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Basketball Light and the Quiet Cat

       While in Portland, Maine my mom and I stumbled on a place called The Friendly Toast. It is a breakfast diner. It is a modern 50s style diner with some more modern vintage pieces (from 80s and 90s). It is very colorful. The walls are painted a bright green or red. There are vinyl booths and chairs. There are ads for Coca Cola, Casper comics, maps, and more decorating the walls. The hanging lamps are different. There's a cloud, a barrel, a monkey, a basketball in a hoop, etc. We sat outside. All the outside chairs are different shades of blue or green. I ended up getting a basic eggs benedict and my mom got the two egg plate. The food was good. They had lots of good options. The service was good. As soon as I walked in I knew it was my kind of place. Fun with lots of cool decorations. Good food without doing anything too weird. It looks like an east coast chain. If I'm ever in that area again I would go back.

Friday: A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

      Sam is a young woman who is extremely ill. She has given up on life. The only thing that brings her comfort is her cat Frodo. A counselor at the hospice she lives at convinces her to come with a group into New York City to see a play. While there the earth is suddenly invaded by aliens with super hearing. Any noise will cause them to attack and kill. Everyone has to do their best to stay quiet and survive. Sam encounters a young man named Eric who ends up traveling with them. They must survive. I thought this movie was good. The last shot is such a good shot. The actress who played Sam, Lupita Nyong'o, was actually afraid of cats before this movie and now she has a cat of her own. There is also a funny Tik Tok challenge that's come from this. People will hold their cat and run around. If the cat makes any noise they would not survive in the quiet place. If the cat is quiet they would. It's funny because some meow right away, so they would be dead instantly. While others do pretty good at staying quiet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday: Boogie (2021)

      Alfred, nicknamed Boogie, is Chinese American teen living in Queens. He is a basketball star. He is under pressure to get a basketball scholarship to a college. His parents are dependent on his success and put a lot of pressure on him. As badly as he wants it he also just wants be a teenager. Boogie wants a girlfriend and to hang out with his friends. He struggles to balance his parents' traditional life, basketball, school, and his social life. This movie was alright.

Thursday: Uglies (2024)

      This movie takes place in a dystopian world where they got rid of any conflict by making everyone pretty. Once they reach a certain age they have surgery to make them pretty. Tally and her best friend Peris are both about to be of age to get their surgery. They are both very excited. Peris goes first. They promise to not change too much and stay friends. But it doesn't go to plan. Tally becomes friends with a girl named Shay. Shay tells her about a different way of life. A community where no one gets the surgery and still lives happily. It is away from the city. Tally has been waiting to be pretty for so long that she doesn't even want to consider this other way of life. Then she is given no choice and has to find this community. Her world view changes. I thought this movie was ok. I read the books in high school and really liked them. They just didn't do a very good job with this movie. Maybe part of it is the whole dystopian fad is over. Although with the rise of social media, this does fit into that. But it just wasn't good. I would be surprised if they make the other books into movies.

Saturday: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

     After the death of her father Lydia, her stepmother Delia and her daughter Astrid return to their old house. Lydia is a famous medium. She has a strained relationship with her daughter. While at the house Astrid accidentally opens a portal to the afterlife, Beetlejuice is released, and chaos ensues. They have to do their best to put everything back the way it was. This movie was alright. There was a lot going on. Too many story lines. It was fun and had good moments, but it's not as good as the original. 

Sunday: Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)

        Dr. Gillespie is called to help with a case. A young woman at a girls school, Marcia, is engaged to her boyfriend Roy. Roy suddenly becomes violent and has no memory of it. The headmistress calls Dr. Gillespie for help. He sends a Dutch doctor, Dr. Gerniede, to investigate. Roy continues to have violent outbursts. His parents and family doctor believe he is fine. While Gerniede knows he is having a mental breakdown. Then Roy disappears and goes on a murderous rampage, mainly focused on killing Dr. Gillespie. They all have to work together to find Roy and protect Dr. Gillespie. I thought this movie was alright. I didn't realize till after I watched it that is is part of a series of movies. Luckily you didn't need to know much going from one movie to another. Only the main characters repeat. 


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