reviews

White Spot
(Notre Dame Dr., Kamloops, BC)
My husband and I love going to White Spot, particularly when we are not sure what we want to eat. Although there is a lot to choose from, my favourite is the BC Chicken Burger. This burger comes with lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon ( which you sometimes have to pay extra for in other restaurants). What makes this burger extra tasty is not just the onion but the red onion and of course White Spot's special sauce. As is standard in all restaurants, there is a choice of fries, soup or salad. I find the fries at White Spot are hit and miss, usually a miss. But, the servers here are quite accomodating and will serve up garlic mash potatoes. When served hot, these potatoes are creamy, tasty and well worth the visit to White Spot. Our servers have always been friendly at White Spot. However, Rikki (our fav. White Spot server) goes out of his way to make sure that we are happy and more than suffiiciently satisfied. So the next time you want to go out in Kamloops for a chicken burger, try White Spot's BC Chicken Burger with mash potatoes. At $8.99, they really are no more or less than anywhere else in Kamloops, but I think you will agree the taste is something more.

posted by reviewer @ 1:28 PM

Cowboy Coffee (Victoria St, Kamloops, British Columbia )
Consistently busy, Cowboy Coffee is a great place for a coffee break or visit with friends. The decor is invitingly warm with photographs and paintings that follow the theme implied by shop's name. There are a variety of places to sit - bar type chairs and tables, sofas, a window counter, regular tables and chairs and in the summer outdoor seating. Oh yeah,and quite a spacious bathroom (in case you can't get a regular seat). The window seats are a great place to sit and watch the world go by. The coffee prices are comparable with those of Starbucks - a medium coffee for $1.80. Unlike Starbucks coffee, the Cowboy coffee has a less burnt taste. From what I understand, all of the baking is done in shop. The baking is really tasty and fresh. However, it is quite pricy; a muffin costs $1.65. Panini sandwiches will cost you $6.25 – that is just a sandwich no extras. When you think that for a dollar more in other restaurants the sandwich comes with a soup, salad or fries, Cowboy Coffee sandwiches seem a little pricey. Enjoy Cowboy Coffee for its drinks, but save your money and eat at home.

posted by reviewer @ 1:10 PM 0 Comments

Respiro
Italian movie, subtitled in English, is available on DVD and VHS. I believe that the word Respiro means breath/breathe in English.

Does anyone know the Italian word for "yawn"?

posted by reviewer @ 8:33 PM 0 Comments

Something's Gotta Give
Beauty, youth, fancifulness and fear of commitment are the main motivations of 63-yr-old Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson). We first meet him as he accompanies his no-more-than-30-yr-old girlfriend Marin Barry (Amanda Peet) to her mother's beachside home for a romantic getaway. Predictably, the two are not alone in the house. Here we meet Aunt Zoe (Frances McDormand) and the famous playwrite Erika Barry (Diane Keaton). While these two older women discuss the motivation to date a much older man (not to mention try to cover up the sounds of their neice/daughter having fourplay), Harry suffers a heart attack and is quickly rushed to hospital. Much to Harry's chagrin and more to Erika's chagrin, Harry's doctor, Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves) orders Harry to stay where he is - Erika's house. Alone in the house, Harry and Erika soon become friends and lovers, but not before Erika, being the older sassy woman she is, beguiles and even has a dinner date with Doctor Mercer. Erika, having experienced a sexual awakening, falls in love with the untouchable and unreachable Harry Sanborn. Staying true to his policy of dating only women under the age of 30, Harry leaves a mournful Erika with enough material to create her next hit play. After a brief encounter with Harry in the city, Erika returns to her beachhouse to start up a relationship with the much younger Doctor Mercer. Back in the city, Harry goes from one unfulfilling relationship to another soon to learn that he and his fancifulness have become the subject and butt of Erika's new comical play. Humiliated, Harry spends six months soul-searching and meeting all of his ex-girlfriends. It is his last meeting with Marin that sends him to Paris to find Erika. There he realizes that Erika has chosen to share her favourite city with Doctor Mercer. The three share an uncomfortable drunken meal that leaves Harry alone to contemplate his life and mistakes and Erika trying to decide whether to choose a younger or older man.

lAlthough a little long, this movie is enjoyable for mindless, predictable entertainment.

Diane Keaton is her unbelievable self. She is very put on in this role and even down right annoying as she shrieks her way through the memories and the writing of her play. She almost makes Keanu Reeves look like a brilliant actor.

Jack Nicholson is believable as he goes through a few realizations about himself and older women. However, for characters with a quirky side, I liked him better in "As Good as It Gets".

Love them or hate them, neither of these characters is much of a stretch for these actors.

What is so great about this movie is that it doesn't just deal with love and sex between young beautiful people. It is a movie about older people exploring their wants and needs alone, with each other and even with people much younger than themselves. Literally and figuratively, it exposes some of the realities and insecurities older people go through in relationships. Not only does it poke fun of an older man pursuing a younger woman, it also takes a serious look at an older woman having a serious relationship with a younger men.

If you can get past the phony Diane Keaton, "Something's Gotta Give" (directed by Nancy Meyers) is worthwhile for cheap night Tuesday entertainment.

posted by reviewer @ 3:15 PM 0 Comments

Big Fish
This fantastical movie starts with Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) leaving his home in Paris to return to America to see his father, Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who is dying of cancer. Not sure of the truth of his father's life as told by his father, Will returns home determined to make amends, put to rest the stories he had heard so often as a child and extract the truth about his father's life. Both his mother, Sandra Bloom (Jessica Lange), and his wife, encourage Will to talk to his father. Begrudgingly happy, the father complies and proceeds to tell Will of his life. Ewan McGregor as a young Edward Bloom reenacts all of the stories that Will heard repeatedly as a child. As a youth, Edward Bloom meets eccentric characters and experiences that are often associated with the fancy of young, actively imaginative minds. Fact or fiction is for Will to discover and accept in his own time.

This is a movie for the lover of shows like "Forrest Gump". Over the top fantasy and flat characters make this movie a real snoozer. The young Edward Bloom successfully tackles everything with a smile. Not one person or thing that the young Edward Bloom meets or experiences surprises or stumps him; the young Edward Bloom moves forward unflinchingly and without hesitation.

Unfortunately it takes about 2 hours to get to the best part of the movie - the end- not because the movie finally ends, but because everything is tied together in a most appropriate way.

This movie adapted from a novel by Daniel Wallace and directed by Tim Burton is best saved until it comes out on the $.99 shelf of your local video store.

posted by reviewer @ 1:39 PM 0 Comments