Istanbul Sofra, a Welcoming Restaurant in Regent Square; ‘Sinister 2’ Scary at Local Theaters (Wed., 8/26/15)

1) Celebrating over a year in business, Istanbul Sofra is a welcome addition to that colorful culinary corner on South Braddock and Forbes across from Frick Park. Seinfeld’s Kenny Bania would proclaim their lentil soup the best, Jerry, the best. The falafels, hummus, and kebabs are also hard to beat.  Additionally cool: BYOB; outdoor seating; and free soda, juice, or cay with lunch. That last item is pronounced “chai,” but don’t confuse it with those sugary lattés from Starbucks. A dark red tea, cay comes in tulip-shaped glasses and is a symbol of Turkish hospitality. Top it off with some Turkish coffee and baklava for dessert. 7600 Forbes Ave., Regent Square. (CM)

2) Sinister 2 – These days the world is such a hectic place and with the constant demands of social media it’s hard to keep up with the things you want to do, let alone the things you need to do. So it’s entirely understandable if you happened to miss the 2012 supernatural horror film Sinister. In case you were at a spinning class, here’s what you missed: Ethan Hawke played a true crime writer who discovers a series of video tapes showing various families being murdered. It turns out that a demonic figure, Bughuul, has possessed the families’ youngest child to kill the grown ups. Who wouldn’t want more of the same?

In this sequel, it’s three years later and an unsuspecting family move into the house in which the demon is living. Bughuul tries to convince one of the twin boys to kill his family – meanwhile a police officer (James Ransone from the first film) is still trying to get to the bottom of the killings in Sinister 1. Not that this has anything to do with anything, but did you know that the word “sinister” is from the Italian word for “left-handed?” That kind of explains why the nuns kept hitting you lefties with a ruler during penmanship class. Like I said, it has nothing to do with the movie, but it’s something to think about during the slow parts. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

3) Jurassic World — Am I wrong or wasn’t the underlying message of the Jurassic Park series a caution against being blinded by greed? Well, director Colin Trevorrow, along with a pack of writers, throw said caution to the wind and bring us Jurassic World, the fourth installment of this saga about dinosaurs scientifically brought to life in the modern world. Here’s the plot: The “Jurassic World” dino-theme park on Isla Nublar has been highly successful for the last decade. Here’s the problem: People are bored and attendance is slipping.

Yes, you read that right. Nobody’s going anymore because they’re all, like, “dinosaurs … whatever.” So the company creates a new giant genetic mutant to entertain the crowds. What could possibly go wrong? Hasn’t anyone seen the previous films? The second movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park ended with a T-Rex running loose through the streets of San Diego so what kind of whackadoodle would even consider going to Isla Nublar? The same sort of person, I guess, who has grown bored looking at a “regular” dinosaurs. (Try not to cheer when the mutant eats them.) Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio, B.D. Wong, and Judy Greer star. Will it be a hit? Or will it bring to mind the tag line from the Stephen King film Pet Sematary: “Sometimes, dead is better”? Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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