A night out with the kids

I took Matthew and Melissa to see Monsters vs Aliens at the dollar theater while Rachel was away. The dollar theater is half an hour away, to to amortize the trip a little, we stopped at "Two Bros BBQ" on the way.

I've made it a low-priority goal while in San Antonio to find a better barbeque place than Utah's Goodwood; Gary and other Texas natives I know assured me that they must be here somewhere. But I have found mostly mediocrity until Two Bros. They serve everything by the pound and quarter pound; we tried the pork, brisket, and sausage, all excellent. The meat is served on two-foot squares of butcher paper; the kids were delighted at this novelty, still more when one of the seating options was a wooden bench. (More modern tables are also available.) Matthew was also fascinated by the wall of vintage hubcaps; I recognized most of the emblems, but not all.

Two Bros also boasts a pretty respectable playground. Unfortunately, it it outside, and it was 102 degrees this evening. Children are mostly oblivious to the heat, somehow -- I remember being the same way myself. So they insisted, and I tried to stay in the shade while they climbed about and played in the sandbox. All too quickly, from their pespective, it was time to go to the air-conditioned movie theater. They were reluctant to leave, but I had a trump card: "Do you want to get popcorn at the movie?" My kids like popcorn more than perhaps any other treat, especially when combined with a movie. So the kids were motivated too and off we went.

Monsters vs Aliens itself is a terrible movie. It is easily the worst I can remember seeing in a theater. (Of course, since I see movies in theaters so infrequently, I usually have pretty high standards. These are obviously relaxed somewhat when it comes to dollar movies that are child-appropriate.) The animation was inadequate when mesaured against the bar Pixar has set, but I did not hold that against MvA, because Pixar is in a class by themselves. Mostly the plot--and I use the term generously--was simply irredeemably bad. Definitely won't be picking this up on DVD.

In fairness, the kids liked it. (For the most part: Melissa found some scenes too scary.) But the kids would like just about anything, presented on a big screen with popcorn and drinks. With a PG rating I would have assumed they're trying to appeal to people older than six.