Tuesday night my mom and I went to Taqueria y Panaderia Santa Cruz. It is on N Lombard. It is not too far from the St. Johns Bridge. I liked being able to go over the St. John's Bridge. It is the most beautiful bridge in Portland. I had only been over it once before. I also enjoyed getting to explore that part of Portland a little more. It feels like a small town tucked in the corner of Portland. The parking is fine. Mostly street parking. The restaurant is at the back of a Mexican grocery store. The store has lots of Mexican goodies and lots of pinatas hanging from the ceiling. You order food at the counter in the back and then they give you a number. There is limited seating. Which wasn't really a problem for me and my mom. Especially since we were the only ones eating in the dining room area. The decor is simple. Just green walls. The booths have some hand painted flowers. But that's it. It's hard to know if it's always like that or it's because of the pandemic. The reason I wanted to go to this restaurant is because it came up as one of the top results when I googled best burritos in Portland. So of course I got a burrito. I got the Burrito Supreme with carnitas. I made the mistake of not asking for no beans or lettuce. Even then it was pretty good. It is massive though. I thought the burritos from Chipotle and Qudoba are big, but this was bigger. The meat and tortilla were good. My mom got the Carne Asada. She liked the flavor but it was chewy. Overall it was a good experience. Not sure if I would go back. Although I would like to explore that area more during the day.
Monday: Mad Monster Party? (1967)
Dr. Frankenstien has developed a formula that will destroy all matter. He wants to show it to all the monsters before he retires. So he invites them to his castle on the Isle of Evil. The guests are the Mummy, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His monster and the bride live in the castle. Dr. Frankenstien also invites his nephew Felix, who will be his successor. His assistant, Francesca, wants the formula so she can get power. Once the monsters arrive they all want the formula. I enjoyed this movie. It is stop motion animation. By the same people who did Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Comin' to Town. Those are classics. It was nice to see more of their movies. Also Boris Karloff (known for being the original Frankenstien's monster and Mummy) was the voice of Dr. Frankenstien. It was fun that a classic horror actor would be in this movie.
Wednesday: The Sand Pebbles (1966)
A navy engineer named Jake gets assigned to work on a gunboat in China in the 20s. The boat doesn't have the best reputation. He has a hard time getting along with the other men on the boat. Especially when he finds out that most of the work in the engine room is done by Chinese workers. He wanted to be in charge and do most of the work himself. He adapts and even trains and becomes friends with the new cooler after the other is killed. Tensions are high in China. They are dealing with Japan. But also there are crime lords trying to take over the country and generals doing the same thing. It is dangerous to be a foreigner in China. Out on patrol they are assigned to rescue American missionaries. Their mission is not easy and is not very successful. This a good movie. It is long.
Friday: The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
David is a bright young English boy who finds the best in everything. His father died before he was born. After spending some time with his maid and her family when he was a boy, he comes home to find his mother married to a horrible man. The man brings along his horrible sister. They soon send him to London to live with a man constantly in debt and work at the man's bottle factory. David lives and works there for years. Upon hearing of his mother's death he goes to live with his aunt. She wants him to be a gentlemen. He is sent to a rundown boarding school. David is given a new name everywhere he goes. Happy to go along with it he accepts them. At the school he learns to be a gentlemen and to have a gentleman's profession. Although he gains some success it doesn't last for long. He has to find a new way to be successful. This is such a good movie. It has a much lighter tone than the original book (and film versions that have been made). All the acting is great. So many different and talented actors. The film was cast more like a play. So a character's race doesn't always match the race of their parents or relatives. It was nice to see people of color in traditionally white roles. I also liked David's eventual love interest.
Sunday: Enola Holmes (2020)
Enola is the teenage sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. She is brought up by just her mother. Her mother does not bring her up in the traditional way. Enola is taught to read, think, and fight. One day her mother disappears. She leaves little to no information on where she went. Her brothers come home to help. Mycroft is determined to send Enola to a finishing school to become a lady. Enola runs away to find her mother. On the way she meets another runaway, the young Viscount Tewksbury. He is running from his family who want too much from him. Enola is determined to find her mother and doesn't want him getting in the way so she soon leaves him. In London Enola starts to find out what her mother was up to. She is drawn back to Tewksbury and agrees to help him. I thought this movie was ok. It was cute. I didn't like the parts where she talks to the camera. It just made it feel disjointed. I did like that the male lead was the damsel in distress and the female lead was the hero. I heard that the Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes) estate is suing Netflix because they made Sherlock too nice. That's it just because he is too nice. Pretty ridiculous. I didn't think he was portrayed as that nice. Just nicer compared to Mycroft.
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