Makin' Big Moves

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Sorry it's been so long... I've been really busy... and unfortunately pictures aren't downloading right so... a brief recap, picture-free... my apologies.

 

Last Wednesday night was the first test taste of our newest Torpedo Clone / India Pale Ale batch… and honestly, it’s pretty damn good. Now, it’s not super hoppy, which is good because then we’ll drink it pretty quickly… but it’s definitely hoppier than our Pale Ale that we’ve made in the past. I’m pretty impressed with ourselves. We'll see how it fares in the SFHG competition.

 

My Mom also came to town this past week due to my fast approaching birthday… and frankly I think she just misses me. We got to hang out on Friday, basically the usual trip out to the Taco Bell in Pacifica (oddly enough, her favorite spot here in the Bay Area) and then we went to the DeYoung Museum to see a bunch of dresses by Oscar de la Renta… enthralling!!! Here is where pictures would be... but they're dresses... and I'm a Man.

 

Friday night was my company’s Anniversary Dinner and it was pretty good. Izzy was my +1 and looking super hot as always… we ate prime rib, mock sushi & pork belly… we cut up the rug… and we were back before too late to hang with my mom. I don’t really have any pictures of that… but may have some later.

 

Saturday was Steve-toberfest!!! Yes, the annual celebration of my glorious birth in which friends & family from around the globe flock to the Bay Area to drink beer, enjoy great food & just have a helluva good time!!! There were about a dozen of the best people in my life that came to hang… and a great time was had by all. I’m always a little impressed with all of the wonderful people that I’ve been able to surround myself with in my truly blessed life. It humbles me… at least for a few moments… but seriously, you’re all amazing and I love & miss all of you. No pictures of this one either… the drinking started early & it involved “Exploding Kittens”.

 

Sunday, my mom FINALLY got to meet Izzy’s mom… and we hung out with her aunties for dinner… and Sunday was pretty good.

 

That is… at least until the usual roommate shenanigans started up again over the next few days this past week… and a whole bunch of other negativity that I’m just not going to delve into… but the long & the short of it is… wait for it… IZZY & I ARE FINALLY MOVING IN TOGETHER!!! Essentially, I’ve found the love of my life… we’ve basically been living together for the most part across both homes… it’ll save us a bunch of money… and I’m just f**king sick of roommates, especially when they’re catty little c*nts in their 20’s who have never lived without a parent cleaning up for them & simply cannot take care of themselves. Therefore, over the next month or so… I’m going to be moving after over five years in the latest place… but yeah, I’m done with that sh*t. On to the next one… let’s see what else is out there…

 

The new episode of the Everything I Learned From Movies podcast has posted… and we WERE going to have our FIRST SPECIAL GUEST… but unfortunately due to a lot of that negative jibber jabber, IT DIDN’T WORK OUT!!! Spoiler alert: the guest was going to be my Mom… and the movie that Izzy & I discuss on this special birthday episode is the 1986 classic from my childhood, “Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend” starring Sean Young, the Greatest American Hero, Edward the Longshanks and… BABY!!! The namesake of my 1969 Pontiac LeMans!!! Be sure to check this episode out, and of course subscribe & follow us on all the social mediums. Until then, have a great day everybody!!!

Now UC Keanu

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Tuesday night, Izzy & I were invited to a special screening of the new comedy “Keanu” starring Keegan-Michael Key & Jordan Peele… and they even came out to say hi & run a few minutes of stand-up showing their appreciation. It was pretty sweet! The movie is basically about a pair of cousins where one is a stereotypical suburban dad (Key) and the other is a bit of a stoner who just broke up with his girlfriend (Peele), but during the stoner’s sorrow he’s greeted at his front door by… Keanu! Keanu is an adorable kitten… and he falls instantly in love him. But then… somebody breaks into his apartment and steals Keanu… and now the two of them have to go into the seedy underworld of Los Angeles in order to get him back. That’s about all that I’ll reveal other than you’re going to see Will Forte, Anna Faris, Rob Huebel, Method Man, Nia Long, and a bunch of other actors in roles that you wouldn’t really expect… and it’s hilarious!!! This was kind of sold as a “John Wick” parody… and there are some great little slow motion action scenes (featuring an adorable cat in most) but yeah, just an overall great movie that I highly recommend that you check out… and we’ll be talking a little more about it on our next podcast, so tune in for details.

The other night, Izzy & I also watched a movie that neither of us had really heard of… and then we caught a preview for the sequel on another movie… and it’s 2013’s “Now You See Me” starring Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Common, Melanie Laurent, Michael Caine & Mark Ruffalo. Quite the cast, right? HOW had we never heard of this? Let’s see… synopsis… the FBI tracks a team of magicians who rob banks during their performances & rewards their audiences with the money. That’s it. That’s the story. Bank robbing magicians. Anything else would be giving away spoilers I think but… no, honestly that’s really about it. I could specify that Woody’s character is a mentalist, Eisenberg’s is your standard narcissistic douche, Isla is the former assistant turned illusionist & the other Franco is basically a pick-pocket with some Krav Maga training… Morgan Freeman is a man who specializes in exposing magicians as frauds… but yeah, that’s really about it. Rings absolutely no bells… and I’d like to think that it would. Anyway, apparently it did pretty well in theatres so there’s a sequel (starring Harry Potter himself even!) but this movie was actually pretty good. Now… when I say good… I mean that it was entertaining. There’s a LOT of green screen & special effects… but it’s used pretty effectively to create a sense of movement & energy that this movie needed. There’s comedy… there’s some action… there’s all sorts of trick & double crosses & back-turns & plot holes and all that stuff… basically it’s this generation’s “Ocean’s 11” movie. It’s entertaining as all hell… just not going to win any awards. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. We’ll probably check out the sequel too when that comes out later this year (or next year when it’s on DVD).

 

Sunday night was the annual Meals on Wheels Gala at Fort Mason where Izzy & I volunteered to help with registration. Last year, the event raised over $2.6 million dollars for a great cause… and brings together hundreds of the wealthiest philanthropists from the Bay Area to enjoy some of the best food & greatest charity auctions out there. It was truly amazing… and an especially big thank you to Ivan & Gavin with Barrel Head Brewhouse for hooking us up with some pints of their Kellerbier Amber Lager & a delicious IPA with Nelson & Mosaic hops. Great people, great cause, and I think we may have broken the $3 million barrier this year so that those in need can have hot, fresh meals delivered over the next year.

 

The latest episode of the Everything I Learned From Movies Podcast is up & running featuring the spy romaction thriller “The Saint” starring Val Kilmer & Elisabeth Shue. Be sure to check it out at eilfm.podbean.com and next week… a very special treat… our first guest host superstar!!! What’s the movie? Subscribe to the podcast to find out… Who’s the guest? You’ll just have to follow us on the Social Mediums like Facebook, Twitter & the EILFM website. Until then, have a great day everybody!!!

Into the Foxy Saint

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Over the weekend, we also caught a few movies. Saturday, I watched “Foxcatcher” starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum & Mark Ruffalo while Izzy was at work… as I heard it was a pretty dark movie & she tends to not like those movies… but I was intrigued. This movie is based on the true story of a young Olympic wrestler (Tatum) who is recruited by bazillionairre & wrestling enthusiast Jon DuPont (Carell) around the 1988 Olympic games. Well, the young wrestler is invited to come out to his palatial estate in Valley Forge, live there & train there… and within a short time, the young man wins a gold medal. U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! Well… Mr. DuPont then wants his legendary older brother to come out to the wrestling compound and be a teacher for the other guys… and the younger brother kind of resents that… and I think it all kind of climaxes towards the end when their respective mental illnesses kind of get the better of them… but I’ll leave that for you. The movie was pretty good… gritty, but good. I would highly recommend checking it out if you’re okay with a little slower paced movie & underplayed performances. I was also intrigued how hard that Tatum & Ruffalo trained for this movie… and reading about it… and it really shows on film too. Pretty good flick! I can see why it was nominated for Best Picture last year.

 

Saturday night after Izzy came back from work, we watched the 2003 horror clash-up classic “Freddy vs. Jason” starring… well, Robert Englund as Freddy Kreuger… and a behemoth of a man as Jason Voorhees… and a bunch of young cute things to get killed in horrible, gruesome ways. You’ve seen the slasher movie mold before, right? In this episode, it’s been a few years since Freddy Krueger has been able to terrorize the children of Elm Street in their dreams thanks to his diminishing powers & pharmaceuticals or something… so he devises another plan… to unleash the Crystal Lake mass murderer Jason on the local teenagers… and apparently with each death, Freddy gains strength so that he can terrorize… and then, it turns out that Jason may be killing too many people for Freddy’s liking and he’s losing victims… so now they have to battle each other for mass murderer supremacy. Sounds like a good premise, right? Totally… again, throw in the cute young things (and Kelly Rowlands) and same cameos from past entries in the various franchises… and you have a movie. That being said… you don’t grade the slasher movie for the plot… you grade it for the kills… and whether it was enjoyable on a horrible basic level… and this movie delivers. The kills are… ridiculous… but in a director Ronny Yu (“Formula 51”, “Fearless”, “Bride of Chucky”) kind of way that’s perfect… and this horror movie is actually pretty well lit too so that you can see the new-famous protagonists in all their glory. The one-liners are all over from Freddy… and the final battle between the two is pretty legendary. If you’re a fan of the franchises (and haven’t seen this movie for some reason) then check it out! It’s no Alien vs. Predator or Kramer vs. Kramer, but still pretty good…

 

Sunday night, we watched a movie that we’d been excited about for some time. About 18 months ago, we watched the 1977 movie “Grizzly” which was basically Jaws with a Bear… and learned that they were already well on their way to making a reboot called “Into The Grizzly Maze” starring James Marsden, Thomas Jane, Billy Bob Thornton & Piper Perabo. However… we got really worried a few months later when we hadn’t heard anything about it… and apparently it was released… but nobody had seen it… like anywhere. Well… the story is about a pair of brothers, one who’s the Pacific Northwestern town sheriff (Jane) and the other who’s been out & about the world… but has fallen on hard times and came back (Marsden). There are lots of poachers in the area… and some deaths by bear… so now they “team up” with a local bear hunting legend (Thornton), the sheriff’s deaf wife (Perabo) and an inexplicably well made-up lady cop to go on a two-day hike & get some answers. Spoiler alert: There’s a giant f**king grizzly involved!!! Now, the movie is not horrible. It’s not fantastic, but it’s definitely watchable. The effects are a little stilted at times as it’s a pretty low budget & they were working with a real bear (Bart the Bear of “Semi Pro” fame & many others) but there were also a lot of slow spots that caught me dozing off a little bit… until super loud bear rippings took place. Basically I can see how it didn’t get any play anywhere… but it’s not bad for a straight-to-DVD B-movie and you can get it through Netflix. So yeah… check it out if you’d like. You know the type of movie.

 

The new episode of the podcast will be coming up soon… and we may soon be working out a way to get it out on a particular day of the week… but for now, it’s kind of fluctuating midweek with our schedules… but we’re trying to keep it consistent for everybody. This next edition, we decided to take the movie that received absolutely ZERO votes in our Facebook & Twitter survey last week… but damn it, we’ve just gotta do it while it’s streaming on Netflix! Of course I’m talking about the spy thriller “The Saint” starring Val Kilmer & the lovely Elisabeth Shue. Izzy & I haven’t seen this movie in many years… so we’re just really curious if it holds up. Check it out beforehand& join us in the discussion on Facebook and/or Twitter… and get a free shout-out on the podcast. Until next time, have a great day everybody!!!

Beware of Man-Cub

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Sunday, Izzy & I hosted a Learn to Homebrew Day at my apartment, which we have done several times in the past, and this time… there were only two people who took us up on the offer… but weather may have been a factor as it was a rainy weekend. Regardless, we brewed up what should be a delightful Honey Porter (recipe available on the White House website) and got to share plenty of beverages during the process and share stories and great food. After the brewing, we headed over to Sessions at the Presidio to catch the Warriors – Spurs game. Good times all around!!! Here are some pictures…

 

Monday night was the monthly meeting of the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild at Black Sands Brewery. This was our first time with Black Sands hosting… and it was pretty fantastic. Black Sands is located in the legendary Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, and this was the first meeting that was basically ran by the new leadership… and they did pretty dang good! We’re up & running with a number of competitions, special events, and plenty of fun stuff for the year… and of course there was plenty of great homebrew to share… and I took the bus home. Here are some pictures of the Black Sands venue…

 

Tuesday night, Izzy & I also got to see a special pre-screening of Disney’s newest live-action classic reboot “The Jungle Book” starring the voice talents of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johannson, Lupita Nyong’o, Christopher Walken, Sami Rami, Russell Peters, Giancarlo Esposito, director Jon Favreau & the late great Garry Shandling. For those who don’t know somehow, this movie is about a tiny Indian man-cub (child) named Mowgli who flees into the jungle based on the threat of a tiger named Shere Khan (Elba) and is helped by some of the local jungle creatures… including a panther, a bear, some monkeys… and they sing the whole time. Wait… that was the original animated movie based on the Rudyard Kipling book… this rendition is actually pretty similar... though with a few less musical numbers… my guess to keep up pacing because they added a few during the end credits. That being said... I definitely recommend checking out this movie. We watched it in IMAX 3D and that's kind of the way to see it... the graphics are fantastic! The story is pretty much what you remember... but it's done in a great, updated way that's good for kids & adults alike.

 

Well, that’s good for a quick update. Be sure to check out the Everything I Learned From Movies Podcast for our first Listener Vote selection, with a review of one of my favorite late 90’s movies, “The Mummy” featuring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and CGI that may or may not stand the test of time. We may also do a little blurb about the cartoonish sequel “The Mummy Returns”… and there may be some other surprises as well. Be sure to subscribe for the latest info, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, all the social medias. In the meantime, have a great day everybody!!!

Vote for The Blank

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

This past weekend, Izzy & I watched “Horror Hotel” which is an early 60’s horror flick starring a young Christopher Lee. Izzy has this movie as part of a Halloween collection pack that she got a few years back… and apparently it was also called “The City of the Dead”… but it’s about a young coed named Nan who goes to research witchcraft in a New England town called Whitewood that her professor (Lee) recommends… so a lot like Blair Witch Project but 40 years earlier. She checks into this hotel called the Raven’s Inn… and then from there, people start disappearing… things start happening… and she uncovers a coven of witches practicing some evil sh*t! Now, the movie sounds pretty standard nowadays… but honestly, it’s pretty well done. The effects are good for the time, the story is pretty on point for the genre, and Christopher Lee and the other actors are pretty good. We would highly recommend checking this out… and it’s streaming on Amazon and probably other services, so yeah, it’ll only cost you like 78 minutes of your life… and well worth it.

 

Also up now… after some technical difficulties… is our “Day of the Dolphin” episode of the podcast… as well as poll that you can fill out for the next episode featuring some of the greatest action movies of the 1990’s. What movies, you ask?

 

·         “The Mummy” featuring Brendan Fraser

·         “The Phantom” featuring Billy Zane

·         “The Punisher” featuring Thomas Jane (or Dolph Lundgren?)

·         “The Saint” featuring Val Kilmer

 

Yes, classics all!!! Most importantly though… all four are currently streaming on Netflix so you can watch & play along! We may even try to set up a Live Tweeting party at #eilfmovies when we watch it. Need more details? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & subscribe at eilfm.podbean.com for the latest information… since I’m pretty sketchy on updating this blog. Trust me, it’s just better for all of us that way. Have a great day everybody!!!

Easter Funny Kill Bill!!!

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

It’s been a little bit of a busy week wrapping up the 1^st quarter of 2016 and getting wedding / honeymoon information taken care of for August… but I’ve gotten a few movies in to share with you.

 

First up is the movie that was originally going to be featured on the Everything I Learned From Movies Podcast, 2006’s “Easter Bunny Kill Kill!” starring… nobody you know, it’s a very small independent film. We were going to watch this movie & review it… but based on the preview on the DVD, Izzy decided that it was too gory for her… so we switched it up to “Night of the Lepus” which turned out to be for the better. This movie follows a jerkass named Remington (first scene is him sticking up a convenience store in an Easter Bunny mask, then blasts him with a shotgun) who has sleazed his way into being the boyfriend of a single mom whose raising a special needs 16-year old (and I was trying to determine whether her occupation was a nurse or a stripper who wore a nurse’s outfit). Well, he’s all nice when she’s around… but once she goes to work, Remington is verbally abusive to her son… and threatens to kill his bunny… and then one night while he goes off to snort blow & f**k some hookers, he rents out her special needs son’s sweet virgin ass to a child molester. Yeah, this movie gets really dark, really quick. Well… as the title would imply, there is one person who can save his innocence… and that’s the Easter Bunny… who comes to save the day with a power drill, hammer & other assortments from a tool belt. I’m not going to spoil the ending… but yeah, this is a pretty low budget slasher flick. I mean… the acting was pretty bad, but not horrible. Given the movie that they were doing… who am I kidding? It was pretty bad. The “kill scenes” are interesting though a little sloppy on the editing… the music was pretty good for the atmosphere… but yeah, the dialogue was horrible… there’s a lot of “why would you do that?” moments… but yeah, it had an Easter Bunny. I don’t know… I give it 3 out of 10 stars or something like that. I liked Remington’s 10-second “Coke & Hookers” song that he sang in the mirror… and there was some stray titties… but that’s about it.

 

I followed that up with a movie that actually made me a little scared, the 2015 documentary “The Nightmare” which talks about sleep paralysis and is from the director of “Room 237”. Essentially the movie is a series of interviews with people who suffer from sleep paralysis, a condition in which people go to sleep… but then have lucid dream-like situations where they all seem to have the same experience… where the shadows seem to come alive and torment them, yet they cannot speak, move or even so much as close their eyes or look away while feeling absolutely terrified, sometimes with their breathing and other functions shutting down on them.  Think of it as an incredibly deep sleep where you’re in a dream that you can’t escape… basically the kind of stuff that Wes Craven turned into the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise and the more recent “Insidious” horror franchise is based on… and basically most people who suffer from it think it’s bordering on the line of demonic possessions, even the atheists. This documentary pairs these interviews with some pretty good reenactments of their stories… and apparently there’s really no cure (except for one instance I won’t spoil) and the sleep paralysis gets progressively worse as you get older. I’d highly recommend checking out this movie… it’s very well done & interesting.

 

One reason that it scared me a little bit… is I’ve had a few dreams where there was a form of this (Oct 4^th, 2010 – “Wave of Killers” for one) especially when I’ve had a few to drink, but even when completely sober. No, it’s not a major thing in my life… but it’s happened before… and most of their stories started out like “Yeah, it happened a few times as a kid… and then it just got worse… and now I can’t even go to sleep, hold a relationship, find meaning in my life.” Okay, not that bad… they’ve actually all done pretty well for themselves considering the constant torment of sleep paralysis that they have… but yeah, just a little scary. Don’t worry, I won’t let it get to me. Does anybody else have these kind of dreams occasionally?

 

Saturday night, Izzy & I went to a swanky event known as the Sea Otter Soiree at the world famous San Francisco Zoo, and hosted by the Museum of the Farallones. At this event, we met with likeminded individuals who are interested in all things otter… and listened to a speech about the research being done in the area concerning the migration patterns, ecological benefits & everything else otter-related. Oh… and there was beer, of course… it’s a swanky event. Here are some pictures, including probably one of the best pictures of us ever taken…

 

 

 

Last little update… the next episode of Everything I Learned From Movies (eilfm.podbean.com) will be… drum roll… Day of the Dolphin!!!

 

But $teve, didn’t you already tell us about this wonderful movie months ago?” Yes, Izzy & I watched it a few months ago… but we wanted to elaborate… and share our vocal skills in recreating dolphin noises (well, Izzy anyway). It’s a great flick… and may contain the greatest scene in film history towards the end. Watch it! Let us know what you think! Then we can give you a shout out on the podcast! Until then, have a great day everybody!!!