Her

I was a bit disappointed when the movie started and there were only about a dozen people in the theater, but it was a balmy 30+ degrees in Green Bay today, so people may have wanted to enjoy the warm weather outside of the movie theater, this was really my only complaint about the whole experience, well that and the lackluster trailers beforehand, I guess with a movie that doesn't automatically fall into a specific archetype they don't know which trailers to play before it.

I don't believe that I am spoiling anything with this, but Her takes place in a near futuristic version of Los Angeles, and writer/director Spike Jonze does a great job of both imagining and creating this world, the colors, the visuals, as well as the technology and analysis of how people would interact with such things. I need to start off saying that this movie is not a movie I would want to see with my parents, there are a few different scenes in it that I would find too awkward.

Not very often does a movie really connect with me on an emotional level, especially as much as this movie does. I was defintitely on the same wavelength as this movie the entire time, there were times where I was choked up, if I wasn't such a robot I probably would have cried a few different times, but that doesn't mean this a sad movie by any means.

The thought that was put into this movie is just so evident, and there are many different ways. The main character's job is to write personal messages for other people who are too busy to do it themself, and he actually develops a relationship with his repeat customers adding his own touch to the relationships he really isn't even involved in. In this future it really seems like trains have replaced a lot of the transportation to and from LA which is notorious for its horrible car traffic. The details of the style in this movie is also a nice touch, no explanation of why, but the characters all wear extremely high-waisted pants. There are other elements of it that I can mention, but I don't want to ruin some of the smaller things that people do in the movie, that is quite possible in the world created in this film.

I really enjoyed the adventure that the movie takes the viewer on, its funny, its sad, its happy, its hopeful, and a wide variety of other emotions. There is a great deal of whimsy and fun with the ideas in this movie as well, not only is it a look at a possible future, but it also is quite the reflection on our society as it is today, the disconnection that people feel from one another because they are stuck with their faces in their devices as they go about their day. I really wish I could get some wireless ear buds that are used in this movie, then again I would be afraid of losing them in my ears or when the aren't in my ears. There is also a look at what video games will be like in the future, by adapting some of the current technology into what could be done in the future, with a little bit of a joke about their content and vulgarity.

The performances in the movie are really great, there are really 2 main characters with a few others thrown in some. Joaquin Phoenix was amazing in this movie, he did a great job of showing the wide range of emotions in this movie. I can't say I have been his biggest fan, there have certainly been roles of his I have liked, such as his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, but this has to be one of best performances if not the very best performance. I don't think that there are that many actors who could have done such a great and nuanced job in this movie. Scarlett Johansson plays the female lead in this movie so to speak, although its only through voice acting. I think she did a great job with the role, and a great job a showing emotion, which is a weird thing to say about a computer operating system. I must have missed it in the trailers or maybe it just wasn't in there at all, but Amy Adams is in this movie, and her appearance is really toned down in this, after everyone was talking about her appearance in American Hustle.

I really was just blown away by this movie, it reminded me a lot of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is one of my favorite movies in its pacing and tone. Like Eternal Sunshine it really was the type of antiromantic comedy that I really enjoy, its not a stereotypical love story, obviously, but there are many elements of a love story. I am one who appreciates originality in movies, I don't like seeing the same story over and over and will support things that i see as interesting and original. This movie might not be seen as conventional independent film, but it had a fairly low budget, and it is able to create a brilliant world without having the cost of the effects be too high.

I would highly recommend people go see this movie and support it, its funny, emotional, creative, and all around entertaining.

I won't be attaching my movie rankings in here, but I will be going a little write up about the movies of 2013 later this week.

Anchorman 2

This movie was not one of the top movies on my list of movies to see in theaters, but because of the time it was playing on bargain Tuesday I ended up seeing it anyway. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the movie at all, it was just that I thought there were many other good movies in theaters right now that I would have preferred to see, I don't really think seeing Anchorman 2 was improved all that much by being seen on the big screen.

Coming into this my expectations were moderately high, at least for the laughter quotient provided from the movie, I didn't expect the movie to have an amazing plot, the first one certainly didn't have a great plot, but did provide quite a few laughs.

I liked this movie, it met my expectations, but it didn't really exceed them. The movie provided laughs, but it wasn't mindblowingly funny, like part of me had hoped it would be. There were quite a few good scenes, and they actually gave a non Ron Burgundy character a bit of a story in this movie, where as the last one was really just following Ron and the other characters only were in the movie with him. I will say that I had wished there had been more of both Paul Rudd and David Koechner in this movie. Like the first movie, I would imagine there were a lot of scenes that were cut from this movie and a lot of funny outtakes, that will probably be released with the movie. In the case of the first movie they actually edited the scenes that were cut into a completely separate movie.

Not only did the cast from the first movie return, but they added in all sorts of other people to this movie even if they were in small parts, and of course there was another fight scene, and this one got a little out of hand. I enjoy seeing random cameos, but I didn't feel like having Harrison Ford in this movie really added anything, it almost seemed like a bit of a power move by these people to show who they could get. I guess if I was making a movie and I could get Harrison Ford in it, I probably would though, why not?

There was only one real issue that I had with the movie, and I think the issue was the result of the format that Anchorman first created. There were a few times where there were cuts from one angle to the other and it just didn't match up, one of the times specifically there was a lot of laughter and when they cut to the other angle it had abruptly stopped, which was just a bit unusual. What the first Anchorman started was allowing actors to ad lib all sorts of different lines and taking the version that was the funniest and put it into the film. I guess the major drawback is that it can be hell to get things to always match up when you are doing several takes with different lines and different results, and editing elements of them all together. It wasn't a major thing in the movie, but I just kind of saw the strings of it in a few different situations, and I can't remember having noticed in other movies that have been done this way.

I would say that anyone who enjoyed the first one will enjoy this one as well, I wouldn't go into it expecting a great plot, but you will get laughs out of it. It was fun seeing it in the theater, but it really wasn't necessary. I think this movie might be best suited to being watched at home with a bunch of friends.

I am putting Anchorman 2 in front of Pacific Rim in my rankings, it was fun, but nothing all that amazing. I think it edges Pacific Rim out because I think it will be a bit more rewatchable in the future.

12. Pain & Gain
11. Thor: The Dark World
10. World War Z
9. Pacific Rim
8. Anchorman 2
7. Iron Man 3
6. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
5. Frozen
4. Star Trek Into Darkness
3. This Is the End
2. The World's End
1.Gravity

Peter's Cooking Diary #13

This may have been the most labor intensive day when it comes to cooking, I was able to prepare one protein dish, 2 veggie side dishes, and a then a nice chilled salad. I also think this might have the most pictures of any of the blogs I have ever written. I also just wanted to share that I am going back on my slow carb diet, because what I was doing right now wasn't working for losing weight. I was maintaining the same wait, but I wasn't losing any. I decided this would be the best way to lose weight because it worked for me before. The cooking diaries may also double as updates on any weight loss. 

I know I always start with bacon, but this recipe called for it, I swear!!!

The bacon once it has rendered out all of its deliciousness. Half of this bacon was called for in the recipe that we are following right now, and the other half was used in the chicken salad I made.

This is my bacon grease can, my way of saving its goodness for times I might not have the chance or the need to cook some actual bacon, it is definitely something that I learned to do from my father, and I think he learned it from his, just a family practice passed down through the years.

My bowl of 2 onions and 3 carrots. You can't really tell that there are carrots in this bowl, but they were underneath the onion.

The spices I was using in this recipe, red pepper flake, oregano, and some Italian seasoning. The garlic I was using was just crushed, because I was not eating the actual garlic I decided to save some time and  just crush it, the favors still game through in the final product.

Onions, carrots and garlic on the stove cooking in bacon grease.

I added the spices and some tomato paste to the vegetables. Then I scraped up all the bits from the bottom of the pan using some chicken stock.

Once the vegetables were done I added them to the crock pot with some crushed tomatoes, and some bay leaves, and a little bit more chicken stock to loosen it all up a little bit.

This was the beef pot roast that I was going to be using, I salted this side some before putting it down into a hot pan for searing.

While the first side was searing I salted the second side of the beef, this might have been the best quality meat I have ever used. There was some great marblization in it and it was actually USDA choice beef, which I am not sure I have ever used before.

This was after the first side was browned, it smelled so good in the pan, and it got very nicely browned.

I let the roast rest for a few minutes before adding it to the crock pot. I nestled it into the tomato mixture before covering it and cooking for 5 hours on high.

This is the roast when it was done, I removed the fat and returned it to this container.

I let the sauce settle before spooning a lot of the fat off of the surface, once I was satisfied with the amount of fat I had removed from the pot, I spooned a lot of the sauce over the meat to keep it from getting dry throughout the week and to add flavor as well.

The next thing I did was chop up a head of cauliflower and boil it in some water until it was tender. This cauliflower was going to be used for smashed cauliflower.

this was me coking some garlic through in butter to add to my smashed cauliflower for flavor. I also added a little bit of salt and pepper to the cauliflower. It is my replacement for mashed potatoes on this diet, not quite the same, but it is filling because of the fiber in it.

My other side dish was my oven roasted broccoli, broccoli tossed with some vegetable oil, salt, garlic, and some black pepper and then roasted in the oven.

This was the finished product when I had transferred it to a bowl, it should be fork tender when finished. I baked it for 20 minutes at 425, but each batch might be a bit different, bigger pieces will take a bit longer to cook of course.

The final recipe I made today started with this bad boy. I actually go this for free with a coupon, but I have been wanting to make chicken salad with it. The recipe I ended up making is very simple.

I used my hands to just completely dismantle that chicken, and then I chopped it into pieces to make them more bit sized, but also a bit rustic.

To the chicken I first added some bacon pieces that I had chopped into tiny bits to spread the flavor out a bit more in the recipe.

On top I added some dried cranberries and some little pecan pieces, I wanted to add the nuts for their crunch and the cranberries for their chewiness and sweetness.

I finely chopped some celery to add that crunch that only celery can add to a recipe. I mixed in just a little bit of mayonnaise to hold it all together. I thought about adding some curry powder to the recipe, but thought all of the ingredients already tastes great and didn't need anything else added. This recipe would be a great use for almost any leftover chicken, and it is the best chicken salad I have ever had.

Well it has been a busy day of cooking for me, I need to relax and put my feet up now.

Peter's Cooking Diary: Christmas Edition

Well this is definitely a bit of a belated post, I just haven't felt like sitting down and writing about my Christmas until today. Because of Christmas falling on a Wednesday, I didn't really feel like traveling too far for it. I had also seen all of my family members quite recently, so I thought I would have a more laid back Christmas with my friend Shealaina, because we both enjoy cooking. We were brainstorming ideas of what to make for the meal, and ended up with an interesting combination, that thankfully was not too heavy!

I started off with some sparkling cider, and my friend had some wine. I don't drink so sparkling juice of some kind is my celebratory drink of choice.

The snacking spread of veggies, cheeses, crackers, and smoked salmon dip. It was a good set of foods to snack on before and while we were preparing the actual food.

Sauteing some onions and garlic for the start of the pasta sauce, then added a little bit of red wine to deglaze the pan. To the pan I added a can of crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and some fresh basil and let it simmer on low for about an house to let the flavors combine. After the simmering I added some Romano cheese to the sauce and it was ready.

I really wish I would have taken more pictures of the actual process, but this is actually homemade pasta under the sauce. My friend has a pasta maker so she mixed up some pasta and ran it through, I helped just a little bit. The pasta and sauce were great together, and like I said before it wasn't too filling of a meal, which left enough room for dessert.

My friend is the best, she also has her own brule torch, so for dessert we had some homemade creme brule which was my first time ever having it.

My creme brule, and it was amazing! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I definitely enjoyed mine and enjoyed that it was nice and relaxed as well.

Food Adventures: Richmond, Virginia

Well I really had meant to write a little about my trip to Richmond, VA sooner, but I just haven't been in the writing mood. This will be a bit minimal about my trip, I should have written about it sooner when my memory was fresher. I also wish I had taken more pictures, but I am just not that much of a photographer. I need to learn to be if I am going to write about things I do.

The first place we went where I took pictures was Capital Ale House. They had a very nice menu at this bar, and I think the rest of my family enjoyed the beer selection as well. It was also a pretty short walk from where we were staying during the trip as well.

This was the pulled pork poutine that was on the menu at Capital Ale House, french fries covered with cheese curds, gravy, and pulled pork. My dad is actually the one who ordered this, the portion was quite big, but of course there were too many fries and not enough toppings, but still it was quite delicious.

This was my dish at Capital Ale House, bacon and onion stuffed chicken, with au gratin potatoes, and broccoli. It was really good. I loved the garlic and onion flavor in the stuffing and the chicken was cooked perfectly. It was a great, slightly healthier option on the menu because I knew I would be having some less than healthy foods during the week.

The next morning my brother and I went off to a local English pub to watch some Premier League soccer, the place was called Penny Lane, and yes after The Beatles. I got the full English breakfast. It was quite mediocre, as I thought it might be at a pub, but it was high in protein and really filling.

We went out to a French restaurant with some friends of our father. There really wasn't all the much that appealed to me on the menu here, but I decided to get some mussels, since I was closer to the coast seafood was one of the things I wanted to eat. These mussels were flavored with ingredients that also go into clam chowder, and there were a few clams included as well. Seasoned with bacon, leeks, and cream, they were quite good, but were weirdly served with french fries, all of which together was quite salty.

This is the last food picture I have from the trip, the one thing I wanted to have more than anything else, Chicken and waffles! I also had it with some sweet tea for a true southern experience. The chicken and waffles was everything I wanted it to be, crispy, chewy, salty, sweet, and juicy. The one complaint that I would have preffered some pieces of chicken other than wings, but other than that it was amazing.

The one other thing I had to add to this was a picture of the Lucky Strike building in Richmond, I guess Richmond used to be one of the biggest cities for tobacco companies, and there is a long row of former tobacco warehouses that are being repurposed as apartments and condos. I just thought the Lucky Strike tower was really cool. There is also a Native American looking over the corner of the building.

The Lucky Strike building from a different angle.

Peter's Cooking Diary #12

So this week was a pretty simple meal to prepare, and it was using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner that I had with my family. I want to make something that was low carb as I am trying to get back on that wagon and trying to lose move weight. This was made more or less freestyle, I didn't have a recipe that I used for this, just combined many different ideas.

The first step to most of my cooking is starting cooking most of my vegetables, and in this case I actually used a lot of veggies. I used the whole pack of celery in this, trying to make it more hearty so it would be filling enough when eating it for lunch.

I didn't take a picture of lightly cooking the carrots before adding them to the crock pot, but I used the whole pound of carrots that I bought, I could have used more if I had bought more, but like I said it was just free style. This is the onions and garlic that I use as a base for just about every recipe.

This is the crock pot filled with onion, garlic, celery, carrots, stock, and some tomatoes that I got from my mom. I also added some herbs like oregano, thyme, and parsley as well as some red pepper flake. I also added a little bit of soy sauce, because I like the depth of flavor it adds to a soup. I think for the herbs you could actually just use some poultry seasoning if you happen to have that on hand as well.

My mom also gave me some green beans that she grew in her garden. I cut them up into about 4 pieces and added them to the mix.

I chopped up the turkey and added it to the pot, not sure how much I had, maybe a pound of white meat? I think you could just as easily use whatever leftover meat you have, or you can even make it without meat if you want to.

The second to last ingredient that I wanted to add was some wheat berries, which I think I have mentioned previously on here, but at least from what I have read they are the whole grain of wheat with the husk removed. They take about an hour to cook, and they need to be rinsed well. So I took some and boiled them almost the entire way to being done, but left them slightly undercooked and added them to the soup. They add a little bit of crunch and pop to the soup that was missing from the texture.

This is after I had added the cooked wheat berries to the pot.

The last thing that was added was some small butter beans because I wanted to add some sort of legume to the soup. I liked what they added to the dish as a whole. I have been eating the soup for lunch all week and have enjoyed it very much.

This is the final image I have, its kind of a bonus. My friend and I had another little food party. I guess the theme for this was sort of breakfast we had bagels, jam, some local Wisconsin honey, pears, apples, clementines, dried fruit that my mom gave me, crackers, goat cheese, some sweet oat crackers and some almonds. We actually didn't even crack into the loaf of bread at all.

Frozen

I just want to start off with my reaction from leaving the movie, and that reaction was WOW! I was extremely impressed with this movie. I really haven't seen many of the Disney movies from recent years, but we went to this as a family on Black Friday. It was actually nice to go to a movie together, to a small town theater. The first showing we tried to go to actually sold out, so we came back later for the next showing, which appeared to also sell out.

The movie was loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's story The Snow Queen. I am not familiar with the details of the story, so I don't know exactly how much they had taken from the story, and how much they had created themselves, but all in all I really enjoyed the movie. I don't recall that many Disney movies that were that dense with laughs, it almost reminded me of old episodes of the Simpsons in that respect.

I will say the story isn't quite what I would have expected out of a Disney movie, but then again thinking about it more I guess that lots of Disney's animated movies have an element of adversity in them. I guess I haven't rewatched a lot of the Disney movies I liked as a kid now that I am sort of an adult, there could be elements that I wasn't able to appreciate as a kid, because in Frozen I really enjoyed every part of the movie.

This movie has so much to it, there are parts that are sad, parts that are exciting, some great songs, and so many laughs. I definitely laughed so hard I teared up a few times during the movie. I think that Josh Gad's work as the snowman Olaf really made the film. He had possibly the 10-20 funniest lines in the movie, almost all of his lines had laughs. I was generally impressed by the number of laughs throughout the film, although of course it is easy to make me laugh a lot.

I think this is actually the first family friendly movie that I have seen this year. I would absolutely recommend this movie to everyone old and young. I know my mom and my younger brother also enjoyed watching it. I know it isn't technically an original story, but it is a very enjoyable story that would be a great thing to see with your family.

I had to put this movie in front of Catching Fire for the simple reason that even though I just saw Frozen, i kind of want to see it again right away, and I always value movies with rewatchability.

11. Pain & Gain
10. Thor: The Dark World
9. World War Z
8. Pacific Rim
7. Iron Man 3
6. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
5. Frozen
4. Star Trek Into Darkness
3. This Is the End
2. The World's End
1.Gravity