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May. 25th, 2014 10:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1) Finished watching Super 8- recorded from F/X, which was not very good.The first half had some good moments, the second half made the Syfy movies look really good by comparison. Stand By Me it's not. I sort of wish, Abrahams had gotten Stephen King to script this.
My running mental commentary during the second half?
* Can Walt, the stocky kid and film director, be any more annoying? He's told Joe, the protagonist, to shut up numerous times now for no apparent reason - preventing him from conveying important and vital information. Also while everything is blowing up and falling apart around him, all he can do is whine about his film. I was beginning to root for the monster to get him.
* Of course the monster grabs the sheriff - totally saw that coming.
*Why is the military going around randomly blowing up people's homes - instead of chasing the alien monster? [Besides putting the main characters in danger?]
*Why did they feel the need to waste time capturing the kids? [Outside of being an obvious plot point to get them all together.]
* And why did the one military guy decide to confiscate the little kid's locket which held a picture of his mom? Honestly, what possible motivation did he have to do that outside of being sadistic? In these movies - the US military is always portrayed as dumb and evil.
It's filled to the brim with cliches. Dead Mom. Damsel girl-friend. Misunderstood alien monster. Final bonding moment with father - which didn't quite work for me, there was something missing there. Would have worked better if the father saved the kid or something.
It's possible F/X cut the movie to ribbons and there were a few missing key scenes in there that would have made it flow smoother, but I doubt it.
So disappointing. Started out great... and it had gotten great reviews, but somewhere around the mid-point it fell into cliche (which is actually a trend with JJ Abrahms films). You can tell these film-makers know zip about the military, or government organizations outside of the movies.
I'm wondering if people saw a different movie? At any rate I enjoyed Abrahms's Star Trek films more, then again they weren't written by Abrahms.
* Another thing? Why is the mother always dead in these films? Or gone? And the kid has to somehow reconcile with his Dad and let Mom go?
We had a discussion about this today. In the modern version of the heroes journey, the hero is always trying to reconcile, kill, or overcome the father (biological or adopted), while Mom is dead, gone or not present. What's up with that? [The heroine's journey is slightly different - she's trying to integrate or reconcile the two.]
Overall grade? C- ( I'd give it a D, because the second half of the movie doesn't work from either a character, plot, or thematic angle. But I liked the first half. Also, the alien looks a lot like the Skitters in Falling Skies. Falling Skies is better. Actually, that's something I've noticed lately, television is actually better than the movies. More complex, less cliche, and with better drawn characters.)
2. Tried another recipe from Practical Paelo tonight. This one is cauliflower cilantro rice. It does actually taste like and have the same texture as rice. Although not sure it digests any better. I have issues with cauliflower and broccoli. Which is a shame since they appear to top veggies for people with digestive issues and autoimmune diseases (ceiliac disease is an autoimmune disease.)
Anyhow...it was tasty and easy. Would have been easier if I owned a food processor. Instead I did it the old fashioned way with a cheese grater. Worked well enough, just took more time.
You chop up some cauliflower, remove the leaves, then grate it into smaller pieces. Take those pieces with a little salt and pepper to taste and fry them in a skillet with either butter or coconut oil (I used coconut oil), then add copped cilantro. (I actually chopped and combined the cilantro with cauliflower prior to frying - which worked better than expected.)
Do it over medium heat. Takes about 10 minutes. When it is translucent, or not quite brown, remove from the heat and voila! You have your rice substitute.
Apparently cauliflower can be used as a rice and a mashed potato substitute. While zuccini and summer squash can be used as a pasta substitute - if you have the right slicer. The key is getting the right kitchen appliances to make this work. I really envy people who have large kitchens and cabinet space. It's hard to do this in a closet.
The next recipe I want to try is almond bread - but I need to get coconut milk to do it. And few other ingredients. This is my issue with recipes - I never have all the ingredients, and I only need them for certain items, but never again.
Did find some yummy, plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt. Much better than regular yogurt, yet made the same way, just with coconut milk.
My running mental commentary during the second half?
* Can Walt, the stocky kid and film director, be any more annoying? He's told Joe, the protagonist, to shut up numerous times now for no apparent reason - preventing him from conveying important and vital information. Also while everything is blowing up and falling apart around him, all he can do is whine about his film. I was beginning to root for the monster to get him.
* Of course the monster grabs the sheriff - totally saw that coming.
*Why is the military going around randomly blowing up people's homes - instead of chasing the alien monster? [Besides putting the main characters in danger?]
*Why did they feel the need to waste time capturing the kids? [Outside of being an obvious plot point to get them all together.]
* And why did the one military guy decide to confiscate the little kid's locket which held a picture of his mom? Honestly, what possible motivation did he have to do that outside of being sadistic? In these movies - the US military is always portrayed as dumb and evil.
It's filled to the brim with cliches. Dead Mom. Damsel girl-friend. Misunderstood alien monster. Final bonding moment with father - which didn't quite work for me, there was something missing there. Would have worked better if the father saved the kid or something.
It's possible F/X cut the movie to ribbons and there were a few missing key scenes in there that would have made it flow smoother, but I doubt it.
So disappointing. Started out great... and it had gotten great reviews, but somewhere around the mid-point it fell into cliche (which is actually a trend with JJ Abrahms films). You can tell these film-makers know zip about the military, or government organizations outside of the movies.
I'm wondering if people saw a different movie? At any rate I enjoyed Abrahms's Star Trek films more, then again they weren't written by Abrahms.
* Another thing? Why is the mother always dead in these films? Or gone? And the kid has to somehow reconcile with his Dad and let Mom go?
We had a discussion about this today. In the modern version of the heroes journey, the hero is always trying to reconcile, kill, or overcome the father (biological or adopted), while Mom is dead, gone or not present. What's up with that? [The heroine's journey is slightly different - she's trying to integrate or reconcile the two.]
Overall grade? C- ( I'd give it a D, because the second half of the movie doesn't work from either a character, plot, or thematic angle. But I liked the first half. Also, the alien looks a lot like the Skitters in Falling Skies. Falling Skies is better. Actually, that's something I've noticed lately, television is actually better than the movies. More complex, less cliche, and with better drawn characters.)
2. Tried another recipe from Practical Paelo tonight. This one is cauliflower cilantro rice. It does actually taste like and have the same texture as rice. Although not sure it digests any better. I have issues with cauliflower and broccoli. Which is a shame since they appear to top veggies for people with digestive issues and autoimmune diseases (ceiliac disease is an autoimmune disease.)
Anyhow...it was tasty and easy. Would have been easier if I owned a food processor. Instead I did it the old fashioned way with a cheese grater. Worked well enough, just took more time.
You chop up some cauliflower, remove the leaves, then grate it into smaller pieces. Take those pieces with a little salt and pepper to taste and fry them in a skillet with either butter or coconut oil (I used coconut oil), then add copped cilantro. (I actually chopped and combined the cilantro with cauliflower prior to frying - which worked better than expected.)
Do it over medium heat. Takes about 10 minutes. When it is translucent, or not quite brown, remove from the heat and voila! You have your rice substitute.
Apparently cauliflower can be used as a rice and a mashed potato substitute. While zuccini and summer squash can be used as a pasta substitute - if you have the right slicer. The key is getting the right kitchen appliances to make this work. I really envy people who have large kitchens and cabinet space. It's hard to do this in a closet.
The next recipe I want to try is almond bread - but I need to get coconut milk to do it. And few other ingredients. This is my issue with recipes - I never have all the ingredients, and I only need them for certain items, but never again.
Did find some yummy, plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt. Much better than regular yogurt, yet made the same way, just with coconut milk.
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Date: 2014-05-26 03:56 am (UTC)IIRC, that was my biggest problem with that movie, as well. So very annoying to see that trop show up in so many places and it often leaves me wondering if people in Hollywood have ever actually met anyone in the military.
It's been a little while, but one of the things I remember thinking is that the movie actually left things just a tad open-ended in that, if you really think about it, it's never out and out confirmed that the aliens are benign. For all we know, the military could be absolutely right in treating them as a threat. Not that I think that was the intention, but when you look back on it, the aliens' story is coming from the perspective of, essentially, an unreliable narrator. Probably just wishful thinking on my part, because it made the story a lot more interesting.
Did find some yummy, plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt.
Love coconut yogurt! It's my second favorite, after goat milk yogurt (okay, third favorite, because when I can find it, sheep milk yogurt beats the pants off the other two... it's just harder to find and a lot more expensive). I have no idea whether either of those would fit into paleo though. I'm mostly interested in finding alternatives to cow's milk because of an allergy. I will say that the paleo trend has given me more options at restaurants though!
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Date: 2014-05-26 01:22 pm (UTC)That's a good point. The story is being told for the most part from the perspective of a 12 year old boy. (At least I think he's twelve, might be 13 or 14). While we get a few bits and pieces from his father's perspective - that's only to move the plot forward. Mainly it's from his perspective. And he was into making models of monsters and airplanes. From his pov, the alien is cool and benign and the military are the bad guys. A 12 year old would see things in stark black and white terms.
I think they should have stuck closer to his pov though for that to have worked. Not showing anything that he didn't see or know about - which is really hard to do in a movie.
It's my second favorite, after goat milk yogurt (okay, third favorite, because when I can find it, sheep milk yogurt beats the pants off the other two... it's just harder to find and a lot more expensive). I have no idea whether either of those would fit into paleo though. I'm mostly interested in finding alternatives to cow's milk because of an allergy. I will say that the paleo trend has given me more options at restaurants though!
Been discovering that it depends on the brand or who made the yogurt. The one I found that worked is "Anita's Creamline Coconut Yogurt Plain" with no sweeteners or additives. Haven't tried sheep's milk or goat milk - mainly because I'm not sure it's something I can do under the diet.
The modified version of the Paoleo that I'm currently on - states no dairy (because it hampers digestion and I'm having a reaction to the caesin in the diary). I do have a little parmesene cheese but that's it. But it isn't clear about goat milk or sheep's milk.
I've been using Almond milk and Hemp Milk to drink and put in tea or with my chia/buckwheat/hemp seed cereal. Coconut Milk is too sweet. But Almond yogurt is gross.
Paleo is great for ceiliacs and gluten intolerant, since it is also gluten-free. That's why I'm on it - due to leaky gut developed from misdiagnosed ceilac disease.