I saw Signs from M. Night Shyamalan a while back and totally did not like it. I knew Sixth Sense was immensely popular, but I was hesitant to watch it after seeing Signs. Well, I finally decided to add it to my list, so we watched it tonight. I was not disappointed–it was a great movie. As old as the film is (1999), I don’t know how I managed to avoid hearing about the “twist” of the film, unlike Brian, but I’m glad I was able to watch it without knowing that. This will definitely be one of the best films I watch this year.
fargo
This was an interesting film. Very different. It was basically a crime drama about this kidnapping that went awry, but it had enough ridiculousness in it that you could call it a dramedy. Everyone in the film talked with a mid-west (aka Minnesota) accent. I don’t know why, but those accents always crack me up. I thought the one person’s accent was a little over the top, so I looked her up on IMDb, only to find out she’s a native Minnesotan. I guess that means the other actors didn’t go far enough with their accents.
But, enough about accents. Overall, the movie was good. We both enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t call it one of my top 100 movies, either.
surf ‘n turf
Brian’s dad’s 60th birthday is this week (happy birthday, Ed!) so Brian’s mom had a family get-together at Surf ‘N Turf this evening to celebrate. Surf ‘N Turf is one of my favorite Johnstown restaurants. We don’t go there very often, but I always enjoy myself when we’re there. The food is always good and that’s saying a lot coming from me. This evening, I ordered one of my old standbys, crab-stuffed shrimp. As always, it was delicious. They definitely have the best seafood around these parts.
Anyway, how is it that are our parents 60 years old? Just how did that happen? Stuff like that keeps occurring and before you know it I’ll be 40 or something. Ridiculous.
scarface
We caught this classic over the weekend and both really liked it. It was a pretty interesting story. In it, Pacino played a Cuban drug lord. This time, he was surrounded by an Italian cast (who were all playing Cubans) so the Hispanic thing was a little more believable than in Carlito’s Way (but only because all of the Cubans looked Italian. Hollywood is weird.). Plus, his accent was impeccable. It was quite impressive. Interestingly enough, this screenplay was written by Oliver Stone and the movie featured Michelle Pfeiffer in her first major role. Some movie trivia for you…
spring fever
I’ve got it already and I’m blaming it on the nice weather we’ve been having–it has me in gardening mode. I’ve been thinking about trying out the “four season gardening” concept, so I’ve been kicking myself for not trying it this year. I’m sure it would’ve worked out great this winter.
My mom got me a cool book for Christmas, Gardener to Gardener: Seed-Starting Primer & Almanac (from Rodale Press–they always have the best books). I got a lot of good tips from it and can’t wait to try them out this year. It was a pretty quick read, but I’m sure I’ll be referring to it frequently over the next few months.
I’ve been flipping through seed catalogs for a few weeks now, but the Seeds of Change one I received recently finally inspired me to go through my inventory of seeds and figure out what I needed to order (my order was placed this evening). I’m trying two new vegetables this year, celery and broccoli rabe. I’ve only eaten broccoli rabe once and I thought it was pretty good (for a vegetable), but it’s hard to find around here so I thought I’d try my hand at it this year. Celery seems like a good thing to grow because I usually only need a piece or two at a time and it always ends up going to waste in my fridge before I use all of it. But, if I am successful growing it in my garden, I can go cut off a stalk whenever I need it. The only other interesting thing I’m doing this year is that I’m going to plant a bunch of different types of tomatoes.
So, I’m ready for the garden even if it’s not ready for me.