THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKNGJAY, PART 2

We loved the first movie; didn't like the 2nd one (too many endless battles); really enjoyed the 3rd one (lots of character development); and this last one was a mixed experience.

The first 2/3rds were excellent (a 9). Katniss and her team of friends including a gradually  recovering Peeta joined forces to take District 2 and then eventually the Capitol with an intended assassination of Snow. It was fast paced and the tension was incredible as they marched and hid in the city approaching the Capitol knowing there were booby traps set up in lots of places.

They had an app which would alert them to bombs and guns. And there were several especially exciting scenes having to do with molten oil and an attack by the Mutts. Oh, and then an escape through the sewer system. Really good.

But when Katniss and Gale were in the crowd of other refugees marching into the Capitol, it got very dull and slow and boring. The unification of the Districts and the overthrow of Snow were anti-climactic and by the time it happened, i just didn't care.

The dullness ratcheted up even more in the last 10 minutes when Katniss and Peeta got together again. This part resembled a Disney like Nicholas Sparks land of cotton candy.

ECLECTIC CAFE

We used to come here all the time after a hike on Mt. Lemmon during Tucson #1. then during tucson 2, our favorite waitress had retired (a clone of barbara streisand and very efficient), their prices had gone up, portion sizes down. So we quit going.

Now that the cafe is located in 'our hood', we decided to give it a try especially since i had a coupon. unfortunately, the coupon had expired which i didn't find out till we were settled in our seats.

For a little over $21 we shared a curry chicken salad with cucumbers, avocado, berries and "Wilcox tomatoes" (really Safeway). It was  flavorful and we got a side of their russian dressing which was just perfectly seasoned and also a side of creamy dill which was also quite good. The portion of chicken salad was fairly small.

The salad came with 2 rolls which were a tad doughy but fresh. We also shared a  slice of quiche lorraine which we enjoyed.

We were certainly satisfied after our dinner but we wouldn't make this restaurant a regular part of our dining circle.

MOLINO'S MIDWAY MEXICAN FOOD

I have a love-hate relationship with this place. sometimes the food is really good and the tortilla chips fresh and other times, the service is slap-dash casual and the food is disappointing in flavor and presentation.

As of last night though, i am back in love. Delicious dinner and the service was personable and our food was served roadrunner fast inspite of the big crowds.

I had albondigas soup to which i added some of the excellent thin crispy tortilla chips. There were lots of meatballs in the soup and it was flavored with a hint of zip. I also had a beef tamale. Stuffed end to end with tender beef. Bill also had a tamale along with a side of rice and we shared guacamole..

I know we will be back and who knows what my review might be then. i'll either still be in love or in the throes of culinary contempt.

SPOTLIGHT

Fantastic film; we both gave it a 10+. Spotlight is the name of the investigative team that works at the Boston Globe. When the paper gets a new editor (Liev Schreiber) he wants the team to work on and follow up on a priest sex abuse story. The investigation and probing into this case leads to  the discovery that  there were several other priests that were put on "sick leave" or transferred to another parish and that a prosecutor (Billy Crudup) had been quietly settling these cases with no documents ever filed in the court and that there was a support group of survivors.

And as the persistent and determined questioning continued, the one priest eventually expanded to almost 90 and it became very clear that this had been going on since at least the 80's with some lone voices clanging the abuse bell and that Cardinal Law knew all about it all this time.

The pressure from the Boston community (where over 50% of the people are catholic) was shown in quiet, subtle but powerful ways. and this pressure came from politicians, the church, college alumni and prosecutors. An especially good scene in the movie was the increase in resistance when 9/11 occurred; the religious line was that at this time, the catholic church and its priests were needed to keep supporting the people during this disaster and it would be very very wrong to undermine the church and its message of faith.

The acting was sterling by Michael Keaton, Billy Crudup, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo. and even though i knew the ending of the story, it was presented in the film with tension and immediacy and suspense.

SPECTRE

This film was the first James Bond 007 movie i did not like. I even sort of enjoyed the early one with the horribly miscast and bad actor George Lazenby. I mean i love James Bond films; from the very first one. I don't even read reviews of them because i know i'll have a good entertaining time. However ---------

Daniel Craig looked like he had just come off of a pub crawl; like he had been shaken and stirred a little too long. His suit jacket never quite fit and he had bags under his eyes and his face was an unhealthy pallor. Some way, some where he has just lost his attractive charismatic charm.

Christoph Waltz was a pathetic villain; not scary or alarming or believably mean or cruel. and Bond's girlfriend was blah.

In the beginning of the movie, there was a way too long (of course, the entire movie was way too long!) segment where you heard Sam Smith warbling and piercingly crooning the theme song while snakes and sinuous golden women writhed around Bond's chest.

My main complaint (need i list another one?) is that it was NOT clever at all. Just a very tired and exhausted replay of prior films.

There were several good characters that i wished had more on screen time; Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw as Q, and a new addition, C, who was the head of the new security and surveillance agency.

POCO & MOM'S CANTINA

First time here and we will be back. Its on Tanque Verde near Sabino Canyon Road and its closed on Mondays.

The entrance is through a long tiled hallway. It felt like we were walking through a friend's foyer in their home and the eating space itself was large but not overly spacious so again, the feeling i had was eating in someone's kitchen. Very comfortable.  They have a patio but it was dark outside and too cold for us.

The service was excellent and the prices extremely reasonable and the portions more than adequate. All of us were happy with our meals. The chips were thin and crisp and fresh and the salsa was slightly zippy. We ordered guacamole which was good but could have been chunkier; a tad too creamy for my taste.

I had 2 tostadas; one chicken and the other ground beef. Very flavorful. Bill had tamales and enjoyed them. Every dish had refried beans and rice. Neither impressed me. The beans didn't even have any cheese on top and was a  sad and  unappealing scoop of brown-ness. The rice was dry.

Nice to find a good Mexican restaurant close to our new location on the east side.  though my heart and stomach still belong to
Frankie's on Pima and Alvernon and their tacos dorados.

SUFFRAGETTE

Excellent movie about the fight in the early 20th century for voting rights for women. It stars Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter. Meryl Streep appears on screen for about 4 minutes only as Pankhurst the head of the movement and the lady who called for civil disobedience since years of peaceful speeches and meetings and the passing out of flyers was having no impact at all.

the movie ends with one of the outspoken feisty suffragettes giving her life in a dramatic fashion during the Derby race as a way for the cause to get global attention. which it did and slowly, very slowly, voting rights were granted. Initially for instance, only "certain" women over the age of 30 were allowed to vote.

 Less than 100 years ago (there are women alive today who remember this!) women were legally subject to their husbands and had NO RIGHTS regarding their children.

All i remember being taught about the suffragette movement (of course, with time, my memory has dulled) is that women did not have the vote and then, they did. la di da!, it was a brutal battle with many many women jailed and beaten and thrown out of their house by a husband who took total control over their children.

A really powerful movie and very well acted.

SHISH KEBAB HOUSE

We finally tried this restaurant that we must have passed about 50 times on Broadway - its across the street from the park place mall. I got a coupon in the mail which was the deciding factor.

and we will be back. Excellent aromatic delicious food.

The atmosphere is ok; sort of a small restaurant and the tables are fairly close together so i would imagine on the weekends (belly dance nights) it could be really crowded and noisy.  Also i was disappointed a bit in the bathroom; plain and sparse. Didn't seem to go with the white table cloths.

The menu is huge so we had trouble deciding what to order. We ended up getting perfectly complementary dishes which we shared; baked squash in this absolutely transforming yoghurt, lemon, garlic and fenugreek and oregano sauce, a rice dish with chicken and pinenuts and veggies and spinach pie. The crust on these 2 small pies was tender and crispy and it was filled to the fluted edges with spinach and feta and bits of green olives.

the pita bread was so-so. I've never tasted pita bread that i really liked; just seems tasteless and too doughy.

and the service was good and personable.

KNEADERS BAKERY AND CAFE

This soup/salad/sandwich place opened this July. Its near the corner of Broadway and Wilmot.  The menu includes sandwiches, soups, salads (given with a slice of bread - your choice of variety), some pastries, some desserts, coffee drinks and a packed to the edge of the shelves gift area with lots of STUFF. So Kneaders is similar to Beyond Bread except BB is a tad better due to their bread quality and the size and filling amount for their sandwiches.

We shared  chicken salad on a croissant which comes with a small salad with balsamic vinaigrette. and we shared an entree salad with bacon and avocado. I asked for a side of the poppyseed dressing but the ranch which normally comes with the salad was extraordinarily good so i switched mid-lettuce chew.

B K - TUCSON

Wanted to eat here before we moved because the drive would be about 30 minutes one way from our new townhouse  so our visits to BK will be significantly curtailed.

The restaurant is on 1st avenue between grant and glenn. I love it here. the service has always been friendly and prompt and the atmosphere is noisy and festive and joyful. Lots of families come here for their excellent Mexican food. They have an awesome salsa bar; varieties of dips and sauces and salsa's that i've never seen any place else; including lots of thin sliced crisp cucumbers and radishes. Oh and their cheese is absolutely out of this world; very finely grated with a hint of sharpness underneath the creaminess.

We usually always get the same thing. Bill gets a bowl of charro beans (most excellent; tastes like rich chili) and 2 carne asada or pastor tacos. I get a sonoran hot dog (though i didn't last night because i had a chicago dog at Luke's for lunch) and 2 shrimp tacos. There is always lots of tiny breaded shrimp on each taco and it comes with its own dipping sauce.

They have 3 or 4 tv's on the wall and they usually are tuned to different channels; always a sports game or two, and then music video's and a soap opera (Mexican) and on top of that cacophony there is piped in mariachi music.

Yes, this is a deafeningly happy place.

BRIDGE OF SPIES

An excellent (9 star rating from both of us) cold war spy movie which takes place in 1957. No one in the theater was less than 50 years old; to be expected.

Tom Hanks plays an attorney who was selected to represent Abel, a Russian spy. Abel was a great character. He was gentle, an accomplished artist, a man of few words who progressively became friends with his lawyer Jim  Donovan. (Hanks)  Donovan is reviled and verbally assaulted for representing a spy and for not being patriotic and a 'real American'. His house is fired into also.

Donovan represents Abel to the best of his legal and moral ability, using all his skills and knowledge to get him acquitted.

At the same time, another plot is being developed involving several pilots one of them Gary Powers. He and some others were selected to fly special planes and take pictures of the Soviet Union. They were NOT to allow themselves to be captured. It was either complete a successful mission or die. Well, Powers didn't do this so he was taken prisoner and jailed after  the Russians shot his plane down.

Donovan is then enlisted to broker a prisoner exchange; Abel for Powers. Powers was not well thought of either; Donovan at one point said he was held in contempt almost as much as he and Abel were. This is because the american people believed that Powers gave secrets to the Russians for his release.

This was an extremely well acted movie and even though it was over 2 hours long, it captivated me totally. A lot of suspense and tension and I loved the relationship between Donovan and Abel.

HA LONG BAY - TUCSON

Now that we are going to be "east siders" this restaurant is in our 'hood and we're glad of it. Excellent Vietnamese food with an extensive menu. Its located on Tanque Verde near Sabino Canyon Road; closed on Monday.

Its beautifully decorated; very colorful. There are several tv's soundlessly showing scenes of Vietnam and/or cooking demonstrations.

Bill and i shared (once again) their vegetable wonton House soup. It comes in a large white bowl and the broth is the most aromatically delicious i've ever tasted. However, you can barely see the broth for all the delectables; carrots, broccoli, onions, celery, pork slices, shrimp and pork stuffed wontons.

Our other shared dish was a Bun entree. This is a glass noodle dish with lettuce and carrots and bean sprouts and topped with, in our case, lemon grass chicken (to die for) and an egg roll. Then in a separate small bowl, there is fish sauce to put over the noodles. We always have a Bun dish when we eat at a Vietnamese restaurant; there is always a large variety of toppings.

And we also had a pot of green tea.

Wonderful meal at the end of our first Tucson #3 hike. We had to go up the Catalina Hwy because the temp was almost 100 in the city.

GREEK HOUSE - TUCSON

We were so glad to see this place still open after our months on the road. Its located in the University district; speedway near campbell. Parking is several buildings down; near Bentley coffee house and a tattoo place.

The food is excellent. Counter ordering. Its got lots of silver tables; no booths. The large TV is always blaring a sports game. Service is prompt and friendly. The only options for silverware is plastic which I don't care for and which caused some  difficulty with cutting  the sausage.

That's what bill and i had; greek sausages. Very flavorful and spiced but not hot. We also shared a Greek salad which is almost bounding over the plate with green peppers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers, and a thick scattering of feta cheese. We got the creamy mediterranean garlic feta dressing which is absolutely delicious; i could almost drink it.

Of course i overdid it; dipping not only my veggies in it but also the pita bread and the sausage. Beware: LOTS of garlic is contained therein.

Not sure if it was the garlic or all the tomatoes I ate but i had to treat my gut's petulance at what i was putting in it. Was the dinner worth some gas, bloat and having to take a Tagamet and a Pepcid AC? Hell, Yes!!!!!!!!!

THE OINK CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is on Broadway and Kolb in a location vacated by the excellent Heist pizza place. Oink is open for breakfast and lunch and their culinary hook is 8 different varieties of bacon; sugar cured, honey, apple smoked, jalapeno, etc.

Unfortunately, the bacon that came with my breakfast  was disappointing and i couldn't even finish it. it was also greasy and almost cold which could have been due to the subzero air conditioning in the restaurant. The bacon came with 2 scrambled eggs, tasteless and only lukewarm home fries that, by the way, were supposed to contain sauteed onions and red and green peppers; the peppers must have been on vacation and i saw one onion; and a biscuit (there was a choice of toast, english muffin, fruit or maybe cottage cheese) which was good; nice and warm.

Jean's pork sausage link was delicious and if by a far far stretch of the imagination i was to come back here, i would order that and stay away from the bacon. Oink! Oink!

FRANKIE'S SOUTH PHILLY CHEESESTEAKS - TUCSON, AZ

Last time here for us. though since we are moving to the east side we will be quite a distance away from this restaurant anyway.

This most recent visit and the one before (between road trip 1 and 2) were highly disappointing.

Finding gristle in the meat; hardly finding any onions; deprived of the right amount of gooey white american cheese; and a bun which is not crispy on the exterior and soft on the inside. They advertise that they still get their bread from Philly but its gone down in quality; tastes like a slightly stale subway roll.

and their french fries are not good.

So there!!

LOVE & MERCY

What a great biopic of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys! The film deals with his relationship with his bandmates and brothers,  his relationship with his father (what a piece of self-esteem and confidence shatterer he is!), his musical composition talents, his mental illness, the period in the 80's when, because of his dysfunctional behavior, he was under the legal and pharmacological total control of a psychiatrist wondrously acted by Paul Giamatti, (this doctor eventually lost his license and was ordered to cease all contact with Brian), and his 2nd marital spouse (Elizabeth Banks).

It was done really well as far as going back and forth in time from the 60's to the 80's. Paul Dano played Brian during the time of the Beach Boys' peak and his increasingly bizarre behavior and starting a drug and drinking habit. Dano was superb.

John Cusak was good too. He was Brian during the time of his "imprisonment" by the psychiatrist and the meeting with his future wife and her actions which resulted in his family filing a lawsuit against the psychiatrist. This led to a total revision of the diagnosis of his mental problems and a regimen of different drugs which resulted in significant functional improvement. So much so that he had 5 kids with his second wife (added to 2 from wife #1) and began performing solo.  A good role for Cusak who sort of mumbles and flat-lines his speech and facial responses anyway.

The movie could have been shortened by about 15 minutes or so towards the end but this didn't change my reaction to this film which deserves a solid 8. Oh, and fortunately, there wasn't much Beach Boys music in the movie since i have never cared for their songs.

THAI HOUSE - CHARLOTTE, NC

This restaurant was right next door to an awesome used book store called The Last Word  that we were browsing in so it was a logical choice for dinner.

I really liked the atmosphere. Very well decorated and we felt like we were in the middle of a temple with ornate wall hangings and all the wait staff were dressed in colorful spangled and jeweled outfits. Even the men had those billowy white shirts with high collars and tight wrists and they were wearing Disney pirate pants; like pantaloons; or Aladdin pants; in shiny greens and reds.

We ordered Pad Thai  and also a stir fry chicken-ginger dish. All the chicken was white meat but a tad dry and the ginger dish lacked flavor (i even had to add some salt which i've never done to a Thai dish). There were way too many ginger julienne spears too. The Pad Thai was the better of the 2 entrees; very tasty with great flavor.

and we have a lot left over for lunch today. If we lived in Charlotte, this restaurant wouldn't be my number 1 pick for Thai but i wouldn't protest if this was the only place open.

JURASSIC WORLD

Well, i thought i'd get my blogging feet wet by doing a brief movie review. I'm not sure what happened to bring on my writer's block. In small measure, there was the fact that i didn't have a camera (many reasons; couldn't make up my mind; Walmart's selection was always very poor because not many people were buying them anymore given the great quality of photos taken by Smartfones.) to take pictures to go along with our travel adventures on road trip #2.

Anyway, here i am.
The movies being shown in Charlotte are all blockbuster Marvel comic stuff. (of course, that's pretty much just what's out there, isn't it? unless you have a Loft like theater, like us fortunate Tucsonians.) So our cinematic forays have had a desperation thread.



So that's why we saw Jurassic World. However, we were both surprised by the film and highly entertained.

It was well acted (Chris Pratt had a leading role and was excellent and the lead actress was a Jessica Chastain look-alike. none of the actors were annoying; not even the 2 young kids.) and fast paced.


The dinosaur chase and fight scenes were fun and interesting; cinematography great and there was humor and also some fantastic chomping of human body parts.

We  also saw Spy last week which we wouldn't have normally seen and really liked that one. some good belly laughs. Also saw San Andreas which we would not have seen absent our Charlotte stay and alicia working evenings and being in a socially isolated bubble at the moment. Also saw the second Avengers which we would have seen anyway since we liked the first one so much. but thought this sequel lacked pizz-azz.

So i guess Bill and I are now ready for Ted2!!!!!!!!!

See you at the movies, folks. glad to be back in the balcony.

CHAPPIE

We both rated this film a 7 and we were expecting a 3.

Pretty engaging and interesting and enjoyable movie about robots taking over human functions; one of the functions being the police force in this South African city.

Dev Patel (the highly annoying Sonny from the exotic marigold hotel movie; he was more contained in this film plus his on-air time was much less than in  the hotel movie) is creating a robot who can think and feel and make decisions just like a human. Hugh Jackman (sporting an awful nerdy haircut) is in competition and instead wants a robot (his prototype is named Moose) who is controlled by a human.

And there is a horridly bad and evil group of ne'er-do-well's who kidnap Dev because their intention is to use the robot (who they name Chappie) to help with a bank heist. The trio of baddies are really pretty likable especially the female who Chappie calls Mommy (pronounced in his metallic monotone Mummy.)

The action was quick and non-stop and even though there were quite a few cheesy and corny parts; all in all, it was a good story with a great ending.

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

What a flurry of fluffiness. I wasn't expecting great deep drama but i was hoping for a mildly enjoyable romp through the cinematic fantasy of life in India where there is no poverty, everyone is dressed in clean, pressed and intact clothing, there is no dirt or debris or garbage in the streets, there are no maimed and pus-oozing beggars and everyone is always dancing, dancing, dancing.

I rated this film a 3 and Bill gave it a 6.

I didn't see the first installment/development of the hotel but i think the characters were the same in this second one. Its the "story" of Sonny (Dev Patel, who was the most annoying and hyper and mouthy and nonstop talker imaginable. In fact, he is the leading reason why i disliked the movie so much. in addition to the fact that it wasn't funny at all. The only line i chuckled at was one uttered by Maggie Smith "just because I'm looking at you, doesn't mean i'm listening to what you're saying".) who wants to expand the exotic hotel concept by buying another one.

There are subplots involving the core group of residents and Sonny himself in a totally amazingly unbelievable engagement to his girlfriend. None of the relationship stories were interesting or rational. The only one I liked was the one between Bill Nighy and Judi Dench. Their tentative couplehood was gentle and likable and reasonable.

The movie, naturally, ended with an over long and over loud dance production number; this is India, doncha know.

I did enjoy all the colors and sparkles and brilliant hues and the costumes with their richness and jewels.

 

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

A horridly embarrassingly bad movie which is being advertised as a spoof on James Bond films. there were a very few mildly and weakly humorous smiles but that was it.

As stupid as the plot was, i still didn't understand the opposing forces and the violence was pretty disgusting and accompanied by very loud rock music. The scene of people gathered for a church service suddenly killing each other was set to FreeBird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson (speaking with a lisp.) were the main actors and they must have been fulfilling a contract. I can think of no other reason than that for their appearance in this muddled movie.

I rated it a 1 and Bill gave it a 3.

BRUSHFIRE BBQ - TUCSON, AZ

This has always been our favorite bbq place in Tucson. Well, during Tucson #1 there was a great one on 22nd and Craycroft but that closed early on during our stay. I have always had great shredded chicken and pulled pork and Bill and I have split their rack of baby back ribs quite a few times and all this food has been delicious.

Including their sides; (exc. for their grilled bread; flavorless and very dry. oh and their corn on the cob but then again what does one expect getting corn in the winter in Tucson!!) their bbq'd beans are just zippy enough, coleslaw not too drenched in sauce, crispy fries, super sweet potatoes.

But our last 2 visits have been disappointing. We ordered during one of our dinners there during what we are now thinking might be a decline commensurate with the opening of their "small batch" ice cream place next door baby back ribs and some of them weren't very tender and the 1/2 rack was smaller than all other times.

And last night Bill had pulled pork and i had shredded chicken (they have several bbq sauces on the table so you can experiment; everything from way hot steaming palate to sweet molasses). Bill's sandwich was just ok. My shredded chicken was just on THIS side of tender and it wasn't shredded; it came in 2 huge chunks like a breast had been hacked in half. The coleslaw on the sandwich was put on the bottom of the roll and soaked through. I didn't get the onions i asked for. and the side of potato salad seemed like they had forgotten the mayo.

Very disappointing. Glad we are heading into the land of bbq. In fact, bill and i are already remembering with fondness some fantastic droolingly good bbq in Texas and Arkansas and Mississippi and North Carolina. Here we come!

STILL ALICE

Wonderful movie and Bill is very grateful to me cuz i nagged him into seeing this. He wanted to see Jupiter Ascending which had gotten negative reviews. We both rated this movie a 9 and Julianne Moore's acting was 10 squared! She was illustrious in portraying a 50 year old married linguistic professor with 3 adult children  who is diagnosed with early onset familial Alzheimer's disease.

The film shows in detail with no sentimentality or aggressive tear-jerker scenes and without soap opera drama, the devastation to the person with the disease and every member of the family. The movie was the perfect length too.

Alec Baldwin was pretty darn good as the overly workaholic doctor who was supportive and loving (it was obvious he and Alice had a good marriage) and yet realistic about her progression and how it would impact on his career.

There were some great scenes in the movie. One showed her family sitting at a table talking about a care-giver for Alice and she is sitting mute and with flat affect on the couch watching them and the camera reflecting her isolation and lack of understanding of what's going on by having the family filmed with a fuzzy out of focus technique.   Another scene is when she gets lost while doing her daily run on campus; the panic and confusion on her face was so intense, that i could easily feel that total blankness and  lack of identification with her surroundings. (i think i liked this scene so much because  i have been lost a fair amount of times in my life and i know what it feels like.)

The ending is perfect. I think the only 'criticism' of the movie is that Alice's life was so perfect with good looks and great children and a nice husband and a recognized and applauded career and money.   and because of these life privileges, Alice's story did not have to also address questions like health care coverage; living situations, lack of emotional support. The film is based on a novel.

PEI WEI DINER - TUCSON, AZ

They've changed their menu and now its sort of confusing. you can get bowls or platters with rice (different kinds) or noodles or no starch and you pick your protein and then your sauce from 2 different places on the menu which is on boards along the area which approaches the order "desk".  everything has 2 sizes with different prices. and the sauces are just named on the board and not described until you get to the counter and then in very very small print on a dimly lit shelf is the description; only all the descriptions sound the same.

So then i had to query the order gal with multiple questions. It wasn't busy and there was no one else in line but i can imagine the back up I would have caused if it was lunch time for instance.

Anyway, even after all my requests for more information; the veggie and tofu with white rice tossed in a sesame sauce was too spicy for me. Fortunately, (Bill always comes to the rescue; well, usually always!) gave up his half of our chicken lettuce wraps to me. And that was a delightfully delicious dish; great flavor and lots of chicken. I would for sure order that again.

BUSHI'S - TUCSON, AZ

Wonderful Japanese restaurant. Its never crowded, has lots of private booths (with high backs), food is excellent and the service is geisha superb. Its located in the Sprouts strip mall on Speedway and Swan.

I ordered vegetable tempura. Very good combo of broccoli, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and onion. The tempura also came with edemame beans, miso soup, a salad and rice. All for just $10. Bill got his usual; salmon teriyaki.

I had a bite of Molly's yakisoba and it was very tasty and they used thin noodles not the thick rope-like noodles. I'm going to order that the next time we come here.

FOXCATCHER

Very interesting and well-acted movie about multi-millionaire John du Pont (a deeply dysfunctional insecure mama's boy who was always trying to get her approval which never came) and his relationship with the Schultz brothers, Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave (Mark Ruffalo). They were Olympic gold medal wrestlers who were training for another go at a medal in the 1988 Olympics.

The brother's relationship was also dysfunctional. They were on their own from a young age and developed quite a parasitic union with Mark also being insecure and lacking any social skills (just like du Pont) and relying heavily on his brother for his psychological needs and approval.

I guess Mark who wrote a book about the relationship with du Pont initially cooperated with the making of the film and then in a very immature kindergarten "you've got my pail" way lashed out at the director for portraying him as a dumbbell and hinting that there was a homoerotic component to his interaction with du Pont.

I DO think there was that sexual aspect but it didn't come from Mark but from du Pont's need to excel at something; to lead a team (he said his nickname was Golden Eagle), to garner power and praise and to get his mother's love. (a pathetic scene in the movie was du Pont sponsoring a senior wrestling match and then paying off his opponents so he could win).

Steve Carell played du Pont and he was really good.

For those of you who don't know what happened (the movie is based on a true story), i won't reveal it here.

I gave the entire production and acting and music and photography a 7.5 but both Bill and I didn't really like any of the characters; especially du Pont. And Bill said he really holds in contempt people who use money to 'buy' other people which is what du Pont did to get Mark and then Dave to join his Foxcatcher team and to be considered the coach as they train for the Olympics.

POLISH COTTAGE - TUCSON, AZ

We haven't eaten here in quite awhile and the dinner we had was much better than I remembered it being on our last visit.

We had a great table. Because the place isn't that big, a lot of the tables are "tater tots" - right in the middle of traffic lanes or close to the next table.

bill and I shared Hunter's Stew (a wonderful mixture of sausage and sauerkraut and tender beef and cut up potatoes) and pierogi; 4 mushroom and 4 potato. The pierogi was accompanied with sour cream and caramelized onions. The stew came with a Kaiser roll which was as old and stale and crusty as i remember it from our previous eatings here.

The pierogi was a little over cooked around the edges so it provided a nice firm 'handle' for the little dumplings while dipping in the sour cream; a little too hard to  chew on.

and we had left-overs for lunch.

The decor must resemble a Polish kitchen but if you asked me, I couldn't tell you what sort of decorations they had or even the color of the walls. The service was good. The entrees (its all a la carte) range from $12 to $18. Restaurant is located on Broadway between Columbus and Swan.

MILLIE'S PANCAKE HAUS - TUCSON, AZ

I've eaten here quite a few times for brunch. They have always been a breakfast and lunch place only but that changed in December. Now they are open till 9pm for dinner on friday, saturday and sunday evenings. So we thought we'd give it a try.

They are near Pima and Tanque Verde right across the street from the miniature golf course.

We were the only diners till about 1/2 way through our meal and then another couple came in. I heard the waitress tell them that they were only the 3rd dinner people all evening but the Thursday before, they were very crowded.

We shared cabbage rolls and stuffed mushrooms though we wanted the pork loin sandwich which they ran out of. The mushrooms were pretty good; a tad too much stringy cheese on top but the herbed bread stuffing was really tasty.

And the cabbage rolls were excellent. I only ate the meat filling because my belly was still recovering - at this time the bloat was down to a 5 month pregnant size and not quite so taut with pain - from a bowl of charro beans the night before. They came with au gratin potatoes and steamed veggies which were over cooked. The dinner also came with a salad which was really big with cucumbers and carrots and red cabbage and tomatoes. We had the creamy garlic dressing which was delicious.

Millie's bakes their own bread and we got 2 slices of that. Its  good and brought back memories of all the loafs of wonderful bread Bill made pre-road trip. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

WILD

I liked this movie way more than i thought i would. I was prejudiced against it because she didn't complete the PCT and i didn't particularly care for her in my attempts to read the book. But Reese Witherspoon was very very good in this role.

The film is the story of Cheryl who decides to go on a long distance backpacking trip to get "her head together" and recover from her continuing grief over the death of her mother (Laura Dern) and a foray into heroin and an unwanted pregnancy and promiscuity and a divorce after 7 years of marriage.

The best parts were the trail segments which fortunately was the bulk of the movie. It really portrayed all the joys and pains and inconveniences of the trail; was a very accurate picture. and the scenery was amazing both the mountains and canyons but also the meadows and the continual rain in the Mt. Hood National Forest. And her encounters with other hikers or people along the trail was done extremely well.  The only jarring note in this was the blatant REI plug; not a subtle mention, not a passing glimpse of the  REI box which contained her new boots but something you would hear if you were watching an actual commercial.

I couldn't emotionally connect with her past angst and sorrow because the flashbacks were done in such a speed of light MTV fashion. Nothing was dwelled on for very long.

And the ending, naturally, was the completion of her trip at the Bridge of the Gods from Oregon to Washington. The last shot was Cheryl (Witherspoon) standing on the bridge mouthing psychological pop phrases of recovery and growth and enlightenment. I had trouble understanding just HOW all this hiking led to these insights.

However, in spite of all these bitches, it was a highly enjoyable and entertaining movie. Bill gave it an 8 and I gave it a 7. an 8.5 for the hiking sequences.

RINCON MARKET - TUCSON, AZ

This place is a combo of a small market, a deli, a hot food and breakfast cafeteria, a killer salad bar, a beer and wine bar,  and a homemade ice cream by Isabella section.

There are lots of tables scattered in 2 places and loads more on their long patio. What's neat about either sitting outside or just walking to the market is having to pass absolutely beautiful hanging flower baskets and huge pots and planters. I don't know who designs these blooms but they are incredibly breathtakingly gorgeous.

We were here for a lunch and wanted a salad. I tried to be careful and not put a lot of heavy stuff on my plate because you pay by the weight but it was hard to pass up all the delightful additives in addition to spinach, iceberg lettuce, spring mix, kale, butterball, etc. There was also lots of different types of salad dressings and toppers and there was also chicken to add and tofu and besides all the veggies and fruits  to pile on top of your lettuce base; there was potato salad and coleslaw and orzo and lentil salad and 4 bean salad and tortellini and macaroni salad, on and on and on.

and EVERYTHING was unimaginably fresh. so much so that we almost didn't mind paying $16 for our lunch.

BRUSHFIRE BBQ CO. - TUCSON, AZ

This is the best barbeque in Tucson. We always eat at the restaurant on 22nd and Kolb which opened maybe a year or so ago. The original one on Campbell near Glenn (which is still in business) is small so seating is always a hassle and its always noisy plus most of their tables are high and you've got to sit on those "adult" high chairs which are pretty uncomfortable. The place on the East side is very large and has lots of "normal" tables and booths too.

Last night we shared a 1/2 rack of baby back ribs. The rack was a tad smaller (by about 2 ribs) than we usually get but oh, the meat was good; so tender and flavorful. It comes with 2 sides and 2 pieces of grilled bread which are always dry. Because we had a 15% off coupon, we got an extra side of sweet potatoes which were excellent. Plus we took the creamy coleslaw and corn on the cob which i don't expect to be anything close to August Pacific Northwest corn or Olathe, Colorado corn but this was pretty pathetic so i don't think i'll get that again. Their barbequed beans are extraordinarily good.

This restaurant is high on our list of favorites.

BLACKHAT

I rated this movie a 4 and Bill gave it a 5. And he loved (and understood) all the computer hacking terms and keyboard clicking and router talk and encrypted stuff (though he said some of it was bullshit.). but inspite of his enjoyment of that part, the other parts pulled the rating down.

It was a hackneyed plot in which Nick (played by a somber and flat Chris Hemsworth who CAN act, i know! cuz i've seen him in the Thor movie plus that racing driver one.) was let out of prison so his supreme computer knowledge could be used to find the identity of the hacker who blew up a nuclear plant in China.

This China connection meant there was grudging cooperation between Nick and some Chinese whiz kids including the obligatory romance subplot which was so lame and embarrassing. The girl had no character, personality or substance; i felt the life sucked out of me whenever she was on the screen; absolutely no chemistry between her and Hemsworth.

A lot of the chase and fight scenes were shot like the Blair Witch Project; shaky camera work plus being blurry.

Big disappointment! I get to pick the movie for next week.!!

BIRDMAN

We liked this movie more and more as Bill and i discussed it afterwards. He gave it an 8 and i gave it a 7.5.

Michael Keaton is Riggan an actor who peaked 20 years before as an action hero called Birdman. He now wants to direct and star in a serious play on Broadway and he becomes obsessed with attaining fame once again but this time, in his eyes,  as a legitimate performer and not a feathered creature.

Through out the film there are scenes of his internal voice telling him he's either a worthless piece of shit and he's never going to pull off this play or that he's better than all of Hollywood and doesn't have to prove himself. Besides this inner voice there are also scenes of other fantasies; an actual bird, him flying, Riggan moving objects. and i have to admit i sometimes couldn't follow all these scenes. Though never to the point that i got lost in the story which was simple.

Naomi Watts is one of the actresses in the play and Edward Norton is Mike, an already accomplished actor who also is arrogant and  difficult to work with. There is lots of smart and sarcastic and witty and glib dialogue and the acting is marvelous.

I was mesmerized by this movie and I hated to have to go to the bathroom but luckily our theater was right next to the women's loo.

I also liked the movie because it included a lot about the mechanics and process in putting on a play and rehearsing. I was amazed at how good Michael Keaton and Ed Norton were; just perfect. oh and the background music which was a lot of discordant almost jazz like drumming was wonderful and created a lot of tension.

Now i didn't give it more than 7.5 (the acting in fact was a 10) because some of the fantasy stuff left me puzzled and I didn't like the ending which was ambiguous and for me, deeply unsatisfying.

THE HUNGRY FOX - TUCSON, AZ

I've eaten here several times before and i'm pretty sure i've reviewed it with appreciation for the good food and service. Well, not this time! As an aside, it seems that i have been more turned off by breakfast/brunch places than putting them on my 'go back' list.

It's a big bright space with a small gift store by the front door. and its located on the nw corner of broadway and swan.

I ordered a breakfast sandwich which came with hashed browns and i also got 1 slice of french toast. Everything was lukewarm; nothing was hot. The butter barely melted on the toast. The potatoes and sausage patty on the sandwich were greasy and the English muffin was hardly toasted at all (one of my usual complaints in restaurants. For some reason english muffins take forever in the toaster - way more than thick slices of bread or bagels so i''m sure this is why they always come to the table limp.)

And the eggs weren't scrambled which i ordered. It was sort of an egg hankerchief; thin yellow sheets folded over and over. Very unappealing.


and the waitress never came over after dropping off the food to check on us or refill tea cups and water glasses.

I won't be on a fox hunt anytime soon.

BIG EYES

A very fast paced and well acted movie about the woman who did the 'big eyes' portraits and the man (her husband) who took credit for them.

Christoph Waltz played Walter and he  excellently acted the assertiveness and showmanship and charm and con-man slickness and public relations savvy which catapulted his wife's paintings to fame and riches. They met and married in the late 50's and Margaret (Amy Adams) was a divorcee with a child when she moved to California to start over.

In the very beginning the creator of the paintings (Margaret) was given credit but as people slowly became more interested, Walter sort of accidentally took credit because of course "no one is going to buy a painting by a woman" and Margaret went along with it for many years because this was the late 50's and she felt obligated to Walter and dependent on his support. Also she was NOT a promoter personality at all.

The movie ends with a hilarious and yet sad court scene as Margaret sues Walter for slander. the credits at the end of the movie mentioned that she remarried and is still painting and Walter died in 2000 still not admitting that he did not paint the Big Eyes pictures.

I rated it a 7.5 and Bill gave it a 7. Light fun entertainment.

EL INDIO - TUCSON, AZ

We haven't been here in several years but my tongue memory is a positive one regarding the food quality. Its on S. 6th Avenue.

But i was really disappointed last night and I think the only one who wasn't was Jean and she ordered the albondigas soup.

I had a combo plate of a beef taco, tamale and enchilada. I requested no beans because i did remember that their beans were not very good. the rice that came on the plate was ok but everything else was not. It lacked flavor and the beef was stringy and the meat in the taco was way overdone and very dry.

That was Tim's comment on his carne seca plate; the meat was too dry. Bill thought his carnitas taco was just OK.

and i finally ordered a cheese crisp for an appetizer. Throughout the years i've heard people rave about them and i've caught a glimpse of them as they've been aerially carried to a table. The round plate is  set on a pizza like frame. Well, its just cheddar cheese on a crisp tortilla!! I couldn't figure out why so many people like them.  I'm not a fan of thick cheddar cheese and this crisp had mounds of it on some parts of the tortilla and none on other parts. You can get stuff added on top like green chiles or meat but that would not have improved the very ordinariness of this appetizer.

We won't be back.

LAVERNA'S COFFEE SHOP - TUCSON, AZ

I go here for the very fast service and the reasonable prices and the atmosphere which is cosy and warm with tables filled with regulars ordering their "usual" but also for the killer awesome delicious banana pecan pancake.

It is a plate size pancake - very light, filled with bananas and the top is  a crunchy crispy glee-infused pecan and cinnamon layer.

I brought more than half of it home and bill and i shared it the next morning.

The rest of their food is good but nothing like this pancake!!!!!!!