Last night Sarah and I went to see Goosebumps.
Well, let me back up. Last night Sarah and I went on a date. First we went to Pho Plus. It was absolutely delicious. We ordered an appetizer of gyōza and we each had a regular bowl of pho, which was huge and more than either of us could finish (yay for leftovers for lunch). I ordered the steak and brisket pho and it was delicious. I'd definitely recommend Pho Plus to anyone.
Then we went to Goosebumps. It was really good. I read all the books growing up and loved them. I'm not sure I ever really saw the TV movies, though I was definitely aware of them. This movie, though, was fantastic. Very well acted (especially Jack Black, of course), cool special effects, and a solid-enough storyline that it was a fun romp with some cool monsters and some humor. I'm glad we saw it on Discount Tuesday, but it was well worth that price and a fun date night.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
"There's just one thing we need to do..."
Last night Sarah and I watched Coraline. Neither of us had ever seen it before, which in retrospect is crazy, because it was super good. I really, really liked it. I thought it was amazing and I think I'll be watching it again pretty soon. Clever story, great animation, wonderful music. Loved it.
Last weekend we also watched Hocus Pocus and What Lies Beneath with some friends over, and that was a blast. Great movies.
Tonight we might go see Goosebumps, which I'm looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to the next week of movies—we'll get to see some really scary stuff.
Last weekend we also watched Hocus Pocus and What Lies Beneath with some friends over, and that was a blast. Great movies.
Tonight we might go see Goosebumps, which I'm looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to the next week of movies—we'll get to see some really scary stuff.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
"Do you really believe someone moves these figures one frame at a time? I'm not a masochist."
Sarah and I have been back at the Halloween movies. We've been pretty busy lately, but have still made the time for a few good ones, and the coming 11 days should see us really delve into the catalogue of true horror films.
Over the past few days, we've watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (which we'd seen before, but only piecemeal, so it was good to watch all at once), The Corpse Bride (which neither of us had seen before—it was great), and ParaNorman (Sarah'd seen it; I hadn't; I really, really liked it). We've got Coraline left to round out our stop-motion animation films, and after that we'll get into really good live-action stuff. I'm super excited.
(I also highly recommend the "Little Gift Shop of Horrors" episode of Gravity Falls, which has a nice segment on claymation.)
Over the past few days, we've watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (which we'd seen before, but only piecemeal, so it was good to watch all at once), The Corpse Bride (which neither of us had seen before—it was great), and ParaNorman (Sarah'd seen it; I hadn't; I really, really liked it). We've got Coraline left to round out our stop-motion animation films, and after that we'll get into really good live-action stuff. I'm super excited.
(I also highly recommend the "Little Gift Shop of Horrors" episode of Gravity Falls, which has a nice segment on claymation.)
Thursday, October 15, 2015
A bit of a break, but we're back at it
Sarah and I took a little break from our horror movie month. There were a couple reasons—some days we didn't feel like something suspenseful/gripping/scary (so we watched The Office instead, which is only one of those things at most) and some days we didn't have a lot of time for a movie and so we ended up either not watching anything or, again, watching TV or at least something shorter. (We also went to THE VOID and watched some Scooby-Doo and did a bunch of other cool things, so that contributed.)
I think starting today we'll be back on track with trying to watch a movie a day—we've half the month left and we're just getting to the really good stuff on our list. Before we dive into the deluge once more and I have to update every day, though, I thought I'd catch up to the present.
We've started Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, but we had to stop halfway through and we haven't finished it yet. Maybe we'll get to do that over the weekend. It's a pretty funny movie; we watched Excellent Adventure a couple months back and really enjoyed it. I'd seen Excellent Adventure a few times before and remembered it okay, but I've only seen Bogus Journey once and it's been forever, so it's fun to hear many of the jokes as though they're new to me.
We watched I, Frankenstein earlier this week—I think Sunday/Monday. That's a movie Sarah missed while on her mission (I kept a list, and we're slowly whittling away at them). It's one of my favorites, though I know it didn't do so well and was critically panned. I don't think it's a cinematic masterpiece, I guess, but it's 90 minutes of solid fantasy entertainment and pretty good acting/storyline—that's enough for me. It was fun to watch again, and Sarah really liked it too.
Well. That about covers it for now, I think. Here's to the halfway point—it should get scarier from here on out.
I think starting today we'll be back on track with trying to watch a movie a day—we've half the month left and we're just getting to the really good stuff on our list. Before we dive into the deluge once more and I have to update every day, though, I thought I'd catch up to the present.
We've started Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, but we had to stop halfway through and we haven't finished it yet. Maybe we'll get to do that over the weekend. It's a pretty funny movie; we watched Excellent Adventure a couple months back and really enjoyed it. I'd seen Excellent Adventure a few times before and remembered it okay, but I've only seen Bogus Journey once and it's been forever, so it's fun to hear many of the jokes as though they're new to me.
We watched I, Frankenstein earlier this week—I think Sunday/Monday. That's a movie Sarah missed while on her mission (I kept a list, and we're slowly whittling away at them). It's one of my favorites, though I know it didn't do so well and was critically panned. I don't think it's a cinematic masterpiece, I guess, but it's 90 minutes of solid fantasy entertainment and pretty good acting/storyline—that's enough for me. It was fun to watch again, and Sarah really liked it too.
Well. That about covers it for now, I think. Here's to the halfway point—it should get scarier from here on out.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Brrrrraaaaaiiiiiiiinssssssssssss
Last night (October 7) Sarah and I watched Warm Bodies. (And the tiki episode of Scooby-Doo, which was great. 47 luaus?!) Neither of us had seen Warm Bodies before, which was kind of surprising, at least on my end—I tend to watch a lot of movies, I love theaters, I really like zombie movies, and this one came highly recommended by friends and family, especially Miranda: so I'm not sure why I missed it, but I did.
And it was great. Really funny, lots of good zombie action, and a solid storyline. I liked the twist on zombie tropes; it never felt like the movie was making fun of zombie movies, just exploring the genre itself. The mythology of the world and the interactions between zombies were both very well done. And the acting; oh man. Everyone had solid performances, but Nicholas Hoult's R was so well done. He pulled off so many emotions while still just looking like a zombie—I could hardly believe it. Really impressed with his work here.
Anyway, I won't harp on too long, but I really liked Warm Bodies, I'm surprised I'd never seen it before, and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
And it was great. Really funny, lots of good zombie action, and a solid storyline. I liked the twist on zombie tropes; it never felt like the movie was making fun of zombie movies, just exploring the genre itself. The mythology of the world and the interactions between zombies were both very well done. And the acting; oh man. Everyone had solid performances, but Nicholas Hoult's R was so well done. He pulled off so many emotions while still just looking like a zombie—I could hardly believe it. Really impressed with his work here.
Anyway, I won't harp on too long, but I really liked Warm Bodies, I'm surprised I'd never seen it before, and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Who you gonna call?
Last night (October 6th)'s movie was Ghostbusters. I feel like I don't really need to say anything about this one; it's a classic, it's great, and it holds up after 31 years.
Sarah had never seen it before, though, so that was fun. She liked it too. :)
Sarah had never seen it before, though, so that was fun. She liked it too. :)
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together—mass hysteria!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
The Tingler
Last night, on October 5th, Sarah and I watched The Tingler, the belovèd (ha) 1959 classic from William Castle. I'd seen it before, with Lisa and Laura and my cousins last year at their Halloween party, but Sarah hadn't. She quite enjoyed it, and I liked the second viewing. It's pretty melodramatic, and the wires connected to the Tingler are pretty obvious, but overall it's an interesting movie with some good plot development and a nice use of color when it's there. Overall, definitely recommended if you can snag it.
Looking forward to Ghostbusters tonight!
Looking forward to Ghostbusters tonight!
Monday, October 5, 2015
Lotus Garden
Definitely still playing catchup with restaurant posts, but here's a go at our trip to Lotus Garden last Friday, October 2.
I'd been there a couple times before, but it was Sarah's first. The storefront, though not flashy, boasts Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese food, in addition to soda, ice cream, and other treats. Their takeout/delivery menu is pretty extensive, but we went primarily for the all-you-can-eat buffet. None of the dishes are delicious, but none of them are terrible either, and there's a pretty wide selection for what you're paying ($9/dinner or $6/lunch). Highlights were the gyōza, the coconut chicken, the beef & onion stir-fry, staples like orange chicken and chow mein, the egg flower soup, and, naturally, the ice cream.
We both ate our fill and enjoyed it. I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon, but that's perfectly okay. We'll probably get a craving for lots of Far Eastern food in the next couple months and head back to stuff ourselves silly.
Worth it if you're in the mood.
I'd been there a couple times before, but it was Sarah's first. The storefront, though not flashy, boasts Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese food, in addition to soda, ice cream, and other treats. Their takeout/delivery menu is pretty extensive, but we went primarily for the all-you-can-eat buffet. None of the dishes are delicious, but none of them are terrible either, and there's a pretty wide selection for what you're paying ($9/dinner or $6/lunch). Highlights were the gyōza, the coconut chicken, the beef & onion stir-fry, staples like orange chicken and chow mein, the egg flower soup, and, naturally, the ice cream.
We both ate our fill and enjoyed it. I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon, but that's perfectly okay. We'll probably get a craving for lots of Far Eastern food in the next couple months and head back to stuff ourselves silly.
Worth it if you're in the mood.
October & the cinema
I'm currently working on an entry about the roadtrip Sarah and I took recently—complete with photos!—but in the meantime I thought I'd start posting about October movies.
Sarah and I have decided to watch a bunch of scary movies over the whole month. We've compiled a list of 35+ movies and ranked them from comedic to terrifying. We're planning on starting easy and working our way through the list so that the week of Halloween is packed to the brim with classic horror favorites. I figured I'd write a short entry as we watch each movie.
We started last week on October 1st with So I Married an Axe Murderer, the Mike Meyers classic. I hadn't seen it in years but could quote every other line, mostly because nearly all of that movie has made it into my family's lexicon thanks to my parents quoting it all the time. ("I'm a human blanket!" is a particular favorite, as is any command starting with "Head!") It was a bit weirder than I remembered, but still really fun, and Sarah enjoyed it as well. She's picked up a few of the quotes as well and has started using them.
On the 2nd we went to see M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit at the theater. I'm a fan of a number of Shyamalan films—The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village (and The Happening and The Lady in the Water were both pretty good, I thought)—but lately he's been having a rough streak, so I haven't seen any of his movies in years. The Visit did well on Rotten Tomatoes and looked pretty good from trailers, though, so we gave it a shot. We both really enjoyed it. It was funny (when appropriate), unnerving, very well paced, and definitely scary when it tried to be. There were a couple great jump scares and a good storyline/premise overall. I'd recommend it.
I didn't see anything on the 3rd, but Sarah went to Hotel Transylvania 2, so there's that. (She didn't like it much.)
Yesterday, the 4th, we watched a couple of the "scary" episodes of Spongebob ("Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" and "Scaredy Pants") and then a Scooby-Doo episode ("Haunted House Hang-up"). Not too bad for a Sunday evening. :)
Tonight we'll watch either The Tingler or Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, I think, or possibly Ghostbusters. Coming up this week are probably Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown, and then some Tim Burton films, and after that we'll dive into some zombie and vampire fare. I'll keep updating as we watch more films.
Sarah and I have decided to watch a bunch of scary movies over the whole month. We've compiled a list of 35+ movies and ranked them from comedic to terrifying. We're planning on starting easy and working our way through the list so that the week of Halloween is packed to the brim with classic horror favorites. I figured I'd write a short entry as we watch each movie.
We started last week on October 1st with So I Married an Axe Murderer, the Mike Meyers classic. I hadn't seen it in years but could quote every other line, mostly because nearly all of that movie has made it into my family's lexicon thanks to my parents quoting it all the time. ("I'm a human blanket!" is a particular favorite, as is any command starting with "Head!") It was a bit weirder than I remembered, but still really fun, and Sarah enjoyed it as well. She's picked up a few of the quotes as well and has started using them.
On the 2nd we went to see M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit at the theater. I'm a fan of a number of Shyamalan films—The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village (and The Happening and The Lady in the Water were both pretty good, I thought)—but lately he's been having a rough streak, so I haven't seen any of his movies in years. The Visit did well on Rotten Tomatoes and looked pretty good from trailers, though, so we gave it a shot. We both really enjoyed it. It was funny (when appropriate), unnerving, very well paced, and definitely scary when it tried to be. There were a couple great jump scares and a good storyline/premise overall. I'd recommend it.
I didn't see anything on the 3rd, but Sarah went to Hotel Transylvania 2, so there's that. (She didn't like it much.)
Yesterday, the 4th, we watched a couple of the "scary" episodes of Spongebob ("Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" and "Scaredy Pants") and then a Scooby-Doo episode ("Haunted House Hang-up"). Not too bad for a Sunday evening. :)
Tonight we'll watch either The Tingler or Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, I think, or possibly Ghostbusters. Coming up this week are probably Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown, and then some Tim Burton films, and after that we'll dive into some zombie and vampire fare. I'll keep updating as we watch more films.
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