Tag: Banana Daiquiri

Classic Films · Sci Fi

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Beneath the Planet of the Apes, 1970

It’s that time of year again: my annual Planet of the Apes marathon! I’ll be consuming all ten movies in three days, plus countless banana cocktails. I’ve covered a couple of them on Cinema Sips before, but now seems like a particularly good time to travel deep down into the weird apocalyptic world of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Disc/Download).

Taking place immediately after Charlton Heston slams his fist onto a beach and screams, “DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!”, this movie feels like an answer to his call. Humans are indeed, damned to hell. Actually, they’re down in a former New York City subway station, communicating through mental telepathy, wearing skin masks to hide their radiation burns, and worshiping at the altar of a nuclear bomb. But before the movie moves underground, another astronaut touches down on Future Earth to look for the missing Colonel Taylor. Newcomer Brent (James Franciscus) makes his way to Ape City, clashes with the gorillas, and befriends the always-delightful Dr. Zira and Cornelius. Once he manages to find the fallen city of New York, he finds Taylor, and together, they must stop the mutant humans from launching their nuke and destroying the world. It’s dark, it’s strange, and it’s absolutely a movie for these times.

Even though Dr. Zira makes her hatred of bananas known in Escape From the Planet of the Apes, I’m compelled to use it in this week’s cocktail because Beneath the Planet of the Apes is probably the most bananas movie in the franchise. While watching this film, I recommend drinking a Brûléed Banana Daiquiri.

Brûléed Banana Daiquiri

2 oz aged rum

½ oz banana liqueur

1 oz lime juice

¼ oz simple syrup

Banana slice

Pinch of brown sugar

Pineapple leaf

Combine rum, banana liqueur, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. For the garnish, take a slice of banana and sprinkle a pinch of brown sugar on top. Heat sugar with a torch or flame until bubbly and caramelized. Spear it onto a cocktail pick and rest it on the pineapple leaf.

You’ll notice the bubbling brown sugar on this banana looks very similar to the skin of the mutant humans after centuries of radiation poisoning. After every Ape movie, I always ask myself: is this really our future? Sadly, with the recent reemergence of nuclear energy and threats of war, Beneath the Planet of the Apes is starting to look less and less like science fiction.

Classic Films · Sci Fi

Planet of the Apes

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Planet of the Apes, 1968

I have no idea how this happened, but somehow, I’ve become a massive fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise (Disc/Download). Watching the original 1968 film for my weekly “Bad Movie Friday” tradition turned into a lost weekend of Ape movies, including the original five as well as the more-recent four. You’d think I would have gotten tired of watching man and “beast” clash after a few of these, but nope! I was riveted by superior storytelling, endings that left me wanting more, and thought-provoking social commentary.

When an astronaut (Charlton Heston) crash-lands on a distant planet approximately 2,000 years in the future, he’s probably just hoping for a fresh water supply and breathable air. What he gets instead is a topsy-turvy world where primates walk, talk, and hunt the nonverbal humans roaming the barren land like wild animals. Kudos to the special effects teams for making the apes look equal parts cheesy and realistic, like something from a Disney ride that will haunt your nightmares. It wouldn’t be the 1960s if we didn’t also throw in a beautiful woman with teased hair and ripped-to-shreds clothing, a la Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. (played here by Linda Harrison as Nova). The movie raises a lot of interesting questions, such as what constitutes humanity, and how enlightened can a society ever be while there is still one group at the top and a different group at the bottom, but it’s also an action-packed flick of pure escapism. In other words, exactly what I need right now.

Although Dr. Zira rejects bananas in Escape From the Planet of the Apes, it’s still a common stereotype for primates to be seen eating them. And after viewing a parched nuclear wasteland for several hours, I need a frozen cocktail. While watching Planet of the Apes, I recommend drinking a Banana Daiquiri.

Banana Daiquiri

2 oz Gold Rum

1 fresh banana, sliced

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz Lime Juice

1/2 oz Coconut Cream

1 cup Ice

1/2 oz Dark Rum

Combine first six ingredients in a blender, and blend until chilled. Pour into a hurricane glass, and top with a floater of dark rum.

If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a weekend, I cannot recommend these movies enough. They were practically designed for our modern binge culture, most clocking in at around 90-100 minutes each, and always with a “WTF??!!!“-ending that leads immediately into the next installment. Part of me wishes I’d stopped at the fifth movie Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) without sullying the experience with the Tim Burton iteration, but pushing through allowed me to get to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, one of the most successful reboots I’ve had the pleasure of watching. These apes have something to say, and thankfully, this film made me want to stay and listen till the bitter end. Cheers!