A couple of highlights from my recent soujourn in the Garden and Empire States.
Yesterday, we went for lunch at the Jekyll and Hyde Club near Columbus Circle. Now, I like to think I'm too much of a sophisticated urbanite to fall into a tourist trap like this, but, hey, it's kinda horror-related. Plus, you try taking a pack o' kids to that authentic hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurant that you read about on chowhound.
So, is this particular theme restaurant/tourist trap worth the trip? I have to say yes. The food, as you'd expect, is mediocre, but you go for the experience and entertainment. (And, as a vegetarian, I'm used to mediocre food at pretty much any family dining establishment. This place is actually no worse than Uno's or TGI Friday's in that respect.) Which involves talking animatronic decor and roaming characters who interact with you in creepy and/or corny ways. So, production values-wise, it was nearly the equal of a ride at Disney World (I mean this as a compliment). The prices are exhorbitant, of course, but you're paying for the strolling actors and the light up Frankenstein and such. I liked it. I'd go again.
Can't say the same for the Holiday Train show at the New York Botanical Garden. The whole thing consists of miniature New York landmarks made of plant parts with little model trains chugging through. It was cool and enjoyable, but was it worth 20 bucks? Survey said....BZZZZT! And was it worth standing in line for an hour? (!!!) BZZZT again. They just sold way way too many tickets, so by the time we finally got to see the exhibit, its coolness was diminished by the long wait. I mean, I've waited that long and had life-changing roller coaster rides at the end, so some plant houses and model trains just didn't really cut it.
Back home, after the kids were all asleep, I caught the first half of The Midnight Meat Train on the in-laws' On Demand. It's an adaptation of a Clive Barker short story, and it's very well done--well-acted , shot by somebody who knows what he's doing, featuring dialogue that's not laughable. So far so good, but the movie has two fatal flaws. 1.) CGI. If you're going to make a movie about a guy who bashes people's heads in with a big hammer (and, really, why wouldn't you), you're just cheating the audience if you serve up CGI gore. That eye popping out and landing on the floor was like the fakest thing I've ever seen. 2.)Clive Barker has no sense of humor. This is what I don't like about his work. I mean, take Hellraiser, for example--how can you serve up that hooey about killer Rubik's cubes and guys with pins in their heads with a totally straight face? And how can you make a movie called The Midnight Meat Train that's not funny at all?
