My Cultural Diet

The Havelock location is a bonafide Lincoln institution. I had the prime rib French Dip this time around, which was decent. My wife, however, had some blackened prime rib which was fantastic and made me wish I’d rethought my order.

A decent little pizza place and beer garden in Nebraska City. I didn’t try any of the beers, though they had a wide selection from what I saw. As for the pizza, it was OK. Not terrible, but nothing all that special. For my money, I’m glad that Lincoln has Yia Yia’s.

We decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day by introducing the kids to this classic. Of course, the danger of watching any classic is that it might not withstand the test of a time. There were certainly some parts that haven’t aged well, namely Phil Connors’ various attempts to seduce women. But overall, Groundhog Day has aged pretty well. The jokes and comedy still land — “Bing!” as Ned Ryerson would say — and it has a charm that feels both timeless and very much of the ’90s. (My wife and I, for instance, got a real nostalgic kick out of the clothing and decor.)

I probably would’ve have dismissed this as a generic CW-ish YA title were it not for the involvement of writer/director Joe Cornish (Attack the Block). While Lockwood & Co. certainly fulfills YA tropes, starting with its angsty young protagonists, it’s more substantial than it looks thanks to some intriguing world building and moments of grim cynicism reminiscent of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (a good thing). Other pluses include solid performances from its three leads — Ruby Stokes, in particular, delivers an affecting performance while Ali Hadji-Heshmati channels some Richard Ayoade vibes (another good thing) — and some great soundtrack selections (e.g., The Cure, This Mortal Coil). I didn’t know I needed to see a ghost hunter swordfight set to the strains of “A Forest,” but turns out I did. Given Netflix’s proclivity for cancellations, though, I fear we may not get another season. Which is a shame, because this was a fun watch with plenty of potential.

I don’t envy Ryan Coogler et al. the task of producing a new Black Panther movie following Chadwick Boseman’s death. To their credit, Wakanda Forever contains some legitimately beautiful and moving moments. However, the actual superhero part — which sees Wakanda facing off against the undersea kingdom of Talokan and their leader, Namor — feels muddled, overproduced, and over-long, almost like it’s from a different movie entirely. Similar to the original Black Panther’s Killmonger, Namor’s “villainy” is driven by a righteous anger at his people’s oppression, but perhaps it’s a little too similar. It’ll be interesting to see if/how Namor and the rest of Wakanda Forever fit into the MCU’s impending fifth and sixth phases.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Knockabout was initially overlooked given that it was released in the wake of Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. But Knockabout stars two of Chan’s Peking Opera peers — Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao — who are no slouches themselves. The film is total silliness, with Biao and Leung Kar-yan hamming it up as a couple of ne’er-do-wells who fall in with a sketchy master. The hijinks get a little old, but Knockabout’s worth watching if only to see Biao’s impressive acrobatics and athleticism, whether he’s doing “monkey” style or battling foes with his jump rope skills.

Yuen Woo-ping’s Iron Monkey is one of my favorite kung fu films of all time, and in some ways, Wing Chun feels like its spiritual successor. It’s a good deal sillier, though, what with the gender-bending, mistaken identities, and sophomoric sexual comedy. That, and the fight choreography is more frenetic and wire-filled. The film’s sexual politics might be a bit uncouth by today’s standards, but Michelle Yeoh is an absolute queen even when she’s mistaken for a man by her childhood sweetheart (Donnie Yen, in a welcome comedic turn). And I do enjoy watching Norman Chu eat up the scenery like nobody’s business as the big bad.

This riveting documentary tells the inspiring story of a former monk who seeks to bring Shaolin kung fu into the modern era. To do so, he teams up with a disgraced soccer superstar and reunites with his former Shaolin brothers to blend kung fu and soccer. But will their skills be enough to defeat the Evil Team and the corrupt soccer officials? It’s probably been 15 years since my last viewing of Shaolin Soccer, but its story of underdogs, martial arts, mystical Shaolin powers, and soccer remains as entertaining and inspirational as ever.

Although I’ve seen plenty of clips over the years, I’m ashamed to admit that it wasn’t until 2023 that I finally watched the original Godzilla in its entirety. What struck me was how serious, melancholy, and even tragic the film is, with none of the (beloved) camp that has characterized the franchise. Yes, Godzilla is destroying Tokyo and terrifying the world, but only because of mankind’s actions. There are no villains in the film (except for maybe political bureaucracy, natch). Those who want to destroy Godzilla and those who want to study him both make compelling points, and as a result, the film’s inevitable ending is tinged with regret. The Godzilla franchise really did begin on a very strong note.

I’ve been wanting to visit this Lincoln landmark for awhile now, and it did not disappoint when we finally toured it as a family. It’s fascinating that such a place exists literally under our feet. Tour guide Joel Green shared many interesting stories from Lincoln’s past, all of them filled with colorful characters and sketchy details. (My favorite being that Lincoln was once home to a secret society called the Iron Sphinx that conducted their initiation ceremonies in the cave.)

In some ways, this is the grimmest of the Reckless series so far, as Ethan gets drawn into a woman’s quest for revenge on her abusers, only to fall in love with her — which requires him to sacrifice some ideals and surrender to some of his worst impulses. But like all of the Reckless titles, none of its exploitative or gratuitous. To Brubaker’s credit, the whole affair is tinged with melancholy and regret, given the narrative’s flashback framing device.

This volume focuses less on Ethan Reckless, and more on his closest friend and co-worker, Anna, as she investigates a potentially haunted mansion for a faded B-movie screen queen. Again, this feels like Brubaker working through yet another nostalgic interest (e.g., his obsession with murder house tales and old horror cinema). But as with other volumes, there’s deeper stuff in there, as Anna works through her complicated relationship with her mother. And it ends with what might be the most genuinely sweet moment in the series to date.

I continue to enjoy Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Reckless series. The series is obviously indebted to Brubaker’s nostalgia from being a Navy brat and drawing from his various experiences. In this case, growing up in California in the ’70s and ’80s during the rise of the Satanic Panic — which is kind of like catnip for me, given my own evangelical background. But this volume also becomes a commentary on the post-hippie disillusionment, and even weaves in some commentary on the experience of Vietnamese refugees. All while being a really good hard-boiled P.I. noir.

This is a relatively new restaurant in Lincoln’s Haymarket; I think they’ve only been around for a few weeks. My friend got the braised short rib, which was pretty impressive-looking. I went with the Fleetwood sandwich, which is essentially their take on a steak sandwich. The meat was prepared to perfection and the charred shishito gremolata gave it a nice zing.

The first volume of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’s ’80s-set noir about a former revolutionary/undercover agent turned washed up and cynical P.I. — which is really the best kind of P.I., right? Now, I’m not saying that I want every graphic novel turned into a streaming title, but if Netflix or Amazon Prime ever turned Reckless into a series, then I’d totally watch it — so long as they capture the early ’80s California vibe, which isn’t merely nostalgic in Brubaker’s storytelling, but vibrant and seedy in equal parts.

I didn’t realize this was the third Reckless volume when I picked it up at the library. That, however, did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of this hard-boiled noir set in L.A. during the ’80s, in which a cinephile P.I. investigates a shady real estate tycoon — with predictably seedy and violent results. I’ve already put holds on all of the other Reckless volumes that I can.

This feels like the first consistently great Sandman volume, where Gaiman’s writing really hits his stride. The overarching storyline — Morpheus journeys to hell to retrieve a lover whom he condemned there thousands of years ago — plays out in all sorts of fascinating ways, culminating in Lucifer concocting a plan to shut down hell. Lots of fantastic ideas and imagery, and I’m intrigued by how Gaiman weaves his pantheon and theology together (e.g., the relationship between heaven and hell, the purpose of hell, Lucifer’s regrets). While not exactly orthodox, it’s imaginative and thought-provoking nevertheless.

One of the great Hollywood classics. Audrey Hepburn (in her first major role) is absolutely luminous as Princess Ann and Gregory Peck is effortlessly charming as Joe Bradley. However, Eddie Albert almost steals the show as Joe’s photographer buddy. As for the Rome backdrop, it gives the film both authenticity and stunning scenery. I was struck by the film’s bittersweetness during this most recent viewing, as the young princess and opportunistic reporter alike come to realize the weight of duty and obligation. Hepburn and Peck were approached in the 1970s with doing a sequel, which probably would’ve been terrible. Roman Holiday works so well precisely because it ends on such a bittersweet and melancholy note.

This Michigan-based pub restaurant chain arrived in Lincoln back in 2016, and after hearing about it, we finally checked it out. I would eat here again, but I’m not in any great rush to do so, especially when Lincoln has so many other great restaurants. The next time I want to eat this kind of food, I’ll probably just stick with Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation is one of my favorite anime OVAs of all time, so I was excited to finally see the live-action film that inspired it. Unfortunately, Zeiram didn’t meet expectations. It has all the makings of a cool sci-fi monster movie, from the creature and gadget designs to some icky body horror. The visual effects were cleverly done and there was even some martial arts action thrown in for good measure. But for whatever reason, a significant portion of the movie is spent following the bumbling exploits of two side characters. I assume they were intended as comedic relief, but they’re just annoying and end up overshadowing Yūko Moriyama’s capable heroine.