Exploring Food and Movies

Monday: The Rocketeer (1991)           Cliff is a pilot struggling to get by. He is dating a beautiful woman, Jenny, trying to make her way in Hollywood. A car chase between the mob and the FBI ends at the air field that Cliff works at. Later he finds a jetpack hidden in a broken down plane. He wants to use it to do a show to make money so he can buy a new plane. But the FBI and mob are still looking for it. Cliff has been seen using the jetpack with a helmet on. He is named the Rocketeer by the press. A famous actor, who is actually a spy, is working with the mob to get the jetpack. He has darker plans for the jetpack. He finds out that Jenny is somehow connected to the Rocketeer. So he kidnaps her to draw Cliff out of hiding. Cliff must save Jenny and keep the jetpack away from the wrong people. This movie is ok. They were trying to make a 40's movie with all the Hollywood glamour. But they missed the mark. The acting isn't very good either. Wednesday: Litt...

Monday: Dead Ringer (1964)        Edith goes to the funeral of her twin sister's husband, Frank. Her sister is very wealthy.  Edith runs a bar and is behind on her rent. She hasn't seen her sister, Margret, in years. Her would be boyfriend didn't even know she had a sister. While visiting they start arguing about how Margret stole Frank from Edith. Margret has always claimed it was because she was pregnant. Later that day Edith finds out that there was no baby. Enraged she comes up with a plan. She lures Margret to her apartment and kills her. Then she switches clothes and makes it look like she, Edith, died. She pretends to be Margret. She goes back to the mansion. Edith does a pretty good job convincing most people that she is Margret. But she is unable to convince Margret's lover. She has to find a way out. I liked this movie ok. It is a thriller. They tried to use this music to make it seem more intense, but the music is just annoying so it doesn't really w...

        My next restaurant was a Lebanese place called TarBoush. It is on SE Hawthorne. I have passed it so many time and have wanted to go in but never have. It is in a Victorian house, which of course was one of the major draws. The house is kept in better shape than some of the others I've been to. It is a pretty decent size. I sat in the room with a big window looking out onto the street. The decorations are pretty minimal. Some Lebanese items here and there. The music was Lebanese. There are some old photos on the walls. The house was built in 1852. Before your meal they bring out warm pita bread. There is olive oil to dip it in. There was also some spices you can dip it in. I'm not exactly sure what it was. It tasted like tea. I got the Chicken Shawarma plate. It comes with Basmati rice and veggies. There was a white sauce, which I've guessing is a yogurt sauce, for the chicken. Also there is a red sauce for the rice. It was so good. It was perfect on a cold da...

             The restaurant I went to this week is a Thai place called Hat Yai. I went to the SE Belmont location. There is free parking under the Grand Central Bowling building. The place is a decent size. It has a very industrial feel. Industrial seems to be a popular trend with Portland restaurants. The floor is concrete. The metal framing is exposed somewhat. There are minimal decorations. It is an open kitchen. The tables have blue checkered table cloth and either a bench or a metal folded chair to sit in.  There is also a counter option. It is one of those places where you order and then find your own table. The service was good. I got their fried chicken because it is what they are known for. It comes with sticky rice. It was good. The rice is a little boring. The sauce it comes with is a sweet and sour spicy sauce that was too much for me. Defently different than regular fried chicken. They are also known for their curries. But I knew that...

Tuesday: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)          Lloyd is a magazine writer with a tough reputation. He gets assigned a fluff piece on Fred Rogers. He thinks it is beneath him, but he has no choice. Lloyd gets an interview with Fred. He doesn't know what to make of Fred. Fred is very nice and busy with his show. Lloyd struggles to write the piece. He wants to go further and learn more about the real Fred. But Fred doesn't say much about himself. Lloyd also struggles with his relationship with his father. Fred takes a liking to Lloyd and ends up helping him. This is a good movie. It is really well done. They treat it like it is an episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.  The scenery is models like the TV show. So you see a model of New York City or Lloyd's apartment building before going in closer. I thought it was a cool concept. Also I learned online that Tom Hanks is actually related to Fred Rogers. Wednesday: Jojo Rabbit (2019)    ...