The Rundown: That's My Motherfucker!

NBC was showing Shrek last night instead of my usual 8 PM episode of Law & Order: SVU. Needing something to watch for an hour before House came on, I flipped through the guide and came across something even better than SVU on AMC.
Samuel L. Jackson: An American Cinamatheque Tribute

Can I just tell you how much I love Sam Jackson? Is there a cooler man on the face of the Earth?

While he's made a few poor choices in his cinematic career - Amos & Andrew, The Man - there isn't an actor who hasn't. What Sam has also done is create some of the best characters of my generation and deliver some of the best lines and performances during the time I've spent being a total film junkie.

In honour of the man that has made the word motherfucker a term of endearment, I thought we'd take a look at my favourite Sam Jackson portrayals in today's Rundown.

Top Five Samuel L. Jackson Characters

5. Gator Purify - Jungle Fever
Do The Right Thing made me a Spike Lee fan (Clockers and Crooklyn made it a life long deal...) and so watching this movie was a given. Personally, if it wasn't for Sam's portrayal of Crackhead Gator Purify, I would lie like a rug if I was asked if I ever saw this flick. Welsey Snipes as a romantic lead... puh-lease! Still, Sam was incredible. In fact, he was so damn good, the Cannes Film Festival invented a new award just to give to Sam. How many actors can say that?

4. Mitch Hennessey - The Long Kiss Goodnight
Geena Davis as a killer turned housewife turned killer aside, Jackson steals this flick with some classic Sam Jackson deliveries:

• "I'm earnest and frank in all my dealings with women. In New York, I'm Earnest and in Chicago, I'm Frank."
• When asked if he's tender and gentle when sleeping with a virgin: "I usually just sock'em in the jaw and say Pop Goes the Weasel!"
• There is also an extended speech where he uses the term ass-fucking more times in five minutes than I've said it in my entire life.

3. Elijah Price / Mr. Glass - Unbreakable
He sucks you in and makes you feel a little bad for him and then BLAM! Turns out he's been the diabolical arch villain all along. Extra points of course for getting mentioned in a Kanye verse too - "Unbreakable, whatcha think they call me Mr. Glass?" from the song "Through the Wire" off the album The College Dropout

2. Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction
Bet you thought the verbose hitman would top the charts, didn't you? That would be too easy. Still, you can't question the awesomeness that is Jules Winnfield and if you do, I'll be showing up at your house to read to you from the Bible. Ezekiel 25:17...

1. Carl Lee Hailey - A Time to Kill
Yes, Hollywood over did it with all the John Grisham novels being turned into movies. We all could have done without The Pelican Brief, I agree. But this bad boy right here was excellent. Sure, McConaughey was typical McConaughey and Sandra Bullock was typical Sandra Bullock, but Sam? Sam was out-fucking-standing as the angered father of a raped child accused of killing the Redneck KKK boys that did it. Eleven words: "Yes I killed them and I hope they burn in Hell!"

Honourable Mentions go out to Jackie Brown and Resurrecting the Champ and I think we can all agree on the greatest Samuel L. Jackson quote of all time...

I'm tired of these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane!

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The Rundown: Restaurant Recipes

Jumbled in with the 437 other plans and ideas and career opportunities that I have riffling through my head on a daily basis is the notion that one day, when I've got a whack of cash all saved up (because I'm so awesome at saving money) I would love to open my own restaurant.

Actually, to call it a restaurant would give you the wrong impression. More correctly, I would one day love to open my own pub; one with a big old bar in the center of everything with plenty of brass taps and stools to go around and a menu of my own creation.

Yes, I fancy myself a bit of a cook amongst all the other things too.

Anyway, after fixing up a delicious dinner tonight that would certainly be on the menu, I got thinking about how I skipped out on a Rundown yesterday while caught up in my Vancouver Lovefest but now I have a perfect topic for one and so what do you know?

A little background on the idea concept first: open for all three meals of the day since breakfast is my all-time favourite with board games like checkers and chess built into the smaller tables, books, newspapers and a reading area available for people to sit and eat in and none of that tacky bar shit that clutters up most chain pubs these days. Live music three nights a week and trivia night on Tuesdays too.

Now that you have the vision...

Five Future Restaurant Recipes

5. The Breakfast Hero
Besides serving several classic breakfast options, this bad boy would be the secret weapon and people's champ of the breakfast menu. Half a homestyle loaf of bread, sliced in half and gutted of some of the dough so as to make room for the goodness. Scrambled eggs with your choice of additional ingredients (peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc.) one top of two stripes of Irish bacon and topped with sharp cheddar cheese that gets melted down on top of all of it. Served with home fries and lots of ketchup...

4. Avocado, Bacon and Roquefort Salad

This one I stole from a place in England called The Chop Shop, but after making my own variation tonight, it would surely make the list. It's pretty much just as the name says; all those ingredients on top of Baby Spinach with a warm Roquefort cheese dressing. Top be served in both meal and app sizes.

3. Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Wild Rice and Asparagus

Everybody needs a killer chicken entree and this is mine. Nice salty prosciutto wrapped around a boneless, skinless chicken breast, seared before being put in the oven with fresh asparagus on a bed of wild rice. Make a nice little white wine sauce from the pan fried goodness and bon appetit!

2. Angelhair Shrimp Pesto

Gotta have a pasta, but this one won't make you feel all stuffed after three bites. This one will leave you satisfied and wanting more, the way it should be. Fresh pasta with wilted spinach and big, fat shrimp tossed in a nice garlicly, pine nutty pesto with some fresh parmigiano reggiano over top for the final touch.

1. The Ahi Burger

Way back some time ago, I first made mention of this bad boy. This would be the one that really has them coming back. Great for lunch or dinner, this would be my star attraction. Sushi-grade Ahi tuna cut into nice steaks about 1/2 inch thick, marinated and seared on the grill. A fresh Scotch Bap with Wasabi Mayo, sliced avocado and julienned cucumber as garnish with your choice of salad or sweet potato fries as a side. Trust me - heaven in a bun!

There are way more ideas for the menu and I will admit to this - my place isn't going to be the health conscious choice seeing as bacon makes an appearance in almost all these recipes. But in the words of Vincent Vega... Bacon is good!

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