00

New York plates, but still! (Photo: Allie Rossignol)

This is what Locke saw when he looked into the eye of The Island

2010-05-14T02:37:00.005-04:00

This is also the glowing yellow cave light. And Walt's real father.

Don't tell me what I can't do

2010-05-09T23:34:00.006-04:00

It's part of some largely unreadable piece that involves the Smoke Monster arguing with the Icelandic volcano with the long name.

(h/t Marc)

Iron Man 2 review

2010-05-06T18:50:00.001-04:00

You done slept on Tony.

Kobe Doin' Work

2010-05-04T23:43:00.003-04:00

Kobe Bryant: White Hot [L.A. Times Magazine]

A Nightmare on Elm Street review

2010-04-30T19:34:00.005-04:00

Better hold on to your teddy.

Oceans review

2010-04-24T03:48:00.001-04:00

Otters, aw!

Philly’s Barcade is a go, but they ain’t rushing

2010-04-22T15:05:00.002-04:00

We're experiencing some slight technical difficulties with citypaper.net today, so I decided to throw this post — originally meant for Meal Ticket — up here for the time being.

Pete Langway, one of five owners of Brooklyn's Barcade, just called Meal Ticket with a few preliminary details on the Philly location the partners have planned.

The project, first noted by Brownstoner Philly yesterday, will bring the Barcade concept to a space at 1114 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown. "Philly was a no-brainer for us," says Langway, whose first experience with the 'hood was taking in a show at Johnny Brenda's. "A lot of people come into Barcade in Brooklyn [and say], "It would be great to have a Barcade in my town,' including people from Philadelphia. He cites Fishtown and Williamsburg's comparable DNA and Philly's burly craft beer scene as the main factors influencing his team's decision to come to the city.

A handful of folks in the neighborhood zoning meeting held earlier this week had heard of the concept, which brings together all-American craft beer list (all draft, no bottles) and '80s video games. (Numbers-wise, Langway ballparks that they'll pour 25 beers — 24 on tap, one cask — and stock about 30 games.) This Frankford Avenue space is slightly larger than Barcade's OG digs, and there's an adjacent lot that's included in the property that Langway says will be used as a small beer garden-type seating area.

Philadelphians excited about this project should note that this is a ways off — when asked to guesstimate an opening month for Barcade Philly, Langway didn't have an answer. "It's literally so early in the process that we don't know," he says. "I couldn't even give you a date. However long it takes."

Kick-Ass review

2010-04-15T21:43:00.005-04:00

"With no power, comes no responsibility."

Love this sign at Yards Brewing Co.

2010-04-08T10:49:00.001-04:00

Di Fara Pizza, Brooklyn

2010-03-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Meal Ticket Spring 2010 supplement: weird pizzas and homemade bitters

2010-03-22T19:33:00.004-04:00

The unstoppable Felicia D'Ambrosio and I teamed up to put together this print supplement — which you can also read online, whaaaaat?! — for our food blog Meal Ticket. In it we talk about the various pizza styles one can get in and around Philly and the growing trend of bartenders producing their own bitters.

Photos by my brother-from-another-Filipino-mother Neal Santos.

Green Zone review

2010-03-11T19:08:00.004-05:00

That boy ain't a soldier! That boy an ideologue!

Predator 2 dance

2010-03-08T00:30:00.004-05:00

Book Review: Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine

2010-03-02T14:24:00.001-05:00

Some really interesting stuff about Philly in this book.

The Crazies review

2010-02-28T19:11:00.001-05:00

Kinda crazy, but not really really crazy.

Celebrity white girl rap videos are the new sex tapes

2010-02-22T02:29:00.003-05:00

Michelle Trachtenberg doing Nicki Minaj (also while chillin with Dawson) got me thinking that getting recorded drunkenly spitting verses by female MCs (take or leave Van Der Beek) should become de rigueur for all noted caucasian starlets. Leighton Meester does Foxy. Emily Blunt does Bahamadia. Kristen Stewart does MC Lyte. EVERYONE WINS. Celebrities, they're just like us!

(via Complex)

Sawyer from LOST in Aerosmith's "Cryin'"

2010-02-19T03:50:00.003-05:00

Skip to 3:30. If you hate rock and roll.

h/t Kyle. You should join the Facebook group about it.

The Wolfman review

2010-02-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

I will entertain NONE OF YOU!

District 13: Ultimatum review

2010-02-04T20:37:00.003-05:00

PARKOUR

Eeeeee, Ong Bak 3 trailer!

2010-02-01T17:37:00.003-05:00

He was full of fury in Ong Bak 1. In Ong Bak 2, he developed additional fury. Now in Ong Bak 3, HE HAS THE MOST FURY TO DATE!

FURY!

Previously On Lost 2: Lost In Five Minutes

2010-01-30T15:51:00.001-05:00

Edge of Darkness review

2010-01-29T18:39:00.002-05:00

Film nwah.

Even Craig Ehlo is shaking his white-ass head

2010-01-20T11:38:00.009-05:00

Dave Chappelle has this bit about things that are so incredibly racist that they don't even make him mad — just shocked about how racist they are.

Presenting: the All-American Basketball Alliance, aka the ALL-WHITE PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE. (h/t Doron)

"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement said.

[...]

Don "Moose" Lewis, the commissioner of the AABA, said the reasoning behind the league's roster restrictions is not racism.

"There's nothing hatred about what we're doing," he said. "I don't hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here's a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like."

Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of "street-ball" played by "people of color." He pointed out recent incidents in the NBA, including Gilbert Arenas' indefinite suspension after bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room, as examples of fans' dissatisfaction with the way current professional sports are run.

"Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch?" he said. "That's the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction."

Wow, that's racist.

I could spend all day rattling off 1) names of white players with "street ball" game and 2) names of players of color who play capital-F Fundamental ball, but what's the point? Commissioner David Duke is probably already planning 2010 All-Star Weekend at Auschwitz.

I will point out, though, that Arenas' suspension has nothing to do with his skin color. Anyone who follows basketball knows he's one of the most interesting and intelligent players in the game. He just also happens to be bat-shit insane.

The Book of Eli review

2010-01-15T19:24:00.002-05:00

Religion is important!

If Avatar causes you to have suicidal thoughts, please act on them

2010-01-13T02:47:00.005-05:00

CNN:

James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

[...]

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "

Do it, Mike. James Cameron wants you to do it. DO IT.

(h/t Marc)

The Silent Meow

2010-01-10T16:25:00.003-05:00

My cat does this weird silent meow sometimes, so I Googled "silent meow" just out of curiosity.

From the first paragraph of the first search result:

When referencing her cats, a good friend of mine says, "My cats are just little people in fur coats who walk on all fours and speak a different language. I don't understand a word they are saying to me!"

The next paragraph begins: "When I was a child, one of my favorite books was 'Alice through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll." Stopped reading after that.

Another search result describes a silent meow thusly:

Your cat will look up at you and tilt his head ever so slightly, open his mouth, and a slight almost hiccup like noise will come out. This is the highest form of "please" a cat can offer.

Why is all cat journalism written by insane cat ladies? Where are all the cat scientists at? Get at me.