Girl drinks are delicious. Any male that says otherwise and doesn't immediately rationalize this with the excuse that they are too sweet is a liar (and even with the excuse, he probably still is a liar). They taste good because they taste like candy, which also is good. I know, I'm speaking like an eight-year-old, but it's a simple truth. And eight-year-olds should not have an opinion on whether or not a certain type of alcoholic beverage is delicious. I don't drink them, however, because I'm not entirely comfortable with myself even with beer in my hand, so why draw more attention? Also, so. Much. Sugar.
But I will drink cider, which looks like beer and tastes a bit juicy (juiciness varies by brand). I used to get a little crap ordering it, though I think more men are coming around. But a lot still laugh at the prospect of getting anything but a domestic at their local bar. Or, if they want to impress, an import or craft beer. But nothing that was, at one time, apple juice.
It's just that... I like cider more. Much more. End of discussion. In fact, I'm drinking it right now. Alexander Keith's "Original Cider", from a bottle (most alcoholic beverages taste much, much better coming from a bottle as opposed to a can. And ten times better off tap). And sometimes, cider can be manlier then beer. Strongbow is named after the 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Richard "Strongbow" de Clare, who laid the smack down on the Irish using his Welsh archers in the 12th century (making the drink kind of inappropriate for St. Patrick's Day, even though cider is quite popular in Ireland. They have their own delicious type in the form of Magners, so all's fair).
Though if manliness was based solely on your name, I'd immediately change mine to Max Power and call it a day.
Not too long ago, right before not seeing Radiohead live and in concert, we saw the elusive (in Ontario, at least) Moonrise Kingdom in an Etobicoke Cineplex. Apparently seeing it on a beautiful Saturday afternoon was not a major priority for many people in Toronto, as only half the seats in the tiny, tiny theater were taken- and that's being generous. But we went out of our way to make sure we were there.
I've been a major Wes Anderson fanboy ever since I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou back in high school. The movie, though not his best by mine or any critic's standards, still blew me away with the dry hilarity, silly stop-motion sea creatures, and Bill Murray. It was amazing- I hadn't seen anything like it before, and I rented the movie only because of the name and a small snippet I saw accompanying a Willem Dafoe interview on Live with Regis and Kelly one day when I was home sick.
Since then I've watched and re-watched all of his films and loved them all to pieces. I've been thinking lately of where I'd put Moonrise Kingdom (though I have not re-watched it) on my own ranking of Anderson's oeuvre, and how my list compares to other lists. And I have come to the conclusion that all critics and movie watchers are wrong everywhere.
Here's how they stack up on IMDB's fan-based ratings:
Moonrise Kingdom: 8.3/10 (making it #193 of the site's all-time top 250)
Fantastic Mr Fox: 7.8/10
Rushmore: 7.7/10
The Royal Tenenbaums: 7.6/10
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: 7.2/10
Bottle Rocket: 7.1/10
The Darjeeling Limited (+ Hotel Chevalier): 7.1/10
And on Rotten Tomatoes:
Moonrise Kingdom: 94% (of critics gave it a positive review); 8.1/10 (average critic rating)
Fantastic Mr Fox: 93%; 7.9/10
Rushmore: 87%; 7.8/10
The Royal Tenenbaums: 80%; 7.2/10
Bottle Rocket: 80%; 6.6/10
The Darjeeling Limited (Hotel Chevalier had no rating): 67%; 6.5/10
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: 53% (his only rotten rating); 6/10
Now I'm not saying that they're wrong in their opinions, but they are wrong in their opinions. While I love Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr Fox, I wouldn't call them the best movies he's made. And The Royal Tenenbaums being at number 4 on both lists completely threw me off, as I have been under the impression that it is one of, if not the best film of the last decade. Surprisingly (because it is surprising how people have a differing opinion from my own) many critics do not agree.
But to each his/her own. As for my own list:
The Royal Tenenbaums
Rushmore
The Darjeeling Limited + Hotel Chevalier
Bottle Rocket
Moonrise Kingdom
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Fantastic Mr Fox
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to slow motion walk to the Kinks (I'm also sorry I couldn't write this post in Futura).
