Film: 1 Year, 100 Movies - April

4/4/10: The Last Song
You can read my full review here.

Bottom line: This movie is good for what it is, worth a rental.

4/9/10: Date Night
Steve Carell and Tina Fey are ridiculously hilarious. They have great on screen chemistry and a believable relationship. This movie is hilarious without being over the top (often a turn off for me when it comes to Carell’s performances. You'll crack up the entire time.

Bottom line: Fun and entertaining and of course I have to say it, this movie would make for a great date night.

4/9/10: Clash of the Titans
It’s a rare day that I will pass up the 3D version of a film. Maybe I’m getting accustomed to it or will finally believe 3D isn’t that great unless stuff is literally popping out at your face (not usually the case with live action 3Ds). I enjoyed this film in plain old 2D. The action was good, the Avatar guy did a better job than he did in Avatar and you can’t go wrong with a good Greek mythology oriented plot. I’m not going to lie I enjoyed the modern twist on mythology that was Percy Jackson a little better but this film is no where near the atrocity a lot of people claim it is.

Bottom line: It was good. Worth it on the big screen, but I don’t think 3D would have done anything for me.

4/16/10: The Joneses
If you read/listen to one thing I say in your life make it this... This is a movie EVERY person should see. It tells the story of consumerism and debt in our culture. I’m no anti-materialist or crazy technology-is-killing-the-world activist, but this movie offers a real portrayal of today’s world. The plot is about us, right here, right now. It brilliantly meets you right where you are and forces us to think about how we live our lives. The acting is great. Luckily there are actors like Demi Moore and David Duchovny to read scripts and realize potential and substance worthy of putting their work into. Take your kids take your friends, you’ll be changed. Plus, it’s damn entertaining.

Bottom line: Every person should see this movie. Seriously, forget the rest of this post and go now.

4/18/10: Kick-Ass
You can read my full review here.

Bottom line: I wasn’t impressed, guys eat this shit up and I’m not sure why. Mind you, this is coming from the girl who is way down for guns and yelled “CUT IT OFF!!!” during Saw

4/19/10: Oceans
I love the Disney Nature series. Oceans is just as good as last year’s Earth. I’m not going to lie, I’m no green advocate, which is why I like how they do these movies. There’s a message but it’s not so PSA it’s annoying. I don’t like being told to save the earth but when I see the earth like this it definitely makes me think twice, which is exactly what the film makers are going for. The shots they got are unbelievably stunning.

Bottom line: See it and I’ll see you next year at African Cats.

4/23/10: The Back-Up Plan
Oh J Lo how far you have fallen. I long for the days of Maid in Manhattan and even Jenny from the Block. This movie is terrible, even for romcom standards. It relies on physical humor, which I want none of since this is about having babies. Her actions and decisions make no sense, even for a hormonal preggo and the relationship evolution is terrible. The onscreen chemistry between Lopez and the guy we’ve never heard of is nearly non-existent and her SPOILER ALERT ginger babies are disturbing and scientifically impossible.

Bottom line: NEXT!

4/25/10: The Losers
I love these kind of movies. I’m all for plans, heists, betrayal. I don’t care about the clichés or the predictability. The Losers is a great action flick. The acting is acceptable, the characters are fun, and the story is entertaining.

Bottom line: Solid action flick. Supposedly it’s based on a comic but I don’t know about all that.

4/30/10: A Nightmare on Elm Street
I’m too young to remember the original Nightmare on Elm Street, but I’m curious to add it to my Netflix queue and check out the differences. A Nightmare on Elm Street isn’t entirely bad. It’s pretty good for the scary movie genre. It takes a lot to scare me and I can’t say this movie accomplished that but it was entertaining. What saves this film is the underlying mystery and secrets you want to discover. It gives the plot a dynamic sense most horror films fail to accomplish.

Bottom line: I assume the original is better, but this one’s pretty good.

Total count for 2010: 32

Food: Farmer's Market Salsa

I spent last weekend back home in Riverside. I've been wanting to check out the wonderful and trendy world of Farmer's Markets for quite some time, so when my mom and I headed downtown to pick up some produce I was pretty stoked. We picked up 6 or 7 ripe tomatoes (only $1 a pound), an interesting hybrid of green onion and garlic (apparently called green garlic), fresh cilantro, and an avocado (it was bruised so it only cost us $.50) to make homemade salsa.


She recently got a new gadget from Pamered Chef called the salad chopper. It's basically a deadly weapon looking pair of double blade scissors that can chop your ingredients right in the bowl.

Photo courtesy of PamperedChef.com

We threw the tomatoes (simply cut in half), cilantro, green garlic, lime juice, canned jalapenos, and salt into a bowl and got chopping. As you can see it came out looking pretty good and tastes awesome. I apologize for the lack of pictures throughout the process, I think I got a little trigger happy with the choppers and lost focus :)


I have been convinced of the awesomeness of Farmer's Markets and may just get addicted. You can really find some great deals if you have uses for the produce right now, a lot of the vendors lower their prices to move their overabundance of ripe merchandise, which works for the consumer. Plus the regular priced produce is the best quality you can find.

Enjoy!

Film: Kick-Ass Review

You've probably heard by now that Kick-Ass didn't fare too well at the box office this weekend, and there is a good reason for that. Here is my official GotchaMovies review. If you're interested there is also a story about the Kick-Ass Facebook app and Nick Cage's role as Big Daddy.

Kick-Ass: GotchaMovies Review
Kick-Ass, Not So Kick-Ass

Enjoy!

Food: Argentinean Cuisine

This spring break I took a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina to study business in South America. The program was the first of it's kind for San Diego State and was a great success. Of course, me being me, I was super stoked about the food I'd find a whole hemisphere away and I was definitely not disappointed. Luckily, thanks to my new friend Amanda who forced us to wait to devour our grub until she took pictures of our food I have some good ones to share with you.

Meat
Argentina is all about their beef. In our 10 day trip I literally ate about 10 steaks. You can get a delicious piece of meat, potatoes, and wine for the equivalent of about 15 US dollars, so it was just too good of a deal to pass up.



On our last night we went to a buffet style restaurant that served us up steak, sausage, chicken, brisket, and a huge salad bar. We sat around drinking wine and enjoying all the Argentinean meat we could fit in for our last meal.



Most meat in Argentina is served with a bunch of sauces. The most popular is a chimichurri which is made with a lot of garlic and a ton of other spices. Rubio's has a pretty good chimichurri that you can try in the states or you can try making your own.



Wine
Wine is one of Argentina's biggest exports. The country drinks a ton of it and you can grab a good bottle anywhere. I'm not a big fan of red wine and I like my light and fruity wine coolers so when I tried Clerico I was one happy camper. It's made with fresh fruit, sugar and white wine, and would be a great summer refresher.

Empanandas
Another popular Argentinean food is empanadas. The country has a lot of influence from Spanish and Italian immigrants who are the foundation to the culture. Empandas are made in the classic seasoned beef and chicken, and also offered with ham and cheese, and even a caprese version. There were delicious, flaky, hot and crispy.



Dessert
There is no way to document my food experience and leave out dessert. Dulce de leche is EVERYWHERE in Argentina and made for a delicious soft serve ice cream from, surprisingly the local Burger King, an amazing crepe, and soft cookie sandwiches called alfajores. I was most surprised by a candied pear we were served. I'm not a big pear person and I really don't like cooked fruit but it was crisp and sweet.




I also have a thing about eating McDonald's in other countries, its weird especially since I virtually never eat it here but whatever. I like to visit them and compare the menu items and layouts and stuff. Plus after eating SO much beef I was super thankful for my chicken nuggets and salsa barbacoa (aka bar-b-que sauce). It looks the same as it does in the states but tasted way better :)



Hopefully you've been inspired to look up a couple of Argentinean recipes, or check google for a local Argentinean restaurant. The cuisine offers a great fusion of flavors and cultures and doesn't make anything that's too scary to try.
Enjoy!

Film: 1 Year, 100 Movies - March

3/5/10: Alice in Wonderland
I had been anticipating the release of this film since I first heard it was coming out a few months ago. Now, I’m not advocating the use of controlled or illegal substances, but if I was more into that I definitely would have done things differently. I was most entertained by the 3D element in the credits which tripped me out. I’ve never read the real book, so this movie REALLY made no sense. I know Alice isn’t supposed to make sense, but it’s at least supposed to be fun. This one just felt dark and depressed.

Bottom line: Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not as cool as it looks.

3/2/10: She's Out of My League
You can read my full review here.

Bottom line: This movie is seriously hilarious. Fun, brainless, and entertaining, watch it.

3/8/10: Hot Tub Time Machine
Everywhere She’s Out of My League succeeded, this crap epicly failed. I’m so happy I saw this at a free screening because I really would have walked out, something I’ve only done once in my entire movie going life. You also need to keep in mind that I find John Cusak super hot so if he doesn’t do it for you there are literally no redeeming factors in this film. The humor is stupid, the acting mediocre, and the clichés run rampant.

Bottom line: If I ever meant this more, it’s now…Don’t see this, you’d have a better time actually attempting to travel back in time.

3/14/10: Remember Me
You can check out my full review here.

Bottom line: You’ll leave feeling it lacked in a lot of areas, but it makes you think enough to be worth it.

3/18/10: Brooklyn's Finest
You gotta love a good flick about the NYPD, and you gotta like a mediocre one, Brooklyn’s Finest fits the latter. It’s cast is pretty good and there is some power to the performances. There are some good action scenes and, like I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for ensemble stories where everyone connects. I wasn’t happy with how depressing everything was in the end (I like a few happy endings when there are so many stories tied together) and there wasn’t a shred of authenticity to the location or NYPD.

Bottom line: Not bad, not good. Overall, it’s not really worth a trip to the theater.

3/19/10: Repo Men
You can check out my full review here.

Bottom line: I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda cool… but it just gets weird, then a little too weird.

3/20/10:The Bounty Hunter
This movie has a dazzling lead couple and interesting premise. I liked the story, despite its predictability. Jennifer Anniston is adorable (as usual) and Gerard Butler is hot (as usual). They have good on-screen chemistry and are the only reason a movie like this isn’t a complete mess.

Bottom line: It’s a meh-worthy romcom that doesn’t pull out any tricks.

Total count for 2010: 23

Food: Black Bottom Cupcakes

I'm doing a market research project in school for a bakery idea I have and one of my team members has been nagging me to bring in some "samples he can try." I finally had time to whip something up this weekend. These cupcakes are delicious, made completely from scratch, and surprisingly quick and easy to make. The original recipe calls for mini chocolate chips, but I like how the regular size stands up and gets a little melty. Also, make sure to add plenty of the creme cheese mixture to each cupcake, it's a bit more than what I consider a dollop. Enjoy!



Black Bottom Cupcakes
Recipe courtesy of Lovin From the Oven via AllRecipes.com and slightly revamped by me

Ingredients:
* 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
* 1 egg
* 1/3 cup white sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup water
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Film: The Last Song Review

My latest review is for The Last Song. I absolutely hated The Notebook (I know, I know) but A Walk to Remember is my favorite movie of all time. Because of this I always go into movies based on Nicholas Sparks' novels with little expectations. Despite it's fail at the box office, I liked The Last Song and I think if you give it a chance, you might too.

The Last Song: GotchaMovies Movie Review
If Predictability is Comforting, The Last Song is a Big Comfy Couch

Enjoy!