April Movie Ratings

I guess five is the magic number this year.  With the exception of January, I’ve only seen five movies each month.  I’ve been devoting a lot of my screen watching time to TV shows lately.  I’m currently halfway through 24, which I never watched while it was on TV.  Pretty addicting stuff…

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Lockout – viewed in Theater 04/14/2012 – This was an okay, entertaining enough, popcorn-munching kind of movie.  There’s enough humor to make it enjoyable, but this movie is nothing special.  Guy Pearce certainly did pack on the pounds (of muscle) for this role!

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Preview Screening – viewed in Theater 04/17/2012 – Signed an NDA, but let’s just say it would be safe to skip this one.  My guess is that it will go straight to DVD!

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Killer Elite – viewed on DVD 04/20/2012 – This was much better than I expected. Good action, decent story.  Good job Mr. Statham!  I guess he knows what he’s good at and sticks to it.  Ross doesn’t buy Clive Owen as an action guy, but he did appreciate the stache.  And yes sir, Robert De Niro can still kick bum with the rest of ‘em!

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The Raven – viewed in Theater 04/27/2012 – This is not a very good movie.  I mostly blame the casting of John Cusack.  I don’t hate the guy, but he just isn’t a good fit for Poe.

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The Cabin in the Woods – viewed in Theater 04/28/2012 – Unfortunately, I can’t say much about this movie because I don’t want to ruin it for those who have yet to see it.  Let’s just say that it’s not exactly what you expect.  If you like horror movies, or if you’re tired of horror movies (like me), you just might enjoy this one!  You must like cheese though.

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March Movie Ratings

March was another slow movie-watching month for me with only 5 movies.  I think I’m still wiped out from last year’s (failed) attempt to watch 10 movies each month.  Can it be possible?  Am I all movied out????  Nah, probably not.

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John Carter – viewed in Theater 03/10/2012 – Why didn’t this movie do better?  While it is nothing great, it is certainly enjoyable enough cheese to have done better than it did.  I’m a fan of Taylor Kitsch (but no, I won’t be seeing Battleship), having first seen him in Friday Night Lights.  He’s not the best actor, but not the worst, and there’s something definitely likable about him.  Anyway, I enjoyed John Carter and imagine that most would if they actually went to see it.

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Casa de mi Padre – viewed in Theater 03/16/2012 – Now here is a movie that I did not enjoy.  And yes, I am a fan of Will Ferrell.  This movie is just plain stupid and doesn’t have enough laughs to require being a full length movie.  It’s more like a reaaaaaallllllly long and stretched out SNL skit.  Boo!

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The Hunger Games – viewed in Theater 03/24/2012 – Ah, The Hunger Games. I will start by saying it is definitely a decent and solid movie.  However, I would have liked it to be a bit better.  (Sorry for the comparison, but it’s not even close to HP status for me.)  I feel that the relationship between Katniss and Peeta was lacking her constant distrust of him, which played out so much stronger (and longer) in the book.  Yes, they touched on it in the movie, but it went so much deeper in the book.  (I know, I know, it’s hard to translate everything over.)  The fight scenes were handled well, not too gruesome, yet still conveying the brutality of it all.  Rue was fantastic (Amandla Stenberg) and Stanley Tucci was brilliant!  And with my few complaints about the movie, I am still looking forward to the sequel(s)!

(as a standalone movie).

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(as an adaptation).

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The Double – viewed via Instant Download 03/24/2012 – I expected something much worse and got something not too bad.  I felt that the previews gave too much away, but at least the audience learns about what I thought was given away very early in the movie – you know, that Richard Gere is a double.  So yeah, it was okay.  Nothing great, but at least average – and that’s better than awful.

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Mirror Mirror – viewed in Theater 03/31/2012 – I didn’t expect much going in, but this was a fun little film.  Enjoyable, cute, and easy to digest!  Nothing much more to say than that!

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Recipe: Millionaire Shortbread

An odd name for a recipe, perhaps.  But super delicious?  YES!  Just look at those layers of sweet, gooey goodness!  I had the pleasure of consuming these addicting sugar-filled bars this weekend, thanks to their baker, Debbie (the best baking mother-in-law ever!).  This shortbread is to die for.  I had to get the recipe and share it!  Not sure when I’ll get around to baking it myself, but this is a must-try, must-bake recipe.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 cups cold, unsalted butter, divided
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla, divided
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• ¾ pound high-quality milk or dark chocolate

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch pan.  Layer the pan with parchment paper and butter the paper.
• To make the shortbread, measure the flour, ½ cup of the brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon of the salt into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until mixed.  Add 1 cup of the butter in chunks and pulse until roughly mixed.  Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon of the vanilla.  Continue to process until the dough begins to form a ball.  Remove from the processor and press evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, turning the pan halfway through to brown evenly.
• To make the caramel, melt the remaining 1 cup of butter over low heat.  Stir in the remaining 1 cup of brown sugar, the corn syrup, and the condensed milk.  Raise the heat to medium-low; bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, then 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Pour evenly over the baked crust; let cool.
• Melt the chocolate, then pour it evenly over the caramel layer.  Cool completely in the pan, then use the parchment paper to lift the shortbread out of the pan.  Cut into squares.

February Movie Ratings

What a dud of a movie watching month.  Low in numbers, mediocre in quality.  I guess you can’t win ‘em all.  Only 5 movies for the month.  Maybe March will be better!  Although, I’ve only seen one – yes ONE – movie so far and it’s already the 15th!  I better wrap this post up and go watch a movie.
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Chronicle – viewed in Theater 02/03/2012 – I’d only seen one preview for this little film before going into the theater.  Looked average.  Turned out to be average.  It’s hard to get into a movie when you don’t like any of the characters and when you don’t care about what happens to the main guy.  Feel free to skip this one.
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Red Tails – viewed in Theater 02/04/2012 – This is a decent film with some good fighter plane scenes.  The character driven scenes didn’t quite hit the spot though.  Terrence Howard was born to give (movie) speeches.  Cuba Gooding Jr. looks silly with a pipe in his mouth.  And Ne-Yo was unrecognizable to me through the whole movie.  This is worth seeing, but be prepared for a little cheese with your popcorn and some unnecessary side stories.
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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (3D) – viewed in Theater 02/11/2012 – I like Mr. Dwayne Johnson.  So sue me.  Was this his best work?  No.  Was this his best pectoral work?  Quite possibly.  They certainly offered the movie’s funniest scene.  What sealed the deal for me to go see this movie was Michael Caine saying (in his Michael Caine accent), “Who’s up for an adventure?”  I was!  Is this a quality film?  I think you can answer that for yourself.  Is this a fun film?  Yes.
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The Adventures of Tintin (3D) – viewed in Theater 02/18/2012 – This was one that I had no interest in.  I like adventure (see above).  I like Spielberg.  But for some reason the previews for this movie just didn’t grab me.  However, the dollar theater price did, so I went to see it.  And whaddya know… I liked it!  The graphics, needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway), are amazing.  At times, one could even forget they’re watching an animated movie.  Good adventure, good humor, good cast.  Good job!
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The Vow – viewed in Theater 02/19/2012 – There’s not much to say about this one.  It is what it is – a chick flick through and through.  It doesn’t come close to touching The Notebook, and I guess people keep comparing it to that movie because of Rachel McAdams (who I’m a big fan of!).  But let’s just say that Channing “big ears McGee” Tatum is no Ryan Gosling.  And maybe that’s okay.  Tatum gets the job done, but sometimes you just have to giggle at him.
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A sad, sad statistic for cat lovers (or anyone with a heart) – and what we can do about it

Up until now, I’ve generally kept my blog posts light, fun, or informational.  Nothing too heavy or depressing.  If you’ve read past posts, or if you know me, then you know that I love, love, love my pets.  I am and forever will be an animal lover.  We’ve had our pup Eddie almost 9 years now.  And within the last two years, we’ve added two cats – both stray kittens that found their way to our home and our hearts (awww).  I’ve always loved cats – having a few growing up – but then I developed an allergy to them in my teens and thought I wouldn’t be able to have one as an adult.  But two years ago when Dexter showed up on the scene at 3 weeks new, with a fresh battle wound on his tiny face, we had to keep him.  And lo and behold – no allergies!  So when Olive pranced into our lives last June at 8 weeks old, we kept her too.

With that said, I’ll tell you what this post is really about.  It’s about the horrifying statistic that I read this past week at ocregister.com:

74% of the cats that go through the Orange County Animal Shelter do not leave alive!

Seventy. Four. Percent.  For a total of 9,568 cats and kittens euthanized in 2011.

That’s heartbreaking.  Just heartbreaking.

What can we do about this, you may wonder?  If you’re a cat owner, you can start by spaying or neutering your cat.  If you’re a prospective cat owner, perhaps you can skip the pet store and head down to the Orange County Animal Shelter (or any shelter for that matter) and pick out your new kitty from the wide selection of adoptable cats.  And then, of course, spay or neuter said cat.

Another helpful tip – pet ID!  If a cat comes into the shelter with no ID or a microchip, it’s extremely less likely for a happy owner/pet reunion. Unfortunately, it’s more likely your cat will end up in the 74% statistic.

For as much as cat owners can do to help the situation, the majority of the euthanized cats (about two-thirds) were actually due to feral cats in the community and underage kittens.

Growing in awareness, but still needing funding, are trap-neuter-return programs (TNR), where a team will come into an area to do exactly that: trap ferals, neuter them, then return them to their habitat, where they can then live out their natural life without adding to the population.  You can learn more about TNR at AlleyCat.org, or you can read a TNR success story at BestFriends.org (one of my fave organizations!).  The last TNR program run by the OC shelter was in 2009, but has since stopped due to lack of funding.

Here’s the full rundown of the 2011 cat situation at the OC Animal Shelter:

• 74 percent euthanized (boo)
• 17 percent adopted (yay!!!)
• 4 percent fostered (at least they’re headed in the right direction)
• 3 percent owner-requested euthanasia (boo)
• 2 percent returned to owner (yay!)
• 1 percent other (ran away etc…)

This graph shows 2010 vs. 2011 stats.  The good news is the overall number of cats impounded and euthanized did go down, if only slightly.  But we need to get this number reduced to zero!

I know, I’m sorry to be such a downer.  But these kitties need our help!  If you’ve ever laid your head on a cat’s belly and heard the purring motor inside, or received kitty kisses on the nose, then you’ll understand why I posted this.  Now go out and get one!  Or tell a friend.  Tell a neighbor!  Tell anyone who will listen. Kitties all over the world will say thank you.

***All stats, the graph, and two pictures taken from the ocregister article.

My 2011 Reads

I’m a little late in posting this, but here’s my book list for 2011.  I’d previously posted up through Q3, but here’s everything again, now with October through December added.  My goal for 2011 was to read at least 2 books a month.  I ended up with 39 for the year, thanks to a few book-filled months.  May and September were my downfall, though, with none and one.
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January – 5 | February – 4 | March – 7
April – 2 | May – 0 | June – 4
July – 3 | August – 6 | September – 1
October – 2 | November – 2 | December – 3
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Before reading my book list below, remember that I’m a Monk fan, YA fan, and discovered the Grafton alphabet series and the Evanovich numbered Plum series this past year.  Those types of books made up most of my 2011 reading.

The standouts… The Hunger Games series and The Help.  A fun read – the Plum series.
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I Am Number Four, Water for Elephants, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop, Mr. Monk in Trouble, A is for Alibi, Linger, B is for Burglar, C is for Corpse, Mr. Monk is Cleaned Out, D is for Deadbeat, E is for Evidence, F is for Fugitive, G is for Gumshoe, H is for Homicide, Crashers, Mockingbird, I is for Innocent, J is for Judgment, K is for Killer, Marcelo in the Real World, L is for Lawless, House Rules, Life As We Knew It, Mr. Monk on the Road, The Help, The Dead and the Gone, This World We Live In, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Uglies, Pretties, Specials, One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score
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AUTHORS: Suzanne Collins, Kate DiCamillo, Kathryn Erskine, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Sue Grafton, Sara Gruen, Dana Haynes, Pittacus Lore, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Jodi Picoult, Maggie Stiefvater, Kathryn Stockett, Francisco X. Stork, Mildred D. Taylor, Scott Westerfeld

Which Bowl will you be watching? Super or Puppy?

Okay, so I know the answer… Super Bowl.  But if you’re a fan of puppies, kittens, and cuteness, you might want to check out Puppy Bowl VIII on Animal Planet. Really, it’s just a bunch of puppies running around and playing, but it’s sure to be oh-so-adorable, while also raising awareness of pet adoption.  All of the “players” are rescued shelter pups!  And come on, wouldn’t you rather watch puppies running around than men in spandex?  There’s even a bonus kitten halftime show!  All together now, awww….

10 million viewers are expected to tune in.  Will you?

Sunday, Feb. 5, beginning at 3 PM E/P.  Learn more at Animal Planet.