Movie And A Beer

On this epic pre-election evening, Movie And A Beer reviews Borat Subsequent Moviefilm which provided both the social commentary and a welcome distraction from the craziness we're living through. Oh, and we also had two solid beers while viewing the Moviefilm. If you're not familiar with Borat as a character, this would be a good time to watch some of the trailers for it before going in blind. 

The two beers were a full bodied Scottish ale from Founders Brewing out of Detroit MI, and the other was a Caramel Porter from Cascade Lakes Brewing out of Redmond OR. Both went well with the film, but honestly we should have done shots of a clear liquor instead. Listen in to hear why these went with the film otherwise. 

On this Halloween themed episode of Movie And A Beer, we embrace Pumpkinhead, a somewhat predictable horror film from the 80's and imbibe a couple of pumpkin beers that seemed to go with the film. While there were some pretty famous actors involved with this film, and it hits all of the horror tropes that exist, it still is dated and not the best thing to watch for Halloween. 

Whereas the two pumpkin beers we sampled, one from Elysian Brewing from Seattle, and the other from New Belgium Brewing in Colorado, both had a solid body, characters that matched the movies, and were something we'd revisit, unlike this film. Take a listen to the episode to hear about these great beers and why they went with this movie.

On this COVID-sode of Movie And A Beer we discuss the recently released film Save Yourselves!, a sort of sci-fi millennial rom-com that fell really flat, along with a couple of strange beers that didn't work as well as they should have. While we enjoyed the premise of the story, the acting was just ok and the overall execution of the film lacked any drive or reason to watch. We sort of felt sorry for the actors.

The beers, this time around were good, but not flavors that really go with this type of film. They both traveled a long way to get to Portland to destroy our taste-buds, as the film's best part, the cute aliens, traveled a long way to Earth to consume all ethanol alcohol. So, listen to the episode for a review of the fruited pale ale from Temescal Brewing in Oakland CA along with a fruited IPA by The Brewing Projekt in Eau Claire, WI. 

On this COVIDsode of Movie And A Beer, we discuss the recent 'bogus' film, Bill & Ted Face The Music and a couple of really good beers that we enjoyed with it. As you may expect, Bill and Ted are in trouble once again, but this time they have to write the song to unite the universe, and not just get past a high school history lesson. The music is 'excellent', the story is 'quaint', the acting is decent, the beers we had were 'Whooah!'

We would have to say that this pairing was one of the better ones of recent history. We tried a wonderful kettle sour from Rubens Brewing up in Seattle, and a great solid IPA from Firestone Walker in California. Listen to the episode for the details and why we really liked these beers!

On this Movie And A Beer covid-sode we explored the world of animated Marvel films with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse while crashing the universes of beers and ciders by mixing them along the way. This was one of the most amazing recent animated films we've all seen in ages, it's definitely one not to miss with excellent visuals, writing, voice acting, and Nic Cage playing Spidy-Noir, aka, Humphrey Bogart! 

The beer and cider mixes were all experiments that ended up being pleasant surprises. Ciders were from Finn River and Portland Cider companies, the beers mixed with them were from Ecliptic, Single Hill, and Deschutes Brewing. Listen in for what and how we mixed them during the watch party. 

In this episode of Movie And A Beer we enjoyed the fantasy robot boxing film Real Steel. This film stars a washed-up former boxer played by Wolverine (actually Hugh Jackman) and his son, young Anakin Skywalker (actually Dakota Goyo). Filled with cheesy music and tons of green screen/computer action, you'll enjoy feeling good about this father/son story involving non-stop violence.  

The two fruit beers we tried while viewing the film were from Black Raven Brewing Company (WA) and Mother Earth Brewing (ID). Both were excellent and went well with the film. No clear winner by knockout or points. 

On this COVID-sode of Movie And A Beer we discuss an early 80's space drama titled Space Raiders with our special youth correspondent Otto. While the film reuses sets, scenes, special effects, and parts of other space based films from that period, it isn't horrible or bad. We really enjoyed it but warn you, the script is so predictable that we were able to say the lines along with the actors even if we had never seen the film before. 

The two beers that we enjoyed with the film were from Bellevue Brewing in WA and Ninkasi Brewing in OR. Otto was introduced to the joy's of Squirt, a wonderful old-school grapefruit soda that's been around for many decades.  

On this COVIDsode of Movie And A Beer we had the pleasure of reviewing the 2017 action flick Baby Driver and a few beers which we enjoyed while watching it. The film has a large ensemble cast of well-known actors and doesn't miss on the shooting and driving (even if the dialogue is thin and misses).

Out of the three beers we tried, we would all agree that a smooth and easy drinker would be best to go with it since the main character 'Baby' is more smooth than sharp. The beers were from Pizza Port Brewing, Wayfinder Brewing, and Block 15 Brewing. 

On this episode of Movie And A Beer we discuss the 2020 IFC independent release Tesla, which stars Ethan Hawke playing Nikola Tesla. This bio-pic is a mix of genres and storytelling that is both dry and interesting for history buffs while leaving everyone else a bit frazzled. 

We discuss the three beers we sampled during the viewing of the film and lament about how they didn't really go with the movie but were quality unto themselves. The beers were from Oakshire Brewing, Founders Brewing, and Stickman Brewing. 

Next up on Movie And A Beer is the classic 1989 film, Gleaming the Cube. Staring a young Christian Slater as Brian Kelly, a 16-year-old skateboarder who's skating skills are secondary to his investigation skills as he tries to solve the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother.

We discovered quickly that this film wasn't what we remembered as it's not just about skating, but examines the complex the social dynamics of the Asian culture in southern California in the late 1980's gazed through the eyes of a young skating punk. The beers we picked have amazing labels that reminded us of the film, so listen in to find out the what and the why. 

In this episode of Movie And A Beer, we discuss the binge-worthy show you can find on-demand, Season 01 of DEVS written by Alex Garland.  This futuristic 8 part TV series takes place outside of San Francisco and provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of technology, timelines, and prediction engines that balance the cause and effect of life. 

We run down the list of beers we sampled during the first set of episodes we binged on our own and then recommend a few styles that work with the start/middle and last episodes we watched together. 

In this 'stay at home' episode of Movie And A Beer, we take a look into the past at one of Tom Cruise's first acting roles from 1985, the legendary film LEGEND.  While you may be wondering why we would pick such an old film to review, we discovered that one of us had not seen it before and this demanded we watch it. Any chance to see Tim Curry in a head to toe red devil outfit is a MUST SEE event! 

While the movie does have issues, and most if not all of the special effects are really poorly done (including the glitter that's on everything), we did have a good time enjoying a couple of locally sourced beers. We spend some time discussing the finer points of the beers and how these might actually outweigh the quality of the film and acting. 

On this special double episode of Movie And A Beer, we discuss a set of movies to pair up with a couple of wonderful beers from 10 Barrel Brewing. We grouped the films with a few things in mind, and offer up a broad selection of sci-fi classics and wonderful family films.

10 Barrel Brewing provided us with Guava and Raspberry Crush beers and asked "what would you watch with these?" We were lucky enough to discuss with some of their representatives the range and styles of movies that would go well with each of these sour beers and here's the list for each beer:

Guava Crush - Gremlins - Princess Bride - Cars
​Raspberry Crush - Evil Dead - Reservoir Dogs - ​​​E.T.

On this stay-at-home episode of Movie And A Beer, our youth correspondent Otto joined us for a wonderful Japanese animated movie, Spirited Away by Hiyao Miyazaki. Thought of by many as one of the greatest animated films ever made, this film brings you along on a journey of self-discovery and growth of a young girl as she struggles with trying to free herself and parents from the land of the spirits. 

We enjoyed three import beers from Japan during this episode (and taping) with young Otto sipping on a root beer from Henry Weinhard's. The beers included a Yuzu Salt Ale and Umami IPA, both from Yo-Ho Brewing, and a Kirin Ichiban special lager. You'll have to listen to the episode to learn about them and how they fit with this wonderful film.

On this pandemic stay-at-home episode of Movie And A Beer, we watched a couple of oldies-but-goodies in celebration of May the 4th (Star Wars unofficial holiday) from the TV cartoon Family Guy - Blue Harvest, which is a spoof on Star Wars Episode 4 (New Hope), and Something Something Something Dark Side, a spoof on Star Wars Episode 5 (The Empire Strikes Back). 

While we enjoyed these two wonderful episodes, we enjoyed a few beers that we obtained from a local bar/restaurant (to-go). We discuss the different styles and how they worked and what we recommend for you to enjoy at home during this difficult time. 

On this episode of Movie And A Beer we talk about the western film 3:10 to Yuma and the two beers we had during it. This film was directed by James Mangold and filmed in New Mexico. It includes Peter Fonda who was in the original film from 1957. 

The story follows outlaw Ben Wade who’s played by Russell Crowe. Ben and his gang terrorize the 1800s Arizona countryside where he frequently targets the Southern Railroad (stagecoach) until he is finally captured. Wade must be brought to trial and taken to federal prison for sentencing and hanging. Dan Evans who's played by Christian Bale volunteers to help take the prisoner to catch the 3:10 train to Yuma. Their relationship is a rough and challenging one throughout the film. Luckily we struck gold with one of the beers selected for this viewing and that brought the story to life. 

On this episode of Movie And A Beer we talk about the animated kids film Coco and the three Mexican beers we sampled while watching. We had with us a special guest who's going to be our kids-movie expert (as he's a kid). We all loved the film as it provides a great story and visual exploration into Mexican religious and cultural traditions. The family dynamic that drives the story is one that is relatable to most kids and those chasing their dreams.

We were excited to share this episode with someone that could provide us a real kids' perspective, and he got to discuss his rootbeer that he enjoyed during the film.  

On this episode of Movie And A Beer, we discuss the 2019 film Honey Boy which was written by and stars Shia LaBeouf. In the film, he plays James Lort the father to Otis Lort. We discovered that this film is a bit bitter and luckily we had a bitter beer to go with it.

The semi-autobiographical story of Shia is played by two actors, the older one in recovery, Lucas Hedges, and Noah Jupe, the 12-year-old version who's story and life are shared with the audience. Otis is a childhood actor and is just surviving day to day, balancing his chaotic life with a demanding and abusive father. While this is a challenging film to watch, we think it's a good characterization of what it's like to be a young actor and have demanding parents that don't let you be you.  

In this episode of Movie And A Beer, we discuss the 2019 Oscar-nominated film Ford v Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale and the four (2 American and 2 Italian) beers we sampled while watching it. The film is a long one, over two hours and fit for young adults and kids that are interested in cars. The film covers the struggles of the Ford Motor Company in the 1950s as they attempted to beat Ferrari in the Le Mans 24 hr. road race. 

The two leads develop a strong bond in the film as the learn to trust each other and the cars they are building and experimenting on. While the film does have a lot of racing, there are some memorable moments that made the battle with Ferrari even more fun to watch. 

The four beers we sampled were of the lager variety, and we ended up enjoying all of them, with a split decision on who was the best. Listen in on the episode to hear the details and why we feel you should pick something lighter and enjoyable while viewing this great film.  

In this installment of Movie And A Beer, we review the recent adaptation of Little Women which is based on the classic novel of the same name, and the beers we enjoyed with it at two different theaters here in Portland Oregon. The story takes place in America during the civil war and follows the March family as the sisters grow up and become adults. 

As with all families, they go through lots of traumatic experiences, and this film covers those with an interesting approach to multiple storylines and flashbacks to trace their history and decision making. 

We watched this film at the St. Johns Twin Cinemas and Cinema 21 here in Portland. We were able to try a variety of beers and would like to recommend that you find a lighter beer to start with and perhaps move onto a heavier one about midway through, as the film and subject matter become more serious and what you enjoy with it should as well.