Romance in the City

Making a booking at the Moonlight Cinema in Sydney’s Centennial Park is probably the most romantic thing I have done in a little while (I will let you judge if that is a good or bad thing). The first movie we planned to see eventually washed out (Elizabeth 2), so I decided upon the Darjeeling Limited – hoping that the wet Sydney summer would break for one February evening.The Darjeeling Limited reminded me so much of the India I experienced last summer. The director, Wes Craven, managed to communicate on the screen so many of the rich sights, sounds and smells (strangely enough) that I had both cursed and loved on the sub-continent (you have to experience India to understand what I mean).

The story is simple enough. Three brothers take a train trip across India after the death of their father. Each are as strange as the other: Francis Whitman (Owen Wilson) is the oldest brother, who is actually more like a mother to Peter (Adrian Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman). Francis organised the trip and will do whatever it takes to ensure that everything goes to plan. This provides many of the laughs for the film, as Peter and Jack are no longer little brothers.  The movie is rich with symbolism, and having not watched many Wes Anderson movies in the past, I failed to understand some parts such as the Bill Murray scene at the beginning.

This isn’t meant to be a movie review, because I enjoyed spending the night with OP without having to worry about all the things which usually occupy my mind.  In other words, the timing, the setting and the weather was such that I could have watched any movie that night and enjoyed myself.

Just because its French…

MOVIE REVIEW: THE AGE OF MAN (AGE D’HOMME…MAINTENANT OU JAMAIS)

In The Age of Man (curiously, the “now or never” bit is not translated in the Australian title), Romain Duris plays Samuel, a man, who, in what appears to be the last days of his youth, is torn between the responsibility-less life of singledom and committing to his long-term girlfriend, the captivatingly gorgeous, Chloe, played by Aissa Maiga.

That pretty much sums up the whole movie and plot.

At its heart, the movie is about Samuel’s identity crisis – is he good enough to be a husband and father. Past generations of men went to war and created new arts, Samuel, on the other hand, is a film director (we don’t know if he is any good or not) who is more than happy being the assistant to Chloe (who I think is a photographer, although its not all that clear). His friends are all moving to new stages in their lives, getting married and having babies, although Samuel’s interactions with them don’t really shed any light on his current crisis.

It is difficult to describe what else happens in the movie because there is no real plot. Samuel inspects an apartment (although it appears that he is living in a perfectly good one) and briefly flirts with another prospective tenant played by Maria Jurado (?). However, apart from running into her again later in the movie, nothing really come of it all – no drama, no insight into any of the characters. Similarly, he takes his bicycle to get repaired and meets a colleague who has a new film idea, however, nothing at all follows from these events.

There is a particularly funny, and unsexy, love scene and a few other laugh-out-loud moments in the movie. However, much of the humour missed the mark for me (including the fart jokes). Montages interrupt the movie: Samuel fighting in no man’s land, Samuel’s conversations with an imaginery Leonardi Da Vinci and Samuel the caveman. However, each seem out of place, ridiculous and completely unfunny. Although the scenes with Leonardo give some insight into Samuel’s character, they are bizarre to the point of distraction.

The movie ends sweetly but predictably. Most critically, the ending bears almost no relationship to the 90 or so minutes that preceeded it. The words, unfortunately, which should end the title to this review are “doesn’t mean that its good”.

One Man’s Rating (out of 5):

Sushi me

REVIEW: SUSHI FUSION

OP and I have spent so many Saturdays at this place over the last few months, that I thought it was only fair that I share it with you all. We had tried a number of sushi trains in the Sydney CBD area, and eastern suburbs, but none really come close to Sushi Fusion in Randwick.

On Belmore Road, it is small enough so that you are close to the sushi-making action, but not so small that your dining neighbour is uncomfortably close. The staff are friendly despite being sometimes a little run off their feet with the lunch time trade. And the decor, although not particularly striking, feels clean and polished.

The food is what has brought us back week after week. The actual sushi menu is not particularly special – the ubiquitous selection of sushi. However, the fish is fresh and each little piece of sushi is made with care. Highlights for me are the crumbed calamari rolls with tartare sauce, raw tuna rolls coated in tempura flakes and the dainty raw salmon sushi.

For me, what set Sushi Fusion apart from a lot of other sushi places are its handrolls. You can choose between raw or cooked salmon and tuna, teriyaki chicken, scallops or prawn. Add cucumber or avocado as an extra filling, then select a sauce (mayonaisse, spicy mayo or teriayki). Your selection is rolled in rice and a crispy seaweed skin. It would be fair to say that OP and I visit Sushi Fusion more for its handrolls, than its actual sushi.

I have eaten at a number of sushi trains which would be more aptly described as sushi train wrecks. It is a relief and comfort to be able to sit down at Sushi Fusion and know that your meal will fall to chance.

Details:

The Place: Sushi Fusion

Where: 7 Belmore Road, Randwick

Food: Sushi

Tip: Try a handroll, or, if you feel like something warm, the udon soup.

Butcher’s Bill: About $32 for a quick lunch for two.

Who should go: Fans of Japanese food looking for a good sushi-train experience.

Where did summer go?

What happened to my summer?

And I am not just talking about the weather in Sydney these past 3 months (see SMH article here), the days of cricket spoiled by the rain, the lack of bushfires (that’s a good thing) and so many weekends spent indoors.

My summer has disappeared in a mountain of work and indistinguishable hours spent in the air-conditioned cocoon this is my office.

So not only have I spent less time dining out and in the kitchen, but I have also lacked the energy to update this window to the world.

I promise, however, to get cracking the next few days with:

• a meatball recipe that OP and I have crafted
• a review of our new favourite sushi place, a couple of very pedestrian Italian dinners and a surprising Sri Lankan feast
• our Australia Day holiday spent at the pub
• details of a romantic event that should be in the diary of every men trying to impress their girl (or guy) each summer.