War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Plan to watch on Wednesday: Medal of Honor


From the time the first speaker at September's screening took the floor until we left the street with busloads of some of the 103 living recipients of the Medal of Honor, tears streamed down my face back in September when we saw the premier of the upcoming PBS documentary, "Medal of Honor."

Out of Ken Burns' production company comes another poignant personalization of American history. For me, the unfathomable position of serving in the military, let alone going to unbelievably compassionate lengths at the risk of your own life, makes many of these men--and a Dr. Elizabeth Walter from the Civil War--other-worldly to me in a different sense than as heroes.

Perhaps with a true insight to pacifist views, the filmmakers relate the accounts of actual pacificists and conscientious objectors who ended up serving, and being among some of the recipients, 60 of whom live in Colorado. Anyone who watches with a keen mind and bit of patriotism will be indignant that the rage against immigration goes on after countless soldiers have gone on to forego their own country for the sake of ours. The film profiles three immigrants who fought despite being imprisoned for their heritage, entering the country illegally, or facing discrimination right up unto the circumstances that brought him into the line of fire.

I cannot imagine ever being in these shoes, or asking someone else to be in a situation where they would be faced with these choices, yet nor can I imagine in any way the benefits of killing another human, freedoms be damned. Really. There are other ways. The benefits cannot be greater than these costs.

Airs November 5 on a PBS station near you.

Movies that feed the addiction

I, like most of you, am a total junkie for political news these days. I watch and read things that make me scream and rant and lie awake at night, and I keep watching and reading them. I'm obsessed. So our two most recent movie outings fed that obsession, but with different outcomes.

We drove 80 miles last weekend to Gainesville to see "Religulous". I did enjoy it quite a bit. I don't share all of Bill Maher's views on religion, but it did crystalize for me how fervently I resent the role that extreme religious beliefs play in our world. And I laughed a bunch. Totally worth the 80 mile drive. Except that last night we went to see "W" and discovered that "Religulous" is now playing here in Jax. Oh well, Gainesville has a Chipotle, so it was still worth it.

Seeing "W" was a different story. The parts that could be humorous won't be for another decade or so (if the world is able to recover somewhat by then). It is an absurdity that W is our president, but the destruction it has caused and continues to cause made the movie unbearable for us. And the thought that we could live through more of this idiocy with McCain/Palin made me ill. Maybe that was the point. Ugh.

Movie & a Soda for a buck

McDonalds is running a promotion where you can get an extra large soda for 96 cents (89 + tax) and a code for a free red box movie rental for one night (value- $1).

Okay food. Awful Service.

Yesterday was our first (and likely last) visit to Earls on the 16th Street mall. We were looking for a low key meal before catching Hamlet 2 (C+) at the Pavilions. We were really disappointed in our last trip to Appaloosa Grill (one of the few local spots on the mall) so we decided to give Earls a try.

Downstairs was open seating which is code for sitting 11 minutes before any servers notice you. The menu does not match the online menu. (Both items JB had picked out online were not offered at the Denver location.) The food was actually okay. The mixed greens came with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, carrots, and grape tomatoes which were all fresh but the vinaigrette was a bit flat. The soup was decent and JB enjoyed his seared tuna sandwich. Just one example of the poor service: Our waitress took my club soda to refill mid-meal and disappeared for 20 minutes.

(sigh) Does dinner and a movie in Denver really have to be this cumbersome?

Suburban Venture

Saturday night we took 25 South to Greenwood Village. It was the new-ish Landmark Theatre that inspired the trip. We wanted to see Bottle Shock* without the discomfort of the Mayan. The theatre and screen were pretty modest in size (compared to a mega plex). The room smelled strongly of Dillards- enhanced by the over perfumed couple sitting next to us and perhaps a side effect of the overall demographic attracted to a 3pm showing of a wine theme movie in Greenwood Village. Tickets were $12 a head (flat weekend rate) which included the movie and self serve popcorn and soda. (Bonus: They have the fountain machines that include the secondary club soda option.) There is a full bar and they serve things in real glass. There is also a $3/tix VIP upgrade with better seating and wait staff who will bring you things from the self serve free selections or from the bar. (Most of the folks our age in the movie had shelled out the VIP charge and kicked back while bottles of wine were delivered to their seats.) Even the "cheap" seats are much more comfy than the Mayan. It is an interesting experience which I encourage you to try out next time there is a flick you really want to catch and it is only showing at an uncomfortable Landmark spot in Denver. It is quite a hike from NW Denver so I don't see it becoming a frequent destination but it is all rather intriguing.

*The movie, Bottle Shock, was solid and enjoyable. The plot is not as dark as Sideways and some appreciation of Napa Valley may be required. There are some subtitles which made me wish I hadn't left my glasses in the car. It is set in the late 70s and based on a true story. I would give it a B+.

Dinner at Pappadeaux rounded out the evening. It has pretty good food but less than 5 star service (example: when the host walked us to our seat- there was a tote of dirty dishes sitting in one of the chairs). It is always strange to me when chains have good food and bad service. It seems like something they could address in a universal training program- like Starbucks has. I have eaten at Pappadeaux in other cities and the food was very consistent (also pretty good).

Other dining options near by include Ted's Montana Grill and Hapa. (In a different time we would have planned our trip around Hapa Happy Hour where they have awesome cocktails and yummy raw fish.)

One of the downfalls of spending time in Greenwood Village- and eating at chains- is the increased likelihood of seeing evil characters in real life. In our case: Tancrazy. (Jeepboy quote of the week: "It's like seeing Hitler in person.")

Spoiler Alert. Hated it.

I was talked into seeing Sex And The City tonight. I'm going to assume that everyone has already seen it. If not, stop reading, but really I'm not going to give anything away.

There was no plot of which to speak. It could have been at least an hour shorter. There was very little drinking, very little sex, no love affair with the city (and wasn't that kind of the point of the show?), and no gay boyfriends. The affirmative action role was the best played part. Everything I loved about the original show was absent from the movie. And Smith did not age well.

Blech. It could have used a cocktail break at the very least.

Just like all the critics have been saying...

....Juno is a quality flick. There are endless postings about why you should go see the film so I won't argue that case here. I will warn you that there is a statement in the film that will bother Crafters. I looked it up. Based on the 12 week and 4 day time frame that Juno provides a few scenes later, it is correct. When you see the movie, you will know what I am talking about.

The soundtrack is excellent featuring The Moldy Peaches and Kimya Dawson. We saw TMP a few years ago open for someone at The Fillmore. I gotta go dig that CD out of the basement.

Related Link: Cecile Richards on Huffington Post, Jamie Lynn Spears, Juno & Knocked Up: Can you hear me yet?

No Scheduled Recordings

The DVR schedule is almost empty so I can't even imagine how bleak things are getting for the un-cabled. I read somewhere that COPS was a result of the last writers strike. Granted December is often filled with re-runs and Rudolph's nose so bright but knowing that things will be going downhill quickly in the new year makes it all the more bitter.

For out of bed /off the couch viewing...

Across The Universe is now playing at Neighborhood Flix. We saw this one earlier in the year out in Texlahoma (burbs). Beatles-lovin' JeepBoy & I give it two thumbs up. I didn't include a link to IMDB or Wikipedia on this movie because I think some of the magic would be lost if you knew too much of what to expect.

For those building up a Netflix/Library list...

Last weekend we watched Year of the Dog (from Red Box at our neighborhood Safeway) and I want someone to eat cheese with (IFC On Demand). Both movies have potential. Both movies disappointed. They both get one Fudge Striped Cookie a piece. Beware.

If you like Pushing Daisies (and if you don't- seriously? how are we friends?), you may like Wonderfalls. Less beautiful. As Quirky.

I am not sure if Iconoclasts is available on DVD or only on iTunes. This is really an interesting series that I think you would really enjoy. I think even non-Pop culture IC would know at least 1/2 of each pairing. This series is an example of why al carte cable sounds like a better idea than it would work out to be; If channels were sold stand alone I am certain that ESPN would be like 25 cents and have a billion viewers and the Sundance Channel viewers would have to pay 1k. I always remind myself of that when I have to skip over the pages and pages of Sport TV that we don't watch to check out IFC or Sundance or BBC America.

Top 5s

Top 5 Movies where the soundtrack is better than the movie...

1. Magnolia
2. Feast of Love
3. I am Sam
4. Duane Hopwood
5. The Last Kiss

Top 5 Movies where the soundtrack completes the movie...

1. High Fidelity
2. Gross Pointe Blank
3. Every Cameron Crowe film including Say Anything, Singles, Almost Famous, and Elizabethtown.
4. Garden State
5. Wonder Boys

Silver Lining

CD2E and I saw the worst movie ever, Feast of Love. It gets this review due to the fact that is was horribly clichéd without any irony, and that it is being pitched as "the season's first Oscar-worthy film". Seriously (spoiler alert), it was set in Portland, OR so of course the lead characters were 1) a college professor (black guy, as if there are actually any in Portland) and 2) the owner of a coffee house. And, the lesbian couple played softball. And the coffee house employees had tattoos and drug addictions. Good god. It would have been an emotionally draining movie had I had any emotional connection at all to the characters, which was impossible due to poor writing and the lack of irony. It straight-up sucked.

The movie that previously held the DHP worst-movie-ever title was My Best Friends Wedding. The ten year run was bound to be broken at some point.

So, the silver lining is that Feast of Love has a fantastic soundtrack, complete with local Portland alt-folk bands and Travis.

What is the capital of Canada?

I'll be honest. I had to look it up. I thought it was either Montreal or Toronto. Wrong. It is Ottawa. I thought of this while watching Seducing Doctor Lewis. It was quirky and cute, reminded me of Saving Grace or the movie about the small town in Ireland where the old guy wins the lottery then dies, or any book CD2E might read. Better than R-spe's movie adventure. It took place in Quebec. Thus the question. So, now you know, the capital of Canada is Ottawa.

As it has been mentioned, I've been cooking. Last week's culinary adventure was an indian stew that contained sweet potatoes and lentils and is going to last me well into winter. It's good though. If you ever visit me, I'm sure you'll be served some. Tonight is going to be blueberry-ginger chicken. I just got back from the store and can't wait.

My culinary adventures have also been bolstered by two new possessions (ok, one is a lender). First, the new appliance in my kitchen (and best gift EVER) is The Griddler. Last night I made a blue cheese burger (the first I have ever cooked inside) and this morning was an onion and pepper omelette panini. Lunch was grilled tilapia. I love this thing!

The motivation for cooking is coming from Julie and Julia, a fantastic book lent to me by Rebekspe. It regales the author's adventures in cooking her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking (and life in New York) and blogging about it. Julie Powell (the author) now has an hysterical new blog that I stalk waiting for a new post (though reading through her time in Buenos Aires that happens to coincide with my time there is very entertaining).

Movie Review: SuperBad

Name says it all.

Go see Knocked Up instead.

For your netflix or library checkout list

I caught this on cable last night, it is a 1-woman show based on real life but I would recommend it- God said Ha!

Crazy e-mail notification

I was all set to write a post about how I could no longer find a purpose for cable television now that I have DSL. I can watch tv via internet now, and Netflix as an new “Watch Now” option where you can view movies on your computer in an instant, as part of my membership. As an aside, Conversations With Other Women ain’t all that great. I am, however, loving past episodes of Ugly Betty, The Office (both UK and US), and absolutely everything that Colbert and John Stewart have online.

But I digress. I was greeted by an unusual e-mail from Netflix tonight alerting me to the fact that my membership fee has gone down to $13.99/mo. The fact of the matter is that I don’t know what I was paying anyway, but that sure is nice. But, why the fuck are they lowering my price, when I’ve started using them more?? Very curious indeed. Have they hooked me on the “Watch Now” option now that I have assimilated and they are going to jack up my price? I’m suspicious. Any input? Are they facing some kind of FEC monopoly ruling or something?

Summer Flicks

Evan Almighty (D-) Perhaps it was the 102 degree heat or our devotion to Daily Show Alumni but against our better judgement, Jeepboy & I went to see Evan Almighty this weekend. This movie should have been a light summer comedy. Not a great movie but some laughs while we escaped the heat. This movie SUCKS. There isn't even a chance for old testament familiar to feel smart as any clever bits (such as GEN 6:14) are spelled out in the equivalent of 40 point bold font. Even the preaching was safe and obvious. Instead of challenging movie-goers to think about how we might all be better stewards of the earth, we are instead directed towards acts of random kindness.

Knocked Up (B+) I understand some folks have been avoiding this movie b/c right-wingers are praising it as "pro-life". I think you guys are missing out. This movie is laugh out loud funny. And it celebrates choices and families. It's okay for liberals to celebrate choices and families.

Waitress (B) This story, based in a diner, is filled with quirky characters. It is darker than I expected but the shadows give the characters depth. The director-writer-star (Adrienne Shelly ) was murdered before it was released.

Michael Moore visits Cuba...your tax dollars investigate:

Classic--Michael Moore heads to Cuba as part of his healthcare system expose--soon to be released 'SiCKO'--and now the feds are investigating.

This is right up there with jailing Martha.
Let's let Jeffrey Skilling & George Bush off the hook for impacting people's lives and instead go after high-profile celebrities minding their own business.

Well, maybe Michael Moore makes a career out of NOT minding his own business, but at least he's not actually inflicting harm on others.

Cool Movie

Don't ask, really, but found this on a librarian's blog:
"Seen at my local library. If you like the cover, you might also like the synopsis which begins with the sentence "Luxor Spawndroth has finally made his last mistake."

Rants on Recent Happenings

When the hell did Kevin Smith become such a sap? Clerks 2 is a silly romantic comedy. Pure Velveeta. (His acting skills exceed expectations in Catch & Release. However, overall C&R is better rental than theater viewing.)

Perhaps because my child is not losing a college scholarship, I am supporting FitzGerald, et al refusing to fix 41. After reading the paper today (and info on this & other blogs)- I am ready to spearhead a Voter Amendment to restrict Jared Pollis from spending any money on anything in Colorado. Maybe just evict his ass from the State. At the very least don't let him fund any nonprofits, PACs, or spend a cent on his own damn campaigns. Put it in the freaking Constitution. I am so tired of his ass.

And a quick PSA- In the market for new, high end yard furniture? Check out Habitat Restores. Expect Target- not Yard Sale- prices. Also good prices on installed but unused water heaters to support your dream bathroom project.

Suggested Reading: Maya Angelou on Molly Ivins

For DHP's netflix...

Friends of God Why? Because how can you not want to see a drive thru prayer center, bible themed mini golf courses, and learn a song about the dinosaurs in the bible.

Employing the Otter Defense

Anyone who can compare a Tony Snow rant to a scene in Animal House is ok with me.