Roscoe and a dog park friend
I decided to limit my outdoor activity this winter. It’s been cold. So very cold.
It seems to have been in the single digits for a long, long time, but every once in awhile the snot in my nose defrosts and I can smell spring.
Meanwhile I’m reviewing new and not so new dvds. Today’s reviews are The American and Ice Twisters.
The B-side
I have spent more quality time inside this winter, even hijacking my mother’s blog a week before the Super Bowl to join a Red Gold tomato promotion. This Rich Tomato Pasta With Melting Brie was the biggest hit.
Fettuccine With Melted Brie
Now back to watching a big pile of dvds even though my favorite Blockbuster closed. All those trips building up the sacred video store clerk/customer bond wasted. I know, I know, there will be other video store clerks.
But there’s a Family Video not too far from the old Blockbuster, and despite its small size and lack of the no late fee infinity rentals of the Blockbuster Movie Pass, the clerks are friendly, many of them have a genuine fondness for their wares (they know about movies and stuff), and the prices are laughably low—I got a Breaking Bad, two new It’s Always Sunnys, the new Karate Kid, and Kick Ass for $4.94.
It’s forcing me to buy candy, something I wouldn’t ever do.
Christopher
This isn’t me, it’s my nephew Christopher who ate nothing but candy and peanut butter sandwiches until he was 20.
When you rent from the new wall of releases at Family Video during the middle of the week, you can pick out something from their not all that old section for free. It’s like renting the B-side.
The American
My new wall rental was The American with George Clooney (it had a December 28 dvd release date).
The movie was so slow I sped up the playback to 1.5 to see if it would make a difference. It didn’t. But I can see how more patience than I had would have helped enjoy the film on a level I was not prepared to explore. The itty bitty subtitles didn’t help.
Clooney builds weapons for assassins, has to hide out in a small Italian village and tries not to get involved or killed.
Nice scenery, great sense of place, incredible winding stone stairs in dark shadows. Clooney looked old and beaten, I think he was supposed to, but he’s done that before and it didn’t jar the film out of slo-mo.
I did enjoy watching him fashion his super rifle.
Ice Twisters
Not only am I plowing through the flotsam on the B-side, but I’m finding something positive to say about whatever I grab off the shelf. I may start choosing with my eyes closed, and judging from my first Positive B-Side Review, I might as well.
A disenchanted best selling disaster fiction writer stumbles upon a government conspiracy during a book signing. Good scientists and an evil government suit want to bring rain to the lush greenery of Oregon, where it never stopped raining either time I was there. Flying weather machines called “seraphs” cause tornadoes which freeze everything in their path. Two hapless journalism students need a good video to pass their class.
☂ I liked the term “Self propelled self sustaining silver iodide generator.”
☂ Tornadoes which freeze everything in their path one-up Thunder Snow.
☂ It made me want to buy a Chevy Tahoe.
☂ I love how two students knew how to work all the TV station equipment while there was no explanation of what happened to everyone at the station. Or maybe I left the room for that part.
☂ I love how you can leave the room for any part while not missing anything.
☂ I liked Gary’s argyle hoodie.
☂ Grateful to have never been on a road trip with someone who talks about “hypermiling.”
☂ The blatant rip off of Twisters is almost sweet in its optimism.
Snack pairing: Blue Raspberry Icee and canoli.
The unrest emanates from a ponderous bill whose opposition has been given less than a week to comprehend its consequences. Along with what many see as intentional 
