We are a house divided - between ourselves and our guest reviewer.
Dave: After watching Free Guy, I think the writer’s room consisted of a bunch of stoners who played too much SimCity and who had recently watched When Harry Met Sally. The movie had the sometimes plodding, sometimes jarring plot of the video game combined with the most maudlin, doesn’t-happen-in-real-life parts of the (otherwise fabulous) rom com. The addition of a cartoonishly gamerbro villain who tried to destroy the game to cover up his stolen code only made the whole thing feel ickier. The writers probably thought the moral of the story was about free will and loving the person who’s right in front of your face. The real message, though, is about digital preservation. There would have been no plot if someone had backed up the damn code for their video game. If only that had happened I could have gotten these two hours back (️⭐️1/2)
I adore pad Thai. And, after however many posts, it should be obvious I also love popcorn. And this popcorn recipe does a surprisingly accurate job of replicating the flavors of pad Thai in popcorn. But there’s something unsettling about it, like cutting into a cake that looks like a real hamburger, or someone telling you “it’s just like chocolate” when it’s really *shiver* carob. From now on, I’ll just order pad Thai when I want pad Thai, and stick to strictly unrealistic popcorn recipes. (️️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Joe: This was... a lot. Maybe it's because I'm not a gamer and barely understand how games with NPCs work, but I found a lot of the explanations confusing. Ryan Reynolds is funny, Jodie Comer plays a less psychotic Villanelle (from Killing Eve) and Taika Waititi shouts a lot. The whole movie is noisy and chaotic, but not in a clever way like Deadpool. It's almost like one of those insipid Marvel films had a baby with a video game. Do I sound like an old man? Well, that's because I am an old man. (⭐️⭐️)
We made a pad Thai popcorn a few years ago, one courtesy of the Popcorn Board, but I think I prefer this one. It's sweet and crunchy but also unctuous, and I really appreciate the fresh cilantro on top, which added an earthiness to the experience. It also looks like it took a lot of effort to make, so I'm glad it paid off for Dave. It doesn't always pay off. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
We had a special guest tonight! Our dear friend Todd. Here are his reviews!
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Free Guy but I had seen a number of trailers and my husband had watched it and enjoyed it. Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer were both charming, and the supporting cast made the convoluted plot tolerable. Some technical aspects were puzzling, but they were easily forgiven. It was a bit overlong given that at the weekly intermission it felt odd that it was only half over. That said, I liked the premise and acting enough to recommend it. (⭐⭐⭐1/2).
Dave made a delicious popcorn that had excellent umami flavor, plus peanuts and cilantro. Yum. I didn't want to eat too much so Dave and Joe had plenty for themselves. (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Popcorn recipe from: Food Network
Free Guy on IMDB.
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