Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

This movie was really good. I was going to say incredible, but then I second guessed myself and decided it wasn't THAT good and I should reserve "incredible" for the movies that really blow my mind. :) But if I wasn't reserving the word, I would say this movie was incredible. lol

I am admittedly biased because I love Greek Mythology. And I loved both the old and the new Clash of the Titans. In fact, I think it is safe to say that this movie paralleled the traditional Clash of the Titans storyline, but with a modernized appeal.

Perhaps that was the inspiration and goal of the book's author. This is another one of those movies that makes me inclined to read the book. I believe the first of which was Harry Potter. I think I may even have heard that the book is better than the movie, which I suppose is not all of that surprising as that is usually the case.

The special effects in the movie were fantastic, especially the ending battle. Again fantastic may be too strong of a word and one that is best reserved for something more spectacular. . but then I can just use the world spectacular for those other movies, right? lol

Anyway, the story is great. I love the unique perspective on the old stories. This of course is more credit to the author than the movie. However I used to work at Border's Bookstore and while the books looked interesting and I was told numerous times by many customers that the books were really good, it took the movie to make me confirm that I want to read it. So that is most definitely a credit to the movie. :)

This movie falls into the categories of "I hope there is a sequel." and "Would enjoy a DVD copy, but if there are sequels then I'll wait for the box set." :)

Aeslabelle's Grade: A

Bounty Hunter

This is one of the many "new" (as far as I can tell) movie genres that have come out this year that combine action with romantic comedy. I was actually expecting to be disappointed, as I was in the mood for a good action film and there did not seem to be any available. I'm quite happy to say that I was, in fact, not at all disappointed!

This movie managed to successfully interweave not only the above mentioned romance, comedy and action, but there was even a little bit of suspenseful mystery. Just a tad, but it was there.

Now, I'm not sure if the fact that I was expecting nothing is what made it so surprisingly good. So don't become irate with me if you watch it expecting some Matrix style action. You're not getting any of that. :) But it was a great blend and I was pleased with the ending.

So, this is will be one of the many movies that get a good rating from me. I point this out because the first movie I ever rated was given such a horrible review. This is hugely ironic because most of the time when people ask me what I think of a movie, I say it was good and/or I liked it and have nothing else to say on the matter. I suppose from that perspective, this entire blog is a bit of an oddity coming from me, eh?

Aeslabelle's Grade: B+

The Wolfman

Last night Acturon and I enjoyed another free Redbox rental. The movie of choice was "The Wolfman." I heard some very mixed reviews about this movie when it was in theaters. Some reviews were so bad that I ignored the movie entirely for a long time. I don't recall how I came across the knowledge, but it was when I found out that Anthony Hopkins played a role in the movie that I began to take the time to at least take a better look at the movie.

Yes, I'm one of those movie watchers that like to consider the actors/actresses in the movie as part of the weight in my decision of whether or not to see the movie. There are, of course, flaws to this method as you occasionally run into movies that don't meet your standards. For example, those times when the actors/actresses take a role to expand their horizons and choose a film that is not of the genre that you typically enjoy (as the case for me with Green Zone and Matt Damon). This doesn't mean the movie is a "flop", but you can't expect to fully enjoy the combination of a genre you hate (war movies) with an actor you love (Matt Damon). At best you get an appreciation for a genre you previously despised, or in the worst scenario, you develop a distaste for an actor/actress you were once very fond of. However, more often than not I find that picking movies based on the cast can often yield to a very enjoyable movie watching experience - as was the case last night.

I have no idea who the main actor was in Wolfman ("Benicio Del Toro"). I don't recall seeing any movies with him in the past. I vaguely recognized the supporting actress ("Emily Blunt"). However I have yet to see a movie where Anthony Hopkins failed to act convincingly. We were also very amused to see that Agent Smith made an appearance with the usual "Missster Andersssson..." dialogue. :) "Okay," you may be saying "so what? The acting's good, what about the action?"

I would say this movie has a good 85% of "I'm on the edge of my butt to see what happens next." Not to say that there was not a predictable plot progression, Acturon and I surely guessed a number of things as we watched the movie. But it was still enthralling to see how the "movie crew" chose to lead us to our suspected conclusions. I say movie crew because it's more than just the director that takes you there, in my opinion.

"So what was the other 15%" you may ask? Well there was about a 5-15minute (I wasn't watching the clock). It was either 5 minutes that felt like fifteen or else it was fifteen minutes too long of just what I will refer to as a dragged out scene with no dialogue or meaningful progression. I suppose if I were to watch it again I might appreciate what the director was aiming for, but as I sat waiting to see what the "Lawrence" character would do next, I failed to appreciate the "stalling."

Overall though, this movie did not disappointed. I was even a little surprised at the way they chose to end the movie. I don't think this would really qualify as a "for my collection" movie, but I definitely would not be opposed to watching it again. And so... the official Aeslabelle rating is as follows:

Aeslabelle's Grade: B+

Not Quite Grandma's Mince Meat Pie

So I have a blog, and I was making something more worthwhile for dinner than boiling hot dogs or pasta, so I figured why not do a little "cooking blog" in addition to everything else? If nothing else, I can reference it in the future when I forgot how to make the item! :)

I called it Not Quite Grandma's because my grandmother uses mixed vegetables (carrots, peas..) instead of what I used - which is what I had in my freezer -- green beans. The ingredients are as follows: (no quantities, because I only

measure things when I'm reading the recipe from a book) Sorry! This isn't a cookbook :P

1lb lean ground beef

1 med-LG onion, chopped

a small handful of garlic cloves, chopped

a spoonful of (mine was frozen) chopped green onions

a spoonful of (same as above) shallots, chopped

some frozen cut green beans

thyme

garlic powder

black pepper

salt

oil

your favorite pre-made refrigerated pie crust

and I added a tiny pinch of sugar because when I tasted it, it lacked the sweetness of carrots and peas that my grandmother's mix would have had.

To start out with, I sautéed the onions, garlic, shallots and green onions. I also added all of the spices at this point except for the sugar.

After that, I added the frozen green beans and cooked them until the "freeze" was gone.

I then added the ground beef and cooked until the meat was browned.

At this point, I let the meat mixture cool completely.

Following the instructions for a 2-crust pie on my box of pre-made pie crust, I placed the first crust snugly into the pan and cut off the excess from the edge. Then, I dumped the meat mixture into the crust-lined pan. :)

Topping the pie with the second crust, you (as they tell you to) tuck the top part under the bottom crust. They don't tell you this, but from past experiences of leaking pies, I made sure to smoosh the top crust into the bottom of the bottom crust to create a nice seal. Then, I "fluted" the edges (basically just stick your finger around and smoosh the crust around your finger). I admit, this is actually one of my best flute-jobs. Then, with a butter knife, I sliced the top to allow room for steam to escape, as instructed.

Once again, as instructed, I allowed the pie to bake for 20 minutes (baking temperature was 350°F) and pulled it back out so that I could do a frustrating attempt at covering the edges with foil. This has got to be the worst stage of pie-baking in my opinion because the balancing act with the foil pieces is always pure torture for me. I believe they actually sell foil that is pre-made to shape around pie crusts now, but I either never saw it, never remember to buy it, or didn't want to spend the money on it. That may change soon. >.>

I forgot to take a picture before putting it back in the oven, but I'd have been darned if I was going to move this sucker again just for a picture. So you now have the "in the oven" view. :)

Here is the finished product, after an additional 20-25 minutes of baking. Nice golden brown color - and at this length of cooking, the crust was flaky and not mushy. I think using the lean ground beef also helped to make the meat mixture fairly dry, so no noticeable soaking occurred at the bottom crust.

And these are the pictures after serving myself and Acturon.

The Irony

It's funny, but I just realized that I never thought myself to be a person of many opinions. I remember arguing with an ex-boyfriend years ago because he was frustrated with my lack of opinion after watching a movie. In fact even recently I remember discussing with Acturon that I generally either like a movie or don't like it.

So it's ironic that I am not only reviewing movies in this blog, but that I can also provide a variety of grading. That is, I chose not to use the simple Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating system, but to instead go with the more detailed Letter Grade system. So how is it that one can go from declaring a complete lack of opinion to actively posting varied, somewhat detailed opinions on the very topic they declared unable to do that with?

I guess that's the power of the internet. Somehow thoughts are easier to gather when no one's waiting to hear it. That little extra time to gather my thoughts must make all the difference. I suppose that ability to hide behind a pseudonym can accept some credit, but not much as my assumption is that most people who read this will know who I am in reality.

Anyway I just found the irony of it all the be an interesting little 'food for thought' and figured I'd share it.