Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Harpoon is my friend

I have the pleasure of living about half a mile away from the Harpoon Brewery, which makes for a convenient stumble home after their biannual beerfest, unless, of course, you get stopped by the cops, but that's a story for another day. A couple of years ago, I signed up on their website to be a Friend of Harpoon, and I'd recommend it to my fellow Bostonians, because you actually get pretty cool stuff out of it and not just spam emails. For example, last night, I went to a free tasting of their Octoberfest brew with MJ. We also sampled their Ale, IPA, UFO, and Munich Dark. I liked the Octoberfest and the UFO the best, and something about drinking it at the brewery made it seem fresher. So this post has no major point, except to reiterate the well-known fact that I like beer, I really like Harpoon beer, and I absolutely adore free beer.

After the beers, I watched Inside Man, a Spike Lee joint about a bank heist in New York City. Clive Owen plays the mastermind behind the caper, in which the hostages are dressed in jumpsuits and masks that make them impossible to distinguish from the robbers. Denzel Washington is the detective in charge of negotiations and the subsequent investigation. It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary bank hold-up. The owner of the bank, played by Christopher Plummer, is hiding a secret within a safety deposit box, and he hires Jodie Foster to protect his interests. Foster's character is somewhat of a white collar mercenary; she holds enormous power over the rich and famous of NYC and offers her services to the highest bidder. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that I enjoyed the film, mostly due to the impressive cast. Spike Lee does a great job of incorporating all of the archetypal New Yorkers into the plot, from Rabbis to immigrants to construction workers, without it seeming forced or contrived, but the three stars (Washington, Owen, and Foster) carry the film.

3 comments:

Mrs. V said...

I just got Inside Man in the mail...from Columbia House membership I have, it was one of those, 'if you don't tell us you DON'T want this month's selection we will send it and charge your credit card" things. How did I get into that....it was a weak moment and 10 free DVD offer. So I was debating returning it but since you said it was good I guess I'll keep it.
I think it is cool to check the internet on random (ok, you aren't really 'random' but stick with me here) web pages and read about the activities of your family members. It's a good thing that what I just found out doesn't conflict with what she told me she was doing..... just JOKING. But it was cool to see MJ's name up in lights....even if it is just Eileen's lights....

eileen said...

Hmmm, I liked Inside Man, but remember that I like almost all movies that I watch.
Maria really needs to start updating her blog! I'm sick of that lobster, too :)

Mrs. V said...

She says she doesn't like the way she writes so she doesn't. She is threatening to give it up, and after she worked so hard to get me started on mine....sigh.