Bottle Shock

It's a term applied to wine that has been jostled in shipment. Upset by the apple cart the wine becomes unsettled and it is recommended that the wine sit for a few days before drinking as it may not taste its best.

Bottle Shock is a new DVD release that chronicles the struggle of a family winery in 1976 when California wines were just beginning to get recognized by the world. Bill Pullman plays the gruff family patriarch who one by one pushes the people who care about him away as he fights with creditors to keep his dream alive. Chris Pine plays the hippie son Bo who seems more interested in banging the new wine intern (Rachael Taylor) than getting to work on time.

Alan Rickman plays the British owner of a wine shop in Paris that can't seem to generate any business and tires of his freeloader clientele (Dennis Farina). In an attempt to generate business Rickman's character travels to the Napa Valley to discover what the new world has to offer.

Primarily set in beautiful wine country and carefully staged to bring you back to 1976 (I haven't seem a AMC Gremlin in 20 years) this movie is a true delight. A full range of emotions can be had with a denoument that is a landmark in the history of wine. If you loved Sideways you will enjoy this movie.


Reviews in Brief:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Enough already
Righteous Kill - Is it Turk? Is it Rooster? Who Cares?
Borat - This is one of those movies that if you go back and watch it a second time you will wonder why you laughed the first time.
Hot Fuzz - Lost in translation, and I know how to translate.

My Night in the ER

It was chest pains that brought me. That's a golden ticket to the front of the line in the emergency room. Within minutes I was hooked up to an EKG machine and they had discovered that every so often my heart would have an extra beat. I thought this might be proof that I had rhythm but it sure made me feel poor. I could feel this pain in the center of my chest and was overly aware of the beating from my heart.

What brought me here was fear. Fear in the sense that my Dad had heart disease that resulted in multiple bypass surgeries and my uncle died in his 50's due to a heart attack. Fear that came from the fact that in the previous week I had similar symptoms that I decided to sleep off and ignore. They went away but I knew my body was telling me something and best I hear it.
There was a connection between both events (drinking coffee late in the day) and I wasn't sure if it was caffeine or what was making me feel this way. I just knew I didn't like it.

The ER that night was awash in pain and humor. The woman who came in via paramedics in the fetal position who when asked what was wrong told the doctor that she "didn't feel well" but wouldn't get more specific. The doctor kept shaking her because she keep dosing off as he tried to get to the root of the problem but she was not going to be "Samantha Specific" tonight. She simply responded "Why are you doing that to me" and when he told her he couldn't help her if she didn't tell her what was wrong she responded " I am not having this conversation with you". He swung the curtain all the way open and left her, she promptly feel asleep and snored louder than the two Mexican jabber jaws that broke the silence of the ER.

Then there was the elderly lady who was stretchered in with an oxygen mask whose face was filled with pain but in the morning after getting some basic treatment had no recollection of having difficulty breathing and "felt fine".

These are not the patients you're looking for...