A Byrd's Eye View-January 5, 2013

January 4, 2013

A Byrd’s Eye View N

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ABOUT MOVIES, TV, ARTS AND EVENTS IN THE VALLEY

Django Unchained Rewrites History Without Needing A Safety Net

by Art Byrd

A Quote By

A movie about slaves that opens on Christmas Day, only Quentin Tarantino could pull this off. He did it well with Django Unchained.

Django Unchained is not a history lesson. It is history, according to what Quentin Tarantino says it is. Are we interested in accuracy or entertainment?

In this movie, entertainment is what we get. There is the shock of the ever present use of the N-word which did give a degree of realism to the movie.

Sometimes too real.

Django Unchained has a lot of elements rolled into it like revenge, retribution and a love story set in a Western. A full-blown Western has not been done in a while.

Django Unchained is a story of a slave named Django, the D is silent played

by Jamie Foxx (Ray) who is sold and separated from his wife, Broomhilda played by Kerry Washington (TV’s Scandal). He is shackled together with other sold slaves traveling through heat and cold weather. They are accompanied by two brothers, the Specks. They come upon a man with a horse drawn carriage with the large tooth on top. This is Dr. King Schultz, a former dentist who is German played by Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Bastards). He asked the Speck brothers, “did they come from a certain plantation.” They say “yes.” Dr. Schultz tells him that he is looking for a slave who may have seen the Brittle Brothers. A faint voice from the slaves says he has seen the brothers.

“Can I just tell you that I am having the ride of my life right now? I wish I could take what I'm feeling right now and put it in the water system, and we would all love each other a whole lot more. “ Actor, musician, comedian and Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx, who currently starring in Django Unchained in theaters now.

January 4, 2013

Dr. Schultz tells Django that he is the one he's looking for. He offers the Speck Brothers cash to buy Django.

The brothers turned him down. In a quick moment, Dr. Schultz shoots one brother and then shoots the horse of the other brother. A strange deal for Django’s freedom is made.

Dr. Schultz and Django begin their quest. They start to find out about one another. Django learns Dr. Schultz is not a dentist anymore but a bounty hunter who tracks down criminals wanted by the government for a price.

Django tells Dr. Schultz about his relationship with Broomhilda and how he is looking for her. In a cool twist, Dr. Schultz tells the German story of Broomhilda, who has a man rescue her from a dreaded life as the story is paralleling real life for Django.

Both men come to a gentleman's agreement that Django will help Dr. Schultz track down bounties during the winter and then in the spring, he will help him find Broomhilda.

The movie has the feel of the 70s spaghetti Western especially the music. Django and Dr. Schultz have encounters with white folks that are very interesting especially the shock of people seeing a black man riding a horse.

The movie moves quick as the bounty hunters find the Brittle Brothers. Each dies in a different way at the gun and rifle of Django and Dr. Schultz.

The cast is outstanding with Don Johnson (Miami Vice) who was excellent as Spencer” Big Daddy” Bennett, a plantation owner, Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) as lawyer Leonide Moguy, but the casting jewel is Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candy, the plantation owner where Broomhilda is. Di Caprio displayed the needed arrogance for the role.

The movie’s most despised character was Stephen, the house slave, played by Samuel L Jackson (The Avengers). He is crafty and evil as he figures out that Django and Dr. Schultz plan to buy Broomhilda. His dastardly actions set off a chain reaction of violence.

All great movies have great moments in them. Django Unchained has a lot of them and one is very humorous. Big Daddy and his posse are wearing potato sacks with holes planning to kill Django and Dr. Schultz. But, they are having trouble seeing out of the hoods. The scene is very funny, yet ends up with the typical Tarantino cut down violence.

Django Unchained is a Tarantino fan’s brass ring as the movie has good dialogue, comedy, an amazing soundtrack, all-out violence and a good storyline. I know at least two people who have seen the movie and are going back to see it again.

Django Unchained made me feel uncomfortable because of the language, but, once I was a little past that, the movie settled into a very entertaining Western movie for me. Again, as he did with Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino rewrites history with a cinematic twist that works.

January 4, 2013

Primanti Serves Sandwiches with Pizzazz

By Monnie Ryan Editor’s note: To read the full version of this review, visit http:// mahoningvalleyeats.blogspot.com A few years back, we spent a day visiting with friends who live in a Pittsburgh suburb. Part of the fun included a tour of some of the city's sights, like Point State Park, the Duquesne Incline and the Strip District on 18th Street. The area also is home to the original Primanti Bros. restaurant, and we were delighted to have lunch at this notable eatery. Since then, our thoughts have returned there but we haven't.

Imagine our thrill, then, when our son-in-law told us he'd seen a Primanti Bros. restaurant next to the outlet mall at Grove City, Pa. Most of the 20 or so locations, including the one in Grove City, sport the same rust exterior with green trim. The walls are covered in Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia (Cleveland Browns fans that we are, we sucked it up, kept our mouths shut and didn't look up very often). The menu basically is casual food - lots of sandwiches plus pizza, wings and "really big" salads. There are a few Italian entrees as well - chicken spinach Alfredo and hot sausage al forno, for instance.

I couldn’t resist the Almost Famous Hot Chili Bowl, Pittsburgh style ($3.29). Add cheddar cheese and chopped onion for 49 cents each? Of course! Jack stuck with his favorite, Sicilian cheesesteak -- sliced beef mixed with mushrooms, onion and green pepper topped with mozarella cheese, lettuce, tomato and parmesan-horseradish mayonnaise ($7.99) He added a side of cole slaw to top off his meal.

Primanti restaurants are known for their huge all-inclusive sandwiches topped with slaw, fries, tomatoes and cheese – in Pittsburgh, I’d tried the corned beef and it was delicious. This time, I chose hot sausage and cheese ($6.29).

The chili was excellent, though it had a few too many beans to suit me. Even though it's not a large bowl, it's extremely filling; that and a small salad would be quite sufficient for me as a whole meal.

Jack wasn't too fond of the vinegar-based slaw (he prefers the kind made with mayo). They did not, however, skimp on the quantity – enough for a meal in and of itself. The sandwich he absolutely loved, especially the horseradish sauce.

I'm not a big fan of that slaw either, so I ended up taking much of it off. That, and removing a few fries to eat separately, meant I was able to get my mouth around the nearly 7-inch-high sandwich. It was quite good, although I probably will choose to double the meat next time (for $7.79). The sausage patty was great, but all that other stuff on top was so overwhelming that I hardly could taste it.

If you go: Primanti Bros. Restaurant & Bar Leesburg-Grove City Road (PA 208 at I-79) Grove City, PA 16127

January 4, 2013

The Good Lawyer: Too Good to Put Down 5 stars (out of 5)

By Monnie Ryan In the interests of full disclosure, I didn’t pay a cent for this gem of a book. Rather, I found it at Lendle.me, through which members can list ebooks they own for borrowing by other members. More important to me, though, are the emails that offer books from Amazon.com for free (usually for that day only); find one you want, go to Amazon, double-check that it's free, and download to read on your Kindle, PC or Mac or other Kindlecompatible device.

The Good Lawyer, for the record, is the No. 2 best Kindle legal thriller of 2012 and one of Amazon's top 50 best e-books of 2012 (before I download any book, I check it's pedigree; with such excellent ratings on this one, I figured I had little to lose).

The story begins with introduction of Nick Manino, a young, ambitious lawyer (who happens to be related to a top New York mobster) who's working at a Bronx legal aid office and catches a case in which three young boys claim sexual abuse by a school employee. The employee swears his innocence, and all his coworkers and friends swear it as well - even going so far as raising the funds for his bail.

Woven into the plot early on is the search for a serial rapist known as "Spiderman," Manino's very wealthy girlfriend who knows nothing of his mob connections, and a beautiful blonde who desperately tried to connect with Manino before being tossed over a high-rise balcony to her death. Not long thereafter, Spiderman is caught but insists he's innocent and passes a lie detector test. When he's murdered in prison, it leads Manino to even more seriously question his guilt.

I suppose saying, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave" is appropriate for a story that involves Spiderman, and the author - a practicing attorney on Long Island - weaves his plot so well that the book is nearly impossible to put down. In fact, once I reached the 54th chapter, I read nonstop until I came to the end several chapters later - it's just that good. Although you may not be able to get it free through Lendle anymore, the Kindle version sells for a very reasonable $2.99 - and I assure you I'd have been totally satisfied had I paid the $12.55 for the hardback.

Or to put it more simply, WOW! The Good Lawyer by Thomas Benigno; CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 1st edition (March 2012); 336 pp.

January 4, 2013

What’s Happening Around The Valley: Jan 6- Jan 10, 2013 Sunday, January 6 Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival The 52nd Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival takes at 1:30 p.m and again at 4:30 p.m. The festival at St. John Episcopal Church will feature a choir, brass, organ, bagpipers, drummers, and a cast of approximately 100 participants dressed in medieval costume. Tickets and more information are available at (330) 743-3175.

St. John is located at 323 Wick Avenue, Youngstown.

Resolution and Roundtable Mill Creek Metroparks will have the first walk of the new year. Participants meet at Birch Hill Cabin for the 1:30-2:30 p.m walk. Afterwards, Bill Whitehouse will have a potpourri discussion about nature and park related topics.

Evening of Spoken Word Evening of Spoken Word: “4 poets that matter” will feature Karen Schubert, Robert Miltner, Karen Kotrba and Molly Fuller from 7p.m to late at the Lemon Grove, downtown Youngstown.

Monday, January 7 Mad Hot Monday Ballroom Boogie Kuzman’s presents Mad Hot Monday Ballroom Boogie, a fun free night of ballroom, latin, swing and hustle. The dancing gets started at 6 p.m and last to 9 p.m.

Kuzman is at 1025 S. State St, Girard.

Thursday, January 10th Winter Concert Mill Creek MetroParks will present a Winter Concert featuring the Jim Frank Combo performing a variety of music, including Big Band, Waltzes and Polkas, at 7 p.m at the Yellow Creek Park Lodge at 79 South Bridge Street in Struthers. More information about this concert is available at (330) 755-7275.

January 4, 2013

On Stage Youngstown Playhouse: God of Carnage God of Carnage will start Friday, January 11th through Saturday, January 19th at The Youngstown Playhouse. The play is about two couples who meet to discuss a playground fight between two of their children. However, as the evening goes on, the parents become increasingly childish, resulting in the evening devolving into chaos.

Evening performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Call the Playhouse at 330-788-8739 for further information.

The play has received numerous awards such as a 2009 Tony Award The Playhouse is located at 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown.

New Castle Playhouse: Annual Stars of Tomorrow Show On Sunday, January 12th, New Castle Playhouse will have their 17th Annual Stars of Tomorrow Show. A

showcase of talent in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, featuring individuals, small groups, and the New Castle Playhouse Mini-Stars, in all types of performing art, including vocal, dance, instrumental, and comedy.

The show are at 2 and 7:30 p.m in the Augustine Auditorium.

Tickets and more information is available at (724) 654-3437.

NCP is at 202 East Long Avenue, New Castle. PA

Women/Men Benefit Rugby Tournament Happens On Saturday “Got Your Back” Winter 10’s Tournament is supporting a Youngstown Police Officer, Victor Gasior, who has cancer. The event happens on Saturday, January 5th. Donations will be accepted at the door. All proceeds from the tournament will go towards Officer Gasior and his family.

The tournament gets underway at 9 a.m at Watson & Tressel Training Site at 651 Elm St. on the campus of YSU. Womens teams will go until noon followed by the mens teams.

January 4, 2013

From Yo to Z: Favorite Things Around the Valley

by Art Byrd Favorite Place for Breakfast- Golden Dawn Restaurant Favorite BBQ Place- Guys BBQ. The ribs taste like you are at a rib burnoff.

Favorite Reading Spots- Barnes and Noble and Public LibraryBoardman.

All Around Relaxing Spot (reading, eating and socializing)- Mocha House Boardman.

Favorite Club- Toastmasters, Executive 408, Public Speaking Club.

Favorite Movie Theater- Austintown Cinema. I can talk about movies there. The staff actually go to the movies there. Holly, one of the managers is always smiling. Angela, a ticket person, gives me the heads up on the movies she likes and didn’t like. Usually, I agree with her after I see the movie.

Favorite Pizza- Belleria Pizza. It is the pizza I grew up on. The pizza tastes the same.

Favorite Take out- Antone’s Restaurant- Brushectta Chicken is the best.

Sometimes, I go on Sundays.

Favorite Saturday Thing- Palm Cafe- Getting Chicken and waiting around for lamb and pork. Just hanging out with friends, eating and talking. The waitresses at the Palm are the coolest. They always come to your table at the right time when you need something.

Favorite Ice Cream- Handel’s. Every favor you can think of.

Favorite place to learn something real quick- Youngstown Incubator.

Different programs on different subjects.

Favorite Place to See a Concert- Covelli Centre Store I lose track of time in- Buybacks, video and game store in Boardman and Niles. Half my DVD collection has come from the stores.

Craziest Youngstown Thing I have Done- From my childhood, a friend’s mom suggested that he and I just get on different WRTA busses and ride around the city and get to know it. We didn’t do it.

A few years ago, I did it. It was an amazing time and ride. Youngstown is a great city with tremendous history and heritage.

January 4, 2013

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Excerpts from A Byrd’s Eye View can be read in The Review, Newspaper, available throughout the Valley and online at http://www.thereviewnewspapers.com/

Movie reivews from A Byrd’s Eye View can be read in The Buckeye Review Newspaper, available throughout the Valley at various newstands.

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Art Byrd Jr. has won awards as a filmmaker and journalist. After working many years as a videographer and director for WFMJ TV News, he retired from broadcasting to share his experience and insight with students as an instructor at Youngstown State University. Art has written and produced numerous Indie films, which have been shown at prestigious film festivals. In addition to teaching and writing/ producing A Byrd’s Eye View newsletter, Art also does freelance media work. He is based in Youngstown, Ohio.

Monnie Ryan retired in 2003 after 14 years as managing editor of The Business Journal in Youngstown, where she continues to contribute to the print and online editions.

Articles she has written have appeared in more than 20 national publications and at several travelrelated Web sites, and she has won numerous awards for photography.

Contact her at mryan62692@aol.com.

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