Movie Review: Burlesque

Here's a link to the trailer

I had a rough Sunday - more about that another time - and the hubs was thoughtful enough to think I needed a night out of the house, so he surprised me with an impromptu date night.

We checked what was playing at the local theatre and decided that Burlesque was a movie we had both heard of and wanted to see. I wasn't really sure what I expected going into it, but I was happy with the result.

The costumes are great, and surprisingly the acting isn't too bad, either. It's a fairly typical story - small town girl goes to L.A. to make it big. She falls on hard times, can't find a job, wanders into a burlesque club and stands in awe by what she sees. At first she thinks she's in a strip club, but the guy at the door quickly points out that these ladies don't strip. The lights go out and the show starts. She is dumbfounded and wants in. Blah, blah - not giving away too much of the plot - she finally ends up "in" when the owner realizes she can dance, and not too long afterwards hears that she has some amazing songbird capabilities, too.

There's some romance and they try to throw in a few life lessons, too. My biggest disappointment was that in a movie where more than half the dialogue was sung, Cher only sang two songs. However; Christina Aguilera did not disappoint. I was surprised that she could actually act and as it was her character singing the majority of the songs. Her trademark sound was perfect for the part. I'm not ordinarily a soundtrack person, but I think if I see this soundtrack in the store it's going to make it's way into my shopping cart.

So if you're looking for an escape from your holiday shopping, cooking, party going - I'd recommend this one.



Movie Review: The American

Even the movie poster makes you think
 it's going to be Bondish.
007 would be sorely disappointed.

As I alluded in yesterday's blog, The American was a disappointment. The trailer wisely edited together the best parts of the movie thinking you were going to see George Clooney in some sort of James Bond film. I didn't do any research on the movie before hand. I really wasn't sure what it was about, and figured it was some sort of action movie.

Hmmm... should have done my research on this one. While there were pieces of action, the movie was dreadfully slow. And, there was barely any conversation. I'm all for artistic expression, but when the dialogue in the movie makes Castaway seem like an endless manuscript of dialogue, you know something's missing.

To the director's credit, there is some gorgeous camera work. The artistry of depicting the Italian countryside is splendid. However, it just wasn't enough to keep me entertained. You can only see the main character speed down the Italian countryside (and I use the term "speed" very loosely as he drove an older sedan that didn't appear to be able to go above 45 mph without falling apart) so many times before you start to wonder what color the walls are behind the tapestries of the theatre you're sitting in.

George plays an assassin/arms dealer of sorts who decides he's giving up the life. He befriends a priest. He courts a prostitute (another awkward bought of filming - while I'm all for a good sex scene, really the camera doesn't need to focus on the lady's naked boobs for which seems like an eternity) and asks her to run away with him.

Things don't go according to his plan. I won't give away details, but know that it's a movie that requires you to think.

On the plus side, George gets more lickable with age. On the downside, it's only entertaining to watch him work out the first time, the following 2-3 scenes of him working out in dress slacks are somewhat stupid. Why would anyone, especially an assassin, not have a pair of proper work out clothes?

In case you haven't figured it out, I would give this movie a D-. I don't like to give F's, and I can appreciate the artistry of the movie. But, I truly could have been more entertained if I had taken a match to $20 and watched it burn to a crisp.

Movie Review: Dinner for Schmucks

I don't normally do movie reviews, I leave those more my much more entertaining friend, Audreya. And yes, She is the only follower I repeatedly tag - because most of the rest of you just stalk me and don't blog as well. Anyway, today I'm deciding to steal the topic. I wasn't going to blog about Dinner For Schmucks, but the lack of anything else interesting happening lately has made me do it.

I think the problem with this movie is those of us who love the actors go into it with too high of expectations. Steve Carrell and Zach Galifinakis are two of the most hilarious guys out there (in my opinion). And, Paul Rudd is just adorable. I could lick him. But, that's another blog. Plus, Carrell and Rudd have some pretty great pairings under their belt already, examples: Ron Burgandy, and 40 year old virgin.

The movie starts out OK. Rudd works in a financial company and he's trying to work his way up the ladder. He makes a gutsy, yet impressive move to get the CEO's attention. He is told he is in line for the next promotion, but first he has to come to dinner. "Great," he thinks. No - there's a catch.... they have to bring a "guest," someone "who is or does something special" at the end of the night the most "special" (a.k.a. most ridiculous) person there gets an award. And, the guy that invited him gets bragging rights until the next time.

Of course, Rudd is appalled - but he's overextended and needs this promotion so he agrees to go. He has no idea where he'll find someone. His girlfriend tells him he's horrible for considering it. He tries to figure out a way to get out of it. And then he hits Steve Carrell with his car. He didn't see him because he was "rescuing" a dead mouse from the street. hmm... Carrell then begins to describe how he saves the bodies, taxidermies them, and sets them up as art/sculpture/whatever. He hands Rudd a taxidermied mouse dressed as Jesus. Of course Rudd takes this as a sign from God that he must go to the dinner and take Carrell with him.

Chaos ensues. Galfinakis' role is small, but he is hilarious in it. He is one of the bright spots in the movie. Unfortunately, while funny, the movie is too long. It probably would have been more entertaining if less had actually made it to the screen. On the other hand the actual "dinner" was a very short piece of the movie, if they had chopped some of the material leading up to the dinner and left more of that footage in there, it could have been more entertaining.

I did get quite a few laughs out of it, but then there were pieces where I felt like they were trying to hard.  It is something I'd watch again but I wouldn't spend the money to buy it. For this reason I give it a C. However I did see several trailers for movies I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE. A new segment of Meet the Parents is coming out, apparently they now have children... this new movie will be out at Christmas and is called Little Fockers. And, Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galfinakis are teaming up with the director from The Hangover to make a movie called Due Date. They are trying to get across the country to the birth of RDJ's firstborn. Looks like lots of chaos ensues on their road trip and it should be a Planes, Trains & Automobiles meets Hangover laugh fest. I can only hope!

Dinner Party Croatian Style

Saturday I hosted a dinner party with a great group of friends. We get together every other month and watch a movie, and prepare a meal based on a theme. We've done Julia Child (Julie & Julia - recipes from The Art of French Cooking) and Giada De Laurentiis (Under the Tuscan Sun - all Giada recipes). When it came for me to host I wanted to expose the group to Croatian food. Not a lot of people are familiar with it, and it is fabulous. There's not a Food Network chef (or any other one that I could think of off hand) we could dedicate the night to, but I have three Croatian cookbooks and knew it could be done.

I think the group was a little taken aback when I suggested it - but they humored me and followed the theme anyway. Croatian cooking reflects it's diverse geography and history. Croatia is in Eastern Europe, it has a rich culture and history as part of the Roman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, as well as being part of former Yugoslavia. They do a lot of seafood - a large part of their geography is along the Adriatic coast, and then their continental cuisine is rich in lamb, chicken, pork and beef. Fresh produce plays a big part of their meals as well. Due to shellfish allergies (and the lack of availability of really fresh Sea Bass or Squid in a land locked stated 1/2 way across the world from Croatia) we did a more continental dinner - which is fitting as it would be more similar to what would be cooked in homes near the capital city of Zagreb - the region where the hubs' family lives.

OK - enough background... on to dinner! We started at noon. I thought this was a little early, but a lot of the dishes, while easy to prepare are time consuming. We had three appetizers, a soup, salad, main course and dessert. 

For the appetizer Leibe prepared a Swiss Cheese and Radish Dip (Umak od svicarskog sira i rotkvica)as well as a Roulade of Smoked Salmon (Rulada od dimlejenog lososa) and Colin made a Mushroom, Bacon and Pepper Dip (Umak od gljiva, slanine i paprike). Each of the appetizers was really good. I must admit - I hate radishes... so when I found out that one of the apps was going to feature them, I was a little hesitant. But, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was!

Swiss Cheese and Radish Dip
Umak od svicarskog sira i rotkvica

Roulade of Smoked Salmon
Rulada od dimlejenog lososa

Mushroom, Bacon and Pepper Dip
Umak od gljiva, slanine i paprike

Next was our soup. Caroline prepared an amazing Peasant-Style Vegetable Soup (Seoska juha od povraca) of pureed potatoes, leeks and carrots garnished with spinach.

Peasant-Style Vegetable Soup
Seoska juha od povraca

Caroline's soup had a great flavor. With everything pureed together it was smooth and the baby loved the left overs! This is a soup that can be used either as we had it - a prelude to a meal - or it could easily stand on it's own as a meal itself during a crisp fall day. Couple it with a heart bread and you have yourself a meal!

Course three was Joanne's Spinach, Pear and Pomegranate Salad with toasted walnuts and feta. Since pomegranate is hard to find this time of year, she substituted dried cranberries. The contrast of flavors and textures in this salad was really good - and I will say, I'd like to eat just the walnuts (toasted in olive oil) as a snack anytime!

Main course time came around and it was my turn. In selecting items, I wanted something different - that you wouldn't have every day, but still reflected meals the hubs would have back home. He tells stories of how they would frequently roast meat over a spit outside. Well, I wasn't going to build a spit in the backyard; however, slow roasted lamb is something not a lot of people cook and I thought it would be a treat to make for the group. The recipe I chose was Leg of Lamb Banovina Style (Banovacki janjeci but) which is leg of lamb seasoned by inserting slices of bacon, rosemary and garlic into small slits in the meat and then roasted at medium heat for about 2.5 hours. You serve it with a gravy and it suggested a potato side dish. Which I did Potatoes Braised with Spinach (Krumpir sa spinatom). Both of these recipes were from either the region he is from, or a neighboring region. I had him look at them in the cookbook and he said that yes, that would be something they would occasionally make there. So I was sure to be authentic!

Somehow I neglected to take a picture of our dessert, but let me tell you it was excellent! Kirsten treated us to a Hazelnut Cream Cake (Krem torta od ljesnjaka) and I brewed some Turkish Coffee (Turska kava) , we enjoyed dessert while watching our movie Harrison's Flowers -  about an American photojournalist who goes missing during the war in the early 1990's.

Of course, what dinner party isn't complete without wine? Croatian wine is hard to come by here, unless you order it from the internet and pay more for shipping than you do for the wine. I did, however, luck out and find a store in town that could get some Croatian red wine. We had this with our salad and main course. And, I bought some Cockta (a Croatian drink similar to Coca-Cola), which we made Bambus with. Bambus is a mix of part Cockta and part red wine. It sounds weird - but it's very good.

Hopefully by eating the food and watching the movie they learned a little more about that area of the world. And what it brings to the table!

Robin Hood - Not Your Average Man in Tights

So, as promised we went and saw Russell Crowe as Robin Hood: The Untold Story of How the Man Became a Legend this past weekend. I must admit, it was much better than I expected it to be, and not at all like Gladiator. With it starring Crowe and Ridley Scott directing, I really expected it to be Maximus in Medieval Times. While there were a few similarities, they were few and far between.

This is NOT the Robin Hood you grew up knowing. It is a different tale, showing Robin fighting as an archer in the crusades and then returning back to England to an oppressive government. I don't want to give out details and ruin the movie for you, but there is no past history between Robin & Maid Marion... they don't meet until after his return to England. Also, there is not a return of King Richard in this film. You see, he was killed in battle and Robin returns his crown to England, giving it to the Queen Mum who in turn crowns Prince John as the new ruler.

The story line is also left open at the end making room for a sequel later. I don't know how there would be a sequel, and don't know that Ridley Scott is really into making sequels out of his movies, but there is definitely room at the end to extend this story into a sequel if they so choose. The actors did a fantastic job. Crowe, as always, delivered his performance superbly. Cate Blanchette was a fantastic Marion. Each of the actors embodied their roles. I don't think I would have recast a single person in the film.

I do think this is a movie for the big screen. There were not as many fight scenes in it as I expected - it follows a story line fairly well, and doesn't have as much action as the trailers would make you think. But when they do fight, Scott does deliver his trademark fights of epic proportion. All and all I give the movie an A. Not necessarily one I'd see multiple times in the theatre, but one I will probably purchase once it's available.

My Return to the Movies - and a Glimpse at Robin Hood

I don't typically do movie reviews... I leave that up to Audreya. She is the movie buff, I am the foodie. However; the spousal unit and I have been anxiously awaiting the premier of Robin Hood. So will be providing you a full report either sometime over the weekend or first thing Monday morning. I am looking forward to this movie for a number of reason, least of which is the fact that this will be the first movie I've gotten to see in a theatre since New Moon debuted. I am a huge fan of movie theatres and the experience that comes with them. What better way to get reaquainted than with an action packed film?


You see, we (the spousal unit and me) are big fans of both Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott. In fact, our favorite movie is Gladiator. I have to be honest, part of me is hoping this movie isn't a reincarnation of Gladiator in midevil times. After all, it is the same actor and the same director. And in the trailor there are some striking similarities. There are also actors that intrigue me... For instance Scott Grimes (a.k.a. Dr. Archie Morris from ER) will be playing Will Scarlett. It is hard for me to picture Grimes as anyone other than the geeky doctor/pathological sperm donor from ER. It's also hard for me to picture Will Scarlett as anyone other than Christian Slater as I think that was probably Slater's best role ever.

I am thrilled; however, by Crowe playing Robin. True, I grew up on Kevin Costner's portrayal. But really, Robin Hood should have an accent. And of today's leading men with accents there is no better than Russell Crowe for this Role. Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler were people I briefly thought about, but decided Crowe probably is the most likely to fully embody the character. Plus, I'm more likely to pay attention to the movie with Crowe than fantasize about Jackman, ahhh... I digress.

I apparently am not smart enough to figure out how to embed the movie trailer. So in case you live in a hole and haven't seen the trailer yet, you can click here to see "trailer #3" it's the most action packed trailer.

Our Amazing Italian Feast

This weekend was a culinary treat! Saturday four of us got together for our dinner & a movie date that we have every couple of months. Last time it was Julie & Julia, and of course we made dinner with recipes from Julia Child's The Art of French Coooking.

This time around we watched Under the Tuscan Sun, and the recipes were from Giada de Laurentiis. The meal was fabulous. And, in true Italian form we took our time with it. Enjoying each other's company, laughing and drinking lots of good wine.

Our first course was a simple cheese and crackers plate with a side of grapes. We had three different cheeses (forgive me I don't know what type) accompanied by sesame crackers and grapes. Of course we had this with Presecco (an Italian sparkling white).

This was followed by appetizers. Apps were my department. I am used to desserts or main courses, so having to choose anything else is often mind-boggling to me. And let's not forget that I've been on a "I don't want to make any decisions" kick lately, I was really afraid I'd let the girls down with my apps.

For apps I served Goat Cheese Toasts and Watermelon, Tomato, Basil Skewers. Both these recipes were easy to make. The toasts were baugette bread lightly toasted in extra virgin olive oil, then spread with a mixture of goat cheese and herbs, topped with chopped kalamata olives and chives. YUM! My other app, I was a little leary about. Who ever heard of pairing watermelon and tomato? Much less putting balsalmic vinegar on it? I am not a huge fan of tomatoes by themselves, an only eat them in small doses. But let me just say - OMG! Giada is a freakin' genious. This was a light appetizer which was refreshing on the palate. The contrast of textures, the smoothness of the watermelon paired with the acidity of the tomato and crispness of the basil - very good. Top that with the reduction of equal parts balsalmic vinegar and sugar, it was just so refreshing and left you ready for the rest of the meal. Definitely something to make for spring/summer time get togethers.

Our next course was salad. Colin prepared an Artichoke and Tomato Panzanella, in which she grilled artichokes and mixed them with toasted  bread, olives and tomatoes,along with a few herbs. So tastey! Especially as I'd never had grilled artichokes before. We all agreed that grilling them adds a bit of sweetness to their flavor. This is one salad I'd prepare again, and even enjoy just as a light meal by itself.

   Our next course was soup. Again, this was Colin's department (bless her heart, one of our members cancelled so Colin picked up and took over 2 courses. She's originally just planned on soup but provided us two great courses to our meal)! She chose a Ribollita. What she describes as "A simple tuscan style soup". It is very similar to what we are used to as minestrone. But has spinach mixed in and is served over toasted ciabatta bread. This soup was so good I had to restrain myself from having seconds (or from licking the bowl). It could also stand by itself as a light meal.

Now for the main course! Kirsten stunned us with a twist on Chicken Marsala. Now, I have to admit when I heard we were having chicken marsala, I was like "Really? Great." It's not one of my favorite Italian dishes. I guess my days waiting tables at Olive Garden in college kind of turned me off from it. I served it so many times that I got to where just the smell of it kind of churned my stomach. However, this recipe had an interesting twist, Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce has a nice creamy sauce unlike any Marsala I've had before. The cremini mushrooms give it a nice earthy taste against the sauce, which is sweetened up a bit by the addition of mascarpone.

And finally, what meal isn't completed by a wonderful dessert? Caroline wowed us with Pears Poached in Red Wine. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an undying sweet tooth. But of late I've traded in my love affair with chocolate for a love affair with fruit. Pears Poached in Red Wine, satisfied this affair immensely. First the pears were cooked in the wine with cinnamon sticks and lemon slices, then the extra ingredients were removed and the wine was reduced to a thick syrup. Marscarpone was mixed with heavy cream to creat a dollop of creamy sinfulness to accompany the pears. I was in heaven. I truly think this was one of the best desserts I've had EVER. And, that's saying a lot.

Finally, in true Italian form a "Digestivi Liquore" was served as at the end of the meal. Colin's homemade Lemoncello was excellent. I've had many variations of Lemoncello ranging from smooth and creamy to so stout it would grow hair on your chest. Her's was a smooth mixture, light and crisp on the palate. A perfect end to an amazing meal!

*note I have recipes to all the courses listed above. If you are interested in trying these for yourself feel free to let me know and I'll gladly send them your way*

My Weekend in Review

This weekend flew by. I'm thinking I need a vacation just to recover! It started simple enough, just a couple movies and the couch.

We started out watching Taking Chance. This movie was more than I expected it to be. Kevin Bacon is a colonel in the Marine Corps. He's an analyst who is starting to double guess what exactly he's doing with his life. As he reviews the list of casulaties he runs across the name of a young man who's enlisted from his hometown in Colorado. Bacon volunteers to transport him home for the funeral. What ensues is a heart wrentching true story following the next week of his life. I'm glad I watched it in the dark, because the tears were freely flowing pretty much throughout the movie. I would definitely recommend it as a must see. It wasn't a movie in theatres, rather an HBO movie so it didn't get a lot of recognition. For once I'm happy I listened to what Netflix recommended.

We followed that up with Have You Heard About the Morgans? Funny movie. Not great, but just what I have come to expect from Hugh Grant.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much work. Saturday, phase one of our home make-over started. We repainted the kitchen. It went from the awful red color that was there to a nice, warm "rusty nail." No, seriously, that is the name of the color. It's like a deep terracotta. The room now feels warmer and more welcoming than it did in the hideous shade previously there.

After painting and running errands all day Saturday we had the neighbors (and good friends) over for pizza and a movie. I was the only one who'd seen The Blind Side. And, I'm hoping it lived up to everyone's expectation after I raved about it!

(my caption option apparently isn't working - old kitchen on top, new on bottom)

The kitchen was the easy part. Sunday we tackled the living room and stairwell. I am sore in places I didn't know existed on my body! The hideous red is now replaced by a warm beige (a.k.a. "bush whacking" - where do they come up with these names?!) and the mantle is highlighted in a cream. Suddenly my house feels light and airy, instead of like a dungeon in one of the inner sanctions of hell (yes, the red was that bad).

(again with the caption keys! Dungeon living room top, new paint bottom- excuse the mess the baby has taken over the living room with his toys)

So that completes phase one. Next phase, new floors. That should be interesting!

My Take on The Blind Side

What an amazing story! I purposely did not see this in the theatre because I knew it would make me cry. It takes a lot to draw a tear to my eye, but this had me crying within minutes of the opening credits, and off and on until the very end of the closing credits.

Leigh Anne Tuohy is an amazing woman, and Sandra Bullock's depiction of her is awesome. I'm also glad I watched this alone, so I know what to expect when watching it with the hubs later on. He tends to make fun of me when I cry at movies. Of course his "they aren't real people" line wouldn't apply to this, because they are.

My husband is a football fan, I'm sure he knows who Michael Oher is. Before the previews of this story, I did not. Neither of us knew Oher's background. I saw in an "HBO Behind the Scenes Look" of the movie that while some liberties were taken (as with all movies) this is very true to life. The real Leigh Anne Tuohy was on set during much of the filming to make sure of it. She's a spunky woman, she wouldn't let those hollywood types get her story too far off base. It was touching as well to see her in the audience at the Oscars to see Sandra win her award.

It is amazing how they caught on film the things we go through for those we love. And her determination to help this boy - there just aren't words! I have a new hero.

My two favorite scene had to be she confronted a gang-banger about messing with Michael, "You mess with my son, you mess with me" and she goes on to tell him how she's a card toting member of the NRA, and always "packin". He wants to know what she's carrying, if it's a "Saturday night special" and she says not only that, but it works just fine all the other days, too. He's left speechless. But it's such a true moment. What wouldn't we do for the ones we love? We'd risk it all, even if it meant putting ourselves in harms way.

Anyway, the point to today's blog isn't really a movie review, but rather a reflection on this story. This woman didn't ask questions, she knew what had to be done to help this young man. She jumped in feet first and did it. I don't know what he's like in real life, but I know he ended up getting an education and making something of himself. Michael went from cleaning up the bleachers after sporting events so he could get the discarded bags of popcorn and have something to eat to a multi-million dollar contract in the NFL. Leigh Anne realized a young man needed help, and that nobody else was going to give it to him. Her family didn't think it odd that they take him on as a big brother or older son.

We could all be so lucky to know such a bond.