My friend who lives in Palm Desert has posted several times on Instagram about a Harry Potter themed coffee shop called Steamy Hallow. Beside normal coffee it has specialty items like a frozen butterbeer blended drink and mini Harry Potter birthday cakes (like the one Hagrid gave Harry). I knew when I visited the area recently that I had to try it. First off it wasn't easy to find. You can't just put it into maps on your phone with the name of the shop. I used the address on the website and first I was taken to a random strip mall. Then when I did it again it took me to the right place. It is in the Westfield Mall in Palm Desert. Which as long as you know that it is easy enough to find. They should have that on their website. It is a small coffee shop. Only room to wait in line. It is pretty modern looking. One wall has shelves with Funko Pops and other Harry Potter items. Another small wall has some wands on display. There are some stuffies by the registers. My friend told me that they sometimes don't have the butterbeer because it uses vanilla ice cream and they only buy a certain amount each day because they store it in a fridge. I went in the late afternoon so I didn't know if they would have any left. Luckily they did. They only had cookies as far as I could tell. No cake. Maybe I'll try for it next time. The barista was very nice. The butterbeer was good. Although I will say when it was mostly gone it was just milky ice. I would go back.
I was on vacation so I didn't post last week. So this is two weeks worth.
Monday: ABBA: The Movie (1977)
Ashely is a radio DJ in Australia. In 1977 ABBA is going to tour through Australia. Even though his focus isn't pop music his boss tasks him with getting an interview with ABBA for a special they will air on the last night the band is in the country. Ashely has never done anything like this and knows nothing about ABBA. He continuously fails to get an interview with them. To the point where their bodyguard thinks he is a stalker. He gets interviews with fans and slowly learns how to get to them. In between these scenes are performances by ABBA of their biggest hits. It's down to the minute but it all works out for Ashley. I thought this movie was ok. The actual band played themselves. It's one of those music movies where it's more about the performances and not the weak plot. I hadn't seen ABBA perform before. Honestly the most I know about them is the songs from Mamma Mia.
Friday: New of the World (2020)
A civil war veteran earns a living by traveling from town to town reading the news from around the world. One day he comes upon a upturned wagon by the road. He sees a young girl running away. He chases after her. He tries to tell her he just wants to help. She is dressed in a Native American dress and doesn't speak English. He convinces her to come back to town with him. Later he learns more about her. Her family was killed by Native Americans when she was young. They took her and raised her as their own, but then they abandoned her. She was on her way to her Aunt and Uncle before the accident happened. With no better option he agrees to take her himself. The road is long and treacherous. They form a close bond. This is a good movie. I don't normally like westerns, yet for some reason I keep watching them. But this one I liked. Tom Hanks was the veteran. Maybe that's why I liked it. Tom Hanks makes everything better.
Sunday: Tortilla Soup (2001)
This is a remake of Eat Drink Man Woman. The plot is almost exactly the same. So if you want to see the summary look at the post called Jimmy Doolittle and the Art of Chinese Cuisine. The only differences are that it is in English and instead of an Chinese family it is a Mexican family. And therefore the food is Mexican. It was ok. The Chinese version is better. Although I liked the food in this one better. Some of the acting wasn't great. Especially the youngest sister. The dad is played by Hector Elizondo. He is most well known for being in almost every Gary Marshall film. I know him best from Princess Diaries as Joe the bodyguard. I like him. I never realized he was hispanic. Which was cool to learn about him.
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Friday: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Set in the fictionalized world of Kumandra this movie tells the story of an Asian princess named Raya. Long ago a dark force threatened the land turning all living creatures to stone. The dragons where able to give power to one of their own in the form of an orb that would get rid of the dark force. It worked but the dragons remained stone and the last one went missing. In present day the world is divided. The orb is being guarded by Raya and her father. The other lands want the orb for themselves thinking it will make them powerful. After it is destroyed the evil force comes back. Raya goes on a quest to find the last dragon and return the world to the way it was. This is such a good movie. It was so well done. I mean the animation is amazing. You can see the tiny hairs on the arm of the human characters in close up. So cool to see a Asian princess who is an action hero.
Saturday: Nomadland (2020)
Fern lived in a company town connected to a plant. When it shut down so did the rest of the town. Everyone had to leave and soon it ceased to exist. Fern's husband had also died. She then decides to live in her van. She travels around and gets work where she can. She works as part of the camp force at Amazon, a drugstore, at a mill during the beat harvest, as a RV camp host, and more. She meets many other travelers like her. She makes friends. Fern struggles to get by but starts to become at peace with this way of life. I thought this movie was alright. I can see why it's getting all the award attention. But it was just a little slow for me. It feels more like a documentary. Most of the people in the film besides Fern and one other character were played by real people. They are actual people who live like this. The director is an Asian woman named Chloe Zhao. She has already won a Best Director Golden Globe for this movie. She is the second woman to win it.
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