RAVE - '71

Set in in Belfast, Northern Ireland in er, 1971, this gritty film tells the story of a British Army detachment sent into the impossible badlands of a nasty, religious and political war between Catholics and Protestants.

I know the ugly effects this fighting had on the otherwise safe streets of London. During the late '70s when car bombs were set off by the IRA in London, I found myself walking the streets of West London imagining that a bomb could go off at any minute. The film reminded me how horrible it must have been in Belfast where, as the Lieutenant welcomed the soldiers by saying "the Catholics and Protestants live right next to each other, at one anothers' throats all the time".

The fractious mix of old school IRA, and Provisional - generally younger and more militant - IRA, Protestant rabble-rousers, and under cover British soldiers made for a hotbed of hatred? Into this melee, the detachment were sent to protect the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the local police as they conducted house to house searches looking for weapons.

One ugly scene led to another, and our reluctant soldier was accidentally left behind as the main band beat a hasty retreat from a riot.

The taught story of his night spent trying to avoid the gunmen is unglamorous, realistic, and scary as hell.

RAVE - Sous Beurre

Having just opened a few weeks ago, this place seems to have got off to a great start, with none of the 'new restaurant' bugs that so often plague startups.

Because they were already sold out of the Foie Gras salad, I had the Steak Tartare, whole grain mustard, quail egg, parsley, capers, meyer lemon, and crostini, and for my entree the Bavette Steak au poivre, sarladaise fingerling potatoes, spinach, and fresh peppercorns,

Mrs. P chose the Wild mushrooms en croute, puff pastry, thyme, pearl onions, and rutabaga puree, and the Roasted Cornish Game Hen, herbs de provence, wild rice, black walnuts, and vin blanc jus.

All courses were great, the service was outstanding, our fellow eaters were all young-ish and not too painfully hip, and the overall ambiance was a real treat.

RAVE - Focus

Will Smith plays an experienced con man who meets a beautiful woman who tries to con him. They have a brief fling, then go their separate ways until, a couple years later they meet up in New Orleans, where Smith is planning a mega con at the Super Bowl.

It's a clever mix of comedy and thriller, where the cons are slick and the action is partly thrilling. All in all a not too taxing 90 minutes spent in the company of my own beautiful woman who has only conned me out of 18 years so far.