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Not a particularly action packed weekend, but I was very amused by the death-storm watch we had for Saturday. People, in Minnesota, were actually stocking up for the storm. Saturday was crappy, but mostly because of the freezing rain. Total snowfall was less than 1/2 an inch.

So Sunday, I was meeting Denise at the Original Pancake house for breakfast at 9:30. I looked outside and saw that is snowed overnight, so I’d need to do a little shoveling. Then I opened my door and it plowed snow out of the way. Huh, 12″ of snow… I still haven’t fully, or hardly partially for that matter, shoveled my driveway. Suppose it’ll melt before I need to shovel? On the plus side the plowing was excellent, and my street was entirely clear of snow, a rarity, living on one of the last streets to normally get plowed. Of course, much of that snow was in my driveway. I loved chipping away at a two foot tall plow pile. Why haven’t I bought a snow-blower yet?

On the way to Original Pancake House, I witnessed something pretty incredible on the side of the highway. With cars slowly passing by in the snow, I saw a hawk acting unusually on the side of the road. As I got closer, I saw that there was a small rodent on top of the snow battling with the hawk who hopped onto it and off as the rodent, apparently, tried to fight back. To see something like this out in nature is incredible enough, but on the side of an interstate highway in a major metropolitan city? Wow.

Arriving at the Original Pancake House yielded another surprise. It’s normally packed on the weekends, and there is a wait to get in, no matter how early or late you arrive. However, a foot of snow was enough to disuade many people from heading out for breakfast, and there was no wait. Denise and I were seated immediately. Score! Chocolate Chip Pancakes were excellent as usual. Mmmm, chocolate chip pancakes, Argghghhhh…

Later we saw The Number 23 (which I will review below), did some shopping, and enjoyed some delicious food at the Cheesecake factory, which is really much better than I normally give it credit for. Later I did not watch the Oscars, and went to bed early due to shoveling related fatigue.

The Number 23 – I was not sure how this movie would lean. It seemed more suspense in the trailers, but every preview before it was for a horror movie. It turned out to be a suspense mystery, and one that I wasn’t able to figure out before they explained it. It was well done and had some interesting elements that I thought were good. And for those that are worried about Jim Carrey in a serious role, he was very good. His traditional over-acting has really hidden a good acting ability.  Rating: Entertaining ++

Flags of our Fathers – This was definately a good movie, but it’s shifts from now to the war, to after the war, etc left me confused at times. I think it tried to little too much to follow the book that it was based on and included some things that didn’t seem to fit. All that aside, the story is very good, and since I have a thing for true stories about tragedies and war, I really enjoyed that part of the movie. I certainly knew very little about Iwo Jima before seeing this, and if nothing else, I now know more about that battle and it’s importance in the war. Oh, and the sound out of my recently upgraded home theater system wa awesome. Rating: Entertaining ++

Casino Royale – Much longer than I expected, and combined with the plot and plot twists, it left me wondering several times is the movie was over. This is, however, everything that people have said it was. It’s not the greatest movie ever, but it is, by far, the best Bond movie in a long time. If there had been no other Bond movies before this, this would easily be strong enough of a movie to start the franchise. It’s not the silly action movie made for teenage boys that many of the more recent Bond movies have been. Of course, we saw it in the $2 theater, whose sound was not as good as the sound I have at home, but it was a slightly bigger screen than my 27″ TV. Don’t ask about their bathroom however, boo. Rating: Entertaining +