Tag: Tommy Lee Jones

Comedies · Sci Fi · Uncategorized

Men in Black

LizLockeLeave a comment
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!

Dramas

Coal Miner’s Daughter

LizLocke1 Comment

Coal Miner's Daughter
Image credit: Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980.

When I first thought about watching the Loretta Lynn biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter (Disc/Download), I’ll admit to being a little turned off. A teenager marries an abusive  older man, pops out a bunch of babies, then magically becomes a country music star ? This sounds like a movie-of-the-week that’s too depressing and bonkers even for me. But then I started looking at it as a great excuse to drink Moonshine and swiftly came around.

Deep in the coal mining counties of Kentucky, Loretta (Sissy Spacek) grows up in a tiny house with so many siblings I lose track. She marries Doolittle Lynn, played by the very charismatic Tommy Lee Jones, however it’s clear she doesn’t really know what marriage is. Because she’s, you know, A TEENAGER. This whole part is pretty gross, particularly when her husband rapes her on her wedding night, then slaps her around for good measure. Loretta and Doolittle eventually make it out of that Kentucky holler and move to Washington state, where she gets a guitar. She teaches herself to play, gets on the radio, hooks up with the lovely Patsy Cline, sells a ton of records, and becomes the first lady of Country Music. And somehow during all of this, her deadbeat husband is transformed into a supportive guy who expertly manages her burgeoning career, then stays at home with the kids while she goes on tour. The first and second halves of the film don’t quite match up, but it’s still a joy to watch Spacek and Jones spar in their charming hillbilly accents  while the hair gets higher and the sequins more plentiful.

Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn’s other nickname is Mooney, after the moonshine he sells.  Because when you’re living in coal country, you need to use every tool at your disposal to get through the day. Certainly, moonshine helps me get through the troubling first half of this film. While watching Coal Miner’s Daughter, I recommend drinking a Kentucky Holler.

Kentucky Holler

1.5 oz Moonshine

¾ oz Lemon Juice

¾ oz Blueberry Drink Syrup (I use IKEA brand—they’re more than just cheap couches and meatballs!)

1 Egg White

Lemon Twist

Combine moonshine, lemon juice, blueberry syrup, and egg white in a shaker. Do a dry shake to combine ingredients, then fill the shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled and frothy. Strain into a mason jar filled with crushed ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Kentucky Holler

One of the standout characters in Coal Miner’s Daughter is Patsy Cline, played by a delightful Beverly D’Angelo. Honestly, I think I’d rather just watch a movie about Patsy. She’s the kind of friend we all wish we had, and the kind of friend we should all aspire to be. One of the great things I love about women in creative fields is that they tend to lift each other up, not compete and tear each other down. I see this with writing, and also music and filmmaking. So while this film may not show men in the best light, it sure does make me glad to be a woman. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist

The Fugitive

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The Fugitive
Image credit: The Fugitive, 1993

90’s nostalgia seems to be everywhere these days. I’ve recently been combing through my stacks of VHS tapes to find a piece of movie magic that captures the heyday of high-concept action films the decade was known for.  What did I land on? The Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones thriller The Fugitive (DVD/Download).

Adapted from the 1960’s TV series (my grandpa was a big fan), Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimball, a renowned surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife. He knows it was a one-armed-man who did the deed, but proof, and the actual killer, are long gone. While being transported to prison, his bus gets hit by a train, allowing him to escape. Tommy Lee Jones plays the US Marshall tasked with finding him, and thus sets off a manhunt through Chicago as the lawman hunts the doctor, who is simultaneously hunting the one-armed-man. The film manages to condense a 4-season TV show quite well, and Harrison Ford plays the smartest prison escapee since Andy Dufresne.   Tommy Lee Jones might be searching every farm house, hen house, and outhouse in the tri-state area, but he’ll have to be clever if he’s going up against Dr. Richard Kimball.

I love that there are essentially two man hunts going on in this film, and kudos to finding THE SCARIEST looking villain in the history of cinema. Not only does Andreas Katsulas look like the reincarnated Bela Lugosi, but he’s also got an undeniably creepy mechanical arm. Not that all prosthetics are creepy, but combined with a gun and a trench coat, it gives me the shivers. So while you watch the hunted Richard Kimball hunt the one-armed-man, sip on a Manhunt.

Manhunt

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey

4 dashes lemon juice

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 splash sparkling water

1 maraschino cherry

Dissolve the sugar in lemon juice and water at the bottom of a Boston shaker. Add the whiskey, and fill halfway with ice. Stir to combine and chill, then pour into a tumbler. Garnish with a cherry.

Manhunt

While watching The Fugitive, keep a look out for blink-and-you’ll-miss-her Julianne Moore. This is the movie I’ll always associate with Tommy Lee Jones, and his rugged Texas accent. Even in the big city of Chicago, he’s still the top lawman in town. Cheers!