Before I go over the movies I saw, I wanted to show a couple of “recipes.”
I say “recipes” because these are sort of thrown together recipes that I created based on the ideas of others and also my need to always have snack and/or junk food. The first picture is of what I call a Chicken Tostada. All you do is pop two small corn tortillas (ones that are soft that haven’t been pre-fried or anything) in the oven or toaster oven until they start to puff and brown a little bit, take them out and top them with the pre-made chicken fajita strips (that you’ve heated up), lettuce, salsa and fat free cheese. These are way more filling than you think and you get two of them for 5 points. If you wanted to add something else, you could add beans or onions or anything you want. I LOVE this new discovery…I’ve had them several times.
The second two pictures are different angles of the “Reduced Fat Franks In A Blanket” that I made. I’ve heard of lower fat versions of Pigs in a Blanket and I’ve had a couple that I liked so I decided to whip up some of my own. It was very simple to put together. All I did was buy the Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls that come in a can and a pack of the 97% Fat Free Hebrew National Franks. All you do is take the franks (8) and cut each of them into four equal pieces, then take out all of the rolls and cut each of them into equal fourths and wrap the franks in the rolls. After you got them looking all like your typical Pigs in a Blanket, you pop them in the oven for 12-15 minutes and they are all done. You can have several of them for not very many points and dunk them in mustard. They would be great if you were hosting a party and you were trying to save on the calories.
I wanted to give you a tiny synopsis on the movies we saw…I will post a picture from the movie and then a silly picture that Jordan and I took to try and represent each movie. I think we were delirious but we had fun!
The first one we saw was 127 Hours. The picture we took is Jordan being concerned that my arm is going to have to be cut off and me getting sick thinking about it. If you haven’t heard, this is the movie with James Franco about the man who was trapped alone in the desert with his hand pinned under a rock for over five days. The movie chronicles what he went through during that time and how he cut his arm off to release himself from the rock and then climb out to safety. I didn’t have high expectations for this movie for some reason. I was worried it would be gratuitous but it wasn’t at all. I actually thought the movie was great. I had a hard time watching some portions of it…it was especially tough when he finally cuts the arm off…everyone in the theatre was totally squirming in their seats. I thought James Franco did an amazing job!
The next movie was Blue Valentine. As you can see, Jordan and I were trying to make a heart with our hands and a sad face…making a blue valentine…get it? Anyway, this is probably one of my bottom two that I’ve seen so far. The movie is about a family struggling to stay together…the premise was pretty simple…it was how the couple met, and also the trials they are facing in the present. The first hour of it was pretty great…there were a couple of cute, nice and tear-jerking moments but then the movie just sort of tapered off. It was way too long in my opinion because it didn’t keep my attention and it didn’t really make sense in a couple of places (specifically the end). I thought both Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling did a fine job but the movie as a whole just didn’t really come together for me.
The last one we saw Saturday night was The Fighter (I think the picture is self-explanatory). This movie is based on the true story of two boxing brothers, one whose time has passed and is struggling with drug addiction and the other is younger but going through a rough patch and he is dealing with his controlling family on one end and controlling girlfriend on the other. I despise boxing but there are some movies about boxing that are really good despite my disinterest in the sport and The Fighter is DEFINITELY one of those exceptions. This was a great movie. Christian Bale gave one of THE best performances I’ve seen so far this year, Mark Wahlberg is hot, Melissa Leo does an amazing transformation and Amy Adams (who I normally think is overrated and gets on my nerves) also does a great job. The movie was directed really well and the story seemed really genuine.
Sunday, we saw the movie Rabbit Hole. The only picture Jordan and I could think to take was one that expressed true devastation. This movie is set 8 months after a couple has lost their 4 year old son after he was run over by a 16 year old boy that just “wished he had gone down another street that day.” This movie was a fantastic portrayal of the many levels and sides of grief that people experience. It doesn’t seem to take sides and it doesn’t provide a solid answer to those who may be struggling with a similar situation…because there isn’t one. Having said all of that, I will probably NEVER watch it again. The movie made me want to lay down in bed and experience a four hour heaving crying session. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart both gave powerful performances and if there weren’t such awesome people also nominated for Best Actor, I would say that Aaron Eckhart got snubbed. My only complaint about Nicole Kidman was that all of her attempts in plastic surgery to make her look younger, have made her look a bit like a clown and it was hard to get past at first…also…I noticed her Australian accent shining through several times…other than that, I thought she was great. It was kind of a bad one to end on though…I’d seen four movies in one weekend, hadn’t had much sleep, watched one of the most depressing movies I’ve seen and then I had to drive three hours back to Alabama. It was rough. I had Jordan though so that made it fun.
Friday I will talk about Winter’s Bone and The Social Network…those are the goals of this week. Luckily, that was our first and only ‘4 movies in one weekend rush’ this season…we are WAY ahead of the game. By tomorrow night, I will have seen ALL of the best picture nominations and all but 3 of the movies in other major categories. We have lots of time, we are just having trouble finding Biutiful and Another Year anywhere somewhat close…if you all hear of anything, let me know.
That is all for now…back on Friday!
Bye!
“I’ve never heard silence quite this loud.” The Story Of Us-Taylor Swift
Both of those recipes look incredibly tasty!
ReplyDeleteI love our pics...that was a fun weekend...definitely helped us finish way ahead of schedule.
As for Rabbit Hole, I almost want to tell people just not to watch it. It seriously is that depressing.