Review: Highland Tap

When realtors are desperate to sell a house that is old, small and crowded, the listing will use words like warm, cozy, cottage, or bungalow. Well, the website for the Highland Tap describes the atmosphere in its dining room as “warm and clubby.” You do the math. The idea of eating a $26 NY Strip in a “clubby” atmosphere is not exactly appealing to me. Unfortunately, I went to the website ex post facto.

The dimly lit basement dining room and the speakeasy ambiance of the Highland Tap provide a romantic setting for those couples that tend to lurk in the shadows or sleep in coffins. While the dining room itself is smoke free, the bar area at the base of the main entrance is anything but. The secondhand smoke from the junior associates and middle managers sipping their martinis and sucking down their butts at the bar will find you. Even if you are hiding in the back corners of the Highland Tap, the nauseating cloud of cigarette smoke will track you down like the Smoke Monster from Lost.

During my first and last dining visit to the Highland Tap, I ordered the NY Strip, medium rare, with a side of asparagus glazed in hollandaise sauce. While the steak was cooked to my specifications, the meat was flavorless and dry, and trimmed in fat. The asparagus was tasty, but come on, it’s asparagus. All meals come with a small loaf of bread and butter and a side salad, both of which I did enjoy. However, I was quite disappointed with the steak.

The Highland Tap has received accolades in the past for being one of the best martini bars in Atlanta, but since I do not typically drink martinis, I cannot attest to this. What I can say, is that the bar was well stocked and had a decent selection of draft beers, including Sierra Nevada, a personal favorite.

The staff was very friendly and the Virginia-Highlands location is prime, but the bad steak and cellar like atmosphere left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a nice shirt caked in smoke. The food is not worth the price, but the bar and secretive dining room makes for a perfect rendezvous point for internet dates. Just don’t forget to tack on your dry-cleaning bill to your check total.

Highland Tap Steak Cellar
1026 N. Highland Ave.
ATL, GA 30306
(404) 875-3673
http://www.nnnwcorp.com/highlandtap.html

Movie Review: State of Play

I enjoy movies revolving around political cover-ups and murder as much as I hope 24 will one day become believable again.  The point is I like them...a lot.  I truly believe JFK was killed by some government coup and I think most of the press doesn't have a clue what really goes on in politics.  State of Play, having the all-star cast of Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels, had a lot of expectations to live up to with this story.  Was this going to be the next All the President's Men?  Was this the movie version of 24?  Would this movie single handily save America's newspapers?  The answer to all of those questions are a simple No, but the movie wasn't all bad, just not as great as I hoped or thought it would be.

While plenty will find this movie enjoyable (me included), I couldn't get past the fact that State of Play wasted a lot of great talent in a movie with a catchy story but an unoriginal ending.   The story quickly starts with the murder of a bum in a dark rainy alley somewhere in the District of Columbia.  Happens every day, right?  Not this way.  Seasoned newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey (Crowe) arrives on the scene the following morning and we soon learn that Cal knows his job and does it well.  Shortly after Cal investigates that corpse another body bag is ordered when it's discovered that Congressman Stephen Collins's (Affleck) staffer/sexual liaison Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer) has died on the Metro tracks.  Was it murder?  Was it suicide?  Okay, it's murder, since the trailers point that out.  But, more interestingly it turns out that Congressman Collins just happens to be the longtime friend of reporter McAffrey.  Is it possible for a reporter and politician to be friends?  State of Play proves that it's tenuous at best.  Immediately, Cal tries to help his buddy push back the attack dogs in the press, including blogger Della Frye (McAdams) and in doing so attempts to uncover what really happened with Sonia's death.  

While State of Play definitely packs plenty of suspense and plot twists keeping audience members on the edge of their seats, I just couldn't help but feel it missed its mark.  Was the movie trying to prove that newspapers are worth saving?  That all politicians lie and manipulate?  That bloggers aren't real reporters until they work under a "real" one (not that I am even implying I'm a reporter)?  I know this review has many questions, but it's how the movie left me.  While I enjoyed the acting overall, there were pieces of the movie that just didn't fit and left the story very unbalanced and awkward at times.   On one hand you had a cold blooded assassin (Michael Berresse) and on the other a very odd and funny but a completely misplaced character in Dominic Foy (Bateman).  Ultimately, maybe it was the ending that doomed the movie for me.  I truly wanted some very complex, deep rooted conclusion to the film, but I think I get used to the constant cover-ups, moles and corrupt officials in 24 to realize that just isn't reality...or is it?  While I felt State of Play had the right idea, and was mostly enjoyable, just don't go in expecting the best political thriller of the decade.  Sure the acting is good by most and the story is interesting, but the ending will let you down and will force you to realize the story was decent, at best.  So, for this decent but not great movie, I give State of Play a maybe-too-lofty Spork Rating of:

Rated PG-13

Runtime 127 min

Open nationwide 

Sunday at the Masters

Masters week has long been my favorite week of the year. With spring finally showing its beautiful face, the sun is shinning, the windows are open, and Masters coverage is on the tele 24/7. With the rain clouds clearing out, moving back in, and clearing out again, the office is abuzz with predictions, Tiger vs. The Field arguments, and Masters pools being filled out. People start talking about how much they love Shingo Katayama’s hats and how beautiful Jeev Milkha Singh’s swing is. Um, kidding.

Thanks in part to my strong sense of entitlement and the who’s who of the Robinson family connections, I was lucky enough to attend the final round of the 2009 Masters. The friend who attended the Sunday round with me has chosen to remain anonymous and will henceforth be referred to as “Bill.”

Here are some highlights from Sunday at the Masters.

WHERE WE SAT: 10th green. It was also a short walk to the 11th, 15th, 18th, and 8th tee boxes and the 14th and 17th greens (see below). After Tiger and Phil played the 10th, Bill and I moved our chairs behind the 18th tee box. Once Tiger and Phil left the course, we walked over to 16th green just in time to see Kenny Perry’s near ace and Angel Cabrera’s slippery 15-foot birdie putt.

UNSPOKEN RULE: Once you put your chair down, it will not be touched.

SPOKEN RULE: There is no running at Augusta National!!!!

SWEETEST HAIR: Tie. Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley.

BIZARRE MOMENT: With Tiger and Phil on the 17th green, some lunatic ducks under the ropes, dives into a bunker and starts doing snow angels. I am not lying. He was in there for 45 seconds before anyone had any idea what to do. He was then escorted to the Richmond County jail.

CHOKER OF THE DAY: Kenny Perry. He just needed to play 17 and 18 one over par.

TIP: Make sure you sit somewhere with a view of one of the scoreboards. The only downfall of attending the Masters is that you don’t get to see all the action going on around the course, like you would from your couch. Luckily for us, there was a giant scoreboard positioned on the left side of the 10th green so that we were able to keep up with what was going on with the leaders and we knew if anyone was making a Sunday charge. Whenever Bill and I heard a distant crowd cheer from across the course, we knew something big was happening, and a few seconds later it popped up on the scoreboard in front of us. Every time a new (lower) red number was posted next to Tiger or Phil, the crowd around us shrieked and cheered in pure ecstasy. It was pretty exciting to be a part of the action.

UNEXPECTED SURPRISE (for first timers): The food at the Masters is CHEAP. Bill and I each had a sandwich, chips, a snack, and a drink (with collector’s cups) for $10.50. Import beers were $3 with a collector’s cup. You might pay $2,500 for a Sunday ticket, but you won’t have to dip into your kid’s college fund for lunch.

A FEW THOUGHTS: Sergio is shorter than I expected. Rory Sabatini is a complete douche bag. I was 2 feet from Padraig Harrington. The two main differences between pros and amateurs are consistency and trajectory. Those guys hit the ball super high. There was no rough at the Masters this year. If I am luckily enough to go back another year, I am going to put my chair near the 13th green and spend a lot of time over at Amen Corner.

SPORKS: If Tiger or Phil had comeback to win, or if Kenny Perry had played the last two holes at +1, it would have been a 5 Spork day. Alas, my Sunday at the Masters gets...

Review: Southland (NBC)

I had no set plans to watch Southland when the pilot came on last Thursday night. I guess that's why I recorded it rather than viewing it when it aired. NBC has been having problems as of late getting anyone to watch their shows, so they have a lot riding on this new cop drama. With the recent complete failure of Kings (a great show, but sent to the graveyard of Saturday night to die a quiet death) and ER now long gone, NBC desperately needs a hit. Taking ER’s Thursday night time slot (well keeping it warm until Jay Leno returns in the fall at 10p.m. Monday through Friday), Southland debuted to a strong audience, winning the 18-49 year old audience for that time slot.

The show is set in current day crime-filled Los Angeles while it follows several LAPD officers, specifically Officer Ben Sherman, played by The O.C.’s Benjamin McKenze. Southland begins about 3/4ths of the way through the episode, showing the end of a bloody shootout in one of L.A.’s, let’s just say I’m not moving there, “rougher” neighborhoods. Ben is standing over a bullet-hole-filled-tattoo-covered body in complete shock as we learn it’s Ben’s first day on the job. Quickly the story jumps back to the beginning of the day when Ben is getting into the police cruiser for the first time as a cop with an extremely blunt and crude Officer John Cooper, played by Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers). While Cudlitz plays a stereotypical rough and tough officer, it doesn’t seem too forced or unbelievable. His portrayal of John Cooper is someone I would expect, someone I would want to be patrolling the not so yellow brick roads of L.A.

The story also revolves around several detectives played by Shawn Hatosy (Alpha Dog, Public Enemies) and Kevin Alejandro (Shark, Ugly Betty) who investigate a random drive-by shooting of a black teenager. Additionally Regina King (24, Jerry Maguire), playing Detective Lydia Adams and Tom Everett Scott (Race to Witch Mountain, Saved), playing Detective Russell Clark, try to determine what happened to a young girl who went missing from a local neighborhood. Southland follows these characters throughout their day, similar to an omnipresent documentary crew, with gritty and choppy camera work, which gives the viewer the feeling of being there with them. The writing touches race, drugs, violent crimes and socioeconomics all in one episode providing a feel similar to the movie Crash. The writing was also very colorful in parts, enough to make the censors bleep out some language. I’m not sure why they put the bad language in the show knowing it would get censored, whether they want an even grittier DVD, desire to give the network viewer a flavor for the characters without lodging an FCC fine or if NBC just really wants to be like its cable channel cousins, but its overprotective parent at GE said no. Who knows and I haven’t even determined whether I liked it or if it was distracting.

What I did like was that that Southland seemed more original and fresh, not being a typical Law and Order or CSI franchise where there is a crime and then we follow the cops and lawyers until someone is neatly put behind bars. Southland doesn’t package things up quite as nicely and focuses less on the clues to discovering who done it and more on the surrounding circumstances, characters and just every day life. The viewer is left not even sure whether the cops solving the crimes are good, but it provides some great, if not gruesome, scenes. I really enjoy television shows that are more like mini movies every week, rather than ones that are completely predictable (first two minutes there will be a crime, then the detectives comb through the clues, then a plot twist, then the arrest). I’m interested to see the direction of this show and how the characters and stories will develop and evolve over time, which is a good thing for NBC, since I will tune in again this week. I give Soutland a Spork Rating of:

NBC, Thursdays at 10p.m.

Note from the Editors

Okay, so we haven't been that good at updating our site the last week or so. We act like we have other jobs or something. But, between having a crazy week at work, people visiting from out of town and one of the Rs attending The Masters, we have been neglecting the R and R Review. But, don't fret, we have some new posts coming very soon including a first hand account of The Masters and a review of the new cop show Southland. Stay tuned.

Quote of the Day

"They make you take your shoes off and everything, it's terrible,"

Allen Stanford (accused of running a ponzi scheme and defrauding billions out of his customers) complained about the airport security that apparently came as a surprise to him when he was forced to fly on a commercial plane for the first time in almost two decades after the government seized his fleet of six private jets.

Movie Review: Adventureland

By Christopher J. Robinson and BA Roof

Compared to our last experience, last night’s screening of Adventureland was a bit more subdued. No dancers, no loud MCs, no blow-up guitar challenges, no previews. Just straight in to the feature. The theaters at Phipps Plaza are a bit smaller, but seemed the perfect size for the attending crowd and their smorgasbord of food court dinners (which for some reason the AMC staff allowed everyone to bring in). Given that the R and R were perfectly in tune with their thoughts on this movie, we have decided to present the world with our first ever combined review. Hold on to your seats and enjoy.

The tagline for Adventureland was “that it was the worst job that they imagined and the best time of their lives”. After viewing the movie, we can only conclude that both of those statements are somewhat incorrect. Superbad director Greg Mottola brings us the semi-autobiographical story of recent college graduate James Brennen, played by Jesse Eisenberg (Squid and the Whale) trying to earn some extra money during the summer of 1987. Eisenberg’s nervous and awkward delivery is reminiscent of Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Juno) and seems to be the new cliché method for off-beat comedy leads, yet he pulled off this bit about as well and funny as anyone. The movie opens with James’ parents informing him, at his graduation dinner no less that his dad was reassigned and they could no longer afford James traveling throughout Europe all summer. Because of the low funds, James is also forced to find a job to pay for grad school at Columbia in the fall. Eisenberg is fantastic playing overly intellectual James stumbling through job interviews and informing everybody of his literary skills and virginity. In the end, the only place that will hire such a special guy is the rundown summer amusement park Adventureland.

This movie was not at all what we expected from writer/director Mottola. Superbad was one of those constantly laughing crude comedies where there was always a great line or vomit coming out of a character’s mouth. In contrast, Adventureland often tries to explore the deeper and darker sides of these young adults and their struggles while interlacing some truly hilarious scenes. Such as James’ dream of attending Columbia being tossed away like customers' money on all the rigged games at Adventurland, or deeply depressed Em Lewin, played by Kristen Stewart (Into the Wild, Twilight), struggling with her mother’s death and father’s choice in a new bald bride. The balance between the characters’ real life struggles set against the comedy of life working at a rundown third world amusement park is well received. While in real life these amusement parks typically assemble a wide range of interesting (okay weird) characters, Mottola is able to present the typical stereotypes while simultaneously attaching a human element we can all relate to from some point in our lives. Or, maybe it’s because one of the R’s has college-break amusement park experience. Who knows?

Great performances were given by Eisenberg, Hader, and Wigg, but it was Kristin Stewart that outshined the rest of the cast. She gave a raw and pure performance while playing the role of diamond in the carnie rough perfectly. It was easy to become sympathetic towards Em, torn between physical attraction and nerd-love. While the movie was interesting to watch, there were some things we just could not ignore. It was impossible to wrap our minds around the idea that many of these characters were supposed college graduate aged. We kept imagining many of them in high school or in their earlier college years, mostly because of their immaturity and seemingly prepubescent bodies. This problem probably arose from some of the writing, but throughout the film we found ourselves uncomfortable with the fact that they were buying alcoholic beverages in bars and had to remind ourselves that they were over 21. Additionally, Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Definitely, Maybe) should not have been cast for his role as Mike Connell. He looked out of place as the mechanic-rock-star wannabe. Not sure if it was his looks, acting or the writing, but it didn’t quite work. He dressed too well and was too clean cut for working as the tilt-a-whirl mechanic. What did work, though, was how Mottola used Bill Hader (SNL, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Kristen Wiig (SNL) as Bobby and Paulette, the carnie managers. They were used sparingly in the movie, which made their antics and lines hilarious and memorable throughout.

Although the movie struggles at times between being a drama and a comedy, with some of the writing a little misplaced, we felt overall Adventureland delivered. We must warn our readers not to expect a Superbad 2 when going to watch this one. Adventureland has similarities more akin to a serious coming-of-age flick while using the comedy of a second rate amusement park as the setting. We believe these characters would agree that while the job had its downsides, who could not love having almost zero responsibilities during the summer, the opportunity to party most nights and get paid for it all (and one R in particular is not trying to justify his amusement park experience)? With Yo La Tengo providing the tunes and obscure literary references throughout, Adventureland should draw both the indie crowd and the Apatow-style comedy followers. All in all, the R and R Review recommends catching this flick but don’t be surprised if in the end you somewhat envy the lives of all these carnies. The R and R gives Adventureland a Spork Rating of:

Runtime 1 hr. 46 min.

Opens April 3, 2009

Rated R

Tweet, Tweet: A Twitter Review (Updated)

BA Roof:

On Monday night, Christopher J Robinson and I decided to try out something new, something all the kids are talking about. Twitter. He will be providing his own commentary on the experience, but I wanted to share my own.

First, let me back up and say when I heard about Twitter, I really didn’t understand the point. And now? I still don’t, although plenty of articles go on in lengths about how great it is for differing reasons. Now, before any of you Twitter fans start calling me a grandpa for not embracing new technology…I have to say I tried. I really wanted to be a Twitter fan. I love new technology and at times I am a snob about it. I like to claim that I was one of the first on Facebook, joining in 2004. I own a Macbook (I owned an Ibook, too), own two Ipods and an Iphone. I even blog now. But, even politicians are using Twitter now, so I thought, man I need to get in on this if John McCain is using it and I’m not.

So, Mr. Robinson and I thought it would be a great idea to tweet about the latest 24 episode on Monday night for our loyal readers. After all, we do review episodes of 24 every couple of weeks, so why not tweet about it while we are actually viewing it? He was Jack and I was Agent Moss and we were going to give our own rendition of what those two characters were actually thinking. It was brilliant, although we found out many others do the same thing. As we began, I immediately had writer’s block. All the funny witty things that I thought of beforehand had evaporated. I freaked out. I couldn’t even watch the show. I couldn’t think of what to write. I hated Twitter. It was stupid. I felt embarrassed for myself, like some father trying to hang with his kids. About two thirds of the way through, I quit figuring no one would even care what I wrote.

Maybe I shouldn’t give up on Twitter after just this one horrifying experience, but really who cares what I’m doing all day, except my usual stalker. I find it hard enough to sign on to Facebook to check out profiles, pictures, etc. and now I have to start linking up to my friends seeing what they ate and how they slept the night before? No, I’m out. I’m not doing Twitter. I recommend the same for you, as this will end the same way as all fads do. You will look back at pictures of you tweeting and images of slap bracelets and New Coke will emerge. Unless you are vain or terribly bored, I give Twitter a Spork Rating of:

Christopher J. Robinson:

Firstly, does BA Roof really need to rub our faces in the fact that he is rolling in the dough? Two laptops, two iPods, an iPhone… I’m surprised he didn’t mention his Boston Whaler or his time-share in Daytona Beach. Not a week goes by that I don’t hear him slip something about his rare coin collection into casual conversation. Some of us in the bourgeoisie only have ONE iPod and we stay in motels or sleep in our cars, not lavish time-shares. Rare coins to us are quarters, not colonial currency.

For obvious reasons, I have been very hesitant to go anywhere near Twitter. But then I found out that Shaq uses it. And Michael Showalter uses it. And Stewart Cink uses it. The list of random celebrities that use Twitter is endless. It’s fun to read Shaq’s tweets (and even more fun to say) and see pictures of Steve Nash sleeping on the bus. Michael Showalter’s tweets are funny. And Stewart Cink tweeted that he will be tweeting a lot during the Masters, which is pretty awesome. But do I care about the fact that Andy down the street is having trouble with his bowel movements or that Jill is being unproductive and sitting on the couch??? The answer is no. I don’t care, and no one else cares. We only care about the celebs, not the average Joe.

We also have the fact that stuff like Twitter is killing the internet as a venue for skilled writing. Bill Simmons puts it best: “In 15 years, writing went from "reflecting on what happened and putting together some coherent thoughts" to "reflecting on what happened as quickly as possible" to "reflecting on what's happening as it's happening" to "here are my half-baked thoughts about absolutely anything and I'm not even going to attempt to entertain you," or as I like to call it, Twitter/Facebook Syndrome.”

Of course, there are people out there that think Twitter can make you a better writer. It forces you to be concise, exercise vocabulary, yada yada yada. I completely disagree. Why is concise writing better writing? A more concise Dickens would have been better, yes, but the idea behind writing is to paint a picture with words. Writing in any form will help you exercise your vocabulary, and the more you write the more words you will need, and ultimately learn.

But what this all boils down to is that no one cares what you are doing every second of the day, unless you make it absurd and over the top. For instance, tweeting (so sick of this word, by the way) about bathroom phobias or live updates about striking out with women could possibly provide some comic relief. So while I don’t care to know that Ralph had a rough day at work and is feeling kind of crappy, I do find it funny that Vince has a corn on his foot the size of Portugal. See the difference?

Here is the R and R Review’s failed attempt at tweeting the thoughts of Jack Bauer and Agent Moss during this week’s episode of 24…. http://twitter.com/randrreview.

And if you have no idea what we are talking about, you can move to the UK and get a Master’s degree in Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.