Tag: arugula

Pizza, Salad, and a Movie: The Lego Batman Movie

Last weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Jalapeños
  • Artichoke Hearts

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I had a wedge salad, but since it was the first Friday of Lent, I skipped the bacon. So it was basically iceberg lettuce, tomato, and blue cheese dressing. My husband joked that it reminded him of the salads his mom used to make. (But he doesn’t remember blue cheese dressing…)

Since I haven’t mentioned this in a while, let me say that the pizzas at Corner Pizza are very good. When I achieve my weight loss goal, I may have a slice or two. Until then, I’m happy just to take photos of them.

Movie:

The Lego Batman Movie

Whoever thought of making a movie using Lego pieces/characters? Someone did for the first one (The Lego Movie, I think), and because it did so well, they came along and did another. This one was clever, if a little silly, but it was well done and entertaining. A bit of a change from movies we’ve seen lately, and a welcome one.

Now – it’s old news that La La Land didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Picture (and how it didn’t win). I’m glad it didn’t, but we haven’t seen Moonlight and don’t really want to. I’m kind of over the Oscars, anyway, except maybe for the gowns on the Red Carpet. Staying up past midnight to see the announcers (or whoever it was) mess up the biggest award of the night – well, I’m glad I didn’t.

[I did wake up in the middle of the night though and checked Facebook (!) to see who won that award. I saw a post that said “That was nuts. #Oscars”, but for some reason, I wasn’t curious enough to look further. I went back to sleep and found out what happened the next morning.]

Incidentally, Bonnie and Clyde is one of my all time favorite films. Too bad its actors had the misfortune of being the ones who got the wrong card that night!

 

 

 

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Pizza, Salad, and a Movie: The Girl on the Train

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Jalapeños
  • Banana Peppers

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Movie:

The Girl on the Train

You’ve read the book, but have you seen the film?

My husband and I finally read it over the last few days. I had wanted to for awhile, and had the perfect chance while we were on a beach vacation earlier this month. He read it after me, and we both really liked it (and, comparing it to other suspense novels we’ve read, understood why it’s sold so well). Perhaps because I’m a writer (or, just because we like to talk about books), we talked about the characters, the plot twists, and the unreliable narrator, Rachel.

Though the movie has had mixed reviews, I wanted to see it as soon as possible after reading the book, so we could see it for ourselves and discuss the film adaptation. Since it’s been out for awhile, we had to go far from our neck of the woods for a showing at the right time (after our early dinner). I’m glad we did, but I agree with those who think the film wasn’t nearly as good as the book.

But I think it could have been.

It wasn’t just that they moved the story from England to Connecticut (or somewhere up north), and that the houses weren’t as I pictured them; they seemed too far from the train tracks, and too far apart. They also cut a lot of important scenes (and some key dialogue), and added some things that weren’t in the book, and weren’t needed.

Even so, if you see the movie, I strongly suggest you read the book first. Or – just read the book.

Oh, and I had a wedge salad, and (oops), one very small piece of pizza. But now I’m back “on track” on my diet, so to speak.

Reliably.

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Pizza and a Movie: The Martian

This Last weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Bacon
  • Sun Dried Tomatoes

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Movie:

The Martian

Yes, I know this movie is no longer playing in theaters. We missed it when it was,* and since nothing at the cinema at the moment seemed interesting, we decided to go home and watch this film.

We had both recently read the book, and we both liked the movie. But, as is often the case, the book was better, and there were some things left out of the film 😦 But it was still really good.

What made it really good, for me (now I wish it had won an Academy Award; I think it was nominated for 3, including Adapted Screenplay, yay) weren’t the science of it, or the special effects. I don’t even (normally) like science fiction. Though I know we aren’t sending people to (make that, leaving people on) Mars yet, I felt like this story could actually be happening. Now.

No, what made it so good were A, the characters (all) – notice I didn’t say actors, though it was well cast; B, the humor (mostly in dialogue); and C, the story itself. And B was the best. Same thing for the novel by Andy Weir, which I highly recommend.

When is Hollywood going to figure out that it’s about the writing?

We passed on going to see The Boss, and I guess we will go see that soon. I hear it’s funny. However, it will be a different kind of humor than what Weir did in his book, and what was in the movie.

Now for the pizza. He wanted Arugula. The other toppings gave it the crunch and the tang (and flavor) we wanted. Yum.

Bon appétit.

*Two others we missed and plan to watch at home are Mad Max: Fury Road and Steve Jobs. We did see Creed, though, and it was fantastic. Blood and all.

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Pizza and a Movie: Brooklyn

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Feta Cheese
  • Italian Sausage

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Movie:

Brooklyn

It happened.

Last week, we (inadvertently) chose a combination of 3 toppings for our pizza (see: Bridge of Spies) that we had already had in the past year. My husband, who is keeping track of our combinations (and wants us to exhaust all possible ones, eventually), was displeased, because now we’ve chosen that combo twice.

Oh, well. Pas grand-chose.

Anyway, this week, he insisted on arugula, saying we’d hardly had it much, so whatever else we chose, it ought to be a new combination. I selected Feta Cheese, and, looking for a meat, we agreed on Italian sausage.

The combination was a bit bizarre, but still good. You feel like you’re eating a (pizza) salad, kind of, when arugula is on top. But what the heck.

The film was very good – I would even say it makes my top 5 for the year, or top 3. Like Bridge of Spies, it was set in the 1950s, and the story was captivating. I liked the scenes crossing the Atlantic, and on Ellis Island, which I’ve never visited, but which one of my sons recently did. I loved the scenes at the beach, and the outfits. And I loved hearing the Irish accents, and just watching the story unfold.

There’s a good amount of conflict in the movie, and some people who aren’t very nice. We discussed some of the film’s aspects on the short drive home, and I had to invoke a bit of “willing suspension of disbelief,” but not a whole lot. For example:

“Why would (or wouldn’t) she have said/done/not said/not done this? Or that?”

(If you go see the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about.)

All in all, though (to borrow an expression from Mademoiselle‘s post cards), this is a treasure of a movie – no matter what you’re looking for.

 

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Best of Enemies

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Ham
  • Sliced Tomatoes

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Movie:

Best of Enemies

This was kind of like a ham and tomato and arugula sandwich, on a pizza – except that it was light on the ham, which was fine. My husband chose all the toppings, and they suited me. He also chose the film, which didn’t completely suit me.

I didn’t dislike it – I found it enlightening, witty, and entertaining. Later, I asked him if he thought people ate arugula back in 1968 (the year the events in the film, a documentary, took place).

“I’m sure they had it, but it probably wasn’t on anyone’s table in America,” he said.

We were children during the 1960s, and as the oldest of nine kids*, when his mother served a “salad” at dinner, it was sliced iceberg lettuce (only), with homemade “French” dressing (ketchup mixed with water, or, if mixed with mayonnaise, “Thousand Island”).

Salads at my house were a close cousin: either torn iceberg lettuce, or green leaf lettuce I was assigned to pick from our garden. Our dressing was oil and vinegar – I remember thinking you had to eat at a restaurant to have other options.

We did have tomatoes in our salads, if we had some in the garden. My dad used to pick them early and put them on a window sill to ripen. Other garden ingredients I recall are green onions and radishes.**

As for ham, I like it well enough, but my husband isn’t too fond of it, so I was surprised he chose it as a pizza topping. But I know, over time, he wants to order every conceivable topping combination (see PIZZA AND A MOVIE tab above), so I assumed that had something to do with it.

Back to the movie. If you like politics, culture, and (especially), debates, you should see it. The footage from 1968 alone was great, and I found myself marveling that it happened the year Nixon was elected, and just a few short years before he resigned and the Viet Nam war ended. Watching the two “enemies,” William F. Buckley, Jr. and Gore Vidal, go at each other was amazing; there were more than a few unexpected and unscripted moments.

And I bet each of them grew up in homes where arugula was served, occasionally.

* For more about my husband’s large family, read my latest book ALL THE ABOVE. Several people in the family (including his mother) appear in it.

** What ingredients were in your salads when you were growing up?

 

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Pizza and a Movie: I’ll See You In My Dreams

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Arugula
  • Corn
  • Poblano Peppers

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Movie:

I’ll See You In My Dreams

My husband and I are as fond of Arugula as anyone else is – but neither of us had ever had it on a pizza before. Interestingly (to me, since I don’t know how to cook – and my husband seemed bemused at my surprise, since he does cook), the chefs added it after the pizza had been baked. So it kind of felt like a (substantial) garnish.

I guess if they hadn’t done that, it wouldn’t have worked out too well. But I was all prepared for something warm and wilty, like spinach.

In any case, it was the vegetarian pizza we had agreed on last week. The arugula made it feel kind of salad-y, too, and it was colorful, light and tasty. Afterward, we headed to the cinema, and here’s my review of I’ll See You In My Dreams:

I’ll start with what I liked (in order):

  1. The singing. Blythe Danner was fantastic at that, and I thought she did a great job acting in the film.
  2. The fact that her character was always asking for, offering, and drinking wine.
  3. The pool guy (not your typical one, but I thought he was sweet, and I wanted the best for him).
  4. Sam Elliott was great, too, and well cast, but I’ve always been kind of 50 – 50 on him, for some reason. However, I thought all the actors were well cast.
  5. The dialogue, for the most part. In one scene, there was a much needed reference to an imaginary guy named Alphonse that I thought was particularly funny.

What I didn’t like:

Basically, the story.

In short, it was sad – sadder than I thought it would be. I felt for Carol (Blythe Danner) and wanted her to find happiness. What she decided on at the end just didn’t quite do it for me.

I’ve read that some people found the movie touching, even witty, and I didn’t think it was a bad movie. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would.

Maybe it’s like Arugula, in that you kind of have to be in the mood for it. And you might just love it.

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Pizza and a Movie: Spy

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Feta Cheese
  • Italian Sausage
  • Shallots

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Movie:

Spy

You may have noticed that my movie titles are getting shorter. (I can’t imagine a shorter one than this week’s selection.)

Spy was a good film, and very funny. Yes, it was a bit raunchy and had a lot of profanity, but even so, I thought the dialogue was great: well written and well delivered. There were so many funny lines (evoking laughs from the audience) that sometimes I missed the next (probably funnier) line, because I couldn’t hear it above the laughter. The physical humor was also funny, and I didn’t find it over the top. The story was entertaining, and unlike last week’s film, the movie didn’t dissapoint.

If you want to laugh a lot and you don’t mind bad words and silliness, go see it. I thought one of the supporting characters was even funnier than the star of the film.

Now for the pizza. I chose feta, and my husband chose the other two toppings. It worked out fine (even though we had Italian sausage another time, recently), but we agreed that next time, we ought to go for a vegetarian pizza, and make sure at least one topping is green. When I suggested arugula, my husband had a lukewarm reaction – but I have a week to work on him.

Speaking of working on him, our wedding anniversary is coming up later this month (as it happens, on a Friday). I’m sure that over the years, we’ve negotiated quite a bit about decisions, big and small – probably, tons more times than there are pizza topping combinations at Corner Pizza (click on above tab “Pizza and a Movie“ for more about that number). However, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that many times.

Because, I’ve found that if you keep a sense of humor about things (and if you can laugh together), that’s way more important than getting exactly what you think you want, all the time.

 

 

 

 

 

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