Outback and Step Brothers

Went to Outback Steakhouse in Waipahu/Waipio for dinner last night, sort of as a tribute to ionotter. Their menu has changed a little. The restaurant now offers an Outback Prime Rib in addition to its normal prime rib cuts, which is a 12 oz (IIRC) seasoned and seared cut for the same price as the regular prime rib cut. Though I was able to get an 8 oz prime rib cut seasoned and seared, which turned out to be just enough for me.

After that it was a trip over to the Tony Auto Group dealership, mainly to go use the litterbox there and for technocollie to pick up a brochure for the Nissan Skyline GT-R. We also got to check out the new Maxima, which except for the drivetrain is almost like a baby Infiniti G35. The showroom model incorporated many features found in the Infiniti G35 and M45, including bluetooth handsfree, a center console display similar to that of the G35, power seats and steering wheel with memory and paddle shifters. The '09 Maxima is pretty close to being on par with the Acura RL except that the latter has all wheel drive and a roomier interior. We managed to get in and out without talking to a sales rep though, since I was mostly just curious about the car. If anything, I might consider it down the line as a more fuel-efficient replacement for the RL, though right now the difference is only about 1 MPG, so not really worth it.

We ended the night seeing Will Ferrell's latest movie, "Step Brothers" (with John C. Reilly). It was pretty bizarre, to say the least, but it was an entertaining diversion. And even though the theater was relatively small, it was at least 80% full and I think most of those who went seemed to enjoy it. However, I will say this: if you didn't like either "Talladega Nights" or "Semi-Pro" you probably won't like "Step Brothers"... it's that type of lowbrow humor. But given how depressing and annoying the news is, sometimes a diversion like this is just what you need. The basic premise is that Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play two 40-year-olds (well, one is actually 39, but that's picking nits) who still live at home. Their single parents meet, get hitched and voila... blended family. For the rest of the movie, it's all about coping and adjusting, with some of the resulting scenes just plain nuts... but in a good way. Like I said, I enjoyed it, but that's because I was actually in the mood for something that made me laugh.

I didn't get a chance to see "Get Smart" before it left the theaters, but from what I've heard and read about the movie, it was fairly good. The critics gave it a somewhat lukewarm reception but moviegoers seemed to give it a much better one. I might consider getting this on DVD or downloading it from iTunes... dunno just yet though.

Watched "XXX" (Vin Diesel) the other night at work. I didn't get the second movie but from what I heard it wasn't that great. Vin Diesel's character (Xander) supposedly gets killed off at the beginning of the sequel, so I dunno if it's worth watching. The sequel is also supposed to be more slapstick-based so dunno if it's worth getting.