District B13 -- "Gloriously dumb!"

Caught the French action flick, District B13, with the Guy today. We did a lot, actually, especially since he's still seriously on the leg-mend thing and we wandered all over downtown and Granville Island.

B13, as the Guy says, is gloriously dumb. Awesome action, weak on plot, middling dialogue, no character development... but who gives a fuck?! It was a hoot!

There's this one scene where a guy's killed with jail cell bars that'll make you shudder. Violent as all hell in some of it, awesome fight scenes. Woot!

Fun. :)

I love violent movies. I love noire stuff, I love urban decay stuff. I love tight editing and fast-paced work. This one fit the bill.

Some reviews compare its tenacious pacing to Run Lola Run, but they're off the mark. (And naming the tough-as-nails "but why's she not smart enough to escape, then?" sister "Lola" is an obvious tribute to the awesomeness of Lola. If you've never seen Run Lola Run, you're just so incredibly out of touch with GOOD action. Fucking INCREDIBLE flick, that. Hey, that's what I'll watch tonight! I still remember just dropping my jaw in the theatre -- had no idea it'd really be as good as all the fucking hype, but man, did that film deliver.)

Still, with all the subpar shit in cinemas these days, if you want a gratuitous death flick that's really, really well executed, if a little lacking in smarts at times, I say spend the cash and have a good time.

Out of, what, the 30 or so folks in the cinema, I was the only chick. I always feel so hip when I'm the token chick in a flick like that. Tee hee. I suggested it to the Guy, too. Not really a date movie, but our kind of date movie, methinks.

Now I'm gonna make a total comfort food dindin. Oh, hell, here's the recipe for ya. Serves ONE. (You can double it but the chicken cooking time pretty much has to double, too!)

Chicken with Tarragon-Dijon Cream Sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

• Thinly chop a leek, the white and light green bits only.
• Thinly chop a carrot into dime-sized slices.

Put into a buttered casserole dish.

Mix:

• a couple tablespoons whipping cream
• a quarter cup of chicken stock
• a couple tablespoons of chopped
• a tablespoon of dijon mustard
  
• kosher salt
• cracked black pepper

And pour over the carrots and leeks. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a mallet-thingie and lightly pound a chicken breast until it's about a half-inch thick, nice and even. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

When the leeks/carrots are done, take them out, and lay the chicken on top. Spoon some sauce and veggies on it, and tightly seal the foil again.

Bake 15-20 minutes, remove foil, and bake for five more minutes.

Serve into a shallow bowl, slice up some crusty baguette, and there's your dinner. It's delicately rich and beautifully seasoned. It's not one of those cream sauces that weighs you down. In fact, it's the kind that makes you happy-happy. I fucking love this dish. :)