Bargain Biatch

Movie Review: Inception

What can I possibly add to the dialogue about the movie Inception?  I say this after seeing the movie and then having to search the Internet to find out what actually happened.  I went in knowing I couldn’t even blink too long much less take my usual movie siesta since the plot was …..complicated.  The basic premise is that technology has evolved so that people have the ability to manipulate dreams.  The main use is for extraction, where someone enters your mind and steals your ideas or buried secrets.  Dom Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio is the most talented of these “extractors” but also emotionally damaged due to the death of his wife from some sort of meltdown after an extraction job.  Cobb and his team are hired by the mysterious Saito, played by the VERY handsome Ken Wantanbae, for a new job, but for an inception, or the planting of an idea.  The tagline: “what’s the most resilient parasite? An idea” because once the seed of that thought or idea is planted, its spreads, sometimes virally and often has with unforeseen consequences.  There’s an elaborate set up of how to build the dream matrix including the hiring and training of a new architect (Ellen Page is hired).  Their mission is to implant the kernel of an idea into the mind of the heir of an industrial tycoon. What unfolds next is beyond explanation but is essentially the layers and plotlines of a dream within a dream within a dream.  Trying to keep all three scenarios straight is work but worthwhile. I found the movie thought provoking and kept me guessing until the end and beyond.  Phew! Must relax my brain and something by Pixar.

 

Yoga For The People...Cheap Or Free

100 degrees in the shade.  Add a blanket of ridiculously high humidity, then maybe some herbs and a splash of wine and I’m officially steamed.  So when confronted with the 4 H’s, hazy, hot, humid and hellish, what’s more refreshing than a 90 minutes of Bikram yoga? I know it sounds crazy, and probably is, but if you can find some Zen in the extreme heat, you can save money on the original hot yoga. To entice you into the oven-like room, and then get you coming back, Bikram Yoga park slope and south slope studios have a $20 first time special.  That’s for your first class and if you survive, you can come back as many times as you want for the next week at no additional charge. Hopefully you will find some benefit from twisting and bending in the hot stinky room (I did and do) and if so, you can upgrade your intro week into an unlimited month for another $80.  It’s a great deal and the perfect way for beginners to initiate their practice.  If you prefer your hot yoga au natural, Bend and Bloom is offering free yoga classes in Prospect Park Thursdays and Sundays.  Click here for more details and add some inner peace to so your summer doesn’t boil over.

Cheap Travel (Central) American Style

Due to the extreme heat, not only am I dehydrated, tired, I seem to have caught a travel bug. The only cure, researching my next vacation destination and healing myself with travel deals. Thanks in part to the Euro, which had dipped to an all time low last month against the dollar, Europe’s more affordable.  Even with a slight rebound, it’s still down, so boo hoo EU countries and yee-haw for frugal American tourists. The caveat is that flights prices are still relatively high.  To find a variety of well priced packages check out Central Holidays , they offer discounts by bundling air and are featuring a two eight day trip to London and Paris for $1000.

 

Sill the best deals are in South and Central America.  I can vouch for the deals and still talking about last year’s incredibly cheap and incredibly fun trip to Peru and Argentina. Recently I’ve noticed that Panama is getting a lot of good press. It’s made several top five lists for the best vacation spot and also cited as of the best places to retire.

Sounds good but if you’re not ready to permanently decamp and become a pensioner in panama, you can still take a trip to survey the scene.  Budget Travel recently listed a trip to Panama in their “Real Deal” roundup.  Right now $600 will get you a 4-night package including air, hotel and extras like daily breakfast a few tours. Contact Gate 1 Travel for all the info and then write the trip off as retirement expense.

 

Movie Review: I am Love

Ever since Orlando I have been in love with Tilda Swinton.  She gives off that cool androgyny and makes me want her as my bff, boyfriend and girlfriend. Couldn’t wait to see her in her new movie “I Am Love” in which she plays Emma Recchi, a Russian woman, hailing from a small village, who has married into an umber-wealthy aristocratic Italian family.  Bathed in luxury, she’s the head or her household and life revolves around overseeing and managing their massive estate and caring for her now adult) children.  It’s clearly a life of privilege but also tedium. What cracks her perfect veneer is an encounter with her son’s friend, a chef who dreams opening a restaurant.  As she falls in love, perhaps for the first time, we begin to see the depth of feeling and emotion that Emma has bottled up and her increasing dissatisfaction with her life. The movie is a beautiful meditation about love and letting go in order to open up and experience true passion.  In addition to fabulous Tilda, who speaks fluent Italian, Italy was also the star. From snowy winter landscapes to the Italian countryside, the cinematography was breathtaking and haunting. It was a beautiful and touching movie and a feast for the senses, and Tilda fans.

 

 

Cheap Eats Around Town

Eating well and saving money.  Those two things are not mutually exclusive and you don’t even have to shoplift at Dean & DeLuca or sleep with an old rich guy, unless you want to, no judgment.  Summer Restaurant Week kicked off on Monday but I didn’t bother to acknowledge the event till now.  There’s always plenty of time to treat yourself to tasty $35 prix fixe dinners ($24 for lunch) since they always extend the deal at least another week and sometimes till Labor Day.  If you’re looking for a round-up of the good cheap eats, pick up this week’s New York magazine.  Their awesome annual bargain dining issue is the frugal foodies bible.  In addition to lots of noodles, the favorites skew heavily towards ethnic cuisine, particularly Latin fare.  And there’s a special section for the best food trucks from “Frites ‘N’ Meats” to the “Big Gay Ice Cream Truck”….they should do a mash up.  So check out the online issue or shell out some money at the newsstand to keep a copy on hand.

Ole Ole Ole: Celebrate Spain's Beastly World Cup Win

GOAL!!!! To celebrate Spain’s World Cup victory over the Netherlands I plan to indulge in some Iberian food and drink.  Really just an excuse to visit my favorite Spanish (influenced) neighborhood restaurant Beast. Granted it not strictly a Spanish but the menu definitely has a Latin flair along with budget friendly prices. The vibe is friendly and there’s a lovely variety of well-priced Spanish wines to wash down the sweet taste of victory.  A good way to start is with a cheese plate for two. Fifteen bucks will get you a selection of three cheeses courtesy of Stinky Brooklyn served with a plate loaded with delicious accompaniments including, bread, fruit, nuts and fig paste.  And it’s only another $5 for 2 glasses of wine.  Entrées are very reasonable ranging from $10-$15 and are portioned like medium sized plates (larger than tapas but not ginormous).  I like the stuffed chicken breast but they also serve up a mean burger.  And your meal will not be complete without the sticky toffee pudding, big enough to share but don’t. Stop by for Happy Hour from 4:30 –6:30 and toss back $4 drinks and every Tuesday, bottles of wine are half off. And if your weekday social calendar is full, Beast has prix fixe weekend brunch, which comes with a cocktail ….as all brunches should.

Movie Review: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam is the master of trippy, mind-bending movies and he Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasius was true to form. It had popped to the top of my Netflix queue and I wanted to see it since it was the last movie with Heath Ledger.  I wasn’t sure how they would stitch it together since the actor died midway into filming, but Gilliam didn’t miss a beat. Perhaps because his movies are so open to numerous interpretations, adapting characters replace Ledger seemed perfectly natural. The fairly straightforward story is about a man, Doctor Parasssus, who makes a deal with the devil.  Then years later, he comes to collect the debt, in the form of the doctor’s daughter.  She’s about to turn 16 years old which is apparently the age when the devil gets what he’s owed.  Along with that plot is the love storyline of the daughter torn between two suitors. The first is the awkward but sincere age appropriate boy who servers as a sidekick and musician in the Imaginarium. Then there’s Tony, the mysterious amnesiac who they cut down from hanging under a bridge.  Ledger plays Tony as a slick character with charm and charisma to spare, but short on scruples.  The wacky plot unfolds with a healthy dose of humor provided by Verne Troyer (mini me) as well as the “other” Tonys played by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.  They filled in with the untimely death if Ledger and donated their salaries to his daughter Matilda.  Although this wasn’t in the original script, it adds an entirely new and fantastic dimension to the movie.  If you’re not a Gilliam fan, this probably won’t be for you but I found it inventive and entertaining.