MAMA

We haven't seen a horror movie in ages and since we weren't that excited about seeing anything else at the theaters we picked this one because of the director, Guillermo del Toro. He directed the first Hellboy (wonderfully inventive and creative) and the fantastical Pan's Labyrinth. However, both of us were disappointed. I gave it a 6 and Bill a 7.

Am i becoming jaded or what? but i wasn't scared; not even edge of my seat tense. the acting was good (Jessica Chastain played Annabelle and her boyfriend was acted by Jamie from Game of Thrones.) and i loved the 2 girls in the movie. and the photography excellently captured creepiness but all these parts just didn't translate into captivatingly spooky.

The story was simple and silly. 2 girls are kidnapped by their dad who has just murdered a couple of people. He drives them to a remote cabin deep in the wilderness. Just as he's about to kill his daughters and then commit suicide; a malevolent black swirly thing takes him away. The girls live by themselves in this cabin for 5 years so are pretty feral when they are finally found.

And the rest of the movie is about the crazy woman  in the 1800's who had her baby taken away from her and this resulted in a decades long search for that child. and for some reason this nut case decides that the 2 girls are hers and they can see her and call her mama. and mama is jealous of Annabelle who is taking care of them (being the girlfriend of the man whose brother is the dad who got spirited away. and this brother is now in a coma because of mama so Annabelle who is in a rock band and doesn't keep a neat house is the sole care-taker of these girls.)

and then there's the psychiatrist who is attempting to find out who mama is and also, the aunt who really wants custody and --- shall i go on? I think NOT.

GUSTO OSTERIA - TUCSON, AZ

We had one of the few good seats in this restaurant; the last one in the row of seats along the wall of windows which looked out onto the outdoor eating patio. There are only 3 or 4 booths and most of the seating is on tables along a banquette. this type of arrangement always gives me the impression of a food trough.

The food was very good though I would have wished for a small salad with the entree. Oh, and also a tighter cork for the herbed olive oil or some other kind of container. I noticed all the herbs at the bottom of the cruet but after i shook it up i was greased up pretty pretty bad. The olive oil mixture had a great taste and it went well with the super fresh bread.

Bill had veal piccata which he loved. I had 2 lightly breaded pork tenderloins stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese and accompanied with linguine with marinara sauce. I was only able to eat maybe a 1/4 of my dish; it was very filling and really tasty. Both of us have food left over for lunch today.

The restaurant is located next to Safeway at the intersection of Tanque Verde and Sabino Canyon.

THE GARLAND BISTRO - TUCSON, AZ

we had a most enjoyable and pleasant lunch here with my sister, Kathie, and her husband, Greg. That being said - i'll move on to the review of the food part of this experience.

The restaurant (at 4th and E. speedway) is in an old house so the setting is really neat. There is a porch and tables inside several separate rooms. this gives a nice feeling of coziness and cuts down on noise from other patrons.

The menu is an eclectic blend of Vietnamese, American, vegetarian, Indian, and Mexican.  Bill and I split a chicken salad sandwich on rye bread. There was lots of chicken with crunchy celery and almonds. The only thing that this sandwich came with was some orange slices. The cost was almost $9.

We also split a grilled cheese with onions on white. This was just OK. Nothing special. This was about $6 and again, just came with orange slices. There was an extra charge for the onions which i've encountered before at other places but Kathie and I were also charged for extra mayo - a dollar. I have never been charged for this. of course, we were each served the mayo in a soup tureen sized bowl. We could have easily shared the serving and still only used about 1/2 of it.

We also shared a green salad which was a tiny pile of spring mix with a cherry tomato and a cucumber. This was about $3.

I quit going here because of the good but not extraordinary food; the small portions and the prices. But its a nice place to bring company and visiting friends because of the pleasant easy-to-talk-in atmosphere.

The bathroom is lovely; large with a couple of fake orchids and lots of windows and a beautiful old dresser/table combo.