Christopher Walken stars in The Prophecy, from 1995. This horror movie promises "an evil born in heaven is about to be unleashed on Earth." Sounds like the poster for the most recent presidential election. The movie must have found an audience, because four sequels were released. The impact of that statement is diminished somewhat by the direct-to-video status of the afterwords, but fans are fans. Especially Christopher Walken fans. He appeared in two of those sequels.
The plot centers on a seminary student who loses faith and becomes a cop. Now, that's a fall from grace. Archangel Gabriel comes to earth looking for an evil soul. You wouldn't think that task would take more than a few minutes, but the film runs a whole 97 minutes, counting credits. Scan the cast list and see who could be the Evil One. Eric Stoltz? Maybe. Viggo Mortensen? A good guess, but my money's on Stoltz. I'm gonna have to watch this thing, one of these days.
Prophecy Wines is one of those companies which sources grapes from all over: California for the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, Italy for the Pinot Grigio, France for the rosé. The price is on the cheap side, just about $12, but you can get it at Ralphs while you're buying toilet paper and deodorant.
1980's Resurrection has Ellen Burstyn as a woman who dies briefly in a car crash, comes back to life, and finds she can heal people. It's not the melodramatic, Kathryn Kuhlman, hand on the forehead "heeeeeeeeeal," though. The film drew praise from all around for its respectful examination of faith healing.
The car crash left our heroine in a wheelchair, so she uses her newfound talents to heal her own body. She recovers so well, she is later able to run a gas station all by herself. She also manages to heal her own psychological injuries.
Critics have wondered whether the woman actually gained the ability to heal, or was just dreaming the whole scenario. That question goes unanswered, but it's an interesting story regardless.
Napa Valley's Secret Indulgence makes a Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah blend called Resurrection. It runs about $250 if you can find it. If that's too rich, maybe you can afford it in your next life.
In God We Tru$t came from 1980, sometimes with the subtitle, Gimme That Prime Time Religion. The scathing satire of televangelism was produced, co-written, and directed by Marty Feldman. He was all over the British comedy scene in the '60s, but I didn't get wind of him until The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine aired on ABC in the early '70s. I was immediately hooked.
Feldman figured that his big nose and bulging, cockeyed appearance worked in his favor as a comedian. Who are we to argue? He said if he had gotten it all fixed, he probably would have ended up with a career highlighted by two episodes of Kojak.
Tru$t also featured great comic talent like Andy Kaufman, Louise Lasser, Peter Boyle, and Richard Pryor. With that cast, you'd think we would all still be watching it today.
Now, a wine pairing. You could simply take a glass of water and have a televangelist pull a miracle, and turn it into wine, like that trick ever works these days. San Antonio Winery, in downtown Los Angeles, survived Prohibition by making sacramental wines, so let's pour their juice. The wines they make today are nothing like the stuff you pair with wafers in church. The Stella Royale is one of their Italian wines, a semi-sweet blend of Barbera, Brachetto, and Nebbiolo grapes. The alcohol is a bit low, but so is the $15 price tag, so buy two.
Follow Randy Fuller on X and BlueSky
No comments:
Post a Comment