Snacks: Pocky

Pocky is a Japanese treat from the company Glico.

There is not very much to Pocky. It's a thin cookie-like stick dipped in chocolate. But, Pocky is not limited to just chocolate. There is a huge variety, though not all found in the US, of flavors and combinations available. Examples: Plain Almond Crush Pocky, Green Tea Mousse Pocky, and Strawberry Pocky.

Whatever your flavor preference is, I'm sure there is a Pocky for you.

Pros:
Packaged in a box with a foil package inside. I have never had a broken Pocky.
Delicious.
Convenient. A great snack for people on the go.

Cons:
The only flaw that I have found with Pocky, is that if they are stored in a warm place, the chocolate will melt, fusing all of the sticks together when it re-hardens.

Verdict:
Get some Pocky. There is no one on earth that will not love it. In fact, if aliens landed here tomorrow, I would suggest giving them Pocky too. Pocky is THAT fantastic!

Candy: Duvalin

As a great follow-up to yesterday's post, I have another product from the Ricolino Company. I also found the official site, believe it or not, it was Ricolino.com, but I didn't try that until today.

Duvalin is a small, shallow cup of what I can only describe as a frosting of some kind. There was a choice of two flavor combinations, I chose hazelnut and vanilla. The other was strawberry and vanilla.

I will be the first to admit that this is the most confusing "candy" I have ever eaten. First off, I didn't even know for sure what the consistency was going to be, but like I said, it's like frosting.

So how do you eat this tiny tub of frosting in moderation? With the tiny, flat spoon provided to you of course!

I don't speak any Spanish, but by the end of my Duvalin, I was saying, "¡Muy bueno!"

Pros:
Nice Flavor.
Perfect serving size for something so sweet.
A tiny souvenir spoon!

Cons:
Borders on being too sweet.

Verdict:
- Simply because this product is basically a cup of frosting, if that sounds appetizing to you, you will probably love it. Kids, adults, seniors, you will all love it.

Candy: Bubu Lubu

Bubu Lubu is a Mexican candy by Ricolino that is very similar to products from the Joyva Company.

It is basically a candy bar made of marshmallow, strawberry jelly, and covered with chocolate. Joyva makes the same thing, only are not combined, meaning you can get chocolate-covered Marshmallow bars, or jelly bars (or rings).

The chocolate is very rich in flavor, the jelly is tasty, and the marshmallow it light and fluffy but kind of gritty.

Not bad for a knockoff.

Pros:
Cheap in price.
Strange fluffy mascot with a scarf and mittens.

Cons:
Cheap in quality.
Not widely available.

Verdict:
- If you see them, give them a try, you may have to buy a box of 8, but you could give the rest away on Halloween if you hate them.
- Otherwise, stick with a well established brand and product by only buying Joyva.

Candy: Skittles Chocolate Mix

Well, the good folks over at Skittles have decided to start making a "Chocolate Mix" of their popular candy. So, let's see how they did.

It's not a very appetizing way to start a candy review, but I simply cannot go without mentioning something. Skittles has the slogan: "Taste the Rainbow." So the first thing that pops into my head when I open this bag is, "What feces-infested sewer do you have to visit to see a rainbow made of different shades of brown?" Okay, glad I got that out of the way.

There are five flavors:

S'mores- These are flesh tone in color, and taste nothing like a s'more. They went a little heavy on the marshmallow flavor, and if the after taste is supposed to be graham cracker they are way off the mark. It almost tastes like what you would expect s'more flavored aspirin to taste like.

Vanilla- These are a nice creamy vanilla color, and the taste is exactly what you would expect. The word "vanilla" is sometimes used to describe something as bland and uninteresting, but there is nothing vanilla about the vanilla flavored Skittle. Does that make sense?

Chocolate Caramel- This might just be the worst flavor in the bag. I think Skittles knew it too, since there was only 7 in the bag. Something about it burns the back of my throat while I bite into it. By the end, it ends up tasting a little bit like caramel, but nothing like chocolate caramel. They must have been desperate to get another flavor in the bag.

Chocolate Pudding- First of all, half of the bag consisted of this flavor. It is a very dulled done version of chocolate pudding but after a few, you really have the taste in your mouth as if you were eating pudding.

Brownie Batter- The final flavor is almost black in color. And black is what you think of when you eat them since they taste like burnt brownies. Oddly enough, this still makes them the best flavor.

It was quite difficult to eat the entire package in one sitting which is absurd when talking about Skittles. I once ate a 16 ounce bag of the original flavors in a single night. So, I should know.

Pros:
Another new experiment in flavor from the Skittles people, there is an enormous list of Skittles flavors (Original, Wild Berry, Tropical, Carnival, Ice Cream, Smoothie, Sour) and the effort is appreciated.

Cons:
The flavors are hit or miss, and some are even hard to swallow.

Verdict:
-The only way you will know if you are going to like these is if you try them. The flavors are inconsistent. You shouldn't need to eat 5 of them before you can tell if you like it or not. But, some people may like that. So to break it down for you, I recommend you eat the things the flavors are based on if you have a real chocolate craving.
-If you want Skittles, pick another one of their many available flavor mixes.

Movie: Sunshine

I thought I would change up the the pace here today and do a quick review of a movie I rented the other night, from my cable box's On Demand Movies section.

The film I decided on was a science fiction-thriller called Sunshine (official site here).

The first thing I want to touch on is the director, Danny Boyle. This guy has directed some really great movies like: 28 Days Later, The Beach, and Trainspotting. He has a very artistic eye that really makes his films beautiful even in the most disturbing situations.

Now, to the actors. The cast is a split down the middle of no one you would know and people you recognize but don't know their name. The star of the movie (besides the sun) is Cillian Murphy. Cillian is familiar with the director having starred in 28 Days Later. He also in Red Eye, and is probably best known for play The Scarecrow in Batman Begins and the upcoming sequel Dark Knight. He's a little creepy, but likable to some extent. The only other person worth mentioning is Chris Evans, since he is the Human Torch in the Fantastic 4 films. So with an accomplished director and a few familiar faces, the movie had some potential to start out with.

The story premise is simple. It's the future and the Sun is dying, which means the earth is cooling and everything on it is dying. So someone (I'm guessing it's whatever is left in the way of a world government) builds a giant ship to fly to the Sun in order to reignite it with a massive bomb they refer to as "the payload". But something happens, and the ship never gets to the sun nor does it return to earth. So, Sunshine is about the second (and final) attempt.

I don't want to give away anything so I will keep it very nonspecific. The movie takes place in the spaceship with a small crew. You should expect a certain amount of space movie cliches. And about half way through the movie takes a strange turn into the horror genre.

After a 2 hour investment, you're done.

Pros:
Extremely visual movie, the effects are beautiful and powerful.
Very well-written characters. You get a very wide range of human emotion and thought process.
Not too over-the-top. Sometimes these movies get ridiculous with technological advancement, but Sunshine keeps it in the realm of possible.

Cons:
Small cast in small spaces. Don't expect variety.
They wait so you wait. The movie is about getting to a destination, so you end up waiting for the action to start at times (it does eventually come).
Frustrating, in the vain of, when your watching horror movies and the girl runs upstairs instead of out the front door.

Verdict:
- I found this to be an enjoyable movie, but it is something you have to be in the mood to watch.
- If you like scifi, specifically space-themed movies, you should probably give this a try. It has many good qualities that are not in most of films of this type.
- The same applies to horror movie buffs. If you can convince yourself to watch it based on the storyline, and make it through the first third of the running time, you will probably enjoy it.
- Everyone else should just wait until it hits basic cable or the movie channels.

Snacks: Yan Yan

Yan Yan is a product from the Singapore company Meiji. They may or may not be hard to find in a local store, as the ones I have were given to me as a gift.

Looking over the packaging, the first thing you notice is the familiarity of the idea behind Yan Yan. It's basically an edible stick with dip, much like Dunk-a-roos or Sargento® Chocolate Dip & Cookie Sticks. Next, you see that the cookie sticks have little messages on them, described as "fun lines", with an animal name and cartoon head. They say things like:
"Gallop away (Horse)"
"Go for a swim (Duck)"
"Do not be timid (Mouse)"

And finally, I skim over the ingredients and nutrition facts. This is where i come across an odd, yet reassuring, statement. Below the nutrition facts is the manufacturing information with the company address:
"MNFD BY: MEIJI SEIKA (S) PTE. LTD.
36 QUALITY ROAD SINGAPORE 618806
PRODUCT OF SINGAPORE. DOES NOT CONTAIN PIG FAT."

Wow! All the taste of pig fat without the actual pig fat? Pig Fat-tastic!

So I tear the lid off, and have at them. I choose to only take a single, generous dip of chocolate with the first few cookie/cracker sticks, hoping that there will be enough chocolate to last the twenty or so sticks. I can always increase my dipping towards the end.

The taste is pretty good. It's a buttery, crackerish cookie. The chocolate is just chocolate, nothing funky or unusual, which is good. Together they form an enjoyable snack and experience. To sum it up simply, Yan Yan is fun!

Unfortunately, I did run out of chocolate prematurely. But, it did last longer than other snacks with this theme, and it had more crackers than the them too. So after eating the last few pieces dipless, I see there are a few bonus broken pieces at the bottom of the container. I poured them into my mouth and licked out the chocolate compartment for good measure.

Pros:
Awesome packaging.
Yummy flavor combination.
Very nice quantity of sticks.
Doesn't contain pig fat.

Cons:
Hard to find in stores.
'Tasty choco cream' tends to run out before the sticks.
Doesn't contain pig fat?

Verdict:
- Great for all ages! If you can find them, give them a try. There are three different flavors available, so you should base your choice on what you might want in a cake frosting, or ice cream flavor. And if you can't decide, try to the double dip version that has chocolate and strawberry in the same container!

Snacks: Pringles Stix

I consider myself lucky to live in an area that does product testing. It gives me the opportunity to see, and try, things before they hit the mainstream, if ever.

My most recent find is a box of Pringles Stix. I had my choice between pizza and honey butter, though there are apparently other flavors available. I picked up the pizza flavored Stix.

The box contains 10 packages. When I opened a package, I was a little worried that eating these was going to resemble eating something like uncooked spaghetti.

I munch on a few, with no real opinion one way or the other. The pizza flavor is not the same as the one they use on their potato chips, which is a little strange. One would think that a company would stand behind their decision of what the flavor of pizza really is. My only guess is that potato and wheat are to different in taste to have kept the mixture the same. I think an easy way around this confusing mess would have been to call the Stix version "Italian" since that is a much more accurate description of the taste.

You should be getting by now that I was not particularly impressed with these. I was ready to make a judgement.

Pros:
Less than 100 calories per pack.
3 other flavors to try
The actual stick is fun to eat; its a nice change from chips, crackers, & pretzels.

Cons:
Bland. It really lacks the flavor cleverly packed into Pringles brand chips
Fragile! About half of the sticks in the package were broken in half or smaller pieces.

Verdict:
- I feel comfortable giving a general verdict on the Pizza flavor. Skip it.
- As for the other flavors, maybe give them a try if you feel the urge. They might be more exciting, and less disappointing.

Soft Drink: Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper

If you've ever had a Dr. Pepper, then you know it has a unique taste. But, Did you know that Dr. Pepper has truly figured out how to make diet soda taste more like the non-diet counterpart? Well, they have!

Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper is the newest, and also limited edition, flavor added to the Dr.Pepper lineup. I enjoy Dr. Pepper every now and again, but it's hardly a soda pop you can chug with dinner. I have always thought of Dr. Pepper as a dessert drink. And this new flavor, "takes the cake!"

The first sips you take instantly foam in your mouth. The carbonation of this beverage is simply incredible. Then, you begin to taste the perfectly blended mixture of the original Dr. Pepper flavor infused with chocolate dipped cherries! What come to mind is a drink I enjoyed on special occasions as a child, Canfield's Diet Cherry Chocolate Fudge Soda.

I continued to savor the taste of the drink, as I sat down to make this very judgement.

Pros:
It's diet and delicious, which can be hard to come by.
A perfect blend of flavors.

Cons:
This is another limited edition product.
It won't quench your thirst.

Verdict:
-A soda fan may not get what they bargained for on the first sip, but should easily adjust to the uniqueness of the drink.
-A person on a diet will truly enjoy this as an occasional treat.

DVD: Beowulf Director's Cut

I recently picked up the Director's Cut of Beowulf on DVD.

First off, I hadn't been totally sure that this film was completely animated. From previews I had seen, I always assumed digital effects were used, as in other epics like 300 or Troy, just not as effectively blended with live action. This distracted me as I started watching but I get to that.

The DVD menu is pretty standard quality for this type of film, showing clips in a designated area while you navigate the options. I always check the setup options first, to make sure the commentary and subtitles are off, and to make sure the sound is set to English. I know the one time I don't do this, the movie will start dubbed in Spanish with French subtitles, so its a habit I am happy to have.

The movie starts, and as I said, its animated. The easiest comparison to make is with the Shrek franchise. This isn't a bad thing, since Shrek is a very well animated series of films.

As opening progresses, it quickly becomes apparent this is not going to be like Shrek. Blood and violence is the forefront of this tale, and I was happy to see it wasn't dulled down. (I don't want to spoil any of the movie so I'll keep out the details.)

The film goes on telling a story that could easily be stretched to the length of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The action scenes are generally smaller than I hoped, and the story progression is kinda jumpy, which leaves you not caring much about some of the vital characters. So when the movie ends, I was looking for more.

Now, I go in search of the deleted scenes. Maybe they will contain the bits of the story I remembered from my 9th grade reading assignments? To be blunt, no. They didn't. The deleted scenes are recorded dialogue played over the very basic polygon renderings of the unfinished characters and scenery. Very disappointing.

Then, I browsed the "Art of Beowulf" and watched the featurettes (one on the making of, and another on designing the creatures). Altogether, they were a adequate at best.

Pros:

The DVD is organized nicely, making it easy to find what you are looking for.

The movie is very well animated.

Nude, but nippleless, animated version of Angelina Jolie.

Cons:

Deleted scenes would have been fine as audio only.

The movie was too short and choppy (Imagine Jaws going from the first attack to the final battle with no indication of what was going on in between).

Nippleless, animated version of a nude Angelina Jolie.

Verdict:

-The average DVD buying person can probably skip this one. Rent it, if you really want to see it.

-DVD aficionados should skip this one too, since a super extended Collectors Edition will probably come out eventually.

-Fans of epics, or Beowulf in general, might want to try renting the 2005 movie Beowulf & Grendel. I haven't seen it, but it's live action, looks much more promising, and Gerard Butler (who starred in 300 the following year) plays Beowulf.

Candy: Wildly Cherry M&M'S®

Today, I had the pleasure of running into a bag of Limited Edition Wildly Cherry M&M'S®.

I have to admit, I don't love cherry as a flavor, as there are many more interesting flavor combinations to come by. However, I do like chocolate cherry cordials so why not give these M&M'S® a try?

The first impression, often important with something you are going to eat, was that these are larger than regular M&M'S®, and perhaps peanut M&M'S® as well (didn't have any to compare). I took one and popped it in my mouth. The flavor is pretty intense! I expected a much more mild flavor, but the cherry is very "in your face", or in this case, mouth.

The next one from the bag I decide to bite in half. I had expected to find a freeze dried cherry inside of it, based on the flavor and texture of the previous one. But alas, it's chocolate all the way through. This was enough playing for me, so I proceeded to gobble up the rest of the bag in handfuls.

Pros:
A nice new flavor from M&M'S®.
Larger that original M&M'S®.

Cons:
"Limited Edition", which means they might not be around for long.
Not much variety: two colors, one flavor.

Verdict:
-If you like cherry flavor and chocolate, you will love these, so buy them by the case before they are gone forever. Then, start writing letters to M&M'S®, demanding they make them a regular product.
-If you are a fan of candy, but don't care much for M&M'S®, you may just want to share a bag with a friend. That should be enough to satisfy you, and then in 10 years when someone says, "Hey, remember Wildly Cherry M&M'S®?", you can say that you tried them.

Welcome to the "I'll try that!" Blog-o-goodness!

With all of the initial setup being just about complete, there is still a ton of work I am doing to get this place looking a lot more interesting!

So, make yourself a note and check back soon to see the progress being made, as I will be looking for thoughts and comments from YOU!

Then once the page is looking spiffy, I can get to the oodles and oodles of product reviews. If you have any products in mind that you would like me to try and review on "I'll try that!", feel free to leave a comment letting me know. I am open to just about anything and everything!

That's all for now. See you real soon!