That's yeast, not foam. And I feel like a bum every time I forget to do it, which is all the time.

I don't quite see the connection, to be honest. Franziskaner and such are just as "macro" (ugh) as Beck's or whatever.

Hey, whatever, this isn't exaclty taxonomy. Aventinus is technically a bock beer (and therefore a lager), but it's also made from wheat, so it also classifies as a weizen (which are usually top-fermented). Just shrug it off and enjoy.

Not only that, Erdinger Alkoholfrei is an actually delicious non-alcoholic beer. If only it were a bit cheaper no one would have to drink soda ever again.

It really is - and that's probably Mitani's best known film (I think it got a pretty good reception at the Berlinale back when and there's even a 14 year old review by Scott Tobias on this site). As far as I know, it's also the only one with international distribution (the Japanese DVDs in my library thankfully have…

Thanks! Sounds really good to me, but I do have Harakiri right here, unseen (and few whole afternoons to kill), so I think I'll take your advice.

My library apparently has Human Condition. Should I go get it right now or would you say it's more of an "advanced studies" type of deal? I think Kwaidan is the only Kobayashi I've seen so far.

I'm sure I would've enjoyed it less if I'd watched it on release. But after years of lowered expectations and a movie selection process that didn't go beyond "It's Sunday and something light would be nice and I loved the books and my girlfriend likes Martin Freeman", I was pleasantly surprised. The visual design was…

Not particularly directed at you, but I really hope we can go back to talking about Lady Snowblood without invoking Tarantino sooner rather than later. The last time I remember it as a point of discussion here - probably a Watch This - it felt like 80% of the comments were debating whether he is a hack or not, while…

I started with a semi-attentive rewatch of Charade (always good), then finally saw John Wick, which I really liked. It's such an incredibly economical movie, so brisk and so concise. Everything's happening really quickly, and yet I felt like nothing was really missing. The Equalizer was the opposite of that, sadly.

I don't think I've had that. Thanks for the recommendation!

I've caught a bit of a cold, so I wanted to ask about, um, hooch. I've currently got a Smokehead Extra Rare, Nikka All Malt, a Milenario (was on sale; I'll return to Cardenal Mendoza when it's done) and some Four Roses, which is strictly for cocktails because I'm not really into bourbon neat. Anyway, all of 'em would…

Gin when I'm out, vodka at home because making a palatable vodka martini is stupidly easy and possible under any condition.

I'm guessing so does getting shit done at work, going by that playlist.

I'm not saying you need the Game Music Festival '92 version of Captain Commando's Crime Jungle in your running playlist, I'm just saying I thought I knew you, man.

Nah, hence the disappointment. My girlfriend keeps insisting The Ramen Girl was surprisingly good, but I can't seem to get over its terrible poster.

Imagine my joy and subsequent disappointment when, after a rewatch of Tampopo two years or so ago, I noticed that my streaming service had tagged it with "noodle soup" and I clicked to see if there were other noodle soup movies on offer.

I'm a big enough fan of the comic to have bought the Line sticker set with real money (and I'd say Taniguchi seems popular everywhere expect the anglosphere and keep wondering why) and enjoy Matsushige wherever he appears but I haven't seen this yet. I guess I can't see a drama capturing the book's tone properly—which…

I'm sure Yoshiyoshi Arakawa's agent is on it.

Yeah, I really like Kore-eda as a piece of the entirety of Japanese cinema, but I kinda make grumpy faces at the fact that his popularity over here only reinforces the stereotype that Japanese cinema is either WEIRD or about gently smiling people drinking tea.