Catch Colton if You Can

(Left) DiCaprio and Abagnale; (right) Colton Harris-Moore.

What is the first thing you would think of a teenager who has robbed hundreds of houses, stolen a yacht and multiple planes? Because I think of Leonardo DiCaprio. Perhaps I have seen the movie Catch Me if You Can more than most. The movie was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., a check forger at the age of 17 who adopted multiple personas to travel freely and inconspicuously. And now a criminal has emerged, worthy of enough cultural praise to match Abagnale’s notoriety. The 19-year old, dubbed the ‘Barefoot Bandit’ for committing crimes without shoes, was first arrested at the age of 12, and escaped from a halfway house where he had been living two years ago, according to an AP report. The similarities are impossible to ignore for a fan (of the movie, not the crimes) like myself. For example, ‘bandit’ Colton Harris-Moore has been accused of burglary, as well as stealing planes and boats while attempting to flee from police. As DiCaprio portrayed, Abagnale committed fraud by impersonating a pilot to essentially steal numerous free plane rides by ‘deadheading’, forged checks to steal from Pan Am Airways, and crossed state and national borders to escape from the FBI. The ‘Barefoot Bandit’ has been convicted in nine US states, British Columbia and the Bahamas, while his counterpart traveled through dozens of countries and states during his spree. Abagnale fled from the FBI for five years, Harris-Moore, for two years. Both started at young ages and came from downtrodden families. However, I do hope Harris-Moore does not match Abagnale’s ability to escape once in custody, as Abagnale once fled from a taxiing plane at JFK airport to escape arrest. Although the ‘bandit’ does not match the “Catch Me” muse’s unlawful talent, his situation is attractive to several movie studios, and his mother seems eager to cash in on her son’s exploits. So we’ll have to wait and compare movies, but until then Harris-Moore’s story will continue to unfold as his extradition and subsequent trial in Washington begins.

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I didn’t need Edward’s telepathy to know what the teens in the theater were thinking, nor Alice’s psychic ability to know if the Twilight Saga: Eclipse would be successful. Just about every girl in the room was hyperventilating, and the third installment of the vampire series earned about $176.4 million in six days of North American sales alone. According to CNN, the movie made $30 million dollars in just the first three hours it screened.
The movie series that revamped (pun intended) the supernatural trend has furthered the cultural phenomenon, illustrating the relationship between characters Bella and Edward --and Jacob. The entire movie seemed like a game of tug-of-war for Bella’s affections. Not unlike the novel, but as a movie it was lacking action, which was awkwardly confined to the first five, and last ten minutes of the film. Director David Slade, known for horror movies like Hard Candy, was well represented in the first scene, as vampires in a rain-soaked Seattle eerily attack an unfamiliar character. Overcompensation to lighten his thriller-mood may explain why the majority of the movie was gushy and maybe too romantic for the plot, which focuses on a vengeful Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) creating a newborn vampire army to destroy Bella and the Cullen family. Howard replaced Rachelle LeFevre, who played the redheaded villain in the first two movies, but her replacement was unfortunately too sweet and sympathetic to be taken seriously as a murderous and heartbroken vampire.
The movie does highlight characters that were previously ill represented. Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) and Rosalie (Nikki Reed) are given time to share their past in order to help the Cullens fight newborn vampires, and help Bella make the right choice between life and immortality, respectively. But once Jasper’s past as a Southern Confederate is revealed, Rathbone’s accent becomes heavy and makes me question the consistency of his voice in the previous movies. Overall, the effects were decent and the hype will sustain. It should be interesting to see Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart tying the knot in the first part of Breaking Dawn though. I can just see the tabloid pictures of them filming in costume with captions questioning their matrimony.

Serendipitous lunch

After walking, running to catch a cab, driving, and walking further toward East 60th street, I arrived at the famous restaurant on the Upper East Side, Serendipity 3. Though they began serving ‘Frrrrozen hot chocolates’ in 1954, the restaurant became a curiosity in my life after seeing the 2001 film Serendipity.
The film, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, features a couple that meets in Manhattan while holiday shopping at Bloomingdales, and by a stroke of fate enjoy a casual but memorable evening together, dining at Serendipity 3 and skating at Wollman Rink. Years later, as each character plans to wed other people, they hunger to discover a relationship in each other that never existed.
Having seen this movie enough times to recite the words as they happen, sing and/or hum the entire soundtrack, and still find the movie entertaining, I have always wanted to eat at the restaurant that serves as a recurring setting of the romantic scavenger hunt that is Serendipity. Finally, after dozens of trips to Manhattan, I made it!
A two-story, narrow shop with Tiffany lamps dangling from the ceiling, along with various other objects, the place could easily be misconstrued as a claustrophobic nightmare. The oversized menus don’t help the situation. But somehow the eatery manages to feel cozy and well lit. Having a menu filled with sandwich names such as ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘High Heel Pump’ the owners reveal an eccentric sense of humor. The selections also include a famous, record-breaking sundae called ‘Golden Opulence’ that requires a 2-day reservation and costs $1,000. While less extravagant, I very much enjoyed my hot chocolate dessert, and my tomato sauce and cheese ravioli, which I ate in that order, and I couldn’t imagine a more traditional ‘New York’ place to eat lunch outside of Central park (though Tavern on the Green closed!). Regardless if you have seen the movie or not, the establishment was open for decades before it grew to national fame, and it will be around for decades to come.