Saturday night we repeated last month's winning date-night combination of an early movie and then tapas. This time we saw "Inside Man," which was terrific. My only complaint was Denzel Washington's cheesy little pencil-thin mustache, which almost ruined his dazzling good looks for me. Almost. In case we weren't in fact the last people on the planet to see this, here's the plot summary: Denzel plays a cop who is trying to negotiate with a robber (Clive Owen) holding hostages in a Manhattan bank. It has a very clever plot and a really suspenseful pace. Clive Owen is terrific. Christopher Plummer turns in his usual great performance, and Jodie Foster has a smallish part, too, although I've found her to be nothing but a disappointment in her last few movies. In fact, I can't think of a decent movie she's made since "The Silence of the Lamb," which was something like 15 years ago. And it's a shame, because I like her. All in all, this was a really entertaining movie—although I was surprised to learn it was directed by Spike Lee, because the only hint you have of that is the constant references to the multiethnic makeup of New York, and of course the racism. But Andy pointed out that Lee only directed it—he didn't write it—which explains why it didn't feel like the usual Spike Lee joint.
Afterward we headed over to Taberna de Haro, which I'd been dying to try for a long time now. It's a tiny little place with a very authentic feel. We had a few too many tapas and a few too many glasses of wine, all very enjoyable. None of the tapas knocked our socks off, although they were all good enough that we'd certainly go back.
What, you didn't like Jodie in Contact (1997)?
Posted by: scott | May 08, 2006 at 11:21 AM
I loved Contact EXCEPT for her. Her "acting" was almost an embarrassment in that movie! What a great story, though.
Posted by: Karen | May 08, 2006 at 11:34 AM