Monday: Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Phil is hired by a magazine in New York City. His first assignment is the rise of anti-Semitism. He struggles to find a new take on it. Then his mom suggests that he since he is still new to the city he could just say he is Jewish. Then he will have a first hand experience to the prejudice and discrimination. Phil soon finds out how bad it really is. He has a Jewish friend who challenges him. Telling him that he only has to deal with it for the article. Actual Jewish people have to deal with it constantly. Phil also has a girlfriend who actually suggested the idea for the article. But he finds out that even she has some prejudice. This is a good movie. I haven't seen much about anti-Semitism set in the U.S. Mostly you see it in WWII dramas set in Europe.
Tuesday: Suddenly (1954)
This movie is about the president arriving in a small town called Suddenly, CA by train before going on to LA. The local sheriff is put in charge of securing the train station and the surrounding area. The secret service also arrives to help. The sheriff learns there is a plot to assassinate the president. On the hill above the station lives a family made up of a widow, her son, and her father-in-law. The father-in-law is an ex-secret service agent. The assassins arrive in town and chose the house on the hill to set up. They pretend to be secret service men and then keep the family hostage. The leader (Frank Sinatra) is a military man who found his purpose in killing during the war. He will kill anyone for money. The family and the sheriff have to try and stop him from killing the president. This is a really good movie. It is suspenseful and well acted. Even though it mostly takes place in the house, that's all you need. It was interesting to see Frank Sinatra in this role. Usually his is either charming or innocent. He did a good job playing the crazy villain.
Wednesday: The Swan (1956)
The crowned prince is searching for a wife. He finally accepts the invitation to go to his cousin's house and meet Princess Alexandra. Her mother has raised her to marry the prince and become queen. She is very shy. Alexandra shares a tutor with her brothers. He is young, handsome, and intelligent. Once the prince arrives it is clear he doesn't want to be there. Still he and Alexandra give it a try. But it is just awkward and uncomfortable. Alexandra's mother is determined to get them together before the prince leaves. She comes up with a plan to make the prince jealous. She has Alexandra ask the tutor to the final ball. This backfires because they have feelings for each other and this just brings them up. Alexandra has no interest in the prince. They all have to figure out how to get what they want without hurting anyone. This movie was ok.
Friday: Aladdin (2019)
I'm sure everyone knows the story already. So I'm not going to summarize it. I thought it was entertaining. It wasn't great though. It just seemed too big and bright. I don't know how else to describe it. I think it's just that I grew up watching the animated version. That is the one I know and love. And then to see it in live action with different actors and everything is just hard to get used to. Robin Williams is the Genie. No one else can compare to that. But I think Will Smith did a good job of just making it his own. His Genie was fine. I just really hate that top knot thing. The other main actors were good. The songs seemed a little more like pop songs. Maybe they always were and it's just different because you see actual people singing them. I also really liked that all the actors were people of color. I don't know if that is the right wording. But I just mean they looked like they could actually be from Agrabah (if it were a real place). They didn't cast a white guy as Aladdin.
Sunday: Sense of an Ending (2017)
Tony is a reclusive old man. He gets a letter saying the mother of his old love left him a diary in her will. The diary belonged to his school friend Adrian. Tony doesn't know why he was left the diary or why he hasn't received it yet. He looks for help from his ex-wife. We also see flashbacks of his time in university. He falls in love with Veronica and becomes friends with Adrian. His relationship with Veronica never really goes anywhere. Then he learns that Adrian and Veronica are in love. He writes Adrian a very nasty letter. Later Adrian kills himself. Present day Tony struggles to remember what actually happened back then. His memories from that long ago time have changed the details to fit his story. What he thought he knew is not true. Tony has to make amends with the people in his life. This movie is good.
Phil is hired by a magazine in New York City. His first assignment is the rise of anti-Semitism. He struggles to find a new take on it. Then his mom suggests that he since he is still new to the city he could just say he is Jewish. Then he will have a first hand experience to the prejudice and discrimination. Phil soon finds out how bad it really is. He has a Jewish friend who challenges him. Telling him that he only has to deal with it for the article. Actual Jewish people have to deal with it constantly. Phil also has a girlfriend who actually suggested the idea for the article. But he finds out that even she has some prejudice. This is a good movie. I haven't seen much about anti-Semitism set in the U.S. Mostly you see it in WWII dramas set in Europe.
Tuesday: Suddenly (1954)
This movie is about the president arriving in a small town called Suddenly, CA by train before going on to LA. The local sheriff is put in charge of securing the train station and the surrounding area. The secret service also arrives to help. The sheriff learns there is a plot to assassinate the president. On the hill above the station lives a family made up of a widow, her son, and her father-in-law. The father-in-law is an ex-secret service agent. The assassins arrive in town and chose the house on the hill to set up. They pretend to be secret service men and then keep the family hostage. The leader (Frank Sinatra) is a military man who found his purpose in killing during the war. He will kill anyone for money. The family and the sheriff have to try and stop him from killing the president. This is a really good movie. It is suspenseful and well acted. Even though it mostly takes place in the house, that's all you need. It was interesting to see Frank Sinatra in this role. Usually his is either charming or innocent. He did a good job playing the crazy villain.
Wednesday: The Swan (1956)
The crowned prince is searching for a wife. He finally accepts the invitation to go to his cousin's house and meet Princess Alexandra. Her mother has raised her to marry the prince and become queen. She is very shy. Alexandra shares a tutor with her brothers. He is young, handsome, and intelligent. Once the prince arrives it is clear he doesn't want to be there. Still he and Alexandra give it a try. But it is just awkward and uncomfortable. Alexandra's mother is determined to get them together before the prince leaves. She comes up with a plan to make the prince jealous. She has Alexandra ask the tutor to the final ball. This backfires because they have feelings for each other and this just brings them up. Alexandra has no interest in the prince. They all have to figure out how to get what they want without hurting anyone. This movie was ok.
Friday: Aladdin (2019)
I'm sure everyone knows the story already. So I'm not going to summarize it. I thought it was entertaining. It wasn't great though. It just seemed too big and bright. I don't know how else to describe it. I think it's just that I grew up watching the animated version. That is the one I know and love. And then to see it in live action with different actors and everything is just hard to get used to. Robin Williams is the Genie. No one else can compare to that. But I think Will Smith did a good job of just making it his own. His Genie was fine. I just really hate that top knot thing. The other main actors were good. The songs seemed a little more like pop songs. Maybe they always were and it's just different because you see actual people singing them. I also really liked that all the actors were people of color. I don't know if that is the right wording. But I just mean they looked like they could actually be from Agrabah (if it were a real place). They didn't cast a white guy as Aladdin.
Sunday: Sense of an Ending (2017)
Tony is a reclusive old man. He gets a letter saying the mother of his old love left him a diary in her will. The diary belonged to his school friend Adrian. Tony doesn't know why he was left the diary or why he hasn't received it yet. He looks for help from his ex-wife. We also see flashbacks of his time in university. He falls in love with Veronica and becomes friends with Adrian. His relationship with Veronica never really goes anywhere. Then he learns that Adrian and Veronica are in love. He writes Adrian a very nasty letter. Later Adrian kills himself. Present day Tony struggles to remember what actually happened back then. His memories from that long ago time have changed the details to fit his story. What he thought he knew is not true. Tony has to make amends with the people in his life. This movie is good.
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