JASPER NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT AND BAR - TUCSON, AZ

Eating here for lunch with my friend, Molly, was pleasant but not memorable and a little too expensive for the quality of the food. The service, however, was friendly and efficient.

I ate at this restaurant a lot during Tucson #1 but haven't been back since we've returned to Tucson. It looked the same to me. Its a fairly narrow space towards the front and then widens a bit in the back. They have a nice patio area in front.

I ordered an albacore tuna sandwich with sweet potato fries accompanied by a slightly spicy dip. I  was really satisfied with my lunch; the portion of fries was big and the dipping sauce was excellent; the bread was fresh and there was lots of tuna with celery, sprouts and cucumber. It was pretty dry though so i ended up using two sides of mayo. The sweet potato fries were excellent and not greasy.

Molly had a more tortuous route to a satisfactory lunch. She initially ordered a Mojave salad which listed about 9 different vegetables on top of a bed of lettuce with a side of cilantro vinaigrette. However, the big bowl contained 95% lettuce and limp at that. and the few avocado slices i could see had brown spots. She also got a sad and stale looking roll with one of those butter 'cups' that must hold a third of a teaspoon. I've been known to go through a dozen of those to adequately butter a roll or piece of bread.

Molly eventually asked the waitress for a substitute meal because of the inedibility of the salad. This was graciously and promptly done with a vegetarian burrito which was proclaimed good.

I might try this restaurant for breakfast in the future to give them one more try and that's because i liked the atmosphere and the welcoming service.

YOUNG ADULT

This movie is a black comedy, a satire, a comment about single life and making it on your own and feeling fulfilled, about friendships and about loneliness. And all of this is put together with great whip smart dialogue and a brisk running time of about 90 minutes and terrific acting by charlize theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson.

Charlize is Mavis, a disorganized and aimless ghost writer of books who drinks her way through encounters with men; her unhappiness is poignantly revealed by brief shots of her pulling out her hair in tiny patches. When she finds out that her high school beau, Buddy, is celebrating the birth of his child she fantasizes about going back to Mercury, the small town she grew up in, (she now lives in Minneapolis) and rescuing Buddy from his rigid and constrained husband and father role so they can pick up where their romance ended.

This sounds like a stupid plot but Theron's acting is so believable and authentic that I really liked her and cared about her and could empathize  with her acerbic comments and her rudeness and her sadness and her disconnect from other people and her huge sense of inadequacy which came out in cutting often cruel remarks, Some of the best lobbed at Beth, Buddy's wife. Some scenes were uncomfortable to watch, in fact.

Anyway, so the story line is watching this disaster production titled Mavis try to win Buddy back in spite of the fact that he's happily married. Patton Oswalt is a guy who had the locker right next to hers all through high school and she accidentally meets him in a bar but can't remember him till she sees his cane and realizes he's the "hate crime guy". evidently in high school he was beaten up by some jocks who said he was homosexual and the fact that the small town of Mercury still believes he's gay  (he's not) and the fact that his mobility is severely compromised from the beating means that he is also an outsider and not part of the social life of town.

He spends his days painting action figures and running a distillery in his garage.

One of the final scenes in which Mavis psychologically crumbles during Buddys' baby's naming party and lashes out at people is cringingly wonderful.

I gave this movie a 9 and Bill gave it an 8.

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE

really enjoyable movie. It had a simple plot; long time married couple starts divorce proceedings and Cal the husband played by Steve Carrel gets advice on how to get back into the dating game by Jacob; played sauvely and with debonair charm and a tad of snark by Ryan Gosling (this is really the role he excels in; he doesn't have to say a lot; he gets to do that sexy half-smile, and he shows off his (to use one of the movie lines) "photoshop'd body".)

And Cal has a precocious but not annoyingly so son who gives him advice about finding and keeping and fighting for one's soul-mate. The son has a crush on the babysitter and she has a crush on Cal which leads to some amusing scenes.

Eventually - this was a predictable turn - Jacob meets a gal who he falls in love with and she takes him to meet her parents who turn out to be Cal and Julianne Moore. Oh, Julianne confesses at the beginning of the movie as she's asking Cal for a divorce that she's slept with David, a co-worker who is played by kevin Bacon. He is totally wasted in his wimpy role. Wow- he looked so emaciated in the film; like he needed a fattening meal of mac n'cheese.

There were no belly laughs in the movie but the dialogue was good and it was a fast paced film and all the acting was good and i did giggle a lot plus get teary eyed during Cal's speech about how he met his wife.

ZIVAZ MEXICAN BISTRO - TUCSON, AZ

We ate here on my birthday coupon; order one entree and get another entree free. A good deal. we haven't tried this restaurant before since their entrees run about $14 making it really difficult - if not impossible - to keep our total bill with tax and tip at $20 or below. This is the general guideline we use which allows us to eat out as much as we do.

The food was fabulous. The menu is on large boards right by the front door and you order at the counter. Even though the place was sort of empty it was noisy due to all the tile and metal. so i can imagine the din when the restaurant is packed.

The chips were multi-colored and i swear the red ones taste better than the usual non-color ones. They were warm and fresh and came with 2 salsas; a red and green. Very tasty.

Bill had pollo pibil which was mounds of tender chicken marinated in an orange and achiote sauce and it had grilled pineapple slices and pickled onions. I had shrimp vallarta; 8 huge delicious shrimp in a spicy red sauce with onions, pepper, and tomatoes. Both of our entrees came with rice and black beans and a salad with a zippy dressing.

The service was great and we won't wait till my next birthday to visit this restaurant again.

HUGO

A completely fantastical, magical movie. One mark of an excellent movie for me is a total immersion into the scenes and the land and in this case, a Paris train station; so much so that i become totally unaware of me sitting in a theater watching a film. and this movie transported me.

Its a simple story with great acting about a young boy who is an orphan and goes to live with his uncle who keeps the clocks running in the train station. Hugo is caught stealing by the owner of a toy shop who is played by Ben Kingsley. Through this encounter, Hugo becomes friends with his god-daughter and they have many adventures and accidentally Hugo finds out that she is wearing a key that fits into a robot he has been trying to restore. The discovery of why this girl is wearing a key that Hugo needs to finish his repair is the plot.

Along the way there are many subplots and tiny stories. One of them is the security guard at the station who is trying to establish a friendship with the florist shop owner. Another involves the book store proprietor played by Christopher Lee.

The movie is rich in detail and atmosphere. A 10 from both of us.

EUROPEAN MARKET AND DELI - TUCSON, AZ

The 'restaurant' area is a small curtained off alcove to the right of the front door. Mainly the place is a market; jammed in every corner and on every shelf with Eastern European delicacies and wine and beer and they also have an extensive deli counter with meats and salads and cheeses. its also a hub of socialization among the Russians in the area so its always fun to go in there and hear the language and people watch.

the menu is divided into Mediterranean, Greek and Russian sections. Last night we had a gyros plate which had pita bread, gyro meat, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and great yoghurt sauce. I desperately wanted their pelmeni; wonderful tasting dumplings stuffed with a beef-pork and vegetable mixture and served with Russian sour cream which is a mixture of creme fraiche, whipping cream and sour cream. I could smear that on all my food.

However, it takes 30 minutes to make the pelmeni and we were too hungry to wait. The last time we ate here and ordered them- Debbie was visiting so it wasn't a problem to wait - we just shared an appetizer and talked. So instead we ordered their cabbage rolls; 2 huge rolls stuffed to bursting in their cabbage skins; in a great flavorful tomato sauce. they serve it in a bowl with lots of sauce and lettuce. The lettuce wilts because of the hot sauce and is extraordinarily delicious. I also ordered some Russian sour cream on the side.

The market-deli is owned by a husband and wife. Her name is Olga and she is cautiously friendly; smiles with restraint but her appearance is show-worthy. Last night she had on tight tight black sequined pants, stiletto heels, a leopard form-fitting top and big bright bangle earrings. This outfit was topped by her blonde hair style which is ratted and combed into a towering beehive of Kremlin-ism.

Olga, we will be back.

VERO AMORE - TUCSON, AZ

This italian restaurant is about 2 minutes from our house. Its a really small place; no booths, only tables set fairly close together. We were here with Jean and Tim - braving our way through freezing temps, wind, rain, and no sun - trying to remember we lived in the desert.

We got a table close to the door but by a wall so the noise level was a little dampened.

I was disappointed over-all in the food. Bill and I shared a pizza and ravioli. The ravioli dish (3 colors of pasta pockets so it was very colorful and the ravioli were big and arranged quite artfully on the plate around a big helping of marinara sauce with lots of chunky tomatoes) was wonderful. The entree stated it included 3 ricotta cheese and 3 crab but i only wanted the cheese. Each ravioli was stuffed to the edges with cheese so i was satisfied with that dish.

But it didn't come with any bread. So for $3.50 we ordered some "wood-fired" bread. It was a large round loaf and i think the dough was the same as their pizza dough. It was tasty and came with olive oil and garlic-basil butter.

The pizza was not good at all. It had artichokes, mushrooms, onions and prosciutto but you'd be hard pressed to actually see any of these ingredients. and the ham was tasteless and difficult to chew; it was tough even though it was a razor thin slice. There was not much sauce and the cheese was gluey but the biggest disappointment was the crust. It was thin but not crispy at all. It was chewy and starchy tasting and took away from the whispers of flavors from the lonely pcs. of mushrooms and solitary onions.

This pizza was $12.
And even though our waiter was cute and almost adorable and had a lovely speaking voice; once he took our order and then delivered it; he forgot about us. The restaurant got packed about this time too.

We won't be back. So Pizza Hut still remains Number One on our list and Tony's Italian Deli stays at the top for pasta dishes. Plus Tony's is about 1/2 the price of Vero's with a more genuine Frank Sinatra-Mafia atmosphere.

APPLE FARM BAKERY & DINER - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant opened in the space vacated by another 50's style diner. Its on mall property but not in the mall which means it will probably be less busy; certainly the diner that used to be there was never crowded. However, the good thing is that Apple Farm so far has satisfied me unlike the former place.

I ate there with Chris who was  my usual dining partner at the previous eatery incarnation. The look and decorations including the pictures of old cars and movie stars of the past (oh, except for a big picture of james dean that used to be by the bathrooms) remain.

The prices are fairly reasonable and the menu is large. they serve breakfast all day. I had a vegetable and sausage omelet with country potatoes and a  biscuit. Chris got hashed brown potatoes which she liked. All the food was tasty and hot and i especially liked the biscuit which was  warm and soft but had a crunchy exterior and the very friendly and efficient waitress brought me extra butter. They only have 2 choices for jelly; rhubarb and apple (naturally since this is the apple farm diner; in fact, there was lots of apple related items plus menu descriptions). I liked the rhubarb better since the apple was too sweet.

I will be back for another meal.

THE DESCENDANTS

I was very disappointed with this film. I don't think i had read one negative review plus knowing it starred George Clooney who i think is a fine actor who appears in good substantial entertaining and thought-provoking films plus from the previews i thought it was going to be about a 'single' dad raising 2 daughters and that plot seemed interesting and this was my take before sitting in the theater for 2 long hours.

Well, Bill and I are giving it a negative review: a 6.5 for me and a 4 for Bill (he was thinking of not walking back into the theater after he finished peeing and just sitting out in the hall because he was so disinterested and unengaged with the movie). I still think Clooney is a good actor but maybe too good for his flimsy and flighty role. And the main theme of the movie was about him and his friends and family saying goodbye to Clooney's wife who was in an irreversible coma after a boating accident.

I had a hard time believing in the reality of the whole situation. I was always aware that i was watching a movie with actors. There was no chemistry between Clooney and his daughters at all. Plus the 17 year old went from an initial scene of rebellion and drinking to ideal helpmate and support and confidante of her dad. The subplot that could have added some spice to the movie (a huge parcel of land owned by Clooney and all his cousins was approaching a decision as to whether to leave it unspoiled or develop it into a resort) was kept in the background of the film and never developed.

There was also a huge disbelief on my part as to how Clooney reacted to the news that his wife had been having an affair and was going to ask him for a divorce right before she lapsed into a coma. The dialogue was fairly dull and the music was all ukelele-based hula dancing tunes. Oh, and Clooney being wealthy and living on the Hawaiian Islands added another touch of unreality to this movie which added to my overall lack of identification or caring as to what the characters did or did not do.

I descended into apathy.

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE

Fantastic movie; we both rated it a 10.

The title reflects the uncertain self-identity and character of the lead actress; she doesn't know who she is; martha - the daughter of divorced parents and a sister who she has had less than ideal communication with (further details of her home life growing up are vague) or Marcy May - which is the name she was given by the cult leader, Patrick, or is she Marlene - the burgeoning leader in the cult who uses that name as an alias when she deals with the 'outside world'.

The movie is done in fairly frequent flashbacks which are sometimes momentarily confusing as to the time we are watching; whether its when she's at her sister's or at the commune but this temporary disorientation did not interfere with the movie's flow at all.

And basically the story is about Martha's stay in the cult and her eventual escape to her sister and brother-in-law's vacation home in New York. The cult's inherent evilness and violence and spirit-shattering and brain washing is only gradually shown; the creepiness and horror slowly build up from an  ideal sun filled farm scene with tables laden with homegrown food to depravity.

Patrick, the cult leader, is a dead ringer for Manson. both in style and looks.

The film then continues toward the early part of Martha's stay with her sister while she tries to re-adjust to a life totally different than the one she had been in. She never does reveal anything about cult life to her sister so there is always a total lack of understanding as to why Martha is behaving in strange ways and saying inappropriate things.

It has one of those ambiguous and sudden endings which i both like and thoroughly dislike.

BOCA TACOS Y TEQUILA - TUCSON, AZ

this place used to be Greasy Tony's and we went there a lot during Tucson #1 for their cheesesteak sandwiches until the quality started going down and the grease level went up and their bathrooms became repositories of infectious disease material.

Boca (means mouth in Spanish) has a limited menu. 16 different types of tacos ranging in price from $2.50 to a little over $3 and some appetizers and a burrito plate. There are great taco combo's; shrimp with cabbage and pickled red onions and sirloin tip pcs. with an anaheim chile. There were fish varieties and pork and beef.

I had a grilled shrimp and a braised pork; both were delicious especially the pork which had a fantastic spicy flavor. bill got a steak one and he really enjoyed that. We also shared a side of charro beans (very plain) and garlic and green chile rice; though i couldn't taste much flavoring in the rice.

The place has been thoroughly de-greased. There are a few tables inside and a much bigger area outside; however, the restaurant is right on Speedway so the noise is deafening.

It is a great place for us after a hike because its right on the way home and since we order at the counter we can get home in good time for that after hike shower and foot rub. ahhhhhhhhhh

FAMOUS DAVE'S BAR-B-QUE - TUCSON, AZ

We went here using a coupon that Bill got for his birthday. During Tucson #1, we  ate at this restaurant several times but since moving back to Tucson and living in another part of town with excellent BBQ places, we haven't been back. Some errands on the NW side plus this birthday coupon led us back.

Bill said he enjoyed this meal more than his "official" birthday meal at Chad's. Except for the service. Our waiter Bobby was darling and friendly but off in another world. After bringing us water, he disappeared for a long time before coming back and taking our order. The food came really fast. But then we waited an even longer time for some take home boxes and the check. We could see Bobby check other booths but it was like he had blinders on.

but back to the food - the most important part. Bill had ribs which he said were some of the best he's ever eaten; so tender they were like baby backs. I got Georgia pulled pork; wonderful. The table had 5 different sauces ranging from the Carolina vinegary sauce to sweet and sassy to Devil's Pit!!!! With each entree you got a cornbread muffin and corn on the cob (frozen, of course so it was tough but the flavor wasn't too bad and the muffin was really good if crumbly) and 2 sides.

Bill chose green beans (just OK) and french fries. Deliciously crispy. I got baked beans which were great and potato salad which was disappointing as it was fairly bland. We brought home lots of meat and most of Bill's fries.

So all in all, a very good meal inspite of the waiting.

CHAD'S STEAKHOUSE & SALOON - TUCSON, AZ

We went here to celebrate Bill's 67th birthday and it was a semi-disappointing food experience. The atmosphere is casual and warm and woody with lots of booths and its extremely comfortable.

But Bill ordered their signature rib-eye steak and he was disappointed for the price of $20. He said it was dry and nowhere near as tender as at other restaurants. I got Guaymas shrimp - breaded. They were huge and the portion was large but even though they were ok; they were not as wonderful as Wings and Rice - a 'fast food' restaurant in Tucson.

Plus the presentation was very plain; not even a shred of parsley on the plate; just a mound of this shrimp. Each entree comes with a salad which was all iceberg but fresh and filled with tomatoes, carrots, olives, feta cheese, croutons, broccoli and red onion. Their thousand island dressing also passed my taste approval test. Their special cheese bread was not very special; rounds of soft Wonder bread texture rolls with broiled Parmesan cheese on top. They could have been warmer and perhaps that would have improved them.

Each entree also came with cowboy beans which were bland and then you got to pick one other side. There was a big selection to choose from but i went for the ho-hum baked potato - you can't go wrong with this spud. Oh, with the shrimp i got the tiniest portions of cocktail sauce and also (per one of my many high maintenance requests) tartar sauce. I also ordered a side of 3 baby back ribs and even though they also could have been warmer, i so wish i had ordered that for my dinner.

Each bone was encased with solid chunks of meat; no gristle and all i had to do was poke lightly with my fork and the meat just fell off because it was so tender. There was a nice bbq'd crust and crunch to the ends also. That was a real plus to the meal.

For Bill's 68th, he's going to pick another restaurant for his birthday dinner.

GUS BALON'S DINER - TUCSON, AZ

Bill and i ate a rare lunch out and once again it was so enjoyable that we have renewed our desire to do this about once a month. We were heading back from the DMV off of 22nd and this restaurant is on 22nd near Wilmot. Its been around since 1966 and from the look of a lot of the diners and the waitresses, i believe that.

The restaurant has a huge parking lot which is much bigger than the actual building which is fairly small. It has all booths and a counter and a super tiny squeeze yourself onto the toilet bathroom in the back. Its open till 3pm Monday to Saturday.

The place was full when we got there (right at lunchtime) and it was really really noisy. You get free coffee or tea with their salads, breakfasts and entrees but not with burgers or sandwiches. wierd, huh? The menu is very basic with reasonable prices.

We both got coleslaw which was good; maybe a tad too sweet. And we split 2 different kinds of sandwiches; a warm meatloaf on toasted rye bread with lettuce and tomato and an egg salad on toasted white bread. it looked plain and simple on the plate but oh, my it was good. The egg salad had a great flavor and wasn't too immersed in mayo and the meatloaf had a fantastic taste and there were 2 big slices on the bread.

So we will be back though now that we've re-committed to going out once a month, there are a bunch of other restaurants i want to try so it might be awhile before we recycle back to Gus's.

IN TIME

Time certainly dragged during this movie. I rated it a 4 just because the idea and theme was so clever; Bill rated it a 6 because they took a brilliant script and hacked it to sad and disappointing pieces with dull car chases and gun fights and uninspired acting and pointless drivel-dialogue.

Justin Timberlake was mis-cast; at least at this point in his career he is NOT a believable leading action hero character. He was wooden and stiff and looked especially robotic during the endless running scenes because he couldnt' waste time you see.

Wealth and longevity only occurred when one had lots of time which was illuminated on your forearm. So naturally (just like now, in fact) there were 1% of the population holed up in their special restricted time zone living opulent and sequestered long lives and then there were the rest who stole time from others.

Timberlake was paired with Amanda Seyfried who was also mis-cast and for someone on the run from her time-rich daddy she certainly had a lovely change of clothes and her makeup was always perfect and her skirts were incredibly short on her toothpick legs and most ludicrous of all, she did all her running in stiletto heels!

I couldn't wait till the movie was over so i could leave. A waste of time. (sorry, i had to.)

THAI CHINA BISTRO - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant has been opened a month in the space which used to house Buck n' Lil's BBQ (a mystery to me why that place didn't make it; good food, casual comfortable atmosphere, reasonable prices and a super location.).

Anyway, what a great substitute for Buck and Lil's. Nothing has been done yet to transform the place from cowboy-rodeo to Thai/eastern exotic. And you still go up to the counter and order. BUT you get the food on glass dishes with real silverware.

And what great food it is!!!!!! and the prices are unbelievably low; like $7 for a good sized portion of chicken curry with rice. Beware of their hot system. 1 to 10 and we only ordered a 3 and i couldn't do anything with that dish except nibble on a few green beans; my entire palate and lips and chin were burning. Luckily it was fine for Bill's taste buds. The other dish was a wonderful noodle entree; huge portion with lots of chicken and vegetables and loads of broccoli. All the chicken in both dishes was very very tender. I also had one Thai egg roll which was incredible. The dipping sauce was a tad too sweet but that didn't prevent me from lovingly and longingly dipping my roll into it with every bite.

They also have Chinese food and some sushi rolls. Open 7 days a week till 9pm.

STRAW DOGS

Both Bill and I rated this movie a 5 because we didn't walk out of the theater.

The entire film was a forced set-up for violence. Now i'm not against blood, spilled intestines, open brain matter and broken bones but i want it to be part of a bigger story and this movie didn't deliver.

A young couple move to a small town in the south where the wife was raised. The rednecks and racists (though the town had a black sheriff!!!) were so over the top it was embarrassing though James Woods played a great alcoholic rage filled football coach. There were taunts and jeers and pet cat hangings right from the start directed at the pussy East Coast writer of Russian novels (played by James Marsden) and there was  leering, suggestive, flirting and of course gang rape scenes directed at the wife, played by Kate Bosworth.

And naturally, there had to be a retarded town boy who also liked to diddle teenage girls. In fact, as i'm typing this review, i'm thinking we SHOULD have walked out; nothing redeeming about this movie. Though some of the kill scenes at the end were worthy of the next Final Destination movie.

GOTTA DANCE

This was a fun and inspiring documentary about a senior hip hop dance team put together to entertain during half time at NBA basketball games. There was only 1 man, Joe, and he was the least rhythmic of the group. He eventually got all the moves right but his body was wooden. However, he and his wife swing dance and jitterbug and he could "cut a fine rug" with that style; Joe was light on his feet and smooth and had lots of rhythm.

All the team members had to be at least 60 and most were in their 70's and several ladies were in their 80's including Fanny, a petite short Phillipino.

The film included not only their performances at the games but their practices and how the dancing and the discipline and the team work changed their lives.

Great show. Its out on video.

NORTH - TUCSON, AZ

I was prepared to dislike this restaurant because it is "hoity-toity", its one of Tucson's "in'' restaurants that serves the 'beautiful' desert dweller people, it's expensive, it proclaims its innovative fusion foods and is advertised as a modern eatery (i  regard this word with much reservation, similar to the words ristorante, bistro, and  caffe.

However, i was pleasantly surprised at the deliciousness of my lunch. I had a chicken salad panini though the sandwich was not served on grilled pressed focaccia bread. Loads of tender and moist chicken was piled on a wonderfully tasty bun which itself was light and didn't overpower the poultry. On top of the chicken was  herbed aioli (another word that i regard dubiously), melted provolone or was it brie? and finely chopped kalamata olives. It was a fantastic combination. My side was crispy potatoes (instead of asparagus) and they were superb; and yes, very crispy with a light dusting of parmesan cheese. Bread was brought to the table with sundried tomato butter. This was $9.

The restaurant is mostly  glass and metal and not much in the way of a themed decoration; unless the cold atmosphere is necessary to coordinate with the name of the restaurant. The tables are very very close together which wasn't a problem for lunch as the place was only 1/3'd full but they were so close i could reach out my hand to easily snatch bread from the next table.

The hostess and waitress, especially the former, were fawning and pretentious and haughtily submissive. The hostess greeted us and led us to our table as if we were being granted an audience with the Queen Mother or Elton John. The waitress also checked in with us asking for any requests and wanting to get our opinion on the food much too frequently.

 i will be going north again, however,  but only for lunch.

REAL STEEL

Even though this movie had thin character development, a predictable plot, hokey sentimental scenes (think father and son re-united after 11 year scenes), a story line that has been told many times before (a heavy metal Rocky film), and so-so music, it was one of the most fun and entertaining and exciting movies i've seen. So a solid 10 from both bill and I.

Hugh Jackman is the lead actor and he has never looked so handsome, lean and mischievous as he did in this movie. The story takes place in the future when robots are the boxers; not humans and these robots are wonderfully inventive. Jackman is Charlie, a ne'er - do - well, always out of money manager for a robot who in the opening scene loses a fight putting Charlie further into debt to the bad ass owner of the show. And naturally, Charlie puts his robots together and repairs them in a gym that is run by a very attractive lady who has the hots for him but is starting to reach her limit of patience with his non-rent paying status.

Charlie gets re-united with his son - a very good actor and charming and smart mouthed without being annoying - after 11 years and the son is the catalyst for Charlie's re-emergence as the manager of a top rated robot called Atom. The fight scenes are incredibly exciting with a lot of humor.

The theater was filled with loudly responsive audience members so there was a lot of cheering, yelling, fist pumping and clapping.

THE IDES OF MARCH

Excellent political true-life thriller starring George Clooney as Gov. Morris who is running for president and his strategist, Stephen, played by Ryan Gosling. The movie spans the time right before the very important democratic Ohio primary.

The film shows the preparation and workload of Morris's staff and also the deals and under the table swaps and trades that accompany politics and running for office. Morris is portrayed as an Obama (Obummer is my latest way of referring to the President) like charismatic speaker - a golden-tongued orator - whose campaign promises include a lot of  liberal-speak about the wars and the economy. Off the podium Morris is also shown as being unwilling to compromise his beliefs; his unwillingness to promise a job to Thompson (played by Jeffrey Wright) to get all his delegates which would seal Morris's win in the primary. Stephen is also proud to work for such a high-idealed man.

However, everything starts unravelling when Stephen agrees to meet with the "other side's" campaign manager; wonderfully and cynically acted by Paul Giamatti who wants Stephen to jump ship and work for the other candidate. I don't want to say anything more about what ensues because there are many twists and consequences and unintended decisions.

The acting in this movie is superb. Philip seymour Hoffman is a member of Morris's staff and is a grizzled veteran of these election 'wars', Evan Rachel Wood is an intern and the daughter of the head of the Democratic National Party and Marisa Tomei plays Ida, a reporter for the New York Times.

Both of us gave this movie a 10+.

POLISH COTTAGE - TUCSON, AZ

Newly opened restaurant on Broadway between Columbus and Swan. They are open till 8pm Tuesday thru' sat. and to 7pm on Sunday. The place is nicely and simply decorated and the colors are fantastic; warm blues and greens and mauve.

Our waitress, Elizabeth, was super. She turned up the heat after we got there probably taking a hint from our hoodies cinched around our heads and the generalized shivering.

The menu is short and simple; pierogis, cabbage rolls, pork, chicken cutlet and hunter's stew. Bill and i ordered pierogi's 2 of each filling - mushroom and sauerkraut, sweet farmer's cheese, potatoes and cheese and beef. They were absolutely delicious; lots of filling and a good size and the dough was not overly thick. The only one i didn't especially care for was the sweet cheese one because it was too sweet. We got sour cream and caramelized onions on top and you can also get bacon.

We also ordered 2 cabbage rolls that came with a hard roll. The  cabbage rolls were huge and the flavor was incredible. They have now taken the first place over the ones at European Market on Speedway.

We will definitely be back. Oh, they also had kielbasa on the menu. and a few desserts.

GHINI'S FRENCH CAFFE - TUCSON, AZ

I haven't been here since moving back to Tucson 2 years ago and it hasn't changed. The food still sounds and looks way better than it tastes; its still overpriced; and the flirtatious wearing way too short and tight skirts  for her age constantly on the phone manager is still there berating her employees.

I ordered a croque madame which was described in flowery beret outdoor cafe style (Ghini's spells it Caffe on their website; why??)  as being an over easy egg on top of baked french bread with thinly sliced ham covered in melted Brie and 2 other cheeses accompanied by "field" greens. (are field greens different than other greens? and what does that mean?) This entree was $9.

The greens are a small handful of plain ole' spring mix thinly and almost invisibly covered in a vinaigrette. And the 'sandwich' was 2 many inches thick pcs. of bread with a semi-runny egg on top although i ordered it over hard and a small amt. of  melty cheese covered ham almost hidden by the bread. Very hard to eat and it tasted of bread with every bite. The ham, however, was cut wafer thin which i prefer.

This restaurant is right next door to a bakery which is one of my favorite repositories of morning buns, croissants, sticky buns, danish, bear claws; on and on. I picked up a loaf of marble rye right before i ate lunch with Carol and it was absolutely delicious with our BLT's that night. I'll keep the bakery and not the caffe.

GOVINDA'S NATURAL FOODS BUFFET - TUCSON, AZ

This vegetarian (on thurs.'s vegan) low fat, low salt, organic, gluten free, and smeared with a faint incense-laden eastern spirituality and inherent goodness (i.e., you wouldn't tell a story about big dicks and say fuck a lot.) is run by a religious organization. They have a great outdoor seating area (too cold for us this night) and a nice garden and koi pond; in fact, the surroundings and landscaping are very soothing.

The seating inside is limited but also decorated Zen Buddha-Tibetan-chakra-like. They have a wonderful gift shop filled with clothes and icons and gods and goddesses.

None of their food is really hot. The very best part is their salad; very fresh ingredients and the salad dressings are really good too; almond, cashew, hemp seed and one other greenish-brackish looking substance.  Lots of veggies to put on the salad. And they had great apricot bread with butter though the only silverware you get is a spoon and fork; no knives.

Most of the dishes i pass on; they look too healthy; eggplant lasagne, and steamed vegetables of an unknown variety and cut in mega pieces and rice and then several soupy and liquidy dishes. They did have a macaroni and cheese dish (which of course was probably not real pasta or cheese; unless it was cheese from their peacocks) which was really tasty but the other stuff i tried was not good at all; either too dry or tasteless (no fat will do that.) I took a samosa which i usually eat too many of cuz they are so delicious; veggie and potato stuffed dough triangles but this one weighed about 4 lbs. and the dough was about 6 inches thick and so endlessly chewy and the inside was terrible.

They had several sweet things for dessert but after our dinner with Kent and Molly we were going back to our house for fudge bottom pie and Florentine cookies with chocolate-orange filling so why would we be interested in a fruit homemade yoghurt salad or raspberry squares which looked like congealed maroon aspic?

The next time we go; i'm just going to order their soup and salad and bread since that's always reliably delicious. However, it might be awhile till we go back; i always have a next-day unusual G.I. reaction. i won't bore you with the details.

THE PERFECT HOST

Very good (surprisingly good) video that just happened to appear on our Netflix instant viewing queue. It stars David Hyde Pierce; the friend of Frazier.

It starts with a bank robbery by an actor who looks exactly like a young Ray Liotta. The cops get his license plate really fast so there's an APB out on him and he takes refuge in this house in an affluent neighborhood by pretending to be a friend of a close friend of the guy (Hyde Pierce) who lives there. The criminal had looted the mailbox and saw a postcard from a gal named Julie so he pretended to be a friend of hers. He concocts a story about his cousin not being home yet and that's where he was going to stay so he was wondering if he could hang out  for awhile till the cousin came home.

The "perfect host" says sure, though he's having a dinner party in about 30 minutes. Well, here's where the fun begins because Hyde Pierce is a crazy man and his dinner party guests are maybe not real people and he drugs the robber and ties him up and then regales him with images of other unwanted guests and what he did to them; he keeps a picture album of them.

This movie does not turn into a SAW part 32 but gets really psychologically twisted with the robber turning the tables on the host; or does he? and the real identity of Hyde Pierce is a super surprise and the twist about the bank robbery and ending are all done very well and everything is unexpected.

I gave it an 8.

A GREAT HIKE AND A GREAT MEAL

We hiked on the Upper Bug Springs trail. The weather was perfect; sun warm but the breeze was cool. The last time we did this trail, we scouted out a great area of boulders in a wash/canyon to explore so this is what we did. As we approached the end of that approximately mile long section by the creek (very mysterious and so un-desert like; lots of trees and no fire damage) we cross country'd on our left and soon came to the wash.

It was very steep in places but we never felt unsafe. At our age, we don't take climbing/scrambling risks anymore just to catch that superb view. After winding our way around stupendous rock formations (lots of hidey-holes's and great lunch and break spots) and walking up up up; we finally got to the top of the ridge and it was perfect. Not all our explorations end so well. There were several flat large areas, fantastic view, no bugs and both dappled and sunny spots.

After the hike, we stopped at Beyond Bread. They were having their Octoberfest special: a bratwurst on a pretzel bun with German potato salad for only $7. They only had a little over one serving of potato salad left so asked if we wanted a substitute, so we picked a small garden salad with their fantastic thousand island dressing. Well, the portion was huge. There was more than enough potato salad for bill and i to share; we didnt' even need the green salad and the bratwurst was a foot long  (i'm not kidding). There was some sauerkraut on it and spicy dijon mustard and the bun was absolutely delicious. crusty and crunchy on the outside (and luckily not too crusty because of my continuing pain when biting down hard in my newly placed crown area) and the inside was soft and pillowy. the sausage was excellent; mild and flavorful.

They are having this special for the whole month so we'll be sure to come back before 10/31.

MONEYBALL

This movie is the story of Billy Beane, a 'failed' major league baseball player and General Manager of the Oakland A's. After once again losing players to teams with much more money, he hires a computer whiz (played by Jonah Hill, who i think has lost a lot of weight since this picture was filmed.) who groups together players for a winning team based on numbers and averages and the times the player gets on base.

This was beyond radical at the time and the scouts (all grizzled veterans of 'how the game is played') grumble and rebel. Brad Pitt plays Billy and i think this was his best role. He has weathered a bit (cuz of all those children and being the husband of angelina?) and has lost that pretty boy look.

The story was just mesmerizing and fast paced and it was very very interesting to see how a team is constructed and the interaction of the players and managers and how players are traded. One thing that was really clear is that the team is NOT a family; its just a random grouping of individuals; being placed at the whim of the management.

The only females in the film were Billy's ex (played by Robin Wright - formerly Sean Penn's wife; very short on film time) and Billy's daughter.

We gave the movie a 9; i would have given it a 10 but the ending dragged on; showing in too slow paced sequences the dilemma Billy was faced with re: his position in baseball. This was a true story. I got very emotionally involved at the baseball playoff games; exciting.

TRUST

This movie was never released in theaters and i don't know why. It was excellent; both Bill and I gave it a 9.

Clive Owen plays the dad and Catherine Keener the mom of a 14 year old girl who gets involved chatting on-line with another high school kid who lives out of state. As they become friendlier and start sharing confidences, he tells her that he is really 20. Well, she is shocked but still computer chats, texts and phone talks with him because he is giving her all the support and validation she needs as an adolescent who is trying to fit in yet be different, who is testing the waters of boyfriend and girlfriend, who is awakening sexually, who is starting to rebel against her parents, etc.etc.

Then he reveals that he is really 25. but again by this time she is even more emotionally dependent on him. They eventually meet and he's in his late 30's - at least. but gently and persuasively he is able to get her to be less angry and to trust him again and by this time he's telling her he loves her and yes, you guessed it; they have sex in a motel room.

From here to the end of the movie, it continued to surprise us and take turns that we weren't expecting. Eventually, the relationship is discovered and the film shows how dependent she has become on him; shows how the mom reacts differently than the dad and how it effects their relationship; highlights her peers' response and how the law enforcement people and counselors handle all this. It does NOT become a mel gibson-harrison ford-revenge at all costs- shoot em up movie.

The ending is not tidy or neat and just hints at healing in the family. and the predator scene at the finish of the movie (as the credits are rolling) is superb and perfect.

3 AND 1/2 BROTHERS CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

A new restaurant at 2530 N. 1st Avenue. It serves breakfast all day and starting on 10/1 will be open till 9pm for dinner. Their menu is very basic and small but oh, the food is cheap and delicious. So delicious in fact, that Chris approved and heartily indulged in her biscuits and gravy which is a breakfast she always orders and is always dissatisfied with.

The building itself is pretty plain with no decorations inside but its clean and the service was good. I ordered 3 pc's of French toast (great crispiness on the outside, lots of butter and warm maple syrup), 2 scrambled eggs, a small bowl of fruit which was a substitute for a bread choice (watermelon, canteloupe and strawberries), hashed browns (not done enough for me plus by this time i was approaching glutton belly time), and a sausage patty (greasy so i had to pat it down with my napkin but oh, so good).

And all this food was $7.62 with tax!!!!!!!

I'll be back with Bill for dinner. The waitress said they will probably be adding some new items; pasta dishes for instance.

DRIVE

I was expecting a 10 movie and it wasn't -  so part of my acute disappointment  is reflected in my rating of 7. Bill agrees.

The acting was superb and the photography was great and the action scenes were fantastic and exciting; it was all the other stuff. Like the music which was jarring and too loud and didn't seem to fit with what was going on in the movie. One especially intrusive moment was an operatic song (loud) done at a ho-hum part of the movie; i was expecting that with a melody so strong and germanic opera powerful that something significant was about to happen. Nada.

Ryan Gosling who plays the lead role as the driver is so very good-looking (in a way; better even than Johnny Depp who is soon to appear in another kaleidoscopic disaster film adaptation of a Hunter Thompson short story.) and is a master at the enigmatic look, the half-smile, the pregnant pause, the ability to mirror his emotions through his eyes but it was way way way overdone.

And Carey Mulligan (the gal with the dimple) also communicates that way; slowly and with long looks and dimpling before she answers a simple question like "what's your name?"; everything is fraught with glacial boredom instead of tension.

and that was the worst thing about the movie especially the first half; whenever the film switched to building a relationship or attempting to show a character's motivations or just plain talk, it bogged down into Soma-land.

The opening scene was dynamite; Gosling driving a get-away car for 2 robbers and hearing on the police radio that his car had been identified. He kept his cool throughout all his maneuvers to escape being caught and it was a great sequence. During the second half of the movie when violence of a high magnitude occurs (Albert Brooks providing some particularly gruesome rage.) and the story develops, it got more exciting but not enough to make up for the first part plus the ending was disappointing.

I should briefly mention the plot; Carey Mulligan's husband gets out of jail and his and his wife's life is threatened by some thugs cuz of money he owes; before the husband got released, Gosling and Mulligan began seeing each other and he didn't want anything to happen to her or her son so he volunteers to do a robbery to pay back the money and the debt. and things go terribly awry.  just like this film.

THE WAY BACK

This movie was released in theaters earlier this year and promptly disappeared. After watching the video, I can see why. Its quite long - over 2 hours - and the acting is just so-so and the story is not very exciting.

Prisoners from a Siberian labor camp escape and make their way through forests, deserts, snowy mountains, villages with hostile inhabitants and endless arid featureless land. They eventually find their way to India.

Colin Farrell plays a criminal who was locked up for a murder ( i think) and another escapee is Ed Harris. and then there were several Eastern European actors. All the escapees had thick accents and since they always seemed to be whispering - I missed a lot of dialogue; not that it made a difference.
 
we certainly enjoyed it enough to keep watching their endless walk but a major problem was the lack of anything interesting; a few of them died, they went hungry, they lacked water, there were some hallucinations and a lot of temporary collapses but no tension was ever built up. And none of them ever looked like they went hungry. Ed Harris achieved the best cachectic look but the others stayed fleshed out with bright alert eyes. In fact, at one point as they were crossing into Tibet they came upon a river and just laid in it to cool off and several of them had pudgy bellies and you couldn't see their ribs.

Bill gave it an 8; my rating was a 6.

August 2011 trip

Click here for the pop-up link to see our South Lake Tahoe, CA hiking pictures.

Click here for the pop-up link to see our Crescent City, CA hiking pictures.

TONY'S NEW YORK STYLE ITALIAN DELI - TUCSON, AZ

Unbeknownst to us and jean and tim, they were having a dinner show with buffet on the night we ate there. So we got the only remaining table (and there's not many tables to begin with since its a very small eating area). because they needed the space to set up the buffet.

The table was right by the front door with a monster air blower creating a din of ventilation. and because people were arriving in a steady stream for the show (all Eisenhower generation plus  a few New Jersey gangster types and their molls ) the bell on the front door was constantly ringing and it wasn't a tinkle of celestial sound; it was a damn cow bell. The show featured the music of who else? Frank Sinatra, Patsy Kline and Billie Holiday. and this cost $10 which included this fantastic spread of food.

And i love Tony's food and our left-overs for lunch. I had cheese ravioli with a salad with Italian dressing and Bill had spaghetti with italian sausage. Its the only restaurant where i order Italian dressing. The salad was large and really fresh with lots of goodies on it. And with each entree you get a mini-loaf of garlic bread. Lots of sauce on the pasta and the ravioli has more ricotta filling than dough - wonderfully flavored.

So in spite of the cacophony and constant movement and activity; we had a good dinner accompanied by our usual sprightly level of conversation.

THE DEBT

we were headed to see Contagion. i had read enough reviews which gave me confidence that we were NOT going to be subjected to another "outbreak". remember that horror of a movie with dustin hoffman and rene russo? it was about the ebola virus.

however, when we got to the theater we discovered that Contagion was showing in 3D and we had missed the 2D showing. The paper doesn't separate the 2 from 3 D's; it just lists all the hours. So this is how we ended up watching The Debt (which we had wanted to see anyway.)

I did not get lost or confused so that was a relief since with spy, espionage, CIA and undercover films i tend to become lost early on and i never quite catch up.

Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson were 2 of the very fine actors. They were part of a mission in the '60's to capture a Nazi doctor from East Berlin and bring him to the West to stand trial. However, things did not go as planned. The film went back and forth (especially in the beginning where the actual planning of the nazi's kidnapping was happening; and this was probably one of the most suspenseful parts) in time and also showed what happened 30 years later to these agents.

Naturally, secrets had been created and lies promulgated and it started to unravel in the late 90's. It gets twisty with unexpected plot turns though there were a  few loose unexplainable actions that i wasn't aware of till bill and i were discussing the movie afterwards.

Bill and i both rated it an 8.

REDNECK'S SOUTHERN PIT BARBEQUE - KINGMAN, AZ

no picture will be posted with this review cuz i'm doing it from the road and i don't have my notes about how to download an image and transfer it to my blog and fb. soooooooo

we are on our way back to tucson from a fabulous 2 week hiking trip in South Lake Tahoe and then Crescent City. I am at the end of my delight in eating out and now get nauseated when i look at french fries, burgers and blt's. so it was a great adventure which re-awakened my usual constant and persistent interest in food to come across this bbq place.

it was a huge room with lots of long picnic tables in addition to booths. very clean - in contrast to a lot of bbq places i've been to which are sticky with bbq sauce and rib debris and mayo- laced coleslaw shards. The staff was extremely friendly and we were served by a gal who came out of Central Casting as Becky Sue, in Western movies and pioneer flicks; the good hearted golden haired blue eyed naive waif who is married to the town drunk and whore-master and sheriff.

I had a pulled chicken sandwich with baked beans. Absolutely mind-boggling and the house sauce was spicy and sweet at the same time. Bill had 3 ribs which were fall off the bone tender. After he was through eating, his face reminded me of a Dave Chappell skit (whatever happened to him?) about the technique that black people use when they have trouble falling asleep. They don't drink warm milk like the white folks; they eat drippingly greasingly downhome ribs and go to sleep with their mouth smeared with sauce and bits of meat on their chest.

I highly recommend this restaurant if you are traveling through Kingman, Arizona. it's on Beale street in the Historic District.

CULVER'S RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

This is a chain burger and frozen custard restaurant that started in Wisconsin where it is hugely popular. I read that when this Tucson eastside location opened not that long ago (the other one in tucson is on nw thornydale), culver's had the biggest opening day ever. and i don't know why.

first of all, there is inadequate room for the long wait line so many of the tables and booths up front are treated to buttocks in their faces and envious glances while eating their food . and the menu on the wall is so colorful and so full of choices and options not only for the food but also the custard that it was highly confusing for me and Bill. It was too much information presented in a jumbled fashion.

The prices are incredibly cheap. we paid about $8.00 for 2 single burgers and a large order of curly fries. But the burger didn't even come close to either Fuddrucker's or In n' Out. It was tasteless and really really thin (which is why most of their burgers are double patty offerings). Plus there was only a small amt. of ketchup, tiny squirt of mustard and only 1 small onion ring on the burger. The bun was soft and good but not any better than every other place that sells hamburgers; including even Denny's.

and the fries were a big disappointment; limp and not crispy.

Now i will try some of  their custard. They have great flavors; the featured flavor on the day we went was Andes' mint. And the cost of a pint is fairly reasonable if you buy more than one; the first one is $3.79 but all subsequent pints are only $2.

CRACKS

What a wonderful movie with a great story and suspense and tension through-out plus good acting. I vaguely recognized some of the actresses but none of the names seemed familiar.

It starts out as your usual english girls' boarding school between WW1 and WW2 with the cliques and crushes on teachers. But from this expected beginning there are twists and turns in relationships and the story and characters are developed that are a surprise.

A group of girls with a very dominant leader look up to and admire their physical education teacher. The leader of this group has a constant need to be the special one of this teacher and to be approved of and publicly admired by her.  But when a girl from Spain is enrolled in the school and the teacher starts wanting to be admired and approved of by this student; the dynamics of this triangle become complex and interesting and unpredictable. All the girls have key roles in this movie which stayed mesmerizing till the very end which was a perfect end.

The photography was superb with ethereal scenes of the countryside and the girls diving in the lake during P.E. and the school itself with its foreboding yet enchanting rooms and nooks and crannies.

Both of us gave this movie a 10. Its a video rental.

GANDHI INDIAN RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

I really like this restaurant. It is never crowded and the service - though always with a quirky addition - is good and efficient. During this last visit, we asked the waiter for separate checks (we were out with Jean and Tim) and he said "well, i have to get another slip then." and he paused!  was he waiting for bill to say "oh, don't bother then; that's a long way to walk to the front of the restaurant which is all of 40 feet."? Bill told him that we would just wait till he got the other slip. wierd.

The food was very good and portions are big. immediately upon being seated, there is a big basket of thin cracker like bread with 3 dipping sauces brought to the table.  Bill and I shared 2 entrees. One was  mixed vegetables in curry sauce which was excellent and the other one was a biryani dish which is a rice dish; we ordered chicken and we have left overs for lunch. There was lots of tender chunks of chicken and the flavor and texture of the dish was excellent.

With the entrees comes a spicy yoghurt sauce, fruit, flaky moist rice and a lentil concoction. The prices are reasonable also. The only criticism i have (surprise - surprise that i have ONLY one.) is that the food is served in partitioned metal plates. Its like being in prison or back at school. This, however, is not enough to stop a return visit to this restaurant.

MOLINA'S MIDWAY RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

This visit was our 3rd and the last. I finally figured out why i loved this place the first time and then with each successive visit, i was more dis-enchanted. and it was because we first went here during my friend debbie's visit in mid-May. It was such a glorious week and we were all in an uproaringly great mood that more concentration was spent on our joy rather than the quality of the food.

The prices are high for the portion size. Bill for reasons unknown but probably similar to why he loves that chicken n' waffles place and i don't, really likes the food here. Though even he had to admit that there was no meat at all on his enchilada and not much chicken in his taco.

The salsa is way way too hot and is served in a greasy and dirty ketchup squeeze bottle; yuck. The chips are cold and stale. I had a veggie burrito for $10; no rice or salad and the burrito was on the small side. It was mostly loaded with whole beans and a little bit of onion and green chilis and maybe 2 skinny slices of avocado and oozing pools of american cheese. Yuck again.

And to add to the dissatisfaction of my meal, we sat next to a family with the most whiniest and screeching and annoying and manipulative boy who was totally controlling his mom with his changing whims. Even the dad had had enough and walked out while they were still eating saying he would wait in the parking lot. We saw her carry him out after they were through and he was like 4 years old. Bill noticed the little tyke had his hand on his mother's boob.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS - PART 2

What a monumental waste of time. This was a huge disappointing finish to the entire Harry Flopper series. I've enjoyed each one (have never read any of the books) because of the smart dialogue, all the magic touches, the atmosphere of the settings, the plot, the fast pace and all the various  eccentric characters. Though none of the movies have come close to duplicating the total mystery and illusion and fantasy of the first one.

 Part 1 of the Deathly Hollows was what i  have come to expect from this series - not a 10 but a solid otherworldly 8. but Part 2 needed some wizard help badly. It was too long and too damn dark - i could barely see anything on the screen - and so boring. All these interminable conversations. All the dialogue fell flat; no sparkle at all. And absolutely no magical elements! It was like everyone had become rich enough and they were tired of the whole Fizzle-dorf world.

there were also long wand-off scenes; minutes upon minutes of waving sticks at each other with fire or lightning emanating from them. It was the same thing as watching a gun battle in a Nicolas Cage movie; i felt like screaming as it seemed to go on forever.

At the end of the movie, there was an 'epilogue' - the screen said this was 19 years later. I couldn't take it as it felt like i had already been sitting for 19 years.

MOTHER HUBBARD'S - TUCSON, AZ

This is the second time i've eaten at this restaurant and it will be the last. The food is just not that good even with a new owner and new menu items.

when chris and i first got there, it was a total disaster; one waitress running around with 'deer in the headlights' panic eyes and sweat shimmering on her face. She was doing everything - taking orders, giving change, cleaning tables (most of which were laden with dishes left over from the breakfast rush) and delivering food.

I finally cleaned off the least piled-upon table and Chris and I sat down. after about 10 minutes another waitress showed up and service got back to normal.

I had scrambled eggs and 2 sausage patties and home fries - chris ate the toast which also came with the entree. The portions are big and the prices are  fairly reasonable but everything is tasteless even after i added salt. Recent ads for the restaurant said they had several varieties of "special" waffles and so i ordered the cornbread honey cinnamon. I could taste the grit of the cornbread but not the honey or cinnamon. It wasn't even as good as the waffles at breakfast bars in motels from that ingenious machine. In fact, those waffles are an 8 compared to the 4 of this one.

And the waffle was barely warm; just enough to melt the butter in tiny pools and lakes and ponds in the waffle crevices. I asked for warm maple syrup which i think was just dark corn syrup and it came in a squeeze bottle like ketchup or mustard.

The bathroom is small, dark, hot and filthy. I tried not to look around as i was sitting.

ANOTHER YEAR

This was an excellent superb movie. It was released last year. Its a British film but fortunately, all the dialogue could be easily understood; no cockney mumble.

Its the story of a happily and long time married couple and some of their friends and family members. That's it!! no murder or suspense or crime story or science fiction elements; just the tale of a year in the life of this couple and their social and personal interactions. The cohesive background that takes you through the year is Jerri and Tom working in their community garden throughout the seasons.

I can't adequately express how perfect this movie was in showing all the functional and happy and dysfunctional and terribly sad conditions that everyone faces throughout their life. One of their friends is Mary who is a heavy drinking, lonely, needy, vulnerable and lost soul who is trying desperately to belong and to be accepted and liked by others. She also would love to find a man to marry her. The portrayal of her total sense of herself coming from others with no self-approval or self-validation is the best and most heart-rending i have ever seen in a movie.

bill and i gave it a 10+.

BEGINNERS

What a loser of a movie. I entered the theater with high hopes mainly because of Ewan McGregor but 1/3rd of the way through i decided that i didn't like him after all. In fact, everyone annoyed the hell out of me;especially his French girlfriend who for some unknown quirky gallic reason had laryngitis when they first met so her inane dialogue had to be written on a pad of paper.

The basic story was about Ewan's response to the revelation that his 78 year old father was gay followed 4 years later by the dad's death from cancer. (the dad was played by Christopher Plummer who was perfectly cast; elegant, dramatic, very senior in age but handsome and mischievous and sexy, nonetheless.)

The other story line (though i feel like i'm abusing the definition of the word story by assigning it to the glacially slow (hey;, baby, he's got only one speed and it ain't fast.) and boring and dull and totally unrealistic "relationship" between McGregor and Frenchie, was their burgeoning affair.

It seemed like the movie's point (if there was one) was to show that all types and ages of people can be homosexual. But this point was not skillfully or interestingly illustrated.

2 other factors rounded out the extreme displeasure that this movie caused me (and Bill also.) Christopher Plummer the dad had a Russell Terrier dog called Arthur and he supposedly  could communicate with people and you knew this because words would appear on the bottom of the screen when he barked. He was in every single scene. I guess the adults needed something to do and look at during the interminably long pauses between "actions" and dialogue.

and the other factor was the tinkling piano music. Too loud, too honky-tonk, too repetitive, too constant.

The obituary for this film should include: McGregor's father was preceded in death by the movie itself.

Bryce trip, June 2011

Check out these pictures on our hiking trip.

MAY'S COUNTER CHICKEN & WAFFLES - TUCSON, AZ

This is a re-visit to this restaurant which Bill is enamored of and which leaves me wanting. Once again he had a chicken breast and collard greens and absolutely loved it. Bill says it is one of the 3 best chicken meals he's EVER eaten!

i did not order a waffle this time so my meal was a tad better. I had a chicken sandwich with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions and green chilies. I asked for the sweet jalapeno sauce on the side, fortunately, since it was too sweet and too spicy and too seafoam green in color.

The chicken sandwich was ok but it was dry in spite of all that cheese so i had to put mayo on it. and i'm still puzzled at bill's praise of the chicken. Its tender but sort of dry. I also had fries which were almost cold and tasteless.

There are 8 tv's in the place and they are all on at full sound blast and all on different channels PLUS there is a loud radio station playing. and the waitress kept calling me honey. I told Bill we had to wait at least 4 months before going back.

THOR

an unexpectedly entertaining fun movie! It was at the 'cheap' theaters so both of us got in for $3.00. It was WELL worth it!!!!

interesting and engaging story of 2 brothers (though one is really the child of the "other race") and their father the King played by Anthony Hopkins. Thor, who at the start of the movie is headstrong and arrogant and eager to start a battle with the Others (frost kings? icy beings anyway.) mellows quite a bit as he gets banished from the kingdom by Dad and lands in the desert of New Mexico.

Natalie Portman (jane) is there with a close friend and an associate measuring something spatial and cosmic in the skies. Naturally her and Thor are attracted to each other but there is only a small tad of 'mushiness' and only 1 kiss. The scenes that involve Thor's interacting with earth people are really good with humorous dialogue (thor looks a lot like brad pitt) and once the shady G-men become involved it gets even more interesting.

I enjoyed the ending too which was a bit of a surprise. Acting was good and special effects were done well. A delightful cinematic experience. for the type of fantasy, sci-fi genre it falls in - both bill and i give it an 8.

WIN WIN

A great movie about relationships and parenting and high school sport competition and priorities in life. This film is one of those hidden gems that isn't promoted or advertised and i'm glad i stumbled upon a review of it.

It stars Paul Giamatti as Mike, a struggling attorney whose practice is not financially solvent. He is married to Jackie excellently acted by Amy Ryan. Because Mike gets panicy about money, he decides to petition the court for guardianship of one of his elderly demented clients. He then puts the man in an assisted living facility even though he told the judge he wanted to be the guardian so the elderly man could stay in his own home. Mike then pockets the $1500 per month allowance for guardianship service.

This is working out "well" until Kyle, the old man's grandson, who he has never seen, shows up, having run away from his drug addicted, neglectful mom. This starts a whole cascade of events which get especially stressful for Mike as Kyle turns out to be an excellent wrestler and someone who Mike wants on the high school wrestling team he coaches. Another 'ratchet up the tension' moment comes when Kyle's mom appears on the scene having completed her rehab and wanting to take over guardianship of her dad because she wants the monthly payment.

No scene or line of dialogue is unrealistic; every consequence of the original dishonesty by Mike is totally believable and i liked all the characters. Both Bill and I rated it a 10.

MILLIE'S PANCAKE HAUS - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant on Tanque Verde (opposite the miniature golf course) has been around since the early 80's. Given the name, i sort of knew how it would be decorated; german tiny village with lots of pottery on the walls and gingerbread trim and checks and doilies; very cute homey place. The service was excellent. This restaurant is the type where the waitresses have been there for more than 20 years and treat you like their children.

The menu wasn't as big as i had thought it would be but they certainly had an adequate choice of breakfast stuff and lunch sandwiches and salads. I had a veggie omelet with wonderfully thin and crispy home fries and then instead of toast (which is from homemade bread; but i'm spoiled since Bill still makes all our bread.) i had a potato pancake with applesauce. It was thin and flavored just right.

I will be back.

SUPER 8

A very delightful and highly entertaining and fast paced movie accompanied by great 1970's tunes (yes, there were a few great songs scattered in between disco).

This movie was a cross between Stand by Me (a group of kids - boys plus one girl who is played by Elle Fanning, Dakota's sister - witness a train explosion caused by a pickup truck driving on the tracks right in the trains' path. They see this while they are filming their own movie and this story line flows along with the main plot and it also contributes to a great ending while the credits are rolling - so don't leave the theater early.)

so where was i? oh, yes, a cross between Stand by Me and helping E.T. to get home; only in this case its a metal alien.

There's a pre-teen budding romance, and of course, the big bad military who are hiding the secret of the train wreck, and great dialogue especially among the boys, and a nice thread of parent - child relations and wonderful explosions and tension as the boys go about solving the mystery.

I gave the movie an 8 and Bill gave it a 9.

MOLINA'S MIDWAY RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

We first ate at this Mexican restaurant when Debbie visited us in mid-May. It was delicious then and still delicious now. Set off in a neighborhood and it has been around for more than 50 years.

The service is excellent.

Both Bill and I had the special; a ground beef enchilada and a spicy chicken enchilada with rice and beans and a pile of lettuce shreds. We also ordered a small side of guacamole. The enchiladas were filled from the tip of each end. there was no eating of a tortilla with nothing inside and the flavor was great.

The beans and rice are nothing special and the salsa is a little too hot for me but the chips are warm and fresh and lightly salted. When we were here with Debbie i think i ordered charro beans instead of re-fried and the charro are much better. There's something about most refried beans that resembles mush food that seniors would be fed when they've lost all their teeth and can't afford dentures cuz they had to give up all their assets to get a Medicaid bed in a gothic-ly dark and neglected and dank nursing home AKA warehouse.

WINGS & RICE - TUCSON, AZ

What a delightful find. We've passed this restaurant many times. The back of the building faces the busy street so i've never been really sure if they are open or not. Plus just the name made me unsure about the mix of oriental food and bar snacks. However, i went on their website to look at their menu and it sounded intriguing enough to check out.

The place is plain but large; lots of seating and very clean (including the bathroom). You order at the counter. The prices are a tad high but the food was very good. it's a quality restaurant in a fast food type setting.

Bill had a burger basket which he liked. I ordered 5 buffalo shrimp (for $6) and i had my choice of 25 sauces that the shrimp (or wings) are tossed in after being very lightly breaded and fried. I tried the sesame teriyaki and it was absolutely delicious with just the right amount of zip. The shrimp were fresh and firm. I was afraid (as i often am) that i would still be hungry but i wasn't. I also got a side of seasoned fries and they were the best i've ever eaten. A huge basket and just spicy enough to tingle my lips.

They also have different sandwiches, and chicken or pork katsu and teriyaki rice bowls. I saw their hibachi rice which accompanies a lot of their dishes and it was a steaming mound of rice with vegetables and a special soy sauce.

We have already planned our next meal there. They are on the corner of Craycroft and Pima and are open 7 days a week till 9pm except on Sunday till 8pm.