Once in a while, you watch a movie, time passes, and slowly but surely - and with increasing frequency & intensity - you start to think back to the movie, which at first you didn't think much of.
I watched Primer back in March, during my I-just-got-laid-off-now-I'm-going-to-watch-as-movies-as-humanly-possible phase, via Netflix Instant Watch, with my husband one evening. I can't remember if someone had recommended the movie to me, or if I'd read about it - or maybe Netflix itself suggested it to me based on my past cinematic likes/dislikes. I've deliberately not linked to its IMDB page, or even put an image of the movie poster up on this post, because if you are going to watch it after reading this - I want you to go into it knowing as little as I did.
I don't want to say the movie "haunts" me, but I have found myself thinking about it more and more lately (4 months later). I'm not sure if something in my daily life or on the news triggered it, but as I do brainless mundane things - oh, like blogging - my mind starts to wander and I start thinking about the movie, its implications, and all the plot twists. Bottom line: I like how this movie made me feel and think - and it pretty much tops my current Top 10 Recommendable Movies list.
What I will tell you is that the film is of science fiction genre. It's about time travel. It's very low budget and has, like, a 7-person cast.
That's all I'm going to say. If you've watched it already - or if you watch it in the near future - please send me your thoughts and comments...
2010-07-24
2010-07-21
Dire qu'il n'est pas si!
So I love when smaller human-interest stories on the news become these huge blown-out-of-proportion big deals (especially, ahem, if maybe that was the original intent?).
Case in point:
Baskin Robbins is retiring five flavors, including French Vanilla.
OK. I admit I almost never get French Vanilla when I go to BR, but I do consider it a classic flavor - like chocolate & strawberry. In fact, I'd probably order French Vanilla over plain vanilla any day of the week. And I agree with Mr. Muskett (in the article I linked to above) that you CAN tell the difference when you put FV in a root beer (or coke) float vs. regular vanilla!
I don't know what BR is thinking, but they've definitely been getting some great "free" publicity. I hope this isn't just a hoax like when Disney claims they're "locking movies in the vault" and then just bring them back 5 years later, digitally enhanced with added extras that nobody could ever want or care about.
But just in case, I guess I'll go get my "last" French Vanilla cone - just so I can tell my grandkids about it some day. You know, how BR used to have a flavor that was like a discolored strangely yellow version vanilla...
Oo la la!
*Kisses fingertips on right hand and then quickly spreads fingers out as though exploding*
Case in point:
Baskin Robbins is retiring five flavors, including French Vanilla.
OK. I admit I almost never get French Vanilla when I go to BR, but I do consider it a classic flavor - like chocolate & strawberry. In fact, I'd probably order French Vanilla over plain vanilla any day of the week. And I agree with Mr. Muskett (in the article I linked to above) that you CAN tell the difference when you put FV in a root beer (or coke) float vs. regular vanilla!
I don't know what BR is thinking, but they've definitely been getting some great "free" publicity. I hope this isn't just a hoax like when Disney claims they're "locking movies in the vault" and then just bring them back 5 years later, digitally enhanced with added extras that nobody could ever want or care about.
But just in case, I guess I'll go get my "last" French Vanilla cone - just so I can tell my grandkids about it some day. You know, how BR used to have a flavor that was like a discolored strangely yellow version vanilla...
Oo la la!
*Kisses fingertips on right hand and then quickly spreads fingers out as though exploding*
2010-07-12
Monday night din-din quickie
Yum! I have to say one of my favorite recipes in The Joy of Cooking is Ms. Rombauer et al's Tandoori Marinade (p. 85, 1997 ed.). It made for a great focus to my 40-minute meal tonight.
I got off work late today and had errands to run, so I didn't get home until 7:20. Once I'd unloaded the car, checked the mail, and fed kitty, it was 7:40pm - "Wheel of Fortune" was well under way, my husband had just messaged he was on his way home, and I had at least 2 loads of laundry I HAD to do tonight. (Last dryer load is juuust finishing up now.)
Forty minutes later, I had dinner for two and then some -
- 2 Tandoori chicken breasts (BBQ-grilled)
- 1/3 La Brea Bakery French batard, warmed in the oven then sliced
- Romaine salad with grilled corn (made it yesterday), gruyere cheese, green grapes, Ranch dressing
- Garlic confit (thanks to YH) for the bread instead of butter
- Skinny Dip beer (by New Belgium Brewing Company, the makers of Fat Tire) for me, watered-down apple juice for the spouse
Sorry I don't have a photo - but take my word for it, it was goooood!
I got off work late today and had errands to run, so I didn't get home until 7:20. Once I'd unloaded the car, checked the mail, and fed kitty, it was 7:40pm - "Wheel of Fortune" was well under way, my husband had just messaged he was on his way home, and I had at least 2 loads of laundry I HAD to do tonight. (Last dryer load is juuust finishing up now.)
Forty minutes later, I had dinner for two and then some -
- 2 Tandoori chicken breasts (BBQ-grilled)
- 1/3 La Brea Bakery French batard, warmed in the oven then sliced
- Romaine salad with grilled corn (made it yesterday), gruyere cheese, green grapes, Ranch dressing
- Garlic confit (thanks to YH) for the bread instead of butter
- Skinny Dip beer (by New Belgium Brewing Company, the makers of Fat Tire) for me, watered-down apple juice for the spouse
Sorry I don't have a photo - but take my word for it, it was goooood!
2010-07-11
Toy Story 3 made me cry
First off, I give Toy Story 3 an A.
Someone told me before I saw it that it was better than the first two. I scoffed at that then, but now I'm starting to reconsider. Granted there was maybe one part where it started to feel long, the whole scene with the trash incinerator was a bit much, and the Lotso character was also a bit much - overall, I still thought the movie was fantastic.
My husband & I saw it in "Disney Digital 3D". We were trying to figure out whether Disney 3D was different from the 3D we watched, say, How to Train Your Dragon in. It was the same Real-D 3D glasses, and it looked like your typical post-production 3D-ification technique. I guess anything Disney touches, though, has to have their name on it..
The kicker for me was pretty much the last 15 minutes of the movie, which made me cry. Not tear up, or have a little lip quiver - but full-on cry. Tears were streaming down my face and my nose started running.
The inside of my 3D glasses started fogging up as I desperately tried to wipe my eyes, them, and my nose with the fewest movements and least amount of sniffling lest the people around me (mainly my husband) noticed that I was on the verge of all-out bawling.
That last scene in which college-bound Andy gives his toys to the little girl, Bonnie, one-by-one just KILLED me. I mean, I'm already amazed they got the same guy, John Morris, to do Andy's voice through all three movies - I'm not sure what else he's been in (doesn't seem like much from IMDB), but his voice-acting was spot on. Tom Hanks, of course, also did a stellar job with Woody - again.
Other memorable tidbits:
- the Ken character is HIIIIII-larious!
- usual Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head banter
- Spanish Buzz
- crazy scary Big Baby
- REALLY crazy scary (& screaming) monkey with cymbals
- the Bonnie character is to-die-for-adorable
If you liked the first two Toy Story's, I think it's definitely worth seeing this one on the big screen (doesn't have to be in 3D though). Just be sure to stick around for the montage during the end credits. Those last tidbits of humor are the only thing that saved me from walking out of the theatre with red eyes and a runny nose.
Oh, and maybe bring a hankie.
2010-07-08
The worst blackberry pie ever
I cringe to even write this post as I already have a hit or miss reputation in the kitchen. Some of you have experienced me at my finest and my lowest (GW, no comments about the 2007 rigatoni with steak sauce incident please!) But I spent a LOT of time on this damn pie, and took tons of pictures in anticipation of it being my first food-related blog post... so, here goes.
My husband LOVES blackberries. I used to despise them as I thought they tasted like soap. But I've grown to appreciate them over the years and now even prefer them to raspberries. I had slapped together a blackberry galette for Fathers Day, which came out quite nicely (if I do say so myself). Granted, it had about 3 ingredients and the recipe was about 4 steps long. But I was inspired nonetheless. I decided it was time to bake me a bonafide pie!
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #1: The original recipe is for rhubarb pie, not blackberry. Therein probably lies the rub.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #2: I've always mistrusted the oven in our apartment. Things always take longer to bake in it than it should, so I believe it runs cooler than the set temperature. I however did not do anything to compensate for this hunch.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #3: The cornstarch in the cupboard was REALLY old. It was from my husband's bachelor days, old.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #4: This is the first fruit pie I've ever attempted.
The recipe (from Williams-Sonoma's The Weeknight Cook):
I started out by using the leftover flaky pastry dough I'd used for the galette I made a week prior for Father's Day (the recipe for the dough yields 2 discs), and tossed the berries in sugar.
The first sign, here, should have been the egregious imbalance of sugar to berry ratio. Again, this was my first pie and all, but it seemed like a LOT of excess sugar for the amount of filling.
Next, I set the dough in the pie dish and filled with the filling & cornstarch mixture.
A stick of butter for the crumbly topping. Yes, a whole stick. :)
This is what it looked like just before I stuck in the oven:
And after baking it for the maximum time plus 5 minutes because the topping still didn't look brown enough for me, I pulled it out. It LOOKED great!
But I soon realized it was a soupy mess on the inside. Not sure if it was because the cornstarch was too old and didn't properly thicken the sauce. Or if there was just too much sugar and the water content of blackberries is so different from rhubarb that it just didn't work. The world will never know.
After eating my obligatory "taste" sliver of a slice, I also put a slice in front of my husband after he ate dinner that night. Like the good husband he is, he took 3 whole sugary soupy bites and forced them down. The rest of that slice, and the whole pie, was for the birds.
My husband LOVES blackberries. I used to despise them as I thought they tasted like soap. But I've grown to appreciate them over the years and now even prefer them to raspberries. I had slapped together a blackberry galette for Fathers Day, which came out quite nicely (if I do say so myself). Granted, it had about 3 ingredients and the recipe was about 4 steps long. But I was inspired nonetheless. I decided it was time to bake me a bonafide pie!
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #1: The original recipe is for rhubarb pie, not blackberry. Therein probably lies the rub.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #2: I've always mistrusted the oven in our apartment. Things always take longer to bake in it than it should, so I believe it runs cooler than the set temperature. I however did not do anything to compensate for this hunch.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #3: The cornstarch in the cupboard was REALLY old. It was from my husband's bachelor days, old.
Disclaimer (i.e. Pathetic Excuse) #4: This is the first fruit pie I've ever attempted.
The recipe (from Williams-Sonoma's The Weeknight Cook):
The first sign, here, should have been the egregious imbalance of sugar to berry ratio. Again, this was my first pie and all, but it seemed like a LOT of excess sugar for the amount of filling.
Next, I set the dough in the pie dish and filled with the filling & cornstarch mixture.
This is what it looked like just before I stuck in the oven:
And after baking it for the maximum time plus 5 minutes because the topping still didn't look brown enough for me, I pulled it out. It LOOKED great!
But I soon realized it was a soupy mess on the inside. Not sure if it was because the cornstarch was too old and didn't properly thicken the sauce. Or if there was just too much sugar and the water content of blackberries is so different from rhubarb that it just didn't work. The world will never know.
After eating my obligatory "taste" sliver of a slice, I also put a slice in front of my husband after he ate dinner that night. Like the good husband he is, he took 3 whole sugary soupy bites and forced them down. The rest of that slice, and the whole pie, was for the birds.
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