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Watermelon Peach and the Undercover Dancer

        On Friday I went to a food cart called Nacheaux. It is in Cartlandia on SE 82nd. The area is a little sketchy. There is not much parking in the surrounding area. There is parking in the middle of the Cartlandia and in the back of it. I went in the late afternoon so there were spots open. But I imagine at lunch time it would be very full. It is a little strange that cars can drive straight through where the carts are. Most pods I have been to aren't like that. It had an almost country fair feel to it. There is a decent amount of seating. The cart is painted an aqua blue, which is always a good start. The food is a soul food/Mexican mix. I wanted to try this food cart because I had seen something about how good their tres leches cake was. Unfortunately on the day I went tres leches only came in milkshake form. So I got mac and cheese with carnitas and a watermelon peach lemonade. The lemonade was frozen, which was a nice surprise on such a hot day. It was good. The mac and cheese was good, a little spicy. I liked the carnitas on it. That being said it wasn't the best mac and cheese I've ever had. It was a nice twist but not amazing. The cart is owned by a black man. So it was a bonus that I got to support a black owned business. He was very nice and efficient. I wouldn't say no to going again but it's not as easy to get to as some of the other pods.

Monday: Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
      Lan Ying is a Chinese-American women living and working with her father. Her father owns a very successful antique store. It has been in the news that there are several human trafficking rings in their city. One day two members of such a ring approach Lan Ying's father. They want him to buy some of the people they have trafficked. He refuses. On the way to their wealthy friend's house Lan Ying and her father are shot down in their cab. Her father dies but Lan Ying escapes. She goes to her wealthy friend's house for help. There she meets a Chinese-American cop who is working to bring down these trafficking rings. He wants to help her. After refusing to let her be involved in the investigation Lan Ying takes matters into her own hands. She travels to an island where she believes she can find the head of the operation. She gets hired as a dancer so she can discover who is in charge unnoticed. I liked this movie. Lan Ying is played by Anna May Wong. She was one of the only Asian actresses at the time. And it was a very rare thing for the two leads in a 30s movie to be Asian.

Tuesday: The Vanishing (1988)
         This is a Dutch film. Rex and Saskia are a married couple from Amsterdam. They are on vacation in France. At a gas station Saskia goes missing. Rex believes she has been kidnapped. He can't find her. We also see Raymond's, who is the kidnapper, side of things. He seems to lead a normal life. But he is a psychopath obsessed with kidnapping women. The movie jumps to three years later. Rex is still searching for Saskia. Raymond has been, anonymously, sending him post cards to remind him of what happened and planning times to meet up. He never shows. Finally Raymond reveals himself to Rex. He says he will tell Rex what happened. But only by doing to Rex what he did to Saskia. Determined to find out what happened at any cost, Rex agrees.  I thought this movie was alright. It was interesting. Finally a European film with an actual plot and no philosophical  moments.

Wednesday: Victim (1961)
         Melville is lawyer in London. He keeps ignoring phone calls from a man he once knew, Jack. When the Jack is killed Melville must get involved. Melville finds out that Jack was being blackmailed. Jack was gay. In the 60s it was a crime to be gay. So he was paying to keep it from getting out. Melville finds the blackmail photo. He is in it. He and Jack were having an affair. Soon he discovers that many gay men are being blackmailed. Melville tries to find out who the blackmailer is to expose them, at the risk of his career and reputation. This movie was ok.

Friday: All That Jazz (1979)
      Joe is a famous choreographer and director. He is known for being a womanizer. Joe is finishing up a film he is working on and starting a new broadway musical. He is working all hours of the day. He is using drugs to keep going. Joe struggles to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend as he continues to sleep with other women. With his busy schedule he doesn't make time for his daughter. Soon his lifestyle catches up with him. He starts having heart problems and later a heart attack. Even then he doesn't rest or take care of himself until it's almost too late. This movie was ok. It is a semi-autobiographical movie about the life of Bob Fosse. Bob directed and co-wrote the film. It is really very close to his life. There are name changes and some fantasy moments that are not real but the rest is close to his life. I watched the mini series Fosse/Verdon which was about his life. It was interesting to see him going through all that and then making All That Jazz on the show and then actually watching the real All That Jazz.

Sunday: Always Be My Maybe (2019)
      Sasha and Marcus are childhood friends growing up in San Fransisco. When they are teens they try to date but it doesn't work. The movie then jumps to 15 years later. Sasha is a celebrity chef. Marcus still lives at home and is working in the family business. Sasha returns to San Fransisco to open a new restaurant. She reunites with Marcus. They are both in and out of failed relationships. They start to wonder if they should make a go of it. I thought this movie was alright. I like that is has Asian leads. It's a cute love story. But I don't like some of the humor. And at one point Sasha is dating Keanu Reeves. That part is super annoying. It is obviously a fictionalized version of Keanu, but still annoying. I don't really like him. I don't get the hype. He's not that great of an actor and his voice is so lacking of emotion. I think John Wick is only successful because he barely talks.

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