Year 5 Day 70

movie: The Wedding Wish  aka How I Married my High School Crush
starring: Katee Sackhoff, Sage Brocklebank
genre: Fantasy
year: 2007
format: TV Edit

plot: During an eclipse, a girl wishes that she is married to her current crush, and time travels to the day of their wedding only to find out things are not as she hoped.

If' you've seen movies like Big or 13 Going on 30,  then you know the basic plot of this story. Kid too eager to grow up for whatever reason, and ends up magickally transported into their future selves in order to change their ways and learn where they got greedy.

In this case, you've got two people who have the lesson to learn, the girl making the wish and the unsuspecting crush.  They are partnered up by their teacher to work on a project together in 1990. Which at first, the Brocklebank character cons the Sackhoff character into doing for him, but when she hands him the assignment, and makes her wish, she sets off a chain reaction. Both find themselves on the day of their wedding in 2007 and only have a few days to figure out what happened.  She in the end realizes she's in love with someone else, and he realizes that he never learned how to take care of himself without conning others.

what did I learn? Careful what you wish for, you just might get it

year 5 day 55

movie: Ocean's Thirteen
starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt
genre: Crime, Comedy
year: 2007
format: Netflix Canada

plot: After one of the guys is cut out of the new casino he just built by his newest partner, the group get back together to clean out his casino.

There wasn't anything different in this, it was just a basic revisit to the first one. The bad guys from the first two movies return and are on the good guys team. They even made an in joke about not doing the same thing they had done before, referring to the first movie when they cleaned out the other casino.

I didn't care for the sub-plot of sending the two guys over the boarder to a dice factory to make sure their loaded dice are untraceable, it just seemed like it was thrown in there to duct tape a plot hole. I did however, like this one more then part two.

I found the timeline a bit unclear, I think the story expands over an eight month time frame, but not completely sure?

what did I learn?  Joker's wild

Food n Flix Round Up

This month I was allowed to host the Food n'Flix group for the first time. And, as I stated in another post, I was nervous about it given I'm the only non-food blog in the group. My original reaction as always was to go for the jugular and hand out a vampire movie, but decided a better way to introduce myself was with another passion of mine, Jane Austen.  I ended up picking The Jane Austen Book Club, ( based on the book of the same name)

What came about was a vast collection of ideas and recipes this month, some close to the heart of the member, others just happy to have the moment to breathe during the holidays.

First we stopped by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm, she made for us her husband's  Comfort Hot Toddy. A simple recipe, that lets you feel all the warmth of the season, and as she pointed out, comfort was a theme in the film.  

Next on the tour was Evelyne over at  Cheap Ethnic Eatz with a Christmas Bundt Cake   She went with a classic, severing up her version of a regency style recipe. 

Next  we stopped in on Debra from Elioteatz who made Curried rice and Artichoke salad, inspired by the picnic scene when the group gather for their chat on Persuasion.

From there, we stopped in on Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures  for some Snowman Pizza Buns.  A recipe she's shared with friends and family often.

Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen made Orange Current Scones
She got her inspiration from both the movie and it's special features where the actor playing Allegra talks about having brought scones to the cast/crew backstage. 

Deb at Kahakai Kitchen gave us Raspberry Drinking Shrub Sodas and Apricot Marmalade on Baguette.   Her inspiration scene...er scenes, were the big break up scene at the "Marmalade" restaurant and the coffee shop scene. 

And I made an apricot "traffic jam" with banana bread and tea biscuits (here) inspired by the scene where they are meeting for the first time in the coffee shop, and Bernadette is holding a plate of pastries.

I'll remind everyone that in 2016, Food n'Flix will be kicking off the new year with January's selection of  Failure to Launch and hosted by Amy's Cooking Adventures.

December Food n Flix

This month's selection for Food n Flix is the Jane Austen Book Club, and it's being hosted by ...me! (read my announcement post here) My first FnF hosting gig, and dude, I'm a bit on the nervous side. I think I chose fittingly, as we started off 2015 doing Bridget Jones's Diary, which is an adaptation of an adaption of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice,(yes you read that right an adaption of an adaption) and now we've come full circle and closing out the group's year with another view point on Jane Austen.

plot: After seeing the people in her life seeming to all have a week of random bad luck, (a death in the family, a divorce, desertion)  Bernadette decides what everyone needs is a distraction. Realizing that everyone she knows has already read the six novels of Jane Austen, she starts a book club. For six months, each of the groups members host one of the books at their homes, discussing the ups and downs of the novels plots/characters, while trying to maneuver through their own daily lives.

This is the 2007 drama comedy starring Emily Blunt and Mario Bello.  Based on the novel of the same name.

I first talked about this film year one of the blog (day 32)

What I loved about this is that each character is a representation of the book they choose to host. With Grigg, being the embodiment of all the Austen heroes. Prudie, even though is the host for Persuasion, is living a good portion of Mansfield Park, while Sylvia hosts MP, she's actually living more of the story from Persuasion.  I also love the use of  written letters/love notes in this, which is a heavy theme in all of Jane Austen's works.

The food: "hot crossed buns" (opening traffic scene made me think of that) "traffic jam", pizza, pop, coffee, chocolate, pretzels, chips, iced tea, vending machine snacks, brandy, fruit, deli plates, cold sandwiches, wine, beer, "marmalade" (name of the restaurant) cheesecake, whip cream sundaes, pie, hot water with lemon, eggs, flan, martini, limes, peanuts, whiskey, pastries, "egg drop soup"(the sky diving made me think of it) club sandwiches, yogurt, radishes, waxed beans, tossed salad, tomatoes, lemons, grapefruit, herbs, scones, lemon-aid, melon, fruit salad, tea, tortilla shells, deviled eggs, dip, pepper strips, wraps, rolled sandwiches, salsa, guacamole, brownies, ice cream, bacon, chicken wings, lasagna, pudding, celery and carrot sticks, "by the book soup" (the scene in the library made me think of it) "birthday cake" (the car seduction scene) artichokes, hot dogs, steak, strawberries, donuts, asparagus, manicotti, pasta salad, potato salad, "crab" and "clams" (they are on the beach in the picnic scene)

Since there are a few different kinds of sandwiches seen in this film from cold meat ones like ham and salami, to clubs, to wraps, tacos, hot dogs. I couldn't think of a more suitable idea. And with it being Jane Austen, the whole concept of tea and sandwiches was too perfect. (I have to admit, every time I watch any movie adaption of a Jane Austen novel, there is a certain food I connect with it. But that's another post for another day) So my original plan was to make a bunch of different sandwiches. Now, being a vegetarian, I wasn't sure how far I could stretch cheese to make it of any real interest?  So my plan was to get to the grocery and pick up the vegan meatless ham/turkey/bologna/hot dog alternatives; only we got a massive freezing rain here. I was then stuck inside for longer then I had hoped.  New plan... I had to use what I had in the kitchen.  I had some dried apricots and over ripe bananas. I decided to make jam, banana bread and tea biscuits.

Lucky for me one of my favourite scenes happen to be the coffee shop scene where the group meet for the first time, and the character of Bernadette is seen holding a large plate of unidentified muffins/cakes/scones.  So this is my inspiration scene.  Along with the "traffic jam" and "marmalade".

The Jam

1 pound of dried apricots
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
splash lemon juice

Soak the apricots till they have puffed up, then simmer on low heat 
add lemon juice and sugar, stirring/mashing once and awhile,
add extra water if needed to keep them from burning.
let cool before transferring to container


Tea Biscuits

1/2 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 and a half cup flour
1/2 cup water

mix the dough till it's no longer sticky,
form into shape of your choice and bake at
350degrees for 20 minutes depending on your oven. 


Banana Bread

1 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 cup mashed banana
Mix all together

bake at 350degress for 50-55minutes depending on your oven.

So I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed that I didn't get a chance to make my original idea, but one of the themes in the film is dealing with the unexpected that life throws at you. And a freezing rain that turned the city into a giant skating rink qualifies as unexpected.

There is still some time left to join this month. (deadline is the 28th of Dec at 6pm EST)  I'll have the round up hopefully the day after.

Year 5 Day 3

Theme Week part 3- Nicolas Cage

Movie: Next
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore
genre:Action, Sci-fi
year:2007
format: Netflix Canada

plot:When a stage magician is revealed as the real deal, he's hunted by the FBI and a group of terrorists. The FBI want him to help stop a bombing, while the terrorists decide to hold his girlfriend captive in order to keep him off their trail.

This is loosely based on the story the Golden Man by Phillip K. Dick

Like pretty much every action film, this had it's fair share of car chases, shoot'em ups, and the running away which would have been a car chase twenty years ago scenes.
I've heard a few people call it confusing with the way the scenes play out, never clearly letting you know in the beginning of the movie, what is happening and what is a psychic vision. I found it more annoying more so then confusing.

I did however, love the scene where he astral projects himself into multiple versions, which would take a massive about of skill and energy like shattering your conscious through a prism.  I would have loved to have seen less shoot'em up and more supernatural elements.

What do I think I learned from this film? Sometimes things are hiding in plain sight.

What that movie inspired me to do #17

The April and May Food n Flix are being counted as #15 and #16




I decided to make mead.  Inspired by the movie Beowulf , and the scenes where they are in the drinking hall talking about the mead and how it made their land famous.  I just could not resist.
I decided to do this for my youtube, cause I keep promising to do recipes on there.

But, if you just don't want to hit play...the recipe is super simple.

Ingredients
honey
water
yeast
allspice
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves

Bring water and honey to boil for 5minutes, then let cool for a few minutes before adding spices.  Let sit to cool for another 15minutes and add your yeast.  Pour into a large container and cover with cling wrap for 7 days.
Then put in fridge for another 3 days before straining and transferring to a dark glass bottle.
Let sit for 6 months.

Amazingly easy right?  Here's the video anyways, cause I made a video.

till later

All Jane Austen part 4

Northanger Abbey

The 2007 version starring Felicity Jones and JJ Fields

plot: After Catherine is asked to join friends of  her parents on a vacation, she finds herself thrown into dramas better then anything she could have read in her books. Her brother James, is recently engaged to Isabella Thorpe, and in turn Catherine begins a friendship with both Isabella and her brother John. This friendship becomes one that dives Catherine from her own love interest Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor.
While staying with the Tilney's, Catherine; having read her favourite ghost stories starts to believe that their father has murdered their mother, and begins snooping around the estate for proof. She gets caught and is thrown out in the middle of the night, left to survive on her own. Meanwhile, all the time her brother James has been away for school, Isabella has been less then faithful to him, starting up an affair with the oldest Tilney brother. Finding herself now unwanted by both men, Isabella begs Catherine for her help in talking James into taking her back. But it's too late, as Catherine wants nothing to do with her.
Henry's father disowns him when he finds out that he's in love with Catherine, after learning the Thorpes lied about how much money Catherine's family really has.  Henry, now poor, confesses his love to Catherine and are married.

This post feels a bit like a cop out, given there are only two adaptions that I've heard of.  I talked about this back in year one (day 173)

This story was originally published in 1818, and has never been out of print. That's staying power.
The main themes here are trust, innocence, betrayal, honesty, and imagination.
The heroine is a bit of a rebel for the times, listed as a bit of a tomboy, and spending all her time reading gothic novels and talking about the stories. She spends much of her time in her own head having wild teenaged fantasies about the novels. This leads to her jumping to conclusions about her friends.
She finds herself at the wrong end of peer pressure, being swept away in the idea of what her friends represent and less of what the reality of it is.

All the characters end up having their dreams shattered in one way or another, and find themselves loosing their faith in each other.
You see how rumours and secrets end up dividing all the couples and how easily reputations can be dirtied.

This is said to be the first story Jane Austen wrote but the one of the last to have been published. You can see her own innocence about romance and society as well as writing itself within the lead character. 

Okay...till later...

Theme Week part 3 -Love

Catch and Release

plot: A young woman finds out at the funeral of her fiance that he led a life with another woman she knew nothing about. As she discovers more about it, she finds herself falling in love with another man.

This is a 2007 comedy drama starring Jennifer Garner and Kevin Smith.

This was a surprisingly touching story. I went into it expecting the typical drivel of bad romantic-comedy, but instead it ended up being more endearing then sad. Everything that happens in this film is subtle, with nothing exploding the way you would expect it to in the more emotional scenes. It's a quiet film -emotionally.

I loved the little touches of the Smith character being a guy who works in a tea company, spouting -pun intended- little quotes of wisdom that he reads on the back of the tea boxes whenever the situation is needed.  Tea is comforting, and his character is like a living breathing cup of tea.

Year 3 Day 111

movie: Flakes
starring: Christopher Lloyd, Aaron Stanford
genre: Drama
year: 2007
format: Netflix Canada

plot: A neighbourhood shop that only sells cereal is run out of business by a new chain doing the same thing moving in across the street.

In the tradition of Empire Records...that's all I could think through most of this film, was the comparison to the theme behind Empire Records.  That and You've got Mail. It's one of those us against them stories, that you keep expecting to go somewhere, but it really just gets as soggy as the cornflakes they use.

You've got a "cereal genius" who can tell you every year that a product was made, their mascot, their jingles etc, but doesn't seem to want to put it to real use. And his uptight hipster wannabe girlfriend who tries to make him fit into her version of what life should be like.   Kinda boring if you ask me.

The idea was there, I just don't think it was thought through enough.
Lloyd is the only really bright spot in this film. He plays the owner of the small shop to a tee, making the slackerness of his laid back character charming when it could have otherwise seemed desperate.

Year 3 Day 63

movie: Martian Child
starring: John Cusack, Bobby Coleman
genre: Drama,
year: 2007
format: TV edit

plot: A sci-fi writer adopts a little boy after the death of his wife. He struggles with trying to write his latest novel while dealing with the boy's overactive imagination, and other problems.

This is based on a semi-autobiographical novel.

This was a sweet story. Almost too sweet for me. The idea that the kid believes he's from another planet because he was abandoned in an observatory and therefore, unable to fully connect with others, is seen both literally and metaphorically. 

I liked this film, but I just kept waiting for something to happen. I was half way expecting the kid to be proven right about being from mars, while also half way expecting some horrible ending.

Overall, it leaves you wondering what we would be like generally, if we didn't bend as often to the wills of sameness? If there were more people who just stood up for their weirdnesses. As pointed out in a scene where the Cusack character is being yelled at by his publisher for failing to write the book she demanded he write. He realizes, he's been doing the same thing, demanding his son act the way he wants him to, when it's just not in him.

As I said, this was a bit too hollywood happy for me.

Year 3 Day 17

movie: License to Wed
starring: Mandy Moore, Robin Williams
genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
year: 2007
format: TV edit

plot: A young couple are put through three weeks of intense couple's therapy leading up to the day of their wedding by their minister.

It's difficult to picture Robin Williams as a minister. A bad therapist yes, but a minister?
It's one of those typical romantic comedies that has you laughing at the craziness of everyday life. There is one scene where the couple have been assigned two robot baby dolls for a day in order to deal with the constant needs of a baby, meanwhile they end up having to babysit for friends, all while shopping for their wedding; the chaos had me laughing and rolling my eyes at the same-time.

This is one of those movies that under all the craziness, it makes you honestly think about how miscommunication on goals can lead to real issues. 

Did I learn anything?  Only that robot baby dolls are very creepy, they could give Chucky a run for his money in the creep department.

Year 3 Day 5

Movie: I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry
starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James
genre: comedy
year:2007
format online (Netflix Canada)

plot: after his wife dies, a firefighter convinces his best friend to pretend to be a gay couple in order to secure a benefits package for his kids.

Normally, I'm not one for Adam Sandler films, but this was pretty good.
You can look at this from a responsible social point of view, or you can look at this movie from a buddy comedy.   It's a buddy comedy. 
I know this is an "Adam Sandler" film, but Kevin James manages to steal the show in this.

Some of the scenes, even though they read like any relationship rescue therapy session, it can work for any type of relationship, from business to sibling. And I think that's why this movie works on a dramatic level.
The scene where the two main characters are on a roof trying to rescue a man and start to argue about their "marriage", just works because of the other relationship situations it could be traded out for.
This ends up being one of those "every one wins because everyone is trying to be better" feel good movies, and personally, I think the ending sort of sucked.

What did I learn from this?  Family is more then just the traditional, it's where you need it.

Friday Aug 30th am

Saw the movies  Pain and Gain, Dark Matter, Narc   last night.  Two were tv edits, one was an on demand rental.

Pain and Gain-  rented
Hated it.  It was about three body builders in the mid-90's who kidnap this guy and torture him for his money. Then when they find themselves out of money, they do it again to a couple, but end up killing them.
Based on a true story and starring the Rock. 
The trailer made it look like a really good comedy about three bumbling crooks. But, it was just a really bad movie. 

Dark Matter- tv edit
Another true story about a student who is hired to help make computer designs of a professor's theories. The pressure becomes too much for him and he has a mental breakdown.
I didn't care for this one either.  TV edits are sometimes difficult to follow if they have been chopped up too much, and I don't know if that was just the case with this, or if it just really didn't make any sense in the telling of it?
It was a really dry story, no emotion. But again, might have been the tv edit factor. This was a Meryl Streep movie, so I was really looking forward to it but...

Narc- tv edit
Now, this one I liked.
It was about two undercover cops who are looking into the death of another cop because of a drug ring.
I like cop movies/dramas in general, and usually no matter how badly it gets chopped for tv, they tend to be watchable. Jason Patric (Lost Boys) starred in this one.

till later

Sunburnt Honeymoon

The movie Heartbreak Kid was on tv.  Ben Stiller movie.  Okay, on tv which means free movie, and I'm glad I did not have to pay for it. Didn't really care for it at all. 

plot: a guy tries to stop a purse thief and ends up dating the woman who was robbed, after a week, she tells him she's moving for work and he asks her to marry him. On their honeymoon, he learns what she's really like and starts to wish he hadn't married her. While she's hiding indoors for half of it because of a horrible sunburn, he meets and falls for another woman.

The plot is one that has been done a million times over. I didn't care for this film and I can't even put my finger on why, it just didn't spark for me.

till later

Day 351

movie: Fred Claus
starring: Paul Giamatti, Vince Vaughn
genre; Comedy
year: 2007
format; TV EDIT

plot: Santa's older brother Fred ends up spending a few weeks at the North Pole, to pay off a debt. Meanwhile, Santa is having issues with a corporate executive who wants to shut down the whole thing.

Okay, I have to admit, I love Paul Giamatti, and he was the only reason I sat through this movie.  That and it was on tv so it was a free movie.

This movie was actually better then it sounded.  Vaughn was funny, and given everything I've seen him in before has been rude and vulgar, this was actually funny. Semi-clean, but then again as I said it was a tv edit.
I liked the idea of exploring the rest of the family of someone famous.  Really liked the scene with the support group for brothers of celebrities.  Stephen Baldwin was a crack up.  You don't think about how the rest of the people in the life of a famous person deals with stuff, and this movie extreme as it is, gives you a small taste of how it might affect them.

what do i think i learned from this film?
Nothing is ever completely black and white no matter what you might think about the situation. No one can ever be totally nice all the time.

Day 331

movie: The Bad Mother's  Handbook
starring: Catherine Tate, Robert Pattinson
genre: Comedy, Drama,
year: 2007
format: online

plot: A woman's life if uprooted when she finds out that she is adopted and that her teen daughter is pregnant all in the same day.

This is a made for tv movie based on the book of the same name

Okay, I will admit, I watched this for one reason it's an early Pattinson film. As in his work pre-twilight.  Basically, the trailer and the poster lie.  He's got maybe ten minutes on screen in this whole film, and maybe about three lines. But, as you can see he's got top billing and the trailer is cut with almost all his footage. Which makes me think it was re-released after Twilight simply to cash in. 

The movie isn't even really about the teenaged daughter as much as it is Tate's character, of the self absorbed mom.

what do i think i learned from this film?
History tends to repeat itself

Day 305

Hallowe'en Week

movie: Sweeney Todd
starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
genre: Horror
year: 2007
format: DVD

plot: A barber returns to his home after years of being in prison, to find that his wife is dead and the man who put him in prison is raising his daughter.  Soon, he goes on a spree of revenge with the help of the woman who is running a store in his old house

This is a musical-opera, based on the stage play.

The blood count is high, the look glossy-morbid, and the story thin.
The Tim Burton factor makes this an interesting movie, but I don't get what it is that draws millions to this story. (keep in mind I'm talking about the movie only, as I have never seen the stage play)

what do i think i learned from this film?
Lies, betrayal, broken hearts. It can happen to anyone at any time, it's up to the each person to be able to keep control of the darker side even when they would be in the right.

Day 283

movie: 1408
starring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson
genre: Thriller,
year: 2007
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: A writer who has made his name by writing about haunted hotels, rents a room that is suppose to be so haunted that the hotel in question deny the very existence of it.  While there, the alarm clock starts a countdown giving him an hour to live, or die trying to get out alive, as he has a ghostly experience when he has a conversation with his dead daughter.

This is based on the Stephen King short of the same name.

I really liked this film. It's a good old fashioned horror/thriller that does just what it promises.  To spook the hell out of you and does it without being vulgar.

It comes back to one of King's favourite topics, and one that he's the master of; isolation of a creative mind.  Once again, we have a writer who is left alone to discover his own limitations.
We're brought into a direct personal hell.
He throws everything at us from ghosts, to time loops, to sound deprivation. Anything that could make the lead character start to go mad and doubt if what he's seeing is the real deal in hauntings or if he's just high?
In the end we're left with little doubt that the situations that he dealt with in the short time frame are real.   This film is also done with a degree of real time, as the "countdown" doesn't happen till after the first half hour of the film. 

what do i think i learned from this film?
The biggest non-believers are usually the ones who end up needing to cleanse their psyche.  The degree of isolation each person experiences in their life time will lead to the degree of madness each is willing to believe in.   Ghosts are real. And Stephen King has created a sub-genre all his own, that of the depressed writer in isolation.

Day 273

movie: I Know What I Saw (aka  Post Mortem)
starring: Geraint Wyn Davies, Beverley Mitchell
genre: Thriller, Crime,
year: 2007
format: TV EDIT

plot: A young photographer starts seeing ghosts shortly after the death of her father. Soon she learns that the ghosts were all accident victims that her father took photos of, when working as the crime scene photographer.

This is a made for tv movie.

I have to admit, the only reason I bothered to watch this was Geraint Wyn Davies (Forever Knight)
This film ended up being better then I thought it would be. It had a solid nostalgia that reminded me of shows like Friday the 13th the Series.  

You're not quite sure if the lead character is seeing things, or actually doing the murders in the beginning of the story. 

However, I was disappointed by the last ten minutes of it.  The ending felt rushed. There was also a character who was suppose to be a psychic, but it felt  like they dropped the ball with the character. There was so much untapped potential with where the writers could have gone with the psychic but didn't.

what do i think i learned from this film?
There is more to the world then what we see in this plane of existence. 

Day 271

movie: Perfect Child
starring: Rebecca Budig, Lochlyn Munro
genre: Thriller
year: 2007
format: TV EDIT

plot: A new bride finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when her new step daughter's actions keeps causing a string of deadly accidents

This is a made for tv movie

There isn't anything new about this story.  There is a young couple, a strange little girl, an ex girlfriend who may or may not be the murderer, and a string of bad stuff in their pasts. 
Very formulaic.  

The star of this is soap actress Budig. Her sense of paranoia is pitch on, giving moments of down time the tension it needs to keep the story focused  

The part of the step daughter is played by the actress who did The Tooth Fairy a straight to video horror from 2006 along with Munro as well. (not to be confused with the Disney movie The Tooth Fairy starring the Rock... which she also had a small role in)

what do i think i learned from this film?
I have to say, I didn't really learn much from this film.  It was just too much of a been there seen it  story.