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Ok this one is a bit easier for me to write about. I went to see this movie just to kill some time before Spiderman 3. I really hadn't heard much about the film with the exception of seeing a relatively bad 33% on rotten tomatoes and one commercial. But it was playing and it was that or sitting in Starbucks.

I'm actually really glad that I decided on this over tasty drinks. The movie is about a man who can see two minutes into his own future. Once he looks ahead he can decide to change it. Where it gets tricky is that he can then wait a split second and look ahead again and see if that change was a wise move and change it again. He can keep doing it until he gets what he's trying to do right. The movie revolves around a girl (Jessica Biehl) who he sees months before he actually meets her. He proceeds to wait in the same dinner every day at the same time that was on his watch until he meets her. She's both a love interest and a catalyst for the plot (and she's not hard on the eyes :). There also is an FBI agent played by Julianne Moore who is trying to track him down because terrorists have smuggled a nuke into Los Angeles and they need to track it down before it goes off. Because of the FBI's interest in him the terrorists want to kill him just in case he can do what they think he can. He doesn't want to be found by either because if he helps the FBI he'll be a slave to them forever. If the terrorists find him...well he'd be dead and that's not good.

The real interesting aspect of the movie is where he uses his powers to plan out how to get out of situations he gets into. He can see where bullets are coming from so he can dodge them. He can search an entire building in a blink by viewing each potential outcome of walking down each hallway. It's really a nice trick and I would love to see it expanded on.

Unfortunately there are some weaknesses in the script most particularly in the ending. It's certainly not a bad ending but it's kind of a cliffhanger for a sequel which probably won't happen (The movie has only made 10 million so far). The critics really didn't like it, of course they didn't like his last movie National Treasure either and I really liked that one. I don't know I'd recommend it for viewing in the theater but it's definitely one to see on DVD.

3 stars (out of 5)

Spiderman 3

This was an odd one for me. I am a registered geek who loves all of the things that make up this movie however I found myself underwhelmed by it. It seemed that the film tried to hard to be everything to everyone. Trying to shoehorn in 3 villains that could easily each carry a movie can really backfire. Look at how Batman and Robin worked out. And these are three of the more interesting Spiderman villains. From what they had set up in the first two films they were obligated to do the Goblin Jr. storyline. It was expected. And sandman is a natural choice for a movie watching public that loves their special effects. Plus it doesn't hurt that he had a decent story. And the alien suit/venom storyline is one of the better arcs in the comic books. Although the way that it ended up Venom, one of Spiderman's most iconic foes, is almost a footnote to the story. However I really liked the narrative arc that they constructed to tie them all together. The characters have no real connection in the actual comics but here they have a very clear link between them. It was an artful piece of writing.

The black suit should have been one of the most impressive parts of the film. It should have made Spiderman stronger, faster and much more vicious. But the film series has already tried to portray him as incredibly strong and fast so the benefit of the suit really wasn't clear. Also a small nitpick but the suit should grow on and off of him not be a simple piece of clothing that can be tossed in a box. The way it was handled with Venom is much closer to the actual feel of the suit. Also he had to have known what the suit was since he took the sample to Doctor Conners. You'd think he wouldn't act so surprised later on. The suit's effect on his personality was quite amusing though. I liked how they combed his hair slightly differently and suddenly he was evil-emo Peter. Funny.

I think my biggest problem with the movie came from the Mary Jane/Peter storyline. It was incredibly goofy at times and included so many twists and turns that really didn't make allot of sense at times. Especially the entire break up storyline and the love triangle. It just didn't seem to work with the characters as they have been established. Peter being entranced by his fame really didn't work for me either. It seemed like a regression to the time before Uncle Ben died where his fame was all that mattered to him. It felt like a betrayal of the character. Every time that the movie would switch to their story it lost a bit more momentum.

It also included 3 musical numbers and dance productions. Not that these weren't entertaining (esp. the bar one) but they felt out of place. The movie had allot of scenes where you could tell that Sam Rami was stretching his old Evil Dead silliness genes. In another movie I would have been reveling in the silliness but in this one it made it feel uneven.

I also thought that the acting by Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst was a bit weak. There have been some murmurs that they are bored of the characters and want to move on to other rolls. I would almost welcome another actors take on the characters if they decide to continue (which they will). The supporting cast was really quite amazing. Bruce Campbell has an amazing scene and was one of the highlights of the film. Topher Grace continues to grow past his That 70s show past and into one of our better actors. And the entire Daily Bugle staff was great.

OK so after all the bad things I said about the movie I still really recommend seeing it. It was massively entertaining with really good action sequences and quite a few funny scenes. It just could have been so much more.

3 stars (out of five)

More Cap'n Crunch Than You Expected

From the May 2007 Saveur comes this great tidbit: the full name of Cap'n Crunch! His proper name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch. The Horatio makes him sound British, which makes sense since his outfit looks like an English Navy get up (or something Napoleon would have worn). And the Magellan gives him an air of exploration. The Crunch is straight out of Dickens. He may be Capt. H.M. Crunch aboard ship, but he'll always be Cap'n of breakfast to me.

http://www.megnut.com/2007/04/capn-crunchs-first-name-revealed

I-Dressup

Ok girls. I know we are all grown, but don't you miss dress up? I know I do and since I can't actually wear Gucci's Spring line 2007 I can at least play with it online.

I have added the link under "web games to waste time with".

Robot Dinosaurs!

Ok this is very cool. Love when things aren't just CGI.

Beef Goulash With Dumplings

I found this recipe over at Simply Recipes one of my favorite food blogs. We've eaten it many times and it's got us through many a cold day. I know it's an odd food to post on one of the first warm days of spring but I'm strange that way. I'm the type of person who craves ice cream in winter. Plus there's never a bad time for soup.

A few notes on the recipe. Don't worry about crushing the carraway seeds. It will make it taste a bit better but it's almost not worth the trouble. In addition if you can't find spicy paprika (I know I couldn't) just use regular paprika in it's place and add a pinch of a spicy pepper such as cayenne. If you don't like spicy foods just use regular paprika. And don't skimp on the dumplings. First of all it's fun to play with dough and second of all they taste amazing.

Beef Goulash With Dumplings

Goulash

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp caraway seeds, toasted and ground
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon spicy Hungarian paprika
2 Tbsp minced fresh marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes (remove excess fat)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dumplings
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp melted butter

1 In a large covered sauté pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and sugar until caramelized (they turn a golden brown). Add the garlic and caraway seed. Cook another minute.

2 Add the sweet and spicy paprika, marjoram, thyme and bay leaf. Sauté another minute, until fragrant.

3 Add the tomato paste. Deglaze with the vinegar and the stock and add the pieces of beef, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook until very tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

4 To prepare the dumplings, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine with the milk and melted butter, mixing lightly. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into the simmering stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover while the dumplings are cooking! In order for them to be light and fluffy, they must steam. If you uncover the pan, the steam will escape and the dumplings will boil instead. After 15 minutes, test the dumplings with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the dumplings are done.

Serves 4 to 6.

No Milk!!!

Ok, so what do you do when you want to eat peanut butter toast and there is no milk left in the house? You top off your lovely slice of peanut buttery toast with fat free Reddi-wip! Leaves your mouth free to move and talk without the use of milk. Amazing...and yummy. :)

The end is drawing near.

Yep, on Monday I return to work. Six weeks off is a long time to sit around the house. Some days I was content and busy with games, movies, or other computer related projects. Some days I was bored out of my skull and moping around. I have to thank Ben, my parents, Brandi, and Angie for taking time out to visit me and getting me out of the house. You realize how important these little outings and interactions can be when you aren't able to drive. I'm not sure I am looking forward to the bombardment waiting for me at the office. At least I can say that my World of Warcraft character, Medeaa, has leveled from 30 to 36 and her jewel crafting skills went from 180 to 265. Soon Medeaa will be capable of making jewelry suitable to help the level 60s in our guild to pay them back for all the help they have given me along the way.

Working on Vacation

Why is it I feel so strange about the fact that this site http://vocationvacations.com/ has so much appeal to me. I like the idea of working somewhere on vacation. The point of vacation is supposed to be getting away from work. I think it's the idea I could work in a kitchen (or the chocolate store in Chicago which I think we've been to... that has appeal) and see what it's really like without having to actually go through line cook hell for years. Plus who can pass up a chance to be a sword maker.

What is paraskavedekatriaphobia?

A clue? It is something the English, German, Polish, and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe have in common. It is also similar to something in Greece and Spain, but there it occurs on a Tuesday.

Do you know what it is?

(Click on the "Comments" link below this article to leave your answer.)