Inspired by his souffles at Gordon Ramsey London West Hollywood restaurant in Los Angeles, a bevy of souffles while cruising the Mexican Riveria over Christmas and New Years, and souffles at Blee’s last Saturday, G and I opted to make souffles for dessert last Sunday night.

More on the adventures in Los Angeles and Mexico shortly, but first on to more, more movies.

Strictly Ballroom
Long before there was So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing With the Stars there was Baz Luhrmann’s first movie, the 1992 Strictly Ballroom. Paul Mercurio stars as Scott Hastings, the ballroom dancing son of a ballroom couple who has to face up to his parents pressure to win the Australian Pan Pacific Championship dancing title, even though all he wants to do is introduce new steps to the stodgy contest. When his partner deserts him tired of his shenanigans, Scott takes up with the dance studio wannabie Fran (played by Tara Morice) and two begin a timid romance amid the practicing. Its interesting to see this movie all these years on as even back then, you can see Luhrmann’s unique style and his wonderful joive de vivre for life and love. Strictly Ballroom is a feel good movie, more fun and fabulous then its predecessor Dirty Dancing, with dancing from start to finish and quirky, adorable characters. For the sheer frivolity of it all, and seeing character Tina Sparkle do her stuff, my rating 8 out of 10.

The Changeling
Director Clint Eastwood scores again with this story, inspired by actual events, of a mother in 1920s Los Angeles who is reunited with her kidnapped son, Walter, only to discover the boy is not hers, and that the LAPD is actually more concerned with its image than with truth. Angelina Jolie stars as Walter’s mom, Christine, and does a fine job both persevering through the ordeal and showing us how surreal things can become when a grounded paranoia is revealed as truth. John Malkovich (as Rev. Gustav Briegleb) and Canadian Colm Feore (as LAPD Chief James Davis) round out a great acting team. There is dreadful horror in the film as we discover what has actually happened to Walter and several other boys and Eastwood does an outstanding job of showing us a city close and cramped and riddled by institutionalised corruption. The Changeling works as the crime-drama it is, but more so as the psychological horror treatise – alla Henry James – that lurks beneath its surface. My rating 8 out of 10.
 

The Wrestler
Director Darren Aronofsky’s latest opus is the – overly long – story of wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke). The film catches up with Randy in his decline, where, felled by a heart attack, he comes to realise what he sacrificed during his glory days in the ring. Forced into working as a supermarket deli clerk and trying to relive his glory days performing for diehard fans in small communities in New Jersey, Randy tries to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, Stephanie (played by Evan Rachel Wood) and commit to a relationship with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), an exotic dancer. In the end however, old habits die hard and we see a man whose pride trumps all else. The Wrestler is a good movie, supremely anchored by Rourke’s return to screen in fabulous form. While Aronofsky’s direction gives us a film more Ulysses in length and detail than necessary, watching Randy succumb to his pride makes it worth the ride. My rating 7 out of 10.

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