Happy Critic

MacDonald's Review

2012-02-04T15:11:00.000+01:00

MacDonald's Review

Barstølveien 35, 4636 Kristiansand, Norway
04 February 2012
Morning

One can't expect the greatest culinary or healthy experience from a fast food franchise of this magnitude, despite the recent trend of adding more rabbit feed onto the burger.

I had the Big Double Beef, which had a very good texture and taste despite the mountain of salad and onion piled onto it. The two patties stacked without the cumbersome middle bun is an excellent change that I can't argue with.

The first problem arose with the french fries, which was served in its normal golden and salty glory, but had managed to become cold before it made it to the table half a minute away from the counter. This suggests that they have not been freshly made. The cold inside offset the normal tasty and fatty delight of the fried strips of potato, making it less palatable.

The real problem came with the questionable cleaning of the dining area.

The tables were covered in patches of salt. Granted I didn't inspect every single table, but the neighbouring tables of three in radius, and they had either salt or pepper grains on them. This gives the imagination a lot of room to play at thinking out what might be hiding out of sight.

The tall windows were unwashed, and the ground underneath covered in footprints from wet boots.

The wall and floor had old, sticky remains of cola on them.

And the base of the tables I inspected had small bits of food and paper against them.

Clearly, not enough time or effort is being spent on maintaining a clean dining area. And keep in mind that this was early in the day, only a short time after the shopping center/centre had opened. Again, this leads to the question of how well the food preparation area is being maintained.

But overall the experience was tolerable, if only because the savoury burger calmed any outrage the other problems might have dredged up.

IKEA Restaurant Review

2012-01-17T01:17:00.000+01:00

IKEA Restaurant Review

IKEA South Norway Branch
14 January 2012

A day of browsing and shopping leads to hunger and thirst, which is why IKEA cleverly placed a restaurant in their shop; semi-cheap food with a semi-Swedish theme in a cafeteria style of service. As such one can't hold too high standards, but after my meal I felt I should report my experience.

As can be expected on a Saturday in the middle of the day, it was crowded and noisy with a long line.

I ordered the pasta and meatballs with garlic bread and a small bag of crisps on the side, and soda pop to drink. The staff was slightly disoriented and surly in their duties, slamming cabinet doors and treating plates with more force than necessary.

In the middle of the din of more than a hundred fellow shoppers, I attempted to enjoy my meal. This was not to be.

The pasta was rubbery and bland, possibly as a result of being nearly done and kept in asteam heated pan for a while.

The meatballs had a good texture, but the taste left a lot to be desired. I've tasted better meatballs from a can.

The garlic bread would have been excellent if not for being wafer thin and cold. It is possible that the temperature was due to its thickness, but I suspect the faulty lid on the warming pan. As I lifted the lid the entire thing fell off despite being supposedly attached to the pan. The lack of a seal would let out the heat.

The bag of salted crisps had the perfect hardness and didn't break into sharp pieces that cut up the gums, which is a good thing. The only thing that lacked, and in my opinion it is very important in salted crisps; salt. The popcorn I had not much later that day had more salt.

The only thing that I could find no fault or distaste with was the soda pop, which had free refills.

There was ample parking, and they served free popcorn at the exit due to a circus theme.

Enjoy your meal.

"August Rush" Review

2011-12-18T11:09:00.000+01:00

"August Rush" Review

2007
A Kirsten Sheridan Film
Protagonist: Freddie Highmore
Antagonist: Robin Williams
Run-time: 1 hour 54 minutes

An orphaned musical prodigy runs away in search for his parents; who he is convinced are still alive.

This is a story that should be familiar to most; Oliver Twist.

It is an entertaining twist on the old Charles Dickens story, and is made even more entertaining with music that seems to move the very spirit.

One can argue that the music is only to fill out a weak and short plot but personally I don't mind, because the music is part of the story rather than the musical tradition of bursting into spontaneous song and dance that everyone else knows.

The film is mainly aimed at couples and families rather than any specific gender or age group. But it should be said that it is more emotional than most guys would seek out under normal circumstances.

Highly recommended if you feel nostalgic for a familiar story in a different era and setting.

"True Grit" Review

2011-08-25T23:01:00.001+02:00

"True Grit" Review

2010
A Joel & Ethan Coen Film
Protagonists:
Hailee Steinfeld
Jeff Bridges
Matt Damon
Antagonists:
Josh Brolin
Barry Pepper

When a girl wants to get justice for the murder of her father, she looks to hire the Marshall that won't fail; who has true grit. What she gets is an old, fat drunkard with only one working eye. She also gets competition in the form of a Texas Ranger who wants to turn in the same criminal for another murder.

I am aware of that this is based on a novel, though I have not read it. I have, however, seen the 1969 version of the same film.

Whereas the most recent version fits its name by being gritty and almost painfully detailed, the old version leaves you with the curiosity of when the Cartwright men will start showing up.

The wardrobe choice of the recent version seems as dirty and authentic as can be made possible, even if my first reaction to the female protagonist was; why is Wednesday Addams there?

The old version was too clean not only in wardrobe but also in grooming for the characters. The female protagonist, timid and soft-spoken, looked like she belonged in The Sound of Music rather than the wild west.

The recent acting and cinematography as well as the music selection fit the overall feel of the story, while the old version was limited in its acting talent, camera techniques, and poorly chosen music which sounded more at home in an old Disney animated film.

Granted, the old version has a certain charm about it, but I prefer the better story telling of the modern version.

"Lean on Me" Review

2011-08-14T14:27:00.000+02:00

"Lean on Me" Review

1989
A John G. Avildsen Film
Protagonist: Morgan Freeman
Run-time: 1 hour 48 minutes

A school is in a constant, delicate state of balance with the students on one side and the teachers on the other. If one side gains power or loses interest then it all falls into chaos and anarchy.

When this happens; discipline and unyielding will is the only thing that can turn things around.

This film follows the tyrannical new principal; Joe Clark(Morgan Freeman), as he turns a school of slackers into what it is supposed to be: an institute of learning, while balancing respect, courtesy and the letter of the law in order to achieve the task he has been given.

There are instances of violence, but for the most part this is a drama film that I feel everyone should see at some time.

"The Mechanic" Review

2011-08-13T12:30:00.000+02:00

"The Mechanic" Review

2011
A Simon West Film
Protagonists:
Jason Statham
Ben Foster
Antagonist: Tony Goldwyn
Run-time: 1 hour 33 minutes

The film follows a trained assassin who does what he is told, and his trade mark is arranging his hits to look like accidents, or natural causes, or shifts the suspicion onto someone else. But after he is made to kill someone he knows, he is faced with the ruin of the son of his friend; to compensate in some way, Arthur Bishop(Jason Statham) takes the young man under his wing and teaches him the skills of the trade.

The original film("The Mechanic" 1972) of this remake follows many of the key moments captured in this one, and both movies are products of their age in that the original had less gruesome and graphic displays of deaths and a more lengthy car chase, while the remake was bordering on hyper-realism in some parts and followed the standard Hollywood glamour in others and was packed with physical stunts that might only have been seen in Hong Kong Fu films at the time of the original.

This film is definitely made for the guys; female nudity, sexually explicit scenes, explosions, blood, fancy cars, guns, high-risk-near-impossible-stunts. This film has all of those plus some homosexual reference, most likely to balance out the excitement of the rest of the film and make it more contemporary.

I would not recommend this film to anyone below the age of fifteen years, but I know from experience that age limits on films are more of a challenge than a deterrent.

All in all, not a very realistic piece, but very entertaining.

"The King's Speech" Review

2011-07-31T12:59:00.002+02:00

"The King's Speech" Review

2010
A Tom Hooper Film
Protagonists:
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Rush
Helena Bonham Carter
Run-time: 1 hour 58 minutes

Disability is always troubling, more so when one is in the lime light; not by choice but by birth.

The King's Speech is an emotionally laden film that follows the struggle of King George VI(Colin Firth) as he tries to overcome his speech disorder with the help of an infuriatingly casual Australian man(Geoffrey Rush) and his unusual methods according to the medical practices of the time.

As history shows, George VI became the reluctant king after his brother abdicated the throne, and the film builds up to the speech held not only for his coronation but also the speech held live on the radio to announce that Britain was dragged into war.

Overall, there's not much action for the guys to cheer over, though there are quite a few humorous exchanges of banter and a few surprising revelations to those who didn't study on the subject before seeing the film. I would have to say that the film mostly appeals to women in the sense that it is a quiet film that displays the vulnerabilities of a man in power during a time when propriety was one of the driving forces behind action.

It is an entertaining film, and as with all forms of entertainment; it is an excellent way to waste or spend two hours.

"The Book of Eli" Review

2011-07-13T15:04:00.001+02:00

"The Book of Eli" Review

2010
A Hughes Brothers Film
Protagonist: Denzel Washington
Antagonist: Gary Oldman
Run-time: 1 hour 53 minutes

In a post-apocalyptic world; a prophet walks the roads on a pilgrimage to restore the word of God as he believes has been told to do.

The effects are decent, the textures are dirty and gritty as befitting of the film genre, and the story is sound with a simple and ominous explanation for how the world went under without going into too much detail or the use of flashbacks.

In short, the story is of a wanderer in a desert land full of thieves, murderers, cannibals, dictators and victims. He doesn't really care much for the fate of others, but ends up saving a few innocent lives while taking a lot of not-so-innocent ones.

There is a lot of violence, a bit of gore and on a few occasions there is suggested rape, so it is not a film for the squeamish.

Overall an excellent film with more than a few surprises.

The film is a great way to waste two hours.

Applebee's Review

2011-07-01T01:38:00.001+02:00

Applebee's Review

Grand Rapids, MN, USA
29 June 2011
18:00-20:00

Waitress: Heidi F.

A delightful meal began with the ordered appetizers arriving at our table.

This was where the evening of trouble started.

The first of many complaints was the child's grilled cheese sandwich which was made with rye bread. There was no mention of this in the menu, and as I understand it; not many American children like rye bread.

While the grilled cheese was being returned the adults' appetizers arrived.

The Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings were more sour and bitter from excessive vinegar use.

The well done Sirloin Steaks were undercooked to the point where one started bleeding upon being cut. Even after being returned the steaks were still pink inside, but by then so much time had passed that there was no patience for having them warmed again.

The Steamed Vegetables were dry.

The ice cream desserts were half melted and lacked topping upon arriving at the table. Spoons were also missing and had to be requested.

However, the service was excellent.

According to the waitress who seemed genuinely heartbroken on our behalf; there was a new chef in the kitchen who had only been there for a few weeks. This was the reason given for the meal troubles.

The General Manager was quick to see to us in the wake of our meat problems, and we were given a discount for our trouble.

There was ample parking.

To sum up; If you feel like trying Applebee's I would recommend that you inspect your meal carefully to make sure you got what you ordered, but if there is consistent trouble on part of the kitchen or staff you may get lucky and have a dollar or two knocked off your meal.

Enjoy your meal.