Holiday Update

Thanksgiving 2010 in Solon

Nicole is here and I'm proud to say ... the holidays are here... in a magical way!  Last Thursday, Dan and I drove to Solon and back, the day of Thanksgiving, to celebrate with his family.  Clare is the best hostess known to man and made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us all. We did very little Black Friday shopping on the way back, as it was pouring rain and places were packed with small discounts.  This past Saturday was a much more beautiful day, as we drove to my parent's house for Thanksgiving and 4 birthday celebrations (my father turned 60 and my nephew, Gavin, turned 10!!!).  I made a giant cake for all, my famous cheesy potatoes which are always a hit at our place , and our pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!   It's always wonderful to catch up with family, especially for the holidays.

On the business side of life:  Entrepreneur plans are anything but settled for Dan and I, as we have changed our thoughts on a business plan from pizza, to fudge, offering misc. services, art collectibles, and now possibly taking over the ALZ store, if we're given the opportunity.  Dan and I are REALLY hoping this will be a possibility and something the owners will at least discuss with us to work out the details.  At this point, we are simply waiting for Jeff (one of the most thoughtful, amazing people ever) to let us know what they say, as he will be meeting with them early this week (he is our original connection for this business idea).  We are more than ready to start or take over a business, especially online-based, but have yet to square away details and land on something.  I am nervously waiting, with fingers (tightly) crossed.  If this doesn't pan out, we will continue to keep our heads held high, as we know we will be successful once we do land on something.

Tomorrow, Dan and I will be picking up a REAL Christmas tree.  I'm very excited, as I have not had one for years.  I enjoy that pine smell that fills the house SO much and I think Juice will enjoy it too.  She at least enjoys swatting at the ornaments! ;)

On another note, in 2 weeks, Monica will graduate with her masters and I am VERY excited to celebrate that morning/afternoon with her.  She's such a great sister and I'm so excited and proud of her accomplishments. Every time I think of her moving up the education ladder, I remember how she used to play teacher/classroom with Jason and I growing up.  This is truly what she was meant to do and I love to see her happy doing it!

Christmas tree decorating, shopping, Monica's graduation, and more to come.  Come back soon to hear all about it!  See you soon - Nicole

The Blog is BACK! Weekly Update

Apologies for the delay, faithful readers, I’ve been attempting to make some changes with how my column is set up on Examiner.com.  Because I joined during a time where changes are being made to the functionality of the site, a few mistakes were made.  Hopefully soon those issues will be fixed, and I won’t still be in the “Animation” sub-section and I’ll be in “Movies” where I belong!  Of course, you probably don’t get there by sifting through the categories anyway, so nothing to worry about.  *Update* Category fixed!


LIMBO
I promised Eric a follow-up on the Xbox360 Arcade game LIMBO and, as expected, I was blown away.  For those not with us the first time, LIMBO is a dark, dreary, surprisingly addictive puzzle game available for download on the Xbox Live marketplace.  It's creepy, it's really hard, and it will haunt your dreams until you finish the very last challenge.  If you enjoy games that make you think, this unique puzzler will suck you in and leave little room for anything else on your mind.


Movie News
There has actually been a good amount of news recently, and very good news if you're a fan of the truly epic. According to IESB.net, your days of waiting in hours-long lines for a Star Wars movie aren't over.  Check out the link for the whole story, but apparently the rumors are quite founded that there is indeed another Star Wars trilogy in the works.  They will in fact be sequels, but whether they're the long-awaited episodes 7, 8, and 9 is anyone's guess.  As for why, since we're talking about George Lucas, there's really only one guess.


Also, I know I’m rather behind on this, but the first information about Christopher Nolan’s sequel to The Dark Knight has been released.  Rumors have been flying all over the internet for months now about casting choices, villains, love interests, etc, and while there isn’t a whole lot set in stone yet, there are some things known for sure.


One: It is called The Dark Knight Rises.


Two: Tom Hardy will be in the film.  Many of you know him as "Eames the Forger" in Inception.  He will indeed be playing a villain, though which one is not known.


Three: There will be two female leads, one villain and one love interest.  Again, which characters they play is pure speculation at this point, though casting choices have been nailed down to Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightly, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts, and Rachel Weisz.


Four: Some of the filming will be taking place in Louisiana, leading some to speculate about Killer Croc’s involvement.  Keyword: speculate.


Five: Nolan has unequivocally stated that neither the Riddler, Penguin, nor Robin will be in the film.


Six: The script is done; it will begin shooting in April 2011, and will be released July 20, 2012.  Some scenes will be IMAX, and there will be absolutely no 3D.


DVD Pick of the Week:  In Bruges
You get instant kudos for just having heard of this one.  It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hit men hiding out in the picturesque Belgian city of Bruges after a job.  Powered by some outstanding performances (particularly Farrell, who will make you completely forget why you vowed to stop seeing his movies) this dark comedy/crime thriller will make you laugh, cry, and laugh some more.  Trust me on this one, and thank me afterwards.  4/5 stars


In other news, I’ll definitely be seeing Skyline soon, and 127 Hours as soon as I can.  Are there any movies you plan on seeing soon?  Leave me a comment below!


Check out my recent updates: A flashback review of Avatar in honor of the new DVD collection, and reviews of the movies Buried & Unstoppable.  Also, check back soon (both sites)for an in-depth Inception dissection.


Enjoy what you read here?  Comment below, subscribe above, follow me on Twitter @DGPmovieXaminer, subscribe to my Examiner page here, or email me at DGleesonPrata@gmail.com

Paranormal Activity 2 brings serious scares

If you want a good scare this Halloween weekend, Paranormal Activity 2 is the movie to see.

For those that missed the original, the Paranormal Activity series are psychological horror movies shot in the Cinema Verite style, meaning they use hand-held cameras, security cameras, and other non-traditional film equipment to achieve a realistic, faux-documentary feel.  It’s been in style ever since The Blair Witch Project, and has been recently used in just about every genre to mixed results.

In Paranormal Activity 1 & 2, the Verite style has found its true home in horror.  As any movie-goer could tell you, with rare exception the quality of horror movies has been plummeting, and has recently devolved into what some call “torture porn”.  Evident in movies like Saw and Hostel, the filmmakers basically show all the gore, pain, and torture they can to get shock scares from the audience, usually at the expense of real fear and suspense.

With the Verite style, the creators of the Paranormals have brought subtlety, suspense, and true visceral terror back to film.  The mood builds slowly – a bump in the night here, a door closing by itself there - until it’s obvious an evil force is in the house with some pretty bad intentions.  The beauty of the film is how you have to frantically scan over the seemingly calm and innocuous security footage to find the next freaky occurrence before it scares you out of your seat.

For those who have seen the first, you’ll see some familiar faces as story bridges are created to connect the two films.  In essence, Paranormal Activity 2 ends up being both a prequel and sequel to the first, giving some context as to what happened outside the frame of the first story.

Also, fans of the first installment should remember how important theater atmosphere is to the effectiveness of the movie.  If you’re in Hilliard, I’d recommend the Starplex Cinema on Hilliard-Rome over the otherwise amazing Movie Tavern at Mill Run.  The food and beer are great, but the eating, talking, and waiters will detract a bit from the cold, steel grip this movie can have on your psyche.

Enjoy, and remember what it was like as a child to be terrified of the dark.  B-

Feast for the Eyes: Xbox Live's LIMBO

For those if us who mainly use their Xbox360 for streaming Netflix movies nowadays, some might not realize that they can indeed still be used to play games.  In addition, assuming you've got it connected to Xbox Live (and since you're streaming Netflix I'm going to call that a safe assumption), you can download them straight to your console without leaving the ass groove on your couch.  These range in fair from old classics to new releases, and even include some small-budget indy games that occasionally put the big boys to shame.  Those who were lucky or in-the-know enough to have experienced BRAID know what potential these games can have.  Called "ingenious", "startlingly creative", and "a risky experiment climaxing in glorious success", it is by far the best game I've ever downloaded and a must-own for anyone with a 360.

Last night, I found its successor.

It's called LIMBO.  I downloaded the free demo and was instantly haunted by the atmosphere, on top of being almost immediately stymied by its puzzles.  I decided that if it was still as strikingly vivid in my mind Wednesday morning, I would have to tell others.  It is, and I think I'm going to pay for the full game tonight because I really just want to see it again.  The fact that it looks like it's going to be spooky as hell and really hard, not to mention top quality, is just gravy.  I'll be back to let you know if it holds up.  I think I may still be talking to myself, but check out the trailer and leave me a comment with what you think.

Epic For Our Generation: The Social Network

As a film buff, rarely does the opportunity present itself to watch movie history being made.  It seems we're always looking back at how the great artists of the medium transformed larger-than life characters, fictional and historic, into generational icons.  In the early forties Orson Welles gave us the epic Citizen Kane, the dramatized story of how William Randolph Hurst changed the world with his media empire.  In the seventies, Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola brought us The Godfather, the fictional tale of a mafia family that changed our culture and film forever.

In 2010, I'm comfortable saying we're witnessing a film of equally Shakespearian epic influence.  Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher have just given us The Social Network, the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the invention of Facebook, and all the glory, betrayal, and world-changing implications that went with it.

The film begins with the most crackling and engagingly tone-setting opening scene since Inglourious Basterds, an exchange between Zuckerberg and his girlfriend in a Harvard bar where we get our first look at the disconnect between his intellectual genius and emotional ineptitude.  Jesse Eisenberg's take on the social media magnate is both amazing and surprising.  For those who saw him in Adventureland and Zombieland, this is not the same awkward, fumbling Eisenberg.  Here we have a performance of  conviction and nuance, and one that should take him to the Oscar stage in early 2011.  Don't be surprised if he's sharing the spotlight with Sorkin (for a brilliantly barbed script that reads like a verbal knife-fight), Fincher (for directing this visual tour-de-force) and especially Justin Timberlake for his always-surprisingly-awesome contribution as Sean Parker, the Napster pioneer and catalyst for the biggest swings and betrayals of the story.

The nonlinear timeline may be a bit tough to follow by those not as familiar with the method or story, but basically the movie follows the origin legend of Facebook simultaneously with the two lawsuits that were filed after its inception.  Legal conversations in stuffy boardrooms have never been more enthralling than with Zuckerberg interjecting his brand of vitriolic sarcasm and emotionless contempt.

With the Halloween season underway and so many great movies already in theaters, I must insist that you put them aside if you haven't yet seen this instant classic, if for no other reason than to be able to tell your grandkids you were there to see it in theaters.  A+

I'm in need of a good scare....

Nicole and I are really really jonesing for a scary movie.  Let Me In wasn't exactly what she expected and My Soul To Take just looks awful, so we thought we might be out of luck this October.  However, while flipping through my Flixter Movies app on my new DroidX, I came across a little British sci-fi flick simply called Monsters.  I read the synopsis, watched the trailer, and now I'm psyched.  Call it the next District 9.

The movie takes place six years after a NASA probe returned to Earth with samples of alien life.  It crashed over Central America and new life forms began to sprout up over half of Mexico, causing it to be quarantined.  It sounds like the story takes place through the eyes of a journalist who agrees to locate and escort to the safety of the US border the daughter of his boss, a shaken American tourist.  I'm sure they're in for some terrifying encounters as they try to get out of the war between the monsters and the American and Mexican military.  Here is a link to the official site.  Watch the trailer and let me know what you guys think.

Something else I'm extremely excited about is the premiere of AMC's new show The Walking Dead.  As anyone who watches TV should know, AMC makes some damn good original television.  Their first was Mad Men, a show many consider to be the best show on TV.  Then there was Breaking Bad, a show I consider to be one of the best on TV.  After that came Rubicon, one I haven't yet had a chance to watch, but one that my brother seems to think is pretty good (though the trailers seem to be saying otherwise).  So even regardless of the latter, AMC has a damn good track record with enough Emmy's to make Tony Soprano have another panic attack.

When I heard AMC was coming out with another drama, and about zombies no less, needless to say I was extremely excited.  When I heard it would be created by one of the best writer/directors in Hollywood (Frank Darabont, the man behind Shawshank and The Mist) I just about had a panic attack myself.  The story seems pretty zombie-standard, post apocalypse, struggle for survival, doing unimaginable things to stay alive, etc, but with such a rock solid foundation I don't think it can lose.  Make sure to check out the 90-minute (!) premiere on AMC on Halloween at 10pm.

-Dan

Summer Movie Rewind: Iron Man 2, and my Summer Movie Extravaganza

Our office is officially closed, I'm fully on the work-at-home model now, and I FINALLY got my Summer reviews from my work computer (as well as the rest of the computer) and I'll post them here for your viewing pleasure.  Reviews coming soon: The Social Network & Let Me In

Iron Man 2

Like any modern movie franchise, the success of a first installment necessitates a sequel. As a general Hollywood trend, this is purely a financial exercise meant to exploit the popularity of the first movie and inevitably sacrifice quality on the altar of the almighty dollar. However, in recent years that inevitability thankfully hasn't applied to summer's new favorite genre, the Superhero movie. Dating back to Brian Singer's X-Men, whose sequel X2 outclassed and outperformed the first, and including Spider-Man 2 and the Dark Knight, super hero movies seem to do what no other film genre can and actually improve the second time around (it's worth noting this improvement almost never applies to a third installment). Now, does this rule apply to Iron Man 2? It does and it doesn't.

First things first: I've never laughed harder during a superhero movie. For those of you who have seen the original Iron Man, or any other movie with Robert Downey Jr., it's easy to give all that credit to Tony Stark. Downey plays this narcissistic, over-entitled, megalomaniac with the same reluctant heart and sharp wit that he brings to pretty much every character he plays. At this point, I'm not sure if I can call what he does “acting” as he plays almost identical characters in just about every movie he's in (Tropic Thunder being the obvious, Oscar-nominated exception), but whatever it's called, his presence alone made movies like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” watchable. Unlike other actors whose performances are defined by the characters they play, Downey Jr's characters are defined by him, and Tony Stark is the best example. I've never seen an actor more perfectly suited for a character (or vice-versa) and in my opinion, he's worth the price of admission all by himself.

But enough about him. Everybody knows superhero sequels are all about cool new villains, and this is where my gripes start. To avoid confusion, it wasn't the casting or performances that I didn't like. Mickey Rourke is as fierce and enthralling as ever playing Ivan Vanko, whose father was a colleague of Tony's father. There's a lot of bad family blood there, and Ivan becomes the villain “Whiplash” to exact his revenge. Also, an old childhood nemesis of Tony's, Justin Hammer, challenges Tony with the backing of his own multinational arms conglomerate and an army of Vanko-designed war drones. Perfectly cast in the role is Sam Rockwell, whose sniveling pomposity is the villainous weasel to Rourke's grizzly bear.

The problem I have with the villains may be a systemic one. I'm not a comic book reader, and I know nothing about the back story here, but it seems any serious villain in these movies must wear a large fancy suit of armor. I was a little disappointed when Iron Man and his buddy in the silver War Machine suit head off to the climactic battle to vanquish Vanko, only to find him in a giant metal suit that looked exactly like the one Jeff Bridges piloted at the end of the first Iron Man. I'm pretty sure there are villains in this series that DON'T wear giant metal suits, and I know this because a large portion of Iron Man 2 has no other purpose than to set up a pretty silly amount of sequels covering God-only-knows how many comic franchises. And when I say a large portion, I mean entire superfluous sub-plots and multiple characters.

These problems aside, Iron Man 2 is a funny, rockin' superhero movie whose best quality is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It isn't a grandiose tour-de-force like the Dark Knight, and it would be a stretch to say it's an improvement over the first Iron Man, but it's a quality sequel nonetheless. I give it a B-.

Summer Movie Extravaganza!

Hello Readers! It seems like forever since I've been able to bring you some news and opinion in the world of film, so I thought I'd give you a great big helping this time around. This summer has been chock-full of family movies, and I wanted to give you a quick rundown on a few I've seen in the last couple months before a short review of the most anticipated movie of the summer, Christopher Nolan's mind-bending, dream-diving blockbuster Inception.

Toy Story 3 – Hands down the best installment of this storied series and boasting a ridiculous 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Toy Story 3 closes out the trilogy with style and heart. Our favorite animate objects find themselves in a decidedly darker sort of adventure after being donated to a day care center where there's more going on than meets the eye. Like any good family movie must do these days, it appeals to both the young and old with its combination of clever laughs and tear-jerking drama. After so much time learning to love these toys, some very young children might have a bit of trouble with the amped-up peril in this sequel, but then again, so did I. Bring a tissue. A

The Last Airbender – The newest attempt by M. Night Shyamalan to recreate the magic of his earlier films is unfortunately just another flop by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Following the travesties of The Village, Lady in the Water, and The Happening, it appeared Shyamalan wanted to take a stab at directing someone else's story, and landed on the animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Crazy special effects and some pretty cool fight scenes are the only things that save this movie from its terrible direction, confusing story, and questionable casting choices. Unless you're a huge fan of the source material, avoid at all costs. D+

Despicable Me – Featuring the voices of Steve Carrell and Jason Segel, Despicable Me is an animated family comedy about an over the hill super villain, his army of minions, and his goal of stealing the moon. The story isn't particularly deep or original, and the film never reaches the atmospheric heights owned by Pixar, but in his quest for the moon, Gru (Carrell) reaches just high enough to steal our hearts and the top box-office spot, if only for a couple weeks. Plus, it has some of the best use of 3D I've seen so far this summer, and I'm a huge sucker for great 3D. Bring the kids! B-

And now for the main event....

Inception – Ever since Star Wars Ep.1 stomped all over my expectations (not to mention years of dedication), I haven't allowed myself to have such high hopes for a movie. Even after the first two glorious Lord of the Rings movies, I wouldn't let myself get too excited for The Return of the King because it seemed too recent since George Lucas broke my heart. With Inception, however, the anticipation sucked me up like a tornado, and more importantly, surpassed my expectations. And how could it not? With the best director in the business and the most talented ensemble I've seen in a long time, the incredible special effects are just icing on the cake. But to use the term “incredible” is to deny them the full praise they deserve. The visuals in this movie are so hugely different, so mind-blowingly unique that they give you the experience in a theater you thought you'd never have again: watching something you've never seen before.

I'm going to take a cue from the trailers and keep most of the incredibly convoluted plot under wraps. All you have to know is that this movie is absolutely unmissable, and I'll leave you with a bit of advice the concession kid gave me before I went in: put your thinking caps on. A+

"Devil" review, plus fall movie preview!

I could see my breath in a cloud of vapor last night.  What does that mean?  It means the season of big explosions and crappy taste is over!  We find ourselves on the threshold of Fall, and a deliciously decadent feast of silver screen gold awaits us on the other side of 70* Fahrenheit.

My indulgence this season began recently with the new M. Night Shyamalan project "Devil".  This is the first of a series he's calling the "Night Chronicles", where basically M.Night is passing his creepy ideas on to young writers and directors to create, instead of botching them himself.  "Devil" is similar to the classic Agatha Christie mystery "Ten Little Indians" (aka And Then There Were None) in that there's a group of bad people stuck in one location and they start paying for their sins with their lives, one by one.  As opposed to an island or mountain retreat however, these unfortunate sinners are trapped in an elevator, dangling twenty stories in the air.

Through the cryptic narration of a terrified religious (redundant, I know) security guard, we find out that one of the elevator occupants is the Devil in disguise, and he's going to have some sadistic fun with these trapped souls before he takes them all the way down. The fun of the movie is playing detective and trying to figure out which is the demon, but a predictable culprit, a saccharine redemption ending, and some lazy plot points hold it back from it's full terrifying potential.  I think the claustrophobic tension more than makes up for any small problems though, and it had a group behind me whimpering and shaking our whole row of chairs with dread.

It's not the theology lesson Shyamalan wants it to be, but it's definitely an effective thriller.  B.

Now, here are a few Fall movies releasing soon that I can't wait to see:

"The Town" - now playing - This Boston crime movie is written, directed, and starring Ben Affleck, and those who saw his last directorial effort "Gone Baby Gone" will know this is in fact a good thing.  It co-stars Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, and Rebecca Hall, it's been destroying the box office for two weeks, and the general consensus holds that Affleck has created something tense, gritty, and altogether fantastic.  Get some before it's gone.

"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" - now playing - In a time where we have less than 5-to-1 odds of a sequel even being watchable, I'd consider us lucky to have Oliver Stone at the helm with a cast like this.  I also hear it's just as timely as the first.  If you liked the original, why not?

"The Social Network" - Oct. 1st - This is the big one for me.  Weeks before its release it has already garnered the elusive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it has drawn comparisons to classics such as Citizen Kane and The Godfather, and has been called an instant, decade defining classic the likes of The Matrix and Back to the Future.  I would have seen it anyway just because it's a Fincher movie.  Se7en & Fight Club, anyone?  Sounds like a must-see.

"Let Me In" - Oct. 1st - An american remake of the incredible Swedish vampire movie "Let The Right One In", and "Twilight" it isn't.  If it's anything like the original it'll be eerie, tender, violent, and romantic in all the ways "Twilight" tries and fails to achieve.  See the original, then this one, then thank me on Monday.

"Black Swan" - Dec. 1st - This one is a little further down the line, but an intriguing one nonetheless.  Supposedly it's a supernatural thriller set in the world of ultra-competitive ballet.  Darren Aronofsky is one of the best in the business and has yet to make a bad movie going back through "Requiem For A Dream" and "Pi".  There's not a whole lot I can say better than the trailer itself, so find one and watch it.  Very weird.

-Dan

One Minute 1998 Flashback Review: Dark City

I've had this movie in my collection for years, but had never pulled it out to watch.  I had heard so much about it since then, all good things, but had also heard it was a bit taxing on the cranium.  Not that I had any reason to wait, but it was totally worth it.

Dark City is exactly what its name implies: it's dark.  I would call it something of a retro sci-fi neo-noir horror movie, and it's night all the time.  Literally.  Our protagonist, one John Murdoch, abruptly wakes up in a hotel bathtub at midnight with a broken syringe on the floor and no conception of how he got there.  He soon discovers he's being sought out by a detective on a murder investigation, a wife he can't remember, a probably-not-licensed-in-anything-legitimate doctor, and the large group of goblinesque "strangers" that run this particularly strange city.  It's the kind of movie I love: at first it makes as much sense to us as the brain-scrambled Murdoch, and we discover along with him, one step at a time, what the hell is going on.  If you haven't seen it, make a point to do so.

-Dan

Busy Busy Busy!

Hello readers, it has been another couple weeks just jam-packed with goodness, but last weekend was actually the BEST WEEKEND EVER.  No jokes, it was absolutely incredible, I had the most fun jammed into one weekend as I've ever seen, and it was all orchestrated by the lovely and talented Nicole Kirch!  My 24th birthday was this past Monday the 20th, and for the weekend before, Nicole planned a whole weekend extravaganza (with extra ganza).  Pictures have not yet been posted, but will be shortly.

It all started Friday the 17th, I got in the car with no conception of where we were headed.  We drove north for a couple hours and ended up on Lake Erie, at the dock of the Jet Express, "the fastest way to Put-in-Bay!"  I hadn't been to the tiny tourist island in many years, and the giant speedboat got us there in no time flat, by way of Kelley's Island.  Once we got there we rented a golf cart and took off!  Stopping by the Heineman Winery, the Chocolate Cafe & Museum, Cpt. Perry themed mini-golf ( I thought I knew everything about the good commodore from drinking Great Lakes brews.  I was wrong), several restaurants, candy shops, and the Put-in-Bay Brewing Co, where we tried a delicious Watermelon Wheat beer and some amazing pizza.  Good stuff.

We concluded that night at the Breakers Express, a Cedar point resort hotel.  For those in-the-know, whoever stays at a Cedar Point hotel gets to enter the park an hour before the general public, and we took full advantage!  We made sure to hit the Raptor and (my personal fave) the Millennium Force before the masses clogged the ride lines with slow-moving line cutters and skinny guys in tiny shorts (blessing and a curse that I didn't snap that picture).  My apparent old age, a slight hangover from the previous night's events, and some rockin' coasters kept me off balance for most of the day, but it wasn't anything a giant pretzel couldn't fix.  Being the first weekend of Hallow-Weekends, a lot of the seasonal festivities didn't kick in until dark, and by that time we were exhausted.  It took us a smidge longer to get home than anticipated (apparently my phone GPS can't find satellites in the boonies) but got home safe and sound, with no mutant hobo encounters to speak of.

Despite the dangerous amount of fun crammed into one weekend, we still got a chance to chill and relax Saturday night and Sunday, before heading over to a surprise party at Dave & Buster's!  Josh, Trevor, Angela, Matt, and Monica all showed up and tasty food ensued.  We shot up some zombies before heading back home for a relaxing evening before the grind on Monday.

I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank Nicole for making my 24th the happiest birthday I've ever had. Also, for proving that when she says something, she means it!  Last year around this time she vowed that my next birthday would be way better, and she didn't disappoint.

More recent happenings coming soon, including a trip to Solon, drum battles, flashback review "Dark City", real review "Devil", a life-changing career/relationship/personality consultation, football news, and future plans for a Thornville bonfire.  Stay tuned!

What Happened?

Well, it's been almost five months since there were any updates.  I'm not sure what the future holds for this blog, or whether Nicole will be contributing going forward.  She's been extremely busy at the Brain Injury Assoc, but that doesn't mean I can't at least keep you guys updated with recent happenings, including some news about various cool things and the usual movie reviews.

A lot has happened.  First up, we've moved!  We're no longer in the Polaris area, though you might not be able to tell by looking.  We're off Hilliard-Rome Rd. in Hilliard, and still surrounded by the usual medley of restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, etc.  It's a great little neighborhood that some of Nicole's family already lives in, including a couple cousins and her aunt.  We've upgraded size-wise, and we even have a bunch more of the storage space that we needed so desperately.  We've got the patio set up for a good grill'n'chill anytime, we're all unpacked, but still deciding what to do with our half-finished basement.  Some combination of a dining room/home theater/lounge looks likely.

We've taken a couple of amazing trips since we posted last.  The first of which was a trip over to Boston to see the sights and catch my sister's Senior Recital.  She was a music major (drum set performance) so this was a kind of final exam show that she organized herself.  Here is a link to the photo album on Nicole's Facebook where she posted a ton of phenomenal pictures of the concert, the historic sights, and an amazing aquarium.

Most recently we took a trip to Pittsburgh.  I was born there and have spent a lot of time in the area, but Nicole hadn't and I wanted to show her the sights!  Needless to say she was impressed.  We crammed a lot into two days, including a rib fest at Heinz Field, PPG Place, Primanti Bros (both the Market Sq. and Strip District locations), the Duquesne Incline, a riverboat tour, and even had dinner with Nana at Pasta Too!  It definitely made the short list of my favorite places in the world a long time ago.  Here are some pictures, the majority taken by the lovely and talented Nicole Kirch.  As she put it, "Yeah, Pittsburgh really is this great!"

Some other recent developments: I got a new car, I'm working mainly from home at this point,  and I've developed a bit of a Starcraft 2 addiction.  I haven't seen any movies since Inception came out, as the summer selection usually makes me want to bang my face on the curb, though I will be posting some reviews I've written since April.  This is getting a bit self-involved for my tastes, so here's a bit of movie news.

Often movies will generate a lot of buzz way way before they come out, whether it be from aggressive early advertising (Inception), revolutionary technology (Avatar), or just really weird trailers.  Black Swan is firmly in the latter category.  This film is the latest from one of my favorite film makers, Darren Aronofsky, and definitely looks to be the most interesting movie about ballet I've ever seen.

When I first heard about it a few months ago, I assumed it was an adapted version of a very interesting looking book my Dad recommended about the fallacy and uselessness of commonly accepted methods of predicting future events.  After seeing the movie's trailer, it's obvious they are completely unrelated.  What little information is available about the movie can be found easily online, but I recommend an unbiased peak at the trailer before you look into it.  Oh and save your judgment for the end, it gets a LOT weirder in the last 5 seconds.

That's all for today, I'll be sure to post another update soon.  However, football season has just begun and the Buckeyes are making a title run, so you may not hear from us again for another five months ;-)

-Dan

In The Meantime....

Sorry it's been so long, and that will definitely be touched on in my next post.  These are the blog updates we intended to post from our Boston trip, but after the internet situation got a little unreliable, we decided to just save them.  Unfortunately, we then forgot about them.  Here they are, found, restored, and posted for your stalking pleasure.


4/29/10 4:30pm
Hey blog!  We're in the airport waiting for the plane to leave, and we've got about a half hour until they start boarding.  We just ate arby's.  Dan had a roast burger (bacon & cheddar) with curly fries and I had an arbys patty melt.  This airport is great - the people are very friendly and helpful and it's very empty.  We were just informed that our flight is  completely booked, but no worries- Dan and I reserved seats on the side for two so we don't have to share our space. :)

TO BOSTON!

-Dan & Nicole

4/30/10 1:30pm
I'm writing from our second day in Boston.  After our cab ride from the airport yesterday, we arrived at the Courtyard Marriot on Exeter St.  For our first night, we were sharing a room with 2 queen beds with Adam and Jen, but we've just moved into our own room for the night; one big king bed!  Plus, a rather oversized TV if you ask me.

Anyway, after we got here, we met up with Mom, Dad, Adam, Jen, and Kristen at this amazing pizza place called The Upper Crust.  We got a buffalo chicken pizza with onions and bleu cheese.  Delicious!  Afterwards, we headed over to Berklee for a performance by my sister and the Tower of Power ensemble.  We ran into Grant and Famous there, but couldn't hang out with them long before we went to an Irish Pub near our hotel called SOLAS.  Expensive drinks, but good times.  And lots of shots.  We passed out shortly thereafter.

Today we got up and hit the mall real quick before hopping onto a Duck Tour.  Basically, these things are giant steel amphibious busses that drive around the city, then drive into the Charles River and turn into a boat.  Nicole and I both got to drive once we got in the water!  It was a blast, in no small part to our tour guide Jailbird George who reminded us of a comic from the Funny Bone.  Lots of pictures and more entries to come!

-Dan

5/1/10 7:30pm
I'm on a plane!  Not quite as gangsta as being on a boat, but it moves a lot faster.  We're on our way back to the Akron/Canton airport after a wonderful vacation in Boston.  It was our first time there and it didn't disappoint!

-Dan & Nicole

April Triple Feature

Hello Lewis Center! It's a beautiful April afternoon, the sun is shining, it's in the 70's, and frankly, if you're not spending your free time outside, you must not be from around here. These days are rare, and in Ohio they can change at the drop of a hat from sunshine 70's to frigid 40's. Luckily, for those unseasonable days when it drops 30 degrees and starts snowing out of the blue, there's quite a fine selection of movies available for every age group and demographic. Here are three that I saw just recently: an animated dragon adventure, a dark thriller mystery, and a hilarious couples comedy.

 

How To Train Your Dragon

In these days of three dimensions, when it seems like every movie with a decent budget is being converted into 3D to cash in on the hysteria of “Avatar”, most just aren't up to the task.  Whether the film is changed post-production into 3D, or is just converted to cash in on higher ticket prices, the result is usually gaudy and just plain crappy-looking.  To truly use this fantastic medium to its best effect, the very concept of the movie must be based on the third dimension, and really the only good examples of this so far have been “Avatar” and “How To Train Your Dragon”.

Dreamworks' “Dragons”, as it is sometimes called, is as delicious a visual experience as you will ever have this year.  The story isn't entirely original, but is more than compensated by the sharp, clever writing and great performances by the voice cast led by Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, and Craig Ferguson.  Baruchel voices our lead, a young Viking named Hiccup who doesn't quite fit in with his war-idolizing, dragon-killing people.  Needless to say, he befriends a dragon, proves himself to his father, and saves his people, all while teaching them a valuable lesson of understanding and cooperation.  While, again, the story isn't anything new, it's the visual splendor and characters (both Viking and dragon) that make this a touching, funny, fire-breathing adventure for the adult and child in all of us.  A-

The Ghost Writer

Say what you want about Roman Polanski's personal problems, but the guy is still amazing behind the camera.  If you've seen any of his other movies you'll recognize his very dark humor, his consistent ability to make you feel just as lost and scared as his hapless protagonists, and then his uncanny knack for kicking you in the head at the end.  For those who haven't experienced a Polanski film before, expect the unexpected, and if you think you know what's going on, you're wrong.

The movie follows an author played by Ewan McGregor, known through the movie only as “the ghost”.  He lands a contract to be the new ghost writer for the autobiography of a British ex-prime minister named Adam Lang (a never-better Pierce Brosnan).  The author's predecessor killed himself (supposedly) because of the stresses of the job and the ghost is there to finish up.  The intriguing part is that Adam Lang is a stand-in for Tony Blair, and when waterboarding, the CIA, and Haliburton (Hatherton) begin to pop up, things become a bit familiar to the Bush-era Americans in the audience.  All told, it's a dark and stormy political thriller that'll keep you off-balance like only Roman Polanski can.  

For a bonus, read up on his real-life issues if you want to fully appreciate the self-deprecating humor of the crowd outside Adam Lang's compound.  B

Date Night

Steve Carell and Tina Fey star in this latest entry into the action/comedy genre for married people.  They play the Fosters, a New Jersey couple whose marriage has gotten depressingly stale.  Phil (Carell) takes Claire (Fey) to a fancy new seafood restaurant in the city in an effort to spice things up, and after claiming a table reservation that didn't belong to them, they end up thrown into the deep end of the mafia, corrupt cops, gun fights and car chases.  Fortunately for us, this rather cliché turn of events actually ends up surprisingly entertaining with the help of a perpetually shirtless Mark Wahlberg and the mostly pointless, though reliably hilarious, pit stop at James Franco and Mila Kunis' apartment. 

I'm as big a fan of Steve Carell and Tina Fey as anyone, which is why I thought this movie could have been way better than it turned out to be.  Don't get me wrong, I was laughing out loud for the vast majority of the movie.  However, being a huge fan of The Office and 30 Rock, I expected Carell and Fey to define the movie more, while instead they ended up mostly being constrained by it.  We're missing the clueless hilarity of Michael Scott, and the forgettable script doesn't create the touching depth I loved about Carell in “The 40 Year Old Virgin”.  And as for Ms. Fey, her real star power lies in her writing; acting according to someone else's ideas just doesn't become her. 

Stay for the outtakes during the credits to get a glimpse of the potential hilarity these stars could have unleashed if given the opportunity.  C+

Long Over Due

Okay, so I've been majorly slacking on keeping Mr. Blog updated.  So about 3 weeks ago or so now, I started my new job with the Brain Injury Association of Ohio.  The position's title is the Executive Director's assistant.  When most people think about that name, I think they picture me as an administrative assistant, answering phones and typing.  That's actually the opposite of what I do - I'm the last person to answer the phone in the office, which is night and day from my last job - at ESM.  During the first week, I was quite nervous; there was so much to learn and didn't want to drop the ball.  The beginning of my second week, I ended up with a horrible head cold (most likely from being so stressed the week before), but Suzanne (the director) was amazingly willing to work with me and even encouraged me to stay home and rest.  I left a little early one day, but I was able to come in the other days and work just fine (well maybe drugged up, but still manageable). ;)  Most of my tasks so far with the company has been working directly with Suzanne on helping organize the state office, the organization, and helping with project management.  Other duties have included marketing, event planning, and web and graphic design.  Each week, it seems that I'm given even more responsibility or a new project - it's 100% my style ... always changing, always learning, and always challenging.  :)  Best of all, Suzanne (and the others in the office) are very impressed and I've received nothing but wonderful feedback.  The VP of the organization has even gone out of her way to express how much she feels that I'm a natural with marketing and she loves my ideas.  Oh, and I can't forget to mention the office doggie that comes in at least every Friday (Foster Fridays). :)

Because of the new job and the fact that our lease is up for the apartment in June, we're currently looking around at apartments, duplexes, condos, etc in the Hilliard and Grandview area (west side of Columbus basically).  I hope to figure out where we will be moving within the next month for sure since we do not have much time to plan for this and I hate the pressure of having to do things last minute.  

It's been rough not seeing Dan every second of every day - it was actually quite wonderful.  You would think I'd get tired of seeing someone so often ... it's certainly a first for me!  I've been missing him SO much during the week since he works 10:30-8:00 still and I work 8:30-5:00.  We do see each other in the evenings, but only for a couple hours before I head to bed.  Shift bids are taking place this week it seems for ESM and Dan is hoping (fingers crossed) for a much better (earlier) during the week.  That way, we could eat dinner together again, spend more time with one another, and have the chance to head to bed at the same time more often.  I'm really looking forward to it!  

At the end of this month, Dan and I are going to Boston for the first time!  We'll be there visiting Kristen for her graduation recital.  While we're there (Thursday-Saturday by flight), we plan to do a bit of site-seeing.  I'm always excited for the opportunity to visit a new city, so I'm quite thrilled!  If you'd like to check out Kristen or the recital info, visit these pages:

http://www.kgpmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=114335055256924&ref=mf

More to come later.... - Nicole

The Next District 9

Look at me, I'm an entertainment blog!  Well, I guess I've reviewed a few movies.  Speaking of, I have another one of those to turn in by Wednesday, so I'll be posting one soon.  It'll be either How To Train Your Dragon, The Ghost Writer, or Date Night.  I've seen a lot of movies recently.  I like movies.


I you haven't seen District 9, just give up.  On life, I mean.  It's an incredibly original and smart sci-fi movie loaded with unique, surprisingly amazing looking low-budget effects.  The director, Neil Blomkamp, actually based this movie on a short he put together himself called Alive In Jo'Burg.  Well, in an age when bands release their own albums online and iPhones and blogs make everyone a reporter (yo) this strategy for getting low-budget films produced is succeeding based on clever ideas and good writing.  The latest example is a film based on a short called "The Gift" by one Carl Erik Rinsch.  Unlike District 9, this feature won't be made by the same guy that made the inspiring short.  It's getting passed over to Ridley Scott because of questions of experience, supposedly.  Enjoy!

That new Ben Stiller Indie Movie

So I had heard about this new movie coming out starring Ben Stiller called "Greenberg".  The first commercial annoyed me.  I call it a commercial, because it wasn't really a movie trailer.  It was more like an interview with Stiller, talking about how it's so different and "rewarding" to do an independent movie after all his big studio success.  They flashed through some quick clips and making-of shots and ended with a release date.


However, I was watching Monday night's The Daily Show and they had Ben Stiller on to promote "Greenberg". It started off with a clip of the movie, which was quite intriguing indeed.  It pretty much changed my mind right away.  But also, what Stiller ended up saying about the title character made me want to see it more; sounds a bit like yours truly   >.<


Here's the episode, the clip and interview are after the third commercial.  Hopefully, my lovely Nicole and I will see the movie soon and I'll post an interview.


-Dan

Movie Review Two-fer: Alice In Wonderland & Shutter Island

Well, with the Oscars behind us it appears we're drifting away from my favorite movie season of the year. This means that, even though the movies will start looking less like “The Hurt Locker” and more like “Transformers 2”, at least we have some warm weather ahead! So for those of you that spent the winter months bundled up in front of a fire instead of the silver screen, I'd like to fill you in on a couple of the most anticipated films to come out in the last few months: Tim Burton's remake of “Alice In Wonderland” and Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller “Shutter Island”.



Alice In Wonderland

To start with, I have read neither “Alice's Adventures In Wonderland” nor “Through The Looking Glass,” so my Alice experience comes entirely from the 1951 Disney animated version I watched as a kid. But from what I've heard about the original texts, there isn't much of a story involved; they're composed more as a collection of strange settings, stranger characters, metaphors and allegories. Given the original material, I think the makers of this most recent adaptation did a decent job of making a cohesive story out of all the ambiguity, while using modern technology and a great cast to keep the strangeness of those people and places intact.


However, the lazy and rather blatant plot device that they use to push the story forward makes the whole story seem a bit forced. That, and the fact that they shot the film in 2D, later converting it to 3D (instead of shooting in 3D like Avatar, the difference is clear) are really the only two things that keep this from being an A-grade film. The wonderful cast is easily the highlight of the film, with Johnny Depp, as usual, bringing a magnificent performance as The Mad Hatter. Adding in newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice to staples like Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and the immensely talented voice cast led by Alan Rickman truly makes this extremely odd collection of characters jump off the screen (more than the 3D, really). I give it a solid B, and recommend it more for fans of Tim Burton than the source material, as he definitely makes this one his own.


Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese's latest film follows the story of Teddy Daniels (Leo DiCaprio), a US Marshal charged with investigating the disappearance of a criminally insane patient from an asylum on Shutter Island, right off the coast of Boston in 1954. When it becomes obvious that everyone has ulterior motives and nobody is telling Teddy the truth, we join him and his new partner in this darkly twisted investigation to find out what the heck is going on.


After seeing this movie (twice), the lukewarm reception it seems to be getting online and with various film-goers I've spoken with truly baffles me. While it isn't one of Scorsese's best, this film is an extremely capable thriller that kept me captivated all the way through the surprise ending with enough suspense to make Hitchcock squirm. Literally everything, including acting directing, music, set design, cinematography, writing....everything about this movie is excellently presented to create a convincing atmosphere of uncertainty and suspicion.


The one negative I could see about this movie was the fact that it's almost impossible to grasp the meaning of each apparently meaningless glance, to appreciate the depth and subtlety of each tiny detail given to us by Scorsese until we finally know what's going on. If you're able to follow the clues and catch on early, you may even embrace it more than someone riding the suspense wave all the way to the end. I give Shutter Island an A-, and recommend it to Scorsese fans (who isn't?) and those who truly appreciate head-spinning suspense through cinematic subtlety.

Okay, I'll put on some shorts.

Hey Blog!  It's gotta be 70 outside!  I'm stuck inside at the moment, doing laundry and cleaning my room, but I'm excited to go out pretty soon to get some new clothes.  I've been trying to remember the last time I bought something other than a t-shirt, but I'm drawing a blank.  It must have been a while because I need to get some new pants, socks, and a nice shirt or two for work.  I was probably wearing shorts last time I bought some.

Well good news!  Nicole slam dunked that last job interview and ended up with what I think is the perfect job for her.  She's going to be working for the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, in a sorta executive assistant role for the director...I'm pretty sure.  Either way, she's going to get the opportunity to flex her web design muscles, and also get into some event planning, which she's been looking into for a while now.  Congratulations baby!

In other news, I've landed on a pretty good dough recipe which seems to taste really good no matter what kind of pizza I make with it.  I'm pretty excited about it, but I have yet to make a couple of Napoletanas on my pizza stone.  That'll be a good test of the dough.  Oh, and check out Evan Turner beating Michigan with a buzzer beater earlier today.  No wonder he's the player of the year.  Go Bucks!

Vacation for two in Solon!

1:46 Friday morning - Nicole and I have a fun weekend ahead!  I got my mom to agree to let us use the house while they're in Miami Beach for a weekend getaway!  We're planning to check out the Cleveland Auto Show at the I-X center tomorrow (later today) and then head over to Valley View for dinner at Quaker Steak and a late showing of Alice In Wonderland.  We're leaving tomorrow after an early opportunity for Nicole (fingers crossed!) and we will be there until Sunday.  We both work.  Boo.  But that can be easily forgotten for a few days during this exciting and unprecedented weekend up north!  More updates will come, including some pictures, and even a video or two if I'm feeling frisky.


-Dan


Update: Unfortunately, I couldn't connect to the wireless network at my parent's house.  No updates  : (

Valentines Day!

It was Valentines Day 2010 and Dan and I went to the Funnybone and saw Billy Gardell!  We love it there.  It was the place where we had our first date, so we thought why not go there for Vday too.  Before going to Funnybone, we drove around looking for places to eat for dinner.  Every place had a wait that was well over an hour, so we settled on O'Charlies.  I had actually been wanting to go there sometime soon anyway and it really paid off.  I had a delicious pasta dish and Dan had the Louisiana sirloin which was ammaazing!! We both had leftovers, so we combined them and brought them home for the next evening's dinner (it worked quite wonderfully).

Dan bought us a few drinks at Funnybone, earning us some take-home Funnybone glasses.  We'll able to hold onto those and remember that it was from our first Valentines Day together at the Funnybone! Dan is the best! :) 

Friday, January 29th:  With it being Friday, Dan had off work and I worked until 7:30.  Once I was off work, I picked up Dan from home and we met Matt and Monica at Smokey Bones at Easton for dinner.   Monica and I split a combo dinner, which allowed us both to order three types of meat and a side dish.  Monica brought her Entertainment book that's full of coupons.  We flipped through it to decide what to do next.  We decided to go to the Gahanna Lanes bowling alley for some glow in the dark putt-putt.  It was my first time and we had so much fun.  There was even a plastic gorilla on one of the holes that was huge and for whatever reason, we thought it would be a good idea to get rediculous photos of ourselves with this gorilla.  I'm currently waiting for Matt to post those photos so I can share them.  I was in tears laughing from just viewing them seconds after we took them!!  Between games of putt-putt, we headed to the bar for some drinks, games of pool, and music (jukebox).  After all was said and done, we said our goodbyes and head home.  We always really enjoy hanging out with those two!! :)

Saturday, January 30th:  Dan and I slept in and took it easy until Nick Defazio's birthday party.  I picked up some sour candy for him on the way as a small gift.  Nick, as always, had various alcohol and shots were being passed around.  Nick was very interested in playing a murder mystery type of role playing game.  Needless to say, with all the shots he took, the game never really got off to an official start, but because I ended up being the head of the mafia twice (and couldn't keep my lips zipped...lol) I ended up dead twice before people moved onto something else.  ;)  Once people started filtering out, Dan and I headed home to a new bottle of rum we purchased earlier that evening.  We only had but a sip of it and decided to call it a night.  We're looking forward to trying it again this weekend for Josh's surprise party.

Sunday was the last day of January.  I'm so glad to be moving onto February ... one more month closer to spring.  ;) We took it easy after waking up around 2:00 or so.  Dan (the best pancake making in history) made breakfast and we watched the pro-bowl.  It was my first time (that I remember anyway) seeing the pro-bowl.  I really enjoyed it.  I can tell Dan is dredding football season ending and although I thought I'd never say this ... I think I am too!  I told him I think they should have games similar to the pro-bowl to keep those football lovers entertained throughout the off-season.  Maybe some day!  Later that evening, I made shake n' bake chicken and we dipped it into City BBQ's sauce and two of BW3's sauces as well and I made fried scalloped potatoes, which I threw in the oven afterward to melt cheese and top off with bacon which we dipped in ranch, sour cream, and blue cheese sauces; it was delicious!  I'm looking foward to finding more ways to make potatoes scrumptious de umptious! 

Eye on the Oscars: The Hurt Locker

In an effort to acclimate myself with some of the less-known movies to be honored at this year's Academy Awards, I headed to Blockbuster to pick up the limited-release suspense gem “The Hurt Locker”.  By the time you read this, I'm sure most of you will have heard about this film and its Avatar-tying nine Oscar nominations, in such major categories as Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay.  Kudos to those who have actually seen it, however, as I only remember spying it on the marquis of the occasional two-screen indy theater and had heard literally nothing about it during its short run.  Since then, it's become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, and deservedly so.

This military action/drama focuses on a bomb disposal squad in the streets of Baghdad, and their new addition, Staff Sgt. William James, played by Jeremy Renner.  James' nature is essentially summed up in the movie's opening quote: “War is a drug”.  He's an adrenaline junky who's more than a little bit irreverent to military protocol, and his unique job gives him the opportunity to practice his virtuoso improv skills on the most dangerous of instruments: a live, ticking, explosive.  But to say that James is nothing more than a reckless addict is to deny the depth of his character revealed through the occasional reassurance of a terrified squad mate, and his connection with an Iraqi boy selling pirated DVDs.

Throughout the movie, perspective is kept with a countdown of Sgt. James' days remaining until he gets to return home to his wife and child.  When it runs to zero, we get a glimpse of his home life, and how truly out of place he feels there.  Suffice it to say he's back where he belongs, playing the instrument he loves in no time.

Aside from Jeremy Renner's Oscar-worthy performance, I would also give Katherine Bigelow the honors for her brilliant directing.  She instills every new challenge to the squad with an unnerving suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat whether something ends up going terribly wrong or not.  As an audience for these situations, we are usually joined by a mixed crowd of Iraqi civilians and the insurgent bomb-designers themselves, all as intrigued as we are to see how this team deals with the increasingly elaborate explosives.

I recommend this movie if you want to know exactly how it would feel to have the most dangerous job in the world; to know what it's like to strap on an eighty pound Kevlar bomb suit and walk, slowly and alone, down an empty Baghdad street towards an unknown, elaborate explosive device; to feel the eyes of the insurgent onlookers in high towers and the sweat pour down your face as you attempt to disarm this possibly timed, particularly sensitive bomb; and if you make one mistake, a bad step, a flick of the finger, you will feel the dust literally rise off the ground the instant before the shock wave throws you off your feet and all over the landscape.

I give this movie two thumbs up and I definitely recommend you find it on DVD, preferably before the Academy Awards (March 7^th) so you can be appropriately outraged when it gets robbed by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron and his “Avatar”.

As always, if you want to give your opinion or just talk movies, please email me at dgleesonprata@gmail.com

1/30/10: Super Bowl WOOWOO!!!

Super Bowl 44 is only 8 days away and I feel torn.  I'm extremely excited for this biggest of American sporting events and all the ballyhoo that comes with it, but it also spells the end of Football Season, my very favorite 5-month holiday.  In that spirit, I wanted to toss up a couple of the best super bowl plays of all time, and both actually from Super Bowl 43 last year, when the Steelers beat the Cardinals in on eof the most suspenseful, momentum-shiftin', lead-changin'est super bowls ever!  The first was voted as ESPN.com's #1 Super Bowl play of all time, and the second is the absolutely ridiculous game-winning touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Holmes for the win.  Just plain incredible.

1/27/09

Today Dan and I both worked a full day at ESM, but my group at work (Taria, Rachel, Matt, Michael and Lavina) were interested in having a healthy potluck, so I made a green bean casserole to share.  It's a casserole that is always a hit at any potluck or family dinner.  The recipe is online (cambell's site).   http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeID=24099

Taria brought in a memorable dish as well.  "Pan grilled veggie pasta primavera.  I'm really looking forward to making that someday soon.  I will most likely add shrimp and/or chicken to it.  :)

State of the Union is currently on and we're watching President Obama, the best speaker of all time (and a hell of a writing team that man has).  He's even firing back at the arrogant Conservatives.  I have to admit, I have quite a higher level of respect for this man from watching this.  I can't  say that's ever happened before.

-Nicole

First Trip to Thurman Cafe; German Village area

Thurman Cafe:  1/15/10:

Best burger.. period!


While thinking of new places to visit, Dan and I stumbled across a video of Man vs. Food on you tube for Columbus.  He visited Schmidt's in German Village, which was why we originally checked out the video.  In the process, we fell in love with the idea of visiting the hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Thurman Cafe, after seeing him stuff his face with the tallest, mouth watering, burger (topped with sautéed onions) I'd ever seen.  


When we arrived, we had to find our way through the crowded entryway to sign in.  While waiting, we decided to head to the bar, through tight (and very few) tables for a couple drinks.  In the process, the bartender suggested that we sit at the bar and eat, as waiting to be the next on the list could take a long time.  That's when I realized that although this place seemed quite short staffed for the number of customers, they maintained great customer service.  


Upon receiving the menus, we quickly discovered the endless burger options.  It was difficult to decide what to order since everything on the menu was something we knew we would eventually want to try.  Dan ordered the Jack cheese burger and I ordered the "great 3" burger (I do love my cheese).  While very difficult to get your mouth around, it was beyond worth the struggle to stuff these burgers in our mouths.  The meat itself is unlike any I've ever tasted; the juice drips onto your plate as you're sinking your teeth in and the "off the grill" taste of the meat hits your taste buds as you think "never again will I eat another average burger"... its simply irresistible.    The sautéed onions on these messy, gigantic burgers are so delicious, we ate them with our forks when they would fall off - we couldn't get enough.  At one point, I turned to Dan and stated "wow, I never realized burgers could even taste like this."  In addition, we ordered fries and onion rings.  The onion rings are the best Dan and I have ever had.  The scrumptious batter around the onion and how when you bite into the onion ring, the onion stays put, making each bite perfection, will make these a must have for every time we visit in the future.  This wasn't a fancy, impressive place, but the food more than made up for any of the cons.  


Pros:  Best burgers and onions rings we've ever had.  Unique, hole-in-the-wall restaurant.  Nice servers.


Cons: Crowded and very little seating.  Loud.  Street parking.


- Nicole