This quirky little caper movie
hits an interesting medium between a dramedy between two brothers and
an Oceans 11 outting with a few twists. No one put forth a ground-breaking performance here, but Rachel Weisz
was just as captivating and charming as ever as a society shut-in who
learns dozens of skills and disciplines just to amuse herself. She
throws herself whole-heartedly into her roles and it shows. Plus, Rinko Kikuchi was a trip as the silent Bang Bang, the demolitions expert the Brothers Bloom rely on during their schemes. As
a result, both Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody were outshone by their
female co-stars but still did respectable jobs depicting the conflict
between their own characters. Ruffalo's character is too reserved to be
likable. Maybe a little more earnestness would have made his God
complex a little more sympathetic, but Ruffalo's performance came
across as distant and clueless to fit into the journey Adrien's Brody's
character was on. Then again, maybe Stephen was meant to be just a
hurdle on Bloom's journey, but I could have done without any words after the climax. The
final lines of the movie seemed tacked on, but didn't hinder my
enjoyment of the rest of this cute caper movie. There are more laughs
and tears in this movie than I'm mentioning but you should see it
yourself to find out. Rating (1-5): 4 Bang Bangs out of 5 Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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Starting a few years after the first Night at the Museum left off, this sequel is a fun return to the same characters and situation that made the first installment memorable. Amy Adams is one of my favorite new editions as Amelia Earhart. The little flirtation was a little awkward with Ben Stiller's stiff delivery, but I guess that could be taken as a sadness for her waxy fate at the end of the night. Her spunk and moxie really brightened up the sequel-scape. My favorite 1930's euphemism was "jimmyjacked"! The other supporting roles played by Hank Azaria, Owen Wilson, and Steve Coogan ( Hamlet 2) had great chemistry and played off each other better than Ben Stiller with any other character. Stiller and the monkies should have stayed on the cutting room floor, but little gags like the scene with the Einstein bobbleheads were gold! Plus, some of the visual effects with the paintings and modernist sculptures in the Smithsonian Castle were fascinating. Amy Adams sparkled on-screen but these interesting background effects filled my eye and captured my attention every time. If the first Night at the Museum was enjoyable, then this installment is definitely worth seeing in theatres and later on. There were some laughs and the take-away value is definitely high. I was surprised this sequel actually lived up to its predecessor. On a scale of 1 to 5 Miniature Cowboy Owen Wilsons: 3.5 Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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In the past I really haven't marinated chicken more than just adding a light coating of Adobo and garlic powder, and refrigerating the chicken overnight in a light drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar. So I wanted to do something with a lot more intense flavor, and this marinade recipe from Cdkitchen.com hit the spot: Ingredients: 1 1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
Pepper To Taste For the red wine I used a left over Toscana Rosso called Santa Martino. Once upon a time I heard that a wine shouldn't be used for cooking if it isn't a wine you would drink by itself. Don't know where I heard that advice, but there's some truth to it because the boneless, skinless chicken breasts I used for this recipe were delicious! I punctured, submerged, and marinaded three chicken breasts for two days. Then, Adam grilled them over charcoal until they had an internal temperature of about 170° Fahrenheit.
Chicken on the Weber
Adam staged a careful vigil over the grill just to make sure the chicken wouldn't burn, and he added a handful of mushrooms rolled in foil with freshly minced garlic and butter off-center to also prevent burning.
Plating Duty
Adam also volunteered for plating duty. The chicken and sliced mushrooms were flavorful and juicy. Win!
Brown Rice and Parsley
The chicken and mushrooms are accompanied by a brown rice, which was cooked on the stove in about five cups of water with two tablespoons of dissolved chicken boullion. We just happened to have fresh parsley for a little garnish.
The Final Number
Topping the final presentation is another side, very traditional Hispanic red kidney beans. I just kind of threw ingredients together from what I remembered but here's the general recipe: Ingredients: 1 (8 oz) Can of Red Kidney Beans
1 Small Can of Tomato Sauce
1/4 Sliced Onion
1 Small Packet of Sazón
2 Tbsp Olive Oil You can also throw in little slices of potatos and add maybe one tablespoon of Sofrito. Do not add salt! The Sazón and Sofrito already have enough seasoning and salt in them. Just keep in mind that these beans in no way resemble American Baked Beans, which are usually too sweet for me to handle. There are herbs, spices, and salt in these beans they're not afriad to show it!
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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One Weber charcoal grill and a few Google searches later, I chose the marinade below from RecipeZaar.com with a few tweaks: 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 Smashed Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Basil
1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to Taste 
Marinaded Steaks
After lightly salting and peppering the steaks, I steeped them in the marinade for over 24 hours and grilled them for about seven minutes. I turned them over once about half way through and checked for an internal temperature of at least 130 degrees.
Toasty Edges and Asparagus
After the steaks were plated, I rolled a few asparagus I had simmering in a few inches of water for a few minutes. The asparagus was then dusted with a little butter, salt, and pepper and served with the steaks.
Medium Rare
At an internal temperature of about 130 to 140 degrees, both of these inch and a half steaks came off the grill an even medium rare throughout. Adam's opened me up to trying a lot of new dishes, including pinker meats. I admit, I'm joining the Dark Side on this one.
Good Behavior
Lily sat behind the coffee table and refused to budge until we had cleaned our plates. She's pretty well-mannered but if food is left unattended, it's hers! For wine pairings, Adam had a Californian Pinot Noir called the Smoking Loon, which was flippin' smooth and delicious! I poured myself an Italian Toscana called Santa Martina. There was also a heaping mound of fresh mashed red potatoes with the skins on the side. I've never been much of a grilling fan, but the surprising attention to detail when setting up the coals and prepping the food is a welcome new challenge!
Originally posted on marit.vox.com | |
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Today almost arrived on the sly and I was in a daze. Even when I kissed ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dyogenez see-ya-tonight this morning the Friday-ness of today was hardly registering. It may have had something to do with the fact that Lily was barking in her sleep throughout the night. Like, full out barking. I could also hear her little paws scraping against the carpet. She must have been chasing moles in her sleep! And I say moles because my cat scored another one yesterday before the torrential downpour. Lily found the little mole on the front lawn during a brief potty break last night. Those poor little digger rats. They don't stand a chance. Maybe I traumatized Lily some way with last night's grilling experiment. Since the rain wouldn't stop, I set the Weber Charcoal Go-Anywhere Grill in the screened-in porch. The flames were a little high at first blush, which made dyogenez and I a little nervous, but things got on without a hitch! He said he was holding off on saying anything until there was a suit mark on the porch ceiling. After I watched the coals ash, I arranged two New York Strip Steaks that marinated over two days on the grate. After about six to eight minutes, and turning them over at about halfway through cooking, the steaks were medium to medium rare, flavorful, juicy, and crispy. I'll be posting pics later tonight with the amended marinade recipe because it actually flippin works! Posted via mobilebloger | |
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My friend, Kathleen, suggested a delicious chimichurri recipe from Cook's Illustrated:
1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves from one large bunch, washed and dried
5 medium cloves garlic , peeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil... Read More
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup red onion , finely minced
1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
I subbed chili powder for the red pepper flakes, since I didn't have red pepper flakes, but judging from the subtle heat in the final dish the substitution worked well. Dinner was juicy and succulent complimented with a small, simple side salad topped with a sweet Vidalia onion dressing. Since cooking's a lot more fun when recorded for posterity, below are a few photos of the process. I plan to post another set of pics when the new grill is christened with a few marinaded New York strip steaks tomorrow!
 | Chimichurri Mix
Fresh parsley, red onion, chili pepper powder, fresh crushed garlic, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. The parsley and garlic were pulsed together a bit in the processor. Made things easier. |  | Chimichurri Sauce
Up close and personal with my mixed ingredients. The scent of that fresh parsley, fresh garlic, and red wine vinegar were wafting up deliciously at this point. |
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Chicken on the Foreman
Had to settle for grilling on the Foreman since my Weber grill hadn't come in the mail yet. The Foreman never fails! |
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Chimichurri Chicken
The final dish is served with a modest side salad topped with croutons and sweet Vidalia onion dressing. Plating points go to dyogenez! |
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As a modified, digestible rewrite of Wolverine's backstory, X-Men Origins works very well. General audiences shouldn't have any problem grafting this installment of the X-Men movie franchise to the other films.
The beginning of the movie is pretty close to the X-Men Origins trade, and even though Sabertooth and Wolverine are not brothers in the comics, their relationship makes the rest of the pieces of this film somewhat plausible. I was a little leary of Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth but he does a good job being dark and menacing, long black coat optional. His outward appearance was a little less animalistic than I'm used to, but the scruffiness and demeanor was enough to make him seem unpredictable. Plus, the guy can deliver lines!
Hugh Jackman was a gruff yet charming Wolverine as always. Although, diehards would rant that Wolverine's anything but charming. His delivery really made the love interest believable, but I'm sure she didn't exist in the comics. Apparently, this character is supposed to be Emma Frost's sister. Oh and the lover interest and Emma are both Canadian by the way, not British, but that's okay. Don't ask yourself why Cyclops was involved in Weapon X, just accept it. The introduction of Deadpool was interesting and fit pretty well into the overall story. Ryan Reynolds can do smartmouth so no worries there. It's a shame that he wasn't in more of the film, but if he were he's probably be distracting and steal the show.
This movie was oodles better than The Last Stand and respectable if measured against the other two films. There was a fair amount of action and Bezerker Rage to go around without jeopardizing the story, so casual fans shouldn't be too offended. Plus, there was Gambit! Granted, there was only about 10 minutes of my favorite Cajun, but baby steps, I guess. Baby steps.
I could have done without the cheesy walking-into-the-sunset scene toward the end, and Will.i.am being in any part of this movie. Extra points awarded for the Wolverine-Blob brawl and Deadpool-to-Sabertooth one-liner about "nails like a bag lady."
Rating: 4 out of 5 Bubs (Because Wolverine's the best at what he does.) | |
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My quest to find the least glitchy RSS reader for my AT&T Tilt/HTC Kaiser running Windows Mobile 6.1 ran longer than I thought, so I thought I'd post a quick rundown. pRSS ReaderI first settled with pRSS Reader, available through the Google Code website. At first, the simple interface and easily programmable feed-syncing feature had me at first glance. A very small downside was that in-line photos would not appear with their prospective articles but I could live without that feature. After I upgraded my phone from Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional to 6.1 Professional, pRSS Reader gave me the "Authentication Failed" error whenever syncing to Google Reader and refused to delete any feeds. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a resolution that worked in the Google Code forum. A pro about this program, if the feeds are updating correctly, the articles loaded in the background if I was working in other programs like Word Mobile or PockeTwit. There was also a neat little Today Screen widget with the number of unread and new feeds, which is something that I haven't seen in other mobile RSS readers. Viigo RSS ReaderThen I switched to Viigo, which has a smooth-scrolling sleek interface with customizable feed categories. The one huge downside that turned me away was the integrated Pocket IE. Any feed link on the main menu slowly loads a different Pocket IE page within Viigo. I hear good things about the future of Pocket IE, but the present is not nearly as rosy. With that said, a polished side-sliding interface does not make up for falling back to Pocket IE to load pages. Google Mobile - RSS ReaderThis reader isn't so much a reader as it is a link that launches the default mobile browser, and loads a user's preset Google Feeds in mobile view. Bland, uninspired, and no customizable views turned me away from this option super quick. NewsGator Go! RSS ReaderThe final stop on my reader odyssey was NewsGator. After creating a quick online account, I downloaded the program and could either go with preset feeds organized by category or define my own feeds. I wiped the slate clean and settled with the latter. NewsGator seems to load feeds within the program through an integrated Pocket IE window, but instead of being slow as molasses a cacheing feature loads all articles and their accompanying photos in record time. Engadget Mobile and InfoSync World reviews have never loaded so fast and looked so good! While NewsGator is a keeper so far, I'm always on the lookout for faster ways of getting my feed fix on the go. | |
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