Waltz With Chica

I've been in a rut lately. I will admit this to anyone within earshot. Loudly.

My writing has taken a backseat and my ambitions for world domination are on indefinite hold.

So what to do?

Take in a movie about the 1982 war in Lebanon, that's what you do.

First let me explain that Waltz with Bashir is an amazing film. It is an Israeli animated sorta-documentary, kinda-memoir, animated film that is their 2009 Oscar nomination for best foreign film. It was made by Ari Folman, and he is the central character. The plot follows his attempts to remember the war and the eventaul massacres at the Sabra and Shatila settlements.

The animation style reminds me of theold Jonny Quest cartoons from the 70s. It is thickly outlined and stiff. It works in this setting and someof theimages, especially of the war, arebeautiful and unsettling. At othertimes the style holds everything back and themovie has this dead rotoscope look to it. The faces are the main problem. They emote little, though at times the eyes of Ari seem to be weirdly lifelike.

Go see it though...it's hard hitting and the type of social examination that we rarely see on the big screen.

After the movie, which put me in a decidedly down mood, we headed from the Sunshine theater to Boca Chica on the corner of 1st and 1st.

The restaurant is painted purpleand green. Despite this Incredible Hulk color scheme the restaurant is adorable once inside. They have small diner-style tables andsturdy wooden seats. The staff is small but fast. We got our food in about 15 minutes.

I had achicken sandwich which I didn't note the spices or sauce of to my discredit, but it was amazing. It came with fried yuca and a light salad which had a lot of cilantro in it but was very refreshing.

I find myself immediately planning my next trip to the area despite it being in one of the most inconvinient areas for me to reach from my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Two people can safely eat for under $50. We spent $35 but didn't have any alcohol with our dinner.