Lupita + ukulele versions of "Shake It Off" + zombies + a very curious popcorn that left us quite divided.
Dave: A zombie film where the good guys win by singing ukulele versions of Taylor Swift songs is my kind of movie. The basic plot of Little Monsters was ridiculous and tired, but the addition of Lupita Nyong’o and a class full of kindergarteners made it fresh, heartwarming, and funny. Josh Gad (Olaf from Frozen) playing a lecherous, morality-challenged Captain Kangaroo was an added delight. They could’ve made more of the zombie children, and the military subplot was severely underdeveloped, but Joe and I both laughed out loud more than once (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
I was worried when I realized this popcorn recipe calls for what amounts to a spicy, savory caramel. Brown sugar boiled with butter, lime juice, peanuts, coconut and sriracha sounded gross when I really thought about it. But I’d already bought the ingredients, so we forged on. And I’m glad we did. Pad Thai popcorn didn’t taste quite like Pad Thai, but it was delicious all the same. I loved the sweet/savory balance. The recipe called for 1 tsp of sriracha and I put in two - it still didn’t have that spicy kick I was hoping for. All in all, though, this goes in my “would make again” pile (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Joe: I was excited when I heard that Lupita Nyong'o was in a zombie film. And I was equally excited that she was playing a kindergarten teacher who played Taylor Swift on the ukulele. Needless to say, I went into Little Monsters with high expectations, but I probably should've lowered them a little. Romzomcoms, in my humble opinion, should have 10% rom, 50% zom, and 40% com. This was more 5/10/85. Though there were some solid jokes, nothing was particularly clever. Add that to the low stakes, the relatively tame zombie gore, and the fact that the dude main character was obnoxious, and, well... (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
When I lived in Shadyside, a Thai restaurant was in spitting distance of my apartment. I ate my fair share of Pad Thai in that time. Now I'm no expert, but I'm fairly confident I know what the dish tastes like. And this popcorn didn't taste like Pad Thai. It tasted like... raisins? And occasionally some heat? But mostly raisins. I'm confused on two fronts: a.) The Popcorn Board website has rarely let us down and b.) I'm pretty sure Dave didn't put raisins in the popcorn because c.) raisins aren't in Pad Thai. At least none that I've ever had. Tamarind, maybe. But not raisins. (⭐️⭐️)
Popcorn recipe from: Popcorn.org. (The Popcorn Board, 2019).
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