this next leg on our journey was, ooh, a doozie. the food hit the spot, and the movie was a turning point for me, i think in a good way. more on that shortly, so let’s talk the nomsies first. dave was craving more bbq, so we picked up some jim’n’nick’s, and i’m not sure i am able to get jim’n’nick’s a fair review. not because i don’t like the place. rather, they were founded in my hometown of birmingham, al, so i’ve been eating here for years! this time i still loved it like i always have, and even though i usually go with a dinner plate or sometimes a salad, tonight was all about just ordering good food. so, i had the loaded mac & cheese all to myself. this plate was heavy and gooey and savory, everything i was wanting. the collards were the perfect southern side, and you know there’s never enough cheese biscuits. jim’n’nick’s, you’re welcome at our table anytime.

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now, let’s talk about the movie. next up was captain america: civil war, and after my first watch of it, i thought, “what a waste of time.” this movie is absurdly long in my opinion and continues to recycle the generic storyline of someone seeking revenge and marvel taking hours to get to the point. seriously, i thought this movie was going straight to the bottom of the list. but, a few weeks went by after first seeing it, and i watched it again to refresh my memory and give it a fair shake for the rankings.

i think i have come to the realization that if i am going to make it through the rest of the mcu movies, i need to come to terms with the fact that the general plotline will always include a devious bad guy and the avengers battling them for the good of the world. if i can see past that, i think i’ll be able to get through the rest of the films just fine. so, instead of dwelling on what i didn’t like about the movie (of which my biggest gripes were the super-extra airport fight scene and the super unnecessary wanda-vision love affair that is beginning), let’s talk the good parts:

• i love that we got introduced to blank panther and spider-man in this film. cannot wait to hear more about them.
• the fight scenes were pretty kick-ass in this movie. i think my favorite was captain america and bucky taking on the authorities in the apartment complex. oh, and the fight at the end between captain america and iron man was pretty legit and raw, too.
• finally, i really appreciated the true conflict going on among the avengers. i’d been struggling with all the trouble the avengers were causing for the human race and am glad this film addressed their accountability. deep stuff, am i right?

so, we’re making progress, slowly but surely. i look forward to getting to know some new characters, soon, and continuing to see more stories weave together.

EATS

1. gordo’s pizza
2. alebrije mexican restaurant
3. jim’n’nick’s
4. burger 21
5. jerusalem bakery
6. armando’s caribe
7. cue barbecue
8. lon u
9. rose and olive
10. wayback burger
11. 2 nyers pizza
12. tokyo shokudo

MOVIES

1. iron man
2. ant-man
3. guardians of the galaxy
4. captain america: the first avenger
5. thor: the dark world
6. captain america: civil war
7. thor
8. avengers: age of ultron
9. captain america: the winter soldier
10. iron man 3
11. the avengers
12. iron man 2