Hell's Kitchen (TV Show)

I strayed from the course of movie watching to watch the first season of TV show Hell's Kitchen. We're a little behind being as they're airing Season 4 or something.


Ten people compete to show their skills to top notch Chef Ramsay, in order to win the coveted prize of a restaurant of their very own. He shouts and insults them while they scurry about the kitchen trying not to blow their own stack when he tells them they're stupid for doing this or that. Some of the boneheaded stuff the people do in the kitchen is amusing too. Why is this entertainment? I don't want to analyze it too much.

The season only has ten episodes. You don't really get to know the contenders and they all seem like they must suck at cooking as that's how it's edited. I say, "I could make tuna better than that!" That is untrue but it is fun to make fun of them when they screw up over and again. Restaurant patrons spit out their food sometimes, but mostly they just sit there waiting and never get any food (they are obviously really there to be on TV, but we won't dwell on that).

So yeah that's my guilty pleasure lately. Back to movies once we wrap this up!

Prince Caspian

We went to see Prince Caspian with the kiddo - it just came out yesterday. I am surprised we have been able to hit the theater twice in one month seeing as it was like ten since we've gone.


You should definitely not watch this movie if you haven't seen the first, as scenes where they refer to the first (extraneous and pointless in the case of the "witch" scene) would be total nonsense to you otherwise.

Prince Caspian is the sequel to the first Narnia movie, and this action takes place in Narnia hundreds of years after those events, though the main characters have only aged a couple years or so in the real world. If you can understand that sentence, these movies are likely up your alley. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy all return in their mythical roles as the queens and kings of yesteryear as they do battle against the new foes that have kept the peaceful, albeit often unattractive, denizens of Narnia in hiding. They join up with Prince Caspian who is ousted by an evil power hungry uncle along with a bevy of critters and "little people". The movie is so similar to Lord of the Rings that I expected a couple hobbits to show up, but no dice.

Our young heroes focus is to do battle against the oppressive regime, but the battle scenes are confusing at best. Also, I am not sure if it is supposed to be funny to watch centaurs clip clopping at high speeds brandishing swords, but it was. There are some touching moments, particularly with the youngest kid Lucy as she bonds with some of unlikely friends in this otherworldly habitat, but I felt that the rest of the picture was lacking in emotion, other than bouts of anger. One of the best parts about the first movie was watching the younger boy, Edmund, betray his siblings and redeem himself. In this movie, everyone's just arguing and fighting.

It's a violent movie and one should consider this with the younger family members. One should also take pains to get your needs met prior to the film as it is long. If the kids liked the first one, they'll likely enjoy this one, but if you think it's going to be a fun fantasy adventure, guess again!

Iron Man

I went to the theater just for you blog, to see Iron Man.

When I go to the theater I am always distracted by my butt cheeks. They get sore about an hour in. I shift weight to take the pressure off one side, it helps, but it is distracting too.



I thought for sure the hype would live up to my expectations, so it was inevitable that I wouldn't be as impressed. Still on all counts, an entertaining movie. Robert Downey Junior was terrific as Tony Stark.

I'm ignorant on comic book lore and wasn't entirely following the story. At times I felt I was watching a sequel to a movie I'd not seen before. Basically, a guy is caught in crossfire in Afghanistan and he develops a suit to escape. He has an epiphany about his role in making and distributing weapons and realizes that he should try to rectify his mistakes by being you guessed it, a super hero.

There's a blossoming love story too involving Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). That's the part where I reach for the popcorn, head to the bathroom to pee, flex my glutes, etc.

There's a lot of explosions, and geek talk. I wasn't bored in spite of my occasional confusion. Iron Man wasn't a bad movie by any stretch. It was great for an action movie and an interesting story line. The acting wasn't cheesy either. Good job Jon Favreau!

Children's Movies

Unfortunately for my movie reviews blog, lately all I've been watching is children's movies out on DVD with my 8 year old. She has given all of the following movies a thumbs up - so at least you might have a sense what you're in store for on family movie night. I'll toss them all into one post for the parents out there.


Enchanted: I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Enchanted is a bit parody / homage. Paying homage to Disney Princess movies sounds lame, but it kinda works here. The opening sequence sucks you in with its humor and fun. Princess Giselle is a perky mix of the Disney princesses living in an animated world. But her fate takes a turn when she lands in NYC due to a wicked stepmother's evil plot. There are some genuinely funny moments, and the way they incorporate fantasy and reality together is well done. I definitely recommend this movie, and not just for the young princesses in the family.




Ratatouille: Ratatouille is about a rat with higher aspirations than his thieving vermin friends. After getting lost and winding up in a restaurant in Paris, he figures out how to play puppeteer with a young clumsy garbage boy, in order to achieve his goals of being a master chef. Another pleasant movie that will make you smile, and a premise that is unique and entertaining.







Meet the Robinsons: While amusing at times, I found the movie tedious for the most part. A young orphan boy has aspirations to be an inventor, only his obsession hinders his ability to be placed with a family. As he goes on a quest to recover his past, he winds up lurking in the future. While there are a couple of twists and some interesting animated effects, there wasn't a whole lot of funny going on here and the villain looks like Jack the Ripper. Too noisy and Nickelodean-esque for my taste.






A movie that you would be wise to avoid at all costs, letting the kids sit through this one alone, is Alvin and the Chipmunks. This is a terrible movie. The jokes aren't funny, the chipmunks are unlikeable, and the humans are pretty annoying as well. What could have been a decent commentary on child star parents wound up a superficial mess whose main message seems to be "Don't tucker out the child stars when you exploit the hell out of them". Awful.