Sunday, January 06, 2008

Good Flicks

I've had a nice weekend enjoying checking some movies off my list. (Yes, of course I really have a list of movies.) Friday night, after doing some rushing around with kids and knitting a bit at my sister's house, my friend TL and I made a hasty run for a 10:00 showing of Juno. Now, I don't know what everyone's tolerance is for the slightly crass, but if you can handle a little, go see this movie. There's plenty of gross teenager talk, but I found the characters enchanting and the story heartfelt. And the soundtrack completely quirky. I'm sure part of the reason I really liked it was the experience itself. It's been a long time since I've been in a theater that was even half full, and this evening it was pretty packed. There's something about a group of strangers laughing, and laughing hard, all together. Also being there with TL was great. She's such a good and sensitive friend. I was surprised at how the scenes such as the ultrasound and the birth of the baby were hard for me. She picked right up on that and put her arm around me. I think we cried a little together both for Matthew as well as the fact that she probably won't be having another baby due to medical stuff. "Stuff" being surviving breast cancer. You go, TL.

Saturday evening Troy and I enjoyed a date night together, with many thanks going to my in laws who took the kids for a really long time. We went out to dinner with our Mayfields and our growing friends the Gonzales's. We went to a restaurant in the gateway called Biaggi's...oh yum. Seriously yum. Italian food, really nice atmosphere. Wanna hear about our appetizer? (now, Margaret, you either need to skip ahead or prepare yourself. :)) Shredded duck sauteed with dried cherries and mushrooms and served over warm polenta. Drooling yet? You should be, because it was awesome. I had a butternut squash ravioli with butter sauce (call me Tubs) and walnuts. Misty and Mike both had this incredible black linguine with lobster. Joy! Okay, let's move beyond my food fetish. We enjoyed watching National Treasure 2. Not quite the indie film-genera like Juno, but it was exactly what I thought it would be and it was a ton of fun. My favorite was the London car chase.

So cheers to good friends and good movies, and here's hoping for many more!

3 comments:

Carrie said...

This is the second blog tonight talking about Juno, i have never heard of it before. I am very uninformed.

Cache's favorite at Biaggi's is the black linguine with lobster and if you like the butternut squash ravioli you have to make the pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce I posted about earlier.

ghd3 said...

Oh yes, Juno is on the list -- it looks great, glad you enjoyed it. National Treasure 2 looked a little over the top, but we'll probably rent it when it's out on DVD. Glad you had such a fun weekend. The sledding pictures are also great. And you're right, as much as I love curling up and watching a good movie at home, there is something irreplaceable about seeing a great show in a theater full of people all enjoying themselves. It becomes a small little community, a "we're-all-in-this-together" experience, and can make a good movie even better. It's one of the reasons opening weekends can be so much fun. It sounds like you guys are enjoying 2008 -- keep it up!

Kathleen said...

I took my sister to see Juno for her birthday and we both absolutely loved it. Yes, a little crass and we were both glad our mom decided not to come with us, but we enjoyed it. Laughed and cried. Want to see it again!