The Man from ????

After spotting this in the end credits of The Man from UNCLE, it would appear that it is actually the man from Rochester, NY!

Top Eight Halloween Spooky Yet Not Too Scary Movies

I don't know why but I don't feel Halloweeny yet. I haven't even put up my Halloween decorations.

In order to jump start the Halloween season, here is a list of my top eight Halloween movies. I wouldn't 100% say these movies aren't scary. Sleepy Hollow has some gross scenes and Bram Stokers Dracula has some scary parts. I just generally don't care for horror and slasher films that make you jump out of your seat or look behind you when you walk in the dark like The Exorcist or Friday the 13th. I go for more classic vampire, zombie, werewolf type movies or humorous/odd ball flicks.

Sleepy Hollow - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is such a good traditional Halloween tale. Tim Buton adds some twists in this version and I like Depp's quirky portrayal of Ichabod Crane.

Edward Scissorhands - Did you know that the character of Edward is based on the screenwriter's Caroline Thompson's dog? That is why he barely speaks and walks around with wide eyed innocence.

Little Shop of Horrors - I get the music in the movie stuck in my head pretty easily. It's kinda weird to think it was directed by Frank Oz. The film has a dark side and I typically connect Oz with Miss Piggy and Bert on Sesame Street.

Beetlejuice - Do you remember the cartoon Beetlejuice? So weird. Turns out there are plans for a Beetlejuice 2 in 2016.

Adams Family - The spooky film industry must be a small one. The screenwriter for Edward Scissorhands, Caroline Thompson, is also a writer for The Addams Family.

Ghostbusters - I am really looking forward to seeing the Kristen Wiig, Chris Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy version of Ghostbusters coming in 2016. Dan Aykroyd is one of the writers.

Bram Stokers Dracula - I can't explain it. I don't like movies about things that go bump in the night but I like just about any vampire film. Interview with a Vampire, Queen of the Damned, The Lost Boys, Underworld, and even Blade.

Psycho - You might call this the "I't's a Wonderful Life" of horror films. It was groundbreaking and still a classic. Had to give it a shout-out.

Psycho was Alfred Hitchcock's first horror film. He filmed it in black and white because he thought color would be too gory. Yet the "blood" in the shower scene is Hershey's syrup, because it showed up better in the filming.

There were a lot of other movies I considered - Nightmare Before Christmas, ET, Hocus Pocus, Casper... but I was trying to keep it to eight.

With that said here are two bonus movies. Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows - I didn't originally include these because my list was getting a little Johnny Depp heavy.

Here were my top 8 Christmas movies if you are curious.

Night at the movies: Ant-Man

Since we got a big screen TV and started streaming movies, we don't go to the movie theatre as much anymore. When we do go to the theatre, it has to be the AMC where we can reserve our seats and recline in ultimate comfiness.

It's a particular kind of movie that is "theatre worthy" for us these days. Movies from Marvel are automatically theatre movies in our book. Tonight we went to see Ant-Man. I think it's one of my favorite Marvel movies now.

It's a movie where you truly are rooting for the little guy! Paul Rudd is so... Paul Rudd... and I wasn't surprised to learn that he did some of the writing on the screenplay.

Also... I feel kinda bad about any ants I've squished in the past.

Chef and other food films

I decided to pick up a movie at Redbox and saw Chef in the rotation. Actually it didn't look like this, because I had no idea all these actors were in the movie. I just saw "food truck" and I love food trucks so I got it. Turns out it was on Netflix streaming and I could have saved $2 but there you go.

I was pleasantly surprised by the movie times ten. It's not a big budget film - except for the big name stars in it, but it's one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. The story is different, the writing is charming, the characters engaging and the actors chosen to be them, well selected. John Leguizamo and Sofia Vergara stand out particularly.

An added bonus for me was the integration of Twitter to the story line. Not only is it key to the drama that unfolds but the way they visually show the tweeting is cute.

And the food. Oh the food. There are drawn out scenes of Chef Carl making a grilled cheese, cooking pasta, garnishing plates. I love it. I even heard mention of gochujang at one point. During the credits there is footage of a chef showing Jon Favreau how to focus on making the perfect grilled cheese. Spreading butter twice, peeking under the bread with a spatula. I had to make grilled cheese the next evening.

This isn't the first time I chosen a movie based on the theme of food. Here are some of my favorite movies featuring food.

Julie and Julia - I could pretty much eat a stick of butter after watching this. Oh hey... just realized that Danny Catalano from the Mindy Project is in this!

Chocolate - Killer around Valentine's Day. Especially love the cups of drinking chocolate in this.

No Reservations - I am guessing this is a lesser known movie but I will watch it over and over.

I think one of the things I love about movies featuring chefs and food is the intensity chefs have about the food they make.

And I like the food.

Are there any movies that make you hungry for a certain dish? What movies about food do you like?

Knitting and documentaries

These cold evenings have been spent rolled up in blankets on the couch knitting dishcloths (an easy mindless pattern) and watching documentaries like Burt's Buzz and Tiny.

Burt's Buzz - I'm a big fan of Burt's Bees products, from the old stand by lip balm and hand salve to the newer face wipes and moisturizer. I had no idea there was a real Burt. I was surprised to learn about the story of this reclusive beekeeper and the drama behind the creation of a billion dollar company. The best part was seeing Burt's rustic cabin and watching him make a fire. "A good day is when no one shows up... and you don't have to go anywhere." - Burt Shavitz

Tiny - This is a documentary about the Tiny House movement. It follows a couple as they build a 120 square foot house. There were also interviews with other people that were already living in their Tiny Houses. I just read about a Tiny House in Rochester. I think it is an interesting movement and great for people looking to downsize their lives. Not my thing however.

LJC's Top 8 Christmas Flicks

Aaron and I have been watching our favorite holiday movies this month. Here are our top 8 picks.

White Christmas

This is just eye candy. Classic. Only drawback is we have the "Sisters" song stuck in our heads for weeks.

It's a Wonderful Life

Another classic and Aaron does a great Jimmy Stewart impression.

I recently learned that local Seneca Falls is believed to be the inspiration for Bedford Falls and I would like to attend their "The Real Bedford Falls" festival some year.

Muppets Christmas Carol

Christmas Carol is such a good story. Pigs, frogs and chickens only make it better.

Love Actually

Clever stories that overlap. There are some great lines in this.

The Holiday

I find myself mostly focused on Kate Winslet's cottage in this movie.

Elf

Such a feel good movie. But why, why, why is Zoey Deschanel's hair blond?!

Christmas Vacation

We can practically quote the lines along with this one as it plays.

The Christmas Story

This movie makes you a little nostalgic for Christmases when you were a kid. I've heard they have turned the house where it was filmed in Cleveand into a museum. That would make a fun holiday road trip!

Muppets Most Wanted

Both Aaron and I are life-long Muppet fans. We were going to go see Monument Men, and somehow ended up going to see Muppets Most Wanted.

Is it awful that Constantine, the evil frog was our favorite character.

I mean... I love Kermit but an evil frog is hilarious. (Notice how Constantine not only has a mole but his collar is shorter?)

Some of my favorite parts...

"It's not easy being mean."

"Thee louvers, thee dreemers and chee-e-e-e-e-se! Nailed it."

"My name first, then spacebar, spacebar, spacebar... your name."

"You wacka'd your last wacka, bear!"

Plus Aaron and I have the "I'm number one! You're number twoooooo" song stuck in our heads.

I noticed that the Muppets were guest deejays on iTunes. They had some funny picks like Miss Piggy featuring "Maneater" and Animal playing "Wild Thing".

Oh and the Muppets Most Wanted website has desktop wallpaper downloads!

popcorn seasonings

The last time Aaron and I went to the movies, I was excited to discover you could buy a mini shaker of white cheddar seasoning for your popcorn. I love cheese popcorn so now I love getting popcorn at the movies even more.

Kevin Smith

Saw Kevin Smith on the red carpet before his movie Zak and Miri Make a
Porno. What a nice guy. He was the only star I have seen come over to
his fans and sign autographs. His movie was funny and surprisingly cute.

At the Toronto Film Festival

A common sight at the Toronto International Film Festival... standing
in line. We were waiting to see Ghost Town. Laughed through the whole
film.

Nick and Norah

The cast of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist after the screening.
Fun movie. Where's Fluffy?

2008 Toronto Film Festival

We are in Toronto this weekend for the Toronto International Film Festival!

This weekend, when we were at our favorite breakfast spot... I noticed this on the table. Wednesday is National Pie Day! Pies are starting to edge in a little on cupcakes popularity for me.

We just watched Waitress and she made pies like Mermaid Marshmallow Pie and Falling in Love Chocolate Mousse Pie. Boy was I hungry for pie after that.

And of course, my favorite show Pushing Daisies always had lots of pies at the Pie Hole.