Cleopatra Restaurant

Located at 1310 Westover Terrace in Greensboro, Cleopatra offers Egyptian and Middle Eastern cuisine. The restaurant is open seven days a week, starting at 11 a.m. Tea flavors and other specials rotate daily.

Those who venture to Cleopatra in search of exotic Egyptian dishes may find themselves disappointed. Despite the name, the restaurant’s menu is fairly generically Middle Eastern: baba ghanoush, shawarma, and kebabs all feature prominently. But for as predictable as the food is, it’s also done quite well. A lamb and beef shawarma was tender and expertly seasoned, and tomato-onion rice (they offer a choice between two types of rice or home fries) complimented it perfectly. The accompanying grilled vegetables and the freshly made bread were both dry, however. In all fairness, this probably could have been remedied had I thought to order an app or side for dipping purposes.

Cleopatra does not occupy a large space, but the décor is bright and inviting. Red and blue tapestries adorn the walls while Middle Eastern music plays unobtrusively in the background. All of the staff are friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable, and solicitous almost to excess. That might change during a lunch rush (I went for Friday dinner), but you definitely get the sense that they are eager to see that you enjoy your meal.

Cleopatra is not cheap, but for the amount of food you get, it represents a good value. Entrees run between $12 and $20 for dinner (and between $10 and $12 for lunch) and include bread, vegetables/salad, and rice/fries. In the event that they don’t fill you up, apps can be had for under $4, falafel goes for $7, and desserts are $5 apiece.

There are more innovative and tastier restaurants in Greensboro, but Cleopatra offers a tough-to-beat combination of well-prepared food, attentive service, and pleasant ambience.

8.25/10 

Midnight in Paris

Idealistic Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) feels disrespected by his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), her conservative parents, and her pretentious friends. After getting drunk and wandering around the streets of Paris, Gil accepts a ride from strangers and ends up teleported to the 1920s where he interacts with F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemmingway (Corey Stoll), and other members of the Lost Generation. Pender eventually falls for Adriana (Marion Cotillard), the mistress of Pablo Picasso, and must choose between life in the past and life in the present.

Midnight in Paris is a difficult movie to hate, but it’s also a difficult movie to fully embrace. Woody Allen’s ode to the 1920s oozes nostalgic charm; however, the sentimentality is often kept in check by doses of his trademark humor. Inez’s pompous friend Paul (Michael Sheen) is memorably shown up by a museum guide (played by current French First Lady Carla Bruni), Hemmingway spits out lines about truth and courage with J. Jonah Jameson-like cadence, and a group of self-important surrealists led by Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) finds nothing out of the ordinary about Pender’s situation. The cast, which also boasts Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, is clearly having fun, and for the most part, the historical roles are faultlessly performed.

In addition, Midnight in Paris boasts top-notch production values. The cinematography features warm, red tones that enhance the 1920s scenes’ sense of romance. Period music is also used to good effect. Cole Porter appears both on the soundtrack and as a character on screen. Even the comparatively bland present-day scenes feature some flattering shots of contemporary Paris.

Unfortunately, all of this amounts to what is essentially heavy gloss on a ridiculous premise. The fact that Pender actually travels back through time and is not just hallucinating, drunk, or daydreaming throws the tone of the movie off-kilter. Such a concept would work in a screwball comedy, perhaps, but not in a movie which tries its damnedest to be earnest and whimsical. Also to the movie’s detriment is Allen’s insistence on the “it all works out in the end” conclusion. It made Whatever Works seem very pat, and it’s equally disappointing here.

Midnight in Paris offers a stunning snapshot of 1920s France and a chance to see famous names of years’ past come to life, but the sum is clearly less than the parts. As a film, it is lightweight and largely forgettable.

7.75/10

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

When a terrorist known as “Cobalt” schemes to start a nuclear war, veteran IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is sprung from a Russian prison to stop him. A trip to the Kremlin to unearth Cobalt’s identity goes disastrously wrong, and Ethan’s team is framed for a terrorist attack and disavowed. Now, it is up to him, agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton), technician Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and mysterious analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to stop Cobalt (Michael Nyqvist) before it is too late.

If there is one defining feature to the Mission: Impossible films, it is that you get something different every time. All four films have had different directors, and each one has left a different imprint on the series. This one is helmed by Incredibles director Brad Bird (in his live-action debut), and he takes a back-to-basics approach. Because Ethan’s team is cut off from funding/support, you won’t see nearly as much technological wizardry and heavy firepower as previous films, though a fair amount of gadgetry is still on display. Pair this with some breathtaking visuals – we are treated to a bird’s eye view of the 2,700-ft tall Burj Khalifa tower – and a few clever nods to the original TV series, and Bird acquits himself quite well behind the camera.

Alas, not everything in the film works quite as well as the car chases and fisticuffs. The plot is a throwback in the worst way, simplistic and clichéd (nuclear war with Russia? Really? What decade is this?), Nyqvist’s Cobalt makes for a bland, dull villain (particularly compared to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s turn in the previous film), and Renner, ever the maverick, feels miscast as the reluctant, hyper-logical Brandt.

On the plus side, Patton plays a convincing second-in-command and imbues her character with vindictive edge. Pegg, as always, can be counted on for well-timed comic relief. And say what you want about Cruise as a person, but the controversial couch-jumper owns this role. Watch him run, jump, fight, drive, climb, adopt accents and disguises, and do all the other things that Ethan Hunt is known for, and you’ll instantly forget you’re looking at someone who is only 5’7” and rapidly approaching 50.

All in all, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is satisfyingly nostalgic entertainment, but the weak links and the contrived ending prevent it from being one of the best in the series.

7.5/10

Spring Garden Bar & Pizzeria and Fat Dogs Grille & Pub

vs.

I am always amused/perplexed when I encounter direct competitors situated across the street from one another. You see it with gas stations, with pharmacies, and on Spring Garden Street in Greensboro, you see it with bars. SpringGarden Bar & Pizzeria (2419 Spring Garden St.) and Fat Dogs Grille &Pub (2503 Spring Garden St.) are so close that you can practically double-jump from one parking lot to the next. And while both specialize in different things (pizza and Italian dishes for Spring Garden, hot dogs and wings for Fat Dogs), both offer a similar sandwich/salad/burger-based menu. But for all their superficial similarities, eating at either yields a markedly different experience.

Food

Spring Garden easily puts the lie to the notion that bar food is bad food. Dishes are homemade and utilize fresh ingredients, something that shows in the end result. Fried ravioli came piping hot slathered in a chunky, flavorful tomato sauce, and an herb-infused grilled chicken breast sandwich was juicy and well-seasoned. Even a side salad proved satisfactory. The pizza, which I have yet to try, is supposed to be even better, and my expectations for it are high.

Fat Dogs, on the other hand, disappointed tremendously. A cup of potato bacon soup (they were out of the “always available” chili) was both salty and bland while Cajun chicken tenders were overseasoned, substituting sheer spice for good flavor. In all fairness, I have yet to sample the signature dogs or wings, but my initial visit did little to inspire a return.

Décor and Ambience

Both Spring Garden and Fat Dogs stick to the requisite neighborhood bar accoutrements: glowing beer signs and multiple TVs on the walls. The addition of a large clock, a few well-placed lights, and some old-timey signs gave Spring Garden a touch more character. Fat Dogs offered better music, but the surroundings felt noticeably cheaper and lonelier.

Service

Don’t go into Spring Garden expecting to get food right away. Though wait times were not long, the two servers on duty were definitely kept busy. They were nevertheless still personable, knowledgeable about the menu, and attentive to refilling drinks.

Fat Dogs, on the other hand, offered bar service. I visited on a slow night, and food came out very quickly. The sole bartender seemed friendly enough.

Pricing

Both establishments are reasonably wallet-friendly though Fat Dogs offers a slight edge. Sandwiches with a choice of side run in the $7 to $8 range at Spring Garden and from $4 to $7 at Fat Dogs; burgers occupy a similar range. Both establishments offer discounts among their daily specials. Spring Garden does 1/2 off appetizers on Wednesdays, for example, while Fat Dogs takes $1 off a different category of food depending on the night. Given the number of appetizers that work as light meals, this may very well make up for Spring Garden’s higher base prices.

Overall, both Spring Garden and Fat Dogs offer cheap eats and a casual atmosphere. If you are looking to grab a quick bite to eat with friends or to watch a game, either one will do. But if you are going primarily for the food, Spring Garden alone is worth your while.

Spring Garden Bar & Pizzeria: 8/10

Fat Dogs Grille & Pub: 6.25/10

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

At the end of the 19^th century, a series of bombings puts France and Germany on the brink of war. Though the blame falls on anarchists, madly brilliant English detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) believes Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) is behind it all. Unfortunately, the meticulous Moriarty leaves no damning evidence, and so it is up to Holmes to uncover and foil his plot. He is assisted by his even more eccentric brother, Mycroft (Stephen Fry), a Gypsy fortuneteller caught in the crossfire (Noomi Rapace), and, reluctantly, his newly-married partner, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law).

Set after 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie’s follow-up keeps its predecessor’s suspense and humor but jettisons the complexity of the plot. Whether that is a net gain or a net loss will depend on your expectations. Personally, I found that while the 2009 outing aimed too high, A Game of Shadows aims too low. Moriarty’s machinations are fairly transparent, and the bits of mystery regarding the identity of the assassin feel shoehorned in.

Fortunately, plotting issues do not detract from the film’s brisk pace and overall sense of fun. There are assassins at seemingly every turn, and Holmes’ calculating martial arts mastery is utilized again to good effect. On the other hand, the use of new-for-the-time weaponry such as machine pistols and Ritchie’s affinity for Max Payne-style bullet time sequences do not sync well with the film’s otherwise Victorian character.

Downey again anchors this film, portraying Holmes as a highly talented madman. He nails both the accent and the idiosyncrasies and performs with gusto. Law’s Watson is decidedly less stiff this time around, though he’s still very much the yin (marksmanship, medical skills, reason) to Holmes’ yang (deductive ability, esoteric knowledge, insanity). Of the new additions to the cast, Fry fares best here. His Mycroft is essentially an older Sherlock turned up to 11, a dry-witted loon who somehow commands the respect of the English government. Harris gives Moriarty a ruthless edge, but one cannot help but feel that he is wrong for the part. Anthony Hopkins or even the rumored Brad Pitt would have been a more interesting choice. And while Rapace gets to do plenty of running around, her dialogue, screen time, and overall contributions are minimal for such a supposedly important character. The erstwhile Lisbeth Salander deserves a better showcase for abilities.

A Game of Shadows draws heavily from Arthur Conan Doyle’s "The Final Problem" and incorporates some breathtaking shots of Switzerland’s iconic Reichenbach Falls. While that might make the ending seem like a forgone conclusion, viewers will do well to remember that in the world of Sherlock Holmes, nothing is as it seems.

8/10

The Walkaway

In December 1979, retired Wichita police officer Gunther Fahnstiel accidently backs over a stranger with an RV. He finds a large cache of money alongside the body and decides to stow it away for safe keeping. Ten years later, 77-year-old Gunther breaks out of his nursing home in an effort to find his hidden money. He is pursued by his wife, his ex-bouncer stepson, a former police colleague, and a greedy, philandering real estate developer. As Gunther scans his memory to remember the hiding place, an incident from his police days in the early 1950s threatens to derail him.

Scott Phillips’ 2003 follow-up to The Ice Harvest retains much of the former’s dark humor and imbues it with a sense of the past. On the surface, the tonal shifts are hard to detect. After all, The Walkway, like its predecessor offers an unlikely protagonist to get behind (a senile ex-cop instead of a scheming drunk lawyer), gleefully bathes itself in sleaze (a prostitution ring here instead of a strip club), and tempers its James M. Cain like noir sensibilities with some good old fashioned Midwestern idiocy. However, whereas The Ice Harvest’s Charlie Arglist seems to live very much for the moment, Gunther is clearly a man with some demons.

In this sense, Gunther has quite a bit in common with the book’s antagonist, crooked 1950s G.I. Wayne Ogden. Just as Gunther is willing to do whatever it takes to recover his lost loot (and, one can assume, his dignity), Ogden is hell-bent on getting revenge on his estranged wife, even going as far as to slip back into town using the name of his commanding officer. That the two cause untold pain and suffering to those around them despite their seemingly opposite alignment reinforces one of the untold rules of noir: there are no heroes.

While The Walkaway has a lot going for it, its structure is a mess. Time movements (between 1952 and 1979) are frequent and follow no fixed pattern. There are also no fewer than half a dozen focal characters (on top of plenty of supporting players – the names pile up), and sometimes, the perspective will shift within a chapter. This disorientation makes sense from Gunther’s point of view (he is battling senility, after all), but for a reader, it’s pure frustration.

Phillips also has a penchant for downer endings. While this too can be taken as a hallmark of the noir genre, the sense of futility in those final pages can really make you feel cheated. Then again, if The Ice Harvest didn’t end this way, The Walkaway would probably have no reason for being (and would, at the very least, have a different title).

All told, Phillips tells an interesting tale, but his work is still too slight and, in terms of structure, too sloppy to leave us craving more.

7.25/10

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Disgraced investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is hired by aging Swedish industrial magnate Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to discover which of his despicable relatives murdered his beloved niece Harriet 40 years ago. As Blomkvist’s investigation uncovers links to ritual murders, he is joined by Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), an expert computer hacker with a dark and troubled past.

For years, the words “American remake” were harbingers of a butchered adaptation of a foreign-language favorite. But as The Departed, Let Me In, and Insomnia have proven, Yankeefied versions of well-received films needn’t be substandard. The 2011 version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo certainly belongs in this grouping as well as both the cast, production values, and, above all, the director, make it worthy of, if not better than, both the original film and the source material.

In this case, the source material happens to be a wildly popular novel (reviewed here), the first in the late Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. For the 2009 film adaptation, director  Niels Arden Oplev excised much of the book’s informational clutter and coaxed a dynamite performance out of Noomi Rapace in the titular role. The bar, in other words, was set quite high.

Fortunately, this could not have fallen into the hands of a better-suited director. From Se7en to Zodiac, David Fincher has mastered the thriller like no other, and his expert command of tension is fully on display here. Though there isn’t much action per say until the film’s last hour, the sense of menace grows and grows as Blomkvist and Salander burrow closer to the truth. And knowing exactly how things will play out plotwise does nothing to dissipate it.

Fincher is aided in his delivery by some breathtaking visuals. Snow-covered northern Sweden is frigid and pristine, a perfect thematic foil for the sordid doings of its inhabitants. These sights are paired with some edgy sounds courtesy of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Their version of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” blares over the opening credits, and while it is likely to enrage Zeppelin purists, it is a good fit for the film’s dark sensibilities.

From a casting standpoint, the remake’s biggest hurdle was measuring up to Rapace’s strong performance. Several big names auditioned for Salander, but the role ultimately fell to the decidedly un-Swedish Mara, last seen as the indirect impetus for the creation of Facebook in Fincher’s The Social Network. But Mara, nearly unrecognizable here, thoroughly owns this role. It’s more than just the jet black hair, the surprisingly convincing accent, the pseudo-Goth attire; it’s the way she embodies Salander’s silent fury. Though not her equal, the usually arrogant Craig adapts well to playing a more reserved character, and Plummer makes the most of a rare sympathetic turn (though one has to wonder if Max Von Sydow was simply unavailable).

All of the ingredients of a great film are here, and yet The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo disappoints in one key regard. As original director Oplev put it, "Why would they remake something when they can just go see the original?" For as faithful an adaptation as the film is, a strong sense of purpose is missing here. That, the sheer brutality depicted onscreen (feminists and animal lovers will probably want to stay away), and the slackening of tension once the central mystery are resolved nibble at the film’s credibility, but they aren’t big enough bites to derail this Scandinavian-accented thrill ride.

8.25