2016 got off to a pretty dire start last month, but thankfully, Hollywood has put together one hell of an apology with what is quickly shaping up to be the most promising February in a very long time – if ever. Though there are still a few duds littered throughout the month (here’s looking at you, “Gods of Egypt”), there are also some really exciting new releases, including the long-awaited Deadpool movie and the latest from directors Joel and Ethan Coen and John Hillcoat.

Who: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes and Scarlett Johansson
What: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio’s stars in line.
When: February 5th
Why: It’s been awhile since the Coen brothers made a straight-up comedy, instead focusing on more dramatic fare like “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “True Grit,” but the writing/directing duo appears to be back to their screwball best with this period piece set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Though the Coens’ goofier films have always been hit-and-miss (for every “Raising Arizona,” there’s an “Intolerable Cruelty”), the footage released thus far has been pretty encouraging, particularly an extended clip with Ralph Fiennes and Alden Ehrenreich squabbling over a line of dialogue that perfectly encapsulates the farcical tone of the movie.

Who: Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Lena Headey and Charles Dance
What: Jane Austen’s classic tale of tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge: an army of undead.
When: February 5th
Why: How do you make “Pride and Prejudice” exciting? Add zombies. That was the secret sauce in Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling mashup novel, which transformed the literary classic into a blood-stained horror comedy. But that was seven years ago, so it’ll be interesting to see whether anyone still cares now that it’s finally being adapted for the big screen. After all, the last Grahame-Smith novel to receive the Hollywood treatment, 2012’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” was a massive flop, and although “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” has a cleverer concept, it’s just as one-note, which doesn’t bode well for its audience, whoever that’s supposed to be.

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During the first few years of prohibition, seafaring bootleggers attempting to import contraband booze into the U.S. could rely on a three-mile limit…the point beyond which American legal jurisdiction ended and alcohol became legal. In an effort to make the logistics of illegal import more challenging, a 1924 law extended the limit to a full 12 miles. Presumably, the new law made things harder both on rum-runners and legitimate cruise lines and their thirsty passengers.

As recounted in the 21st century by Ted Haigh in his uber-influential “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails,” globetrotting journalist Tommy Millard therefore took it upon himself to up the ante on a previously existing Three Mile Limit cocktail (aka the Three Miler). Milard was apparently quite the gadabout and man about whatever town he happened to be in who, as one fellow journo put it, moved about like “a leaf on the wind.”

Today, I celebrate the fact that, after losing my first copy of Ted Haigh’s book to a water-filled sink, another copy has arrived at my doorstop with this potent, but actually quite tasty beverage. Even today, it’s probably best consumed when the authorities are well out of reach.

The Twelve-Mile Limit

1 ounce white rum
1/2 ounce rye whiskey
1/2 ounce brandy
1/2 ounce grenadine
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 lemon twist (garnish)

Combine all of the non-garnish ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. (I like to start to with the grenadine, to make sure all of the thick syrup finds it’s way from the measuring jigger to the drink.) Shake vigorously, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the lemon twist and salute your freedom to be the highly responsible boozer you are.

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When it comes to brands, different writers seem to have strong preferences for what works best in a Twelve-Mile limit. Mr. Haigh suggests that Appleton White Rum and Hennessy VS brandy are his favorites for this drink. Writing in 2010, rum blogger Matt Robold thought a bolder rum was in order and offered El Dorado 3 Year Old or Montanya Platino. The following year, blogger Doug Ford used Mount Gay Eclipse Silver rum, Sazerac rye, and Courvoisier VSOP brandy.

I used what I had in the house. My first version included Bacardi Maestro de Ron, 100 proof Rittenhouse Rye, and my default Reynal Brandy. That come out a bit tart for my taste. I had more fun with the next, version where I went with the slightly less potent Bulleit Rye and Meyer’s Light Rum, producing a much more pleasantly mellow libation. A less high end version featuring plain old regular light Bacardi and Old Overholt rye was simple, but nicely balanced between sweet, tart, and boozy flavors.

One more note. Despite what you might read on some blogs, making your own grenadine is a great thing to do if you’re itching to go all DIY, but it’s in no way a necessity. I just try to make sure I’m using something with at least some real pomegranate juice in. Right now, I’m using Sonoma Syrup, but my usual default, Master of Mixes, would very likely have been about as good. For some reason, the online prices I’m seeing for the latter are MUCH higher that what I remember paying for it at my local BevMo! Nevertheless, avoid the all-artificial super cheapy stuff, if you can.

And now a moment of silence on behalf of long deceased journalists and other leaves on the wind.

When Steven Gerrard signed for LA Galaxy it felt like a watershed moment for soccer in the United States.

Here was a man who had dedicated his life to one club in the Premier League, a player in the mould of Ryan Giggs or Paolo Maldini, choosing the MLS as the only place he would ply his trade away from his Liverpool heartland.

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Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Elisabeth Röhm, Édgar Ramírez, Virgina Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd

David O. Russell

David O. Russell has developed a repertory of players akin to “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy. Including Russell’s new film “Joy,” Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper have been in each of his last three films, while Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Elisabeth Rohm have been in two of his last four. Russell had some hiccups with actors early in his career (George Clooney and Lily Tomlin come to mind), so it’s nice to see that Russell has found the balance between the directorial process and ego management, and that is crucial to a director’s continued success. If you have a reputation for treating actors poorly, you will no longer have good actors auditioning for your films, or accepting your calls.

With “Joy,” Russell has a motherlode of talent ready to carry the weight, but his own script undercuts them. It begins with an “American Hustle”-style bolt of adrenaline, but it quickly shifts into ‘kick the shit out of Joy’ mode for the rest of the movie. Joy is dealt a terrible hand, and the movie’s message seems to be that that is why she became a success, that it was her awful family that gave her the drive to succeed. So for you parents out there who are encouraging their kids to think positive and believe in themselves, we’re all clearly doing it wrong. If you want your kids to be super-rich, you clearly have to raise them to be sociopaths.

Joy (Lawrence) was encouraged at an early age by her grandmother (Diane Ladd) that she was meant to use her creativity to do greater things for her horribly broken family. She has a half-sister Peggy (Rohm) from her father Rudy’s (De Niro) first marriage, and by the time Joy married singer Tony Miranne (Edgar Ramirez), Rudy was on his third marriage, which of course ended in divorce. Now divorced herself with two kids, Tony living in the basement, and her mother (Virginia Madsen) watching soap operas nearly nonstop, Joy has yet to act on her promise, until a moment on the boat of Rudy’s new girlfriend Trudy (Isabella Rossellini) gives Joy the idea of a lifetime: a mop that people can clean without touching the strands. Joy draws it up with the help of her daughter, and meets nothing but disapproval and resistance from the people who have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, from her success.

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Christmas is just around the corner. At this time of year many of us are reaching for the dustiest DVDs on our shelves, having found the perfect opportunity to re-watch our yuletide favorite films.

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