The Hangover Part II

ahhhh. The sequel to the blockbuster comedy. Good idea or not?

Sequels are tricky.

Especially when it's a funny, slapstick comedy that had you laughing so hard you nearly spit out your coke and choked on your popcorn.

Those movies often pop out a sequel. Mainly because they made so much fricken money the first time around. Of course they will tell you it was because they had such an amazing time making it they want to get together again.

Uh, yeah. We're not stupid ya' know. We know you made a slapstick comedy, it was a way bigger hit than you expected, and you can now shop at Whole Foods without looking at the prices. And you're kind of digging that.

So here we are with The Hangover Part II out this weekend.

Don and I loved the first one. It was one of those movies where we kept recalling scenes and laughing all over again - the tooth scene, the tiger in the bathroom, Heather Graham, that crazy guy in the trunk, and Mike Tyson. Do you think that was really his house?

So when we saw the preview for the sequel we knew we had to see it. We had to see what the new adventure would be.

And guess what? wah wahhhhhh.

It's the same thing all over again!!!! They tried to recreate the exact same plot. Why would they do this? We already know this plot. It felt really contrived, like they got to a point in the script and said "Ok, that's funny now let's have them do this, and then this, and then this." It just jumps around from here to there and back again.

The acting isn't good, especially Bradley Cooper. There is one scene where they have a long closeup of him trying to think of what the guys should do and I swear it feels like he's making it up as they're filming.

Bradley Cooper. This dude is hot, even when he's all sweaty.

Zack G. is funny and odd like in the first movie. He plays this part well. But again, it's just the same thing all over again.

It would have been better if they had the guys get together for something other than a bachelor party.

Oh well.

There are some laughs. But, it's nothing like the first one.

I think this is a watch it on Netflicks sequel. Sorry fellas.

Nuts for Nuts and nutty movies

I love when this happens. A friend tried a few recipes from the old blog (three!) and then shared a recipe for Bar Nuts she thought I would like. Yay!

Danny Meyer, Union Square Cafe
(photo: Union Square Cafe)

It just so happens the recipe is from one of the restaurants Don and I used to eat at when he worked in NYC. The Union Square Cafe is Danny Meyer's restaurant. They have really yummy food. 

I actually met Danny when I went to the Food and Wine Festival in Aspen a jillion years ago. He gave a talk on pairing wine and food. I still remember sitting there taking notes as fast as I could so I wouldn't miss anything.

So I was pretty excited when I saw the recipe was from Union Square Cafe. I'll be whipping up a batch of these babies this weekend. For sure. 'Cuz nothing goes better with a bottle of wine than hot and spicy bar nuts. 

Here are both of our nut recipes. In case you're feeling really nutty. 

Union Square Cafe's Bar Nuts

(From Union Square Cafe and reader Melanie Haas.)

2 1/4 cups (18oz) assorted unsalted nuts (peanuts, cashews, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan, whole unpeeled almonds)

2 T coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

2 t. dark brown sugar

2 t. sea salt

1 T unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350º

1. Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine. Spread them out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter. 

3. Toss the toasted nuts in the spice mix and serve warm.

And now for my recipe: Herb Salt Roasted Almonds

Herb Salt Roasted Nuts (photo: Melanie Haase)

Melanie took a photo of the almonds because she noticed I didn't have one. Gee, I wonder if she wouldn't mind taking a few others for me!? Thank you Melanie for the photo and the Bar Nuts recipe.

Herb Salt Roasted Almonds

1 pound fresh raw almonds
2 t. salt
1 T fresh thyme, chopped
1 T fresh rosemary, chopped
1 T fresh oregano, chopped
t. olive oil
Fresh cracked pepper
Preheat oven to 300º

1. Pour the almonds in a colander and run a splash of cold water through them so they are barely moistened and can drain. Toss the almonds with the salt. Turn them onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
2. Bake for about 15 minutes, watching carefully. Shake the pan and turn the almonds over with a spatula. Return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes or until you hear the first crackle. Beware: one minute too long and the almonds will burn!
3. Pour the almonds into a bowl and add the herbs, olive oil and toss well. Grind a little black pepper over the nuts and serve warm in a bowl. The almonds will keep in an airtight container for a few days.

Speaking of nuts....

Have any of you seen the movie Best in Show? It is one of my all-time favorite movies. One of my favorite scenes in when Harlan (who is from Pine Nut) tries to recall as many nuts as he can. Pistachio Nut, Macadamia Nut, Cashew Nut, Peanut.....such a funny movie.

Dinner and a movie.

Happy Friday! It's dinner and a movie night. And my recommendation is Alice and Wonderland.

Yep. We saw it last weekend with Elli and her friend Susana and it's fabulous. It's not too scary for kids. I'm not sure I would take toddlers, but our 8 year olds did just fine and loved it.

I don't know how they do the live action and animation, but it's pretty incredible. And the costumes. I couldn't stop staring at the incredible dresses that Alice wore, and the red queen and the white queen, and Johnny Depp - - everyone actually. It was simply amazing to see. Colleen Atwood is the costume designer. Wow. She is one talented lady.

She's won a couple Oscars already. I believe there is another one in her future.

Here's the trailer in case you've been living in a hole and haven't seen it. ha. Get it? In a hole. WAHH.

Alice in Wonderland



I might just have to see it again.

Photos from movieline.

When Harry Met Sally - The Horror Remix

Last Friday we were editing a radio and tv spot in San Francisco.  Our voiceover talent asked us if we had seen the video on You Tube of "When Harry Met Sally" remixed as a horror flick. None of us had seen it so we immediately clicked on You Tube to watch it.

We were all dieing laughing. It turns out there are several trailers like this "The Shining", "Mary Poppins" all remixed to be the opposite of their original genre.

I emailed it out to a few people, including Don, because I thought it was hilarious. So when I got home I asked him if he watched it. His response? "It's not new ya know. I saw that when I was at Ogilvy." And that was that. He left Ogilvy in 2005.

Well. I don't care. It's new to me. And I think it's funny. So I'm going to share it with you guys. And if you too saw it YEARS ago, keep it to yourself. Just humor me and watch it. You don't have to like it, or think it's funny. Just pretend it is.



Ok. It's funny right?  Right?

Whatevs.

I realized I haven't been talking about cooking much lately.

We're still cooking, and eating, here in the Mulkey house. In fact, as I sit here on the couch with my laptop in my lap, I see evidence of a food consumption in the tummy that is staring at me. Blah.

I just haven't cooked or eaten anything that's blog worthy. What I need is someone to take me to a fabulous dinner somewhere so I can brag about it all day and all night. Hint, hint.

The phone isn't ringing.  Bummer.

George Clooney prrrrrrfect

First off, let me say I love my husband. He's the man. He's my mister.

Now on to George Clooney. Prrrrrrr.....he's my Hollywood fantasy man. The dashing good looks, cocky demeanor, amazing voice, sexy smile, the twinkle in his eye that is part trouble, part dude......sheesh, I guess I should stop, I'm gonna be in trouble. NOT. Don doesn't read the blog. I'm safe. (I'll tell you about his crush on pretty little Scarlett Johannsen some other time. Cradle robber.)

Anyhoo, George is in a new movie, "Up In the Air", that is getting rave reviews, pre-oscar buzz, and I can't wait to see it. We saw "Fantastic Mr. Fox" last weekend in which he plays the voice of "Mr. Fox." He's fantastic as the fox. But I can't wait to see his mug in this movie.   meow!!



So get on out there and go to the movies people. Show George some love. Maybe he'll invite me (and the fam) to his Italian villa, aka, mansion, for a little vaca to celebrate. Wouldn't that be awesome!?!

Ciao! All this talk has has made me thirsty for some Italian wine. A little Prosecco maybe? Better skip on over to BevMo!

The September Issue - luscious, fascinating, dishy fun. I'm in.

I don't know where I've been. But somehow I missed that there is a movie coming out about Anna Wintour, Editor of Vogue.

Sometimes referred to as "The Devil." Ms. Wintour has quite a reputation. Remember the movie "Devil Wears Prada"? Well Anna Wintour is the real person that Meryl Streep portrayed in the movie. Aaaah, now you're interested, right? Powerful women. Claws. Supermodels. I'm in. (kidding about the claws. They are beautifully manicured nails.)

The movie "September Issue", is a documentary by director R.J. Cutler, about the making of the single largest issue of Vogue ever printed - weighing in at a whopping 5 lbs! The magazine hit the news stands right as the economy was starting to tank in the fall of 2007. Remember?

The movie is a behind-the-scenes peek at how the September 2007 issue was put together. It follows Anna Wintour and her creative director Grace Coddington, as they made major decisions involving big buck photo shoots with famous photographers, selecting designs for the issue, models, celebrities, famous designers.........meoooooooow, daaaahling.  I can't wait to see all the action! (This is me pretending to be a fashionista. Ha! Don't all celebs wear sunglasses inside?)

Review from Time Magazine.

In theaters tomorrow.  

Will someone please bring me my feather boas?

Movie Review: Inglourious Basterds

On Monday night Don and I got an unexpected reprieve from little miss sassy - Elli had a last minute sleepover. We quickly decided we wanted to go see a movie.  The theatre down the road had a movie starting at 7pm. It was 6pm. Perfect.  We nuked some leftovers for dinner and headed to the movie.

First let me say how crowded the movie was on a Monday night. It was like Saturday night. I thought this was strange and interesting. I don't think I've ever been to a movie on a Monday night. Who knew?

Anyway, once the movie finally started (after 20 minutes of scary previews) I leaned over to Don and asked what movie we were seeing.  He looked at me like I had two heads. 

"It must be a scary movie from all the scary previews," I said.

"It's Inglorious Basterds," he said.

"What?" I said.  

"The Nazi movie," he said. 

I thought about it for a minute. Then I remembered.

"OH!!! The Brad Pitt movie," (purrrrrr)

No comment from Don. He just rolled his eyes. (Yes, this is me in real life.)

I seriously must have been so focused on the fact that Brad Pitt was in a movie that I never paid attention to the name of it. Ever. So not sure what this says for me, or the marketing of the movie. But they totally miss-fired with me. Completely.

Anyway, the movie was typical Quentin Tarantino - scary, mysterious, gory, thrilling, unnerving, and unbelievable. Full of violence and gore.  Just like the war.  It was an excellent movie.  I have to say Pulp Fiction is still my favorite movie he's done.  (The soundtrack for that one clinched it for me.) But this one is in a very close second. I would like to see it again, but I need to recover first. Some movies are like that for me.

If you want to see this movie be prepared. It's not for the faint of heart. My stomach was doing backflips during the movie.  Not sure if it was from the leftovers, watching the movie, or my nerves from everything else going on in my life. But it was rumbling and talking to me. Don't worry, nothing happened. But I was ready to flee the theatre if necessary.

Here's the preview in case you haven't seen it.  Oh, did I tell you Brad Pitt is in the movie? Ha.

And the Oscar goes to.....Meryl Streep

We just came back from seeing the movie. Loved it! It was funny, heart-warming and really entertaining.  

I used to watch Julia Child on TV and knew a little bit about her. I haven't read Julie Powell's book.  But I did check out her blog when I heard about the movie. It would have been really fun to follow the blog as she wrote it. And I don't own a copy of Julia Child's cookbook. Yet. But I think I'm going to have to get a copy.  I must make Beef Bourguignon, like the rest of America.

Meryl Streep as Julia Child was AMAZING.  I forgot it wasn't really Julia Child. That woman is so talented. I was in awe. Amy Adams was good too.  But Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci (as Julia's husband, Paul) were awesome. I think there might be a gold statue in her future.

And because I'm me, I got a little teary eyed in the end. It wasn't really sad. I think it was just seeing her kitchen/tv set and knowing she's gone that got to me. I noticed a few others were dabbing their eyes too. And it wasn't Don.

Elli says :"It was good. It had some bad words. But I really loved it." (It was rated PG-13.)

Don says: "I thought it was very entertaining. I liked the way the story was told. I wish Julia and Julia had met. But life is life."

So there you have it. I give it the Mulkey Three-Thumbs-Up movie review.

Julie and Julia - in theaters today!!!!

One day, an average girl named Julie decided to make every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering The Art of French Cooking." She challenged herself to do it in a year. And blog about it. She called it the Julie/Julia project. It became huge. She got a book deal. Then a movie deal. Wow. 

"Julie and Julia" is in theaters today.  I can't wait to see it. Here's a sneak peek.

Meryl Streep plays Julia.  And Amy Adams plays Julie Powell. 

Maybe I should put more thought into my blog, turn it into a best seller, then a movie. Ka-ching!!!!!

Moving right to my potential movie.....who will play me?  According to Facebook, Jennifer Garner is playing me in the movie (Facebook quiz), Elli will play herself and Don will be played by Jeff Daniels (because I think they look alike.)  I also like Julia Roberts, for her loud laugh. Cuz we all know I don't have a quiet laugh.

Have a good weekend everyone. Do something fun outside. Then go to the movie!

: )

Friday night movie review.

It's been an exhausting week. No recipes or cooking tonight. It's date night!

Don and I love watching movies. And we love seeing them on the big screen. We don't go to the movies much anymore - unless they are family flicks. So when we do get out we really enjoy it.

Last Friday we had a real (adults only) date - dinner and a movie.  The thought of it sounds so good right now. It's been a long week.

We had dinner at a fantastic new restaurant in Mill Valley called Balboa Cafe. The meal was great. Our two favorite things were the Ahi appetizer and the Blueberry Bread pudding for dessert. It was served with really good vanilla ice cream. It was warm with a bit of crunch on top. Soooooo good. I might have it instead of an entree next time.

After dinner, we saw the movie Sunshine Cleaning. We both enjoyed it. I really like Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.  I loved Amy Adams in Enchanted.  And thought Emily Blunt was terrific as the secretary in Devils Wears Prada.  Anyhow, this movie is funny, sweet, and sentimental. It's all about family and friends and how we stick together no matter what. I give it a thumbs up. It has its heart tugging moments, which of course made me teary eyed. So if you're like me, bring a tissue! (Don gave me the eye roll.  What-ever!)

Click here to see a preview.

Happy date night!