Yummy, as always, Dove.

Dove Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate is also available in a bag of individual squares for your enjoyment. Definitely more dangerous than a bar if you’re not great at moderating your sweets intake.

Unstoppable is the story of Will (Chris Pine), a man whose marriage is unraveling quickly and who just joined the railroad, and of Frank (Denzel Washington) whose wife recently passed away and who has one foot shoved out the railroad door. The two are paired together while Will is trained as a conductor by Frank. During their first day together a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals threatens to derail in a heavily populated Pennsylvania town. The hero spirit takes over Will and Frank and they decide to try to stop that train no matter what their fate may be.

I love trains. I love action movies. This movie had me unexpectedly on the edge of my seat for almost the entire time. I had such low expectations of this movie going in, but Rosario Dawson‘s performance as yardmaster Connie Hooper adds to an incredibly dynamic tension that keeps a movie about a train travelling all by itself into a breathtaking thrill ride.

Unstoppable is loosely based on the Crazy Eights runaway train incident in Ohio on May 15, 2001, but it’s best to consider this a straight-up work of fiction so you don’t spoil the ending for yourself.

Buttery’s Rating:

Dove Milk Chocolate Silky Smooth Promises are bite-sized milk chocolate treats. The chocolate is perfectly sweet without being too sweet, and has a silky rich texture without being too rich. It’s fantastically wonderful and I cannot say enough to convey how delicious it is.

Is this chocolate from Switzerland? From Belgium? From Germany? Nope. It’s a Mars product from New Jersey. Who knew the best chocolate in the world came from Hackettstown?

Buy some Dove Milk Chocolate Silky Smooth Promises for your sweetheart this weekend. You’ll thank me later.

Buttery’s Rating:
]]> http://www.butterypopcorn.net/2011/buttery/dove-milk-chocolate-silky-smooth-promises/feed/ 5 http://www.butterypopcorn.net/2011/buttery/trident-splash-peppermint-swirl/ http://www.butterypopcorn.net/2011/buttery/trident-splash-peppermint-swirl/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:15:05 +0000 Buttery http://www.butterypopcorn.net/?p=1057 I tried Trident Splash Peppermint Swirl on a whim, an impulse purchase on my way to an appointment. I had little hope for this gum. I didn’t understand how some blue liquid sandwiched in a crunchy shelled piece of gum was going to deliver the same yummy flavor of a peppermint candy, but when I tried the gum it tasted exactly like a peppermint candy — not too minty, not too sweet, just right.

And because it’s a Trident product, Peppermint Swirl is sugar free so there’s none of that sugar coated teeth feeling from eating the actual candy. Also because it’s Trident, if you chew it after eating it helps to clean your teeth.

Each piece of Trident Splash Peppermint Swirl is less than 5 calories, perfect for when you’re craving something sweet but don’t want to binge on junk food. Plus my breath is minty fresh and I have yet to chew this gum long enough for the flavor to go away or for the gum to lose its elasticity.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations

Let’s watch Bubblegum Crisis: Remastered Edition while we chew!

Drink my favorite hot chocolate, Land O Lakes Mint Cocoa, while chewing this gum. A perfect mint pairing!

This is going to be quite the ride.

In this sequel to the original TRON (1982) we begin in 1989 with a scene of a CGI 30-something version of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) teaching his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) about the grid and promises he will take Sam there one day. Fast forward to present day. Flynn has been missing since that fateful night in 1989. Sam is now the major shareholder at ENCOM, the company his father Flynn started with Alan (Bruce Boxleitner). On the day of the newest OS launch and public trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchance Sam prefers to realize his father’s original dream to make the ENCOM software be free (open source rules!) instead of cost money (my Bill Gates alarm went off when they mention that the only improvement to version 12 is that there’s a 12 on the box) and hacks into the system to give the source code to the world.

And then the movie turns to its true purpose: Alan tells Sam he’s received a message from Flynn and Sam returns to Flynn‘s arcade where the first TRON began to try to figure out the mystery of where his father has gone to. Sam stumbles upon the gateway to the grid and finds himself in the game against Flynn‘s clone, Clu, and against Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) who has turned to the very dark side as Clu‘s lackey. While Sam is fighting for his life in the game an unknown ally, a woman named Quorra (Olivia Wilde), rescues him and brings him off road from the traversible pathways of the grid to her master’s home. Guesssss whoooooooo? Yup, it’s a much older Flynn, trapped in the grid for all this time against his will and forced out of his role as the benevolent creator when Clu turned Tron and all the Programs of the grid against him.

It’s a fast paced light cycle race to see who makes it to the portal first, back into the “real world” where Flynn and Sam just want to live their normal father and son life again while Clu wants to rid our world of its imperfections, certain doom for our extremely imperfect IRL.

This movie is best described as original TRON meets Star Wars Episode IV meets The Fifth Element. Good versus evil is the underlying theme, and for once I am not offended by the overlying theme of creationism. Others compared this movie to the Skynet of The Terminator series, so I mention it for your sake. I personally don’t find the Programs fight-worthy of the comparison to the Terminators, the Programs are too easily destroyed (one keystroke, metaphorically and literally speaking). Also, unlike the borg-like uncaring of the Terminators, the Programs have a rousing coliseum-type moment that reminded me of Joaquin Phoenix‘s thumb up/thumb down scene in Gladiator.

The TRON: Legacy soundtrack is just that — it adds tension and emotion to the movie without pulling you away from the storyline and acting of the characters. I mention this specifically because, as a Daft Punk lover, I want to address the complaints I have seen without trying that the Daft Punk soundtrack to the movie is just a series of sounds and partials, not a complete album. This is Daft Punk‘s contribution to an incredible movie, their purpose was not to rename this film Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy, and they get their time on the screen during the scene at the bar. (Who shot first?)

TRON: Legacy is the only movie I have ever enjoyed in 3D. The special effects were phenomenal, blending both 2D and 3D sequences to give this film a distinct dual world feel. No other movie has ever been worth wearing the glasses over my glasses that actually correct my vision. And little did I know back in 1982 at the tender age of 8 that I would grow up to be a geek and truly appreciate the command line power of the grid. Flynn is Superuser, even more powerful than god, and is the creator of an entire world underneath the arcade. Blows my mind. Or, as Flynn would say, “totally radical.”

Bravo, Walt Disney. Bravo.

Purchase your tickets to see TRON: Legacy 3D through Fandango.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

A nice SuperPretzel King Size pretzels with hot nacho cheese is perfect for watching this movie. Get the Pretzel Bites if your theater sells those!

All things Coca-Cola quench your thirst during this fast paced masterpiece.

A peruse through the Jalapeño Cheddar Tortilla Combos ingredients shows no jalapeño pepper specifically listed, only red pepper, so perhaps it’s part of the “natural and artificial flavors” ingredient because I can definitely taste authentic jalapeño pepper flavor in that cheddar cheese filling.

Jalapeño Cheddar Tortilla Combos are a perfect snack on their own or as a side dish bite to a yummy grilled chicken or tomatillo salad dish. And pop the Combos in the fridge for an extra spicy bite to the jalapeño!

Note: This snack is not for the faint at tongue! Popcorn almost fell over in his chair when he tried one. Also, please don’t touch your eyes or those of your pets after handling this snack.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

Believe it or not, Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper was the perfect thirst quencher to this salty snack.

Since there’s a fire in your mouth when you eat this snack, it only makes sense to watch a little Firestarter while you enjoy it.

Warning: It is absolutely impossible to discuss this movie without giving away some of the good stuff, so some spoilers await you.

In part 1 of the final sequel in the Harry Potter series, the wizarding world is turning to the very dark side. With the death of Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the only hope to keep good wizards and witches from the peril of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). After Voldemort‘s evil group of lackeys take over the Ministry of Magic, Harry is forced to go on a quest with best friends and lovebirds Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) to search for and destroy Horcruxes, objects that contain a part of a wizard or witch’s soul when they die. If Voldemort beats Harry and his friends to the Horcruxes he will become immortal and all hope will be lost.

Albus has left objects to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in his last will and testament. They don’t understand right away that the objects will help them on their quest to find the Horcruxes, but thankfully they take them on their journey anyway. The one object that Dumbledore promised that was not delivered was the sword of Godric Gryffindor which Harry had used to kill a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione use polyjuice potion to enter the Ministry of Magic undetected and stumble upon Salazar Slytherin’s Horcrux, a locket that no one has been able to destroy. They have no idea how to destroy the Horcrux either, but when Harry wears the locket for too long his thoughts become dark and paranoid, so the three decide to take turns wearing the locket to keep it protected from Voldemort‘s henchmen but also keep any one of them from going too crazy from the evil it possess. Hermione uses her gift from Dumbledore to determine that the sword of Godric Gryffindor will destroy the locket. Unfortunately, Ron wears the locket a little too long and becomes paranoid that his girlfriend Hermione is more than just friends with Harry. He gives the locket to Harry but then leaves him and Hermione to finish the journey.

Harry and Hermione are forced to continue the quest for the sword without Ron and must apparate to different locations to escape Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic. Hermione‘s sadness over Ron‘s abandonment is short lived when Ron uses his gift from Dumbledore, a Deluminator, which leads Harry to where the sword is hidden. Ron rejoins the duo and they find themselves on the doorstep of Xenophilius Lovegood (Rhys Ifans), father of Luna (Evanna Lynch), who explains that a symbol the three have seen appear in several places along their quest is that of the Deathly Hallows. He explains the story behind three brothers who try to cheat death and are given gifts for doing so, but each gift ultimately brings their demise. They then learn that Dumbledore‘s wand, which was buried with him, is the undefeatable Elder wand from the Deathly Hallows tale and that they must race to find the wand before Voldemort does.

This movie has beautiful locations, dark and foreboding cinematography, and perfectly emoted acting. I was terrified, I was sorrowful, I was happy, I was on the edge of my seat, and for at least one scene I was looking through my fingers until I finally jumped out of my seat. This is part 1 of the final book so its pace is slow to the denouement with the hinted promise of a roller coaster ride in part 2.

I find no faults with this film. It is perfect in bringing the book to the big screne and making its true fans anxiously anticipate its final part.

Popcorn’s addition: The body count was definitely higher in this movie than the previous ones.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

We recommend noshing on Harry Potter’s Cauldron of Treats Candy and Snacks Gift Basket.

A butter beer from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, Orlando would, of course, be the perfect beverage!

Callebaut Finest Belgian Couverture Callets™ were handed out as a sample at the door into the show. I was given a milk chocolate sample and thought it was just ok, but when I was in the show I saw the display for Callebaut‘s products and tried a sample of the dark chocolate morsel and I literally (fine, figuratively) experienced a party in my mouth.

The dark chocolate Callebaut Couverture Callets™ have 56% cacao so they’re not too bitterly dark but also not too light and sweet. These morsels are the perfect bite, and they’re made of Belgian chocolate so they’re silky smooth and melt like butter in your mouth — soooo good.

I bought two packages of the Callebaut Couverture Callets™. The first one Popcorn and I ate on the couch while watching TV, but he plans to use the second package to bake some phenomenal chocolate chip cookies!

For incredible recipes featuring Callebaut‘s Belgian chocolate please visit their recipe site. To purchase online visit Worldwide Chocolate.

And, please, let’s keep it between you and me that Callebaut should have researched the definition of callet before trademarking it. I understand they were trying to cutesie-fy their Callebaut name for this product, but sometimes words that look cute don’t mean cute. Whatcha gonna do…

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations:

A Coke zero complements the flavor of this snack perfectly.

A little Johnny Depp in Chocolat would be a perfect pairing.

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.

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!