Tag: movies

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, books, family, local fun, movies, tweens

Have you noticed that there has been a span of several weeks with no G-rated (or PG, for that matter) choices for movies? After a long hiatus, enter (finally!) something that my daughter and I both wanted to see: the Wimpy Kid sequel, based on the book by Jeff Kinney, which I thought I’d bought Izzy for Christmas and I also thought she’d read.

Wrong. And wrong.

I took her anyway to see  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules this past Sunday at Wells Five Star Cinema. This is the movie where Greg (the aforementioned Wimpy Kid) and his older brother Rodrick (read: torturer) work on their relationship to try to make it civil. This is also the movie where Rodrick (much to my surprise) becomes a human. Briefly.

The potty humor for the kids (and–dare I say it?– the men) abounds, but, thankfully, it had more than that to offer. Rachel Harris plays Mom, and many of us (moms) will relate to her asking her kids the quintessential Mom question:  “Can’t we all just get along?”  The answer is: well, yes…eventually. Probably. Not!

This story is about the brothers’ struggle to coexist, but is also about the Mom’s efforts to guide and support them. With Dad in the background making faces.

For food: we had nachos, popcorn, and M+M’s (her) and Peanut M+M’s (mom) from the gumball-type vending machines they have at that theater. If you’re short the approximately $15 needed to purchase a snack or two at the concessions counter, these coin-op machines can be really a good bet. Of course, you only get about 8 Peanut M+M’s for your quarter, but that’s about all a serving size amounts to anyway (about 1/4 cup), so it’s good for your wallet and for your efforts to keep your current size pants fitting you this week!

YAY! 🙂

Sunday with tweens

by Karen, posted in family, tweens

I took my daughter to see Rango. Johnny Depp or no Johnny Depp, I couldn’t have cared less about seeing this movie.

I took her because we had nothing better to do. I took her because it was the only kids movie playing. I took her because I couldn’t concentrate on writing anymore and needed a change of scenery.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I liked this movie! It was great! It was funny! My daughter thought that it was too long, but she liked it anyway. Some of the characters were supremely unattractive (a fact with which Izzy agrees), so much so that they were…um, difficult to look at.

That’s really the only fault I can find with the movie.

Maybe we were predisposed to like the movie since we went to the Cupcake Fetish Bakery and loaded up on goodies prior to getting to theater.

I highly recommend doing both. 🙂

Gnomeo and Juliet: Vacation week with your tween

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, local fun, movies, tweens
Gnomeo and Juliet

When it’s winter and the “Can we go out and do something today?” questions are about to put you over the top, give in. I did; we headed out to the 2:45pm showing of Gnomeo and Juliet at the Wells Five Star Cinema.

There has been a dearth of (good)  movies for kids lately, have you noticed? I wasn’t that excited to see this one (I don’t even like gnomes), but it was the only game in town. This movie was actually very good, adorable and funny (and~did I mention?~ I don’t even like gnomes…or pink flamingos!).  All of the kids in the audience seemed to really enjoy the movie (one little girl was talking to the screen at one point, but in a cute, non-annoying way). I even laughed out loud more than once. In case you’re a fan, Elton John sings the songs in the show. 

Gnomeo and Juliet are just so so darn appealing you can’t help but love them and root for them. Don’t worry that it’s just all about the kids though; this movie has plenty of adult humor. My daughter even got one of the subtle play-on-words jokes that went over my head (hel-lo; how embarrassing!). One of the funniest parts was the scary lawnmower from h-e-double hockey sticks sequence (“Your grass will be afraid to grow!” Heh heh heh…).

This movie was a very manageable hour and 24 minutes long, so the whole afternoon will not be wasted even if you don’t agree that it was worth your time, but I’m pretty sure that you will.

P.S. Stick around for the “Crocodile Rock” full cast dance at the end of the movie. 🙂

February date night

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, local fun, movies, restaurants

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to have a date night due to college classes resuming for our elder child (who babysits our younger child), but the planets aligned so we got our dinner and a movie.

The dinner part was at Ruby’s in York. We got the coupons from the SuperCoupons monthly mailer and I actually remembered to bring them this time and they even hadn’t expired yet, so we were off to a good start.

We ordered a McCann’s pizza which is bbq sauce, chicken, bacon, and cheese on a thin crust. We also got an order of fowl fingers with torch sauce on the side. These two menu items were the reason that my husband wanted to go there, so he was happy. The big letdown for me was that they were out of sweet potato fries, which was the reason that  I wanted to go there, so I wasn’t so happy

(NOTE: It’s worth it to go early for dinner since from 4-6pm on weeknights the appetizers are half price).

It continued to be a boy’s night because it was Bill’s turn to choose the movie. He chose True Grit, and just in case the title doesn’t tip you off, I’m here to tell you this: chick flick it is not. I actually (in hindsight) would not consider this a good choice for a “date night” movie…warm and fuzzy it also is not. Not one little bit. Not for one instant. It was all hard edges and angst. (Okay, there were one or two little laughs, but they were wrapped in blood and gore and so therefore hard for me to appreciate).

My husband thought that this movie was great. I thought that it was difficult to watch. It was violent, grossly (heavy on the “gross”) violent at times, and there were a couple of occasions of violence before which there was no fair warning (read: time to cover my eyes). My husband managed to tell me “don’t look” just in time for one of these, which I greatly appreciated.

We didn’t even agree on the ending. I said, “It didn’t even have a happy ending to make up for all of the difficult-to-watch parts!” and he said, “What? It did have a happy ending,” bewildered by my assessment.

And there you have it: men and women are different.

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So there you go.

Date night: payback for the chick flick

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, movies, restaurants
promotional poster

Our last date night movie was chosen by moi: How do you know (as in, “how do you know” it’s a chick flick? When your husband looks around the theater and says, “Hon, I’m the only man in here,” that’s a big clue).

This time we went to see The Fighter (his choice). Now, this is not typically a movie I’d have one iota of interest in seeing, but hey (as he cheerfully pointed out as we left the theater last week)…I owed him. I was a good sport about it.

Here’s the thing though: it was a great movie. I loved it. What it had going for it was that Mark Wahlberg was in it. A bigger thing that it had going for it was that Amy Adams (I think that she’s a terrific actress; I’ll even go out on a limb and call her the next Meryl Streep) was in it. It was well paced, interesting, and (of importance to me, not so much my husband) not overly bloody.

It’s based on a true story about a (you guessed it) fighter and his brother, and how he tries to pursue his dream both with, as well as in spite of, the support of his wildly extended family.

For the dinner part of our date, we went to Mike’s Clam Shack. We split fried ravioli and Bubba’s Mixed Grill (steak tips, half a rack of ribs, and BBQ chicken breast), salad, shack potatoes, and I had a cup of chicken noodle soup (yup; still sick; see prior post). The chicken soup had more chicken in it than I’ve ever seen in a cup of soup that I didn’t make myself; it was impressive.

The waitresses were nice when, after sitting at one table in the middle of the room for about five minutes, I asked to be moved to a booth (did I mention that I hate to sit in the middle of the dining room? I need the anonymity of the periphery).

Here’s a tip: if you go to see the movie and sit in the last row in back, don’t spill your cup of Peanut M+M’s …they will roll loudly downhill to the front of the theater, for what seems like forever, while everyone in those rows in front of you will look back to see who the dope was that did that!

It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!

Okay, it was me.

🙂

New Year’s Eve, tween style

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, books, friends, Holidays, local fun, movies, tweens, writing

Today was a “Girl’s only” day for me and my tween. We had originally planned to go shopping to spend gift cards received for Christmas (both for her and for me) but then changed the plan to include a movie with a friend. (We never did go shopping with the gift cards, come to think of it…)

She and her friend went back and forth for a few days about which movie to see, Yogi Bear or Gulliver’s Travels.  Neither movie received great reviews, from the critics nor from her older brother, so as far as I was concerned, it was a toss-up. In the end, they chose Gulliver. I braced myself and we settled in for the show.

Well, from a parental standpoint, it wasn’t too terrible (except for when Jack Black was showing his “plumber’s crack” in the beginning. Eeew.). There were a few laughs, and the cast was likeable. The tweens gave it “two thumbs up!”  however, and those are the opinions that really matter, right?

After that, we did a quick food shopping (hey, Hannaford’s was right next door; why  make a second trip?), then back to the house. The girls had a few laughs playing Wii sports, Zsu Zsu pets, and listening to CD’s while I put away the groceries, paid the bills that came in today’s mail (ugh), and wrote quick book blog post.

Then we brought her friend home and came back to make supper: linguini, turkey, roasted red peppers in garlic, butter, and olive oil…pea pods added to Mom’s. After supper, we played a quick building game with magnets, thenwe finished the day with a little couch time, watching iCarly. I promised to wake her up if I am awake at midnight, but the odds of that are VERY SLIM. 🙂

Linguini with roased red peppers and turkey
...and pea pods added for Mom

Date night (vacation week edition)

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, local fun, movies, restaurants
How do you know (promotional poster)

It’s been a while since we’ve been able to have a date night, what with the holidays coming, shopping for the holidays, wrapping for the holidays, hiding presents and then (forgetting where they were hidden) looking for the presents for the holidays….

It was nice to have Christmas behind us and get a little time together for a date (courtesy of our eldest child, who stayed with the youngest child). Going out one night during a week off from work feels totally different from going out on a “school night”. No worrying about getting home early, or having to get up at dawn to spoil things. It was nice to just think about what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go, without outside time constraints.

So, even though we decided to stay local and do the usual dinner and a movie, it felt…nicer. More relaxed. No rushing through the meal to get to the movie on time, since we didn’t have to leave after I’d gotten home from work.

First, we stopped at the Wells Public Library, because I love the library. That was pretty much the only reason. I dropped off some books, then chatted with my friends, the librarians (Cindy, Cindy, and Cindel), about blogging and the book that I’m writing (almost finished!!).

Next, we were headed to Ruby’s in York, when my husband (on a whim) made a U-turn and we went to East instead. What are you gonna do? It’s a man’s prerogative to change his mind at the last minute! The food was great, as was the service. The only annoying thing was the woman at the table next to us who wouldn’t shut up about how cold it was (it wasn’t) in there.

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Then we saw How do you know at the Wells Five Star Cinema. I loved it. He did not love it (as evidenced by him saying to the ticket seller after the movie, “You could’ve warned me!”). Okay, so I’m saying it: Bill, you’re the best husband ever for sitting through that movie and still having a smile on your face at the end!

Tangled

by Karen, posted in family, local fun, movies, tweens

If you’ll forgive the tired old cliché, Tangled is a “coming of age story” for Rapunzel, Flynn, and even (in a weird way, a “coming of old age” ) for Rapunzel’s evil, passive-aggressive step mother (who continues the long tradition of evil stepmothers in Disney Movies.).

What’s totally great about Rapunzel is that she is a normal looking girl. This is huge for a Disney movie.  They have deviated from whatever mathematical formula that they have applied to prior princesses that make their faces flawless and perfectly symmetrical and give them bodies that are anatomically impossible. You know, like Barbie.

What’s also great about Rapunzel is that she saves herself from Flynn (the would-be hero), when he breaks into her, um… house, and without giving too much more away, she repeatedly saves herself in other situations thereafter. Flynn doesn’t save her; she saves him.

The horse Maximus and Flynn have a comical, sibling-type relationship going on throughout the movie which was so much fun to watch that it elicited a few disapproving “Mom! You sure laugh loud!”‘s from my tween.

This movie also brought to mind a few other clichés: “If you love something, set it free,” embodied by Rapunzel. “If it doesn’t come back, hunt it down and kill it,” embodied by the evil stepmother.

The lights that are launched annually recall the tune “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”, which is reflective of Rapunzel’s optimism in spite of the deck being completely stacked against her…and I mean: Completely. Stacked. Against. Her.

Then there’s the frying pan, which is perhaps a nod to the woman who can “bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan”. At one point, Flynn asks: “A frying pan! Who knew?” A woman knew, that’s who!

Don’t get me wrong; all of these cliches are comforting, familiar. They help to make the movie accessible, and overall, EXCELLENT. Bring your kids and go see it (but try not to embarrass them by laughing “too loud” at Maximus and Flynn). 🙂

Dinner and a movie

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, local fun, movies, restaurants
Morning Glory promotional poster

In reviewing some of my past posts, I’ve noticed a date night trend toward Dinner and a Movie; this night is no different. The movie was “”What’s the Story?’ Morning Glory”, viewed at the Wells Five Star Cinema. It almost couldn’t be bad, with Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford, right? Rachel McAdams was the real draw for me though; she’s been great in all of the movies she’s been in (that I’ve seen) and was in this movie also. The first half of this movie was a little slow, but the lightning fast second half more than made up for it. Also, I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. It made me nostalgic for Broadcast News with Holly Hunter and William Hurt (the latter movie was a little better).

Dinner was at Mekong Thai in Wells. Our choice of restaurant is often based on being short of time and proximity to the theater, and tonight’s choice was no exception. That said, Mekong Thai has probably the best service of any restaurant I’ve ever been to.

When we were younger (in the late 90’s and early 00’s), when we had a little baby (and littler discretionary income) our dinner and a movie date night happened at home. We watched Dinner and a Movie on TBS with Annabelle Gurwitch and Paul Gilmartin. It didn’t even matter whether or not I liked the movie; I enjoyed watching Annabelle so much that was enough. I still have the apron with the Dinner and a Movie logo that my husband gave me one year for Christmas.

It is poignant to me now that the child that was sleeping in the crib in the next room is now babysitting our younger child so that we can have dinner and a movie out in the real world.

Dinner and a Movie  (with different hosts) is still on TBS; My Cousin Vinny is next up on December 17th, with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei (back when she still was keeping her clothes on for the camera). 🙂 Enjoy!

Secretariat

by Karen, posted in family, local fun, movies, tweens

I took my daughter to see this movie with a bit of trepidation.

Secretariat

First of all, it is 2 hours and 3 minutes long, a very long time for a tween to sit still and remain engaged, especially in the uncomfy old theater seats.

Second, although it is a Disney movie, it isn’t a kids’ movie per se, so this is the first sort of adult drama that I’d taken her to see.

Why was I willing to take the risk? Well, it’s about horses, and my daughter loves horses, so that made it seem like more of a calculated risk.  After purchasing the requisite order of nachos that my daughter needs to maximize her movie-watching experience, we entered the theater and settled in.

Fortunately, the movie was great. It already had the presence of Diane Lane going for it, but all of the other actors were also well cast. Like a good book, it pulled us in right from the first moments of the film and kept our interest until the end.

If only they had given out little plastic horsies as favors; then our day would have been complete. 🙂