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Feast of Love: Sweet But Not Filling

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:36:14 PDT

There are certainly some lovable things about Feast of Love. I love Morgan Freeman. I love the peaceful Oregon setting. I love watching Greg Kinnear do what he does best - play the blithely unaware guy. The movie aims to be a romantic weepie, and there are a few tears and there is some romance. There are good performances and a few sweet, truthful scenes. But all the elements put together make for a narrative that mopes along with a couple lightning bolts of drama trying to jolt us out of our stupor. In the end, it's a pretty unfulfilling "feast."

The story mostly revolves around the lovelorn Bradley (Kinnear) and his terrible luck, Harry's (Freeman) grief over having lost his son, and a young couple dealing with new love, minor money troubles, and an ominous psychic reading. Bradley marries one woman (Selma Blair) only to have her realize she is a lesbian and run off with - who else? - the shortstop on a rival softball team. Then Bradley finds another woman (Radha Mitchell) who can't seem to pull herself away from a man she's had an affair with for a long time. There is no shortage of naked breasts or lovemaking scenes while either the night sky looks on or the pounding rain provides a soundtrack. There's more to this movie than just that, though, so

read more In the meantime, Harry mostly dispenses a lot of kindly advice and privately continues to grieve for his dead son while shutting out his compassionate wife (Jane Alexander, in a role similar to the one she plays on "Tell Me You Love Me"). For a while I was very concerned that there would be some dumb twist where Harry was actually a figment of everyones' imaginations, but thankfully the story never delves into those tricks. The nicest aspect of the story is the relationship between Chloe (one half of the young couple, played sweetly by Alexa Davalos) and Harry as he becomes a kind of surrogate father to her. On paper, I'm sure the script seemed really beautiful. And combined with these great actors, how could they go wrong? I'm not sure how they did, but they did. The audience around me was palpably restless and at times even I found myself making a to-do list in my head and checking my watch. I would recommend seeing this film if you a) want to cry and just need an excuse, b) have a ton of patience, and/or c) are feeling sick and need something relatively tame to lull you to sleep. Otherwise, skip it and wait for these great actors to find better projects. Photos courtesy of MGM

Have A Free Coffee on Thursday, Courtesy of Feast of Love

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:29:10 PDT

To promote the upcoming Morgan Freeman/Greg Kinnear movie Feast of Love, MGM is treating patrons of "local" coffee shops around North America to a free cup of coffee tomorrow, Thursday September 20.

MGM is sponsoring this "North American Coffee Day" (not "National" since the event includes Canadian shops) during which "customers will be treated to free coffee by stopping by one of 92 coffee shops in 59 cities in North America in order to celebrate love, life and coffee in the spirit of the film’s coffee house backdrop." On the movie's official website you can view a list of the participating coffee shops that will give out free coffee from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM local time on Thursday.

Judging from the trailer, I'm not convinced that this will be the year's greatest film, but I must say this promotional stunt warms my heart a little. I'll be taking a break for free coffee on Thursday afternoon.

Image from the the Feast of Love website

Movie Preview: Feast of Love

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:27:25 PDT

As I mentioned in my romantic roundup of fall movies, Feast of Love is a little romantic drama starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Selma Blair. It takes place in Oregon and focuses on Bradley's (Kinnear) terrible luck with the ladies and how he learns all sorts of lessons on love from the various people in his life. Going out on a limb here, I assume Freeman's character doles out endless bits of sage advice. The movie opens September 28, so to check out the slightly cheesy trailer,

Fall Movie Preview: Sweet Romance

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:00:00 PDT

We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films. In today's preview, all you need is love - in all its funny and heartbreaking variations.

I Could Never Be Your Woman
I really hope this movie is great, but I have admittedly little faith in it. It stars the gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer and adorable Paul Rudd, but was supposed to come out around Valentine's Day (over six months ago!) and now it's slated to open November 9. Not a good sign. Pfeiffer plays a 40-year-old divorcee facing the challenges and insecurities associated with getting older and raising a pre-teen daughter (played by Saoirse Ronan, the actress recently cast to play Susie in The Lovely Bones). She meets Adam (Rudd), a 29-year-old spirited guy who apparently teaches her how to loosen up and be a kid again. It looks like it's maybe a step up from The Perfect Man. Maybe. Check out the fairly lame trailer and tell me what you think.

More romantic adventures scheduled for the fall if you

read more Feast of Love This romantic drama, opening September 28, randomly takes place in Oregon. The impressive ensemble cast includes Morgan Freeman, Selma Blair and Greg Kinnear, among others. Various relationships are at the heart of this story, mostly focusing on Bradley (Kinnear) and his terrible luck with women. He learns valuable lessons about love from the other folks in his life. The trailer looks like a cheese pie with a dash of trite ("Do you think love is a trick, or do you think that it's the only meaning there is to this crazy dream?"), but it could end up being sweet, too.
Dan in Real Life I just posted the very cute trailer for this movie, opening October 19, that has Steve Carell playing the charmingly overprotective widower raising three daughters. He's delighted when he meets a wonderful woman (played by Juliette Binoche, awesomely) - only to find out she's his brother's girlfriend. This is one I can't wait to catch on the big screen.
Lars and the Real Girl A refreshingly quirky spin on the tired old romantic stories, Lars and the Real Girl finds Ryan Gosling playing Lars, a man who falls in love with a life-sized doll. Lars insists that everyone in his life act as though "Bianca" is a real person who he's dating. Yet in doing this, he may be missing out on a relationship with a human woman. Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson also star, happily. Check out the sweet-looking trailer here.
I Could Never Be Your Woman and Lars images source Feast of Love and Dan images source

Jennifer Lawrence Gets Glam in Prada to Announce the Oscar Nominees!

Allison McNamara — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:02:05 PST

The lovely Jennifer Lawrence stepped out in a cool, colorblocked eyelet sheath dress by Prada to announce the 84th Annual Academy Awards nominees this morning. With stylish ladies including Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, and Jessica Chastain up for a prestigious statuette, this year's Oscars are sure to be a fashionable feast for the eyes. We can't wait to see what all of these style setters will wear on the big day, but for now, take a look and see why we adore Jennifer's outfit.

A Modern Floral and Dragon-Inspired Chinese New Year Tablesetting

Casa Community — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:58 PST

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member CourtneyOutLoud from the Lovely Little Vignettes group:

The Year of the Dragon is upon us! January 23rd marks Lunar New Year, or what many people call Chinese New Year. I initially created this table for our Christmas holiday but instantly realized that it could serve double duty for a Chinese New Year Party. The bright red and white color scheme works perfectly with the theme of the holiday: happiness, fortune and renewal.

Traditionally, windows and doors are decorated with red paper cutouts emphasizing the themes I listed above. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.

I reinterpreted these themes into a more modern aesthetic. Rather than the traditional couplets used to decorate windows, I handcrafted supersized red, white and silver paper flowers to provide a textural backdrop.

The tablescape centered around a spray lacquered manzanita branch that provided a nice sense of movement and bold splash of color to the table. Clear glass balls, red dragonflies (a homage to it being The Year of the Dragon), geometric glass candlesticks, and two white wicker pagodas with red poinsettias finish off the centerpiece. I loved the idea of using poinsettias after the holiday season since we had them in the house and they went perfectly with the color scheme.

Individual place settings are comprised of Ralph Lauren plates in the Pagoda pattern, red napkins, and individualized shadow boxes lined in red sparkly craft paper. The shadow boxes are a great way to elevate the place settings and create one-of-a-kind gifts for your dinner guests. Each were personalized to the individuals attending the dinner party. To finish off the place settings, small red and white bouquets were placed in Chinese take-out containers and each plate had a red envelope containing a personal wish for each guest.

Keep reading for more photos of Courtney's gorgeous table!

Cardio Workout: Full Body, 45-Minute Elliptical

Susi May — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:43:26 PST

It might still be the weekend, but it's time to jump-start your fitness life after days off cooking, cleaning, and feasting. Rev up your metabolism with this 45-minute elliptical workout. Use the versatility of the machine to tone your legs, backside, arms (love the moving handles), and back while getting your heart rate up to burn some calories. We've even thrown a few intervals in to make the body work just a little bit harder.

Take a look at the workout when you read more.

Todd English's Tips For a Seamless Thanksgiving

Susannah Chen — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:19:17 PST

Today's the T-1 day mark for Thanksgiving, and if you're expecting a hoard of holiday feasters at your home tomorrow, you'll want everything to go smoothly. Between finagling oven and refrigerator space, prepping cocktails and appetizers, and ensuring there are enough place settings at the table, there's plenty to juggle, but it's very doable - if you keep a few things in mind! - we promise.

For a few extra pointers, we turned to Todd English, an expert who's not just got experience juggling all the elements in a Thanksgiving kitchen, but elements in many different Thanksgiving kitchens. The James Beard Award-winning chef toggles between 13 restaurants and a PBS show and authoring cookbooks (his latest, Cooking in Everyday English: The ABCs of Great Flavor at Home, was published last month). Keep reading to see Todd's advice for a seamless Thanksgiving.

Sauteed Cauliflower With Anise and Cashews

Padma Lakshmi — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:19:11 PST

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Padma Lakshmi! The host of Emmy-winning Top Chef, writer, and designer started Padma Lakshmi, a social networking site that celebrates our favorite topics, including food adventures, recipes, and party planning. She'll be dishing up goodies for us here on YumSugar monthly! Today, Padma shares a recipe for Sauteed Cauliflower With Anise and Cashews.

Cauliflower gets a bad rap sometimes. It's definitely always the last vegetable left on a crudites platter, but that's lucky for me because I happen to love this cruciferous floret. I think a lot of people are just a touch puzzled when it comes to preparation and don't know the proper ways to work with it and coax out a truly indulgent flavor.

I have a delicious preparation that will leave everyone at the table gazing longingly at the empty serving bowl where the cauliflower once was.

In North India, in a dish called aloo gobi, it is made with potatoes and cumin. I've replaced the potatoes with cashews and the cumin with anise seeds; it's lighter without the potatoes, and the cashews give it a rich, nutty flavor that pairs well with the anise seeds. The long, dry red chilies give the dish a burst of red color that looks gorgeous on the plate.

This is a great side dish to add to your Thanksgiving Day feast. It's a surprising twist on a traditional vegetable that will add some intrigue to the line-up of usual suspects. Keep reading for the recipe.

Thai Omelet in Coconut Curry Broth

OnSugar Blog — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:21:37 PDT

Inspired by a trip to a local farmers market, Fresh Tart whips up a quick version of a food-stand favorite: the coconut curry Thai omelet.

My son Nathan and I spent our summer Sundays eating our way through Kingfield Farmers Market. We did it last summer too and got in such a fun groove of eating together, visiting with friends, and stocking up on all of our favorite treats for the week.

It's worth noting that it was a much less expensive endeavor last year, when Nathan was around my height and was satisfied with a Chef Shack hot dog. Uh, not this year, not at 6'4" and counting, when he still ate a Chef Shack hot dog, but added their soft-shell crab sandwich, mini-donuts, and Arnie Palmer; Gai Gai Thai curry; Cafe Palmira iced coffee; Foxy Falafel curry falafel with a load of perfect pickles, extra hummus to go; Sun Street Bakery turnovers and sourdough loaf; and Bogart Loves maple-bacon donuts.

I scored plenty of bites, of course, and a good portion of it all we brought home to share with John...but I'm telling you, Sunday became a day for feasting.

So damn cool.

One of my favorites toward the end of the season was Gai Gai's Thai omelet served in a curry broth. On a chilly morning, perhaps after being out too late the night before, that crispy omelet in creamy coconut broth tasted spicy-sublime.

Keep reading for her take on the recipe.