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Henry Sugar and the Torch Song

 Monday: Escape From New York (1981)

     Manhattan was turned into a maximum security prison in the 80s. It's where the whole country sends criminals sentenced to prison. In 1997 Air Force One crash lands there after being hijacked. The president is being held hostage. Snake Plissken, a former agent turned criminal, has just arrived to start his sentence. The warden decides to use Snake to find the president. Snake will be released if he is able to bring the president back safely. I thought this movie was ok. It's an interesting concept having all of Manhattan be a prison. It is a very macho movie.

Tuesday: Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

      This movie is set in the 70s in New York City. Arnold is a drag queen. He loves to perform. There is a constant struggle with the relationships in his life. He doesn't get along with his family. His dating life isn't great either. Arnold meets Ed at a bar. They get along really well and start to date. On the surface it's great, but they have issues. Ed doesn't want Arnold to be a part of his public life. Ed isn't even out to anyone and dates women. In the end they split up. Later Arnold meets a young model, Alan. They seem to have a great relationship. Even starting the process of adopting a child. But tragedy strikes and Arnold's life changes again. This is a good movie. I enjoyed it.

Friday: The Miracle Club (2023)

      After living in the U.S. for decades Chrissie finally returns home to Ireland for her mother's funeral. There is a lot of bad blood between Chrissie and her aunt (Eileen) and mother's best friend (Lily). Chrissie was essentially banished as a teen after a relationship with Lily's son ended badly. The women win a trip to Lourdes, France. It is a holy site thought to provide miracles for those who make pilgrimages there. The women all have ailments they want healed. In the end it's their relationship that needs mending. I thought this movie was alright. 

Saturday: Wes Anderson Shorts (2023)

Wed Anderson directed a series of short films based on short stories by Roald Dahl. 

     The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is about a wealthy man named Henry Sugar. When visiting a friend he discovers a book about a man who can see with his eyes closed. The book describes how the man wan able to teach himself how to do that. Henry, who is a gambler, wants to teach himself how to read cards. He wants to win lots of money. This one was good. I liked it best out of the four films.

      The Swan is about a young boy who is mercilessly bullied by two other boys. They do horrible things like tying him to railroad tracks and strapping wings from a recently shot swan to his arms and forcing him to jump from a tree. This one was ok. These shorts are filmed almost like a play. Simple set pieces. It's almost a behind the scenes. You see stage hands handing the actors props and you see them open doors in fields of hay or into another setting.

      The Rat Catcher is about a mechanic who hires a rat catcher to get rid of rats that have infested a hay field. The mechanic is friends with a reporter who works next door. They are both sickly fascinated by the rat catcher. The rat catcher tells the men how he plans to catch the rats. As well as other tricks of the trade. This was probably my least favorite.

      Poison is about a young man named Woods. Woods returns home one night to find his roommate, Harry, laying on his bed paralyzed in fear. Harry had been reading in bed when a very poisonous snake had crawled onto his stomach and fallen asleep. Scared the snake would bite him if he moved, Harry lay still for hours waiting for Woods to return home to help. After seeing what happened Woods immediately gets a doctor. They come up with a plan to save Harry. This one was alright.  

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