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Thai Fried Chicken and the Christmas Elf

             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 it would be too spicy for me. I wouldn't say no to going back but I'm not going to make a special effort to go again.

Monday: Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
     Chance is a wannabe Hollywood star who has traveled back to his hometown with the famous actress Alexandra Del Lago. Alexandra has a drinking problem due to her failed career. Chance wants her to produce a movie with him as the star. He is also back in town to show people how important he has become. No one believes him. He hopes to reconnect with his high school sweetheart, Heavenly, who he still loves. Her father is running for office. He and his people don't want Chance to get anywhere near Heavenly. More comes out about his past as a gigolo. Alexandra uses that to get him to stay close. Chance continues to struggle with wanting fame and Heavenly. This is a good movie. Paul Newman is Chance, and as always does an amazing job. It is based on a Tennessee Williams play. Paul and the actress who played Alexandra both starred in the broadway play before reprising their roles in the movie.

Tuesday: Last Christmas (2019)
         Kate works at a Christmas store. Her life is a mess. She is irresponsible and drinks too much. Kate is couch surfing but is running out of friends who will put up with her. One day she meets a man named Tom. He is hopelessly optimistic.  He takes a liking to Kate. Despite being so cynical she starts to like him too. Tom learns that Kate is from a Eastern European immigrant family. The previous year she had a heart transplant. Since then she has struggled. He shows her that she can change her situation for the better and be happy. I liked this movie a lot. There is a twist ending that I somewhat predicted. I just got one detail wrong. There's not much better than a sweet British Christmas movie.

Wednesday: Panther Panchali (1955)
          This is a Indian movie about a poor family. The father is a scholar and priest who struggles to find work. His wife does what she can to keep everything together. They have to children. Durga is a rebellious girl who is expected to marry well. Her brother Apu is able to go to school and will one day get a job. There is also a older woman that they call auntie who lives with them. The family goes through some hard times. The father is gone for a long time trying to find work. Durga gets sick. The mother does her best. I liked this movie ok.

Friday: Dark Waters (2019)
     Robert is a corporate lawyer who defends big chemical companies. One day a farmer from his hometown in West Virginia comes to see him. The farmer wants Robert to take on his case. Robert's grandma knows the farmer so he agrees. He goes to the farm. Wilbur, the farmer, explains that a landfill was built by his property. Something in the water was killing his cows. He lost 190 cows. Robert could see there was something wrong. He does some digging and ties it all back to a big company that employs most of the town and is well known. They are knowingly poisoning not just livestock but people as well. Robert takes on the case. It is extremely difficult and he faces obstacles at every turn. He finds out just how bad the situation really is. This is a good movie. It is based on a true story which makes it even harder to watch. It goes up until about 2012. A lot of these issues are still going on. Which is scary to think about.

Saturday: Official Secrets (2019)
    Katherine works for the British government. She listens to wire tapped phones in Asian to see if there are possible threats. She and her coworkers speak many languages and spy on different groups. One day they get an email from the NSA asking them to illegally gather information to push the UN to order the invasion of Iraq. This takes place in 2003. Katherine is angered by this. She doesn't want her country to go into a illegal war. So she leaks the information to the press. Katherine does this even though she knows she will likely be arrested. I liked this movie ok. It is based on a true story. I mostly watched it because Matt Smith is in it.

Sunday: The Irishman (2019)
      This movie follows the life of a mobster named Frank. He starts out as a driver for a meat delivery service. He becomes friends with Russ, who is a important member of the mob. He likes Frank. Russ starts to give Frank odd jobs. As Frank rises in the ranks he befriends Jimmy Hoffa. Jimmy is the head of a major union and is also a key player in the mob. Jimmy has a temper and makes decisions that land him in prison. Frank struggles to defend his friend. I thought this movie was alright. It is really long, 3 and a half hours. I can see where some people find is boring. But it is a movie that can't be missed. It is unlikely a movie like this will happen again. It is directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel. All those Scorsese alum in one film, you can't miss that.

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