RKS 2024 Wine: Valpolicella Rarely a Stinker

Approachable, friendly and easy drinking are the monikers of Valpolicella. Monikers of course are made to be broken, ignored or tampered with.

45% Corvina. 30% Corvione. 20% Rondinella. Aged 12-18 months in large oak barrels.

We take this statement to the test with a 2021 Sartori Valpolicella.

Aroma: Blackberry, black cherry, plum, raspberry and milk chocolate. Oaked to perfection.

Palate: Certainly not a purring pussycat. The wine has substance and oomph. A real mouthful or should I say mouthfeel. Or perhaps muscular. No shortage of silly terms in the wine writing world. The wine speaks more of a beautiful texture with fruit hidden but not obfuscated. Blackberry and black cherry with cherry Jello dancing on the edges.

Personality: I am a serious Valpolicella. Approach with respect as I am not that easy and friendly drinking and gabbing without noticing my power is a bit offensive to me. Not to be bossy but I demand you consume me with food.

Food Match: Before fresh field tomatoes disappear Chicken Cacciatore.

Cellarbility: Drinking window expires at 2026-year end.

Price: $17 CDN.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 92/100.

(Sartori 2021 Le Corti Radole Valpolicella, Valpolicella, Casa Sartori, Negrar di Valpolicella, Italy, 13%, 750 mL).

RKS 2024 Film: “Compulsus”: Angry Lesbian Serial Attacker and the Bi with an Almost “Fatal Attraction”

Wally (Lesley Smith) is inundated with stories from queer and straight friends of abuse of women by men that goes unpunished. Wally is a part time poet and full-time furniture manual writer. Her rage swells to the point it is time to attack men to achieve “poetic justice”. She is officially an angry lesbian.

And attack she does in a rampage bashing, staple gunning, bowling ball attacks and good old smacking in the face and head. There is no apparent reason for her misandry except perhaps for that date drug rape and threat to post pictures of her naked body on social media.

Early in the film she meets Lou (Kathleen Dorian) the bisexual woman who initially is Wally wary due to the quiet rage in her poetry. But the allure of the flesh momentarily stifles Lou’s instincts and in “Fatal Attraction” manner it is romping in the sack with Lou. But for a moment the romp augments transforming Lou into an accomplice.

The extent of Wally rage swells to gun toting thrilling Lou becoming turned on by the violence for a time. Wally’s friends and the female community laud the bad man bashing. In fact, Wally remarks there are recruits lining up to join her crusade. As her physical violence increases her poetry becomes increasingly aggressive seething with rage.

Lou breaks with Wally and the latter’s violence turns supreme. Wally as a nonfatal “Dexter”?

At one point, particularly with the ending of the film, one must seriously question if her coterie of friends condone the violence. And her victims are selected based on hearsay and not judicially established fact.

“Compulsus” is innovative, compelling, thought provoking and largely offensive and repugnant. Rest assured Wally World is a dark and dangerous place you really must visit. Smith and Dorian make your trip worth it.

 This Canadian film is directed and written by Tara Thorne.

Theatrical release in Canada will be 11October2024. RKS 2024 Film Rating 92/100.

RKS Literature: The Suffering and Mercy of War (Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn)

“The war was merciful to men, it took them away. The women it left to suffer to the end of their days.”

Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, “Cancer Ward”, 1968.

RKS Literature: Growing Dull with The Passing Years (Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn)

“It’s simply that we grow dull with the passing years. We grow tired. We lose all true talent for grief or faithfulness. We surrender to time. Yet every day we swallow food and lick our fingers-in this respect we are unyielding. If we are not fed for two days we go out of our mind, we start climbing up the wall.”

Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, “Cancer Ward”, 1968.

RKS 2024 Wine: Burly Barossa?

Think Aussie Red Barossa think burly? Full bodied but not overly aggressive? Crowd friendly? Too much alcohol?  Destination wine lake?

Looking for a dainty red from Barossa? Are you hallucinating? Or are we here in Canada suffering with liquor monopoly purchases that are safe from a profit perspective. Is there more than “easy Barossa”? I suppose the only way for me to fully agree or disagree is to visit Barossa but unlike the Italians media trips there are rare or perhaps my unpopularity has denied me entry? Perhaps one day I’ll tell you the demonstration awaiting me at OPO after a negative Port review!

What about a Barossa Shiraz from Escapade Vineyards? It has been sourced from various growers in Barossa so as a blend does it entirely speak to the essence of Barossa?

Aroma: Heady and forceful but it is not clumsy. Yes Aussie footballers at 320 pounds may have a certain grace! Black plum, cassis, blackberry jam and some dark chocolate.

Palate: Surprisingly restrained tannins making this Shiraz almost “full bodied” smooth. Prune, blueberry and black cherry with acids well integrated. Moderately long finish. Discrete oak indeed.

Personality: This Canadian reviewer from Toronto must frequently deal with weakling Ontario Syrah. Ontario Shiraz from an Australian viewpoint is so weak kneed it would be laughed out of the Barossa.

Food Match: Steak Florentine. Ground lamb Sloppy Joes. South African Bobotie.

Cellarbility: Marginal improvement through to 2026-year end.

Price: $18 CDN.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 89/100. Wine Align 87.

(Escapade Vineyards Barossa Valley 2021 Shiraz, Shanahan Wines, Green Rock, South Australia, 750 mL, 14%).

RKS 2024 Film: “Take Cover”: The Dangers of Retirement

I recently watched an episode of “The Sopranos” where a lower-level member of “the family” inherited two million dollars and wanted to retire to Florida with his wife and young children. You can’t retire from the Mafia. And the British film “Take Cover” starts with Sam Lorde (Scott Adkins) as a sniper for the “Company” eliminating his mark but also wounding the mark’s girlfriend for which he begins to suffer from guilt mixed with burn out. He advises his Company handler Tamara (Alice Eve) he wishes to retire.

His decision leads to deadly complications. His retirement wishes expressed to Tamara are indicative to Tamara of empathetic weakness and unreliability for the Company. Lorde is set up for a very special type of retirement, death by sniper. With his spotter partner Ken (Jack Parr) they head off on Lorde’s last assignment where they are pinned down in a luxurious hotel penthouse suite by Lorde and Ken’s sniper and spotter successors. Joined by two prostitutes they are sitting ducks.

There is interesting chatter amongst the ladies, Ken and Lorde particularly about Lorde’s role as a sniper and why he is disillusioned and burnt out.

Then the intense action begins and bodies fall here and there amidst escalating tension set in an ocean of betrayal. Tamara with a silky and smooth Brit voice once supportive of Ken and Lorde morphs the supportive and replaces it with Arctic brutality.

Against all odds poetic justice is partially realized. Such treachery.

Tightly choregraphed fight scenes and lots of bullets whizzing here and there. Exciting.

Lorde and Ken make an excellent squabbling pair with their acting ability. Supporting actress Mona Bellaria Ion as Mona is a character with insight and delivers a compelling performance. Aside from a weak death scene of one of the good guys flawless acting. And what constitutes the “good guys” is the intellectual component of the film.

Directed by Nick McKinless.

In theatres and On Demand commencing 4October2024.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 84/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “Space Cowboy”: Art in the Big Fall! Awesome! Spectacular! Addictive!

“Space Cowboy” is the perfect title for this American documentary. Joe Jennings is a cowboy of the air as a high-altitude camera flyer where air represents the Oregon Trail. His camera has caught sky diving stunts and sky surfing competitions. Sky surfing is an extreme sport were a parachutist jumps out of a plane on a sky board performing a routine somewhat akin to a figure skater, ballerina, snowboarder and breakdancer. A camera flyer is part of the team. Both the surfer and camera flyer are high performance athletes.

And it can be very dangerous for both the surfer and the camera flyer. Yes, there is the illusion of peacefully floating in the air but it is a descent at high speed and one wrong move may be death. The camera flyer must carefully move around the sky surfer and do flips and twists to capture the sky surfer. The camera flyer is no passive participant in sky surfing.

Jennings began by filming first time jumpers moving to being a flying cameraman for sky surfers. In a sky surfer competition a surfer requires a flying cameraman to participate. Jennings then moved to filming stunts for films and making innovative commercials. Jennings’ good friend Rob Harris died in Vernon, British Columbia filming a James Bond stunt when his complicated equipment malfunctioned. Another French sky surfer Jennings had worked with also died in Hawaii.

In “Space Cowboy” Jennings works on a project to drop a car from an airplane with chuted passengers in it. The first attempt failed despite modifications to the car to keep it stable in the fall. It spun wildly and dangerously. Further modifications were made to the car and the film concludes with incredible cinematography that is stunning, mesmerizing and addictive. Addictive in that is so beautifully captured you are compelled to watch it again and perhaps again!

Although the cinematography is the star in “Space Cowboy” we learn about Jennings in his own voice and those of friends and family. Battling depression after the deaths of his two friends he struggled to jump again. Sky falling is the main subject of the film but Jennings free fall into depression is also recounted.

The co-directors are Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt.

Festival runs in October are Hamptons International Film Festival, Heartland International Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 93/100.

RKS Literature: Russians, Vodka and Strength (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

“Pasha, vodka can’t make it any worse, you’ve got to realize that. Vodka is a cure for all illnesses. I’ll drink some pure spirit before the operation, what do you think? Here, I’ve got it in a little bottle. Why spirit? Because it gets absorbed right away, it doesn’t leave any surplus water. When the surgeon turns out my stomach, there’ll be nothing there. Clean as a whistle! And I’ll be drunk! You fought at the front yourself, didn’t you? You know how it is: before an attack they give you vodka.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “Cancer Ward”, 1968.

RKS 2024 Wine: The Great Gamay Comeback in Ontario?

Was it a decade or so ago that Gamay in Ontario looked like the next oenological prince of the Ontario wine kingdom? Then it faded like Harry and Meaghan and then made a comeback like Camilla?

No discussions please on royalty who in Canada are seen as ready to meet the fate of Marie Antoinette by some and worshipped by others like the grannies, 6 six-year-old school children still relishing fair tales and subscribers to “Hello” the National Enquirer for the monarchy. How many craps did that Corgi have at Balmoral’s juniper bushes anyways?

We move from this delicate discussion to sample a Vineland Estates 2022 Gamay.

No oak treatment.

Aroma: Light smoky goodness of raspberry and Niagara cherry.

Palate: That lightness carries through on the palate. Not much tannic impression. Quite a connective match to the aroma as the influence is cherry and raspberry. Short and juicy finish.

Personality: I have no pretensions of sophistication and elegance. A decent lightweight but not a Manny Pacquiao.

Food Match: Grilled wild run salmon with maple syrup glaze. And yes turkey with cranberry sauce and not gravy.

Cellarbility: Consume by 2025-year end.

Movie Match: Most likely a rom com like the Greek “Listen to Who’s Talking”. My review of this film is here https://setthebarlifestyle.wordpress.com/2024/07/31/the-4th-annual-greek-international-film-festival-tour-canada-listen-to-whos-talking-yes-greeks-can-make-romcoms/

Price: $23.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 88/100.

(Vineland Estates Winery 2022 Gamay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Vineland Estates Winery, Vineland, Ontario, 11%, 750 mL.).

RKS Literature: The Never-Ending Imprisonment of Soviet Soldiers Who Fought in The Second World War: Seen as Spies! (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

“Only a prisoner in his first years of sentence believes, every time he is summoned from his cell and told to collect his belongings, that he is being called to freedom. To him every whisper of an amnesty sounds like the trumpets of archangels. But they call him out of his cell, read him some loathsome documents and shove him into another cell on the floor below, even darker than the previous one but with the same stale used-up air. The amnesty is always postponed-from the anniversary of victory to the anniversary of the Revolution to the Supreme Soviet session. Then it bursts like a bubble, or is applied to thieves, crooks and deserters instead of those who fought in the war and suffered.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “Cancer Ward”, 1968.