Synopsis: Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Delores Umbridge. But Professor Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark forces threatening them, so at the prompting of his friends, Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
Her perspective: Must See
His perspective: Must See or Wait depending on how much you like this movie series.
If you are a true Harry Potter fan, you need to see this in the theater. It's worth it to see the special effects on the big screen. If not, you can wait until dollar theaters or video.
I thought the movie was quite well done, although this is the first HP movie I've seen without reading the book first. I guess I had expected a little more, though. The final battle seemed a little short and lacked variety in the use of spells and the demonstration of power. The previous films in this series kept their momentum and, I thought, were very good. While this one didn't measure up to those, I still thought it was very good. The photography was very effective in creating a very "dark" movie. I think they could have used other methods to show the struggle going on inside Harry, though. It's one of those movies that seems more to forward the story line than stand alone. The actors, as always, were phenomenal.
I saw quite a bit of character development in this film. Some of the "bit" characters from the previous films stepped up and played a bigger role in the story line. It was also easy to see that Harry, Hermione and Ron have gotten a lot closer and are more comfortable standing up for each other. Another thing I thought was interesting, was how much power little Ginny Weasley found within herself. There were a couple of spots where she showed how much farther ahead she was than even some of the 5th year students. I'll be interested to see how that develops in the next two films.
Overall, well done. I will be sure to own this one.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Mickey's Diner - July 14, 2007
1950 7th St W
St Paul, MN 55116
Her perspective: A
I always love going to Mickey's. It is the ultimate greasy spoon/diner. The food is always excellent. Just like all good greasy spoons, it's basically a hole in the wall, but the food more than makes up for it. Open 24 hours and two locations with a very casual, unpretentious atmosphere. The one in downtown St. Paul is always crowded and hard to get a seat, but there's a novelty about eating in a railway car. There is another one just a few miles down the road that I think is St. Paul's best kept secret. There is always at least one open booth and space at the counter - at least when I've been there.
William and I both ordered a light breakfast called Fry 2: 2 eggs, choice of bacon, sausage or ham and toast. It all came out very quickly and cooked perfectly. There were two waitresses working and both worked together to make sure all the guests were taken care of. In the entry-way, there are papers such as City Pages and, my favorite, The Onion. I usually read the Onion to William while we're waiting and while we eat.
It's very quick; you can be in and out within a half hour. It's also one of the few places that serves breakfast all day, which is perfect for weekends. Also, because it's open 24 hours, it's great for those after-bar hunger pangs.
St Paul, MN 55116
Her perspective: A
I always love going to Mickey's. It is the ultimate greasy spoon/diner. The food is always excellent. Just like all good greasy spoons, it's basically a hole in the wall, but the food more than makes up for it. Open 24 hours and two locations with a very casual, unpretentious atmosphere. The one in downtown St. Paul is always crowded and hard to get a seat, but there's a novelty about eating in a railway car. There is another one just a few miles down the road that I think is St. Paul's best kept secret. There is always at least one open booth and space at the counter - at least when I've been there.
William and I both ordered a light breakfast called Fry 2: 2 eggs, choice of bacon, sausage or ham and toast. It all came out very quickly and cooked perfectly. There were two waitresses working and both worked together to make sure all the guests were taken care of. In the entry-way, there are papers such as City Pages and, my favorite, The Onion. I usually read the Onion to William while we're waiting and while we eat.
It's very quick; you can be in and out within a half hour. It's also one of the few places that serves breakfast all day, which is perfect for weekends. Also, because it's open 24 hours, it's great for those after-bar hunger pangs.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Disturbia - July 6, 2007
Her perspective: Must See
Synopsis: Kale (Shia LaBeouf) has a life most teenagers would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable. He has complete free reign of the house, and a beautiful young hottie named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) has just moved in next door. There's only one problem - he's not allowed to leave the house. Kale's under court-ordered house arrest for three months, and if he takes one step beyond a 100-foot perimeter of the house, his next confinement will be in a real prison, and jail cells don't have video games or cable. Life hasn't always been like this for him. A year ago, Kale and his mom (Carrie-Ann Moss) and dad were a tight-knit, happy family. Then his father was killed in a car accident, for which Kale feels somewhat responsible. The trauma has had long-lasting psychological effects. The once outgoing young man is now shut down and withdrawn. When an insensitive teacher brings up his father, Kale loses it and punches him out. Only the intercession of his mother kept him out of jail. Now he's going stir crazy in his own house while his mother tries to keep things together by working day and night. As the walls start to close in, Kale starts to notice the world outside. With some secondhand surveillance equipment, he begins spying on his neighbors, most prominently Ashley, who soon catches on to him. To his surprise, however, she becomes interested in his stakeout hobby. What starts out as a game turns deadly serious when Kale and Ashley begin to suspect that one of their neighbors (David Morse) may be an elusive serial killer. But who's going to believe them? It may just be their imagination, or they may have stumbled across a secret that might cost them their lives. After all, even killers have to live next-door to someone...
Review: This was a good thriller - very suspenseful. The actors did a wonderful job and all were very believable. The story line started out a little slow, but I think that was necessary to give the audience enough background to set up the main events. The script was very well written and the photography was very effective. There were some camera angles that really grabbed me and pulled me in. I don't think any detail was overlooked. Great movie overall, although a little predicatable as most thrillers are nowadays.
Synopsis: Kale (Shia LaBeouf) has a life most teenagers would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable. He has complete free reign of the house, and a beautiful young hottie named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) has just moved in next door. There's only one problem - he's not allowed to leave the house. Kale's under court-ordered house arrest for three months, and if he takes one step beyond a 100-foot perimeter of the house, his next confinement will be in a real prison, and jail cells don't have video games or cable. Life hasn't always been like this for him. A year ago, Kale and his mom (Carrie-Ann Moss) and dad were a tight-knit, happy family. Then his father was killed in a car accident, for which Kale feels somewhat responsible. The trauma has had long-lasting psychological effects. The once outgoing young man is now shut down and withdrawn. When an insensitive teacher brings up his father, Kale loses it and punches him out. Only the intercession of his mother kept him out of jail. Now he's going stir crazy in his own house while his mother tries to keep things together by working day and night. As the walls start to close in, Kale starts to notice the world outside. With some secondhand surveillance equipment, he begins spying on his neighbors, most prominently Ashley, who soon catches on to him. To his surprise, however, she becomes interested in his stakeout hobby. What starts out as a game turns deadly serious when Kale and Ashley begin to suspect that one of their neighbors (David Morse) may be an elusive serial killer. But who's going to believe them? It may just be their imagination, or they may have stumbled across a secret that might cost them their lives. After all, even killers have to live next-door to someone...
Review: This was a good thriller - very suspenseful. The actors did a wonderful job and all were very believable. The story line started out a little slow, but I think that was necessary to give the audience enough background to set up the main events. The script was very well written and the photography was very effective. There were some camera angles that really grabbed me and pulled me in. I don't think any detail was overlooked. Great movie overall, although a little predicatable as most thrillers are nowadays.
Transformers - July 6, 2007
Her perspective: Must See
Synopsis: In 2003, the Beagle Mars Rover was launched. We were told that it crashed. It's final transmission was classified top secret. It was the only warning we were given. Now the dueling alien races of the Autobots and the Decepticons have brought their battle to earth and the future of humankind is hanging in the balance. It's their war, but it's our world!
Review: This is one that you need to see on a big screen. The fights are a bit hard to follow due to the constant "morphing" while the action is going on. The special effects are quite impressive, though, and the story line is a little slow moving at times, but very well thought out. The writing was great, with quite a bit of humor. I was also impressed that they were able to use the original voice of Optimus Prime.
However, if you know nothing about the Transformers going into the movie, you will be somewhat confused. I knew a little bit from watching bits and pieces of the cartoon when I was little, but I never got into it, so I didn't fully understand everything.
Shia LaBeouf is really coming into his own establishing himself as a leading man. However, I think he will always be an underdog type character. Josh Duhamel was excellent in a military role and I think we will be seeing much more of him.
Synopsis: In 2003, the Beagle Mars Rover was launched. We were told that it crashed. It's final transmission was classified top secret. It was the only warning we were given. Now the dueling alien races of the Autobots and the Decepticons have brought their battle to earth and the future of humankind is hanging in the balance. It's their war, but it's our world!
Review: This is one that you need to see on a big screen. The fights are a bit hard to follow due to the constant "morphing" while the action is going on. The special effects are quite impressive, though, and the story line is a little slow moving at times, but very well thought out. The writing was great, with quite a bit of humor. I was also impressed that they were able to use the original voice of Optimus Prime.
However, if you know nothing about the Transformers going into the movie, you will be somewhat confused. I knew a little bit from watching bits and pieces of the cartoon when I was little, but I never got into it, so I didn't fully understand everything.
Shia LaBeouf is really coming into his own establishing himself as a leading man. However, I think he will always be an underdog type character. Josh Duhamel was excellent in a military role and I think we will be seeing much more of him.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Perkins, Cottage Grove - July 8, 2007
Her perspective: F
His perspective: F
We stopped here for brunch on our way to Treasure Island on Sunday and got there just before noon. We were seated right away, but the host told us our server's name as she was walking away from the table with her back to us. The table we were seated at was extremely wobbly and we had to push it hard against the wall so we would be able to eat. The A/C was either turned off or wasn't working and the fans were not able to keep up with the heat since it was 97 degrees outside.
As we were looking through the menus, we noticed that they were dirty. It took our server quite a while to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order by the time she got there. We could tell that she only had four tables including us, so we wondered why she was too busy to even stop by. However, she was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. That is the only good thing I can say about this visit.
After we ordered, we started noticing that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING on the table was dirty and sticky: the dessert menu, the caddies that hold the jelly and sugar, and the salt and pepper shakers. We also noticed that the window that divided us from another section was quite dirty as well.
When our server brought out our food, she couldn't remember what each of us had and kept putting William's plates in front of me. Since there were only two of us, it shouldn't have been hard to remember what each of us ordered. When I adjusted my plate's position on the table, I noticed that the underside of the plate was quite dirty and one of William's plates was dirty on the top as well.
My Eggs Benedict tasted fine, but they put WAY too much parsley on it. It's supposed to be just a garnish. If I had wanted a salad, I would have ordered one. William's bacon was undercooked in some parts and burnt in others. His toast was just barely toasted and his pancakes were not only way undercooked and very wet, but he found a piece of plastic in one of them.
During our meal, the host decided that it was a good time to vacuum the floor. So, we had to listen to the roar of the vacuum while we were eating. It was extremely annoying. We then listened to our server lie twice to the table behind us. They had been seated before we got there, yet we got our food before they did. The server apologized about the long wait for their food, but told them that everything was taking a long time. This was not true considering we had gotten our food promptly. She lied a second time to them by telling them that they don't do chocolate chip pancakes on Sundays because it ruins the grill. Huh? Not even a hint of truth to that one. I think she just didn't want to order them for some reason.
Once we finally got the check, the server explained that she had circled the total at the bottom, but that there were separate totals for each of us as well. Now, I know that as a server, you shouldn't assume anything about who will be paying the check. However, 99% of parties where there is a male and a female are couples (unless it's lunch on a weekday) and only one person will be paying the whole check. It was quite obvious that we are married and we were offended that she thought we might be splitting the check.
We went up to the register to pay, and the host asked if we would like the check back to take their guest satisfaction survey. We both replied yes in tones of voice that should have tipped her off that we were NOT at all happy. She processed my credit card and gave me my credit card receipt, but then I had to ask her to give me the check so I could take the survey. In the 60 seconds it took her to run my credit card, she had forgotten. I snatched the check out of her hand, spun on my heel and walked quickly out the door. Usually, I would try to talk to a manager when things go bad, but it was so bad that we just wanted to get out of there.
Today, I tried to take the survey on line, but the printing on the check trails off where the store number is supposed to be printed, so I can't even take their survey to let them know how horrible our experience was. We won't be back.
His perspective: F
We stopped here for brunch on our way to Treasure Island on Sunday and got there just before noon. We were seated right away, but the host told us our server's name as she was walking away from the table with her back to us. The table we were seated at was extremely wobbly and we had to push it hard against the wall so we would be able to eat. The A/C was either turned off or wasn't working and the fans were not able to keep up with the heat since it was 97 degrees outside.
As we were looking through the menus, we noticed that they were dirty. It took our server quite a while to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order by the time she got there. We could tell that she only had four tables including us, so we wondered why she was too busy to even stop by. However, she was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. That is the only good thing I can say about this visit.
After we ordered, we started noticing that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING on the table was dirty and sticky: the dessert menu, the caddies that hold the jelly and sugar, and the salt and pepper shakers. We also noticed that the window that divided us from another section was quite dirty as well.
When our server brought out our food, she couldn't remember what each of us had and kept putting William's plates in front of me. Since there were only two of us, it shouldn't have been hard to remember what each of us ordered. When I adjusted my plate's position on the table, I noticed that the underside of the plate was quite dirty and one of William's plates was dirty on the top as well.
My Eggs Benedict tasted fine, but they put WAY too much parsley on it. It's supposed to be just a garnish. If I had wanted a salad, I would have ordered one. William's bacon was undercooked in some parts and burnt in others. His toast was just barely toasted and his pancakes were not only way undercooked and very wet, but he found a piece of plastic in one of them.
During our meal, the host decided that it was a good time to vacuum the floor. So, we had to listen to the roar of the vacuum while we were eating. It was extremely annoying. We then listened to our server lie twice to the table behind us. They had been seated before we got there, yet we got our food before they did. The server apologized about the long wait for their food, but told them that everything was taking a long time. This was not true considering we had gotten our food promptly. She lied a second time to them by telling them that they don't do chocolate chip pancakes on Sundays because it ruins the grill. Huh? Not even a hint of truth to that one. I think she just didn't want to order them for some reason.
Once we finally got the check, the server explained that she had circled the total at the bottom, but that there were separate totals for each of us as well. Now, I know that as a server, you shouldn't assume anything about who will be paying the check. However, 99% of parties where there is a male and a female are couples (unless it's lunch on a weekday) and only one person will be paying the whole check. It was quite obvious that we are married and we were offended that she thought we might be splitting the check.
We went up to the register to pay, and the host asked if we would like the check back to take their guest satisfaction survey. We both replied yes in tones of voice that should have tipped her off that we were NOT at all happy. She processed my credit card and gave me my credit card receipt, but then I had to ask her to give me the check so I could take the survey. In the 60 seconds it took her to run my credit card, she had forgotten. I snatched the check out of her hand, spun on my heel and walked quickly out the door. Usually, I would try to talk to a manager when things go bad, but it was so bad that we just wanted to get out of there.
Today, I tried to take the survey on line, but the printing on the check trails off where the store number is supposed to be printed, so I can't even take their survey to let them know how horrible our experience was. We won't be back.
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