Lord of the Freaking Flies

Lord of the Flies **1/2
by William Golding
Book Type: Allegorical Novel, Fiction
Summary: Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding. It discusses how culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of British school-boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. It has been "labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse." (goodreads)
My Review: Most people read this book in school. I somehow missed this book, among many others. Really? Where the heck was I when everyone was reading this book? I've heard a lot of debate on this book because of it brutal portrait of human nature. Controversial books intrigue me so I HAD to pick it up and see what it was all about. And I was disappointed. Not gonna lie. I put the book down and thought "what? really?" Okay okay, I know a lot of people really love this book. I'm just not one of them. There are too many innately good people in the world for this book to really reflect human nature. Yes. We talk about the natural man in the LDS church all the time. But I don't believe it is a part of our nature to KILL people. There are few people in the world who are naturally that sick and twisted. Most get there because of how they're raised, their mental history... I mean, the type of person that would turn out like the boys in this book are few and far between and generally labeled kind of nuts at a young age. I mean really? This book just was so extreme that I couldn't really enjoy or get into what Golding was trying to say. I didn't feel that the point Golding was trying to make was accurate. It was dramatized and quite frankly offensive. Maybe he has a problem if he thinks everyone is naturally inclined to kill their neighbor, or be so destructive and horrible. Did he ever see a psychiatrist? Oh, and on top of this major flaw, the characters were so lack luster and under-developed. I don't know if he did that on purpose or he is a poor writer... Either way, it turned me off from the story. I'm just saying.

MOVIES

So Russ and I normally watch a new movie every week... or two. Sometimes we go a month or more without seeing anything new. But the last few weeks we have had a lot of down time OR homelessness? So we have rented a bunch of redbox movies and even went to the theater a few times. WOAH. Okay, we only go to a movie theater about once every 4 months or more generally, so this summer has been CRAZY. Anyway, we've seen way too many movies lately to give each their own post, I just don't have the patience for it and there would be way too many movie posts in a row so I'm putting them all in one post. How about we go in order from best to worst? :D
p.s. Most of the movies we watched were a major disappointment... Not many decent scores on here!

Source Code ****

Trailer
This movie was WAY better than I thought it would be. The previews didn't really do it justice. the plot was very coherent and interesting. The story flowed well, Jake Gyllenhall is awesome (okay I'll admit it, I really love him as an actor). The supporting cast was also really great. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this mind blowing concept. Kind of nuts but really well done. :) I would watch it again.

Cowboys and Aliens ****

Trailer
Yes, I did say best movies to worst movies. And I did say that Cowboys and Aliens got four stars! So my brother told us that he really enjoyed this movie but he gave us the heads up that you can't go into this movie looking for a great Western, you've got to watch it with the expectation that you are there to see an alien movie. As far as Westerns go this movie is probably mediocre at best. BUT as an alien movie? I thought it was WAY fun. The aliens were creepy and their lair is anything but homey. The characters are really well developed, Harrison Ford is phenomenal and it is a lot of fun to watch Daniel Craig beat the heck out of anyone that gets in his way. So think I'm lame for liking this movie if you want. But I thought it was great. :)

Rango ***

Trailer
This movie was pretty cute. I thought Rango was a funny character. He's played by Johnny Depp, how could he NOT be good? I loved the accents, I thought they were way funny. The digital animation is pretty awesome. The story is cute, but simple. It was definitely not one of my favorite movies, but it was still pretty fun. Ehh, I really don't know what to say about this movie haha. It's just kind of quirky and weird. The best part is when he firsts gets out of the car and sheds his skin about 10 times in a row because it's so hot and dry. HAH. 

Priest **1/2
Trailer
Well then! This movie was... Crazy. Vampire monsters. Priests that kill vampires. People that WANT to be vampire like creatures. Or dinner... Still not sure what they wanted. Okay, so the special effects were cool, the actors were great, the plot was... lacking. The story and characters weren't developed fully. But it was an interesting idea. The vampires are definitely NOT like anything I've ever seen before. They were much creepier. It was a very interesting concept. Just not effectively executed. Bummer!

Mars Needs Mom's **1/2
Trailer
This movie had some cute aspects. The story was fine. The best part was when the kid realized how much he loved and appreciated his mom. I think as an aspiring mother  it was fun to see that. But the movie definitely was NOT perfect. I've seen much better kid movies, much better comedies... But it was still a fun idea. :)



Sucker Punch **1/2
Trailer
WOW this movie is super artistic. You can't go in there expecting a great story or plot. You can't walk out expecting to feel happy. But this movie had some dang cool special effects. And the girl's totally kicked butt which was pretty dang cool. This movie had some great things going for it and some not so great things. It was kind of depressing! But like I said, the girl's are really cool, even if none of it's actually real.



Red Riding Hood **1/2
Trailer
Danger. Intrigue. Insanity. Love. Devotion. Betrayal. Suspense. Werewolves. Death.. All sounds great right? Cool. Exciting. Daring... Meh. The idea was great. The execution was not. Two guys in love with a girl. A werewolf terrorizing the village. A crazy man there to save the day. Innocent people killed... including a young boy with a disability. THAT was NOT okay with me. I couldn't get over it. I would give the movie TWO stars because of that. But taking into account the rest of the movie? It was a LITTLE bit better than two stars... But not by much. There was too much drama, and they made it seem like the werewolf was one person, then another, then another, then another... Until you just wanted them to tell you who the heck it was! Buh! And the ending was stupid. At least I thought it was. I hate how hard some movies push for a happy ending when really? It's too forced. End it unhappy. Or take the story in a different direction. GOSH.

The Eagle **1/2
Trailer
Ummm. This movie had a few cool action scenes. Unfortunately it was generally very slow and NOT action packed. I thought the story was good, a story of honor and freedom. I really liked the slave. He was pretty awesome. And the very very end was great. Like the second to last line? I thought it was a good one. But... They didn't develop the characters very well which was disappointing because they had a few really great actors in it... Ehhh, it was just very lacking for me.

Gulliver's Travels **1/2
Trailer
Ehhh, there wasn't really anything good or bad about this movie. It had funny parts. It had stupid parts. It had Jack Black... It is just a very Jack Black movie. Really. It had plenty to laugh about, and plenty to bang your head against the wall about. In the end it was fun but I don't think I'd ever care to watch it again.




Skyline *
Trailer
People getting sucked up into the sky by the hundreds... Sounds like a good start for an alien movie right? WRONG. This looked way cool in the previews and was honestly the only part of the movie that was remotely interesting. The plot was stupid, the aliens were impossible to kill, the main characters were slimeballs... I honestly could care less about any of them. I felt like "ehh, just suck em all up into ships, give us a new cast of likable characters".  The aliens were okay but the special effects weren't the greatest. The ending was absolutely the worst ending I've ever seen. This movie would definitely make it onto my list of "10 worst movies of all time". Maybe someday that list will make it on here... Huh.

This looks and TASTES like something you get at a restaurant!

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2lbs cut up chicken or breasts sliced into strips
• Oil (for frying)

Seasoning

• 1 ¼ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder

Sauce

• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup hot sauce

Breading

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat eggs and water. Add hot sauce and whisk together.
2. In small bowl combine ground black pepper, salt and garlic powder. In another bowl or pie plate combine flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Pat dry chicken pieces with a paper towel. Sprinkle chicken pieces generously on both sides with the seasoning mixture.
4. Dip chicken pieces into the hot sauce mixture and coat thoroughly. One piece at a time, roll chicken pieces in the flour mixture and drop into the deep fryer. Don’t over load the deep fryer with chicken. Fry chicken until brown and crisp (dark meat will take about 14 minutes, white meat about 10 minutes). A good way to tell if it’s done is to pierce the deepest part of the bone with a fork, if the juices run clear, it’s done. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all chicken is fried.

We found this recipe on our favorite blog!

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera ***1/2

by Gaston Leroux
Book type: Gothic Novel, Fiction 

Summary: He lurked in the shadows of the Paris Opera House--a man with the voice of an angel but the face of a monster. His only hope for love is a beautiful soprano who draws him . . . to disaster.

summary found on goodreads

My Review: Everyone knows the story of the Phantom of the Opera... Right? No. Not the TRUE story. The story written by Gaston Leroux is much darker and sinister than you ever knew. Erik, the phantom, is a sick, twisted man. He has a torture chamber, kills people for fun, and is obsessive. He will do anything to get the young woman of his fantasies. The story is written much like the Broadway play, it has a similar feeling, but it is definitely a different story. I thought this version of the Phantom of the Opera was interesting. It is definitely NOT a fun, light, summer read. But it was pretty good!

The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory

locations: Various
SO FREAKING GOOD. I love this restaurant. It is AMAZING. It seems like it's expensive but it's actually quite comparable to other nicer restaurants like Chili's or Outback about 8-15 dollars a plate. This restaurant has a ginormous menu, it kind of looks like a text book. BUT, once you get past the incredibly HUGE number of options, you can't wait to eat! It's almost impossible NOT to order an appetizer, two entrees, and a slice of cheesecake... Which is why it ends up being a little pricier. But I have only been disappointed with one thing I've gotten at this restaurant. It just wasn't what I expected, but the cheesecake is INCREDIBLE, the appetizers are delectable and the entrees are just as yummy. Oh so GOOD.

How do you like your eggs?

Fried Eggs with Basil and Feta

 Ingredients:

• egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• sprinkle of basil
• a few crumbles of feta cheese

Directions:

1. Heat up a frying pan, spray with cooking spray or coat with butter. Crack egg into pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, basil, and feta cheese on egg.
2. Once the edges of the egg begin to brown and curl up, flip over the egg. Cook until desired done-ness. Can leave the yolk runny or cook all the way through, your choice!

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau ****

Trailer
This movie was a lot of fun. Russ and I really enjoyed watching it. It ended a lot better than we expected. The only thing I didn't really like was how obsessed Matt Damon was with the girl after meeting her once. And they were obsessed with each other before they knew each other. And they called it love. BUT, other than that, the movie was very interesting. It really makes you think about the way you make decisions in your life. :)