Exploring Food and Movies

 Friday: Swiped (2025)        This is based on a true story. Whitney gets a job at a company that makes apps. Their newest is a dating app that they name Tinder. Whitney is a big part of getting it going. Despite that she is never treated as equal to her male counterparts. She is shut out and publicly victimized. Later she starts the app Bumble. Which is a dating app and much more. It is unlike any other app. It's safer and more caring. It becomes a success despite more obstacles. I thought this movie was alright. It's amazing all she went through and still came out on top. Saturday: Eleanor the Great (2025)          Eleanor is a woman in her 90s living with her best friend Bessie. They are close. Then Bessie dies. Eleanor moves to NYC to live with her daughter. She struggles to find her place. One day she finds a support group and feels like she's found people she can relate to. Only problem is she lies about her life to fit in more wit...

      Friday I was finally was able to go to Gumba with one of my best friends. It's been on my list for so long that it's grown up from a food cart into a restaurant. It's an Italian place on NE Alberta. There is neighborhood parking. It is a decent size. Like most Portland restaurants it has an industrial undertone. The walls have red wallpaper with blue flowers and birds. There are velvet seat cushions and coaches. Modern Edison string lights hang from the ceiling. It's cozy. Despite the size the noise isn't too bad. We shared a pan fried artichoke appetizer. It was not what I thought it would be. For some reason in my head I thought it would look like a blooming onion. It was flat. The artichoke was on top of salsa verde with ricotta on the side. It was good. Perfect size appetizer. I ordered the lasagne with meatballs. It had spinach and zucchini in it. The portion size seems big but it's wasn't too bad. Especially when it was mostly veggies. It was goo...

 Friday: The Life of Chuck (2024)          This movie has three parts. It starts at the end of Chuck's life. While his family is with him at his death bed the world is ending. States are breaking apart, the power is going out, natural disasters every day, and more. The second part Chuck is in adult man. On a business trip he walks by a drummer and starts to dance. A woman joins him and they dance for an audience. The third part is about Chuck as a boy and teenager. He has to deal with loss and the awkwardness of being a teenager. I thought this movie was alright. It was sadder and more stressful than I thought it would be. I was hesitant to see it because I don't like movies that have a weird timeline. But I thought I would give it a chance because Tom Hiddleston (as adult Chuck) was in it. I'm glad I waited to see it at home and not in theaters. Saturday: The Thursday Murder Club (2025)         At a retirement home four of it's res...

       While in Seattle I ended up going to Toulouse Petit for brunch with my family. It is on Queen Anne Ave. N. It is a New Orleans style restaurant that serves cajun-creole food. It's a decent sized place. There are blown glass lanterns hanging outside. Also above each table is a similar lamp hanging down. Like upside down Venetian vases. The floor is tiled in circular patterns. There are booths with gold velvet backing. The tables are beautifully crafted and designed wood tables. The walls are stucco-like, painted a mix of green and mustard yellow. Which sounds weird but it works. There are shelves on the walls with many small low candles. I bet it looks beautiful at night. A disco ball hangs from the ceiling near the bar. We got beignets for an appetizer. They were small. Good for sharing. I admit I didn't order the most unique thing. A lot of the food is spicy and I don't handle spice well. So I got a heirloom tomato and avocado eggs benedict with bacon. It was...

 Friday: Freakier Friday (2025)        It's been 22 years since the events of the first movie. Anna is a single mother to a teenage daughter, Harper. She struggles to balance her career and raising Harper. Harper gets into an altercation with a new girl, Lily, at school. Anna and Lily's dad, Eric, are called to the school. Anna and Eric hit it off right away. They eventually get engaged. Harper and Lily are not happy about it. Especially when it means they might have to move. Tess is doing her best to help. Then at Anna's bachelorette party Anna, Tess, and the two girls encounter a psychic who puts a spell on them. In the morning they wake up in different bodies. They have to figure out how to reverse the spell while living each others lives. I thought this movie was good. It was better than I thought it would be. I thought it would follow the trend of remakes and sequels. It would be focused on the younger characters with the originals just being there as side ...

 Friday: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)       Four astronauts were exposed to cosmic rays in space and came back with superpowers. They quickly became Earth's heroes. Then a herald, Silver Surfer, brings a message to Earth. The god she serves, Galactus, is headed for them and will consume their world. The Fantastic Four have to figure out a way to stop him and save Earth. I thought this movie was good. It is set in futuristic 60s. A lot was done practically as far as sets and all that. Which I appreciate. Finally a good Fantastic Four movie. One of their main enemies, in the comics, is the new villain for the upcoming Avengers movies.  So it will be interesting to see how they come to be with the other Avengers. I guess that's where the multiverse comes into play. Saturday: Lost in Starlight (2025)       This is a Korean animated film. It is about a young scientist, Nan-young, who's mother was an astronaut. Her mom died in an accident...