"I See You" too

So last night I finally broke down and saw Avatar - gotta keep up with pop culture right? So I was not into seeing it for a long time - the trailers did nothing for me. After having seen it though it was not so painful to sit through (although 3 hrs is a long movie) and better than I expected. The Blue people didn't bug me as much as I thought (you get used to it) and even though there were parts that were cheesy or that didn't make sense I didn't hate it. A lot of thought and imagination went into it which I appreciated. There were points when I was scared or tense and sad. Also, why did all the animal/creatures look like fish/dragons? Those monkey things I named Finkeys. I finally understand the tail hooking reference from the Laser Cats skit on SNL. Jim you know how to make movies that make LOTS of money.  

Rating: 4 out of 5

A little lounging, sushi and tequila

So the last little while I've tried three new restaurants in the KW area.

The first place was Tyrone in Uptown Waterloo in the "pub district". This place is definitely not a pub. It's a lounge restaurant. I know it just opened but I was not impressed - except for their DJ. But they don't have dancing so what good is that? I'm really not sure who they want their clientele to be. I went with a party of 6 people on a wednesday night around 10pm. The place was nearly empty. The decor was a fusion of Asian and Modern which just didn't look high end. They had these annoying lights that went from red to green to blue, etc and they were like blinding. They have some couches near the DJ booth and a combination of tables and booths and then seating at the bar. Our waitress was new but it took her 30 minutes to get us water and she had to ask what my drink order was 3 times before finally taking the menu to the bar. She was nice though. The drinks were TINY and way overpriced. I ordered a dessert that was good but again TINY. There are nicer places to go it you just want to have a classy drink. I wasn't very impressed as you can tell-oh and the name is horrible.

The second was Sushi Star on King in Kitchener. It's an "all you can eat" Sushi restaurant. The way it works is you pay $20 and can order as much as you want, but if you order food you don't eat you have to pay for it. So you just order a little at a time. It's comparable to Ye's Sushi in Waterloo. I always leave so FULL from these places. My one friend did not enjoy the sushi part but there was teriyaki and tempura on the menu that she could eat. I thought the sushi was good though. For dessert we had the red bean ice cream which was actually good, had a a chalky chocolate taste. The atmosphere wasn't anything to get excited about though, and I didn't check out the bathroom.

The third place was on King as well in Uptown Waterloo, Margarita's. KW doesn't really have any good Tex Mex places so I was excited to try this one which opened about 4 months ago. We went on a SUnday night and it wasn't overly busy but we weren't the only ones there either. The menu was small but I appreciated that because I get overwhelmed by choice. I ordered a Mango Margarita - it was very good, not too sweet. Then I had chicken tacos (the soft ones) that were good and there was lots of meat. Everyone enjoyed their meals (the enchiladas were apparently very good). We even tried cactus in like a vinaigrette salad - let me tell you it's an acquired taste for sure. For dessert we had Churros served with Dulce de Leche - they were AMAZING. The decor was very random and reminded me of other Mexican restaurants in New York and Toronto. Our waiter was great. I would go again...maybe with a sombrero?

An Education

So, along with two friends, I went to Guleph monday night to see An Education at the Bookstore. (As a side note we went to the Red Brick Cafe beforehand and it was really cool. We did the wine sampling for $8 - such a deal. I would definitely go back). The movie takes place in a suburb of London during the early 1960's. The main character is this really smart girl whose goal (as determined by her parents) is to go to Oxford to study English. She meets an older man one rainy day and an emotional affair begins. Very deep and twisty (not in a weirdo way though). I don't want to spoil the movie so I won't say more. The male lead Peter Saarsgaard is not British but you'd never know it (my friend actually found that the cast was all English except for him). I was pleasantly surprised to see Dominic Cooper as well. The blond is from Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version). The costuming is awesome and it makes you want to go live in that time, even if just for a bit.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Product Review: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer

I love this product. I was skeptical since any other product that claimed to keep eyeshadow from shifting failed. I have one friend who can wear her eye makeup all day and night, then sleep and wake up and it will still look nearly perfect. Me, no so much. Usually a few hours later it's all collected in my eyelid crease. So I decided to try this product after reading many glowing reviews. And guess what? IT WORKS. I'll get home from work and my eyeshadow is still where I put it in the morning. Also, the colour is more intense so you have to use less eyeshadow to begin with.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Movie Weekend

Last weekend I saw three movies. Here is what I saw and what I thought:

Public Enemy - Some parts were slow, you had to pay attention to follow the story and keep the characters straight. As usual Johnny Depp did a good job "becoming" the character. 3.5/5

Julie & Julia - This one was really good. I loved the parts between Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. Amy Adams wasn't my favourite part of the movie surprisingly. I thought it was really good and I really like the actor who played Julie's husband - he was in Away We Go. Pretty sure I'll buy this one - even if it DID make me want to eat after. 4/5

Brothers - Very intense emotionally, like I didn't cry but you definitely have strong feelings for the characters. The little girls in the movie are amazing. It's shocking and I would definitely recommend it. Some critics panned it for the "war" themes but put that aside and it's a decent movie. My one friend said the only thing missing was Jake Gyllenhaal topless. 4/5