Tag: Ridley Scott

Dramas

Thelma & Louise

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Thelma & Louise, 1991

Put two women in a Thunderbird convertible, add a gun, a bottle of Wild Turkey, plus a young Brad Pitt, and you’ve officially got one hell of a road trip. Thelma & Louise (Disc/Download) is a flick that only gets better with age (and by that, I mean my age), and better still with a cocktail!

Starring Susan Sarandon as uptight waitress Louise, and Geena Davis as beaten-down housewife Thelma, Ridley Scott’s road trip classic begins by showing us two women in desperate need of a vacation. It’s kind of sad that their lifeline is a fishing trip in Arkansas, but the joy on their faces as Louise peels away in that vintage convertible shows that sometimes it doesn’t matter what the destination is; all that matters is the going. Unfortunately, things take a dangerous turn in a roadhouse parking lot, and suddenly Thelma and Louise are on the lam. Their list of felonies grows, as does the frizz on their windblown hair, and by the end, you don’t see how they’re going to get out of this. But somehow, they manage to keep going, and their joy and love for one another remains frozen in time. One perfect moment in a soaring Thunderbird convertible.

Speaking of Thunderbird, my cocktail is inspired both by Louise’s penchant for margaritas, as well as that extremely sexy car she drives. By swapping out the rum for tequila in a Jungle Bird, you can make a tasty, on-theme beverage. While watching Thelma & Louise, I recommend drinking a Thunderbird Margarita.

Thunderbird Margarita

1 ½ oz Reposado Tequila

1 oz Campari

1 ½ oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Lime Juice

½ oz Simple Syrup

Lime wheel (garnish)

Combine tequila, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Thelma & Louise was Brad Pitt’s big break, and lordy what a Hollywood entrance he made. He is 100% movie star from the first moment he struts onscreen in a cowboy hat and tight jeans. By the end of the movie, I’m really glad Thelma has one night of bliss with this handsome grifter, if only so her awful husband could find out about it.  Revenge is the real happiness at the end of this long road. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist

The Martian

LizLockeLeave a comment

the-martian
Image credit: The Martian, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty much over this summer weather. The sun is a relentless flaming ball that scorches me the second I walk outside, and my yard has become a barren wasteland. I’m actually seeing a lot of parallels between Texas weather and life on Mars in this week’s film The Martian (DVD/Download). Those scenes of Matt Damon gasping for breath as his space suit fails and he’s exposed to the atmosphere? Me, on the walk to the car in the morning.

I didn’t expect to like The Martian as much as I did. I thought it would be yet another big budget sci-fi/action film with a ton of special effects and not much real acting. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out that director Ridley Scott made a compelling film about the triumph of the human spirit against terrible odds. In the end, surviving life on Mars isn’t all that different than surviving life on Earth- you just solve one problem at a time. Granted, problems like a lack of water, oxygen, and food are bigger than, say, my Wi-Fi going out, but we all have our struggles. As Matt Damon MacGyver’s his way through farming and rocket engineering on a planet not meant to support human life, it reminds me that if he can do all that, I can handle a power-cycle with a tech support guy from India.

To survive on Mars, you have to get creative with food and beverages. Left with only a limited supply of rations, astronaut Mark Watney is forced to make his own water and grow his own potatoes. If he’d had more time, and if his space station hadn’t blown up, he might have parlayed this into vodka production. I have no doubt he could do it. While watching The Martian, I recommend drinking a Martian Screwdriver.

Martian Screwdriver

4 oz Tang

2 oz Potato Vodka

Build drink over ice, stirring gently to combine.

martian screwdriver

Although it features a strong supporting cast (um… Kristin Wiig what are you doing in this??), The Martian really is Matt Damon’s tour de force. His performance brings laughs and tears, and the fear on his face as he’s about to lift off into space in an open-air space craft gets me all choked up, every time. All I can say is- welcome back to the world of great actors Mr. Damon. There’s nobody else I’d rather be stranded with. Cheers!