We Have You Covered: 2019 Oscar Picks

The 2020 Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 9 (on ABC-TV), and for those of us who haven’t been to see a movie since “Finding Nemo” was released in 2003 (Thanks, kids!), we have enlisted the help of local movie buff Matthew Hunter to guide us through this year’s 92nd annual event with his picks in some of the biggest categories.

Best Animated Feature Film

THE NOMINEES: “Klaus,” ”How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” “I Lost My Body,” “Missing Link” & “Toy Story 4.”

THE PICK: Nine times out of ten, Disney usually reigns supreme in this category. But, not this year. I’m picking “Klaus,” a passion project from director Sergio Pablos. His  unique origin story about Santa Claus and the Christmas holiday is great. In a world of 3D animated features, Klaus stands out from the crowd by being mostly a hand-drawn animated film. Bonus: It’s on Netflix, so you can (and should) check it out.

Best Original Song

THE NOMINEES: “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” – Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin; “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4” – Music & Lyrics by Randy Newman; “I’m Standing with You” from “Breakthrough” – Music & Lyrics by Diane Warren; “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen II” – Music & Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; “Stand Up” from “Harriet” – Music & Lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo.

THE PICK: There were some pretty great films songs this year, such as the fun and jazzy “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” or the big grand ballad that was “Into the Unknown.” But I’m picking “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman.” The song manages to work perfectly as a catchy pop song in the context of the movie.

Best Supporting Actress

THE NOMINEES: Florence Pugh – “Little Women,” as Amy March; Kathy Bates – “Richard Jewell,” as Barbara “Bobi” Jewell; Laura Dern – “Marriage Story,” as Nora Fanshaw; Scarlett Johansson – “Jojo Rabbit,” as Rosie Betzler; Margot Robbie – “Bombshell,” as Kayla Pospisil.

THE PICK: My money is on Pugh, who is the best of the many brilliant performers in “Little Women.” Watching her evolution from selfish sister to her own person was terrific, and she probably brings the most emotion and bitterness to her performance of all the nominees.

Best Supporting Actor

Brad Pitt (Photo: Glenn Francis)

THE NOMINEES: Brad Pitt – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” as Cliff Booth; Tom Hanks – “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” as Fred Rogers; Anthony Hopkins – “The Two Popes,” as Pope Benedict XVI; Al Pacino – “The Irishman,” as Jimmy Hoffa; Joe Pesci – “The Irishman,” as Russell Bufalino.

THE PICK: Hanks, Pacino and Pesci were all terrific, but I think Pitt picks up the award for his performance as Cliff Booth in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” What makes Pitt so great is that he is the epitome of cool, and his character is charismatic and awesome at the same time, already earning him a Screen Actors Guild award in the same category.

Best Actress

Scarlett Johansson

THE NOMINEES: Scarlett Johansson – “Marriage Story,” as Nicole Barber; Cynthia Erivo – “Harriet,” as Harriet Tubman; Saoirse Ronan – “Little Women,” as Josephine “Jo” March; Charlize Theron – “Bombshell,” as Megyn Kelly; Renée Zellweger – “Judy,” as Judy Garland.

THE PICK: While there were some great performances delivered by Ronan, Theron and Zellweger, I thought Johansson’s Nicole Barber was the best. The wife of the main character (played by Adam Driver), Johansson has the difficult task of trying to divorce him while remaining part of her son’s life. The film delves into the hardships of divorce, and Johansson puts everything into the role.

Best Actor

Joaquin Phoenix

THE NOMINEES: Joaquin Phoenix – “Joker,” as Arthur Fleck/Joker; Antonio Banderas – “Pain and Glory,” as Salvador Mallo; Leonardo DiCaprio – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” as Rick Dalton; Adam Driver – “Marriage Story,” as Charlie Barber; Jonathan Pryce – The “Two Popes,” as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

THE PICK: Banderas was great, and Pryce was superb. However, this is a one-sided competition as far as I’m concerned, because Phoenix in Joker was simply just better. His performance carried the movie, eschewing the usual hammy Joker played by previous actors. Instead, Phoenix played the troubled Fleck as a real person, albeit one with very realistic mental issues — a clinically insane villain, who is creepy, dangerous, and only seeks to make other people’s lives as bitter as his. Outstanding.

Best Director

THE NOMINEES: Sam Mendes – “1917,” Martin Scorsese – “The Irishman,” Todd Phillips – “Joker,” Quentin Tarantino – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Bong Joon-ho – “Parasite.”

THE PICK: I’m picking “1917” for Best Original Score and Best Cinematography, so it’s only natural I like Mendes for Best Director. The movie is presented in one shot, though obviously it wasn’t. While you may be able to tell where there are cuts, you hardly notice them because of how good the editing is. War films are hard enough to expertly deliver, but Mendes took an already difficult and expensive production and put a unique and challenging twist onto it. That sealed the deal for me.

Best Picture

THE NOMINEES: “Parasite,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Joker,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” “1917,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

THE PICK: I agree with the Screen Actors Guild — “Parasite” was the best film of 2019.. 

Many people like to overlook foreign movies. In fact, “Parasite” is only the 11th  foreign-language film to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, and none has ever won. I think this South Korean film makes Oscar history. The movie has a little bit of everything — the story of a poor family that ends up working for a rich family is dark, suspenseful and sometimes funny.

“Parasite” parallels the different viewpoints of economic classes without ever being too preachy. The intensity builds throughout the film, with surprises that keep you engrossed. However, it never loses its grip on realism. For being entertaining, nuanced and bold, “Parasite” absolutely deserves to be remembered as the Best Picture of 2019.

Matthew Hunter is a senior at Wharton High, a budding journalist and aspiring movie critic who has loved going to the movies since he saw “Robots” in 2005.

Nibble and Bytes

It’s Raining Berries…And It’s Not What We Thought!

Do you ever drive around Wesley Chapel and wonder what some of the new places will be like that you’ve never heard of before?

No? OK, maybe it’s just me. One of the places that fooled me with its name is the beautiful new Raining Berries, located in the outparcel building set in from S.R. 56 between Earth Fare and Walk On’s Bistro & Bar (at 25595 Sierra Center Blvd.) that also includes two not-not-yet-open businesses — Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Bijous Beauty Bar.

If you’re like me, you were thinking “another frozen yogurt place” (like CherriBerri, MochiBerri, LaBerry, etc.) and you’d be wrong.

I know being able to Google search everything has made mystery mostly a thing of the past but when a first-ever location of a new business hasn’t yet opened and their website wasn’t up (until recently)…but, would you have guessed that Raining Berries’ signature product is (drumroll, please)…ethically and sustainably sourced coffee (and hot and cold coffee drinks) — and really delicious coffee at that? There’s some pretty great-looking baked goods, too.

So, where do the berries come in? Raining Berries does have a variety of açai berry bowls, dragon fruit “pitaya” bowls and coconut bowls, but RainingBerries.com didn’t yet have pictures or descriptions of all of these bowls at our press time. See, still a little mystery!

At any rate, the place itself is very cool modern, but after sampling a most delicious (not sweet) “traditional” (not caramel) macchiato on my first visit, I was very happy knowing that Jannah and I live less than a mile from the place.

For info, call (813) 949-8299 or stop in and try Raining Berries for yourself and tell them I sent you! 

• Managing editor John Cotey says other businesses getting ready to build in the Cypress Creek area include Zukku Sushi, Woofgang Bakery and a Charles Schwab office. These may or may not be located in the same building just west of Bahama Breeze along S.R. 56 as the European Wax Center, which does have its sign up, but look for details next issue. 

Coffee Speaks N’ Tea Talks Opens!

Speaking of delicious coffee, congratulations to our friend Arlene Brooks (on the left in photo above) on the opening of her long-awaited Coffee Speaks N’ Tea Talks at 19651 BBD in the Pebble Creek Collection (behind Kobe Steakhouse, in what was the original location of Las Palmas Cuban Café).

Arlene hosted a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event in November, which was well attended by her friends, neighbors and fellow Chamber members, as well as members of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, of which she is a member.

I personally missed the actual ribbon cutting, but have still enjoyed some delicious Ethiopian coffee at Coffee Speaks N’ Tea Talks since then and I look forward to checking out Arlene’s live jazz on Fri. and now Sat. nights (due to demand), especially because she’s a talented entertainer herself. Arlene sings with the Wesley Chapel Rotary’s Strictly Business Band.

“The smell of good coffee reminds me of my mom,” Arlene told us when we recorded a video at her opening for Neighborhood News Online. “She was the inspiration for this place.”

For more information, call (813) 528-8863 or search “Coffee Speaks N Tea Talks” on Facebook. 

Congrats, Ben!

Congrats go out to Ben Hobe (3rd from left, with yours truly, Charmaine George and John Cotey). Ben’s a talented video editor we first were presented by Hands On Educational Services, Inc., a Tampa nonprofit that felt he would be a perfect fit for the Neighborhood News. And, after a no-risk, 80-hour trial run, we happily hired Ben as a permanent employee For more info, visit HandsOnEducation.net. — GN  

For Great Meals & Events, Try The Hilton Garden Inn!

I’m betting that most Wesley Chapel residents have never eaten an actual meal at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel, located off S.R. 56, less than a mile east of I-75.

And, that makes me a little sad. 

For those who have never stepped foot inside this beautiful, award-winning (the year-old hotel won the New Business of the Year honors at the North Tampa Bay Chamber’s 2019 Awards of Excellence gala in Nov.), 124-room hotel, much less enjoyed a meal there, I hope this article will help you decide to go.

Even if you don’t have relatives visiting or need a night in a local hotel room yourself, the Hilton Garden Inn’s restaurant — also known as the Garden Grille — serves outstanding food and drinks at great prices and will find its way into my top-10 favorite restaurants in Wesley Chapel when I release my list of favorites for 2019 in our March 13 issue.

I also hope that you’ll sit down with the hotel’s market director of sales Lisa Moore to discuss the possibility of hosting an event for 8-to-200 (and more) people at this contemporary hotel that still has that great new hotel smell.

Lisa, an ambassador with the NTBC who also is a member of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, is a fellow New Yawka who will make sure that your event comes off without a hitch and will send everyone home happy afterward.

For example, when my stepdaughter Kristen’s best friend Sami needed an affordable location last month for a bridal shower, Lisa sharpened her pencil for me, knowing that I was planning to write this story shortly afterward.

Sam and her fiancé Tyler were definitely on a budget, and they knew they would have roughly 40 people at the shower, so Lisa helped them come up with a nice brunch menu — including a unique French toast casserole, fresh breads and muffins and a mimosa bar, plus fresh fruit, mini-quiches and more. And, best of all was the service — the trays and mimosa bar were all constantly refilled and everything was delicious and well worth the price tag.

The Hilton Garden Inn’s spacious ballroom (above) is easily subdividable to fit the size you need to host a variety of amazing events.

“Just tell me what you need and we can make it happen,” Lisa says. “We have a set menu for dinner, but we have an extensive catering menu and a great chef (Frank Skalitza) on the premises who can make pretty much anything you want.”

Jannah and I were on hand for the Grand Opening of the hotel in October of 2018 and we were so impressed (as was everyone who was there) with the filet mignon carving station and the four different pastas (top right) that also were created in front of the guests that we figured it must have been an outside catering company that was brought in for it.

“Nope,” said Lisa, “that was all in-house. Pretty good, right?”

Actually, I would go so far as to say excellent, and the deliciousness doesn’t end there. Although the Garden Grille only serves buffet and cooked-to-order breakfast (that I haven’t tried yet) and dinner (I wish it was open for lunch), I have to say that virtually everything we’ve sampled there has been delicious.

My favorite appetizers so far are the bruschetta (above), the spicy meatballs with fresh mozzarella and the wings “your way” (my way is extra crisp with the sweet chili & sesame sauce on the side). My favorite entrées so far are the grilled 12.-oz ribeye steak and the fusilli carbonara. The burgers and sandwiches (my favorite is the yummy bistro chicken sandwich) are great, too, as are the variety of flatbreads.

In other words, there’s a good reason why the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel is going to make my Wesley Chapel top-10. The hotel is beautiful and has great amenities (nice pool, fitness center, etc.) and, even though we’ve never stayed there, we have toured some of the beautiful rooms, too.

For info about the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel (26640 Silver Maple Pkwy.), call Lisa at (813) 591-6907 or visit TampaWesleyChapel.HGI.com

Urban Air Adventure Park Opens!

Dear New Tampa Families with Young Kids:

You may not have to go to Brandon for all of your birthday parties anymore!

On Jan. 25, Urban Air Adventure Park opened in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza on Commerce Park Blvd., Filling a pretty significant and long-standing void for those who have families in the New Tampa community. 

While New Tampa has never lacked for good neighborhoods with community parks, good schools and just enough youth sports programs and restaurants to keep you busy on a weekend, one standard complaint has always been: There’s nowhere to take your kids for fun.

Now, there is.

“I think this will be a hit,” said assistant general manager Chris Schade, a Live Oak resident. “It’s a great concept, especially for the New Tampa area.”

The Dallas-based adventure center is owned by Sarasota businessman Michael Tucci, who says he has a number of relatives that live nearby. He said he was always drawn to the area, and when he decided to buy two franchises, Tampa was a definite destination.

“This is a great spot,” Tucci said. “We knew there was nothing else like it in the area and thought it would be the perfect fit.”

The indoor attractions feature really cool Flip Zone and Spin Zone bumper cars, a high-wire ropes course, a Sky Rider, a Warrior Course, Battle Beam, dodgeball courts, rock walls, trampolines and areas for younger kids. 

There are six rooms for hosting parties, food and drink and various pricing plans (Basic to Ultimate) and park memberships (which can be charged monthly).

Schade said he was happy to see a dormant, 28,000-sq.-ft. building that had been closed for a couple of years, after HH Gregg went out of business, spring back to life.

“We feel like we’re helping to revitalize the New Tampa area,” he says. In fact, in 2019, Urban Air announced it was taking over a number of old HH Gregg sites — in Augusta, GA; Akron, OH; Montrose, CO and Wellington, FL, in addition to Tampa Palms, to name a few.

It was unofficially announced in September that Urban Air would be opening a New Tampa location, and it only took a few months to renovate and redesign the old HH Gregg before opening. At a pre-opening VIP event on Jan. 23 that we attended, workers were still hurrying to put on a few final touches. 

Sarah Tengali, who drew high fives from employees after completing the difficult Warrior Course without falling into the ball pit below, and her son Rocco, rushed from attraction to attraction, laughing and working up a sweat. Sarah’s favorite was the Sky Rider, where riders strap in and twist and turn as they fly above (and all around) the adventure park.

Rocco said his favorite was The Wipeout, where you have to jump over or duck under large swinging arms. “Everything,” Rocco said, “is awesome.”

Urban Air Adventure Park is located at 6250 Commerce Palms Dr. For more info, visit UrbanAirTrampolinePark.com or call (813) 522-5401. And please be sure to tell Chris and the staff that you read about them on Page 1 of the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

Urban Air Adventure Park Set Open In Tampa Palms Jan. 25!

It won’t be long before Wesley Chapel has its own “trampoline park” at The Grove, and it’s own bowling and laser tag center at Main Event on S.R. 56, but Urban Air Adventure Park will beat both of them to the punch when it opens next week in Tampa Palms.

Urban Air Adventure Park will hold its Grand Opening on Saturday, January 25, 10 a.m. The entertainment center is located at 6250 Commerce Palms Dr. in the Market Square at Tampa Palms shopping center anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club.

Similar to openings at new Chick-Fil-As and Wawas, assistant general manager Chris Schade says the opening of the 28,000-sq.-ft. facility will be an “event.” At other Urban Air openings, he says people have camped overnight for a chance to be one of the 200 to win free access to the adventure center for a year. Schade says a DJ will be on hand the morning of the Grand Opening, and there also will be donuts and other goodies.

Urban Air Adventure Park is a Texas-based entertainment center franchise with locations all over the U.S.. The New Tampa location will be the company’s 10th in Florida, which includes centers in nearby Lakeland and Port Richey.

While broadly described by many as a “trampoline park,” Schade says the label really doesn’t do the new facility justice. 

While there will be trampolines for jumping, the Tampa Palms Urban Air Adventure Park also includes a timed warrior course, bumper cars, dedicated dodgeball courts, rock walls and a kids area for youngsters that includes a 25-foot spiral slide.

There are also two rides that require harnesses — a Sky Coaster that circles high above the guests, and a ropes course.

“We’re able to give the little kids their own little area, and still let the bigger kids do what they want to do,” Schade says.

The Adventure Park’s on-site café will offer pizza, chicken wings and tenders, as well as beer and wine, including local craft beer favorites.

“We really want to get rid of that stigma that we’re just a trampoline park,” Schade says. “We can cater to everyone from toddlers all the way up to companies doing team-building exercises.”

For additional information, visit UrbanAirNewTampa.com.

Wesley Chapel Business Happenings

CRYSTAL CLEAR SHOPPING?: According to preliminary plans filed with Pasco County, a grocery store, six retail stores and a fitness center are being planned for the area around the entrance to Epperson, home of the country’s first Crystal Lagoons® amenity.

Filed by Minneapolis-based commercial real estate developer Ryan Companies, the plans for the northwest corner of the Overpass Rd./Curley Rd. intersection don’t specifically name any tenants but show a large health/fitness center abutting the easternmost end of the Crystal Lagoon, with a medical/emergency building to the south.

Closest to Curley Rd. is a planned grocery store, with one large retail space and five others about half the size and 996 total parking spaces for the development.

Ryan Companies and Metro Development Group had a scheduled meeting with Pasco planners to discuss the commercial development on Dec. 10, 2019.

Metro Development is developing Epperson, which will have roughly 2,000 homes, as part of the Connected City project, which will be the nation’s first gigabit community. The community’s prime amenity is the 7.5-acre lagoon, the first of its kind constructed in the U.S., although the area just north of Wesley Chapel along I-75 is getting an even larger lagoon (scheduled to open this year) in Metro’s Mirada development.

MORE CARS, TOO: Representatives of the Morgan Auto Group are scheduled to meet with county planners on Jan. 27 as Morgan moves forward with plans to build a new BMW dealership on S.R. 56.

According to plans filed with the county, the seven-story, 133,000-sq.-ft. dealership will abut the west side of Morgan’s MINI of Wesley Chapel dealership on S.R. 56, just east of I-75.

BMW had previously filed paperwork with the county, and scheduled a pre-application meeting, in the hopes of building a 32,758-sq.-ft. showroom at S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd.

The BMW dealership would join other luxury dealers that have opened in Wesley Chapel in recent years, like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus. 

Plans are still working their way through permitting for a Volkswagen dealership right across S.R. 56 from MINI of Wesley Chapel. Those plans call for a 27,845-sq.-ft. dealership.

And, plans for a 21,232-sq.-ft. car dealership at the southwest corner of Eagleston Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Seven Oaks — just east and across Eagleston Blvd. from Wesley Chapel Toyota and Lexus of Wesley Chapel — also is under review by the county.