Random Xmas movie part 1

movie:  The Grinch
starring:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones
genre: Comedy, Cartoon
year: 2018
format: Crave

plot: When the holiday hits the town of Whoville, everyone gets a little bit crazy, as the mayor has informed them to make everything three times larger than previous years. This is bad news for the Grinch, who just wants a quiet holiday. Deciding he must stop the festival, he hatches a plan to steal everyone's xmas related things. Meanwhile, a local group of kids decide to stay up late and capture Santa. Unknown to them, they accidentally trap the Grinch instead.

Okay, so if you've been following me for any amount of time, you know I don't celebrate winter holidays, so for me to sit down and watch an xmas movie something is going on. In this case I was looking for something for the upcoming Foodn'Flix.  I actually ended up liking this new version of the story.

The characters in this new version of The Grinch have more depth and they are fleshed out a lot more than previous versions. You get to know the kids in the neighbourhood as characters this time around with personalities which is something previous versions didn't really do.  And the addition of the reindeer buddy was cute.  I found myself giggling at the scenes of the Grinch, his dog and the reindeer thinking they'd make a great buddy comedy.  Which, is basically what this boils down to be. An animated buddy comedy with some over the top slapstick gags. Which, are actually funny.

I think this version is smart, witty and likeable.   Though, ironically, I decided not to go with this for Foodn'Flix, it's got a ton of food scenes.

The moral of the story hasn't really changed, the Grinch unwittingly reminds everyone the lesson that having tons of stuff isn't the point of the holidays, or the point of anything really. The rest of the town seem to bounce back from their "loss" easily as if it never happened.

I will say this about the film though, you almost get a sense that the producers/directors wanted to give the Grinch a romance because they point out more than a few times that the lady down the road is a single mom.  That would have been an interesting twist I think.

Random movie - Addams Family (2019)

 
SPOILER ALERT
 
movie: The Addams Family
starring: Charlize Theron, Allison Janney
genre: Comedy, Cartoon
year: 2019
format: Cinema

plot: On their wedding night, Gomez and Morticia are forced to flee their homeland by the hands of an angry mob. The two newlyweds end up in America ready for a fresh start where they hope to be left alone. While driving down a long patch of road, they hit an escaped mental patient. After learning that Lurch is alright, they decide to take him with them as they move into the abandoned asylum.  Thirteen years later, while planning Pugsley's birthday party, a tradition called the Mazurka, Gomez invites his mother and brother Fester to come a few weeks early to help. Meanwhile, Wednesday feeling the weight of being a teenager alone, has begged Morticia to allow her to go to the local high school. Here, she makes her first real friend, Parker.  Parker's mother is a famous designer who is single handedly remodeling the entire neighbourhood live on her show. Unfortunately, the fact the entire Addams clan is arriving on the same day as her show's big season finale, causes Parker's mother to worry and begins to plot a way to destroy the family.

The big theme here is acceptance. The entire Addams clan are forced to separate because the town where they live are afraid of them. They are called monsters, and chased away in the middle of the night. Fast forward thirteen years, and you have both Morticia and Gomez holding their kids back from being completely who they are by not allowing the kids to be part of the rest of the community. Pugsley is feeling the pressure from his dad to follow the family tradition of the great sword dance, while Wednesday is being trained in the family business of witchery.  Neither of them are completely happy. While this is going on, Parker a local girl from school,  is being repressed by her mother who expects Parker to be just like her. The town itself is called Assimilation; and everyone is happy pastel pink wearing people.

There is an inside joke, where Wednesday calls Parker's mom Plastic. Parker's mom is the embodiment of both the ultimate control freak, and minor-celebrity. And we're given a big tongue in cheek dose of how reality tv really works. 

I have to admit, there was so much more potential that could have been explored here than what ended up on the screen. As it takes a bit too long to set up who's who and what's what, to the point we lose out on some of the dark humour the original movies gave.  I feel this is only the first chapter in the new version of the franchise and can't wait to see what will come of it. 

2018 October Foodn'Flix

Spudguns!, it's time again for another Foodn'Flix recipe. This month's selection was hosted by our fearless leader Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen; and her pick was Princess and the Frog.  Now, if you've been following this blog much at all, you might remember I talked about this back in Year One of the blog. (Day 292)

plot: A young woman -Tiana, has a dream of opening her own restaurant in the heart of New Orleans in the 1920's. But it seems, every time she gets a step closer, something gets in her way. When a young prince comes to the area, her best friend's dad throws a grand ball for him, in hopes the prince will marry his daughter. Unknown to anyone, the prince has become cursed and turned into a frog. Tiana who has borrowed her friends clothes, is mistaken for a princess, and the frog prince talks her into kissing him. Only, instead of saving him, it turns her into a frog as well. The two then end up going to the local Hoodoo Priestess to help reverse the spell originally cast by the Voudon Bokor. When nothing seems to work, the two admit they have fallen in love and are willing to stay frogs as long as they can stay together. As frogs, they get married and are suddenly transformed back to humans.

notes: tea, gumbo, apples, salt, ground black pepper, hush puppies, cake, rum, eggs, bacon, ketchup, fruit, waffles, rice, coffee, honey, toast, bagels, pancakes, hot sauce, donuts, sugar, wine, soup, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, chicken, pumpkin, crawfish, bananas foster, okra, strawberries, jelly beans, candy, garlic, herbs, flour, walnuts.

I ended up pulling my inspiration from a short scene midway through the film. The main characters are in the middle of a swamp and decide to make a gumbo from the ingredients they can forage for, which included a pumpkin.  I ended up making my Pumpkin Sludge Cake.

Ingredients

2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c butter softened
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 c water
1/3 c spice mix (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice)
2 c pumpkin shredded or pureed

Mix butter, sugar and salt
then add in flour, baking powder and eggs
add spice mix and water mix well
add the pumpkin

Bake at 325 degrees depending on your oven for 75 to 90 minutes

The name came from the colour the batter took on. I also topped it with a few pumpkin seeds I had roasted in salt and pumpkin spice mix.
 

And that's about all I've got for you today.  Don't forget, you can join in next month with Foodn'Flix for  A Man Called Ove, which will be hosted by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm.

Random movie July 13th 2018

Movie: Hotel Transylvania 3 Summer Vacation
starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James
genre: Comedy, Cartoon, Action, Adventure,
year: 2018
format: Cinema

SPOILERS!!

plot: The gang - Drac, Murray, Frank, Wayne and Griffin are being hunted by Van Helsing, in 1897. The guys end up having to disguise themselves as women in order to sneak on a train. But Van Helsing realizes it's them and chases Drac in all his animal forms. (rat, bat, wolf etc) They eventually end up on a cliff and Van Helsing falls to what we believe is his doom.  Fast Forward to present day, and the gang are at the hotel for another wedding. Drac finds himself the last single monster of the entire group, and begins to feel just how lonely it can be. Mavis decides to cheer him up by planning a surprise vacation for everyone, refusing to tell Drac anything about where they are going. They end up on a cruise in the Bermuda Triangle where Drac meets the captain- Erica. He soon finds himself falling in love with her, and unable to do much of anything around her. Wanting to know if she feels anything for him, he secretly follows her one night after the ship docks, only to have to save her life more than once. While this is going on, Wayne and Wanda are attacked and drugged by Abraham Van Helsing back on the cruise ship, and the kids - Dennis and Winnie are trying to hide the fact they broke the rules by bringing along their puppy. Erica, unknown to anyone, is a Van Helsing, and comes to regret her family's grudge against Drac. Before long, she finds herself falling in love with Drac as well, but Mavis just doesn't trust Erica. Specially after Erica unleashes the deadly Kracken; who the Van Helsings can control with music. It's up to Johnny with his skill for DJ-ing to find the right song that will break the spell and save the day. Once everyone is back home in Transylvania, Drac asks Erica to marry him.

Okay, so there is a lot going on in this movie. It's moved from the typical buddy comedy the franchise has been known for in the first two films, and is a big action-adventure story complete with a Raider's of the Lost Ark style scene. And keeping with the nautical theme, instead of the henchmen being zombies as in the first two, we've got fish-men. They are fish heads with feet.

The timeline is not given, but we know a few years have past because the werewolves have a new litter of kids, expressed with the addition of the second female werewolf. (Winnie having been the only one in the first two movies)  And we've got a role reversal with Mavis being overprotective of Drac's love life; letting us explore the jealousy and feeling of abandonment a lot of kids have when their parents re-marry.

I am torn on this one. I really love the first two in the series, and have literally been waiting for this one to hit cinemas, but it left me little disappointed. There were so many characters that were just left out of the story that we've come to see as main ones. Like Frankenstein, Murray, Wayne and Johnny that were barely there this time around. As the story arch comes full circle with one of the Draculas falling in love with a human, this one feels like it got too wrapped up in being bigger.

Honestly, I am hoping for a fourth film that deals with Dennis and Winnie.

2018 Foodn' Flix January

Spudguns!  once again, I'm back to let you know it's dinner time! And this month's Food n Flix selection is  Wreck It Ralph,  which is being hosted by Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures.

movie: Wreck It Ralph
starring: John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch
genre: Comedy, Cartoon, Family,
year:2012
format:  TV EDIT

plot: In the land of video games, Ralph is one of the bad guys, only, he's tired and stressed out from having the job of being the villain. After talking to some of the other villains, he decides to change his program. On the anniversary of his game, he sees the rest of his team mates having a party and makes a deal with them. If he can earn a metal, they'll treat him better in the hours after work. Ralph then begins his quest to earn that metal, which he manages to do when sneaking into one of the other games. Meanwhile, he's unaware just how his absence from his game is affecting the rest of his team mates; as it's left his game unplayable. With their game now under threat of being unplugged forever, Fix-it-Felix leaves the game as well in search of Ralph. Before long, both find themselves in a racing game called Sugar Rush. They along with one of the racers have to save Sugar Rush from the hands of the biggest villain in the arcade.

I'm surprised to say, I actually dug this movie. I didn't think I would by the trailer, but it was interesting and had a few moments of laugh out loudness.  It reminded me of not just the video games of the 80's that it referenced; but of those 80's adventure movies (Goonies, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, The Wizard)   I think casting John C. Reilly (Vampire's Assistant) set the mood perfectly; as he has a very expressive voice.

Notes: pie, martini, coffee, bagels, olives, cookies, milk, sugar, cherries, pop, ice cream, cake, chicken, shrimp cocktail, bacon, root beer, mushroom, eggs, coconut (mentioned) cotton candy, lollis, licorice, peppermints, candy canes, chocolate, gumdrops, pudding, marshmallows, popcorn, donuts, swirl-swiss roll, candy corn, cupcakes, peanut butter cup, oreo, milk duds (mentioned) salmon (mentioned) icing, cookie wafers, sprinkles, fruit rollups, chocolate milk, taffy, gingerbread, flour, pancake batter, strawberries, cream puffs (mentioned) jelly beans, pretzels, waffles, nougat, mentos, nuts, gummy bears, fudge, truffles, milkshakes, wine, chocolate chips.

I was unhappy with the fact this movie is 99% desserts. It sort of stumped me for a few days as to what to make.  I did however, keep thinking about one scene. When Ralph is first out of his game trying to find a metal, he checks the lost and found box at the root beer bar, and finds himself  one single mushroom from Super Mario. So I knew I wanted to do something with mushrooms. Add to this the fact the character of Vanellope builds her first race car from found items. I decided to make  "lost and found alphabet soup."

 Ingredients

1/2 cup split yellow peas
1 can 6 bean mix
2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower)
half an onion
1 mushroom
can of whole tomatoes and juice
salt
pepper
parsley
paprika
alphabet pasta

I used the pasta from a box of shaped KD, and only one single mushroom to fit with the joke in the movie.  These would be my "found items"

As well, the pasta shapes reminded me of when you put your name in the winner's section of arcade games, they sort of look like the block style most games used to use.


I started with the split peas, as they had to cook for nearly 45 minutes, then drained the beans adding them, cooking for another 30 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients; saving the pasta for the very last as they only needed a couple of minutes to soften.



 


That's about all I've got for you this time around, join us again for another dinner and movie idea. Next month's selection is Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and is being hosted by CulturEatz.

year 5 day 179

movie: Sausage Party
starring: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
genre: Comedy,
year:2016
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: When a grocery store full of food items discover that their lives are build on a lie, they begin to break the rules of their packages in order to find the truth.

So I had mixed emotions about this film. When I first saw the trailer last summer for it, I was looking forward to it. It looked really funny.  I watched this the other night on rental, and I don't remember laughing more than once. If it wasn't for the fact I had paid for the rental, I would have turned it off. I did not find it funny.  This is basically one continuous penis joke after another, which normally I find penis jokes hilarious, but it got old quick.
But, with that said, it lingers in your mind. Sure, it's "packaged" as a "fresh idea"; which it is but not in the way it was expressed in the previews. As I said, it lingered in my mind a bit. This is a real slap in the face social commentary on religion, politics and sexual identity. Which, were this a live action film would never have made it to the cinemas. It's too over the top at times, but that is almost what is needed to make the points.

You've got a set of characters here from the typical hot dogs, buns, a bagel, bottle of alcohol, twinkies, to the people who buy them. Then there is the big bad, who is a douche. No, I'm not being sarcastic, the villain in this is a cartoon feminine hygiene product that has one thing on his mind. To get up in there. That, and "kill the sausage." Which you can take anyway you want.
I sort of walked away from this film disgusted at first, then as it rolled around a bit in my brain, sort of got why the humour was as blunt as it was.  I really could have done without the poop or the big sex orgy, that was both a bit much for even me. The talking condom was funny, that was the one real joke I laughed out loud at.

There is a speech one of the characters makes in the film about how they knew the truth of what happens to the food when it leaves the store, but created a happier myth for the others, and how they are disappointed by the way their harmless story has become twisted. I think that sort of summed up everything in one sentence, as being the core of the movie. The opening scene has all the products in the store singing in praise of their "gods" in hopes of being picked that day. Which, rapidly snowballs into each section of the store's "neighbourhood" declaring themselves better than the rest of the products.

what did I learn? Would I sit through this again, honestly I'm not sure?

Round Up Food n Flix Aug

Hey my lovely Spudguns! It's the time of the month when the Food n Flix host tells you who made what. Which means, that it was my pick this month. Being the vampire queen that I am, I picked Hotel Transylvania 2.   Yep, I made everyone sit through a vampire movie; totally batty of me right.  So let's see what creepy oozing treats everyone dug up.
 
First up was Amy from Amy's Cooking Adventures, with Monster Ball soup,  and this particular recipe, was not even her idea, but her kids! It was inspired by what is one of the most endearing scenes in the film, Mavis being pregnant and Dracula making her mother's recipe.

and second submission was also from Amy with a Strawberry Lemonade slurpee,  which was inspired by one of my favourite scenes, the trip to the corner store. Mavis has never been to one, and goes wild for the many choices she's given in the sweet treats.

next was Camilla, over at Culinary Adventures with Camilla with her version of a Gluten free Monster Ball soup As I said, Mavis's and Dracula's sentimental moments were so endearing, everyone loved them. 

next up was Terri from Our Good Life  with a Blender split pea soup. By the sounds of it, she was inspired by Mavis's pregnancy soup and the scene where Frank is licking an empty soup bowl.

next we have Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm, with an I Scream Cake. She was inspired by the many many cake scenes throughout the movie.

next we have Diana  with a  Ghouled Cheese and Avocado sandwich
She was inspired by the conversation and multiple avocado scenes between Dracula, Mavis and Dennis. I think this is a great way to get your little monsters to eat "a good fat".

next we have Sarah  over at Well Dinned, with Oozing Eyeball Pasta She was inspired by all the monster versions of the "normal" foods. This makes me just want to grab a shovel and dig in. 

next we have our fearless leader and vampire hunter, Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, with a Bucket of Garlic Fries she was inspired by an early scene in the film, where Dracula and Mavis go flying together, and he mentions "I'd eat a bucket of garlic to".   These are the damned coolest wooden stakes fries I've ever seen.

 

 

next we have Evelyne on CulturEatz, with her Anchovy Ice Cream on Grilled Cesar. She was inspired by the scene where Johnny offers Mavis a snack of ice cream with anchovies. I have to say, and I did on her blog, that this is the coolest idea - no puns intended- I've heard of so far. I wish I had thought of it myself.

next up Catherine  at the Gluttonous Geek, with Honey-Sriracha Roasted Sarmale Avocado. Okay, I have to admit, I'm envious that she's half Transylvanian herself, and that she pulled not just from the movie, but from her own background.

next up was Debbie from The Friday Friends,  with Avocado-Pablano Pico de Gallo. She was also inspired by the "it's a good fat" avocado conversation/remark. I got to admit, this makes me want to just curl up with my copy of the film and have some.

then Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, gave us her Garlicly Grilled Guacamole. Not only does this sound like a fun recipe, she made it look like the character Blobby.

And Debra  at Eliots Eats, served up a Vampire Blood Cocktail
She was inspired by the "I invited Vlad" scene, where upon hearing the news that his father is coming to visit, Dracula spits out his blood onto the white shirt of his in-laws.

I gave you Wayne's Conveniently Oozing Poptart Pie (here link)

Holy Rabies! All in all, a howling good feast. Don't forget to join us next month, (September) when we'll be watching Frida hosted by Eliot's Eats.

August FoodnFlix 2016

Okay, it's that time of things again, and Heather was sweet enough to Heather was sick of me whining like one of her kids and to shut me up, let me have a second hosting this year over on Food n'Flix, and I picked Hotel Transylvania 2. (here announcement)  You might remember, last year I did my Brunch with a Vampire, and gave you omelettes and garlic croissants inspired by the first movie in the series. (yes series, very interested to see what is in plan for 2018's HT3)

I talked about this movie back in September of 2015 when it first came out, but here's a reminder of it:
Plot: Mavis and Johnny have just had their first son, Dennis who is yet to show any signs of being a vampire. Afraid her son is completely human, Mavis begins making plans to move to the human world to live with Johnny's family. While visiting her in-laws to see if it's a good idea, her father Dracula is back in Transylvania babysitting little Dennis. Drac is sure that Dennis is indeed a vampire, just a bit of a late fanger. With the help of his long time buddies Frank, Murray, Blobby, Wayne and Griffin, they go to their old haunts. Only things don't go as smooth as they hoped. There is one option left to help Dennis become a vampire, and that's letting Dracula's dad Vlad in on the secret.
 
Notes: Hors d'oeuvres, "jello mold" (character of Blobby) cake, poisonberry {Bittersweet}(mentioned) garlic (mentioned) ice cream, anchovies, matzo ball soup, coffee, wine, apples, burger, fish, porridge, tropical drinks, chicken (mentioned) plum (mentioned) strawberry (mentioned) candy, stuff crusted pizza (mentioned) avocado, rolled oats, apricots, poptarts (mentioned) deer, chips, hot dogs, slushies/slurpee, Count Chocula cereal (mentioned) carrot, raisins, licorice strips, grapes, bananas, cupcakes, marshmallows, duck, mini tomatoes, roast, eggs, canned spaghettios/ravioli, soup, pigeon, (there is even a scene with dog food)

So my mind was everywhere, from making a "Blobby" to "Werewolf Bone" (spare ribs or rack of lamb) to "Kibbles and Bits" to "Deep fried Batwings and Acid Sauce" (spicy bbq wings with roasted garlic dip) to another stake through the heart cake. (one of these days I will redeem myself on that old post) but being vegetarian, most of those were no gos.
I knew I wanted to make it a bit more character based then scene based, but really had a hard time nailing down one character. In the end, I made a dessert that is both character based and scene based.

A few of my favourite scenes, happen to be the convenience store where Mavis and Johnny are talking to the night worker while she's hyped on junk food. The scene where Dracula is wandering around his bedroom complaining while Frank is trying on his clothes; which I call the Dudeman scene, and when the group are in the park trying to teach young Dennis to be scary, and it's Wayne's turn to kill a deer, and mentions poptarts.

What I came up with was something that I can 100% say is the most out of the box thing I've ever let slip through my zombie eaten brain. It's also the laziest recipe I've ever allowed myself to do. I mean lazzzzzzyyyyyyy!  I should be ashamed, but I'm actually proud of the idea. (it took me longer to do the post than it did the recipe) You can barely call it a recipe...



Wayne's Conveniently Oozing Poptart Pie

Ingredients

1 box of poptarts crushed
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 can of blueberry pie filling

 
Crush the poptarts, spread over pie plate, leaving one for the top
open pie filling, spreading one layer at a time,
crumble leftover poptart on top
Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes, let cool enough to place into fridge for 2 hours to set.

That's it. Embarrassing as it is to say how lazy this is, it was so worth it.  It is the most junk food you can cram into a single slice of anything, and not feel like you've just inhaled a ton of junk food. Even though you know you just basically ate a plate of sugar.

I wanted to do something that represented the convenience food, the idea of blood and of course the poptarts.  And of course there was no real thinking involved, so nod to the zombie food blogger Porridge Head in the film.

Deadline is next week, and I'll be back with the Round Up for it the day after that. So don't forget to come back and find out what everyone came up with.  And next month, the group will be covering the movie Frida hosted by Eliot's Eats.

Year 5 Day 155 (what that movie inspired me to do 47)

movie:Aladdin
starring: Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried
genre: Family
year;1992
format: DVD

plot: A young thief is tricked into sealing a magickal lamp by a wicked sorcerer, and manages to stumble across a Djinn who grants him three wishes.

Loosely based in the classic story

We all know the story, watched the cartoon either as kids or with kids, and find ourselves singing along without thinking about it. Right. So, I'll skip right to the moral of it...be yourself. That's really the whole thing. That and don't be greedy.

We see Jafar loose his chance to have the magick lamp because neither himself or his first henchman were worthy. They tried to fool the all knowing knowingness, and the henchman got turned into supper. Which, has always left me scratching my head about cause if it was just a giant sand castle how would he really eat anyone? I mean, do they just get buried or does he turn them into mud and expel it through a hot spring or something? Yes, these are the weirdo questions that I spend my day thinking about, which is why I am a writer.

We then see Aladdin stealing bread with his monkey, nearly getting killed by the royal guards because of it, but giving up the food for some children who are looking better than him. This makes Abu the monkey feel threatened, eating a large bite from his share only to hand it over to the kids too...is that hygienic?

In comes the princess who is one bad date away from being the queen, only to need to be saved by Aladdin. They fall in love and realize they can't be together because of their class-status.  Enter the magick genie who makes Aladdin prince for a day.

And suddenly, we have a murdering plot twist on our hands, as Jafar decides to marry the princess becoming king, and killing everyone who gets in his way.

I love this story. It's clearly not for kids. It's just the way fairy tales were meant to be, okay with way too much singing and dancing, but it's harsh, dark, and puts the fear of your personal god into you. It also is one of, if not the first Disney film to have the lead female strong enough to help fight.

what did I learn? Disney makes me cry.

Guess what....It's theme day again here! My friend Heather at All Roads Lead To The Kitchen, and I like doing these random movies every so often. And once again, neither Heather nor I told the other what movie we picked. I actually find this part of the game, very interesting. Can't lie, the big reveal is always my favourite part of it.

So, obviously this was my pick for today's theme, which is "Your Favourite Disney Movie".

My notes on what was seen- coffee, fries, bread, "salt" and "cinnamon" (I thought of because of the sand and snow) fish, melon, pineapple, banana, apples, lamb, wine, crackers, sugar-dates, pistachios, figs, roast pig, "jasmine rice" (her name) turkey, baklava, lobster, cheesecake, grapes, hummus, caesar salad, chicken ala king, goat, kababs, ice cream, pears, plums, oranges.

I wanted to do homemade crackers, but I really didn't know where to start. (it's now on my to-do list) so instead, given the amount of fruit in the film, I decided to go easy on myself and made a fruit salad.

I did a slight cheat, and used half fresh - banana, apple, blueberries, raisins, - and half canned - oranges and pineapple.  Though, I suppose you can't technically ever call raisins fresh...

 I added a few spoonfuls of yogurt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. The nutmeg I find works beautifully with the sweetness of the bananas and the raisins, while not being as sweet as cinnamon might.

Okay, so this is the point where if you haven't been to Heather's blog All Roads Let To The Kitchen, yet, you have to go there now...

year 5 day 63

movie: Inside Out
starring Amy Poehler, Bill Hader
genre:Cartoon, Comedy, Drama
year:2015
format: Netflix Canada

plot: We follow a week in the life of an 11 year, but through the view point of her emotions as they try to reconnect her to herself

I am not even sure where to start with this. It was a lot better then I was expecting it to be. The "lead" character of the emotion Joy, had this fairy quality to it. I just kept thinking of the movie Ferngully.
There seems to be a constant struggle between the emotions of Sadness and Joy, who through the whole film, are the two oldest of the emotions. Joy, who tries to control everything and keep everything happy and light, while Sadness is viewed like the sidekick.

The kid who's emotions are telling the story, filter the experience of moving across the country, losing what mattered most to that point; the stability of the old friends, hobbies and familiarness to the point of pure denial. It's this denial of the full range of emotions, that lead them to accidentally destroying the personality of the kid. They then have this journey to try to rebuild everything.

It's a cartoon and spends the majority of the time fighting to keep things in a safe innocent place. It's a kid's movie...or is it?  It's not until the emotions realize they need to work together that the personality of the kid is saved, and new elements are introduced.

what did I learn? No body is one thing

Random movie -Hotel Transylvania 2

plot: Mavis and Jonathan get married and have a son. Dracula is worried because Dennis has yet to fang, while Mavis is content to believe he's totally human. But it's looking more and more like the newest Dracula is nothing more then a typical 5 year old. Dracula convinces Jonathan to take Mavis to visit his parents in the U.S, while the rest of the gang take little Dennis on a crash course in being a monster, in hopes that he'll get his fangs. But, when everything goes wrong, Mavis decides it's time to move away from the hotel, and invites her grandfather Vlad to visit one last time.

This is a 2015 animated comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.

So I got to the cinema today, and you know I've been looking forward to this film for over a year since I found out they were doing a sequel.
I have to say, there was one big flaw and that is the fact Mel Brooks doesn't have enough air time.
There is one great gag that is clearly a toothy smirk to both Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992 and Mel Brook's Dracula Dead and Loving It from 1995.  hint...the big haired wig.

I'm trying to write this without giving away too many spoilers as this is it's opening weekend.

*SPOILERS ALERT*

There is a comic-ly touching scene where Jonathan hugs the wall of the castle and says that it is the only place he's felt like he can truly be himself. Meanwhile, Mavis is doing everything possible to be more human and fit in. When she goes to the U.S., she realizes how sheltered she really was and expresses the fact she's envious of Jonathan's life before he met her.  (I nearly cried cause that hit home for me big time) All the while, their little bat-boy who is obsessed with both Batman and the Cake Monster (total rip off of Cookie Monster) just wants to hang out with the werewolf pups and be like all the monsters he has come to know and love. 
There is even a scene where Dennis is standing on a very unsafe stack of boxes trying to will himself into being a bat so that he can fly; knowing that if he's a vampire they won't need to move away.  

The themes here are accepting yourself as well as those who are different then you. Being comfortable in your own skin. And not forcing yourself to be what other people might expect you to be if it's not who you feel you really are.
I love the fact that they made Mavis this sort of wide eyed innocent girl even though she's suppose to be a few hundred years old. That one of the other sub-plots running through the film is that just because your current phase in life has changed, that doesn't mean you have to give up what makes you happy; what makes you -you at your core.  Which is expressed in a scene where Mavis and Jonathan are watching a group of kids bike and skateboard, and she expresses the desire to join them, but cuts herself off at first saying she's a mom there fore too old, but Jonathan talks her into just going with the flow and enjoying the moment.

*End of Spoilers*

There was a few times in this film I nearly cried, but I managed to keep it together as the comedy was quick enough to overshadow any really heavy scenes. 

There is talks already of a part 3 coming out in the next few years. Personally, I'd love to see how the new character of little Dennis handles human school or something along that line.

Theme Week -Sandler's Drac Pack

Pixels

plot: Aliens viewing video games in the 1980's via a time capsule, believe that humans have intentions of starting an interplanetary war, and attack as giant versions of the games. Lucky for the president of the U.S. he and his best friends are former video game champions. They figure out a way to make a weapon that shoots electronic pulses in order to kill the attackers. But, when one of the heroes is caught cheating, all bets are off.

This is the 2015 comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Based on the French film of the same name.

First big cheer because I was actually able to get to the cinema. Yay me!  This film was surprisingly fit for the family.  So bonus points for that.
There is no doubt about it, it was targeted for my age group; ya know those of us who actually grew up in the 80's.

I did find it dragged in a few places, as I was expecting it to be more of an action geared story, but it seemed to take it's notes not just from the pop culture of the 80's but the pacing styles and story telling of movies from the 80's as well. Refreshing in a way too.
Is it wrong for me to say that what this movie did more than anything was make me all that much more interested in seeing the reboot of Ghostbusters?  Cause it did.

Okay, remember I said the other week I was struggling with finding a theme for this month, well it sort of hit me like a slap to the face; given later this month Hotel Transylvania 2 comes out. Adam Sandler does the voice of Dracula in both Hotel Transylvania movies and Kevin James does the voice of Frankenstein. 

Food n Flix February

February's Food n Flix  movie pick is the 1955 Disney cartoon, and it's being hosted by Lawstudent's Cookbook.

plot: Lady is brought home as an x-mas gift from a young husband for his wife, and ends up being pampered. That is until the young couple have their first baby, and suddenly Lady finds herself being forgotten. Her two best friends, Jock and Trusty who live on her quiet little street in the homes next door, begin to feel sorry for her. That is until Tramp shows up one morning. Tramp, is a ownerless dog who's best trick seems to be running away from the dog catcher, and surviving on his wits. Seeing that Lady is feeling forgotten, he talks her into running way with him, only to have her captured by the dog catcher.


Okay you know what, I know this is a "classic" and we all grew up with it, but after re-watching it, I sort of have nothing nice to say about it.  I loved this when I was a kid, but as a woman in my 40's, it made me cringe.
It's this big classic love story about two souls from opposite ends of the social scale, who find love against all odds. Beautiful sentiment, but...I just wanted to slap her and tell her to wake up that he's a dink.

So that's the review part as cynical as it is, now to the food part.

My food notes this time around contained - pasta, chicken, squab (pigeon), hot dogs, scottish shortbread cookies, christmas cookie tree ornaments, "pigs in a blanket", "lady fingers", coffee/donuts, grapefruit, bones/marrow, "collar greens", pub food (because of the shot of a grill/bar), pastry (shot of a bakery), pizza,  "kibble and bites", steak, baby food, watermelon, chopped suey, maple (the beaver chewing bark; so Canadian beaver= maple), schnitzel, corned beef, bread sticks, cabbage and potatoes, and "junkyard scramble".  Some of which was shown, others just popped into my head because of certain scenes.

What I went with was... Cabbage and Potatoes.  There is a scene about midway through the movie where Tramp is fighting off three wild hounds to protect Lady, and while battling; they knock over barrels of potatoes and cabbage. I could not get this scene out of my head. I then wrestled with how to prepare them. At first, I was thinking doing a boiled dinner, and simply dropping them in a pot of salt water with some carrots and turnip, but changed my mind. I knew I didn't want to tackle cabbage rolls or scalloped potatoes, nor did I want to fall back on a soup.
What I ended up with was a quick chunky cut potato salad and sauteed cabbage with onions.

I would like to say that I did something fancy, but it was a really basic recipe. 

1 medium potato boiled in salt water about 15 minutes, rough chopped with skin still on
3 small green onions rough chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, rough chopped
2 and a half Tablespoons of Miracle Whip 
2 Tablespoons paprika

The cabbage I just ripped into small pieces and boiled in salt water for about ten minutes, while I rough chopped in strips an onion. Sauteing the onion in about a tablespoon of butter. Draining the cabbage, I added it to the onion and sauteed for about ten minutes. 
I had full intentions to get photos of the sauteing but, I got interrupted by a phone call.  

I had this for dinner with some left over veggie-meatless-meatloaf.



Okay, so once again not the prettiest dish on the planet, but very tasty. 


Okay my lovely Spudguns!, I promise one of these times I will do something a bit more dressed up and fancy. 

I know this was a bit rushed today, and I was thinking about redoing it, but I've had one issue after another with the whole Mercury in Retrograde...from the internet being out for almost a whole day, to the cable box resetting itself every half hour on the hour for like a day straight, to something I have cooked a hundred times deciding yesterday to explode in my oven nearly setting the oven on fire. 
This last week has kicked my arse every time I try to do anything.  
I swear the universe triple power bombed me and followed it up with a curb stomp... 

No, you are not seeing things, that is a VHS TAPE copy that I have of the movie.

Okay...till later

Random movie Feb 1st 2015

Book of Life

This is a 2014 cartoon starring Diego Luna and Danny Trejo

plot: The Mexican gods of the dead make a bet after seeing three young friends. The two boys are both in love with the same girl, and the bet is to see who will finally marry her. Whomever wins the bet wins the right to rule the Land of the Remembered. 15 years later, we see the two boys Manolo and Joaquin, are the town's stars, both for different reasons. Manolo is tricked into dying for love, while Joaquin is tricked into believing he's the town's only hope against a warlord. Manolo has one chance to reclaim his life and the woman he loves before the town is destroyed and everyone ends up in the land of the Forgotten.

I wanted to love this film, I really really was looking forward to seeing this few months back when I first heard about it. The cast boasts names like Danny Trejo, Cheech Martin, and Ron Pearlman, so how could it not be wicked? 
Well, I found the story tired. I didn't realize there would be so many musical numbers which for me killed the flow, and I think it would have been more interesting had it been a live action film then a cartoon. This could have been done in the vein of Labyrinth and worked.

Monday Dec 29th 2014

It's 8:23am here, sitting at a -24C with a windchill of -37C, the sun not yet up and my upstairs neighbour already drunkenly singing old Black Sabbath songs.

So, I thought since I'm up, I'd come in and do a short post.

Okay, so my Spudguns! if you remember beginning of the month I was uber hyped going on about the all Jane Austen Book Club and how I had this big blogging plan to incorporate the movie versions to match the book we were reading. And you might have noticed I ended up not doing those posts. That's because book club fell apart at the seems. I have to learn not to mention things till they happen cause I always seem to curse myself. So it left me just blah and the last thing I wanted to do was sit through hours of JAthemed films. It's still a spiffy blogging idea, and I'm thinking of doing it anyways in the course of 2015. Just not this week. This week the idea is leaving me ggrrr-argghh feeling. 

Year four has really been struggling to find it's identity. I'm hoping some structured randomness will bring about something great, spiffy even.

8:43am- had to pause to make coffee.

Couple of movies I'm looking forward to in the coming year are Mortdecai starring Johnny Depp, Furious 7 starring Vin Diesel,  The Avengers 2 Age of Ultron starring Robert Downey Jr., Hotel Transylvania 2 starring Adam Sandler, and  Frankenstein starring Daniel Radcliffe.

I'm not even going to pretend that the cartoon vampire film Hotel Transylvania isn't the big hyper for me. Cause, vampires make me happy. That's sad isn't it, when Johnny Depp comes in second to a cartoon vamp.

till later

Year 3 Day 70

movie: Rio
starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
genre: Cartoon
year: 2011
format: TV edit

plot: A tropical bird gets kidnapped as a chick and ends up in a pet store. After 15 years of being a house pet, the owner is told it's the last male of it's species, and is shipped off to Rio where it is suppose to be mated to the last female of it's species. The two birds end up being stolen and the owners try to track then down. Along the way, they have to dodge a group of criminals that include pick-pocketing monkeys, a bird who is a psychopathic bully, and the humans who want to sell them.

Well, babysitting, so this was my cousin's pick. It was a lot funnier then I thought it would be, yes, I actually laughed out loud more then once.
It's a comedy/musical/romance all rolled into a cartoon.

The main theme is having the courage to believe in yourself, while battling your fears.

Top 5 Fav Cartoons from the 80's

Stuck babysitting tonight, which means the cartoons were on. Got me thinking about some of the cartoons we used to watch when we were kids. Odd how so many of them are still in re-runs.  So some of my favourites when I was a kid...

1. The Real Ghostbusters

2. Teen Wolf

3. Darkwing Duck

4.Scooby-Doo

5. Shirt Tales.

I think that Scooby-Doo is a given ever since it first aired, and if you grew up in the 80's then you were sucked in by the cartoon version of movies that you some times weren't allowed to see.

One of these days, I'm going to sit down with a massive bowl of way too sweet sugary rot your gut type cereal, in front of the cartoons and...maybe take a photo for the blog...maybe...maybe for Hallowe'en week or something...if I'm feeling goofy enough...do you think you're brave enough to handle that kind of photoage...yeah that's not even a word...

Year 3 Day 51

movie: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris
genre: Cartoon
year: 2013
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: After creating a machine that can turn water into food, a young inventor is hired to find the missing machine and turn it off. Only, the evil mastermind who hired him is just wanting to steal the machine for himself, and use it to create power bars. When they go looking for the machine, they find an entire island made of food with living food creatures.

This is a sequel and based on a book.  I have to say, I liked this film, laughed out loud through most of it.  (I covered the first film way back on Day 7 of the first year) 
I'm not sure what to say about a movie about screaming leaks and cheeseburger-spider monsters, and swimming marshmallows...other then it was a cute movie and now all I can think of is how much I want a large veggie burger.

Year 3 Day 26

movie: Rise of the Guardians
starring: Hugh Jackman, Jude Law
genre: Drama, Comedy,
year: 2012
format: online Netflix Canada

plot: The Boogyman has started to get revenge on all the other holiday icons, and kidnaps the Tooth Fairy's students, as well as all the memories-thus power of belief- of children by stealing their teeth. As the Boogyman covers the world with fear, the other holiday icons start to loose their powers. Only Frost can help, even though he's spent so much time invisible, therefore only being at half power as the others.

This was one of those films that came up as a "if you liked this, then we recommend this" on Netflix Canada, and something I wasn't really sure I wanted to get into.  I'm still sort of on the edge with this one. One of those, not sure I really liked it, not sure I really hated it.

And the point of it was?  I think it was about how we're not too old for believing in the positive/imagination of the impossible... I think?  It also seems to be about managing our fears, and not judging others.  

And, I added the tags of witchcraft/vampires; because of the Boogyman. He is a creature that feeds on fear and depression.

Year 3 Day 22

movie: Despicable Me 2
starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig
genre: Comedy,
year: 2013
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot:  Gru is asked to come out of retirement to work as a spy for the Anti-Villain League, solving a case consisting of a stolen formula that turns cute harmless individuals into monsters, and along the way, falls in love with his partner, Lucy.

Okay, tell me this series of films is not one of the cutest to come out in the last few years? I don't know what it is about this movie and it's original, but I laughed through almost the whole thing. I think it's the yellow minions and their inability to actually talk.  Or you know, the YMCA dance just before the credits.
The first film has the lead Gru finding that he's worth more then the life he's been living when he adopts three girls, and this one has him realizing that it's time to get married; I can only assume that the upcoming third film will go with a baby?

What did I learn from this?  Don't trust the chicken.