So I’ve been a bit remiss lately in providing any sort of movie reviews, but that doesn’t mean I stopped watching them. In fact, I’ve been on a bit of a foreign film kick lately… not quite sure why… but Kim’s not too hot on them, I know that for sure. Something about watching a movie with subtitles seems to make it a little more artsy and gives it an edge in my book for being a better movie…but some of them fail even then. For example… Le Pacte Des Loups, also known as Brotherhood of the Wolf, is not a great movie. But watching it with subtitles makes it more intriguing, and I actually enjoyed it. I then tried to watch the dubbed version, and made it through all of 15 minutes. But that’s not the movie I wanted to talk about… well, actually there are two.

“Let the Right One In” – A Swedish Film about misfit kids, one of whom just happens to be a vampire. The story follows a poor blond-haired boy who lives in an apartment with his mom and just doesn’t quite fit in. He gets bullied at school and spends a lot of time on his own in the courtyard of his apartment building. Enter a young girl and her guardian in the neighboring apartment. But there’s something a little odd about the girl, who only comes out at night and says “you know we can’t be friends”… madness ensues. Honestly, this movie makes me want to see more Swedish films. It’s got all sorts of interesting bits… some cute, some awkward, some tense, and some where you just want to cheer. If you enjoyed movies like “Interview with a Vampire” or are one of the closet fans of “The Vampire Diaries” this would be a good one for you. I’d give it four of five stars.

“Chocolate” – I honestly have no idea why this movie is called chocolate because it’s about an autistic girl who is able learn martial arts by merely watching the school next to her house and who uses those skills to try and save her mother from dying of cancer. Interesting premise, especially for those of you who watch heroes. It’s done in the style of “Ong-bak,” if anyone remembers that one… but the gripper in this one is the martial arts. There are some scenes that involve jumping from balcony to balcony and through floors and very few of the scenes involve CG. The story is a bit convoluted though, so I’d only pull this one off the shelf if you remember Friday night kung fu movie marathons with fondness. Two of five stars on this one… just cause the story dies out into a few huge fight scenes.

And for those who just don’t want to go down the subtitle route, I recently watched “Knowing”. Some part of me thinks that Scientologists everywhere jumped for joy at this one. I’ll start with the rating on this one 2 out of 5, but let me explain. Any movie with Nicholas Cage, in my book, loses two stars for just bad casting. For example, Ghostrider, Next, Gone in Sixty Seconds… I could go on. Let’s not even discuss his contribution to the guinea pig movie, G-Force. And just a warning, Ghostrider 2 is coming out… Kim and I went to a movie-industry dinner function (one of the perks of having an uncle who is well-connected in the movie industry) that was celebrating the accomplishments of one of the heads of Sony Studios. This was the week after Ghostrider came out. They fully acknowledged that it was a crap movie, but it was a “hit”!!! So enter Ghostrider 2, which promises to be an even bigger steaming pile of poo. But back to “Knowing”… for those who don’t remember the preview, N. Cage’s son in the movie pulls a sheet of paper from a time capsule at his elementary school that identifies the time and number of casualties of every major disaster for the last 50 years. And there are still some numbers to go. If Mr. Cage wasn’t walking through his lead role, I may have found the story more interesting. The initial parts of the movie are spooky and you really cheer for anyone to figure out what the hell the numbers mean. Spoiler Warning – But the story boils down to an alien race trying to warn the human race that the world is going to end ( I won’t mention how ), but they’re only willing to save the children, and only a select few at that. So ultimately, the beginning had me on the edge of my seat but the end of the movie nearly made me take aim at a nearby squirrel with the DVD.

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• #15: Penny
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I’ll be emailing the winners requesting your address information… and your stamps will be out to you as soon as possible!

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If you need something to occupy 2 hours of your time each night… check your local PBS station at 8pm and 10pm for one of the best series you’ll see on TV this year. Ken Burn’s “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” is absolutely as amazing as they promised it would be… a 6-part series full of gorgeous landscapes and epic tales about the people that saved nature from the spoils of man. Last night, I became entranced once again by the amazing John Muir and his battle to create Yosemite, and wished to flourish praise on his wife for letting him sacrifice his “job” to pursue his lifeblood and passion in the wilderness.

I’m not sure how many national parks you’ve had the privilege of visiting, but I know that my list of “places to see” will likely grow much larger with each installment of this series…

And if you can’t watch them this week, you have an opportunity to view them online through October 9th. After that… there’s always the DVD to purchase ($99/$129 Blue-ray).

Are you someone that orders from the secret menus that are available at different restaurants? I can proudly admit that I do it all the time… and only for the yummy result and definitely not the “cool factor.”

For example, my favorite Jamba Juice flavor: white gummi bear. It’s peachy/pineapple/raspberry/lime/mango goodness… and over the top sweet when you want more sugar than goodness in your smoothie.

And how do I order my fries at In N’ Out?  Well done… thank you very much. I rarely get a neopolitan milkshake anymore… but it was a favorite of mine back in the college days.

As for “short” coffees at Starbucks… I haven’t really gone there yet, but it seems like the perfect answer for pregnant caffeine urges!

Here’s the most recent blog entry on the “secret menus” … just in case you’ve read through this and are thoroughly confused.