New restaurant and more movies
I spent a lovely day with my friend Kirsteen last Saturday - we wandered around Inglewood and ate lunch, spent the afternoon at the zoo, then enjoyed dinner together on another patio! Gotta love that it is finally feeling like spring :) One of my goals is to try at least 10 new restaurants and this was partially accomplished on the weekend as we ate lunch on the patio of the Village Cantina. It is this cute Mexican style restaurant located in Inglewood and the food was quite good! While sipping our fruity cocktails we shared the artichoke dip and the spaniko-pizza appetizers. We also learned that they have a Sinatra impersonator on Friday nights and a drag show that is often sold out every Saturday... so we may have to go back and check those out some time!
I have also watched five new movies recently to add to my list. Some were good, some not so good, and others very disturbing:
Flatliners
This movie has been on my list for a while but I hadn't got around to seeing it until I noticed it was on TV a couple of weeks ago. Released in 1990, this movie features an all-star cast including Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Baldwin, and Kevin Bacon, who portray medical students fascinated by death and near death experiences. One by one they use medical equipment to essentially die for a few minutes before their friends revive them; however, creepy things start to happen when they are brought back. Overall this was a pretty good movie and I would recommend it as a rental if you've never seen it.
The Cove
Now this is one of those disturbing movies I mentioned... but it is definitely a must-see as it will open your eyes to some of the horrors that exist in our world today. 2009 Academy Award winner for best feature documentary, this movie follows a group of activists to a hidden cove in Japan where approximately 23,000 dolphins are murdered every year. This is driven by the multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and a dubious and artificial market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat. It is very sad to watch and I'm not sure if I will ever go to a Sea World park again...
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Something much more light-hearted was this fairly typical Matthew McConnaughy flick. Matthew plays a ladies man whose brother is getting married. His first ever girlfriend, played by Jennifer Garner, is also in the wedding party. As a play on A Christmas Carol, Matthew's character is visited by three "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", hence the title of the movie LOL. After reviewing the various relationships and one night stands throughout his life, Matthew comes to realize that he is in love with Jennifer's character... blah blah blah quite predictable, but a cute movie if you are in the mood for it!
Food Inc.
And back to another disturbing movie to watch... Food Inc. is a documentary about the food industry and how it has basically been changed beyond recognition into industrialized mass production and assembly lines. It is horrifying to see what corn is used for (pretty much EVERYTHING) and how cattle and chicken are raised and slaughtered these days... it is dangerous and disgusting. Unfortunately my PVR cut off the end of the movie so I may have to rent it or read the book... I'm not sure how much of an impact this will have on my life at the moment, but I will try to make more of a conscious effort to be aware of what I am eating and where it comes from, and try to buy more organic food and/or shop at the Calgary Farmer's Market. I suggest you do the same :)
Gamer
I do NOT recommend you bother watching this movie! Besides the fact that Gerard Butler is hunky and Scottish, I suggest you watch him in other movies (like "PS I Love You" haha). This movie was over-the-top in terms of violence and unneccessary gore, does not have a very good plot, and is pretty much just stupid. The concept was okay in theory (that video games now feature prison inmates and other unfortunate people who have their brains altered so that they can be controlled by other people) because it was believable that sick people in the world would get off on something like that. However, the one game is called "Society" and is kind of like the Sims and people do whatever they want with their characters, and the other is called "Slayers" and feature death row inmates in a Call of Duty like scenario killing each other and if they can survive 30 battles (which no one does) then they will get a full pardon and be released from prison. All I can really say about this movie is don't see it or you'll wish you could have that 1.5 hours of your life back.
I have also watched five new movies recently to add to my list. Some were good, some not so good, and others very disturbing:
Flatliners
This movie has been on my list for a while but I hadn't got around to seeing it until I noticed it was on TV a couple of weeks ago. Released in 1990, this movie features an all-star cast including Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Baldwin, and Kevin Bacon, who portray medical students fascinated by death and near death experiences. One by one they use medical equipment to essentially die for a few minutes before their friends revive them; however, creepy things start to happen when they are brought back. Overall this was a pretty good movie and I would recommend it as a rental if you've never seen it.
The Cove
Now this is one of those disturbing movies I mentioned... but it is definitely a must-see as it will open your eyes to some of the horrors that exist in our world today. 2009 Academy Award winner for best feature documentary, this movie follows a group of activists to a hidden cove in Japan where approximately 23,000 dolphins are murdered every year. This is driven by the multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and a dubious and artificial market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat. It is very sad to watch and I'm not sure if I will ever go to a Sea World park again...
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Something much more light-hearted was this fairly typical Matthew McConnaughy flick. Matthew plays a ladies man whose brother is getting married. His first ever girlfriend, played by Jennifer Garner, is also in the wedding party. As a play on A Christmas Carol, Matthew's character is visited by three "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", hence the title of the movie LOL. After reviewing the various relationships and one night stands throughout his life, Matthew comes to realize that he is in love with Jennifer's character... blah blah blah quite predictable, but a cute movie if you are in the mood for it!
Food Inc.
And back to another disturbing movie to watch... Food Inc. is a documentary about the food industry and how it has basically been changed beyond recognition into industrialized mass production and assembly lines. It is horrifying to see what corn is used for (pretty much EVERYTHING) and how cattle and chicken are raised and slaughtered these days... it is dangerous and disgusting. Unfortunately my PVR cut off the end of the movie so I may have to rent it or read the book... I'm not sure how much of an impact this will have on my life at the moment, but I will try to make more of a conscious effort to be aware of what I am eating and where it comes from, and try to buy more organic food and/or shop at the Calgary Farmer's Market. I suggest you do the same :)
Gamer
I do NOT recommend you bother watching this movie! Besides the fact that Gerard Butler is hunky and Scottish, I suggest you watch him in other movies (like "PS I Love You" haha). This movie was over-the-top in terms of violence and unneccessary gore, does not have a very good plot, and is pretty much just stupid. The concept was okay in theory (that video games now feature prison inmates and other unfortunate people who have their brains altered so that they can be controlled by other people) because it was believable that sick people in the world would get off on something like that. However, the one game is called "Society" and is kind of like the Sims and people do whatever they want with their characters, and the other is called "Slayers" and feature death row inmates in a Call of Duty like scenario killing each other and if they can survive 30 battles (which no one does) then they will get a full pardon and be released from prison. All I can really say about this movie is don't see it or you'll wish you could have that 1.5 hours of your life back.
posted by Heather at 2:25 p.m.
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