"Darling, I kill people" Movie Review: RED and Shutter Island

RED - Starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren.  (aka Retired, Extremely Dangerous) I had really low expectations going into this movie, which may have helped the grade.  I swear, I should go into all movies thinking they are horrible and so I can be pleasantly surprised each time.  This was a fun action romp.  Bruce Willis plays the character he always does, but the action was mostly new and creative.  I was surprised to find out this was originally a comic book by Warren Ellis (and I looooove comic book movies).  Movie is worth watching for Helen Mirren alone (see quote in title).  HIGHLY recommend. Type:  Flick  Grade:  A.

Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Took a LONG TIME for me to be very interested in it.  Way too long (almost 2 and half hours) and DiCaprio's Boston accent was distracting.  The movie was shot beautifully, but the storyline was plodding until the last 20 minutes.  SPOILER ALERT:  Highlight to read: I knew there was a twist at the end - thank goodness it wasn't JUST yeah, you're a patient - the last line DiCaprio's character said made the movie.  I totally thought it would fold back on itself and have it all be a brain experiment and DiCaprio would actually be a Federal Agent that they convinced was a patient.  END SPOILER  Type: Movie Grade:  C-.

Movie Types

I plan to start to do some movie reviews on here (the first after this post) so I thought I should explain my categories of movies:

1.  Flick:  Basically a popcorn movie.  These movies are for pure entertainment only.  They are not trying to make you think.  Example:  Clueless, The Mummy

2. Movie:  A movie that makes you think (or tries to) and tells a story.  Basically, a flick with a reason beyond making just making you laugh or showing action.  Examples:  My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Spiderman

3.  Film:  Epic.  A movie that transports you to another world.  One that feels like you are watching a book. Usually involves a strong metaphor or moral.  Example:  Lord of the Rings, Titanic

Root Beer Review: Dad's

I remember really liking this root beer when I was a kid.  It was definitely different from the others in the box sampler.  First taste was a flavor explosion!  Very creamy flavor with a strong licorice-ish taste.  It had lighter carbonation than most of the others I've tried so far.  However, the taste is so strong, sometimes it came across like an almost medicinal flavor, especially toward the bottom of the bottle.  Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors.  Grade:  B-

Or my unicorn will smash in your face.

Didn't expect to read the whole thing but I devoured Zombies vs Unicorns yesterday like a zombie does brains.  There were two editors (Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier) who each argues for one faction or the other. The arguments for zombies won based on their conversations, in my opinion, however the unicorn stories were more memorable.  I've never read about evil unicorns with venom in their fangs before.  The line "Or my unicorn will smash in your face" actually came from a story with a unicorn name Princess Prettypants who farted rainbows.  Humour, mayhem, really odd visuals!  Bliss!  Highly recommend.  There are definitely some new authors for me to check out.

Root Beer Review: Sioux City

Boo.  Another watery root beer.  Actually, it almost tasted more like a cream soda.  Unfortunately, the taste all aftertaste - when drinking it seemed to be just carbonated water.  The second bottle was a bit different - there was a cinnamon flavor to it.  Very odd.  Ingredients:Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid.  Grade:  D

Root Beer Review: Frostie

Finally!  A root beer that doesn't taste watery!  Frostie had the creamy almost vanilla flavor of good root beers.  It also had a good ratio of carbonation to taste (didn't feel like it was burning into my tongue).  It's taste was consistent in both bottles.  Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial flavors.  Grade:  B+

Family Emergency (all is good now)

Here is a pic from Dad's hospital stay (this is in the ER on 10/27/10).  We can always tell when he is really sick because his hands get cold, so Mom is warming his hands up.  He is mostly better now (at 77% last I spoke with him).  He was diagnosed with TIA (transient ischemic attack) which mimics the symptoms of a small stroke but for a shorter time period and no changes in brain.  It was definitely an experience and I'm still emotionally worn out.  Nice to have so many people offering their support (thank you!).  It feels very strange that life is now "back to normal."  I still brace myself every time my phone rings in case something else has happened.