Bottle Shock
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Movie Reviews of Bottle Shock
Movie Review: Characters and Charm...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a sucker for interesting characters and based on true-story-underdog-feel-good films.
Bottle Shock is that. And more. A Brit, living and "teaching" in Paris, isn't quite in the inner circle of wine experts. Though he knows his juice, no one is even remotely interested in anything he might have to say. His neighboring shopkeeper is an American with big suggestions (Farina). Together they decide to host an international wine blind taste test. In 1976, in celebration of the American and French connection, they will test the rumor that California wines are actually deserving of the word wine on their labels.
Alan Rickman plays the misunderstood wine snob oh so well. Amusing in his dry delivery and his new passion for his discovery that not only should California be on the wine map, but that it might turn France into the little brother of wines.
A father/son vintner team (Pullman/Pine) struggle with money issues, relational garbage and the remnants of Woodstock while trying to make a few bottles of the perfect chardonnay in California. Another young man (Rodriguez), with wine in his blood and the soil of California in his soul, shoots for a red that makes men cry and women fall in love.
Surprisingly clean, this film contains a few intimate scenes that mostly play out off-screen and surprisingly few curse words. I remember one F-bomb and just a smattering of the standard movie fare regulars. There is a bong scene at a party and some drunk patrons in a couple of bar scenes. But most kids aren't going to be willing to sit through the movie's quieter moments. There are some truly amusing moments, beautiful scenery and poignant scenes. Poetry pops up unexpectedly both in photography and words. Several scenes are in French with English subtitles.
The movie is about the characters and contains some great acting and writing. Those who get bored with character pieces might want to pass. However, my taste runs toward "making toast" movies, as my daughter has dubbed it. Those are the movies where characters go about the normal activities of the day and grow and change through circumstances and character tweaking.
If this scenario appeals to you, I suggest you give it a shot. We rented it, but I would definitely consider adding it to my library.
Movie Review: Light delight
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd never heard of this film, which was offered on a recent flight overseas. Given the other movies offered, however, it looked appetizing enough, and I'm glad we tried it out.
Here, we meet again Alan Rickman (best-known for his role in the Harry Potter film series, as the snarling and sinister Snape). This time, however, he's Steven Spurrier, an amusing British dirty blond, the middle-aged proprietor of a failing Paris wine-tasting "academy," ahem, business. His exceedingly poor French pronunciation earns him a snub from even the sommelier at classiest City of Light annual vintners' event: He is nearly rejected at the door, and upon indignantly showing his ticket, is seated at the last table in the rear, by the swinging dining room door.
We also get another surprise performance from Dennis Farina, most famous for his hardened cop character in Law and Order. Here, as Maurice, Farina plays a gauche New York transplant to Paris, an acquaintance of Spurrier who proposes that the latter stir up business by hosting a wine tasting to pit French wines against the best that California has to offer. The thinking is that California will naturally lose, big time.
But everyone in France, at least, is astonished by the outcome. Along the way, viewers also witness fine character acting by California winery owner Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) and his post-Woodstock generation son, Bo (Chris Pine).
A thoroughly enjoyable romp through a 1976 true-life story---or a story at least based on true life. American ingenuity wins, again.
Movie Review: For the Love of the Vine
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit when I think of Alan Rickman I think of a bad guy. I see that arch villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard. I see the rotten Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Sometimes I see Snape, of Harry Potter fame where he plays sort of a good guy in bad guy clothing.
What I don't see when I think of Alan Rickman, at least I didn't see, is the fine comedic actor he is. Now I have to go out and rent everything he's been in, because he was great in this movie. Usually I don't like movies based on true stories, usually (in my opinion) they aren't very entertaining and when Vesta and I sit down in our recliners with a bottle of California Cab between us to watch a movie, we want to be entertained.
Being pseudo wineassholes and knowing the story--because we are what we are and were following it when it happened and because we lived in Paris for a year--we were predisposed to like this movie. And we did. Alan Rickman is nothing short of outstanding as a British wine merchant struggling to survive in Paris.
It's a love story too, a romantic comedy with a feel good ending and who doesn't love those kind of movies, but this one, well Rickman steals the show. And you know, good guy that he is here, you can still see a bit of Gruber in him, Gurber with humor, tempered by the fruit of the vine. Yeah, Rickman may be just about the best villain to come down the pike, but that's not all he can be. He proves it here. He steals the show. This is his movie.
Movie Review: Just back from Sonoma wine country!
Summary: 5 Stars
Watched this movie on Netflix several months ago. Loved it! Doobies songs, acting, cinematography, wine, story line. Don't know how I originally heard about it but I liked it much better than Sideways. We spent 3 days in Sonoma over the weekend and well, had to come home and buy the movie! Funny but it was filmed in Sonoma County, not Napa, but who cares--beautiful country. Winery scenes filmed at "Kunde Winery" (we tasted there), French store scenes filmed at "Della Santino" (we ate there), and found out that Chat. Montelena was in Napa which we didn't have time to go to. I love things French, Alan Rickman, Dennis Farina, Bill Pullman and they are very fine. While at one winery I mentioned I loved the Doobies' songs on the soundtrack and the pourer said "BR Cohn" winery was started by the manager of the Doobies so had to go there as well--bought a case of Doobie Red wine and two of their CD's to listen to in the limo. Now I'm ordering the DVD so I will have it in my library to watch whenever I like! (By the way, the Jack London Saloon in Glen Ellen is where the bar room scene was filmed but we didn't make it there either. Too much wine, too little time, c'est damage!). Love this movie! A big 5 Stars!Movie Review: Saw it in the theatre and couldn't resist getting the dvd.
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw Bottleshock in the theatre when it came out. I went with a bunch of home winemakers in Northern California who had more than a passing interest in the story. I actually liked the movie more than they did. Most of them responded after the viewing that they thought the filmmakers must have taken a lot of license with the story because it just didn't seem realistic to them. Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I bought the dvd and listened to the commentary and watched the interviews of the real individuals involved that the story was NOT altered appreciably from what really happened. Other than the setting of the taste test near the end of the movie (which was actually done indoors in Paris - not outdoors in the countryside) most of the events portrayed in the movie really did happen - and they make for a very entertaining film, as well as teaching a little history of the California wine business. If you have any interest in wine making - or wine drinking - this is an excellent movie that I'm sure you'll both enjoy and learn something from. I know I did.