Tag: Corner Pizza

Pizza and a Movie: 45 Years

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Poblano Peppers
  • Portobellos
  • Corn

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Movie:

45 Years

The pizza was vegetarian, and it was good. The movie was terrible.

When we walked out of the theater, I said to my husband, “I’d give it a D.” Another couple who was nearby heard me, and the woman said she’d give it an F.

I hate to be negative about movies or books – after all, someone wrote it, produced it, and believed in it. As an author, I don’t want to criticize someone else’s work. Maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough for this film, but in my opinion, it was not very good.

Two reviews I read (afterward) say it better than I can:

“Is it extraordinarily well acted? Yes, but it’s the emotional equivalent of slamming your hand in a door for 90 minutes. Glacierly paced.”

and

“Hugely disappointing, dreadfully slow moving and boring. Honestly one of the worst movies I’ve seen in years.”

Perhaps the plot (or lack of it) bothered me even more because:

  1. I’ve been married for 34 years, and found myself wondering if my husband and I would be like this couple in 11 short years (please, no).
  2. We had a big party for our 25th anniversary, a year after his parents’ (and 5 years after my parents’) 50th. It was a wonderful night and very memorable, and it made up for the fact that we couldn’t afford anything other than cake and cocktails at our wedding’s backyard reception (no dinner, no dancing, and I don’t remember the few toasts).

In short, this was a sad movie, with few redeeming qualities.

As for the pizza, we agreed ahead of time on poblano peppers and corn. I wanted something red (but not meat), and he suggested sliced tomatoes. “They’re two squishy,” I said, so we picked portobellos. It was yummy, and I enjoyed the evening with my husband.

 

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Pizza and… the SUPER BOWL!

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Chicken
  • Bacon
  • Ham

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That’s right – no movie this weekend! 😦

We planned to go see The Revenant, and we still do. But since the showtime at our favorite theater was a bit early, we decided to relax and enjoy our “meat-lovers” pizza instead.*  We won’t be eating pizza this evening while watching the Panthers and the Broncos (Carolina vs. Denver, in Super Bowl L – “50”). But since tomorrow is my husband’s birthday, we’ll have sandwiches, chips, and cake.

I can’t wait to watch the game (and the commercials!), and no matter who wins, I hope it’s a good one. In honor of it, here’s an (amusing) short excerpt of an article about it that we discussed in my French conversation class this week. I’ll quote this (simple) explanation of the game in French, and then give you the English translation, even though you can probably figure it out, with so many vrais amis (similar words). Words in parentheses are included for extra clarification:

“Sur un terrain de près de 91 mètres sur 49, deux équipes de 11 joueurs se disputent et galopent derrière un ballon ovale. Celui-ci est flanqué d’un lacet de fermeture, qui permet aux joueurs de lui donner un mouvement rotatif indispensable pour stabiliser sa trajectoire…”

“On a field of about 91 by 49 meters [100 by 53 yards], 2 teams of 11 players battle (contend, argue, dispute) and gallop (dash) behind an oval ball. The ball is locked/held together by a (shoe)lace, which permits the players to give it an indispensable rotating (rotary) movement, to stabilize its flight path (trajectory)…”

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*Meat-lover’s, since Lent begins on Wednesday. So, for the next 6 weeks, we’ll be eating vegetarian pizzas on Fridays.

 

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Room

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Capers
  • Feta Cheese
  • Pepperoni

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Movie:

Room

The first thing I wanted to know after seeing this film was: Is it a true story?

The answer is no, but it will remind you of more than a few true stories. If you’re interested in seeing it, you probably already know the storyline: A woman and her son are kept in a small room for several years, and when they come out of it, the world is a brand new place, surreal, and almost unbelievable to her 5 year old son.*

I won’t tell you how they get out, or what life is like for them before or after they do. You have to see the movie to find all that out, and I recommend that you do. But be prepared for something that’s intense and unpredictable. The movie has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, and it deserves the nomination – and maybe even the award. I was riveted by the story, and it was refreshing to note that I didn’t recognize any of the actors, sauf one – and he’s not a huge star.

The pizza was yummy, and we were hungry. I’ve always been a fan of feta cheese, he wanted capers (don’t ask), and pepperoni was a mutual, quick decision. Très bon!

*By the way, the little boy captured my heart, maybe in part because his name is Jack – the same name as my son, whose journey with cancer I write about in ALL THE ABOVE.

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Pizza and a Movie: Star Wars (encore)

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Black Olives
  • Anchovies
  • Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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Movies:

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

Yes, we saw Star Wars again (see “Pizza and a Movie” post of 12/30/15), but this time, at our favorite theater in the USA. Without the French subtitles, it was even better (and easier for me to follow) the second time, here at home. I dare say that’s because, in France, I kept checking to make sure the French words on the screen were what the actors were saying. It was slightly distracting.

This is an absolutely great movie, and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to do so.

As for the pizza we ordered, my husband demanded really wanted Black Olives, and he wanted me to choose the other two toppings. I chose what I did off the top of my head, and it seemed to work.

By the way, since the Oscar nominations just came out, I wanted to compare the nominees for Best Film with my top rated movies of the year (see my “List Post: Nouvelle Année – janvier 2016” of 12/31/15).

My top 5 were (in order):

  1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
  2. Bridge of Spies
  3. The Gift
  4. Brooklyn
  5. Inside Out

and my “Want to See” movies were: 

  1. Mad Max: Fury Road
  2. The Martian
  3. Creed
  4. Steve Jobs
  5. The Big Short

The Oscar nominees were:

  1. The Big Short
  2. Bridge of Spies
  3. Brooklyn
  4. Mad Max: Fury Road
  5. The Martian
  6. The Revenant
  7. Room
  8. Spotlight

How did Star Wars not make it? Je ne sais pas. And I really enjoyed the other 2 movies on my top 5 list that didn’t make it. But 2 of my top 5 did, and 3 of my want to see’s did, too. I saw The Big Short, finally (and also, twice), and I now want to see The Revenant. The only nominees I’m not keen on seeing are #s 7 & 8.

So, there you have it.

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Pizza and a Movie: Joy

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Green Peppers
  • Ground Beef
  • Shallots

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Movie:

Joy

The angle of the photo above is a little off – it was on a pizza stand, close to the end of our table. But the pizza was delicious, and “just what the doctor ordered” that evening.

With Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert DeNiro in the cast, this movie somehow reminded me of Silver Linings Playbook. They’re just a good combination of actors. I liked the story, and since it was based – maybe loosely – on a true story, that made it even more appealing. Having stayed home with kids growing up for many years (and constantly cleaning my house), I related to Joy’s invention. Like a lot of people maybe, I thought, Why didn’t I think of that?

I’ve used what she invented, though I’ve never bought anything on QVC. And I’ve known people who came up with great ideas, yet couldn’t get attention or funding for them. What this film seemed to say was, “Never, never, never give up.”

A very good motto, I’d say.

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Dinner and a Movie: The Big Short

Last weekend, instead of a pizza, we opted to split a salad and a sandwich at Corner Pizza. 

Afterward, we went to see The Big Short.

It had been out a few weeks, but the theater was packed. We were lucky to get two seats together on the 4th row. I had seen this film in France the week before (dubbed in French), and I understood most what the characters said, when they didn’t speak way too fast OR use (curse) words and idioms that I don’t know (yet). Seeing the English language version cleared up my confusion (and, to be fair, it’s a rather complicated story, especially in French). I enjoyed the film just as much the second time.

Here are my reactions to The Big Short:

  1. I want to read the book by Michael Lewis now.
  2. I thought the film was well cast.
  3. I thought it was well done. Some people may not like the way it was filmed and edited, but I did.
  4. I liked the movie very much overall, but I was dismayed (and even felt cheated) that one important thing was left out (and I wonder if the book does the same thing): the fact that the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) [as updated in the 1990s] effectively forced banks to make subprime mortgage loans to non-credit worthy customers (“ninjas,” or no income, no job, no assets), so as not to discriminate against them.

I’ve worked in banking, and I know that bankers must should evaluate measurable criteria (like income, assets, credit scores, etc.) before making any kind of loan. And, like it or not, just like any other company, banks have to make a profit in order to stay in business. The federal government was responsible for the crisis depicted in the movie in that it forced banks to make loans to people who couldn’t afford them, betting on the erroneous assumption that housing would always appreciate.

See my novel UNDERWATER for more information.

On a positive note, I liked the film’s epilogue – the updates on what happened to all the central characters, and the macro effects. However, it would have been nice to learn that the government had either repealed or revised the laws, to prevent what happened from happening all over again.

But maybe that’s too big of a thing to hope for.

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No Pizza photo this time – just a collection of cards and souvenirs from my trip to the south of France, where I saw The Big Short in French!

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Bridge of Spies

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Artichoke Hearts
  • Bacon
  • Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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Movie:

Bridge of Spies

This movie is my favorite one of the year, so far. (My second favorite is The Gift.)

I was riveted to this story about the exchange of prisoners (spies), and all the actors – especially Tom Hanks, in the lead role as Jim Donovan – did a fantastic job. I love stories set during World War II and the Cold War. This one was set during the latter, in the late 1950s. It was an amazing, true story, and well told. I predict at least one Academy Award.

Two things in particular about it touched me on a personal level:

  1. My parents went to Milligan College with the reconnaissance pilot who was shot down in the film, Francis Gary Powers. He was a year ahead of my mom in school, but she knew him well and they had a biology class together. She says he was very smart and somewhat shy. Like her, he grew up in a coal mining town in southwest Virginia.
  2. My daughter, who is studying in France this fall, recently visited Berlin.

I’ve never been to Berlin–it was divided into East and West when I spent a year in France as a college student, and getting to West Berlin was just too difficult back then. Until I saw this film, I hadn’t realized when the Berlin Wall was constructed, or what that was like. (I thought it happened not long after the war.) As I watched the scenes in East Berlin, I wondered what the city of Berlin is like today, and what it feels like to live there, with its history.

There were some tense scenes, and some very scary ones, and I felt myself propelled back to that time as the story unfolded. The dialogue was great, too. If you see the movie, you’ll notice that one character repeats this line over and over: “Would it help?” I won’t tell you what he or she means, but trust me, it’s a good line.

Now for the pizza. My husband wanted artichoke hearts, which I always love. I picked bacon (why not), and we agreed on the sun-dried tomatoes. It was yummy, and just right.

After taking last Friday off due to Thanksgiving, it was nice to be back at the Corner Pizza together. The only problem was that we somehow forgot to take home our take-home box of the pizza we couldn’t eat. Oops. We left it on the table by mistake. Next time I’ll put it next to my purse, so when I reach for it, I’ll grab the box, too.

Maybe that would help.

 

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Pizza and a Movie: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Corn
  • Ground Beef
  • Sliced Tomatoes

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Movie:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

This isn’t the movie we planned to see on Friday night, but I’ll get to that in a minute. The pizza toppings were my choices this time, and I don’t know why the photo is so dark/shady. I tried to lighten it, but I liked it best in the original. Maybe it turned out this way because it gets dark earlier now.

Speaking of early, all the movies we were interested in seeing were showing at 7:00, so my husband arrived home from work a tad bit early so that we could make it. With it being the Friday before Thanksgiving, traffic was lighter than normal, so we actually had plenty of time. (When did people start traveling for the holiday on the Friday before, though?)

We had planned to see Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks (a friend recommended it, and we knew The Hunger Games would be out longer). But, in anticipation of seeing this movie, we watched Part 1 at home the other night. When we were in line for the tickets, with the ending of that film in my head, I asked my husband if he wanted to pass on Spies and see this instead.

He did.

It was good, and well done. Unless you don’t like that kind of thing, you’ll probably enjoy it, and I’m not a science fiction reader or fan myself. But by the time it was over, I found myself feeling thankful that the trilogy is over. I’ve read the first book only, and do plan to read the other two. I don’t know when, though, because I have a ton of books (and a wide variety of them) on my TBR (to be read) pile on my nightstand (and on goodreads.com)!

And I still want to see Bridge of Spies! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

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Pizza and a Movie: A Royal Affair

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Anchovies
  • Poblano Peppers
  • Spinach

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Movie:

A Royal Affair*

*You’ll notice the movie this time wasn’t one currently out in the theaters. That’s because my husband and I had planned to go see The Martian (and still do), but because it was playing at 7:00 – a bit early for us, after going down to the Corner Pizza first – we decided to go home instead, and watch A Royal Affair on Netflix.

I had seen it before, one time when he was out of town, but I love movies about any kind of royalty (and the affair part makes it juicy). Both my husband and I like foreign films, and  since our daughter (who’s studying in France) recently visited Copenhagen (and saw the Amalienborg Palace), we thought it would be interesting.

It was.

The movie came out in 2012, and it’s based on a true story. The actress who portrays Caroline Mathilde, Alicia Vikander, starred in Man from Uncle (U.N.C.L.E.) this year, and she did a great job. Turns out, royalty has problems, too.

The pizza we chose was three shades of green (sort of). At my insistance, my husband picked all the toppings, and these are what he chose.

I guess he was in a salty, spicy, and healthy mood.

 

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Pizza and a Movie: Sicario

Before I get to this week’s Pizza and a Movie, I have some changes in my schedule for October:

  • I’ll be at the Book and Art Fair in Griffin GA today, Oct 17, only;
  • I won’t be at FoxTale Book Shoppe on Oct 21;
  • I’ll appear and sign books at the Marietta Queen of Hearts Antiques & Interiors on Sat Oct 24 from 11 -2; 
  • I’ll be a Panelist at the Killer Nashville International Writers Conference in Nashville.
  • My Panel is called “Women of Mystery: Female Sleuths” and will be on Sat Oct 30 at 12:30.

Now, for this weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Bacon
  • Mushrooms
  • 1/2 Jalapeños, 1/2 Pineapple 

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Movie:

Sicario

This film was a clever, well done story of revenge. I don’t always go for movies like this, but it was engaging and suspenseful. I love Emily Blunt, too, who, last I read, is married to John Krasinski, who was “Jim” in The Office on TV. (And I love Jim, and John, who has the same birthday I do, by the way, which is coming up shortly…)

Now for the pizza. My husband wanted jalapeños on half of it, and so, instead of extra cheese on mine, I went with pineapple. That made it a bit difficult to choose the other two toppings, but after a short conference while Bill was pouring my husband’s beer (he already had my wine ready), we agreed on the bacon and mushrooms.

We sat outside because it was beautiful, and talked about a variety of things: work, home, plans, and our recent trip to Raleigh for Bouchercon 2015. He’s not going with me Nashville later this month, but I loved having him with me last weekend in North Carolina. After we left the conference, we drove over to Durham where I stopped in the Duke Hospital Gift Shop and left a signed copy of ALL THE ABOVE for the book buyer.

Then we made the short journey to Chapel Hill to see where our daughter, a UNC student who’s studying in France right now, plans to live next semester. Then we went back to Durham where some friends who’ve just moved there had invited us to stay the night. After watching the Falcons win, the four of us went to a French restaurant nearby.

So far, it’s been a great “birthday month!”

 

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