Little George’s Restaurant, 2684 Westfield St., West Springfield
I will be honest; I rarely eat breakfast. It is hard for me to work up much of an appetite in the early morning hours, which often leaves me overcompensating when it comes to lunch. For this reason, breakfast is a rare indulgence, a special opportunity to gorge my stomach on a wealth of morning classics.
Western Massachusetts features a gamut of tantalizing breakfast eateries, many of which I look forward to covering in future editions. Little George’s in West Springfield certainly ranks as a personal favorite. Little George’s delivers a sensational iteration of morning munchies, perfecting an endless array of staple dishes with flavor and panache.
Little George’s aesthetics feels like home. The restaurant stands as an unassuming nook tucked within the winding roadway connecting West Springfield and Westfield. Once inside, patrons are greeted by a welcoming diner environment. The room always radiates with the warm glow of friends and family enjoying a meal, while the counter service tables exude the old-school allure of a breakfast eatery from a bygone era.
Every dish Little George’s serves up is immaculate. They offer an endless onslaught of delightful dishes, from fluffy pancakes to omelets bursting with a hearty helping of toppings. Little George’s even features a robust lunch menu, including mouth-watering burgers and rustic Italian fare.
My go-to is always the French toast, specifically the Texas French toast. This version of French toast is sinfully decadent, featuring thick slabs of bread that seem grander than Texas itself. Each bite is more comforting than the last, especially when buried with layers of butter and syrup.
The Texas French toast may be my go-to, but truth be told, patrons can make no wrong choice at Little George’s Restaurant.
Now playing in theaters: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
The 2010s featured countless tantalizing titles, yet amidst the cluttered crowd, the “Planet of the Apes” franchise stood tall above the pack.
The 2011 reboot “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” maintained the 1967 original’s existential view on societal divides through a thrilling new canvas. The introduction of Caesar, a young ape mutated through a callous experiment, provided a compelling emotional anchor brought to life by Andy Serkis’s compelling motion-capture performance.
“Rise” adeptly modernized the franchise’s lore while defining an arresting new perspective for meaningful meditations. The film’s glowing results were soon followed by “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War of the Planet of the Apes.” Both features possessed similar grit and intellect, reckoning with humanity’s degradation in a refreshingly nihilistic light.
Now, under Disney’s ownership, the brand is rebooted once again with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” This loose sequel to the 2010s trilogy contrasts sharply with its predecessors. What once stood as a nuanced franchise has sadly disintegrated into another big-budget excuse for meaningless spectacle.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is consistently underwhelming, mainly because it rarely defines a meaningful reason to exist. Screenwriter Josh Friedman repurposes several franchise trademarks, from the frosty rivalry between man and ape to the emergence of warring ape factions motivated by different ideologies. I credit Friedman for attempting to imbue some new wrinkles, like a twist on the familiar ape vs. ape conflict, but his narrative comes across as a status quo experience.
Worst of all, the textures that elevated previous “Planet of the Apes” endeavors are nowhere to be found. Our new protagonist, Noa, exists only as an empty vessel guided forward by underbaked motivations. Other figures, such as the menacing adversary Proximus Caesar and the human outcast Nova, rarely receive the nuance needed to transform them into captivating characters. There is a rough thematic throughline here about how Ceaser’s good-natured virtues are deformed by future generations — a sentiment that feels exceedingly relevant to our own society. That said, the idea is sledgehammered to pieces thanks to the film’s didactic hand holding.
Many credit the “Planet of the Apes” series for being at the forefront of cinematic innovations. The previous trilogy achieved remarkable visual feats from its integration of motion-capture technology, allowing the actors to embody the digital characters in a profoundly humanistic light. In contrast, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” feels more like a tech demo devoid of emotion. Director Wes Ball creates lively worlds and detailed ape characters, yet none of these facets feature the lived-in qualities that make everything come to life. A film camera is supposed to be a tool for meaningful expression, not just a lens for expensive effects work.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is a competent yet oppressively hollow blockbuster endeavor that forgets the critical ingredients behind its accomplished predecessors.
