Author: diana

TBD–Totally Beautiful Dinner

Written by diana on October 29, 2014. Posted in Local travel, Restaurants. No Comments on TBD–Totally Beautiful Dinner

The second San Francisco restaurant in SoMa from the entrepreneurs, Matt Semmelhack and chef Mark Liberman, TBD –“To Be Determined”– serves a very different menu from AQ (their first restaurant located next door). The menu focuses on wood-fired small plates, mostly served in cast iron pans, prepared on a custom hearth and grill in an open kitchen in a more casual setting than AQ. Each dish was amazing. We started with warm Josey Baker bread with corn, cotijo and espelette, followed by a beet salad with grapes and walnuts just touched by a subtle fresh horseradish. Beet...

“Skeleton Twins” — A Second Chance

Written by diana on October 19, 2014. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Skeleton Twins” — A Second Chance

[Guest blogger Anthony Berteaux is a sophomore at San Diego State University majoring in drama and journalism. He writes a column for The Daily Aztec, (an independent campus newspaper) and his most recent article is “Die-in Protests Fuel the Fire”.] The best kinds of love stories are the ones that aren’t romantic and some can hit a nerve. In a culture of Nicholas Sparks, it is easy to forget that love stories aren’t just limited to romantic relationships, but encompass any authentic and special bond with someone else, whether it is a pet, a cousin or a...

“Gone Girl” –Fast and Furious

Written by diana on October 13, 2014. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on “Gone Girl” –Fast and Furious

Gone Girl Probably the blockbuster film of 2014, “Gone Girl” has received both critical praise and Oscar buzz since its debut on October 3. Sometimes, while bringing a book to life in a movie, a lot is lost in translation—-not in this case. Both the book and the film are so damn good, perhaps because the extraordinary author, Gillian Flynn, is also the screenwriter and she knows what is an essential distillation of the narrative. The movie is a fast-paced dark and dangerous ride directed by the remarkable David Fincher (“Social Network”, and “The...

“In a Better World”—Or Is It?

Written by diana on October 7, 2014. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. No Comments on “In a Better World”—Or Is It?

“In a Better World” (winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film) takes place in a beautiful village in Denmark where Anton is a doctor who travels between his home and a Sudanese refugee camp where he performs surgery for the most heinous of crimes in a bloody civil war. He and his family are faced with conflicts of their own: his son, Elias, who is angry at his parents’ pending divorce and at being bullied at school; and Marianne, who cannot forgive Anton’s affair. Christian, a quiet and sullen ten-year old and Elias quickly become friends when Christian...

“Words and Pictures”–Graphic Dullness

Written by diana on September 29, 2014. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on “Words and Pictures”–Graphic Dullness

This movie’s central theme asks the question: “Is a picture worth a thousand words?” In a contest between art and literature, a high school teacher of English literature and a teacher of painting are determined to prove that their specialty depicts the reality of experience more effectively than the other. English teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) is barely making it to his classes on time, drinking from a flask in his car during recess. In the past he was a gifted poet but no longer. Then the renowned artist Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche) is hired to teach gifted aspiring...

“Incendies”–Scorched and Fiery

Written by diana on September 24, 2014. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 2 Comments on “Incendies”–Scorched and Fiery

Incendies “Incendies” was nominated for a 2011 Best Foreign Film Academy Award and also named by the New York Times as one of the 10 best films of 2011. A French-Canadian drama adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s play of the same name, “Incendies” tells the family saga of twenty-something twins, — brother (Simon) and sister (Jean)– who are determined to know the mystery of their reserved mother’s life even though they have not had a warm, affectionate relationship with her. In their mother’s will she has left two letters. One is to be delivered...