KALINA - TUCSON, AZ

This is a new Russian restaurant on the East side. The website strongly advised to make reservations due to their small and cozy space. However, it was cozier than I thought it would be; in fact, to the point where i did NOT feel cozy. The seating area was small but there were way too many tables jammed in. Because we were involved continuously in a stimulating conversation with our eating partners, Jean and Tim, I, for one, easily tuned out the elbow-smashing closeness of the other diners. However, if we were there with dull folk, the nearness of so many other humans would have disturbed me.

The service was friendly and prompt. All the dinner entrees were $17 and came with a choice of soup or salad. A big basket of rolls and rye bread with butter came to the table as soon as we were seated. Bill and i shared the Siberian pelmeni; 25 tiny spiced lamb dumplings with a sour cream dipping sauce. I thought they were really tasty but not as good as the pelmeni at European Market where these morsels are bigger and about half the price. We also shared Muskovite breaded pork loin which was not very tender and was really dry. This came with a fried mushroom concoction which was good and sweet dried plum rice which was very delicious. If we came here again (doubtful) i would like a bowl of that accompanied by their vegetable salad.

That was one of the salads we picked as a side to our entree. Lots of  different vegetables and the portion size was adequate. The other salad was just a lettuce one and that was very ordinary. Oh, red cabbage came with the pork also.

So all in all, an ok experience but the price of the food didn't match the quality. Plus, it was one of those restaurants where you have to wind your way through the kitchen and dish washing area to get to the bathroom. I'm always afraid i'm going to slip on some borscht and unceremoniously land on the floor.

BK - TUCSON, AZ

We love this Mexican restaurant (next time we're there I'm going to ask what BK stands for) and they also serve a killer burger and their salsa bar is immense and varied. There are grilled chili peppers and onions, 4 different kinds of salsa, coleslaw, cheeses, cucumber and radishes, lettuce, pickled onions, an olive mixture and prob. 10 more types of additives for your tacos or burgers or tortas.

I have gone through several different favorite dinner orders but my current one  is a Sonoran hot dog and 2 shrimp tacos. The shrimp is lightly grilled and breaded and cut up in small pcs. with a delectable slightly spicy sauce.

The atmosphere is always party-like and the customers are all in good moods too. Lots of laughter. Service has always been prompt and friendly. The room is lined with TV screens; sometimes all set to different channels but always one has music video's with pounding bass and drums and swiveling hips and pooched out buns and big overflowing breasts and tight pants and all the singers looking and sounding interchangeable.

FESTA BUFFET - CASINO DEL SOL - TUCSON, AZ

We ate here on Christmas Day and it exceeded our expectations. To tell you the truth, i secretly had a thought that being a casino where the emphasis is on gambling and not the quality of the food (just the quantity and availability); that the Festa Buffet would be a notch abova Golden Corral. But i was so very wrong.

The selections were vast and everything both Bill and I had was excellent. Here's a sampling of what was on my plate: mongolian beef (i never get beef in a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant or at a Chinese all-you-can eat place, because the beef is never tender enough for me; well, this beef was wafer thin and very tender in a rich, dark, spicy onion laden sauce.), orange chicken, an assortment of tiny fingerling potatoes (Peruvian purple, white, red, yukon, russet, dutch baby butter's) sauteed in herbs and olive oil, fruit salad, some vegetables with 1000 Island dressing (the dressing was exactly to my picky specifications). oh, and on my first plate, i had some skinny long green beans which  were very good; crisp but cooked; UNTIL i looked closely and saw they were asparagus spears which i don't like so all of a sudden, i wasn't interested anymore in praising them or having them on my plate and gave Bill what was left. Sort of a funny, odd, power of the mind gustatory blip.

The service was good and i was surprised that the place was pretty empty though the gaming tables were packed.

The only disappointment was the desserts. There was a lot of them and i tried some pudding cups, and a tiny mousse packet in a choc. cookie and some bananas foster with warm vanilla sauce but none of them were memorable.

This was a perfectly delightful ending to our Merry Festivus celebration weekend.

PHO #1 - TUCSON, AZ

I can't say enough positive things about this restaurant; the best Vietnamese food in Tucson. The space is large and clean and beautifully decorated with lanterns and dragon murals. Many red and gold decorations and buddha statues. There is a lot of room in between the tables which are circled by booths. The bathroom is absolutely gleaming; plain but one of those bathrooms that my mother would say "you could eat off the floor".

Their menu is extensive and portions big with prices very reasonable. The service has always been excellent. Of course, there has never been more than 3 or 4 other groups eating and i don't know why. Its in one of those commercial marginally on the edge of roughness neighborhoods. and even though they have a big sign by the sidewalk, the restaurant itself is in a bit from the corner and set back.

Last night we shared a bun noodle dish with egg rolls, vietnamese meat balls and grilled pork. All the bun  dishes  also have lettuce, bean sprouts and cucumbers with peanuts sprinkled on the top. The taste is fantastic and all the vegetables are fresh. Bill loves their egg rolls though he is not a fan of them at any other restaurant.

We also had spicy chicken with lemon grass and rice. Many complex flavors and just spicy enough to put the tingle in my lips. And the chicken is all white meat, tender and without gristle.

I'm already eager to go back for another dinner.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

An absolutely inspiring and luminous and admirable documentary. In the early 70's, a budding musician, Rodriguez, makes 2 albums and starts on another. Even though the record producers are totally blown away by his music and lyrics, he doesn't sell or get any fan base. eventually his record label drops him.

Throughout the film, snippets of all his songs are played and they are wonderfully unique and his voice is a combination of michael stipes from REM, and jose Feliciano and Bob Dylan. And best of all I can understand everything he sings; he's not one of the current "marble-mouth" crooners. Most of his songs are protest and political activist tunes but he also sings about loss and having friends and a good time; oh, also about drugs too (that is who Sugar man is).

One of his albums is brought to Cape Town, Africa in the 70's and he becomes an instant success. Over the next 25-30 years, about 500,000 copies of his album are sold and his musical style becomes imitated by African musicians. He is worshiped as a trendsetter. In the late 90's, a journalist becomes really curious as to what happened to him and why it is impossible to buy one of his albums in the U.S. (probably 6 were sold in total.).

After much investigation, one of the daughters of Rodriguez, stumbles upon a website set up by the journalist and contacts him and "the rest is history". Rodriguez goes to South Africa and does several sold-out concerts. For the first 15 minutes of each concert, the crowd cheers and screams and throws flowers and cries (i cried at this point also) even though Rodriguez had done nothing except walk on stage.

His voice sounded just as authoritative and strong as it did on his albums. Rodriguez goes back to his job (demolition of buildings and renovation) in Detroit but does travel to South Africa for more concerts every so often.

I instantly liked Rodriguez and not for his stupendous music but because he is truly a humble and accepting man. His attitude is buddhist in nature: when asked what he felt  when his record label dropped him in '75 because he hadn't sold any records; he said "well, that's the vagaries of the music industry" and when he was asked for his response to the overwhelming accolades in Africa and his undying constant success over 3 decades, he said "well, i've always enjoyed writing songs and singing them; it adds to the enjoyment when i can do it in front of people."

He was at peace with both a limousine picking him up from the airport in Africa as he was taking the bus to his hard labor job. and Besides that his music is awesome.

FALAFEL KING - TUCSON, AZ

This is a Lebanese restaurant in a corner of the strip mall which used to house Penguins RIP. The inside atmosphere is just as i remembered it when we ate here once before - several years ago. There is no decoration in the small space so it looks like a part of a warehouse, there are squeezed together tables and not many of those because of the size, its always slightly dirty and musty and the service is friendly with an edge of "i really don't care".

However, I was sort of ok with what i ordered and Bill really liked his dinner. The prices are reasonable and the portions big. He had chicken shawarma slices on top of a Greek salad.  He gave me quite a bit of his chicken and it was very flavorful and tender. I ordered a Gyro platter. The meat was over cooked at the edges and some pieces were even slightly burnt though the taste was ok. The basmati rice was clumped in places; the hummus was very thick and pasty. The entree also came with tabouli which I enjoyed and pita bread (how can you go wrong with pita?)

We would probably eat here again if we were coming back from a hike in Saguaro Park West. Its very conveniently located on our way home. But i would order the chicken and stay away from the gyro.

HITCHCOCK

What a great entertaining and informative movie. It encompassed the period of time during which Hitch (brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins; his appearance and voice were exact duplications; remarkable.) was 'coming off' his hit North by Northwest and searching for his next movie idea. That movie was Psycho. The film ended with the successful release of that movie after showing the inner workings of trying to get a film made (in this case Paramount was dead set against financing a horror movie), all the deals and sacrifices that had to be made to get it under production.

The movie also showed the working and personal relationship between Hitch and his wife, Alma - superbly acted by Helen Mirren and also touched on Hitch's fascination with his blond leading ladies. Toni Collette played Peggy, Hitch's secretary and Danny Huston, once again deliciously played a smarmy charming not-to-be trusted character. Hitch's agent was Rothstein from Boardwalk Empire. The actor that played Anthony Perkins could have been Perkiins come back to life; that's how good the casting was for this entire film.

it was fast paced and the dialogue was funny. and the most interesting part of the film for me was the steps that are taken (or at least in 1959) to get an idea for a film all the way to releasing it in a movie theater. There were some mesmerizing scenes involving filming Janet leigh getting stabbed in the shower and Hitch monitoring the first audience's reaction to the movie.

We both gave the movie a 9.

TAPAS FUSION - TUCSON, AZ

Underneath the restaurant name is "world food & bar". World food is almost as meaningless to me as the word eatery, fusion or ristorante.

this place has been opened for 3 months. when we went in at 6pm, it was empty but 2 large groups were eating by the time we left.

their menu is fairly limited with a lot of fish tapas and tapitos and the prices are quite high. However, the food was good and the service was friendly. We ate here with Jean and Tim and all shared the 5 tapas which included shrimp in wine sauce, a sampler plate of olives, hummus, crostini, a cucumber and tomato salad (think small; think tiny; the spoons that accompanied these dishes were baby midget implements); roasted red pepper stuffed with cheese, a beef and scallop skewer with roasted potatoes and a chicken-walnut aoili on toast.

Like i said, all the food was prepared really well and the tastes were varied and satisfying but I have decided i don't like this kind of dining. I guess I'm territorial and possessive of what i eat and i didn't like the stress and tension building up in me as we (Jean and I) eyed each plate that was delivered and mentally did a division of the spoils. This was especially nerve wracking when there was an uneven number of items; either 3 or 5.

I decided that i like my own food delivered on my own normal sized plate with only me being responsible for what is on it.

JASPER RESTAURANT AND BAR - TUCSON, AZ

I made a little piggy of myself when i ate breakfast here with my friend, Cosmo.

I ordered the breakfast sandwich which was a heaping mound of scrambled eggs (though you could get your eggs any way you wanted), bacon slices (again, you had the choice of meat), avocado, and tomato slices on a piece of toast. This was accompanied by either potatoes or beans. I chose the potatoes.

This was $11 which was on the pricey side. but it was good; everything was cooked perfectly and i liked the warmness of the eggs with the coolness of the tomato. The potatoes were sad; overcooked and underspiced.

In addition to this more than ample meal, i also wanted something sweet and asked the waitress if i could have just 1 slice of french toast (1/2 order) which she brought for $4 - this made the total for this meal including tip a whopping $17. and i didn't need the french toast.

It was crispy and the bread slices were huge but I think because the slices were so thick; the crust part was hard to chew and not very tasty.

The restaurant cooked Cosmo's 4 minute eggs over an English muffin perfectly. The service could have been more attentive - we had to ask for more water and we weren't checked on much. And they had a big flat screen TV mounted on the wall right by the tables in the back which was disconcerting though we couldn't hear the sound - thank god.

I would come here again and just order with more wisdom and restraint.

LIFE OF PI

This was the story of an Indian boy, Pi, and his family as they were heading to Canada. The ship sunk during a fierce storm and Pi was the only survivor in addition to a few animals that escaped from the ship (Pi's family owned a zoo in India and they were bringing the animals to Canada to sell.). And the only animal that survived was Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger.

This story was told by an adult Pi (now a successful married with children teacher in Manitoba) to a man who was going to write a book about his adventure.

I kept feeling like the movie was trying to reach some cosmic heights of morality; to impart a wisdom that would be the answer to all of mankind's suffering; to teach one of those basic life truths that would astound the masses and suddenly make sense of the world. It never achieved that. In spite of the great visuals, I only gave it a 7.5 and bill gave it a 7.

The beginning of the film which showed Pi's childhood and interactions with his school chums and his family and the decision to emigrate and the storm which sunk the ship was very very interesting and fast paced. but once all the animals except the tiger died and Pi figured out some basic survival tricks because he was not only trying to stay alive floating on the open sea but also trying not to be mauled and eaten by the tiger, i became bored. Pi was on the water way too long. 

And the film never picked up speed or interest for me after he was rescued.

One of the greatest parts of the movie was that it did not ascribe human qualities and actions to the animals. This would have been especially easy to do with the tiger who stayed on the lifeboat the whole time they were at sea. Richard Parker stayed an animal up to the end and I really appreciated that.

SMASHBURGER - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant opened in the same building as Paradise on Grant and Swan. The seating area is pretty minimal though they do have a nice sized out door patio.

You go up to the counter and order your burger or chicken sandwich; either one of the already created ones or making your own with a big list of options. There are a lot of freebies you can add to your burger or sandwich also and about 8 other add-ons which are about 75 cents. These include fried pickles and onion straws.

There are also 2 sizes of burgers (regular and big). We ordered the big size which was BIG and Bill couldn't finish his. I got a classic which had special sauce (a zippy thousand island), ketchup, onion, dill pickles, lettuce and tomato and i substituted sharp cheddar for the american. Bill got the american burger which had american cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard and pickle.

The burgers were quite good; a tad salty but not enough to interfere with  the taste. I guess they are called smashed because they are not perfectly round burgers; it looks like meat was put on the grill and then flattened unevenly with a spatula.

For $2 we got a side of smashed fries which are shoestring's with sea salt, rosemary and garlic. Really tasty and one order was enough for both of us. The rosemary was not overdone. I'm glad we got the fries with this extra seasoning because as they got cool, i was starting to taste the leaden and doughy flour-y blah-ness of McDonald's fries (which stay good for about 54 seconds after coming out of the fryer.) I'm not sure why these fries are called smashed because they are not. maybe just to stay within the theme of the restaurant's name which is not a very clever name.

We will be back. The meal we had with just water was about $15; a good deal.

SKYFALL

This was one of the best Bond films if not THE best. and i've seen them all even the horrid ones with george lazenby and that patrick fellow.

It was different than other 007 movies because there was a plot that made sense and the movie really developed the characters - Bond himself and also the villain played by Javier Bardem and Judi Dench- M. In fact, i got more of a sense of Bond as being a real man instead of this superhero in a suit. The other sides of him including his age related physical changes really added to my involvement with him. It was like for the first time I actually cared for Bond instead of just watching him as an attractive (and oh, Daniel Craig is very attractive) automaton who was constantly flirting with and bedding unimaginably beautiful and exotic women. This sex aspect of Bond was at a minimum in the movie.

The graphics were incredible; brilliant and innovative. There was a fight scene with Bond and Bardem that portrayed them in black against an everchanging swirly color night sky scene in Shanghai. The skyline and night lights of the cities were wonderful and mesmerizing.

And casting Javier Bardem as the villain was a smart move. He is so likably creepy evil and his character and motivation was developed to the point that i became involved in his actions also and not only as a cipher that Bond could use to illustrate his fighting and running moves. Oh, Bardem was good. He wanted revenge on M and this led to the fleshing out of her character as well.

The car chase scenes and shootouts were also at a minimum.
We both rated this movie a 9 and there are some unexpected twists at the end of the movie.

CHOICE GREENS - TUCSON, AZ

I still call this restaurant by its original name - Chopped. that's what it specializes in - chopped salads that you can pick off the menu or create yourself by marking your choices on an 'order' form.

I have always enjoyed eating here though yesterday I did notice that the salads seemed a tad smaller and you can now only add 4 ingredients to the basic salad price; it used to be 5. Also there are more salad ingredients that you have to pay 50 cents extra for; however, its still a bargain to eat here especially given the excellent taste and freshness of the food.

We paid $16 for a salad and a sandwich; we split both of them (or rather the staff did.) Also each of us got a pc. of their rosemary bread - usually you just get one pc. for one salad. The bread is not warm and usually i don't eat it. I've asked for butter before but the butter seems like its been stored in the freezer.

The sandwich was a BLT panini and was very good. You can order the type of lettuce you want and if you want the dressing on the side or mixed in. They give you quite  a big container of dressing; its even enough for me. and i also try a new dressing each time i go in (in addition to my usual honey mustard or honey poppyseed); yesterday was feta cheese vinaigrette which was too sour.

We will keep coming back no matter what the name is.

PASTICHE - TUCSON, AZ

I wish the lunch had been half as scintillatingly delicious and innovative and of high caliber and quality as my eating partner, Chris. Instead i plodded petulantly through a meal at  Pastiche.

We ordered 3 appetizers to share. One was fried avocado with a chipotle sauce. The sauce was very good with just the right zip and the breading on the avocado was thin and tasty  but it just didn't work. I don't know if the avocado was a tad too ripe or what; but my mouth hit the crunchy breading and then the mushy avocado and wasn't happy.

Another appetizer was homemade potato chips with another type of sauce which we didn't sample because we rejected it. The plate was huge and piled like a pyramid with these chips (which didn't even taste as good as Kettle chips; these were very dry.). Our other appetizer was 3 sliders and that was accompanied with another mound of chips. There is no way we could have eaten (or would have wanted to eat) all those mediocre low quality chips.

I felt that the waitress should have informed us of the chips that came with the sliders. This type of courtesy happens a lot when the service is top notch. and a service in my opinion that warrants a 20%+ tip. She very very grudgingly asked the manager if we could order something else (after i asked her 2 times; she did not offer to do this)  and unsmilingly came back and informed us that we could.

We got a small portion of a salad with orange balsamic vinaigrette. It was just OK. I could barely taste the salad dressing but all the greens were fresh.

And the sliders were not even as good as Jack in the Box's version during the  time when they were on the menu. The buns were fresh but cold (oh, when we were first seated a plate arrived with 3 pcs. of french bread which were cold.). Each tiny burger had something different on top; blue cheese, BBQ sauce and a zippy cheese spread. Nothing special at all. I had to ask for some condiments.

So all in all a real disappointment especially given the price of the food.  The plus side was that we had a great table in a corner by a window and the bathrooms had hand lotion in them.

FLIGHT

Denzel Washington shines in all his movies but he's at the top of the brilliant stars in this film. He plays Whip, an experienced airline pilot who manages to competently do his job in spite of a drug and alcohol problem.

Washington is superb and totally believable in all the booze and cocaine scenes. and since Whip is acted by Washington, he is suave and glib and very attractive to the ladies and well-liked. But he is also a divorced dad who has alienated his ex and his teenage son.

So after a night of sex and drugs, he goes to work still loaded. The initial very very tense scene involving his piloting has to do with him threading a skinny channel of air turbulence to get above the rough rain and wind storm. He does this very successfully and as he's talking to the passengers he's emptying 2 bottles of vodka into orange juice.

About 20 minutes before descent, the plane starts falling apart; screws come loose and rudders are stuck and engines blow up but he manages in extremely suspenseful edge-of-your-seat scenes to land the plane with only 6 fatalities. Everyone acknowledges that no other pilot could have landed that plane and saved so many lives. so whip is declared a hero though inside he starts disintegrating since he knows the condition he was in and the fact that the toxicology report shows that he had alcohol in his system.

However, the airline union and the airline company start maneuvering to hide the fact of his drunkenness, to hype up the hero status and to blame everything on the faulty mechanics of the plane and the manufacturers of the parts.

The rest of the movie shows an evertightening noose around Whip and an increasing need to lie more and more to keep his 'secret'. There are surprises and twists throughout the film and the suspense and tension does NOT stop with the plane crash. John Goodman is Whip's drug dealer and he is hilariously in your face funny. There's a subplot involving Whip's involvement with a recovering heroin addict which could have been eliminated entirely. However, it didn't subtract from the movie's main narrative.

wow- Denzel Washington rocks; acting arrogant and cool and sophisticated and also desperate and hung-over and dishonest and rude and out of control and tender and full of rage and funny and depressed. We both rated the movie a 9. And Don Cheadle plays his lawyer and he is great.

R & R FAMILY KITCHEN - TUCSON, AZ

I've reviewed this restaurant before when it was located on Speedway and Wilmot (near Trader Joe's) and when the name was R & R BBQ. Even though the owner is  dour and gruff and has an unwelcoming stern manner, we kept coming back because the beef brisket was so extra-ordinarily tender and flavorful. (oh, i did  conduct a brief boycott after i asked him once if i could have a sample of the beans before I ordered them as a side to the sandwich and he informed me that he does NOT give samples and that EVERYONE loves them.)

Because of lease renewal problems, he moved the restaurant to 22nd and Kolb which is almost right across the street from Brushfire BBQ which serves excellent food, is large, has multiple TV's and serves alcohol. Also the building that he is now in, is very set back from the road and he doesn't have a big sign or even lights outside. And there are empty lots to the right and left. He also really expanded the menu (hence the name change from BBQ to family kitchen.) and this, i believe, allowed a slip in the quality of the beef brisket.

And last night was a definitive answer regarding the culinary state of the restaurant. and the answer was we  won't be back. There are no decorations in the place, it is small, the brisket wasn't excellent, the cashier girl was busy talking to her boyfriend constantly, most of the tables already had the chairs upended on them (like you do when you are getting ready to scrub the floors); even though we got there before 8 and they are open till 9.

And R & R is now only open from thursday to sat. (this is not a good sign) and the final blow to a pleasant eating experience was the prices went up and there was no damn heat in the building which makes it difficult to eat being weighed down with wool caps, scarves, a jacket and a sweatshirt; and wanting to put on gloves. (it was windy and in the 50's outside.)

what a comedown for this place! well, i had never eaten brisket before R & R  and now i'll just go back to a brisket-less state.

HUNGRY FOX - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is just open for breakfast and lunch till 2pm (not on Sunday) and is located on Broadway close to Swan.

I really enjoyed my meal here. Below the name of the restaurant on their marquee is Country Kitchen and gift shop so naturally the decorations were pioneer, comfy, old-fashioned themed, nostalgic and predictably "cute". Lots of tea pots and plates, toy soldiers, old advertisement posters and ads for produce, and bears (oh, how i hate collections of bears in human poses and doing human activities; well, frogs are pretty bad too.)

I had a 5 item omelette with bacon, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and swiss cheese. It came with hashed browns and toast for $9. (sort of pricey). But the omelette was the best i've had here in Tucson; it was very big and all the ingredients were perfectly balanced and it wasn't covered in a thick glutinous layer of cheese; instead the cheese was melted inside the omelet. I didn't eat the potatoes (which looked ordinary to me) and i didn't take the toast because their menu boasted 1 pc. of french toast as a side. I've never seen that before so i wanted the french toast. However, i couldn't substitute so my entire breakfast (with only water) was $12 with tax.!

The french toast was sinfully wonderful. They make their own bread and the slice was huge and thick with a faint vanilla cinnamon taste. Oh Yum.

I, for sure, will be back. The service was good and the seating very comfortable.

THE SEPARATION

An Iranian film which painfully illustrates the influence of the Muslim religion, the sexism in Iran and cultural traditions on effective and compassionate communication;  between husband and wife and also between employers and employees and parents and children.

A man needs to hire someone to take care of his demented father. He is separated from his wife because she wants to leave Iran for a country with better opportunities and he doesn't want to leave because of his dad. The woman he hires is pregnant and doesn't tell her boss because she knows she won't get the job. and she needs to pay the bills because her husband is a hot-head, ne'er do well.

Because of an incident involving her leaving the demented man while she went to the doctor, her boss fires her and during a dispute over her getting paid for the days she did work; she falls down the stairs and subsequently loses the baby.

This is the fulcrum of the movie's plot. It starts out with one lie told by the woman who miscarried and further added to by her former boss and then that consequence leads a neighbor who partially witnessed the altercation to lie also. And a sad and tragic domino effect begins.

Bill gave it a 10 because he said the movie was excellently focused on the harm done to the 11 year old daughter of her 2 separated parents; her suffering at having to choose and please each parent and losing herself in the meanwhile. I gave it a 7 because i thought the cascade of consequences from the dishonesty eventually dissolved into soap opera-ness.

HA LONG BAY - TUCSON, AZ

We haven't eaten at this Vietnamese restaurant since Tucson #1. and we won't be eating here after this meal during tucson #2. I wasn't impressed at all.

We went with our friend Carol because of an awesome coupon; 20% off and if you dined on 11/1 between the hours of 3 and 9 pm; they doubled the % off.

The egg rolls were very tiny; midget crispy rolls of unremarkable taste. The fish sauce was bland. We shared 3 entrees: vegetable stir-fry (lots of perfectly  cooked vegetables but the sauce was pretty thick and i didn't like the flavor), curry basil chicken (i saw maybe 4 pcs. of chicken and no basil and this dish looked exactly like the vegetarian one except it was spicy because in addition to the curry flavor it was liberally mixed with dried red peppers) and a bun bowl with shrimp (the shrimp were good but there was hardly anything in the bowl except for noodles which were thicker than the glass vermicelli this dish is usually made with; peanuts were on top but no bean sprouts, hardly any lettuce, no cucumbers.)

Now i'm not complaining because the price for all this food (the portion size was large) was very good; a real bargain. However, i wouldn't eat here again even with a double anniversary coupon.

LA SALSA - TUCSON, AZ

I love this restaurant; great food, reasonable prices (even without a coupon), clean eating area, friendly service and an awesome salsa bar.

We used to go to the one at Grant and Swan but they now close at 8pm (which sometimes makes it tough for us to get there in plenty of time to leisurely eat; since we often don't have our afternoon coffee till 5:45 pm.) and the food seemed to slip a bit in quality. so now our favorite location is at Speedway and Country Club.

I had the 3 pepper fajitas platter with carnitas. There was so much tender and flavorful pork that Bill now has a left-over lunch from what i couldn't eat. With this platter, I got black beans, rice, sour cream, guacamole and tortillas. Delicious. Bill got the firebowl which is a combo of rice, beans, chicken and loads of vegetables; corn, broccoli, peppers, onions and tomatoes.

And the restaurant is big enough so that its never crowded. a real winner.!

THE PAPERBOY

What a messed up and muddled and confusing movie. As fantastic as the performances were, it did not make up for the lack of a good narrative.

John Cusack portrayed a monster of a man; no morals, always sweating and open-mouthed, gross and crude and cruel. It is such a non-Cusack type role that he was mesmerizing and he did it so well. He is on Death Row accused of murdering a sheriff and he has become engaged to Charlotte who is a perpetually horny, white trash talking, sleazy and sexy and dumb  lady played  by Nicole Kidman. Another acting job which was unbelievably superb and a role that i would never have imagined Kidman to be even OK in; she shined as Charlotte.

So into this situation comes a reporter from the Miami Times to find evidence that John Cusack (Hillary in the movie) is not guilty. Why he would want to do that - its never made clear. The reporter is excellently played by Matthew McConaughey. His brother  Jack who lives in the small Florida town is acted by Zac Efron who is a dull- at best- actor.  Naturally, Jack gets a big crush on Charlotte.

The scenes become more and more bizarre with hog-tying and male rape and blow jobs in the prison visiting room and romping through alligator swamps looking for witnesses to the killing of the sheriff and additional murders and throat slicings and inane scenes between Jack and the black maid who works at his house. This role is acted by Macy Gray and her annoying voice. Plus she narrates the film and i find this technique highly distracting.

This movie was a 2 according to Bill and I gave it a 3; only because Cusack and Kidman were so fantastic.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

What a terrific, unique,beautiful, tragic and fun movie. The actors were NOT trained actors and i think this led to the believability of the film and the relationships.

It takes place at the time of Hurricane Katrina and in a community called the Bathtub. In an area of extreme poverty, this was one step below that. The events take place right before and after the hurricane and is mainly the friendship and mentoring and relationship between a small girl called Hush Puppy (she is about 7 or 8) and her alcoholic father. But its also about the Bathtub's response to the hurricane and the community and fellowship they had. Its also about the physical changes to their way of life and about their reaction when they were forcibly removed from their shacks to live in shelters (this didn't last long).

and it was also - very mesmerizingly and gently and magically presented- about Hush Puppy's survival and her adaptation to the changes in her life situation.

A fabulous movie; both of us rated it a 10. The movie is only about 100 minutes but by the time i could quit sobbing and drooling and blowing my nose and searching for my kleenix and chortling through my snot, it approached 115 minutes. These weren't just tears of sorrow either which is why the movie was so grand.

PHO #1 - TUCSON, AZ

What a terrific discovery. We were going to eat at Yoshimatsu with Jean and Tim but it was very crowded with a 30-40 minute wait due to Parent's weekend at the University. So we headed to one of their favorite restaurants and it is now one of mine.!

excellent Vietnamese food. Bill and I have passed the corner (Stone and Grant) but the building right by the sign is an old almost windowless dark place which was not appealing in the least. However, the restaurant is behind this building and is very bright with a super attractive entrance. And the inside is large with lots of tables and booths.

The menu is extensive. Bill and I ordered 2 entrees to share. The bun with shrimp, egg rolls and pork was the best i've ever eaten. Lots of glass noodles with lettuce and cucumber and carrots and peanuts and bean sprouts and grilled onions and the fish sauce was excellent; very impressive flavor.

The other dish was rice with sugar cane shrimp, fried tofu, marinated pork and other food but i can't remember what it was now; a big variety- sort of like a mini-smorgasbord plate. This was very good also.

I haven't been totally satisfied with the other Vietnamese restaurants we have been to and now i know why; Pho #1 IS number one. (quick p.s.- the bathroom was the most gleamingly brilliant clean place i have seen at ANY asian restaurant.)

AMELIA GREY'S CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant used to be inside the antique store on Speedway and Rosemont. Now its moved to its own building on Campbell and Fort Lowell. The best words to describe the atmosphere is cute, darling, precious, feminine, frilly. There are antique decorations throughout and vintage and art deco like pictures on the wall. And a big display of tea cups and saucers because Amelia's serves high tea in the afternoon.

You go up to the counter and order and they bring the food to your table. Cosmo and I had a great table in a small nook of the place behind a wall which helped to lessen the din which got to a pretty high decibel level around noon.

The menu is large with a good selection of salads, soups and sandwiches. Unfortunately, all their offerings have names like Aunt Thelma's tuna and Brother Dan's buffalo chicken and daddy david's corned beef; a little too cutesy for my tastes.

I had a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant (thanks Aunt Becki) which came with a small mound of kettle chips and for a dollar extra i got some potato salad. The portions were big and my sandwich was brimming over with the chicken salad which was very flavorful. All white meat and it wasn't swimming in mayo and there was a nice addition of grapes and chopped pecans. The potato salad was ok.

Cosmo had an albacore tuna melt. she liked it but wouldn't order it again. The cheddar cheese was not melted enough.

We also got dessert which was a big disappointment as it looked so attractive in their prominently displayed dessert case by the cashier. The piece of key lime pie was only identifiable by the brilliant green coloring. There was maybe a hint of lime in the bite right at the center of the cake. I ordered a pumpkin creme puff. The pastry was too thick and chewy and the inside was just pumpkin pie filling.

Because the prices were reasonable and the lunches quite good, i would come back here again to try some other entrees. They are open from 7 am to 5 pm and have a few breakfast selections.

ROMA IMPORTS - TUCSON, AZ

This was our first visit since moving back to tucson about 3 years ago. We used to eat here every so often during tucson #1 but it was a long and complicated drive but now its a breeze and so we will frequent it a lot more. They have made lots of changes. The dining area is bigger and they painted the walls a burnt amber color with lots of pictures of Italian related things.

and the take-out frozen section is immense and has expanded beyond lasagne, ravioli, spaghetti sauces, etc. It now has 2 whole cases just for desserts; there are way more cheeses and now they have breads and appetizers and soups and the entrees are incredible - calzones, pizza, special chicken dishes, roast pork wih special glazes and sausages galore.

We took home a quiche and meatballs but eventually we'll work our way through their entire selection. The atmosphere is so jolly and friendly and lighthearted and it really improved our mood since we went there upon Bill's suggestion as both of us were in self-pitying poor me no-trips-are-planned luxury "problem" spaces. and the lunch at Roma's totally changed our perspective.

We shared a special Roma sandwich which is different varieties of salami and cured meats with their topping of vinegared and pickled pepper and pepperoncini, and olives and celery and onion. Oh wow- double wow. This sandwich was so incredibly good and all the ingredients were balanced in bread that was crusty and fresh.

We also shared 2 sides; potato salad (wonderful) and a basil, tomato and mozzarella salad (superb).
i am hungry just writing this review and i'm smiling too.
you will also if you eat here.

On Friday and Sat. they stay open for dinner till 8pm.

MAY'S COUNTER CHICKEN & WAFFLES - TUCSON, AZ

I have never figured out why Bill likes this restaurant and why he thinks the chicken is some of the best he's ever eaten. Its usually always noisy. Last night they had 4 TV's blaring and each had a different sport game on. The bar was jammed. I think its just a U. of A. booze spot and that the food is considered sort of an afterthought.

I had a $5 off coupon which was the only reason Bill was able to persuade me to eat here. He had what he always gets -  a chicken breast and a bowl of collard greens. I frustratingly scan the menu for something i might like and this is what i always do. I settled on a shrimp po'boy with fries - i think i could have gotten a 'tossed' instead. i'm assuming that tossed is the newest foodie in word for salad or maybe its coleslaw.

The fries are horrid;  coming from a frozen bag of crinkle cuts. There were lots of shrimp on the roll and they were good. i ended up eating them without the bun after peeling off most of the breading. This is the same breading that they put on the chicken which i think is too thick and tasteless. I asked for a side of the sauce they put on the sandwich which they called 'container' sauce (another foodie in word i'm sure) but was really remoulade and that was very good. I dipped everything in that - very creamy and spicy and lots of flavor.

bill didn't think the chicken was as good as its been on other visits. And he had to get up in the middle of the night to take a Tagamet. so i think he's finally changed his opinion about this place because he said he'd be ok if we didn't come back for a year.!!

PARADISE BAKERY AND CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

This is the first time i have been disappointed eating here. During Tucson #1 - i ate at the one at Ina and Oracle a lot and was always satisfied. Then they closed. However, during Tucson #2 Paradise opened on Broadway and Wilmot and I've gone there twice and been satisfied. (as an aside, they are soon to open another cafe on Grant and Swan).

The Northwest location restaurant came back on oracle and Wetmore and i've eaten here several times and been satisfied. So what happened??

I ordered half a sandwich and a salad. I picked the chicken and walnut and crisp apple salad which was good but was pretty skimpy on the dressing (an apple cider vinaigrette). And the sandwich was a total loser; a panini with turkey, herbed cream cheese, spinach and cranberry sauce. The bread was stale and way too thick for the filling which was almost non-existent. In fact, the 1 razor thin slice of turkey was so pathetic (didn't even cover 1/2 of the bread surface) that i thought of taking it back and the reason i didn't was because i was there with a friend; we were deep into some sort of philosophical analysis of something weighty and profound (!?) and i didn't want to take the time to sort out this sad bird state of affairs.

The lack of turkey was accompanied by a smear of cranberry sauce and i never could taste any cream cheese. But there were a lot of spinach leaves.

I was excited about going to the one at Grant and Swan since that's so close to our house but now i'm having second and third thoughts.

LOOPER

I didn't even read reviews before seeing this movie because it was science fiction and starred 2 good actors and the plot seemed intriguing - time travel is outlawed in the future so bad guys are sent back in time and loopers kill them. Loopers get rewarded handsomely and live for 30 years and then they meet their future selves and to connect the loop they  both die. These were  good enough  reasons to get us to want to see the film.

Well, in spite of the 95% of reviewers who thought this movie was original and clever and fantastic and full of twists and turns, i was bored. We both gave it a 5.

Part of the reason was that i got lost in the "action" after Joe's future self appears and he gets away so Joe is unable to kill future Joe in order to complete the loop. Joe is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and future Joe by Bruce Willis. In order to have Gordon-Levitt look like a young Bruce, they did wierd and distracting things to his face; his nose was a different shape and they changed the shape of his eyes and it looked like he was wearing eye make-up. it was very unnatural looking and seemed to get more noticeable as the movie wore on.

I don't know why the producers didn't get another actor to do the young Bruce who already resembled him in some facial and head features - like in the wonderful Men in Black 3- Josh Brolin didn't get all made-up wearing facial prostheses and eye liner to look like Tommy Lee Jones and yet he was perfect because he used his acting ability plus having a similar physiognomy to begin with.

And then as the movie progressed to its dull ending, i got even more confused when some sort of redemption moral lesson was introduced. and I never knew who was chasing who or why. Huge disappointment.

FRANCISCO'S - TUCSON, AZ

This is a small neighborhood Mexican restaurant mostly peopled by Mexicans. Its located at Pima and Alvernon and we love this place. The prices are very reasonable; the food always good; the atmosphere lively and friendly and the portions are large.

There are maybe 10 tables in an L shaped room and a few counter seats. Lots of pictures on the wall and red and white checked tablecloths; what my mom would have called oilcloths. During the day the restaurant is called Frankie's and they serve breakfast and lunch. I've never been there during those hours.

I always order the same thing; tres tacos dorados. 3 crispy tacos with chicken and potato smothered in lettuce and queso fresca with sides of sour cream, tomato, grilled onions (so sweet!) and avocado. The dish also has beans and rice which i always give to Bill. He always gets the same thing too! dos tacos francisco's style with carne asada. His tacos are on soft flour tortillas.

There is always a big pot of charro beans that you can help yourself to and a nice salsa bar with several varieties and pickled onions, cucumbers, radishes and cilantro.

We always leave this place happy and content having communicated with the little bit of  Spanish that we know. On this night, we finished the gustatory evening with a stop at U-Swirl yogurt at the El Con mall. We have finally finished our punch card so the next visit will reward us with a 16 oz. free yogurt.

BEYOND BREAD - TUCSON, AZ

We usually eat at the restaurant on Speedway and Wilmot because its on our way home from our Mt. Lemmon hikes. They have 2 other locations; on the northwest side and on Campbell.  I love this place; very reasonably priced delicious food, great variety, big portions and i have never experienced other than friendly smile-filled efficient service.

For the first time, i ordered their classic Mac n' Cheese which was delicious. The only other casserole i've had that was better was the one made by Rob, our friend who moved to Vermont. The white cheddar sauce was just rich enough and there were lots of crunchy garlic bread crumbs on top. the dish was accompanied by 2 slices of buttery and toasted and oozing with goodness garlic toast.

I also had a small green salad which was a big soup bowl filled with lettuce and carrots and cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Their thousand island dressing (which they call russian) is excellent. bill had a greek salad; almost as high as the Parthenon. He ate steadily for 15 minutes and i swear the mound of lettuce and artichokes and feta cheese and kalamata olives was just as high as when he started.

Since our last visit (which was before our Portland trip) they have remodeled and it has a nice spacious and light atmosphere and the bathrooms are pretty awesome. The stalls are a silvery metallic finish and the sinks are nice and deep.

END OF WATCH

Jake Gyllenhaal (love his shaved head) is Brian Taylor and Michael Pena is Mike Zavala who are partners on a beat in South Central L.A. They are not detectives or members of the vice squad or part of the fraud unit; they are just cops on their beat. This movie shows the whole range of situations they have to handle; doing a welfare check on an old lady, going to a party where neighbors have complained about the loud music, rescuing children from a burning house and of course drugs, guns, and cash which they referred to as the 3 food groups.

The chemistry and compassion and friendship and bonding between these 2 partners is so totally believable. and the dialogue and banter of Brian and Mike is very funny and fast and witty and gross and sexist and racist and non-ending. That's one of the reasons why i liked this movie so much; the connection between the 2 cops.

There is also a story line about drug cartels that gets slowly developed during the film and is the contributing factor to the ending of the movie. Because Brian wants to get off the police force and get into law and criminology, he's ambitious and this leads the pair to get involved in a drug situation that had been handled by the feds and which they shouldn't have poked their noses into.

This ending is not the final scene in the movie which is a perfect closure to the story. The acting and music was great. I only had 1 major criticism; the film was shot in that shaky 'blair witch' fashion which drove me nuts at the beginning. Towards the end i either got somewhat used to it or that gimmick was used less but i wish it had not been used at all.

The only other 2 criticisms i have is that i can't believe that Brian did not know Spanish; working in South Central L.A.??? and there's a scene towards the end where they walk into an ambush and they are in a wide open courtyard and 6 gangbangers with machine guns and other lethal weapons are firing at them and the only injury is a bullet wound in Brian's hand! huh?

Bill gave it an 8 and i gave it an 8.5.

HIBACHI SUPER BUFFET - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is huge. Its in the same strip mall as Sunflower/Sprouts on Speedway and Swan. I can't remember what used to be in the building; furniture? anyway, its decorated very nicely; lovely oriental drawings on the wall and the necessary koi pond and the pillars are now columns of shimmering colors with scenes of Asian village life.

and the variety of food is amazing. Besides all the tables there is a big sushi selection and a bbq area (where you pick the vegetables and meat you want and its cooked for you on a big iron wok) and best of all real ice cream for dessert (in addition to all the other usual sweet culprits in Asian buffets; I love those tiny  bright neon orange cake  squares) and the ice cream is good! very creamy. they had 2 kinds of sherbet and butter pecan and mint chocolate chip and vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

Now the food quality is just so-so of the few i tried. Bill absolutely loved his dinner as both times he got salmon which he said was the best he's ever eaten in the desert. All the chicken dishes i tried (and they must have had a dozen different preparations with chicken) were a little tough and not white breast meat. The egg rolls were worse than usual on these buffets- though i realize they are always sub-standard; however, i cannot resist taking one. The pineapple rice was tasteless and the bbq'd pork pieces were hardly chewable.

However, the green beans were great; crispy and flavored perfectly and on my second plate i had just fried rice and that was ok. Next time i'll try the noodles and just stick with the green beans and maybe try some of their shrimp dishes. and there's always the ice cream!!

MONTEREY COURT CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

This area on Miracle Mile has been transformed, well, at least the Monterey Court area. There are still some pretty seedy and 'ladies of the night' scenes happening and the motel right next to the Court by all appearances is a rent-by-the-hour establishment.

The courtyard is darling with lots of plants and a wonderful big seating area in the center which is not only for eating but also for listening to their regular live music (free!) events. There is also room for dancing. They were having salsa music the night we were there and some of the gallery owners had their dancing shoes already laid out. and there are lots of shops all around the center; paintings, jewelry, gourmet food, pottery, wind chimes, clothes, cards. Lots of stuff to see and buy. The space has a lovely feel to it.

The cafe is small and i entered the restaurant behind a huge gaggling and gabbing group of those red hat'ed purple ladies and i held my breath expecting seating to be nil but there was a table by the window.  Their menu is not very big and even though their website says they serve breakfast till noon; we had the breakfast menus unceremoniously taken out of our hands at 11am- to be replaced by their lunch and dinner menus.

Chris and I shared 2 entrees; a chicken and brie sandwich with a side of sliced potatoes (the sandwich was good but nothing extraordinary and not much chicken and the potato portion was small and tasted like warmed over breakfast sides and this was $8.95) and a dish called Little Sparrow which turned out to be a bowlful of warmed vegetables and tiny dumplings. The vegetables were all cooked too long so everything was limp and had stayed in the olive oil saute a tad too long. but there was a good variety of veggies and the garlic and tomatoes tasted great. The dumplings were pretty gluey and pasty and heavy and because there were so many of them- it negatively impacted on the rest of the entree. this was $10 which was way overpriced. The Little Sparrow came with 2 slices of french bread.

So all in all, i'm impressed with the look of the place but not the taste so won't be back.

THE LITTLE GREEK RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is in the vacated place of one of  our favorite bbq places. The owners just rented part of the space so its a fairly narrow eating area. You order at the counter and along the wall is a bunch of tables.

I wasn't impressed. and i was disappointed because the area this restaurant is located at is a perfect stopping off place for dinner when we're coming down from Mt. Lemmon.

The menu is really small; several "specialties" for $13 which include garlic-yogurt sauce and pita bread and rice pilaf; flaming cheese, lemon orzo soup and gyro sandwiches in addition to a couple of souvlaki dishes. We ordered and split a gyro with rice (you can also get it with greek seasoned fries) for $9 and a small salad for $7.

The salad was a sad assortment of iceberg lettuce, too many onions, a few lumps of feta cheese, 2 cucumbers and 3 slivers of carrot swimmingly and i might say, drowningly drenched in a viniagrette. And the portion was pretty tiny.

The gyro was good but nothing special. The rice was buttery and flavorful but the real standout was the thick yogurt and garlic sauce (tzatziki). Most excellent.

so because of the convenient location we might go back but we wouldn't go out of our way to eat here again.

THE MASTER

The scenery was stunning; the music was melodious and varied and fit each scene well; the photography was excellent; and the acting was beyond brilliant. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays an L. Ron Hubbard cult leader espousing a blend of hypnosis and past life fantasies to heal people and Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie, an alcoholic severely PTSD survivor of WWII loner with a psychotic mother. Joaquin transformed himself into a shambling and stooped and gaunt and mumbling maniacal and yet very sympathetic character.

He was amazingly wonderful. I'm so glad he is back to acting from that spell of hoaxism. Hoffman was likewise mesmerizing - embodying all the qualities of a leader  of a therapeutic movement. He was bombastic and domineering and magnetic and funny and stern.

However, in spite of all the above accolades, both of us gave this movie a 5 because there was no plot, no tension, no driving story line. This film was over 2 hours long and to paraphrase a character in the movie who was commenting on Hoffman's publication of his 2nd book which was really thick "this could all have been said in a 3 page flyer."

Because that was it: hoffman was the leader and Joaquin  drunkenly wandered into his sphere and Hoffman tried to help him. That's it!! We were really disappointed.

MAMA LOUISA'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

We went here once during Tucson #1 and I remember liking it but not being super impressed. However, we (including Jean and Tim) wanted to eat Italian and this was one of the most reasonably priced restaurants. I don't understand why pasta dishes are so expensive when that type of cuisine has got to be one of the cheapest to make.

anyway, even though we arrived at the restaurant at 6pm (we had made reservations and were seated as soon as we  arrived) which i thought was an early dining time for a Saturday night; the place was packed and the noise was at the screech level. it was a real din in there. so it was physically uncomfortable to communicate even though the table we were sitting at was a small one.

as an aside, the restaurant is decorated in the usual frank sinatra- grape arbor theme but the bathroom was one of the plainest i've seen and slightly grungy.

And just like my first visit, the portions were huge and the food was good but not very good and i didn't especially care for the heavy on the tomato taste and thin pasta sauce. Garlic soft breadsticks came promptly to the table and were tasty but once they cooled off, they tasted pretty doughy to me.

I ordered a combo meal; 1 meatball, 4 cheese ravioli and some pasta with marinara sauce. I also got the all you can eat salad bar which was quite good. The lettuce was fresh and they had lots of additives for the salad and the thousand island dressing was almost a 10. The bar also had some great 3 bean and small white potato salad and a killer macaroni salad with thinly sliced green olives and a very very light dressing.

I filled up on the salad so i could take the bulk of my meal home for a leftover lunch; figuring that italian food is often better the second day; plus i'm getting tired of Lean Cuisine frozen meals for my lunch.

Bill had pork marsala with a side of fettucini alfredo. He was quite satisfied with his dish.

And then we all went home to my tiramisu which was awesome.

MARGARET

I was never sure where this movie was going to go. It had so many different aspects and depths; unusual. But in the end it is a wonderfully acted film about the life and emotions of a 17 year old. This role was played most superbly and intensely (sometimes too intensely) by Anna Paquin. She is Lisa, a precocious and highly dramatic teenager; the child of an actress mom who is divorced.

At the beginning of the film, there is a tragic and graphically suddenly gut-wrenchingly realistic bus accident which Lisa witnesses. The lady who is hit dies in her arms and as Lisa eventually finds out, this pedestrian thought Lisa was her dead daughter also of the same name. so this connection and the fact that Lisa (anna paquin's lisa) feels partly responsible for the accident (she was flirting with the bus driver (Mark Ruffalo) who ended up running a red light, leads to many consequences in her life.

We get to see the effects on her blossoming sexual life and her relationships with some of her teachers (Matthew Broderick and Matt Damon), the horrendous angry scenes with her mother, the sadness over her lack of a bonding with her dad who has remarried, her contacting the bus driver wanting him to take responsibility, her involvement with the police department, Lisa's urging the best friend of the dead lady and her cousin to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This movie is quite a journey of dark twists and turns in Lisa's life.

Both of us gave it a 9 though it could have been shortened by about 30 minutes. Too many slow motion group and crowd scenes. Lots of opera music too which isn't my favorite. and there is no character in the film named Margaret.

PICTURES FROM OUR AUG-SEPT PORTLAND TRIP - 2012

click august phjotshere to see photos from our recent trip.

google has changed their viewing format a bit so here's some tips.
click on the first picture of me by the trailhead sign; my caption will be in the column on the right and when you want to see the next picture just click on the picture on the screen.

i think you can just view the pictures as a slideshow or individually but you won't be able to see my captions. which of course you WILL want to see.!

THE WORDS

SPOILER ALERT: (though it ain't any earth-shattering twist or ending!)

Dennis Quaid is an author who has written a book about Rory (acted by Bradley Cooper; and what a hunk he is and a really good actor too with beautiful eyes; unlike Quaid who has taken acting lessons from Keanu Reeves - a sleepy Perry Como technique) who is a struggling writer. Rory is married to Dora who is inexpertly and misguidedly played by Zoe Saldana (she had no chemistry with Cooper at all and was unbelievable as a wife. she mostly slithered her body over Cooper's and rubbed his head and batted her big eyes).

Rory accidentally finds a manuscript of a book in an old briefcase he buys at an antique store. and through a series of events, he sort of unconsciously falls into the huge dishonest act of passing it off as his own. And of course it is a big hit and he is feted royally around town and wins lots of awards.

Well, one day the REAL writer of this book (wonderfully acted by Jeremy Irons) shows up. During his meeting with Rory, he tells the story that he had written and that Rory was passing  off as his own. and it is a true story of his time in the war and his falling in love and the death of his child and about including all these incidents in the book he wrote which was left on a train in a briefcase found years later by Rory.

Jeremy Irons doesn't want to be paid off or given any credit. He just wanted Rory to know where those words came from.

and at the end of the movie, Dennis Quaid who is reading from the book he wrote about the above story is confronted by a student who wants to know if its a true story or not. In other words, is Quaid the guy who published the book as his own? like it wasn't a fiction book that Quaid wrote but an autobiographical piece.

Confused yet? i got a little mixed up at the end. and I don't think there was ever any conclusion as to Quaid's honesty or not.

I gave the movie a 6.5 and Bill gave it an 8. It was too long and a little slow and had too many words.!

HOPE SPRINGS

it surprised me when i saw 2 pre-teens going into the theater since i would think the interested viewers for this movie would be big streep, jones or carell fans or 60 something seniors. In other words i don't think many groups of young guys or the x-generation folks would see this film; and what a pity!

this is a great movie and i hope Tommy Lee Jones gets nominated for an Oscar. He plays Arnold who has been married to Kay (Meryl Streep) for 31 years and their marriage has become very routine and rigid and there is no affection or touching anymore and they haven't had sex in 5 years. Kay wants a change and roams a book store in the relationship section and starts reading a book by a man who runs a week long intensive couple therapy session in Maine. The counselor is expertly acted by Steve Carell who plays his role totally "straight".

So the movie is about the gradual and sudden and fun and very painful changes that occur in their marriage. and there is one very suspenseful scene towards the end of the film in which the future of their togetherness hangs by a bated breath. it is wonderfully paced and there is great humor. and I completely cared for Kay and Arnold. Streep and Jones had excellent chemistry together and them being husband and wife was very believable.

Tommy Lee Jones' acting was superb. Streep was great as always but her role was essentially the same throughout the movie; a wife who wanted something different and exciting and wanted to be wanted. but Arnold had to go through immense emotional changes in the film which he did perfectly.

Bill and i gave this movie a 9.

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE

This is the original movie released in 1974 and it is a 10. The story is simple; 4 men hijack a subway train and demand a million dollars in ransom. Because one of the men used to be a subway conductor, he know some tricks about how a train operates and some fail-safe techniques which the gang is going to use to escape after getting their money.

It was a tense movie but replete with lots of humor and sarcastic lines; especially between the various agencies that control aspects of the subway system in New York. Walter Matthau was perfect as the chief negotiator between the city and the hijackers.

Since it was produced in the 70's, it was loaded with racist, sexist and very very politically incorrect dialogue. One of the  scenes was at the beginning of the film. Matthau is taking a group of Japanese men on a tour of the control and security departments for the subways and he and his co-workers tell a lot of prejudiced jokes and name calling because they don't think the Japanese understand English. they find out how very wrong they are when they call the group "chinese monkeys".

The ending was perfect and not dragged out which is the bane of a lot of movies in my opinion. Oh, and the mayor was this ineffectual buffoon who just left all decisions to the men under and around him with the final word belonging to his wife played by Doris Roberts. (who of course, goes on to boss her sons in Everybody Loves Raymond)

THE BOURNE LEGACY

This is the 4th installment in the Bourne movie series and it is great. Bill rated it a 10 and i gave it a 9 only because the chase scene at the very end was shot in a herky-jerky blurry manner - like a disco ball gone mad - and it made me dizzy because i couldn't focus on anything.

I was disappointed when i learned that Matt Damon wouldn't be appearing in this movie but Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, another super bionic spy, is perfect for the role. I liked him just as much as Damon. and Rachel Weisz as the chief scientist who does the periodic exams of the super spies and is privy to the scientific basis behind the virus and chromosome manipulation that gives these spies their power and high intelligence is also wonderful in her role.

The opening scene in which Aaron has to find his way out of the Alaskan wilderness and accidentally comes upon another spy sent away in exile is absolutely awesome. and then there's another scene where some government spooks come into Weisz's home to question her about what she knows about her job and what ensues is really tense and edge-of-the-seat. At this time the spy program is being shut down and so orders have come out that all the people involved in the project must be "put down".

Great entertaining movie and it ends with the perfect set-up for the next Bourne film.

CHEF ALISAH'S RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

A wonderful European and Bosnian restaurant. We haven't been here in a long time and i had forgotten how good the food is when i order their specialties and forget the chicken dishes which tend to be overcooked.

The color scheme is shades of purple and its very soothing. All tables in the restaurant  - no booths - and the Bosnian community of Tucson (didn't even know there was one!) frequent this place a lot. We had a great table in the corner.

Bill and i shared a wonderful cucumber and home-grown tomato salad with goat cheese or farmer's cheese and a little bit of onion. This was all drizzled with a slightly sweet-sour oil and vinegar dressing. Very tasty and I appreciated the tomatoes since they were not the hard red chemical balls sold in the grocery stores; they had real flavor.

We also shared 10 Bosnian sausages (the size of jimmy dean's pork sausages though i think these were beef)  which come on fantastic herbed bread and a sour cream dipping sauce and onions. The sausages are great; perfectly spiced and not fatty or greasy tasting. And our other entree was goulash; a huge platter of very tender and fall-apart meat in a spicy tomato based sauce accompanied by 2 mounds of buttery rice.

You also get a basket of their traditional bread which is ok but too dense for me.
Their prices are very reasonable for the quality of the food and the portion size.

The only slight annoyance to the dinner was the bored and oh-so-slow-moving high school aged waiter; i'm sure forced to wait tables when he's not in school. His level of interest or friendliness was below zero.

THE MIST

This is an old movie adapted from a Steven King novella and it is a 10 star plus.

A perfect combination of horror (the mist overtakes the town and within it lives the scariest looking creatures with tentacles and webs and pincers), satire (the military is the source of the mist via a screwed up experiment), great acting, wonderful characters, comments on racism and born-again christians and bosses versus employees and commentaries on fear and working together and there was a lot of humor too.

I can't say enough about this film. The music was perfect and the ending was fucking awesome.

CHAR'S THAI - TUCSON, AZ

We haven't eaten here in a long time and I'm glad we came back. The atmosphere is cheery and warm and welcoming. The room is decorated beautifully with pictures and murals and sparkly shrine areas. And the service is good.

Our waitress must have been new to both the States and to waitressing but her personality and helpfulness far outweighed the fact that she cleared all the leftover dregs of noodles and bamboo shoots and rice grains into the curry bowl. Usually that task is done in the kitchen area and i was trying to think how i could phrase that so she would understand what i was talking about.

but then i thought how ridiculous  and how pampered american it would sound. what's my problem with seeing what i was just  eating scraped into a bowl with what Bill was just eating.!

She cautioned Bill against getting the red curry adjusted to a medium spice level and said she'd tell the cook to do it mild and then she'd bring out sauces and powders to add if he wanted it hotter. Well, he didn't! and in fact, it was a tad too hot for me so i basically left that dish to Bill and i concentrated on the delicious silver bean thread noodle with vegetable dish.

R & R RESTAURANT - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant used to be in the strip mall on Speedway and Wilmot but has recently moved (due to lease problems) to 22nd and Kolb. Also their name used to be R & R barbeque but the owner, Robert, has expanded his menu to lots of other dishes so he wanted to eliminate the word barbeque to also expand his customer base.

The menu (except for the senior and early bird deals) is high on the wall behind the cashier. I find it very disconcerting to pick what i want with my head tilted up and the order-taker waiting at attention. I feel immense pressure especially if the menu is large which it is.

R & R now offers a lot of different sized meals; so there are just the sandwiches and then the sandwiches with sides and platters and family meals and junior sizes. Plus the board also listed fish tacos and lots of salads.

Even though i wanted to try something different, i went back to my usual - the beef brisket sandwich. This has been the only place where i have eaten and absolutely savored with gusto beef brisket. It is very very tender and flavorful and is piled high on a hoagie roll; an immense portion of meat.

Bill ordered the same thing and his side was coleslaw which was just ok. I ordered steak fries which also were just ok. they had a faint odor of being fried in oil that fried other things but that went away after i doused them with ketchup. Next time i'll at least try a new side. You only get a small side container of his bbq sauce which is enough if used sparingly and i, of course, do not use ANYTHING sparingly. When Robert was at the former location, he had a big sign on the wall saying that extra sauce would be $2.50!!! this helped me along quite a bit in restraining my sauce-iness.

The building is really plain; no decorations inside either. About 10 tables covered with red and white checked oilcloth. but i don't eat here for the ambience; just for the beef brisket.

CONTAGION

this movie was way better than we were expecting. and, in fact, the only reason i checked it out from netflix is that nothing else was available. So it was a really pleasant surprise to be highly entertained throughout the entire movie. Bill gave it an 8 and i rated it a 7.5.

The story was about an out of control virus that resulted in millions of deaths throughout the world. The movie focused on the reactions and actions of all the people who would, in fact, be heavily involved if an epidemic of this proportion occurred. So there was the CDC and the WHO and the government who didn't want to panic the populace and the private sector versus the public sector as to who was going to get the money to develop the vaccine and the velvet rope crowd who determined who WAS going to get the vaccine and the infected people who rioted against being deprived of help and the investigative journalists who reported online about what the government was hiding and my personal favorite reaction was from the Homeland Security Boys and the CIA who took actions believing the virus was a terrorist attack.

All of it was believable and none of the characters were over-drawn or exaggerated. The ending was really the beginning of the movie; it showed exactly how the virus was brought into the u.s. by a traveler to Hong Kong. Great actors in this movie too- Kate Winslett, Paltrow, Jude Law, Lawrence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon.

TONY'S ITALIAN DELI - TUCSON, AZ

This used to be the very best Italian restaurant that i've ever eaten at; used to be is the operative phrase. I'm not sure what happened but they have slipped in the quality of their food though not the prices which remain incredibly low or the portions which have stayed substantial.

I love the atmosphere of this diner. Its a little old hole-in-the-wall building which would be more at home in New York or Chicago. Its small with about 10 oilcloth covered tables with the requisite chianti bottles and grapes decoration. Frank Sinatra is always singing and the walls are filled with italian stuff. Very homey and the service is great and everyone is always friendly. It really does give one the feeling of eating in a friend's kitchen.

I ordered the cheese ravioli dinner ($7.00) which comes with a salad and garlic bread. The ravioli did not have the ricotta flavor or the light puffiness from prior visits; the marinara sauce wasn't this thick rich multi-spiced sauce; it was too tomatoey and salty. and the bread! they must be using different bakeries because the slices are too thick and therefore it overwhelms the garlic butter taste which was almost unnoticeable. but what WAS very prominent was the cheese they are now sprinkling on the bread. BOO.

the salad was just as good and filled with lots of ingredients and very fresh but even the italian dressing seemed flat. bill had a spaghetti dinner with 2 italian mild sausages. He agreed with me about the sauce and the sausages were very very hot. I don't know if the waitress made a mistake or what but the heat resulted in some middle of the night GI distress.

we're going to have to let this diner go on sabbatical for awhile and maybe it'll recover to its former excellence.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

This was a greatly entertaining fun movie. I rated it a 10 and Bill gave it a 9. Even though it was almost 3 hours long, i didn't get bored or restless; no slow spots or scenes that were stuffed with boring dialogue instead of action.

The only small criticism i have is that Bain, the wonderfully evil foe of Batman wore a thick fingered iron mask (this was to stop the pain from having his face torn into when he was imprisoned in the pit dungeon). However, this metal covering made some of his speech unintelligible.

the acting was superb. Christian Bale, of course, was perfect and Anne Hathaway as the Catwoman was magnificent. None of the characters annoyed me. There was a totally unexpected twist at the end which only increased the fun. The plot involved Bain trying to take control of this clean energy fusion machine Bruce Wayne had developed and turn it into a nuclear bomb so he could destroy the world.

The very end of the film answered some questions and also left the trilogy open for another movie. Oh and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was fantastic as a policeman.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

This movie wasn't as amazing as i was expecting. Bill and i gave it a 7.

Andrew Garfield was a better spider-man than Tobey. but Emma Stone and he didn't click at all. I didnt' like her faux coquettishness and that 'little innocent girl' sashay she would do with her sweater sleeves pulled down to cover her hands. Plus she talked like she had marbles in her mouth.

The ending after the ending which came after some of the credits rolled was a cheap lead-in for the next spider flick. it will involve the way and the why of the demise of spidey's parents.

The movie was too long and the humor was missing; it moved too slowly and there were way too many minutes of the repetitive swinging from building to building.

BLUE WILLOW - TUCSON, AZ

I am always disappointed with this restaurant; i keep expecting the food to have improved. I've eaten here for all 3 meals and have been dissatisfied each time.

My high hopes are based on its popularity and the kitschy gift shop and the excellent service and the eclectic warm atmosphere. But the food begs for a better chef and lower prices.

I had a so-so chicken salad sandwich on slightly stale 12 grain bread accompanied by 2 sad slices of melon and a tasteless strawberry. (however, this being the desert - a tasteless berry is the norm.) Bill had an avocado filled with dry tuna salad and he got 4 grapes and a small bowl of cottage cheese. this repast came to $24.

I probably will eat here again in a year or so hoping for a change and will again be left wanting.

THE HUNTER

I don't think this movie was released in the theaters. It stars Willem Dafoe as a hunter of the rare and possibly extinct Tasmanian tiger who is hired by a company who wants to extract some precious bodily fluids from the animal to use in warfare? drugs? as currency? A lot of the story line was murky.

I don't understand why Dafoe doesn't appear in better movies because he has a very interesting and mobile face and is a good actor.

The scenery was wonderful and the film kept both of us interested but it isn't exciting or suspenseful at all and the main reason is that its never clear who wants what and characters seemed to change from the evil-doers to just dumb shits in mid-sentence. Besides the hunting of the tiger scenes, there was also a plot involving Dafoe's emotional involvement with the family he was staying with. this was the more interesting and believable part of the movie.

We both rated it a 6.

ROCK OF AGES

This movie/musical went to our discount theaters in only a couple of weeks after being released. I think it was usurped by spiderman. And in my opinion, i can understand that but Bill disagrees.

He gave this movie a 9 and i gave it  a tepid 6.

there was TOO much music and singing and not enough dialogue which was quite funny. also the songs cut into time that could have been better spent with more scenes starring Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand. They were the 2 best characters in the film. My favorite part was their duet.

Tom Cruise disappointed. His acting was absolutely nil and his pointy little girl nipples were an unpleasant and distasteful distraction. All he did was slouch and shuffle and mumble. He really overdid the stoned and ego-puffed rock star. His singing, however, was good. I liked all the songs in the movie though the choreography could have used some inspiration.

I disliked the 'sex' scene with Cruise and the Rolling Stone reporter on the pool table. It didn't seem to fit the tone of the film which was nostalgic oldies but goodies moments and innocence. Oh, and i really got annoyed with Cruise's monkey gorilla partner. I'm not a fan of cute and "clever" animal friends in movies. Though I have to confess that the movie Ted starring Mark Wahlberg and a teddy bear has some appeal.

THE GREY

I shouldn't have expected more from this film since it stars Liam Neeson and has grey in the title (and not brilliant fuchsia neon pink).

It was the story of man against animals and in this case - wolves (which looked like a hybrid of a wolf, rottweiler, coyote, and grizzly bear.) A plane crash landed Liam and his fellow employees in the middle of an Alaskan wilderness and throughout their journey to safety - which never came - they were hunted and stalked by a pack of wolves.

Very predictable with the requisite characters - studious and slightly religious and rational; quiet and just plain nice; a minority member; a rebellious pain in the ass; etc.  etc.

Towards the end of the movie there was way too much talking and utterances about life and goals that was supposed to be profound. I did enjoy the scenery and the part where they traversed over a river canyon - swinging high in the air relying on knotted together fabric pieces.

Both of us gave the movie a 5.

SAVAGES

This is Oliver Stone's latest film about a successful pot enterprise in Laguna Beach and the rival bigger Mexican pot enterprises wanting to take it over. Nothing new. and naturally there is lots of violence (a suspected informer is burnt to death after being tortured is one example and a former drug cartel lawyer has his knees shot out) and lots of glitz and beautiful people and shows of wealth and luxury surroundings and gorgeous clothes and svelte unclothed bodies and exotic beach locales. This is one of the only 2 things that kept me watching the movie and one of the reasons why we gave it a 4 instead of a 1.

The other reason was the fantastic acting of primal creepy-evil all around bad guy Benicio Del Toro, sleek and imperious Salma Hayek and wonderfully droll and funny John Travolta.

Other than that, this movie was annoying because so many parts were unbelievable and i didn't like at all the 2 guys who ran the independent :and oh so mellow with everyone getting along and no violence or double crossing because all the distributors were content with their section of the business and they all radiated serenity: (or were they just too high to really care?). California pot biz. One of the guys was an eco greenhead buddha and the other was a brute force former military goon. They shared a girl; who was the essence of bimbo-hood. and the sharing was done without any jealousy or competition. sure right!!

The movie was narrated by her and i don't like this technique. She announced that just because we were hearing her tell the story didn't mean she was alive and this heralded the endings which were horrid; both versions were unbelievable. and naturally were polar opposites; in one the pot triumvirate all died and in the other they escaped without consequences but with loads of money to an unknown 3rd world country where they were last seen helping the natives with their water system and planting trees.

Bill and I had to work out of our bad moods after seeing this film because it was so worthless and a waste of our precious remaining senior moments.

96 MINUTES

A good compelling story about the trajectory of events which resulted in a tragedy for  4 young people. A carjacking was planned by Kevin a kid with no parenting mentors at all (he's 16) and this act was going to get him accepted into the local gang. Dre a black teen who was soon to graduate from high school and get accepted into college who had stayed away from drugs and criminal activity tries to get Kevin to change his mind about belonging to this gang.

This of course doesn't work. The car belonged to a girl who was going to start college to become a lawyer and a friend who wanted to go home and mourn the loss of her relationship with a guy who she discovered was cheating on her.

The movie flashed back and forth between the events leading up to the carjacking and shooting and the actual crime and what happened as Dre tried to figure out what to do. this technique really added to the suspense plus i never knew just HOW tragic the consequences would be.

It was a really sad movie when viewed as the small seemingly inconsequential actions of one's life leads to unforeseen disaster. also the film addressed the issue of a lack of role models in one's life and also did a great job illustrating the racial profiling by the cops. the movie takes place in georgia.

I gave it a 7 because the dialogue was wooden and the acting was nil by the 2 female characters. Plus both of them especially the one whose boyfriend lied to her (i could sort of sympathize with him) acted bimbo-ish. Also scenes that showed Dre interacting with the gang that Kevin wanted to get in didn't jive with his attempts at escaping the gang life. and the movie ended without any further mention of Kevin; whereas you knew what happened to the other 3.

ALBERT NOBBS

I didn't expect to enjoy this movie as much as i did. glenn Close is Albert Nobbs and she is a phenomenal actress. Mr. Nobbs is a woman disguised as a man and working as a butler in 19th Century Ireland in a hotel.  Besides this film being about class distinctions and social status and being a lesbian and employment, it is also a love story but one without any gooey sentimentality.

Albert is saving money to buy a shop. He is a very withdrawn, isolated, emotionless person; in large part, to make sure she/he is not 'discovered.' The hotel's owner hires a painter, Mr. Page, who shares a room with Nobbs. Lo and behold! Mr. Page is a woman also and through that relationship, Nobbs finds out about actually living in the world as a lesbian and having a lover and mate.

This results in Nobbs pursuing a maid (not a disguised female but a 'real' girl) so they can be married and live together. But the maid, Helen, is attracted to a less than ethical and moral character who is the maintenance man at the hotel.

The plot twists and turns and certainly did not end up the way i thought it would. There was no predictability in it at all. A lot of the hotel scenes where the staff would eat together or prepare food for the guests (all insufferably pompous) reminded me a lot of that great movie by Robert Altman - Gosford Park starring Clive Owens).

Bill gave this movie a 9 (and he really really did NOT want to see it) and i gave it an 8.5.