Mandaris

🍿 The Godfather (1972) - ★★★★☆

It’s a running joke amongst my friends that I know a lot of plot points for popular movies and films. What?! You haven’t seen The Godfather!? How did that happen?.

Oddly enough, I know most of the movie from watching Jane Austen’s Mafia and other parodies that have come out since the movie had come out in 1972.

It is a great film. And I’m happy to have seen it. The movie shows the characters as people and I have to say that I was emotionally invested in what happened to them. I really wish Connie had a little more agency, but I think it’s part of the time frame¹ of the source material and the plot.

I couldn’t give this movie 5 stars. I think it’s because of all the discussions and hype around it. Although, this was the first time that I’ve sat and watched this film, I’ve seen its echos and shades dozens of times. The memes, the quotes, the various characters.

Shouldn’t that give it the extra star?

I don’t know. I’ll have to think about that the next time someone asks me if I’ve seen it.

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

The Movie Database

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🍿 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) - ★★☆☆☆

Ok, the family has been watching Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023) TV show and enjoying it. So we decided to watch this thing again.

It’s definitely a product of its time.

Movies like Harry Potter and Twilight had spurred studios to find more and more intellectual property. You get the feeling that they were trying hard to make something. The promise of a new hot franchise. There is a sequel to this and I hope that I don’t have to watch it.

I don’t know how much different this is from the book, but from I heard the original author and a lot of fans were disappointed.

I got to sit there and hear my kids repeatedly mention that the book and new series is better. I even got a “#NotMyGrover” during the 2 hour movie

In a lot of ways, we’re all better off. The original author, Rick Riordan, made sure that future adaptations of his work had higher standards.

This one isn’t a bad movie, but not really memorable for the right reasons.

Accident prone teenager, Percy discovers he’s actually a demi-God, the son of Poseidon, and he is needed when Zeus’ lightning is stolen. Percy must master his new found skills in order to prevent a war between the Gods that could devastate the entire world. The Movie Database

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🍿 The Lost City (2022) - ★★★★☆

This was a fun movie. I was bordering on a bad movie after a very long day and at the end, I was relaxed and laughing. It takes a couple of the various movie tropes and pokes fun and them and the usual formulas a movie looks this can take.

At first, I was going to give it 3 stars but just thinking about the movie now has put a little smile on my face so here’s your extra star!

Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to the ancient city’s lost treasure that featured in her latest story. Alan, determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, sets off to rescue her.

Finished reading: My Murder by Katie Williams 📚

Jason Snell had been promoting this book on one of his podcasts. Luckily it was available via Libby from my local library as an audiobook and I devoured it in a few days.

Truthfully, it has a lot of things that I have seen in other books but the way that it’s combined is done very well. I can see this being turned into some kind of tv mini series.

The only complaint is that it feels somehow too short and too long at the same time. I think it’s because it seems to drag after the first 3rd and then the conclusion seems to wrap up so neatly and quick that it kind of makes you wonder.

🍿 Good Grief (2023) - ★★★★☆

This was a very beautiful film. Dan Levy allows for some quiet moments where the viewer gets to see some delightful views of Paris. I enjoyed them but I could see where people might scoff and complain about the film not getting on with things.

I think that this is part of the point.

Grief is something you don’t “just get over”.

In the end, another reminder that we don’t know what will happen in the future. This one sweet in that we don’t have to dread and showing that we can move forward.

Description from The Movie Database

When his husband unexpectedly dies, Marc’s world shatters, sending him and his two best friends on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.

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Finished reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 📚 - ★★★★☆

I’ve never been so relieved for being reminded that I’m going to die.In fact, there is humor found throughout the book related to this very topic.

Truth is, we don’t really know how much time we have and with this world. You only have this moment in time, make the right choice for you. If it doesn’t work out, you have to accept it and make another choice another action.

I’ll see you next week.

Maybe.

🍿 Wonka (2023) - ★★★☆☆

It’s fun. Very light hearted and kind of what I needed to see as we move through the holiday season.

I did like a couple of the songs, but I don’t feel that I’m going to remember watching this a year from now.

Description from The Movie Database

Willy Wonka – chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time – is proof that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.

🍿 Blow (2001) - ★★★☆☆

My wife really wanted to see this movie together. I think it’s a pretty solid tale. Well acted and showing that there are more ways of losing in life by dealing drugs. Usually, the people shown in these movies are killed off gruesomely or left strung out and destitute.

Also, it’s good to show that anybody could be a drug dealer. I think it’s a real precursor to the issue that we’re seeing with prescription meds.

But back to the film, I liked it but I don’t feel strong enough about it to give it more that 3 stars.

Don’t tell my wife.

Description from The Movie Database

A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950’s. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George’s father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960’s, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960’s, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.

Here is the trailer for the movie on YouTube.

🍿 Single All the Way (2021) - ★★★★☆

I liked this one. There were no “bad guys” except for the march of capitalism. Seriously, who ask people to come up with a whole new project Christmas Day?

As always, you know how things are going to go when it comes to the “will they/won’t they” portion of the romance. The execution is good and there were a lot of little giggles along the way.

Still, I will say that there was a section in the middle where I looked at my phone.

Description from The Movie Database

Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, Peter convinces his best friend Nick to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James, the plan goes awry.

Here is the link to the trailer create by Netflix.

🍿 The One I Love (2014) - ★★★★☆

This movie is a little statement about being the best version of yourself in your marriage. Take a moment and think about it. What are some of the things that you bring to the relationship? What separates you from all the other people they could be with?

This movie has really been trending on Hulu recently for good reason.

Description from The Movie Database

On the brink of separation, Ethan and Sophie escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to save their marriage. What begins as a romantic and fun retreat soon becomes surreal, when an unexpected discovery forces the two to examine themselves, their relationship, and their future.

Here is the trailer on YouTube

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🍿 Serendipity (2001) - ★★☆☆☆

My wife recommended this one after we saw Something from Tiffany’s. I thought it was ok but she did not like it and said that she remembered it being a lot different when she saw it when it came out in 2001. My problem with the movie is that our protagonists were in relationships when they met up, broke up with their significant others, and then are in NEW relationships when they decide to get back together.

Not cool.

Still, I really enjoyed spending time with my wife, so thank you film for giving me that opportunity.

Description from The Movie Database

Although strangers Sara and Jonathan are both already in relationships, they realize they have genuine chemistry after a chance encounter – but part company soon after. Years later, they each yearn to reunite, despite being destined for the altar. But to give true love a chance, they have to find one another again.

Here is a link to the Serendipity trailer on YouTube.

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🍿 Something from Tiffany’s (2022) - ★★★☆☆

Rachel and Gary are happy enough but not quite ready for that big commitment. Ethan and Vanessa, the perfect picture, are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of gifts causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unexpected discoveries that lead them where they’re truly meant to be.

A pretty solid romcom. I enjoyed watching this with my wife. Sometimes we don’t get a chance to watch a lot of films so this one was something that we both picked. What was interesting was my wife thought I didn’t like romcom, but I do. It reminds me that there’s always room for romance and the way that I think of romance is not the only correct way of doing it.

I really recommend this for someone who wants something a little lite and a little fun. I enjoy the fact that the people inside the movie weren’t all bad. In some romcoms, you have these archetypes are just that way so the audience doesn’t like them. They do things that are really really dishonest or social unacceptable and don’t feel bad when they aren’t part of the happy ending. In this film, the side characters had their faults but they weren’t bad people; they just made some bad decisions or they just grew apart from the leads.

If you are interested, here is the trailer for Something From Tiffany’s

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