Movie Review Monday (Sunday night because I couldn't wait!)

BATMAN - The Dark Knight

Written and Directed by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan - also directed "Memento" which I highly recommend if you have not seen it. Where do I even start?

Well OK - let me start by saying that I was VERY nervous about seeing this movie. Batman Begins was great and would lead me to believe that this movie would follow in its footsteps. BUT on the other hand I have already been so disappointed in many movies this year. (Indiana Jones tops the list) I went early to this movie so I could form my own opinion and not allow anyone to effect my viewing.

IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT - Coming from me, you need to understand that this speaks very high volume!!

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"


"My Card"

We will get to Heath Ledger / The Joker in just a moment!!

The thing that I LOVED about this movie is that it wasn't just trying to be the 'next big comic book movie' it also was not trying to be the '#1 summer movie' It was trying (and becoming) one of the first movies, based on a comic book, to show exactly why it is that comic books can be so great.

Great characters. Amazing Story. Drama. Love. Good vs. Evil. I am not saying that there have not been good comic book movies, because there have - but this is in a completely different category.

For the first time (EVER) I am going to contain myself and only talk about this movie with people that have seen it. I want everyone to have the wonderful experience that I did in getting all their questions answered, including "Will this be as good as it should and can be?"

The one thing I will say is that I refuse (and hope you will as well) to answer the "who is the better joker" question. These 2 actors were asked to play the same villain, but that is where the similarities end. They were asked to play them in very different ways and in very different times. Both were BRILLIANT and I was happy to find this video showing them side by side.



Please see this movie. Please talk with me in specifics when you have. Please call me anytime you would like to see it again.

Oh and By the Way - Quite possibly one of my favorite opening scenes of all time.

Movie Review Monday!

Let me start off by saying that I was DETERMINED to make Wall-E this week's review. Mike does not want to see it, and he was out of town fishing. Perfect - right? Well it turns out that I am one of those people that has never gone to a movie theater alone. (are you like that too??) so I made a game plan. I would pick a theater that had reserved seating (so I could sit where I wanted with no problems) then I would show up right at start time (I am not going to lie - this is so I could sit down and the lights would dim before anyone could see I was alone!!) Because let's be honest - how many of you have ever gone to a movie and there is someone there alone? Yeah, most of us. I have never thought "What a loser" or "How come they don't have any friends or family" Seriously, I have never thought that!! So Why couldn't I follow through with my plan? Turns out I care about what people think more then I thought . . . . . . .this is something for me to ponder . . . . .

Moving on to this week's actual review.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD - directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and based on a book written in 1927 called "OIL!!" Once again - even though I am late to the game and should have seen this movie long ago, Here is the preview for you to enjoy.



I am not going to kid myself. I know that many (and by that I mean most) of you will not ever see this movie. For a lot of different reasons. I completely understand that, but must say . . . What a tragedy!! This movie is so great and so deserving of the many nominations that it received. Mike would describe this as "one of my weird movies" and he is probably a little correct. Paul Thomas Anderson has a very unique style and some people hate it. Some of his other movies are "Magnolia", "Punch Drunk Love", and "Boogie Nights" to give you an idea.

One of my favorite things about this movie is that I could have watched it with the MUTE on and still loved it. The cinematography is outstanding and I found myself amazed with the way this movie was shot. Not only the beauty of the scenery, but the way the director choose his angles and how we as the audience got to expierence the story. FANTASTIC.

Another thing that is a very gutsy (and rewarding) choice is that the first 5 - 10 minutes is dialog free, but tells you so much about who this man is and how he came to be, what he believes, and even how his family was formed. That is incredible story telling. It reminded me of the very powerful scenes in "Cast Away" when Tom Hanks was saying nothing, but you felt every emotion right along with him.

This is a story that covers a huge range of human behavior and emotion. I loved the journey and can't wait to sit down to watch it again. I always find it facinating to watch movies again and see how your eye and your brain pick things up in a very enjoyable and different way.

A Birthday, A BBQ, and New Best Friends

Keith, Allie, Hannah, and Nicholas were in town for the 4th of July!! Nick's Birthday is July 5th, so we had a BBQ get together to celebrate! We had SO MUCH fun!

When we first got there, the kids were loving Remi, but only from a distance. Out of the blue Hannah runs over to me and says "I am not afraid of Remi anymore!" Throughout the rest of the BBQ she would say things like "Don't worry, I am watching Remi" "Hey Keri, why won't Remi lick my hand?" "Whoa he drinks a lot of water" "I am gonna go check on Remi" "Does Remi want to come watch fireworks with us?"

It was adorable and Remi was absolutely loving all the extra attention! I put together a little slideshow of the day. Be sure to look out for a funny picture of me and Keith . . . . . Great job to Allie for actually being able to get the picture!!

Yummy!!

So Mike and I have been trying new recipes lately and the last one was SO GOOD that I thought I should share it. If you are looking for something super good, easy to make, simple ingredients, maybe vegetarian (for a night), and a crowd pleaser - Well here you go!!

BAKED ZITI WITH PESTO

1/2 pound Ziti
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion chopped (yes even Mike ate this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups grated, packaged mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup store bought or homemade pesto

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8X8 baking dish
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 7 minutes. It will be partially cooked. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again thoroughly.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stiring occaisonally, until tanslucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stiring, for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook until very thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Remove the bay leaf. (BTW I was out of bay leaves and it was still good)
4. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, about half the parmesan, the pesto, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
5. Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with about a third of the tomato sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture on the sauce in an even layer. Cover with the remaining pasta and then the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozarella and the remaining Parmesan. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. (I skipped that) Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 4

Don't give up on me!!

I have many posts that I need to make . . . . . including some long past due Movie Reviews!! I have had quite a few people ask me about those, so I am glad that you are liking it. Sorry they have been MIA lately - blame bronchitis mostly, but grown up Keri doesn't get to see as many movies as she would like!! (How Sad) Hopefully I can turn that around. . . . . . Maybe I can even talk Mike into seeing Wall-E with me (Doubt it)

Just wanted to post a quick update - Better stuff coming soon!!

80's Bash

Saturday Night Mike and I were invited to birthday party for Craig (his boss). It was his 40th birthday, and his wife organized an awesome 80's themed party at Market Street. I had to take a picture of the invitation because I thought it was so creative!! You can't see it very well, but the bottom picture is from Craig's prom - it was very 80's style inspiring :)


I am sure you will all be shocked, but Mike didn't really want to dress up. His hair actually has some red dye in it (I was very proud of him), but you can't see it very well.

Here are some of the people that Mike works with. Pick your favorite outfit!!

I wanted to organize a "women of Microworks" picture. Plus the girl in the front is my pick for 'outfit of the night' -- WOW! She looked great, plus Mike and I kept saying, where do even find a walkman these days???

Here is the birthday boy!!

The party was really fun and we are super glad that we decided to go! I am sure that I had a much better time here then I would have at my high school reunion - don't you think??

Macey Miles turns 1!!

I can not believe that it was one year ago that I went to the hospital and got to meet Macey Romney Miles for the first time! It was so exciting and here we are one year later as my good friends Dan & Liz celebrate their daughters first birthday!!



This was actually a pretty crazy weekend for me and Mike! We had the Seinfeld concert Friday night, Macey's birthday party was Saturday afternoon, and Mike's boss was having a party Saturday evening (see next post). **Side note** Saturday was also my 10 year high school reunion - whoa! obviously I did not attend, but I thought it was worth mentioning that I am getting older.

Anyway, because Mike and I were scheduled to have such a crazy Saturday, Remi got to have a sleepover with his cousin Winnie and I took this picture while we were driving to drop him off. How cute is it that he is using the arm rest as his own personal pillow?