Ghostbusters (2016)--Who Not To Call

Ghostbusters, Answer the Call.

This movie was a remake of the original  two without continuing on where the others left off story-wise and substituting the male scientists with female ones.

 

Bad language and not for kids as there are some sexual overtones and innuendos.

There are a lot of nods to the first two movies, same green ghost Slimer, but with his Mrs, a hearse as a repainted vehicle to 'bust ghosts' and you even see the same building being passed up due to it's expense for a spot over an Asian restaurant, to name but a few of the nods. This film even included many cameo performances by the actors, not the character's themselves, but the actors, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson.

This whole plot is about a "...Paranormal researcher Abby Yates and physicist Erin Gilbert are trying to prove that ghosts exist in modern society. When strange apparitions appear in Manhattan, Gilbert and Yates turn to engineer Jillian Holtzmann for help. Also joining the team is Patty Tolan, a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside and out. Armed with proton packs and plenty of attitude, the four women prepare for an epic battle as more than 1,000 mischievous ghouls descend on Times Square. " (From IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/ )

The trailers for this movie were so bad, it really made me not want to watch it at all. I had heard that Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd had wished they had not done the cameos afterall.

It was even more painful to see Chris Hemsworth play a character that was -that- stupid.

I did enjoy the nods to the original two movies and really liked seeing our beloved actors in it, but it was so sad to see this whole movie be this bad. I really wish they could have gone with what Dan and Harold were once working on for a 3rd installment instead. It was nice they had a "For Harold Ramis" at the end of this but I have a feeling he would have been very upset to have seen this version.

 

I don't like to put down a movie, but this is not one I will include in my collection.

 

RIP Harold Ramis, we miss you!

 

 

 

 

Trick 'r Treat

Trick 'r Treat

Stars: Brian Cox

This movie has 4 tales of horror that are twisted up and entwined with the other and of course all about and taking place on Halloween night.

This is not for kids at all as there are some very adult scenes and language.

There is some gore to this so it is not a lighthearted film.

The basic gist of the movie is about what happens to people who don't like Halloween or disrespect the common practices. Sam, a seemingly child trick or treater, appears wearing a burlap sack and orange onesie pajama and his jack o' lantern lollipop to dole out punishment to those who are breaking Halloween traditions.

There is a rotten kid for example smashing pumpkins or jack o' lanterns, other kids bullying another kid.

These stories all tie into the other, and you will see the other characters in the next story or woven intricately into each other.

There is some retelling of some of the history of Halloween, tho' it isn't quite right nor accurate.

A lot of twists and turns to the stories so much that it will keep surprising you!

Very well done!

I did like this one as I enjoyed the twists.

Birthday Present--Zombie Knife!

Thought I'd share one of my birthday presents from an Amazon gift card that I received. I love the Amazon gift cards as you can go shopping then and pick out something you would like from your huge wish list. Ok, so from my huge wish list! ;)

 

I saw this on Amazon and thought it was really cool!

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I13HKYW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

Now you don't get to choose the color you want as its a random thing. So when you get it, it's a nice surprise.

 

 

So the color I got is....

 

 

Pretty cool!

 

 

 

The above was the front when you open it

 

 

 

and in the pic below is the back where you can see it has a little belt clip.

 

 

The blade isn't bad, a bit sharp and it's just a really neat looking straight edge with zombies printed on the handle. I have a couple knives and straight edges like that, this is the first zombie one however. I love them to help me open up all my Amazon boxes. :)

Ant Covered Devil's Food Peanut Butter Iced Surprise Cupcakes

 

These were just amazingly fluffy and talk about melt in your mouth! WOW!

 

The trick to making a scrumptiously moist cupcake is to make them and eat them fresh. Having worked at a bakery, they tend to make their cupcakes ahead of time and then freeze them. When they freeze them, they are just put in a big plastic bag and tossed in a box and that is that. This allows air to get to the cake and causes freezer burn.

Anytime you refrigerate cake of any kind, it will start to dry it out. It loses it's moistness and freshness.

 

So when I make cupcakes for someone, I always try to make them the day of.

It's the icing that you want to make a day ahead if you wish, especially if you are coloring the icing, you will want to make the icing ahead of time as the color will deepen and set overnight. This allows you to see how true of a color it is and also helps you to not use as much color as you think you need and thereby avoiding the colored teeth and after effects when the color has gone through your body.

 

Ahem..yea...that.

This icing however is not colored, but the natural tan of the peanut butter so you can make it the day of so it will be the most soft and fresh.

 

For the cupcakes, it is a simple Devil's Food box cake mix. You can make it from scratch if you want, go for it, but it's pretty easy from the box. Now the icing, I made that from scratch because it is very difficult if not impossible to find a peanut butter icing and besides, it's not going to be as good as you making it yourself and it's super easy to make! The 'ants' of course are chocolate sprinkles. The surprise is a miniature Reeses' peanut butter cup baked inside.

 

Here's the Recipe:

 

1 boxed Devil's Food cake mix, doesn't matter the brand

Eggs, (according to the back of the cake mix box)

Oil, (according to the back of the cake mix box)

Water, (according to the back of the cake mix box)

24 miniature Reeses' peanut butter cups

 

Icing (From: allrecipes, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/84429/fluffy-peanut-butter-frosting/)

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the chunky cause I prefer the nuts to crunch and it adds to the 'ants')

3 Tablespoons milk, or as needed (I just put this in gradually enough to make the icing creamy and light)

2 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, I added a lil more if I put too much milk in to help thicken it)

 

 

Directions:

Prepare the Devil's Food cake mix according to the instructions on the back of the box using the Eggs, oil, and water in the quantities they list.

Preheat the oven to the temperature according to the cake mix.

Line 2 cupcake tins, 24 cupcakes total with paper cupcake liners.

Pour the cake mix equally amongst all the cupcake portions.

Unfoil the Reeses' peanut butter cups and remove all the paper so they are naked and bare and ready to pop into your mouth but instead, push one peanut butter cup into each of the 24 cupcake batters.

Bake as directed.

Don't worry about the peanut butter cups not being covered up when you put these into the oven. The batter will rise and cover it up for you.

Take them out when done and set them to cool. I left the cupcakes in the pan until they were cooled down well and then I made the peanut butter frosting.

 

Icing Directions:

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer.

Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable.

Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy. I used the highest speed to really whip it, adding more milk or powdered sugar depending on the consistency you are looking for and then I added a couple more tablespoons of peanut butter to also help thicken it too and make sure I had enough of a peanut butter flavor, the one of choice I used was the Natural Skippy Chunky.

 

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, I frosted them with the icing. It's important to let them cool completely before you put the icing on so the icing does not melt with the warm cupcake.

Then I sprinkled the chocolate sprinkles (or jimmies if you call them that depending on where you are from), these are the 'ants'. You also want to sprinkle these on right away so that they stick to the icing before the icing dries a bit, otherwise they will just bounce off.

 

Enjoy!! These are the bomb! So light and fluffy and not too sweet. The Reeses' peanut butter cups melt down to a flatter disc inside the cupcake, making them a little crunchy. They also dropped to the bottom but man these were so delicious!