action film – Cinema Sips

As I wait for peach season to fully hit central Texas, I’m getting a taste of my favorite summertime fruit with a sparkling cocktail and a post-apocalyptic film about maintaining hope in the darkest of times. I have two peach trees that haven’t yielded a single fruit in ten years, but somehow Furiosa can grow one in a dry wasteland whose main crops seem to be gasoline and bullets. Make it make sense!!! Buckle up, fill your tank with gin—we’re watching Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Disc/Download).

I’m sure I’ll always regret not watching Fury Road upon its initial release (mostly because my husband still hasn’t forgiven me for abandoning him at the movie theater), so when Furiosa came out several years later, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. This high-octane thriller carries the visual masterpiece torch perfectly, serving as a prequel to Fury Road by focusing on the origin story of that film’s badass female protagonist. We learn how Furiosa’s mother died, we learn how she lost the arm, and we learn what pushed her to finally make her great escape with the Wives. Along the way, we get another unhinged cult leader in the form of Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus, acting as foil to original evil cult leader, Immorten Joe. Anya Taylor-Joy does a fantastic job filling in the blanks left by Charlize Theron’s Furiosa, and I’m still amazed that a movie marketed toward the male populace managed to birth one of our greatest feminist action heroes. Ladies, there’s plenty here for you, too.

Furiosa carries a peach pit from her homeland, “the place of abundance”, as a reminder of what the world could be like without the corrupt leaders of the Citadel. Let’s cool off with a cocktail that might be icy cold, but still has a subtle bit of heat behind it. While watching Furiosa, I recommend drinking this Spicy Peach Spritz.

Spicy Peach Spritz

1 ½ oz gin (I use Engine, which is not only thematically perfect, but also very tasty!)

1 oz St. Germain

2 slices jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

1 basil leaf, plus more for garnish

2 oz peach juice

3 oz Prosecco

2 oz sparkling water

Muddle the jalapeno and basil leaf with St. Germain and gin in the bottom of a shaker. Add peach juice and ice, and shake to combine. Fill a glass with ice, then double strain the contents of shaker into it. Top with Prosecco and sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with a sprig of basil.

Having watched the original Mad Max, and half of The Road Warrior before I fell asleep, I can say that I absolutely love the new direction George Miller has taken this franchise. No longer are women relegated to side roles, gimmicks, and victimhood; they are the main characters and heroes of these movies. The visuals just get better and better, and so too does the political, sociological, and environmental commentary. I don’t know what’s next for Mad Max (if anything), but if this saga is over, at least it went out in a blaze of glory. Cheers!

I did the unthinkable recently when I sat down to watch all three John Wick movies, back-to-back. Six hours of Keanu Reeves, guns, and dogs. Of course I was drunk for this. If you’ve been on the fence about watching this franchise, I’m here to tell you… it’s not that bad.

I resisted these movies for a long time because I didn’t think I could watch a constant stream of bullets flying, bodies falling down like dominoes, and the visual illustration that human lives are expendable. The thing that finally sold me was Keanu. He’s the epitome of Hollywood action star, with his brooding looks and expensive suits. The plots get wilder with each installment, but at their essence they’re all about revenge. Whether it’s John Wick getting revenge on the people who killed his dog and stole his beloved car, or other people getting revenge for the ones Wick has killed, nobody can let anything go. It’s all very black-and-white, which makes the bold cinematography even more impressive. These gunfights could have taken place in an empty parking lot and people still would have watched. But by setting them in a hall of mirrors, or a glass box full of other glass boxes, I want to watch.

As I’ve said, there is a very unfortunate doggie death setting the whole chain of events in motion. It’s brutal. But Keanu does a truly heroic thing at the end of the first film by adopting a shelter dog. Sure, he kind of abandons it in the next two films, but I suppose waiting in a taxi or hotel is preferable to waiting around in a cage at the pound. While watching John Wick, I recommend drinking this Rescue Dog cocktail.

Rescue Dog

1.5 oz Grapefruit Vodka (I like Frankly Organic Vodka)

.5 oz Aperol

.5 oz Lime Juice

3 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

2 oz Sparkling Wine

Combine Vodka, Aperol, and lime juice, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling wine and stir gently.

As far as I can tell, John is not a big drinker. But he does spend an awful lot of time in dark nightclubs, so the cocktail culture is definitely there. I encourage you to watch these with a drink (or several), and remember- adopt don’t shop. Cheers!

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