DESPICABLE ME 2 - film

So last night I went to a 4.45pm session of Despicable Me 2.

If you don’t know me, you won’t realise what a dilemma this created. I’m a bit of a politics and media nerd and the Gillard/Rudd spill was unfolding just as the lights went down and the movie started.

There wasn’t heaps of people in the cinema so I jumped up at sat in the back row in the far corner, the furthest I could be from anyone else in the cinema. I turned the brightness on my iPhone down to the lowest possible setting and figured I could keep an eye on how the spill was unfolding on Twitter by checking my phone under my coat.

So what did I think of the movie?

Nothing on account of the fact I barely watched it.

I pretty much just looked at Twitter the whole time to see the turmoil unfolding in Canberra.

I kept an eye on the other people in the cinema to make sure the light from my phone wasn’t disturbing anyone. I’m an ardent believer that if you can’t not look at your phone for two hours while you watch a movie YOU’RE A SELF-ABSORBED IDIOT.

Guilty, your honour.

With hindsight I should have just got up and left but if we all started living Kevin-Rudd-carpe-diem style the world would be a crazy place & Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales would be exhausted.

For what it’s worth, as I left the cinema with the other patrons, adults and kids, they seemed to have enjoyed it.

Trailer here.

HELLENIC REPUBLIC - take away lunch special

My posts on here are usually about things in the entertainment world but I'm taking a break from usual programming to let you know about a great discovery I've made in the world of food. ('Cause there just isn't enough people blogging about food these days.)

I found out via Twitter that Hellenic Republic, a fantastic Greek restaurant owned by George Calombaris in East Brunswick, do a take away lunch special on weekends. It changes each week and they spread the word via Twitter what it is with a pic. A few recent examples...

• char-grilled swordfish and chips, grain salad and risogalo
• fasolatha soup, olive and feta bread and chocolate baklava
• braised lamb & onion pie with feta & mint, cucumber yoghurt salad & salted caramel risogalo
• chicken from the spit & chips, Hellenic slaw & salted caramel risogalo

I've only tried the lunch special once so I certainly haven't tasted all of the above but when I tried it I got chicken from the spit & chips, grain salad and the risogalo and it was all so delicious! I love the grain salad at Hellenic Republic so that was a no-brainer and the risogalo is an unbelievably tasty creamy rice pudding kind of thing with salted caramel, pistachios and yummy crumbly biscuit on top. And the chicken and chips are of course up to Hellenic Republic's usual excellent standard. Simple but fantastic.

The really great part is the value - all of that for just $12! As a sucker who can easily spend up to $30 on a weekend brunch, this is a truly great find.

You don't have to be on Twitter yourself to get the lowdown, just visit https://twitter.com/Hellenic434 and you can see it all there including the photos they post of the special. You call to order (their phone number is in the tweets) and then bam, it's yours on arrival to take home or wherever you like.

You. Are. Welcome.

MOVIES ON THE CHEAP - my tips

I’ve been meaning to write this for ages but finally got my act into gear after reading this by comedian Cal Wilson in The Age. It’d been a while between drinks for Cal and she was shocked to learn that a movie ticket these days is $19. A trip to the movies can be a bloody expensive outing! I’ve gathered up some tips to do it on the cheap and in a break from my usual style of posts, I thought I’d share them. They’re not rocket science and you’ll be familiar with many of them but can’t hurt to have them all here in the same place as a handy reminder...

• If you’re a Telstra customer you can get $10 movie tickets! Check with your own carrier to see if they have a deal or if you’re keen you could just buy a cheap Telstra SIM – a small investment for long term savings if you see a few movies.
• You know those member reward brochures they give you when you renew your health insurance, car insurance etc? They actually contain genuine discounts! For example, Bupa members can get 25% off movie ticket prices at Village and Hoyts and other companies are bound to have offers too so have a dig around on their website if you’re not sure.
• Cinemas usually have a cheap day where tickets are considerably discounted. For the big chains it’s Tuesday but some of the smaller joints do their own thing so check out their website. Go to the movies on cheap day!
• More and more movies are 3D these days and the cost of buying the stupid glasses every time is ridiculous so take them with you when you leave the cinema and leave them in your glove box or something for next time.
• Cinema Nova in Carlton have the best cheap day offer - $6 for sessions before 4pm and $9 for evening sessions.
• For the love of God, do not buy anything from the candy bar. If you do need to snack during the movie, swing by the supermarket on your way & boldly ignore the ‘request’ signs in the cinema asking you not to bring in food purchased outside. If you’re particularly nervous or self-conscious about it, bring along a bag of some kind to conceal it.
• Lots of workplaces, especially big ones with large numbers of employees, have special offers for staff including cheap movie tickets. If you hear someone mention getting cheap movie tickets through their work, ask them if they can buy them for friends... ie YOU.
• If you can afford a bigger initial outlay or have a bit of time to arrange going to the movies with a group, buy tickets in bulk. Chains often have deals such as this one from Village Cinemas where adult tickets are $13.90 if you buy a book of five and slightly less again if you buy a book of 10.

So there's my tips to save a few pennies... Happy movie-going, folks!

THE GREAT GATSBY - film

So much has been said and written about this film by Australian Baz Luhrmann, some of it pretty negative. Australians have a propensity to hate on Australian films and I think Baz attracts more than his share of the tall poppy syndrome.

So, is this film as much of a stinker as some of the critics are saying? (For example... here from Crikey and here from The New Yorker)

Whilst I wouldn't quite give it the 4.5 stars The Age did, I did really enjoy this film. It's bloody good fun and really easy to watch. You don't need to have read the book or know anything of the story, it stands alone well. It goes for almost 3 hours (including the ridiculously long trailer/ad part of the sessions these days) but you don't feel it, it all moves pretty quickly. I saw it in 3D but it wasn't overwhelming 3D like Avatar which managed to give me motion sickness!

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio ('The Great Gatsby' himself), Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan as well as two Aussies in fairly large roles, Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher, who are both excellent. The cast more broadly is full of familiar faces as it was filmed in Australia - Jack Thompson, Steve Bisley and that guy who played Stan on Hey Dad! who now does voiceover on Media Watch, to name a few. (Yes I've been tracking his career, what's it to you?)

The costumes are stunning - I gather Carey Mulligan's dresses are a result of a collaboration between the film's costume designer Catherine Martin (who is also Baz's wife) and Prada.

I was a bit disappointed that the dance and party scenes shown in the trailers weren't longer in the film. Considering how much work has clearly gone into them - they are spectacular - I wish there'd been more to watch. I was also disappointed that the soundtrack wasn't showcased more. The executive producer of the soundtrack is Jay Z and it looks amazing on paper. It's a shame it wasn't allowed to steal a little more of the show in the film.

There was a couple of super cheesy moments that had my sympathising with the Baz-is-too-over-the-top critics. For example, in one scene Gatsby (DiCaprio) points to the starry sky and says "my life has to go like this" and a shooting star flies through the air. Urgh. Too much. But in spite of my few criticisms, I loved seeing this and would happily watch it again. A 3.5-4 star film for me.

Plot summary here and trailer here.