Tag: Barry Sonnenfeld

Comedies · Sci Fi · Uncategorized

Men in Black

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Image: Men in Black, 1997, Columbia Pictures

The nice thing about the lack of good movies being released in our current cinema death spiral is that I have time to go back and revisit the ones I missed when I was either too young or too cool in the 1990s. One of these is Men in Black (Disc/Download), which basically had its own wall at the local Blockbuster. Now that we have a newly iconic extraterrestrial in Project Hail Mary‘s “Rocky”, it seems like a great time to check out a flick about aliens and humans coexisting under the watchful eye of the MIB.

I’ll admit, I had zero interest in this movie as a teen. But as an adult, I can appreciate the stellar chemistry between alien-enforcers Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. Buddy cops (or buddy alien police) need to hone their banter and timing just like all the best rom-com couples, and these two are basically another classic New York love story. Additionally, Men in Black, with its thirty-year-old tech, looks better than most of today’s AI slop , making me wonder why we’re depleting natural resources to make stuff that 1990s audiences would have scoffed at. The premise that aliens are hiding within plain sight under the skin of human hosts allows for some fantastic transformation sequences, as well as some gnarly deaths. Shooting those aliens was akin to being slimed on Double Dare; I feel bad for the production assistants tasked with clean-up.

Image: Men in Black, 1997, Columbia Pictures

My favorite Men in Black scene is the emergency squid birth along the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. The parents look normal, but then when the baby pops out, you realize they’re… a little different. While watching Men in Black, I recommend drinking this classic Octopus Tiki cocktail.

Octopus

1 ½ oz orange juice

¾ oz passion fruit syrup

¾ lime juice

1 ½ oz overproof rum

1 ½ chilled club soda

1 dash Angostura bitters

Mix all ingredients except club soda in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a Tiki mug or hurricane glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Top with club soda and stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice and orchid.

I was surprised to see Steven Spielberg’s name in the credits of Men in Black as a producer, though I guess I shouldn’t have been. Are there any major alien encounter movies from the last fifty years this man hasn’t been involved in? In checking my list of possibly-decent 2026 releases, I see I’ve got the next Spielberg flick Disclosure Day highlighted. The premise? Alien encounters. Of course. Cheers!

Comedies

Raising Arizona

LizLocke2 Comments
Image Credit: Raising Arizona, 1987

If this unrelenting summer has you down, then pour a drink and prepare to laugh yourself silly at Raising Arizona (Disc/Download). A movie I didn’t initially “get”, it’s gotten funnier with each successive re-watch, particularly once I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen. There are some films that benefit from zero distractions and real-time audience reactions, and this screwball heist comedy is one of them.

Starring Nicolas Cage as convicted felon Hi, and Holly Hunter as his beloved wife (and booking officer) Ed, Raising Arizona is among the many Coen Brothers films with clear Preston Sturges influences. The plot follows the “ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances” archetype when an infertile Hi and Ed get the harebrained idea to kidnap one of the Arizona Quintuplets and raise him as their own. This is followed by some impressive camerawork by cinematographer (and future Men In Black director) Barry Sonnenfeld in the nursery, as Hi juggles babies and tries to choose “the best one”. While I normally find babies in movies (and in life) to be pretty tedious, clever editing endears the Arizona quints to my cold heart. Plus, they give Nicolas Cage an excuse to run through a grocery store with a pack of Huggies under one arm and a pair of panty-hose compressing his Woody Woodpecker hairstyle, and for that I am truly grateful.

When the weather gets so hot that you start to feel like you live in a tin can plopped into the desert, that’s when you know it’s time to cool off with a cocktail. While watching Raising Arizona, I recommend drinking this riff on a classic, the “Hi” & Dry.

“Hi” & Dry

2 oz Whiskey

3 oz Canada Dry Ginger Ale

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Rosemary Sprig & Dried Orange for garnish

Combine whiskey, ginger ale, and bitters in a glass filled with a large ice cube. Stir gently to combine, and garnish with a rosemary sprig and dried orange wheel.

With a memorable score that features plenty of yodeling, plus over-the-top line deliveries from Cage and Hunter, plus a mulleted Frances McDormand pushing childhood immunization (yay vaccines!), Raising Arizona has crawled its way up the ladder of my favorite Coen Brothers movies. Before you make the mistake of thinking this is just another ridiculous movie about ridiculous people, I suggest you sleep on it. Cheers!

Children's · Comedies

The Addams Family

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Image credit: The Addams Family, 1991

They’re creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. No, not the First Family; I’m talking about… The Addams Family! (Disc/Download) Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, this 1991 adaptation of the comic strip and hit 1960s television show is exactly the level of scary I want in my Halloween movies. That is to say—none at all.

While this film lacks a delightful jingle, it hits a lot of high notes with clever one-liners and stellar acting. Angelica Huston is radiant as Morticia Addams, the glamorous goth mom who always finds her light, and Raul Julia, who brings such joy to the role of Gomez that I want him to be my permanent drinking buddy. These two characters are supposed to be obsessed with death and the occult, but their chemistry makes this one of the happiest, healthiest marriages in the history of popular culture. And then there’s precocious little Christina Ricci as their daughter Wednesday, who enjoys electrocuting her brother and poisoning the neighborhood Girl Scouts. I feel absolutely no shame in admitting that I wanted to be Wednesday as a little girl. Hell, I still want to be her. There’s a ludicrous plot involving amnesia and stolen treasure, but obviously we’re all just here for the deliciously macabre set, black roses, and a disembodied hand named Thing.

Rounding out the Addams Family is Uncle Fester, played by an almost unrecognizable Christopher Lloyd. We’re supposed to believe he’s been lost in the Bermuda Triangle for decades despite the fact that he’s practically transparent from lack of a tan. Let’s give a toast to Fester’s #islandlyfe with this Black Sand tiki cocktail!

Black Sand

¾ oz Lime Juice

¾ oz Coconut Cream

Pinch of activated charcoal powder

1 ½ oz Pineapple Juice

2 oz Dark Rum

In the bottom of a shaker, dissolve charcoal powder in the lime juice and coconut cream. After well combined, add ice, pineapple juice, and rum. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass.

“Fleshlette” hand sculpture by http://paynescultpures.com

I can’t end this post without mentioning Cousin It, who like many of us in quarantine, is in desperate need of a haircut. If you need a break from reality right now, treat yourself to a little absurdity. The Addams Family is ready to welcome you with a lethal drink and an antique torture device. Cheers!