Tag: Feta Cheese

Pizza and a Movie: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Feta Cheese
  • Garlic
  • Green Peppers

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I was ready for feta cheese on a pizza, but somehow the toppings we chose didn’t quite work well together.

Movie:

Whisky Tango Foxtrot

This was more of a drama than a comedy, and at times it seemed a little slow. However, it kept me engaged in the story, and I thought Tina Fey did a great job in her role as a journalist in Afghanistan. There were some very good lines, too, although – due to his Scottish accent –  I didn’t quite catch everything that one character said. That’s too bad, and it made me wish that the film had had English subtitles throughout.

This was a decent to good movie, something that seems hard to find right now, just after the Academy Awards. It did a good job touching on what life is like in Afghanistan, and on the culture. All in all, it was a nice change from some of the less than great films we have been to see lately, and the cast of this movie did work well together. My advice, if you go to see it: brush up on your Scottish first.

 

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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: 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: Ricki and the Flash

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

  • Feta Cheese
  • Green Peppers
  • Mushrooms

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Movie:

Ricki and the Flash

No matter what the film, I’ve always loved Meryl Streep.

The first one I remember seeing her in was Kramer vs. Kramer, and I saw it in France (with French subtitles) when I spent a year there in college. In that and every other movie I’ve seen her in, I was awed by her performance. In Ricki and the Flash, she’s wonderful, as usual. I loved the music in this film, too, and hearing her sing.

I won’t say this is the best movie I’ve ever seen – or ever seen her in – but it was good. There was one scene at a round table in a restaurant (near the beginning) that was very funny, and there were many other great moments. Near the end, as people danced at a wedding reception, I found myself wishing that my own had been as memorable, and as much fun.

Which brings me to the pizza pictured above. No, my husband and I didn’t have pizza at our wedding, but we did share this one. And no, we didn’t eat all of it – we saved a few slices and took them home.

I picked all the toppings this time. He agreed, with the caveat that one had to be Green Peppers, because (since he’s been keeping track of our toppings) it was the only one we hadn’t chosen yet. We both like them, so we didn’t know why we hadn’t had them yet; for some reason, we had forgotten to.

If you’re a fan of Meryl Streep, don’t forget to go see her in Ricki – especially if you like stories about the choices we make in life.

 

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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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