Tag: Mezcal

horror

Scream

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Image credit: Scream, 1996

So okay, I don’t want to be a traitor to my generation and all, but before this week, I had never watched Scream (Disc/Download). However, in the name of research for a manuscript I’m currently working on, I finally had to bite the bullet and give Skeet Ulrich a chance. After all, great art requires great sacrifice.

Before you start questioning how I could have gone this long without watching Ghostface slash his way through a group of teenagers, keep in mind that when this movie came out, I was thirteen and only interested in three things: My So-Called Life MTV marathons, my VHS copy of Clueless, and Sweet Valley High paperbacks. Why would I want to watch Neve Campbell fighting off a knife attack when I could watch Neve Campbell falling in/out of love while raising her orphan siblings on Party of Five? I probably could have gone the rest of my life without watching this meta horror franchise, but when the need arose, I sighed and stepped up to the challenge. I watched the original, as well as the reboot, skipping a few in the middle. I saw Neve get chased, I saw Courtney Cox usher in an era of tabloid journalism as reporter Gale Weathers (that name!!!!), and I saw a lot of annoying film studies majors share their VERY STRONG OPINIONS on the genre. Thankfully, there was alcohol involved during this experiment.

Thinking about an appropriate cocktail for the Scream franchise, I wanted to choose something fall-inspired because these are great movies to watch in the month of October. Smoky Mezcal simulates the feeling of being around a campfire (although here in Texas we’re still hunkered around the air conditioner), and a riff on the Last Word cocktail is appropriately named for a movie that gives its murder victims a shocking amount of dialogue. While watching Scream, I recommend drinking a Famous Last Words cocktail.

Famous Last Words

1 ½ oz Mezcal

¾ oz Yellow Chartreuse

¾ oz Lime Juice

¼ oz Maraschino Liqueur

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a twist of lime.

So what’s the verdict, then? Am I glad I finally watched these? Overall, yes. I’m never going to be a true fan of the slasher genre, but the nineties nostalgia kept me engaged, and it was fun to see all the teen stars who continue to age gracefully on our streaming apps. We may have all gotten older, but the Ghostface mask will always be timeless. Cheers!

Musicals

Newsies

LizLockeLeave a comment

Image Credit Walt Diwney Pictures, 1992
Image Credit Walt Disney Pictures, 1992

Page-boy caps. Attractive and well-choreographed boys singing and dancing on the streets of New York. Crutchy. That’s right, this week’s Cinema Sips headliner is…… Newsies (!!!!!!). I’ve been obsessed with this movie ever since it premiered on The Disney Channel in the early-90’s. I had no idea what a labor union was, but if it involved singing catchy tunes and Christian Bale as a hot teenager in a kicky scarf, by all means sign me up. This week, while coming down from my Valentine’s sugar buzz, I decided I needed a boost in the form of this totally entertaining movie musical.

Newsies (DVD/Download) was a pretty big flop when it premiered in theaters, but since then, it has gained the cult status it so richly deserves. Newsies tells the story of the newsboy’s strike of 1899, wherein the lowly newsboys battled the mighty Pulitzer and Hearst by organizing a union and striking for increased pay and better working conditions. Of course, this being Disney, there are some wonderful songs and brilliantly choreographed dance scenes interspersed among the drama, along with some truly terrible New York accents. Heavyweight actors Robert Duvall and Bill Pullman round out the cast, but it’s Christian Bale who really shines here. This film may be an embarrassing “what was I thinking?!” moment for him now that he’s SERIOUS ACTOR Christian Bale, but I don’t care. I’ll always love him most as Jack Kelly, the cowboy of Manhattan, sellin’ papes and breakin’ hearts.

I found inspiration for my drink this week in a wonderful book I was given, Tipsy Texan by David Alan. I wanted to do something inspired by my favorite song from the movie, Santa Fe. Unsure of how green chilies might translate into the beverage arena, I opted instead to try something using the Mexican liquor Mezcal . This is similar to tequila (in fact tequila is a type of mezcal) but it has a smokier flavor. I like to imagine that Jack Kelly would have eventually turned 18 and taken his dumpy girlfriend Sarah out west, picking up a bottle of this in a border town along the way. In a nod to the age group of most of the protagonists, I’m mixing the Mezcal with good old fashioned Coca-Cola, something I’m sure the Newsies drank their share of back then. When watching Newsies, I recommend drinking a Barro Negro.

Barro Negro (From Tipsy Texan: Spirits and Cocktails from the Lone Star State)

1 ½ oz Mezcal

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

2 orange wedges

3 oz Coca-Cola (Mexican Coke if you can find it).

Pour Mezcal and bitters over ice in a glass. Squeeze the juice from the orange wedges into the glass, then drop them in. Top with Coca-Cola.

Barro-Negro

As you watch Newsies and sip your drink, feel free to laugh at all the digs at Brooklyn, which wasn’t always the hipster-mecca it is now. Back in 1899, Brooklyn was apparently a scary place full of teenagers with sling shots. Also, I can’t stop laughing when Christian Bale does his interpretive dance midway through singing Santa Fe. I say interpretive because I think he’s interpreting riding a horse with jazz hands, but it’s difficult to tell. This movie is just a classic. A classic what, I’m not sure, but definitely a classic. So drink up, dream of Santa Fe, and remember- “Headlines don’t sell papes- Newsies sell papes.” Cheers!