Red Riding Hood

Yes, I saw this movie. "Why" you ask? I'm a sucker.

I'm a sucker for Catherine Hardwicke. "Why" you ask?

I don't know, I just am. I loved Lords of Dogtown(come on, a roller skating camera operator? Sweet!) and I loved Twilight. (I read every book and I'm happy about Rpatz as Edward!)

That said, I did not love Red Riding Hood.

This film was SAD. Yes, I give this film a rating of SAD.
Not only was the acting as pathetic as a kindergarten Christmas play, but the editing SUCKED, the score SUCKED, the production design SUCKED and the script SUCKED.
Amanda Seyfried can do NO WRONG, in my eyes. (Hello, remember Mean Girls?) but how in the hell did they get Gary Oldman and Lukas Haas? Come on!!Weird.
Shiloh Fernandez is oddly handsome, in a Joaquin Phoenix way, and I love Joaquin, so eye candy went well with my flask. Max Irons was robbed of any possibility of greatness, as was Billy Burke, Julie Christie and Virginia Madsen!?!?!

The only way to see this movie is very much the way I did. See it with the 6 women you see all the Twilight movies with, pack a flask and create a drinking game based on actions in the movie.
Example:

• Each time Amanda pulls her red hood off or on, SWIG.
• If someone is sewing, SWIG
• If a character sighs deeply, SWIG
• If Niki Reed is in the film, SWIG

Oh, and be sure to whisper and crack up Aloud, a lot.
xoxoxoxjoy

The Adjustment Bureau

I have been looking forward to this movie for sometime and I am delighted to say that I was not disappointed.

The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and a great performances by Anthony Mackie, Michael Kelly & John Slattery.

The cast is wonderful, the script is original, thoughtful, funny and endearing.
The production value is well done compliments of real locations and artsy cinematography.
The score is versatile and lovely.

This film is-RAD. Should be seen in theaters.

Beachwood Restaurant Venice Beach CA

Friday night, March 4th was filled with a lot of "everything". A lot of wine, beef, cheese and cocktails. Many of my favorite things.
The weekend kicked off with a glass of Pinot Grigio in the last hour of work with my staff. It's always a nice gesture to sip wine and beer, contemplate the week and plan for the following week. In my office, we practice this simple step in production with great expertise.

The night began when I met the Daraz at Beachwood on Washington Blvd in Venice Beach.
http://www.beechwoodrestaurant.com/home.php
We started with a bottle of La Violette from France and the cheese plate. The cheese went very well with the wine and the bread for spreading was mighty flavorful.
For dinner, I had the Really Good Burger, D1 had the Grilled Culotte Steak and D2 had the Kobe Beef Cheeks. For dessert we had the Warm Apple Crostada.
The music is contemporary alternative hits, which we appreciated and commented on, often. The crowd ranges from mid forties to early 20's. Hip, stylish, L.A. types celebrating birthdays, anniversaries or, like us, friendship. We ate in the restaurant and our only complaint was the Kobe Beef Cheeks. These are gross, bland and boring. The texture is disgusting. Maybe we don't know our cheeks, but we each sampled and we each gagged a little.
The Really Good burger was really good and the mix of regular fries with sweet potato fries made us very happy.
We closed out of dinner and stopped in the bar to sample the signature cocktails.
I enjoyed two sidecars and the Daraz had cocktails, which I forget, I had two sidecars, so I was feeling good.
The bar patrons consisted of couples and singles seated on couches and loungers. It's a bit of a meat market, which wasn't an issue for us, we are single ladies. When the 21 year old hit on us, we ate it up and shortly sent him on his way.
The service was perfect in the restaurant and bar.
Our final rating is- RAD. Three votes out of three.
Don't eat the cheeks and make reservations for dinner.
Valet parking is provided as is a daily Happy Hour.