Reese’s Ultimate Soft Baked Cookies are part of the Hershey’s Vending Product Line, meaning you’re really only supposed to be able to buy them from vending machines but in Tennessee apparently they consider Big Lots stores vending machines!

This peanut butter cookie contains Reese’s peanut butter chips, Hershey’s milk chocolate chips, and the entire bottom of the cookie is dipped in Hershey’s milk chocolate. The cookie is sufficiently soft without the disgusting taste of raisin that many soft cookies contain to keep them soft. As soon as I took my first bite I was reminded of the Nabisco Almost Home peanut butter cookies I loved a little too much as a child.

I had expectations for this cookie, but Reese’s and Hershey’s far exceeded them. I love soft baked cookies, I love peanut butter cookies, I love Reese’s products, and I love Hershey’s products. Put all four together and the best pre-packaged cookie on the planet is hanging out in my mouth being chewed ferociously.

In the “I wish I’d known that before I ate it” department, a single cookie is two servings, each serving weighing in at 170 calories and 8 g of fat. Oddly, the cookie used to be 190 calories and 9 g fat per serving, but the package I picked up in Tennessee clearly states that the same 2.75 oz cookie shown elsewhere on the internet is 20 calories and 1 g fat less per serving. BFD, though, really, it’s still bad for you! So, indulge, eat both halves!

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

A glass of milk really hits the spot with this cookie.

Eat your vending machine cookie while watching Neal and Del eat their vending machine food on their way home for Thanksgiving in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 2007
DVD Release Year: 2008
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Starring: Amir Bar-Lev, Anthony Brunelli, Elizabeth Cohen, Michael Kimmelman, Laura Olmstead, Mark Olmstead, Marla Olmstead
Length: 83 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
MPAA Rating:

New York Times chief art critic Michael Kimmelman admits, “all art in some ways is a lie.” But is Marla Olmstead’s art the biggest lie of all?

In this riveting documentary we follow the life of Marla Olmstead, a then 4-year old abstract artist whose paintings sky rocket to fame after her story is picked up by the New York Times.

Director Amir Bar-Lev is invited into the Olmsteads‘ home to document the story of Marla’s first gallery show. But while filming footage in support of Marla’s work a 60 Minutes story airs hypothesizing that her father Mark, who is also a painter, coached Marla while creating the paintings then sold the art as Marla’s.

Once speculation from the 60 Minutes story spreads, as well as additional speculation that perhaps Mark created the paintings from start to finish himself and marketed them as child prodigy art, sales of Marla’s art dry up completely. Mark and his wife Laura begin to receive threatening letters that they are using their daughter to commit fraud. Amir is invited into the home to film one of Marla’s pieces from start to finish to put to rest the rumors that Marla is not the true artist, but Amir is left to wonder if the Olmsteads are being truthful.

Is the young child of a Frito-Lay factory manager and a dental assistant really a world renowned-worthy abstract artist? The Olmsteads look like the all-American family pursuing the American dream until we learn that gallery owner Anthony Brunelli, himself a hyper-realist artist, believes that abstract art is a sham. Was he in on a scheme with the Olmsteads to fool collectors into buying art under false pretenses?

Side-by-side comparisons of several of Marla’s previously created pieces to her Oceans piece which she creates start to finish in a 5-hour video filmed by Mark Olmstead are included in the film so viewers can decide for themselves if Marla’s works are truly her own.

This documentary’s haunting undertone of potential deceit is in itself a masterpiece. It starts off as an innocent film about the happy results of a child’s creative outlet, but is twisted into a dark tale of manipulating collectors with an eye for art out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bar-Lev attempts to be objective about the news that Marla’s paintings are not completely her own, doing his best to disprove the 60 Minutes story with his own footage of Marla in her natural element. He does not compromise the story by blindly sticking to his original objective, but rather takes the time to delve into the truth behind Marla’s creative process.

Special features include art critic Michael Kimmelman’s overview of art and the artistic process, footage of Amir Bar-Lev making the trip to Binghamton and debuting the film at Sundance 2007, the continued blind support of local Binghamton reporter Elizabeth Cohen who wrote the original story which propelled Marla’s works into the mainstream art world, stories from local Binghamton residents who give their opinion on the Olmsteads‘ story, Mark’s showcase of Marla’s paper drawings at age 6 which are very intriguing, and Amir’s thoughts on what the truth is behind Marla’s paintings.

One bucket off for the bitter “something just isn’t right” taste left in my mouth after watching this film.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Lots and lots of Utz Potato Chips add the perfect crunch to this biting documentary.

Some Absinthe to enjoy the ride this documentary takes you on may be in order.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 2008
Director: Neil Marshall
Writer: Neil Marshall
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Sean Pertwee, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Bob Hoskins
Length: 105 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
MPAA Rating:

It’s a viral war between the evil vs. the eviler… and it’s bloody.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it a good movie. But we’ll get to that.

It’s April 3, 2008 and the Reaper virus breaks out in Scotland, causing its victims’ faces to bubble and their bodies to basically rot. The virus is, of course, highly contagious and it takes no time at all for most of Scotland’s people to die from the disease. The UK government orders that Scotland be sealed off with a wall perimeter so that no one can go in and no one can get out. All of Scotland’s people are left to die. Fortunately for young Eden Sinclair (Christine Tomlinson), her mother is able to put her on a helicopter transport out of Scotland before the country is completely abandoned.

Flash forward to 2035 when the Reaper virus resurfaces, this time in England. Eden (Rhona Mitra) is called upon to lead a special ops team into the walls of Scotland to find a scientist named Kane (Malcolm McDowell) who presumably could help find a cure for the virus. What the team finds when they arrive is a large population of people immune to the virus who have forsaken any semblance of a lawful society (and why shouldn’t they since they were forsaken by the rest of society!) who are led by Kane’s son Sol (Craig Conway). Eden’s team is captured by Sol’s thugs but Sol’s sister Cally (MyAnna Buring) helps them escape and leads them to Kane who has crowned himself king of a medieval castle (yup, weird) where his people fear and follow him because they are led to believe there are no survivors outside the walls of Scotland.

This Mad Max meets Robin Hood meets 28 Days Later film sounds really good in print, but its execution on the main screen is a complete and utter letdown. Dark filming and close camera angles make it hard to see what’s going on during the action sequences. There were several gruesome scenes that were semi interesting, including total annihilation of an innocent bunny rabbit, shotgun blast to the head, machete to cut off a dead man’s hand, a man set on fire and roasted alive then carved for eating, several people being thrown into fiery explosions and burned to death, and several heads chopped clear off.

However, it seems that writer/director Neil Marshall put three stories together into one, none of them were particularly interesting, and none integrated in smoothly with each other. I found myself bored during the movie, fighting to concentrate or actually care about any of the characters. I love end of the world movies, particularly at the theater, so when I’m bored you know it’s really quite bad.

The ending is really unsatisfying, and obviously I can’t say too much more than that other than: hokey! Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) could have been great in this movie, but he was completely wasted, used simply as a plot device to tie in Prime Minister Hatcher (Alexander Siddig) to the story line and to bridge the gap between young and adult Eden.

One of the movie’s best attributes is its 6-song soundtrack, including a rendition of Fine Young Cannibals‘ Good Thing during Sol’s Mad Max-esque spectacle. Also, eye candy deserving of a bucket: Adrian Lester as Norton who doesn’t seem to ever agree with Eden’s plans of action and makes that known but follows her anyway with guns blazing. Yummy.

Go see this movie with your mother (which I did — hi, Mom!) so you have something to trash talk over lunch.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

We recommend some nice Buffalo Bills 3.5oz Honey Pepper Country Cut Beef Jerky so you can pretend like you’re part of the cannibal scene! Yummy people meat!

A Kamikaze is the only appropriate drink for the end of the world.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Cadbury Mini Eggs are milk chocolate egg-shaped candies coated in a sugar shell. In the United States this product is manufactured by The Hershey Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Each egg is about 3/4 inch long and about 1/2 inch wide at its base. The chocolate inside each egg has a buttery and slightly salty taste to it which makes eating a reasonable number of the eggs pretty much impossible.

The sugar shells are in a variety of pastel colors, with tiny purple speckles on the eggs to give them a robin’s egg appearance. If your hands are warm at all the sugar shell will very quickly dissolve in your hand, so be prepared to lick some sugar off your palm if you decide to hold onto them for any length of time. (Extra treat!)

Cadbury Mini Eggs are only sold during the Western Easter holiday, so it’s a good idea to stock up as soon as you see them in stores. If you participate in Lent and choose to give up chocolate just remember that Sundays are your feast days so you can totally eat these eggs on Sundays! Yay, you!

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

An ice-cold Coke goes best with this chocolate. (See? We’re soda neutral here!)

Risky Business is the perfect movie to watch while you snack on this treat. It’s always fun to bite into these eggs while you watch Joel dive through the air to catch his mom’s Fabergé egg!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 1988
DVD Release Year: 2007
Director: Penny Marshall
Writers: Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton, Mercedes Ruehl
Length: 130 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating:

Sometimes being big isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Twleve-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) is sick of not being able to do what he wants when he wants. For his 13th birthday he goes to a fair in New York City and pays his quarter to Zoltar, a fortune-telling game that grants wishes. Josh’s simple request: “I wish I were big.” Zoltar responds that his wish has been granted.

After a stormy night’s sleep Josh wakes up to find out that his wish has, in fact, been granted and he is now a 30-year-old version of himself (Tom Hanks). Josh returns to the fair site but sees that the fair, and the Zoltar machine, are gone. He tries to go home and explain everything to his mother (Mercedes Ruehl) but that interaction does not go well, to say the least.

Josh runs off to find his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) and convince him that he really is Josh. Billy then helps Josh run away to a scary New York City hotel where he spends his first night away from all his family, friends, and the comforts of home. The news gets worse when he and Billy finally learn how to track down the Zoltar game but learn it will take at least six weeks to get the list of fairs where the Zoltar game is scheduled to appear.

To pass the six weeks Josh gets a job working at MacMillan Toy Company testing toys where he meets Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins) who pursues him as a love interest. Josh finally decides to enter the adult world of feelings and begins a relationship with Susan, falling in love with her and in love with his adult life.

Then the fair list arrives… Will Josh choose his new life with Susan or will he return to his childhood?

Big is one of the best romantic comedies of all times. It bridges the gap between our love of being a child but our sense of duty in our adult life. And, its best lesson of all, it reminds us to be a kid at heart no matter how old we are in years. The dialog of this film is brilliant, amusing the audience with Josh’s duality as a boy trapped in a man’s world. A great supporting cast, and beautiful cinematography of the best city in the world for reinventing yourself (New York City) make this a movie worth owning.

Special Features are expectedly lacking since this movie came out in theaters before the DVD was the widespread medium. It boasts the typical features of an ’80s movie pushed to DVD for its fans — a theatrical trailer and the cast credits. No points off for not turning in a homework assignment they never were told about.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Pepsi is Josh’s vending machine product of choice! (Too bad, Coke.)

We should all definitely have a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream and a maraschino cherry on top with Josh and Billy. Yum! And maybe a piece of Kindle cake in honor of the Kindle that basically rips off the handheld comic book idea Josh comes up with in the movie.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Never has a candy enjoyed such a rabid cult following as the Peeps Marshmallow Chicks that are manufactured by the Just Born Candy Company of Bethlehem, PA. The original chicks were colored yellow, but over the years the colors have expanded to include purple, green, blue, and Target stores exclusive red.

The candy itself is a simple marshmallow shaped like a chick and coated with colored sugar. While the granular coating provides a course initial texture, beneath is the familiar soft white squishiness of marshmallow that reveals itself as the sugar dissolves on your tongue. The taste is not really original or spectacular. It is uber-sweet and squishy, and marshmallow fans will enjoy it, but in the end it is a sugar coated marshmallow.

However their celebrity as a candy has resulted in a number of uses besides consumption, including what is called Peep Jousting. The basic premise is to lick the right side of two Peeps and stick a toothpick “lance” to its side. Then place both Peeps into your microwave facing each other, turn it on, and the winner is the Peep who does not explode or become deflated. I can think of no other candy that has been forced to fight its own for consumption. Nor can I think of any candy whose fans are crazed enough to think of such a concept.

Hence, while the candy is simple and plain, it has had enough power to inspire a culture around it and therefore I’m giving it around 2 buckets more than I normally would.

Popcorn’s Rating:

The movie to watch while swallowing those little yellow chicks by the handful is Chicken Run! We can let the Peeps hope before placing them into the microwave arena of death… can’t we?

Popularity: 32% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 1990
DVD Release Year: 1999
Director: Allan Moyle
Writers: Allan Moyle
Starring: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Anthony Lucero, Scott Paulin, Mimi Kennedy, Cheryl Pollak, Robert Shenkkan, Seth Green, Holly Sampson
Length: 102 minutes
Studio: New Line Home Video
MPAA Rating:

Steal the air. Talk hard. Keep the dream alive.

Through the invisible night time airwaves of Arizona, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) allows his alter-ego pirate DJ Happy Harry Hardon to speak out on such items as girls, music, and the pressures of society on teenagers he cannot bring himself to speak out on during the day due to a severe infliction of shyness. Slowly his fan base builds up, and piques the interest of Nora Diniro (Samantha Mathis) who sets out to unmask Happy Harry Hardon’s real identity.

However, not everyone is a fan of the pirate DJ. Through access to school records he slowly uncovers corruption at the high school he himself attends, and by doing so antagonizes the guidance counselor David Deaver (Robert Shenkkan) and Principal Loretta Cresswood (Annie Ross) into action against his fellow students. Further notoriety and criticism befalls him when fellow student Malcolm Kaiser (Anthony Lucero) commits suicide after calling into the radio show.

By speaking forth words that incite the establishment into interdiction, inspire his generation into united action, and may bring him the girl of his dreams, Happy Harry Hardon has everything to gain… but Mark Hunter has everything to lose.

Pump Up The Volume is a classic story that validates teen angst in a way never before shown, and never since having been repeated. While the movie suffers from a low production budget that included obvious gaffs (a teacher pushing the play button on a radio to stop a cassette, and pushing the pause button to play it; audio/visual not on sync towards the end), some hokey acting by under talented adults, and a lack of stunning visuals… the theme of anonymous voices “crying out in the wilderness” with a message is even more relevant today with the evolution of the internet blog as it was then.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To be like Happy Harry Hardon you need to be both happy and hard. The CANDY CIGARETTES should be able to make you happy and make people think your hardcore without exposing yourself to the possibilities of lung cancer.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Asteroids are a puffed corn ball coated in yummy Cheetos cheese. They are smaller than traditional cheese balls, but pack just as much flavor. Each serving contains only 100 calories and 6 grams of fat with 0 grams of trans fat, so you feel like you’re eating something healthy (even though you totally still aren’t).

Asteroids are actually crunchier than regular cheese balls, presumably because less oil is used to make the product which results in a drier snack. Also, the snack is fairly salty tasting so it’s definitely a good idea to have a beverage handy while eating them.

If you like Cheetos crunchy snacks you’re pretty much guaranteed to love Asteroids just as much. As with regular Cheetos, your fingers will definitely be coated with yummy cheesy goodness when you’re done eating them — a snack for later!

There’s never enough in only one package so save yourself the worry and indulge.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

How about a nice Sunkist? Nice and sweet to counter that salty.

And to continue the orange theme I recommend A Clockwork Orange (Two-Disc Special Edition). Nothing wrong with a truly bizarre dystopia film to go with your cheesy treat.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The original Funky Chunky Popcorn from Funky Chunky Inc. is a combination of dark, milk, and white chocolate drizzled over already caramel covered popcorn. Just in case that wouldn’t be enough… they also threw in almonds, pecans and cashews. So if you ever wondered what would happen if you put Cracker Jacks on steroids, this is it.

The tri-chocolate drizzle on top of the caramel covered popcorn alone puts this concoction over the top on sugar, and quite possibly makes it a diabetic’s public enemy number one. Besides the over sweetness (which before this, I never knew there could be such a thing) the problem is the severe lack of a distinct taste. We love each of the chocolates for their individuals flavors, but this carelessly throws them aside for an apparent sugar shock value.

The nuts never really stood a chance with this Frankenstein monster dominating them like the big bad bully in the schoolyard, but are the saving grace of the snack. While being lightly caramelized, they also seemed to avoid the multi-chocolate bath and only had one kind of chocolate or the other.

Popcorn’s Rating:

Such a funky snack deserves to be consumed while watching Funky Monkey to complete that craptastically funky experience.

We recommend having a few doses of insulin on standby.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Raisinets are another classic candy that has persevered through the ages. Unfortunately, it hasn’t aged as gracefully as others. Introduced in 1927 by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company (the same company who introduced Goobers), Raisinets became a fast favorite at movie theater concession stands as it mixed the sweetness of chocolate with nature’s own sweet treat in the form of a raisin.

Unfortunately, over the years the raisins in Raisinets are found more often than not to be dehydrated and lacking any sign of juice. This transforms the candy from a moist chocolaty treat to a chewy one. Sadly, while Raisinets continues to be the premiere choice in movie theaters, there are fresher brands of chocolate covered raisins out there. If the lesser known brands can make a moist chocolaty treat, then why can’t the premiere choice?

Popcorn’s Rating:

For a snack that is older than some dirt and has probably lost its juicy flair, we recommend the classic version of A Raisin in the Sun with Sidney Poitier. At least you’ll get some satisfaction from the screen if you end up dissatisfied with what was in the box.

Popularity: 6% [?]