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Couscous and the Le Mans Race

        This week I went to a Moroccan place called Tangier for lunch with a family friend. It is on SW Pine. It looks small when you first walk in, but there is another seating area in the back. There are dark brick walls with pops of color. There is a ocean painting. The tables are a bright green. On one wall there is a mural of ancient ruins. The decorations aren't overdone. There is just enough to make it interesting. When I got there we were the only customers. One other group came in while we were eating, but other than that it was pretty empty. I don't know why I have such a talent for picking places that are empty. Clearly I'm there at the wrong time. They had bastila as an entree option. I was so tempted to get it. I ended up getting the Moroccan Couscous dish. I can't resist a couscous dish. Not going to lie a big part of that is just because I like the word couscous. And it reminds me of that Alvin and the Chipmunks movie where they travel around in air balloons. Poor Theodore being dragged away for a rock battle screaming "But my couscous!" How can you not want to try it after seeing that movie. The dish was good. On the menu it said it came with beef. All I got was one chicken drumstick hidden under a pile of veggies. I still enjoyed it. The service was good, but a little slow even though there weren't that many people in there. Parking nearby is a challenge, especially on the weekend. You're better off parking at a smart park and walking over. I would go back.

Monday: Suspiria (1977)
       Suzy is enrolled in a prestigious dance school in Germany. She arrives late at night. No one will let her in. She witnesses a young woman fleeing the school and running into the forest. The next day Suzy is able to get into the school. She hears about how that young woman was killed. From the beginning there is something no right about the school. Suzy falls ill and has to have a special diet and keep apart from the others. Strange things start to happen like maggots infesting the school and the piano man is killed by his own dog. Suzy learns about a history of witches in the area. That there is a connection between witches and the school. Witches could be why all these strange things are happening. This movie is really weird. I didn't really like it. For a movie about a dance school there was only one scene where you see people dancing. The acting and writing are bad. There is this intense weird music playing for most of the movie. It is a cult classic. I understand why some films get the cult status like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But others I just don't understand.

Tuesday: Imitation of Life (1959)
        Lora is a struggling actress who loses her daughter, Susie, at the beach. She finds Susie being cared for by a nice black woman named Annie. Annie is there with her daughter Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane is very fair skinned. She passes as white. Sarah Jane doesn't want to be black. It's something she struggles with for the whole movie. Annie offers to help Lora take care of Susie and her apartment for free. Lora is skeptical until she learns Annie and her daughter have no where to go. She agrees to take Annie on. This begins a life long friendship. Also on the beach Lora meets Steve, a young photographer. Lora has a hard time finding an acting job. She has to deal with agents who want to take advantage of her. Steve offers to support her so she doesn't have to struggle anymore. She agrees but then gets her big break. Years pass and Lora is a famous actress. Susie is a sweet high school senior. Sarah Jane continues to rebel. Annie is the calm presence keeping it all together. Lora continues to struggle with choosing a simpler life at home or her career. Relationships become complicated and tensions rise. I liked this movie. All the acting was good.

Friday: Ford v Ferrai (2019)
       Carroll Shelby is a former race car driver who now makes race cars. He is friends with a mechanic and race car driver named Ken Miles. Ken is a good driver but has an attitude problem. Ford Motors is struggling. They decide to get into making race cars and sponsoring drivers. They try to buy Ferrari, which is also struggling. When rudely turned down, Ford makes it his mission to build a car to beat Ferrari at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Ford hires Shelby to make the car. Carroll brings on Ken to help make the car and race it. They struggle to make it with Ford parts. A Ford executive has it in for Ken and blocks him from racing. They all struggle and work hard to get a Ford car into the race. This movie is so good. Everything about it from the acting to the cinematography is great. I highly recommend it.

Saturday: What a Way to Go! (1964)
       The movie begins with Louisa trying to get rid of the money left to her by her late husband. No one understands what she is trying to do. She ends up talking got a therapist and telling him her life story. She was raised to believe money wasn't everything. Yet her mother was also mad when they didn't have enough, and that they didn't have a higher status in the town. All Louisa wants is a simple life with a man she loves in a small house. She ends up engaged to Lennie, who is the son of richest man in town. She hates him. Louisa discovers a old friend from school, Edgar, owns the last shop not owned by Lennie's family. She falls in love with Edgar and they get married. They have a nice simple life. Then, after getting teased by Lennie, Edgar starts work hard to improve his business. He becomes very rich and successful. Louisa never sees him anymore. Then he dies from working too hard. Louisa moves to Paris. She meets a struggling artist. They get married. He becomes successful and dies. This happens with two more husbands. Each one becoming successful after meeting her and dying. Each time she is left huge amounts money in their wills. She doesn't want any of it. Louisa wonders if she will ever find love and happiness. I liked this movie ok. It is pretty camp and wacky. There were too many different elements going on and it just didn't work. It had a big named cast with Shirley Maclaine, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Newman, Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Kelly. Gene Kelly was of course the main reason I watched this film. I've noticed with his later films he is a little washed out. He's still playing the song and dance man, but is not fully committed. He is just doing they same thing he's always done.

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