Category: Uncategorized

Action/Adventure/Heist · Uncategorized

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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Image credit: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984

A much-anticipated trip to experience the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland prompted this week’s watch; the second installment of Spielberg’s Indy trilogy that I’ve always referred to as “the gross one”: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Disc/Download). As a child, I couldn’t get past the monkey brain scene, but as an adult, I made it all the way through pits of fire and creepy crawlies, and a sprawling underground city of child slave labor. When I tell you I have earned that trip to Disneyland, believe it.

Although my favorite Indiana Jones movie will always be Last Crusade, the sheer weirdness of Temple of Doom bumps it up to second place in my eyes. Imagine, you create a character that looks like he came straight from the Golden Age of Cinema, a hero adults and children can all rally around, and then you… send him into a whirlpool of black magic and voodoo cults. You serve him eyeball soup and raw beetles. You give him a heroine who, while stylish and beautiful, is fairly annoying throughout the entirety of the film. If not for Short Round and the fabulous production design, there wouldn’t be much to recommend in this movie. However, the relationship between adventurer and precocious child is every bit as fun as the one between adventurer and precocious old man in Last Crusade. This movie takes the viewer on a circuitous, bizarre ride, but it manages to keep Harrison sweaty and shirtless for a satisfactory amount of time. And at this particular moment in my life, that’s enough for me.

Make no mistake, the banquet scene is still gross. It helps if you have a cocktail and a blindfold, and preferably an empty stomach. While watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I recommend drinking this Temple ‘Tini.

Temple ‘Tini

1 1/2 oz Dark Spiced Rum

1/4 oz Banana Liqueur

1/4 oz Vanilla syrup

3/4 oz Cold Brew

3 dashes Ginger Bitters

Gummy snake (garnish)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a gummy snake.

Although the Disney Imagineers built a ride inspired by the production design of Temple of Doom, I really wish they had instead focused on the Shanghai nightclub where this story begins. Like Rick’s Café, Club Obi Wan looks like the perfect place to sip a cocktail amid the chaos of war, or crowds of screaming children. A missed opportunity, Disney. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

Mandalay

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Image credit: Mandalay, 1934

My recent discovery of the classic Pegu Club on a Mississippi library lounge menu brought me to this week’s film Mandalay, a stylish Pre-Code gem starring Kay Francis and directed by Michael Curtiz. Lucky for us, we don’t have to travel far to go on a cinematic journey with cocktails.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Pre-Code movies are the best. Mandalay exemplifies all the hallmarks of what I love most about these movies through Francis’s character Tanya. Left penniless by her deadbeat boyfriend at a brothel in Rangoon, Tanya is forced to work as a “hostess” to all sorts of nefarious characters. Eventually, she draws the attention of the local police, who politely suggest she board the next boat out of town and not come back. Her destination: the cool, green hills of Mandalay. But before she can get there, she meets and falls for an alcoholic doctor on the ship, who is on his own journey to a fever-ridden area just beyond the city. Unfortunately, Tanya’s ex is also on the ship, and she’s forced to do some less-than-legal things to extract herself from his web.

Circling back to the Pegu Club cocktail, this was the signature drink served at the Pegu Club in Rangoon to British officers and businessmen. I can absolutely imagine it being served at the gentleman’s club in this movie, and “Spot White” probably would have enjoyed a few in between clients and jam sessions on the piano. While watching Mandalay, I recommend drinking a classic Pegu Club cocktail.

Pegu Club

1 ½ oz Gin

¾ oz Orange Curaçao

½ oz Lime Juice

1 dash Angostura Bitters

1 dash Orange Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Eventually, Tanya and the doctor decide to atone for their sins by going to the dangerous part of Mandalay together, and their fate is left up to the viewer to decide. My opinion? Hot Doc cures the fever, they live happily ever after, and Spot White wears a new Orry-Kelly gown every single day from then on. Also, giant hats. Cheers!

Comedies · Uncategorized

Private Benjamin

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Image credit: Private Benjamin, 1980

Sometimes I go into a movie with no advance knowledge of the plot, but many expectations based on the star, the title, the screenwriter, etc. I thought I knew what kind of viewing experience I was in for with Private Benjamin (Disc/Download), but this one shocked me again and again.

Because it’s Goldie Hawn, and because the premise involves a beautiful, wealthy lady entering the Army, I expected a fish-out-of-water comedy. Something akin to Troop Beverly Hills where a spoiled woman is forced to rough it, discovering an inner strength she didn’t know she possessed. She would probably be helped by some wonderful gal pals and find love by the end of it. You can understand my assumptions, based on the fact that both movies include Craig T. Nelson, main characters who know the difference between khaki and mushroom, and massive 1980s hair. But it turns out that halfway through Private Benjamin, Judy Benjamin takes a left turn after being sexually harassed in the elite paratrooper unit, landing herself a sweet administrative gig in Europe where she meets a dreamy French gynecologist. He’s suspected of being a communist, so she must choose between the Army and her new man. Because of her upbringing, she chooses the man. But then, the man turns out to be garbage, and she manages to choose herself in the nick of time. Phew- this movie is so bonkers, I need a DRINK.

I recently discovered the classic Army & Navy cocktail, and while I’m sure there are any number of military-themed films to enjoy this with, my pick goes to the one featuring Goldie Hawn scrubbing the latrine with an electric toothbrush. It’s a classic for a reason. While watching Private Benjamin, I recommend drinking this Army & Navy cocktail.

Army & Navy

2 oz London Dry Gin

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

¾ oz Orgeat

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Grapefruit Twist

Combine gin, lemon juice, orgeat, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Because the script was co-written by Nancy Meyers, I shouldn’t be surprised that Judy has a penchant for interior décor and looks right at home in a French Chateau. But I also shouldn’t be surprised that this character triumphs over the lackluster men in her life, finding companionship and family in the most unexpected of places. Like the Army & Navy cocktail, you can’t judge Private Benjamin by its title, or its ingredients. It is a uniquely wonderful concoction, sure to put you in a good mood. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

The Thomas Crown Affair

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968

The 1960s gave us a lot of great things, not least of which was the “sexy heist” genre. With films like How to Steal a Million, The Italian Job, Gambit, Ocean’s Eleven, The Pink Panther, and many, many others, it was a great time to be a robber in a Savile Row suit. Thus it’s no surprise that one of the most iconic heist films came out of this period, Norman Jewison’s 1968 classic The Thomas Crown Affair (Disc/Download).

Although most people are probably more familiar with the 1999 remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, the original starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway is even better (in my opinion). I always thought the newer one tried too hard to be sexy, but back in the sixties, there was no trying- these people just were sexy. Tightly edited by Hal Ashby, the audience is pulled into the story immediately as Crown begins orchestrating a complex bank robbery. It’s a tense, perfectly planned job, and at the end of it, a bored millionaire walks away with more money than he needs, just to prove that he can. All goes swimmingly until he crosses paths with the insurance investigator hired to find the criminal mastermind, and unfortunately she’s his perfect match. Neither anticipates falling in love over fireside chess games, dune buggy runs on the beach, and cute strolls through the farmers market, but it quickly happens. The story takes some interesting turns, and even the ending is unexpected for someone well-versed in these movies. It takes a lot to surprise me, but this one did.

Norman Jewison always brings a dose of cheeky realism to his pictures, and Thomas Crown is no exception. Watching McQueen and Dunaway stroll through various Boston neighborhoods (some of them upscale, some of them decidedly not) grounds these extraordinarily beautiful and intelligent people in an actual time and place. While you’re watching The Thomas Crown Affair, do yourself a favor and pour a Boston cocktail.

Boston

1 ½ oz Gin

1 ½ oz Apricot Brandy

½ oz Lemon Juice

¼ oz Grenadine

Cherry garnish

Combine gin, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Sexy heist movies are always an automatic watch in my house because the good ones keep me on my toes until the very end. I love a script that makes me wonder whether or not the robber will get away with it, and whether or not I want them too. Plus, the style is always superb. I know I can count on beautiful dresses, jewels, sports cars, and perfectly coifed hair, and in a world of so much uncertainty, isn’t it nice to be certain about these small but wonderful details? Just sayin’, if Hollywood ever wants to save itself, bring back the sexy heist. Make a dozen of them. I’ll buy every ticket. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies · Uncategorized

The Palm Beach Story

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Image credit: The Palm Beach Story, 1942

What’s smitten, kittens? This week I’m writing to you from the Treasure Coast of Florida, where the Lilly Pulitzer is abundant and the cocktails are strong. Of course I had to revisit the Preston Sturges classic The Palm Beach Story (Disc/Download) prior to my trip down here, though thankfully, my transportation did not include a Pullman train car with the Ale & Quail club. I also did not step on any millionaires, alas.

Starring Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert as Tom and Gerry Jeffers, the unhappily married couple at the center of this screwball comedy, The Palm Beach Story is the type of zany movie that makes you wonder if Sturges was just making it up as he went along. There are characters that, while memorable, seem to go nowhere, as well as a crazy intro involving twins, a kidnapping, and a wedding. Keep in mind, this is all in the first 60 seconds! My suggestion- make your cocktail before the opening credits and settle in, knowing not everything will make sense, but everything will be funny. This is the kind of film that gets better and better with each viewing, and one I appreciate for its plethora of scene stealers. From the deaf “Wienie King” to the sarcastic and horny Princess Centimillia, to the unfortunate bartender forced to dodge bullets and saltines, there is literally nobody on this screen who isn’t interesting to watch.

In terms of cocktails, I will spare you the “Prairie Oyster” Colbert drinks on the train because I’m not not exactly one for raw egg yolks and Worcestershire. Instead, join me in imbibing a classic Palm Beach cocktail, which will definitely appeal to the Negroni lovers out there.

Palm Beach

2 1/2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Sweet Red Vermouth

1 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

Maraschino cherry and dried citrus wedge (for garnish)

Combine gin, vermouth, and grapefruit juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry and dried citrus wedge.

If 2020-2022 was my Billy Wilder period, then 2023-2024 is fast becoming my Preston Sturges era. I can’t get enough of his imaginative plots, the social commentary, and all that brilliant dialogue. This isn’t the first Sturges film on Cinema Sips, and it won’t be the last. But Snoodles, it might just be the craziest. Cheers!

Sci Fi · Uncategorized

Starman

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Image credit: Starman, 1984

If typical romantic fare has you rolling your eyes with boredom, and you just cannot stand to see How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days show up in your watch suggestions yet again*, then maybe you’re ready for John Carpenter’s Starman (Disc/Download), a bonkers sci-fi romance featuring a naked Jeff Bridges, a creepy CGI baby, and love on the run.

Starring Karen Allen as the recently widowed Jenny Hayden, and Jeff Bridges as the alien who crashes into her Wisconsin backyard and adopts the physical body of her recently deceased husband (thanks to an old photo album, a lock of his baby hair, and some truly bizarre special effects), this movie has similar visual elements to other campy Carpenter classics like They Live, The Thing, and The Fog, but it also manages to tell a moving story about grief and connection. Although I laugh pretty hard at Bridges’ halting alien voice, my heart twists when Jenny is forced to reckon with this terrifying stranger who happens to look exactly like the love of her life, as though even the memories of his face and smile aren’t sacred anymore. Carpenter may be known for horror, but honestly, I can’t think of anything scarier than the place our heroine inhabits at the start of this movie.

A fun element to this story is the collection of “energy balls” our alien uses to start fires, heal the dead or dying, and send interplanetary messages. Basically, any task you would need a bit of magic to accomplish. I don’t have any of these silver balls myself, but I do have a bottle of Fireball Whiskey. While watching Starman, make a little magic of your own with this Fireball Old Fashioned.

Fireball Old Fashioned

1 part Fireball Whisky

1 part Bourbon

2-3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

½ tsp Sugar

Orange twist

Muddle sugar with bitters in the bottom of a glass. Add ice, bourbon, and Fireball, and stir to combine. Twist the orange peel over the glass, then drop in.

This movie definitely has some soap opera elements to it, which is probably why I like it so much. Yes, there are the typical scary government guys chasing Bridges to a crater in Arizona, and the standard bumbling scientist who realizes it’s better to let the interplanetary traveler go home than see him get hurt on Earth, but there’s also a terrific pie scene and a secret alien baby that may or may not turn up in a sequel. It’s been forty years, and I am ready for that sequel. Cheers!

*Note to Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, et al.: I do not want to watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It’s never going to happen, stop trying to make it happen.

Uncategorized

Cinema Sips 10-Year Anniversary

LizLocke2 Comments

To quote Barry Manilow, “Looks like we made it!”

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Cinema Sips, and what a decade it’s been. I’m proud that the blog still feels every bit as fresh as it did back in September 2013 with my very first post, A League of Their Own (paired with a Rockford Peach Fizz), while the pictures and recipes have only gotten better with each passing year. I will probably always struggle to use WordPress, but working on my writing and mixology skills has always taken priority over working on my web design skills. I may not know what SEO is, but I have a decent grasp on commas and Campari.

When I decided to start blogging, I knew I had to pick a topic that excited me; one that didn’t feel like work each week. Enter: movies and cocktails. Writing Cinema Sips has never been a chore because I love watching movies, I love experimenting with new cocktails, and I love sharing my thoughts about the things that excite me. To create a low-pressure, fun community, I’ve purposely never tried to monetize the blog in a major way, or create a paywall, or try to get sponsors. That would make it feel like work. My Amazon Affiliate links are mostly just a helpful way to guide readers toward the movies I’m talking about. Maybe I’m doing blogging wrong in terms of the greater influencer sphere out there, but I’m doing it right for me. Hopefully, it’s right for you too.

When I was doing author events and interviews this summer in support of my debut novel Follow the Sun, I got a couple of questions over and over. Maybe you’ve wondered about them too, so I’ll address them here:

  1. Will you continue the blog now that you’re a published author?
  2. Will there ever be a Cinema Sips book?

To answer the first question, there would be no Follow the Sun without Cinema Sips. Exercising my writing and editing muscle each week on this blog has made me a better novelist, and the community I built helped in a million different ways when it came to getting published. I still love coming here this week, so I’m going to keep it up as long as I still feel that way. That being said, there might be a skipped week or two if I’m particularly busy with other things or need a break.

As for a Cinema Sips book, well… it’s complicated. I spent the last ten years trying to sell a fiction manuscript. Non-fiction book proposals are a whole different beast. Right now, I’m more interested in putting my energy toward the next fiction manuscript and maintaining this blog for all to enjoy. That’s not to say that if a book editor approached me about doing something I’d dismiss it automatically; it just means I’m not actively seeking that opportunity out. In short, I’m open, but my phone is not ringing off the hook like Julie Powell’s in Julie & Julia. And I’m okay with that. Que sera, sera, as Doris Day would say.

Instead of a new movie/cocktail post this week, I thought it would be more fun to share some of my previous favorites. These are posts where I felt like the pairing was spot-on, and they’re recipes I’ve made again and again. Maybe you want to mix one and join the celebration! Be sure and let me know in the comments if you have a favorite Cinema Sips pairing, or thoughts on where you’d like to see the blog go from here. I’m excited about what the next ten years will bring, and as always, from the bottom of my heart, cheers.

10 Things I Hate About You w/ “Prickly Pair” Margarita
Beauty and the Beast w/ Rosewater Gimlet
Casablanca w/ Moroccan ’75
The Goodbye Girl w/ New York Sour
In Her Shoes w/ Cosmopolitan
Jurassic Park w/ Isla de Sangre
L.A. Confidential w/ Gin Gimlet
Rear Window w/ Peeping Tom Collins
Summertime w/ Boulevardier
Tropic Thunder w/ Jungle Bird
Uncategorized

‘Follow the Sun’ is here!

LizLocke1 Comment

I almost can’t believe I’m typing these words: I am a novelist.

My debut book Follow the Sun was published by Random House Canada today, and you better believe I am celebrating! Instead of featuring a movie/cocktail pairing this week, I decided it would be more fun to do a book/cocktail pairing. If you’re currently reading Follow the Sun, I recommend drinking a Hemingway Daiquiri!

Hemingway Daiquiri

2 oz Light Rum

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice

3/4 oz Lime Juice

Lime Wheel for Garnish

Combine rum, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit juice, and lime juice in a shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

I chose this drink out of all the ones featured in my novel because it’s something the main character shares with a friend at the historic Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach. And what else has Cinema Sips been than my way to share a drink virtually with all my movie-loving friends? The blog has given me a way to connect with so many fantastic people who have supported me in my ten-year journey to the bookshelf, and I don’t have the words to describe how grateful I am. When I started to wonder whether anybody would ever read a single page I’d written, or if this fiction thing was all just a silly, stupid dream, Cinema Sips followers were here for me. Cheering me on, and making me feel a little less alone.

The truth is, Follow the Sun was not an easy book to sell. It doesn’t fit into a perfectly-sized genre box, unless we’re counting “Beach Read” as a box. There’s a lot of romance in this story, but it also focuses on a young woman’s growth in a time where feminism was just gaining traction. It’s also set in 1966, although I’m hesitant about putting it in the historical fiction category. It just doesn’t feel like a lot of other historical fiction reads I’ve come across, due to its breezy style and tone. Maybe I don’t know what this book is, other than an escape. It’s an escape into a world where style reigned supreme, the parties were epic, the people were glamorous, and the settings were grand. A book about the 1960s Jet Set might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like reading about a world very different than the one most of us have known, then you might just like my ode to “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places”. That was the Slim Aarons motto, and it’s because of his photographs that I wanted to devote so much of my attention to this era. These pictures made me feel like a time-traveler, and in a world where everything around us is on fire, doesn’t that sound kind of great?

Slim Aarons, Getty Images
Slim Aarons, Getty Images
Slim Aarons, Getty Images

That’s not to say that things were perfect in the sixties, or that women with money had worry-free lives. They still experienced grief and heartache and misogyny just like many of us do now. But it’s my hope that readers are able connect with the beauty in this fictionalized world I’ve created, where swimming pools sparkled in the sunlight, and a young woman’s voice could be the thing to set her free from the golden cage. I hope you fall in love with the love story of Caroline and Jack, and root for them just as much as I did while writing. I hope, if you need an escape this summer, Follow the Sun can provide it. Cheers!

P.S.- If you’re wondering which movies inspired scenes in Follow the Sun, check out my article at Moviejawn!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Comedies · Uncategorized

The Nice Guys

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Image credit: The Nice Guys, 2016

If you like the comedy of The Big Lebowski, the 1970s So-Cal production design of Inherent Vice, and the heat between Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential, then you’ll adore The Nice Guys (Disc/Download) as much as I do. A movie that made it onto my Top 5 List several years ago, it’s only gotten funnier and better with age.

Starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as private investigators in Los Angeles circa 1977, this Shane Black film is the neo-noir buddy cop movie I never knew I needed. Gosling and Crowe are hilarious together, and though the plot meanders (as it does in most noirs), the chemistry between these two makes you want to keep watching. March and Healy are on a quest to investigate the death of porn star activist Misty Mountains, which takes them from rollicking sex-fueled parties in the Hollywood Hills, to a fabulous airport hotel bar (sign me up for a drink at the Flight Deck!), to an auto show full of Detroit’s finest land sharks. The period details in this film are fantastic, and you can almost taste the smog and polyester through the screen. This isn’t Bogey’s LA, or even The Dude’s—this city belongs to a couple of guys just trying to do right by the little old ladies and teen girls who need their help.

There’s nothing like a car crash in the first five minutes to pull me into a story, and this one has a doozy. As Misty lays sprawled over the crash site, boobs akimbo, gasping, “How do you like my car, big boy?” the tone is officially set. Let’s celebrate this stellar opening with a Scotch Mist cocktail.

Scotch Mist

½ cup Crushed Ice

2 oz Scotch

Lemon twist

Pack the ice into a glass, and pour the scotch over the ice. Twist a lemon peel across the top, then drop in.

Classic film fans will probably recognize this as Lauren Bacall’s drink of choice in 1946’s The Big Sleep, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed in the 1970s. After all, strong cocktails and private dicks are two things that’ll never go out of style on the big screen. Cheers!

P.S.- if you’re looking for more Film Noir cocktail pairings, be sure to order a copy of Eddie Muller’s fantastic book, Noir Bar!

Uncategorized

Calamity Jane

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Image credit: Calamity Jane, 1953

Historians may want to take a pass this week as we watch the rollicking Technicolor musical Calamity Jane (Disc/Download), which bears little resemblance to the actual life of Wild West legend Martha Jane Cannary. Nevertheless, what the movie lacks in accuracy, it makes up for in pure Doris Day charm. I don’t usually love Westerns, but when it’s Doris in a fringed suede jacket and a cute ponytail, how can I resist?

Starring Doris as Calamity Jane and baritone-voiced dreamboat Howard Keel as her friend-to-lover Wild Bill Hickok, this movie is one of the more unusual musicals I’ve seen. Somehow, it manages to be progressive and offensive at the same time, and I don’t know whether to sigh over the tired Native American stereotypes, or cheer over the delightful scene where Calamity moves in with her gal pal Katie and they fix up a cottage together. Then there’s the unexpectedly brilliant drag performance by Dick Wesson (the rural booking agent thought Francis Fryer was a woman’s name, and well, the show must go on…), plus Doris in pants, and damned if this movie doesn’t flip those gender stereotypes in the best way. As with most Doris Day movies, the thing I love is that she plays a confident, capable woman who doesn’t need a man to complete her life. She’d be fine without one, but it sure is nice when Wild Bill realizes what’s been right in front of him the whole time.

In crafting a cocktail for this film, I took inspiration from both the movie, and my local liquor store. Calamity Gin is a Texas spirit just begging to be sipped during this film, but one can’t discount the way Calamity rolls up to the bar to order a “Sarsaparill-ie”. It’s adorable. Let’s combine the two with this Calamity Collins.

Calamity Collins

1 ½ oz Calamity Gin

¾ oz Lemon Juice

¾ oz Sarsaparilla Syrup (simmer Sarsaparilla soda over heat until reduced by half)

6 oz Indian Tonic Water

Combine gin, lemon juice, and sarsaparilla syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with tonic water, and stir gently to combine.

One Life to Live fans will probably scream, as I did, over the appearance of a young Phil Carey (Asa Buchanan) as the Army lieutenant Calamity is crushing on at the start of the movie. He’s great, but he can’t hold a candle to Wild Bill. Eventually, Calamity realizes this, and the two trigger-happy legends ride off into the sunset together. Still, I can’t help but wish her “secret love” had been… someone else. Calam and Katie shacked up in their cute little cottage with their plaid shirts and wood pile? Now that’s the happy ending I want to see. Cheers!