James Bond: Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace has to be the worst titled James Bond movie ever.  I thought that Daniel Craig is actually a good Bond, but the writers are not writing Bond movies anymore.  They need to bring back the feel again instead of this action hero type person.

It was kind of difficult at times to follow what was going on.  I was wide awake and it was not because I was bored or sleepy.  I tried hard to follow it.  Unless they start coming up with better plots, I would suggest shutting the Bond franchise down, because who cares about a water supply in Bolivia?    There were some very good action scenes, with car and boat chases, and they were fun to watch, but unfortunately the whole movie couldn’t have been as fun to watch.

James Bond is basically seeking revenge for the death of one of his women from the previous Bond movie Casino Royale.  According to M (Judy Dench), he is acting out of control and is not doing his job the way he is suppose to be.  I guess, what I’m wondering, when does Bond follow the rules?  If you are a Bond movie goer, seeing this in the theater wouldn’t be too bad, but overall I would just wait for the DVD if you are going to take time out of you life to watch this movie.

Quantum of Solace trailer

The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk was a very good action movie and it did a great job of entertaining me.  It was kind of a surprising move that they did a sequel to The Hulk because it was a terribly boring movie, but it was a good move that they got Edward Norton to play the lead role of Bruce Banner.  The movie picks up about 5 months after the last Hulk and of course the military and General Thaddeus Ross were trying to track down Bruce Banner because they want what is inside of him so they can use it for themselves as a weapon.  Banner, of course, is laying low and trying to cure himself with the help of the mysterious Mr. Blue.  When Banner is discovered, he again is on the run and on to New York City.  He runs into the woman he loves, Dr. Ezliabeth (Betty) Ross, who just wants to help him and keep her father from hurting him.  The military gives Maj. Emil Bronsky (Tim Roth) a potion that makes him stronger and quicker than normal, but he desires the powers of The Hulk.  He later gains control of the same gamma potion and becomes The Abomination.  So of course, there is a big battle between them.  I thought The Incredible Hulk was done very well and I’m glad they were able to make up for the mistakes of the first Hulk movie.  There is also surprise at the end, an Ironman surprise.

The Incredible Hulk trailer

Angels and Demons Movie Trailer

Columbia Pictures has released the teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Angels and Demons, based on Dan Brown’s novel.  It is also the follow up movie to the Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks, again as Robert Langdon.

Here is the Teaser Trailer

It is set for a May 15th Release date.

Summit Brewery Tour

On Saturday October 25th I went to St. Paul, MN and to the Summit Brewery to take the tour of the facility and try some beer.  It is pretty easy to find and it was actually a lot bigger and nicer than I expected it to be.  This is the second brewery tour I have taken, with the first being the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston.  I was suppose to take this tour a couple years ago, but one of the guys I was going with procrastinated in making the phone call reservation and it was too late, but this time the person I went with was not a procrastinator.

They started out with a history of Summit beer and how the brew master and founder Mark Stutrud came up with his Extra Pale Ale and how it developed into the beer it is today.  We then took a tour of the facility and the different rooms where the beer is fermented, bottled, and stored.

We were given three tokens each because at the end of the tour we could have our choice of beers.  I tried the Summit Winter Ale, Great Northern Porter, Pilsner, and the Oatmeal Stout.  The best for me out of the bunch was the Winter Ale and I actually didn’t really like the other three.  The Oatmeal Stout was tough to put down.  Overall, Summit beer is a very bitter tasting beer and I’m not a big fan of Summit, but I think that it is a very good idea to take the tour and decide for yourself.  It’s something to do on a Saturday if you are going to a Minnesota Wild game, but remember to take it safe and make sure you are sober when you drive away.  It was a fun experience and I hope to take more brewery tours in the future.

Brewery Tours

Tuesday and Thursday @ 1:00

Saturday @ 10:30 and 1:00

Call and make a reservation or email (651)265-7800 or tour@summitbrewing.com

Sideways

Sideways is a movie about two men (Miles and Jack) going on a week long trip in California wine country for one last week of fun before Jack (Thomas Haden Church) gets married.  Miles (Paul Giamatti) is in a state of depression because he got a divorce and is a lonely guy who is trying to get a book published and it isn’t going very well.  So the plan is to drive to several wineries and taste the differences in the kinds of wines.  Miles loves wine and is very knowledgeable about it, while Jack likes it but isn’t an expert.  Jack’s main goal is to have fun and meet women for one last fling, while Miles really doesn’t want to be there because he’s depressed, but is doing it anyway.  While at one of their stops, the boys run into a waitress, Maya (Virginia Madsen), who is an acquaintence of Miles and they find out she is recently divorced, too.  At one of the vineyards, they also meet Stephanie (Sandra Oh), Jack immediately flirts and hits it off with her right away.  Jack, Miles, Stephanie, and Maya go out to eat and try many different kinds of wines.  With Jack not telling Stephanie that he is getting married, Miles also has to keep the secret because Jack insists on it.  This, of course, leads to some major problems in the end.  Paul Giamatti plays the depressed writer perfectly and I think when watching this movie, just keep a close eye on his character because he’s good.  There are also some very funny scenes including a car accident.  There is also some good education when comes to wine and if you like wine, I think this would be a good movie to watch.  I’m actually hoping to go to California some day and make a very similar journey to a bunch vineyards in the Napa Valley.

Sideways Trailer

Figlio

Figlio is a restaurant that was introduced to me on August 23rd, 2008.  I had been in the Uptown area in Minneapolis several times before, but never to Figlio’s.  It is a very nice place to go for conversation, drinks, and food.  The day I first went was a Saturday and right in middle of their unbelievable 12:00-7:00 happy hour. What is unbelievable is that they have a great selection of drinks and appetizers for only $2 apiece.  If you are in the mood for a beer or a wine you are in luck because they have a selection from a Samuel Adams to a Miller Lite to a Cabernet.  For appetizers, they have a few different mini pizzas to choose from and mini burgers and a few other choices.  I think if you go to Figlio’s during their happy hour you will be shocked when you get your tab, because it will never be as much as you expect.

Here’s the map and where it is…

Happy Hour times

Monday-Friday 4pm-7pm

Monday-Thursday 10pm-12pm

Saturday 12pm-7pm

Sunday 12pm-7pm, 10pm-12pm

Triple Espresso

Triple Espresso is a play or a comedy skit about three guys quests for fame and fortune in show business.  I had recently heard of this show over a radio commercial and really thought nothing of it, but when I was asked to go to it, I thought that I’d give it a chance because it’s something I normally didn’t go to.  I’m very glad I accepted the invitation, because it was two hours of laughs and I enjoyed it very much.  It stars Michael Pearce Donley, Brian Kelly, and Bill Arnold .   All three had their different personalities and each contributed to Triple Espresso in their own ways.  Personally, I thought Bill Arnold was the best as he used very dry humor and some magic tricks to make the whole auditorium break out in laughs.  It’s really hard to describe what you will be seeing, but the story that is being told is very free flowing and follows the time of their success (or lack there of).

If Triple Espresso is in your area go to it, especially if you like to laugh because you will have a blast!

21

21 is a movie about blackjack, counting cards, and winning a lot of money and I remember writing a blog about this movie a while back and wanting to see it, and I finally did.  Jim Sturgess is Ben Campbell, a very intellegent MIT (Massachusettes Institute of Technology) student who with the help and encouragement of Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), a girl he’s had his eyes on joins a group of other MIT trained to count cards in the casino game blackjack.  They were led by Professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), who trains them and brings their talents to Las Vegas in order to win a lot of money at the casinos.  What counting cards can do is give the player an advantage over the house and allow them to make bigger bets and therefore more money.  The main reason Ben wants to make money is to pay for Medical School at Harvard, which is about $300,000.  When the money seems to be coming in easily, Ben gets a little arrogant and is starting to get noticed by casino security enforcer Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).  After watching Ben and the rest of the group a little closer, Williams figures Ben is counting cards and wants to make him quit immediately and send a message that casinos don’t want players to count cards.  Counting cards is not illegal, but casinos do not want the players to do it.  I thought 21 was pretty well done and it moved right along.  If you’re looking for a movie to rent I don’t think you’d be disappointed with this one.

21 trailer

The Pineapple Express

I think The Pineapple Express came out with very little fanfare and kind of understandable because most people were still seeing and talking about The Dark Knight, including myself.  I finally saw it after reading some good reviews on it and I thought it was a very funny movie.  Although I don’t care for the drug aspects about the movie, it made for great humor as Seth Rogen (Dale Denton) and James Franco (Saul Silver) lead the way.  Denton witnesses a murder in front of drug lord Ted Jones’ (Gary Cole) house and because of that he is immediately penciled in as someone who needed to be eliminated, but he ran to his drug dealer, Silver, and he also gets included in the chase as the murderer finds Denton’s discarded joint and knows it was Silver’s “Pineapple Express” so that’s where they go to find Denton and Silver.  Because they a high during the chase it leads to idiotic ideas and behavior, and it is very funny stuff.

A third character named Red (Danny R. McBride) is introduced and easily gives up his buddy Silver and Denton to the hit men, but they were able to get away. Red gets shot, but continues to plug away and contribute to the humor.

The man that is murdered was a part of a rival drug empire called “The Asians”.  We don’t really learn anything about the gang, but there is an all-out war between Ted Jones’ men and The Asians.

I laughed extremely hard because of a Star Wars reference to the Rancor, so if you are a Star Wars fan, you should laugh, but you also need to pay attention to find it. I also loved how Dale Denton seemed to become a legend and a professional to Ted Jones and his goons, even though we know he’s a high doofus.  I hadn’t really been a fan of Rogen in his previous movies, but he was pretty good in this one and I thought Franco was great as a high-all-the-time drug dealer.  If you are looking for some good laughs, this is a movie you need to check out.

The Pineapple Express trailer

10,000 B.C.

When I first heard about 10,000 B.C. and saw the movie trailer, I thought for sure it was going to be a movie I saw in the movie theater, but I never made it and watched it on DVD. The movie follows a group of hunters and other members of their group as they hunt and survive on mammoth. When a group of mysterious horse riding people come in a kidnap D’Lay’s (Steven Strait) love, Evolet (Camille Belle), he leads a group of his fellow hunters after the them in hopes to get his love back.

I thought it was a good change of pace movie…meaning it’s not the same stuff we see over and over again, but it doesn’t mean it was a good movie. All I can say is that I’m glad I saved some cash and avoided seeing this movie in the theater.

10,000 B.C. trailer