Cups of Cake

• Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake - Frosted Cupcakery, Hollywood
People are getting all mad about the insurgence of cupcake shops in the Los Angeles area. They're cupcakes people! How can anyone get upset about more cake? Cupcakes have never been some underground secret that have recently become chic, compromising their authenticity. They aren't the product of a culture whose food is exploited for the masses.
For all of you cupcake connoisseurs I recommend the Mojito Cupcake from KickAss Cupcakes, Somerville, MA.

One Neat Thing A Day

Mediocrity is the name of the game and I plan to win. Great things have happened today and it's not even noon. My officemate thinks Tolstoy and a toaster are the same thing, I had two slices of raisin toast, found a pencil that changes color, and somebody shared their chimichangas with me.

Yawn

Breaking Upwards premiered in Los Angeles on Friday night. I arrived twenty minutes late. My boss wouldn't let me leave until I had successfully forged the signature of the company's attorney. I must have missed the boy and girl outlining their rules to transform their listless relationship into a friendship. At the end of the film the lead actors ran upfront for a Q&A. I didn't know this was going to happen or I wouldn't have sat in the 2nd row with no way to escape. They stated the obvious. The film was autobiographical and they are currently a "happy unit," whatever that means. The movie was cute and true to life. Both qualities that keep me from seeing a movie twice.

I also saw Date Night. Don't bother.

A Muddled Brown

I've never been a reader of reviews. They're too similar to a weather report. I understand being cautioned against natural disasters but nobody ever said, "If only I had checked Weather.com, I might not have lost my prized possessions in that tsunami." Like the weather, it's obvious when a movie is going to be good or bad. Yes, you may L-O-V-E that movie, but you might also enjoy a sizable helping of beef stroganoff and for that reason we will not be doing dinner and a movie.

This week I've seen four movies that range from ok to awful. Here are my reviews.

Greenberg: Better than I thought it would be. I heard that Stiller played a horrible person undeserving of love. I find that he plays a lovable person, undeserving of love. (Edith Carissimi, the manager of Musso & Frank's passed away this week. It's a sad day for foodies and landmark lovers.)

American Grindhouse: Its a good introduction to exploitation films. It's an even better introduction to Kim Morgan, whose expressions make the 101 level documentary worth it.

Red White & Blue: No.

Hot Tub Time Machine: The story is surprisingly unpredictable. Yet predictably mediocre. There are too many cringe inducing moments, such as John Cusack and Lizzy Caplan positioning themselves on a kitchen counter a la Sixteen Candles. He's better than Lizzy Caplan. He's better than Sixteen Candles. For God's sake he was in Sixteen Candles and he was better than it then. If he should be honoring the work of anyone it should be his. Hot Tob was the perfect opportunity to ski down the mountain with one ski. Or at least shout, "I want my two dollars!"