A different kind of Princess

Before I begin my review, I would like to remark that the dedication to Steve Jobs at the end of the movie was respectful and well deserved.




Brave, an animated movie by Disney and Pixar set in what I perceive is late 19th to perhaps early 20th century Scotland, about Princess Merida, daughter to Queen Elinor and King Fergus whose fate has been chosen by her parents and who decides to choose her own fate.  In order for her to change her fate, Princess Merida feels she has no other  recourse but to rely on the help of an old witch that turns out to be her undoing and finds herself running out of time to right many wrongs when she takes this course of action.  Brave is depicted  as a children's movie and on some levels it is.  The playfulness of Merida's brothers are wonderful and enjoyable to see. The camaraderie between the King and the other clan leaders are endearing and at times playful along with elements in the forest that are pure Disney will definitely entertain the children.  The vibrant red curly hair of Merida and her brothers and the beautiful cinematography are unforgettable.   However, some elements that were more understandably for an older child were the underlining "coming of age", "mothers and daughters" and "trust and respect" issues.  The Scottish accent was very heavy and I'm sure if children were not thrown by it, many adults might have been.  I watch a lot of foreign films and the BBC, so I was not put off by it, but we are talking about a bigger and younger audience.  Overall this was not a bad film,  I loved it and would recommend seeing it.  I'm just blowing caution to the wind to parents with very young children who believe the story is one thing and it turns out to be something very different.  Otherwise, sit back and enjoy a very well made movie.

Selene kicks butt once again

Underworld Awakening did not disappointment me.  I did appreciate the fact that the director saw fit to go over the whole series for those who were not familiar with the story.  The Lycans and the Vampires were still kind of at each others throats but they have a new enemy...humans.  Of course like another franchises, dare I say, Resident Evil, humans decide to experiment on humans to make them indestructible and something goes terribly wrong equals someone has to set the balance right. Sound familiar?  Kate Beckinsale, Selene and newcomer Inia Eisley, Eve kick butt for the greater good with help from a couple of friends.  The story is fast paced and leaves behind a lot of dead bodies and a feeling that there will be another sequel.  For any fans of Underworld, it stayed along the lines of the story and Selene kept with the tradition of fighting for a cause.  It was worth the wait.

Stealth

Josh Lucas, Sam Shepard, Jamie Fox and Jessica Biel star in this science fiction fantasy movie.  It started off with an old premise.  The military relies on a military stealth machine and it can learn, think and react faster than humans.  Of course we never thought of mother nature coming into play and causing the machine to malfunction.  Humans are then called in to come to the rescue to save mankind from it's own destruction.  Heroes are sacrificed  and the world is saved.  Unfortunately, the direction and story is all over the place and the dialogue is almost laughable.  It was a struggle to sit through the two hours of this movie.  The way it was shot was also dizzying.  The movie as a whole was disappointing.

California Pizza Kitchen - Revisited

It has been a while since I have gone to California Pizza Kitchen at Memorial City in Houston.  A year ago they had a different menu, a different cook and their food was decent.  However, with the economy being the way it has been, it is understandable that cutbacks and changes would have to be made.  The few times  my husband and I have gone back, the tacos were heated and not grilled so the meat was chewy.  The salad was made with mostly the end parts of the lettuce and was hard to eat.  Last night was the last straw.  I ordered the pea soup and it was watery and tasted like dish detergent.  Management apologized and asked if I wanted to order something different.  We were on a time crunch to see a movie and I really was in no mood to try something else and possibly be disappointed yet again.  The positive side to this was that we were not charged for the soup, but I was fed up and resorted to eating a hot dog at the movie theater instead.  That was just ridiculous.  We have given our time, patience, loyalty and money to this restaurant on too many occasions.  Personally, I have had enough.  I am not putting down all franchises of California Pizza Kitchen, but the one at Memorial City has literally put a "bad" taste in my mouth.