Exploring Food and Movies

 Tuesday: Foreign Correspondent (1940)            An American newspaper is desperate to get more out of Europe in the months leading up to WWII. Their current correspondent doesn't give them nearly enough info. They decide to send their crime reporter, John, to Europe hoping he will do better. John isn't sure he is the right man for the job but he agrees to go. Once in London he is meant to make contact with a man named Stephen who will help him get settled. John is tasked with interviewing an important man named Van Meer. When he arrives he meets Van Meer by chance on the way to a party. Van Meer won't say much and disappears soon after they arrive at the party. John meets Stephen's daughter Carol at the party. She is very smart and politically inclined. John follows Van Meer to the Netherland hoping to talk to him again. But Van Meer is shot right in front of John. John chases the shooter and ends up even more entangled in a plot to get info on the w...

 Monday: Libeled Lady (1936)           A newspaper editor, Warren, is getting ready to marry his fiancee, Gladys, when he learns his newspaper has printed an article with false information. He rushes to fix it. Luckily only a new issues got out before they fixed it. Unfortunately the subject of the article, a socialite named Connie, saw the article. She sues the paper for printing false information. The paper doesn't have that kind of money. It would ruin the paper. Warren concocts a scheme. He brings in an old friend, Bill, who has gotten the paper out of situations like this. Bill will get married to Gladys. Then he will seduce Connie, and the paper and Gladys will catch them in a compromising situation. Connie will be forced to call off the lawsuit. Bill travels on the same ship as Connie and her father to get close to them. He ends up falling for Connie and messes up Warren's scheme. I thought this movie was alright. Tuesday: An Alligator Named Daisy (1...

 Monday: Escape in the Fog (1945)             A nurse serving in WWII, Eileen, is in the San Fransisco area on leave. She has a dream that she is on a bridge on a foggy night and sees a young man killed. She wakes up screaming in her hotel room and two men comes to see if she is ok. One of them is the man from her dream who she had never seen before. Eileen talks to him the next day. His name is Barry. They hit it off. He convinces her to come with him into the city. While there he has to check in with his work. We find out that he is a spy. His boss sends him on a mission to Hong Kong. He is to deliver some very important documents. Barry has to leave that night. He sets out to spend the rest of the day with Eileen. A local clock store owner, who is a spy for the enemy, finds out what is happening. They plan to get the documents. Eileen's premonition comes true but with a different ending. I thought this movie was ok. Tuesday: Cry of the Werewolf (194...

 Monday: Madame X (1966)          Holly marries a wealthy man with big political aspirations. They are happy for a time. When her husband's career starts to pick up Holly is often left alone. She doesn't really fit into his world as much as she tries. She tries to stick with it. They have a son. Still Holly is lonely. She has an affair. Things go very wrong and her lover ends up dead. It could be tied back to her and damage her husband's career. So she is convinced to fake her own death. She flees to Europe. As the years pass Holly becomes depressed and an alcoholic. She makes some bad choices that end with her being charged with murder. She won't tell them her real name so they call her Madame X. Back in the states a young lawyer is assigned to represent her. Who turns out to be her son. He is determined to win her case. I thought this movie was alright. Tuesday: The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)           Thomas is a bank executive. ...

 Monday: Monsieur Verdoux (1947)           Henri worked at a bank for 30 years before he was let go. To support his wife and child he found a new way to make money. He marries rich women and then once he has their money he kills them. At any one time he could have several wives. When he is in a pinch for money he just has to pay them a visit, get their money and kill them. The stock market crash causes him to be more careless. Two women disrupt his otherwise perfect system. He knows he will soon get caught. I thought this movie was ok. Charlie Chaplin plays Henri. He also wrote and directed it. It is a dark comedy. This was controversial at the time because the story is based on a real serial killer, or bluebeard as they were called then.  I suppose it would be controversial now as well. Tuesday: Convicts 4 (1962)          John was on death row for killing a innocent man by accident. On the night of his execution he is commuted...

           On Friday I went to a food cart called La Arepa. The one I went to is on SE Foster. I have never been to that part of Portland. It has a Midwest/Southern feel to it. Some of the buildings look western still. This cart is part of the Portland Mercado. It is made up of Hispanic food trucks. There are a lot of bright colors. There is a building at one end. It has a pretty mural on it. There is a parking lot. La Arepa is in the corner apart from the other carts. They make Venezuelan food. The cart is decorated in the colors of the flag. To order the food you use an ipad like thing. You choose what you want and pay. Then wait for your food. I don't know if this is because of COVID or they always had it. You don't really talk to anyone until the end when you choose your salsas. I got a shredded beef arepa and tostones (fried green plantains) with a mild avocado salsa. The tostones were good but they really need salt or the salsa. The arepa was good. Th...

 Monday: Ball of Fire (1941)         Bertram is a linguist professor working with a group of professors on writing an encyclopedia. One day the trash man comes in to ask them questions for a quiz show. He uses slang that none of the professors have every heard of. Bertram is currently writing an article on slang. He knows he has to go out and gather more information on this new slang. He gathers a varied group of people to meet and talk about slang. One of them is a singer named Sugarpuss. She is dating a mobster. After Bertram visits her she finds out that her boyfriend is suspected of murder. The police could use her to give evidence that would land him in jail. So she needs to hide. She realizes that hiding with Bertram and the other professors would be perfect. Bertram is reluctant to let her stay, but the other professors convince him. They all like her. Much to his annoyance Bertram starts to fall for her. Sugarpuss's boyfriend comes up with a plan to marr...