Friends With Benefits

I questioned whether or not I should go see this movie.  In premise it is remarkably similar to a recent movie called No Strings Attached (NSA).  Both movies feature an attractive pair of friends who decide that they can engage in intimate relations without actually being in a relationship with each other.  NSA starred Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, she was a busy doctor and he worked in television.  There was not a lot of chemistry between them, the humor fell short in most places (the obvious exception being Mindy Kaling playing the best friend who was quite hilarious), and it was too formulaicly stuck to the romantic comedy genre.  Friends with Benefits, however, was constantly funny, the stars has a sizzle factor with each other, and the formula was not strictly adhered to.

Let's start with the basic plot.  Justin Timberlake plays Dylan a graphic designer from LA.  Mila Kunis plays Jamie, a head hunter from NY.  Jamie recruits Dylan to be the art director of GQ, he moves to New York and they become friends.  From there they decide to have casual relations and obvious complications ensue.  Please don't get me wrong folks, this was a romantic comedy.  The formula was followed, however the manner in which we reached our inevitable conclusion made this movie stand apart from is counterparts.

I have been a fan of Justin Timberlake for a long time.  In fact, it was his appearance on MTV's Punk'd that made me like him.  Don't get me wrong, I liked N'SYNC along with all the other girls my age, but I was more into Lance Bass.  Justin was one of the first people Punk'd on Ashton Kutcher's prank show.  They acted like they were IRS agents seizing all of his property.  I started to really like Justin as I watched him react to this situation.  He didn't scream at the agents, he didn't threaten anyone.  When someone started smashing his guitar he said please when he asked them to stop.  Above all else though, when faced with the scary situation of having people seize his stuff, he called his mom.  It's exactly what I would have done, it made him seem like a real person and not a celebrity.  In addition to that, Justin makes music that makes you want to move.  He has an impecable sense of comedic timing and is not afraid to commit to a role.

I am also a fan of Mila Kunis, she was awesome in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  I also liked Mila in this role because, while a very skinny girl, she managed to look like an actually human being instead of an emaciated actress.  Together these actors had definite chemistry, they also played well comically off of one another.  I got the sense that they were allowed to adlib some scenes and took the jokes to a new level.  The rest of the cast was stellar as well.  Jenna Elfman plays Dylan's sister, but she is not the zany Dharma that you remember she has a sense of depth in this role that I loved.  Patricia Clarkson plays Jamie's mother and showed us once again how she can play crazy and yet still make us love her.  Woody Harrelson, Bryan Greenburg and Richard Jenkins shine as well.  The humor was exactly my brand of funny.  They didn't take it anywhere gross, there weren't sex jokes that made you cringe.  There was just pure hilarity in two friends who had no problem making fun of each other.  One thing that I really liked was that Dylan and Jamie were actually friends and it was clear how important that aspect of their arrangement was.  Their chemistry was not just physical, but emotional as well.

This is not a movie that it is necessary to see in the theaters, but you will not be disappointed if you choose to shell out the movie theater prices.  I think this is one that I will be buying when it is available.  I immediately wanted to watch it again when the credits rolled.  

Happy Viewing!

Captain America

I am not the kid who grew up reading comic books.  In fact, I don't believe that I have ever read an actual comic book from cover to cover (with the exclusion of Archie and the gang).  I do, however, really like the comic book movies.  Maybe it has something to do with going to school with thousands of boys who did grow up reading these stories, and are now seeing them come to life.  I think that is more likely stems from the fact that the stories providing plot to these movies are just really good.  There is always a cute love story, a lot of drama and a bit of adventure.  A little something for everyone, if you will.

The latest installation in the comic book franchise is about Captain America.  This one particularly appealed to me because of the army aspect.  I love a good story about soldiers going above and beyond for their country and for their compatriots.  Captain America is the tale of a scrawny kid, Steve Rogers, from Brooklyn, he is a young adult during the second world war and wants nothing more than to enlist and fight for his country.  It hearkens to a time when the entire country was behind the soldiers.  There was no greater honor than to serve your country, the movies didn't show previews, they showed you how to help with the war effort.  Steve is continually turned down for enlistment due to his health and his size.  He tries again and again changing his name and his hometown and he is finally spotted by a doctor who is looking for a soldier to use in an experiment.  The experiment turns scrawny, short Steve Rogers into ripped, tall and incredibly hot.

I don't want to give away to much plot, but Steve is turned into Captain America - a symbol to promote war bonds.  On a morale trip overseas he finally gets his chance to fight for his country, and fight he does.  The action scenes are intense and fun.  The real greatness from this movie, though, comes through the characters that are developed.  Chris Evans does a great job playing both the scrawny and buff version of Steve.  He manages to convey his sense of duty and honor without being over the top or showy.  Stanly Tucci, always a favorite of mine, does a wonderful job as the German doctor/scientist who invented the process that "creates" Captain America.  His accent is subtle yet quite good.  Hugo Weaving plays red skull, the evil German scientist who develops evil weapons and is bent on destroying the world.  Hugo has proven his acting chops to the world in The Matrix and V for Vendetta, and he does not fail his fans here.

This is definitely a movie to go see in the theaters.  The action sequences play well on the big screen, and ladies you do not want to miss a chance to see all 30 feet of Chris Evans.  The PG-13 rating comes from the violence of the fighting, so I would say that even younger boys could go see this movie without their parents feeling like the exposed them to something they shouldn't have.  I also felt, that in the current political climate, it was nice to escape to a time where we were united as a country.  The sense of loyalty to his country that Steve shows is something that we could all take a lesson on.  I liked the story as well because our hero was picked because of who he was, not what he could do or some kind of accident.  There was nothing special about Steve before the experiment, at least nothing physically or mentally special.  His value came from his heart, his desire to do what was right, his passion to serve his country, and his determination to never give up. He truly is a hero before he ever attains his physical attributes.

Happy viewing!

My Just Desserts

I usually handle my dietary restrictions pretty well.  I have a proclivity towards bread, but for the most part that is my only real weakness with the new rules on my diet.  Recently, though, I have been craving all sorts of things that I am not supposed to eat.  It started innocently enough, a coupon for a bagel thin appeared at my door.  In my head, a bagel thin is much better than a bagel. It is much much smaller, and if I got some cream cheese that would even add protein.  I know that I would desperately regret eating such a thing, but the thought was planted none-the-less.  Next came ice cream.  I am reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the moment, and Dudley gets a large chocolate ice cream at the zoo.  Now I want some chocolate ice cream almost as much as I want to keep breathing.  With these cravings forcing their way into my thoughts, they seem to have brought others along as well.  A whopper with cheese, waffle fries, apple pie, and last but most assuredly not least - a peach milkshake.  I'm not hungry in the slightest, even as I type out all of these nastily dangerous words, I feel no hunger.  But oh how I want them, that little thought keeps niggling at my brain.

I have successfully resisted temptation so far, and one of the awesome things that has come out of my new life, I know that I will continue to resist.  That's not to say though, that I get no satisfaction.  That chocolate craving was cured with a 100 calorie dark chocolate bar from Trader Joe's.  Only 5 grams of sugar in the whole bar, and it takes a good long while to eat the whole bar.  I combined that with an ice cold glass of milk, and I was one happy lady.  The burger craving was fixed with alternate fast food, Taco Bell fresco chicken soft taco.  Now I am pretty sure that the peach milkshake has no fix, there is nothing in the world quite like it. However, I am finding that the simple things in life are just more fun for me these days.  So, ok, I am missing out on a few flavors and sensations that I once liked.  I have gained so many other things that I now love.  While listening to music on my drive to Athens today, I daydreamed about going for a run.  That is not something that I do.  I parked my car and walked back in to my building and on a few quick errands around my apartment complex today instead of figuring out the least possible steps I could take and still get my tasks done.  I reveled in each step in the sunshine.  Way better than a whopper.  :)

Winnie the Pooh

I took a 5 year old precocious young lady to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie the other day.  It was like being transported back in time.  The movie plays like a very long episode of Winnie the Pooh from back in the day.  John Cleese's narration is spot on.  Zoey Deschanel brought a wonderful sense of lightness to the theme song.  Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore are as delightful as always.  The movie feels exactly like it should.  The premise is that Pooh wants honey, obviously, Eeyore has lost his tail, and a note from Christopher Robin leads everyone to believe has has been kidnapped by a monster called a Backson.  This isn't a twisty complicated plot, it's not going to win any Oscars.  For fans of Pooh and friends, though, it is perfect.  Not so long that it will fail to hold the attention of youngsters, but not so short that you feel cheated for paying movie prices.  (I do recommend matinee though, this is not a Friday night movie.)  If you don't have little ones to accompany you, wait till it comes to DVD and rent it.  I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful retreat into my past.

Bad Teacher

As an educator, I was particularly excited about seeing this movie.  I thought it would be awesome to see a teacher just do whatever she wanted.  I thought it would be even more awesome to see the administration try to crack down and mess up.  I was super excited to see the shenanigans that the kids got up to in the classroom.  I was utterly disappointed.

The kids sat quietly in the classroom and watched the movies that she showed.  They even complained a little that they had to watch movies instead of learn.  What a joke.  The people who made this film have obviously never sat in a classroom.  Sure after a month of nothing but movies kids would definitely speak up, but not on the first day.  They would love it.

The only good thing about this film was Jason Segel.  Good lord do I love that man.  They did not give him nearly enough screen time.  They devoted more time to Justin Timberlake, who did an admirable job bringing a poorly written character to life.  He worked well in the construct he was given, but JT has major acting chops.  Don't pin him in like that, let his timing and brilliance shine through.  Jason's role fit him much better, the sarcastic gym teacher who mocked everyone else.  I loved it.  Cameron Diaz fell flat as the shallow teacher who didn't care.

Bad Teacher implies that she truly is terrible.  At worst she was negligent.  She drank in class and slept while her one class watched films.  Seriously writers, have you been to a middle school before?  She taught middle school English, where were her other classes?  The story says that all she wanted was to get enough money to get a boob job so that she could find a rich person to marry her and she wouldn't have to work anymore.  She falls for JT's character, the substitute who comes from money.

I laughed at the appropriate parts, but all in all this movie is what was really bad.  You had a talented cast of comedic actors, yet their skills were not really showcased.  One of the things that I think makes a comedy great is spontaneity.  When the actors know the general direction the scene should go, but then they are allowed to explore their characters a little by ad-libbing lines.  It felt like everyone stuck precisely to the script on this one.

All in all, I say skip this film.  There are much better and funnier movies out there.  If you really want to see it wait for it to come to the redbox, it might be worth a dollar.

Traditional Sunday Dinner

I have had the urge to cook this week.  My summer is coming to a close and I have to go back to work and move apartments very soon.  I am babysitting some people that I love very much for the next two weeks, so it is going to be interesting.  This is pretty much my last free weekend before chaos erupts.  Consequently the urge to cook has been bubbling up.

Last night I made a Quiche, a go to favorite of mine due to the high protein content it offers.  I used half a pack of bacon, cut it into little strips and then crisped it up in a frying pan.  I don't like quiche that contains only meat and cheese, but I was feeling pretty agoraphobic yesterday and I didn't have any fresh veggies in the house.  I cracked open my pantry and found a can of tomatoes.  I found out after I opened the jar that they were designed to go into a chili base.  I found this out because the smell of chili powder hit me like a ton of bricks when I opened the can.  I put the tomatoes in a strainer and gave them a good rinse, but the chili powder still clung to those tomatoes.  I decided to use them anyway.  The effect was quite good.  The quiche did not have an overpowering chili flavor, but it did hang around in the background.  All in all I am quite pleased with my creation.

Tonight, I am making a traditional Sunday dinner.  My goal is to create something you might see in a tv dinner,  but the good version.  I was ironically enough inspired by cupcakes.  Paula Deen made cupcakes the other day and decorated them to look like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and peas with carrots.  The mashed potato cupcake was eerily accurate.  I can't eat cupcakes, man I miss them though, so I decided that I would make the actual food instead.  I don't eat fried foods any more either, so the fried chicken is becoming a meatloaf.  Mashed potatoes are definitely a go, and I am going to make green beans as well.

While my family was visiting earlier this summer, we took a trip to the Dekalb farmer's market to buy things to make dinner.  We ended up making a delicious meatloaf.  I got my inspiration from Ina Garten but I used ground beef instead of turkey.  Man o man was it tasty.  Tonight I will be going with the healthier turkey option because my roommate does not eat beef.  The trick is to let the meatloaf sit with everything mixed together for a while, that way the flavors marry before they are baked.  I add saute'd mushrooms to the recipe as well.  Cooking the vegetables first helps develop the moisture in the meatloaf, and adds nice depth of flavor.

For my green beans, I am going to saute them with mushrooms and toasted almonds.  I was originally planning to use pine nuts, because of the creamy texture and crunch they add.  Trader Joe's sold their pine nuts for $8 a bag.  I found that to be a ridiculous price, so I am substituting the much cheaper almonds.  I will get the same nutty flavor and crunch, for less than half the price.

Happy Cooking!