The sort of movies that almost cancel out the existence of "Macgruber" and "Eclipse". Almost.

As a measure of my dedication to the cause, I've got two leftover movie reviews from the week spent in Santa Barbara that require appreciative mentions.  All in all, it was time well spent in the theatres last week.  And most of all, the time spent watching and then trying to unravel the dizzying story of "Inception" was worth every minute.  It isn't a perfect ride.  But it surely is quite bewildering.  Christopher Nolan deserves all the butt-kissing he receives.  While this movie is not his best, it is monumental.  My rating is an imperfect B-plus, with plenty of room to be further impressed with added viewings.  I, after all, made the huge mistake a few summers ago of not being blown away the first time by "The Dark Knight".  As everyone is actively discussing (coming quite close to spoiling), the story of "Inception" dwells almost entirely inside the dreams of targets of corporate espionage or its practitioners.  You're cleverly encouraged to question what's real.  In the end, it doesn't matter.  The journey is the thing.  Leonardo DiCaprio is a hard nut for me to crack (immensely talented, really hard to like on some level possibly because of that fact), Ellen Page is out of her depth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to amaze me his rocket ship career ascendancy, I still just don't get the whole gauzy grapple at Marion Cotillard's underwhelming breadth, and all the other character actors are positively fantastic (in particular, Tom Hardy will be a huge star in the not too distant future).  So if you need convincing, please see it.  Then grab a brewski - or more appropriately an absinthe - and discuss.  Preferably with others.  Movies should always hope to be this smart, even though they almost never can be.

In a very different way, the bleak little critical darling "Winter's Bone" also inspires conversation.  My rating - a hearty, worthwhile B.  Even though I saw it with absolutely the worst crowd for this particular film, although I'm sure they'll think they meant well.  Pairs of seniors, spread out evenly throughout the theatre landscape of a Saturday matinee.  It's been ages since I've been irritated by people talking back to the screen at a movie.  In this case, it was almost entirely caused by the meticulous authenticity of the white, rural poverty central to the story.  But since when is it cool to say "they don't want to eat squirrel" out loud?  When anyone who's seen enough of the real poverty this movie is drawn from feels a stirring irritation to answer "no, but they MUST because they're HUNGRY."  That may be a hard anecdote to draw too much meaning from.  But it does represent the central conundrum of this movie - representing poor, meth-addled, White America without making the largely rich, clean, White America that is seeing it in arthouse, urban theatres not feel compelled to respond in disbelief.  "Winter's Bone" nails it.  And the brutality - not violence, mind you - used to do so will make a ton of people uncomfortable.  If you have a willingness to see tough, smart characters who don't transcend their surroundings but instead revel in survival, see this movie.  If you've got upper-class guilt and a skewed view of how everyone makes their own destiny, stay home and watch "Glee" or read Dan Brown.  Because this movie ain't for pussies.

Hope your own endings make everything else along the way worth the journey today.  Rock on.

Finally, someone to pull away that precious title from Jim Belushi

If I've learned anything by moving regularly from the highest of high to the lowest of low brow movies, it is this - Nicholas Cage is the worst living actor on the Planet.  Maybe of all time.  There was a time when "Raising Arizona" earned him a bit of slack to step away from that pronouncement.  But after suffering through a recent Cage double bout of the mental runs, I can no longer afford to give him that much rope.  First of all, "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" is a complete sewer of dumped cliches and flushed mental hygiene products.  I give it a strangely-coveted big phat F rating.  Weirdly, it got enough flaky good press that I thought I'd grind through it via Netflix.  Big mistake.  It's not that it's gritty.  It's just bad.  And Cage is by far the worst part of it.  Given that he's on screen in every single scene save a few interspersed short expositions with even less likable characters, well...you've been warned.

Then I moved onto "Kick-Ass" in the theatre.  It's a little "s" success of a movie.  There's enough sweetness layered into the silliness to make it entertaining front to back.  My rating - a very watchable C-plus.  But as much as Nicholas Cage should be hilarious and perfect for the good Dad doing bad things training his assassin daughter, he is just doubly awful.  Much of the time he's vamping Batman including the horrible Christian Bale accent from "The Dark Knight".  But he slips out of the accent enough while in costume to sound more like Adam West from the 60s TV version, and he doesn't seem in control enough to figure out which persona he's making fun of.  He just about ruins every scene he's a part of as a result.  There was a time when I maybe liked him as an actor.  I'm sorry to say that was a few decades ago and I've officially given up on him.  So use that to buck up and do some good work, Nick-o.  I doubt you will, but I don't want to be entirely a downer.

In contrast, one recent small movie that stuck with me for like 10 minutes because of the leading actor's performance (in a good way) was "The Ghost Writer".  It's not Roman Polanski's best.  Or even very close to it - he's got bigger issues than work right now given his extradition and associated legal fight.  Still, in "The Ghost Writer" the political-thriller story is overdone and the humorlessness of most of the action made it feel so cold and dated.  But Ewan McGregor is fantastic.  He adds something to every line and his infectious charm is the perfect counter point to an otherwise downbeat film.  He almost single-handedly earns a recommendation for the film.  Instead, I'll give it a C-Plus and say wait for the rental.  And whatever Ewan's in next, right in line next to me.

Hope your own reviews move you instead way above the mean today.  Rock on.

Even in the best of families feel free to say - "Give me a number 2, extra napkins and a cob."

For Seattle restaurant fans, I'm pleased to pass along the news that Gordo's Burgers shack out near Shilshole Bay on Ballard's Western coast has reopened. And the rub is that it's now a Cuban sandwich shop. Namely, an offshoot of Paseo from Fremont - the best sandwiches in Seattle for about a dozen years running. Love pork? Paseo is your bliss. But the run of other things always get their props. Even tofu. The point being that Gordo's Burgers was one of the first places I got introduced to over a decade ago by a Seattle native who lived in his Mom's basement in Ballard. The burgers rocked. Ironically, I realized that Paseo was opening up there the other night when Sarah and I went out for an anniversary dinner across the street (and the class divide) at the always classic Ray's Boathouse back deck as sunset approached over the Olympic Mountains. In so many ways, Paseo and Ray's represent what's so darn tootin' about Seattle's love of food. Well-updated ethnic food that wasn't even heard of here not so long ago, and the seafaring culture of cuisine that settled this region when gold wasn't the rush everyone sought. If you're in town, head to Paseo. The new Ballard locale will give you one of the coveted cobs of corn you won't get in Fremont unless you eat in. My rating - a consistent A-minus. Largely due to crowds, which I now assume will flood the old Gordo's trailer after this report hits those pesky internets.

Speaking of this weekend's anniversary date, we saw "The Dark Knight" and I must say that I walk away from it supremely underwhelmed. My rating - a sad B-minus. Christian Bale is just weird. Heath Ledger is unhinged, but not all that surprising. I suppose I should blame it on the hype. It's certainly a good film, in relative terms especially for popcorn season. But I didn't get nearly the charge out of it that I'd expected.

Hope your own new favorite lunch spots feature equal parts hipsters and Cuban immigrants. Rock on.