Star Trek Into Darkness

Review of Star Trek Into Darkness

Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch

Some days I think I'm too jaded. Yes, the special effects were super special. Yes, there was a fairly good plot. But I just wasn't feeling the love. I don't want to spoil anything for those who have yet to see it, but when something happened to make Chris Pine sad and angry, I wasn't feeling it. Later, when Spock was getting teary, I wasn't feeling it. My favorite character in the whole movie was Khan. I almost hated to see him taken down. (not giving anything away here) My second favorite was Scotty. (Simon Pegg) He is such a funny guy. I think once a movie reaches a certain threshold of special effects and explosions, my mind just goes numb. Desensitization, I suppose. (The same thing happened when I watched the Hobbit. I actually grew bored with it.) In my head I'm thinking, "yeah, yeah, that was cool, but let's get on with it already".

All that being said, I DID enjoy the movie and I will watch for the next installment. I smiled when they paid homage to the original series at the end. But if it tells you anything, if I really love a movie I will see it in the theater at least twice. (I saw Avatar six times in 3-D) And I won't be seeing this one again until it comes out on DVD.

Would I recommend it? Heck, yeah, it's Star Trek!

My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

SPECIAL REVIEW - Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 starring:
Robert Downey Jr
Gweneth Paltrow
Don Cheadle
Guy Pearce
Rebecca Hall
John Favreau
Ben Kingsley

I saw this movie in 3-D, which I highly recommend. I know many critics don't agree with me, but this Iron Man was my favorite. I really enjoyed the story line, following the creation on an anti-hero. How things that seem trivial to us at the moment can have tremendous repercussions in the future.

In the very first scene, in Tony Stark's past, he humiliates a man and demeans a beautiful brilliant scientist.

Fast forward fifteen-ish years, and imagine the consequences.

Yes, there is a ton of action and blowing things up, but personally, I LOVE the special effects in today's movies. (some people have accused me of being a man in another life, yikes)

As always, there is a lot of humor, an exciting script and an insanely clever bad guy.

My rating: 4 Stars 

Friday Foodie Fun - Gluten Free Quinoa Pancakes

Some of you have asked for the recipe for Quinoa Wheat Free Pancakes. These pancakes are light and fluffy and have a somewhat nutty flavor (from the quinoa)

I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1¼ cup gluten free oat flour **
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup rice flour **
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 11/2 cups buttermilk **
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup cooked quinoa

Instructions

1. Mix together the oat and rice flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and oil.
3. Add the egg/milk mixture to the flour mix. Stir until just combined.
4. Fold in quinoa.
5. Cook on a medium-high heat griddle, about 2-3 minutes each side, or until you see the bubbles popping.

Notes

** You can make your own oat flour (I do). Use a food processor to grind down old fashioned rolled oats until they reach a course flour like consistency.  

** Start with 1/4 cup rice flour. If batter is too thin, add the rest.
** If you don't have any buttermilk on hand you can make your own adding either 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice OR white vinegar to the measured milk and letting it stand a few minutes.