Sunday, December 31, 2017

December Movie Reviews

*****  Exceptional
****    Great
***      OK
**        So So
*          Blah

Amreeka is about a Palestinian mother who moves with her son to America for a better life. The first half hour or so is about their life in the Middle East with security checkpoints, surrounded by poverty, and really ugly landscape. I know this is homeland for many, but eeeewww! what a bleak place to live devoid of color and beauty. The rest of the movie is about the culture shock (it's snowing when they get there) and struggles they face in a new country riddled with anti-Middle Eastern sentiment. It was really good. ****

Beatrix at Dinner The DVD cover calls it "A Sharply Funny Comedy"...? What? The summary makes it sound like some hilarious ruse where there is a laugh a minute. Even the cover photos have all actors smiling and laughing. Someone totally missed the point or the cover writer didn't watch the movie! It is about a Mexican-American masseuse, Beatrix (Selma Hayek), who does various energy modalities and has a gift for healing. She works with cancer patients and on the side has a massage practice that caters to rich people. One of her clients (Connie Britton) has an appointment right before an important dinner party with her husband's sleazy business associates. Beatrix's car won't start so the rich lady invites her stay for dinner...? That seemed really unrealistic. They do keep saying how the masseuse is more like a family friend since she helped heal the daughter who had cancer, but still unrealistic. I know if I were in her shoes I'd feel very uncomfortable as a freeloader, not dressed appropriately, etc. The dinner guests show up, talk about raping lands and making mega bucks at the expense of the environment and indigenous people, show off their African safari kills, and even ask Beatrix to re-fill their drinks assuming she is the help. John Lithgow's character makes one want to vomit he is so vile. Beatrix is pretty brazen in her opinions, lets them know how disgusting their business dealings and recreational activities are. It was a very uncomfortable movie right to the end. Definitely NOT a comedy. Excellent performances by all. ***

Be Somebody is about teen idol Jordan Jaye who gets left behind when he leaves his tour bus unbeknowst to his managers and handlers. A few of his fan recognize him and the chase begins. He comes across pizza delivery girl getting gas at a gas station who dashes him away and he spends the weekend with her on vacation from his world tour. It was a sweet friendship/love story. Really stupid title. ***

Bokeh is about an American couple who go to Iceland for vacation only to wake up one morning and everyone has disappeared! The city is empty. The infrastructure is still working: lights, water, electricity, for a while anyway. Cars abandoned in the middle of the road are still in drive, no one answering their cell phones, internet still working, but no activity since the day before. Eventually they realize they are alone. He tries seeing the positive side of their situation while she is stressed, homesick, negative and religious. She was raised by a Christian minister so her outlook is decidedly apocalyptic. Is it the rapture? She is bent on trying to make sense and find meaning. Are they the only ones on earth not "chosen"? Are they bad? Why were they left and not others? Trying to make sense of a senseless predicament only adds to her negative attitude. It was a little slow, lacking in budget, and lacking in plot diversions that would make it more interesting.  Iceland looks beautiful. I constantly wondered how they rid this town of people so they could film. Total silence. ***

The Book of Henry This was a truly odd story that veered dramatically away from the expected. I anticipated a cliché plot: intellectually-gifted boy who does everything for his mother finds out the neighbor girl (Maddie Ziegler from Dance Moms growing up fast) is being molested by her step-father (Dean Norris) who is the police commissioner with a lot of high-powered friends, concocts some wise plan to bring justice to the situation, everyone lives happily ever after.  Jeez, it took a turn for the worst right in the middle of the movie. Totally unexpected. So weird and discombobulating, but continued with the real theme. (Sorry I don't want to divulge too much). Most performances were great. Naomi Watts was the mother. Maddie Ziegler dances in a talent show, but her acting skills were wanting. The little brother was so adorable. ***

Brave is a Disney cartoon about a little Viking girl with a Scottish accent who doesn't want to follow tradition and be betrothed to the highest bidder. So she buys a spell from a witch to change her stubborn, traditional mother and her mother ends up being turned into a bear. The cute little girl with the wild red hair is adorable. Nothing special about the cartoon unlike some Disney animated cartoons. Kids would like it. **

Collateral Beauty is about a man (Will Smith) head of a tech company who espouses the universal truths of how humans all want love, need more time, and fear death. If business appeals to these basic human needs, success happens. His six year old daughter dies and he's drowning in grief, unable to function daily at work or in life.  He spends his days at a dog park staring aimlessly and his nights holed up in his dark apartment writing angry letters to death, time and love. His business partners/associates (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Michael Pena) need his major stock holder status to be able to function before the business goes belly up. When his lack of effort puts everyone's job at risk they devise a plan. First, they hire a private detective to watch him in order to find evidence of a mental breakdown and his letter writing activities are discovered. They hire three actors to represent death (Ellen Mirren), love (Keira Knightly) and time (Jacob Latimore) to confront him. To add complexity to the storyline, each of the actors is paired with an associate who is having his or her own issue with love, time or death. It was very interesting. All great performances and all-star cast. ****

Colossal with Anne Hathaway as an unemployed alcoholic who moves to her parents' empty home after her boyfriend kicks her out of their apartment. She runs into an old classmate who hires her as a waitress in his bar where she continues to stay up all night getting drunk. And that's where it stopped being somewhat sane. She can go to a park at 8:05am in the morning, hung over, and somehow, magically, a monster appears in South Korea killing everyone. It's controlled by her. She steps into the playground and she's stepping on the city buildings of Seoul. Yeah, I have no idea what this movie was really about. Someone told me with sci-fi you have to be willing to suspend realism and accept the weirdness as if it is normal. Hmmm...probably why I hate sci-fi. I kept hoping something would eventually make sense or there would be an obvious metaphor so I kept watching, but nothing. *

Everything Everything is about a seventeen year old girl who has some weird disease that makes all germs life threatening so she has lived her whole life in a sterile environment never leaving the house. She dreams of swimming in the ocean. Cute boy moves in next door and makes her question her very bland existence.  The story had an enormous amount of potential, but failed miserably at delivery. Everything, everything was wrong with it. First, if the main character has to narrate (with illustrations!) for fear the audience won't get it, then something is wrong with the script. Most of performances weren't very good, very staged, lacking in proper interpretation of the situation, lacking in human emotion and passion, bland like robot people. I'm going to blame this on the bad direction and possibly inexperienced actors.  The characters were poorly developed which contributed to the boring performances and so many of the scenes were unrealistic. How does a secluded teenager qualify for a credit card? She starts getting deliveries from online stores and the mother's response is, "Oh, that's such a nice sweater on you." Really? Who the fuck is paying for it? How does she get on an airplane when she can't possibly have proper identification? All this sidelining to keep the plot interesting was a waste of energy when someone should have instead have spent more time developing the story and characters. The dialogue was cliché and lacked passion. So many scenes that should have been poignant or moving missed the mark. Even with all my negative criticism, it was a great story. Just disappointing in presentation.  **

50 to 1 is about a long-shot race horse who somehow qualifies for the Kentucky Derby and then wins it. Based on a true story, it was a pretty clean-cut story that seemed like an after-school special. I figured they'd throw some God talk in there, but it didn't get that mushy. ***

Ghost in the Shell is a sci-fi about a futuristic Japan and robotic enhancements to humans. The latest advancement is adding human brains to robotic bodies to be used as advanced weapons. Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first successful experiment and she was programmed to believe she was a terrorist attack victim who was saved through technology. Later she finds out she was a runaway living underground, protesting the evils of technology, kidnapped by a tech corporation, and had her brain removed. Great performances. Really awesome futuristic sets. But I'm not a sci-fi fan...too much science for me. Sci-fi fans would love it. ***

Gifted is about a precocious little girl who is very smart living with her uncle because her highly-intelligent mathematician mother committed suicide. He's trying to give her a chance to be a normal kid and sends her to public school. Her boredom gets her in trouble causing the powers that be to call her grandmother who sues for custody. It was a fairly predictable plot. One turn of events was unrealistic, but they must have thought that was a good idea to add some drama. Great performances by Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer. ***

Hunt for the Wilder People is a New Zealand film about a delinquent foster child who goes to live with two country people on their farm on the edge of the Bush. The woman is welcoming, loving, has a habit of giving homes to all kinds of strays, and composes individualized birthday songs while playing along on her little portable piano. Very sweet. Her companion is a grumpy old man who doesn't want to be bothered. After a tragedy, the government comes to get the boy to take him to juvie jail (he's been through all the foster homes that will take him) and he's not having it, running into the Bush with his dog Tupac followed the police, the military and everyone else hunting him for the reward. It was delightful and heart-warming with many LOL moments due to the outstanding writing. The kid was adorable. ****

The Keeping Room  is a near-the-end-of-the Civil War western about three Southern women, two sisters and a slave, living alone on a farm trying to survive. Two Union degenerates find their farm and the fun begins. It's very violent, but realistic. Excellent performances. What a horrible time to live especially for women. ***

Kidnap  Halle Berry's six-year old son is kidnapped from a park while she talks on her cell phone. She tears off after them, loses her phone in the chase so she can't call for help, speeding down the freeway following them for fear if she loses the car, she'll lose her son forever. In the chase they leave a wake of car accidents and general damage. She is in a car accident no less than three times as the chase ensues, still able to walk after each one, unrealistic, but really good or the story might have ended too soon. Then she runs out of gas, but the fun doesn't stop there! Never a dull moment. ****

Maggie's Plan is about a woman who wants to get pregnant but doesn't want the drama of a relationship. Then she falls in love with a married man who isn't happy in his marriage, he leaves his wife, they have a child, and then she starts falling OUT of love with him. This is where I got bored. I guess she talks the ex-wife into trying to take him back, but I was too bored to care and turned it off. *

Nina is about Nina Simone, mostly her last eight years. She was a mess. Great performances. Zoe Saldana was superb and unrecognizable. Excellent music. ****

Personal Shopper is about a woman (Kristen Stewart) who is a personal shopper to a celebrity living in Paris. She's also a medium waiting for her dead twin brother to prove there is life after death. Yeah, I know. It was very weird and Kristen as usual is exceptionally tormented. She's really good at playing tormented, but it makes one wonder if she can do anything else. **

Planet of the Apes  I have never seen this series. The first, released in 1968, is definitely dated with obnoxious 1960s horror music, really bad melodramatic performances focusing on emotional exaggeration rather than real human behavior and dialogue, bad scriptwriting, bad everything. I know it's a classic, and yes, I admit once again I have no patience for most outdated 1970s movies especially when the make-up and costumes were so unrealistic. *

Repo Man 1980s movie with Emilio Estevan. I used to think he was cute all dressed up in his Miami Vice suits, but I must have been too young to realize what a horrible actor he is. It was about a kid becoming a repo man and some alien driving around wreaking havoc. The FBI are in pursuit so they place an order to have the alien's car repossessed. It was incredibly stupid. Harry Dean Stanton was great. He's a perfect sleazy sales guy. *

Rise of the Planet of the Apes I hated the above 1968 Planet of the Apes but someone told me the new series is better. Hmmm...it's the prequel addressing how these apes became smart : they were lab animals for an experimental Alzheimer's drug. Great storyline! The special effects were more realistic as the apes didn't look like they were just humans with masks. It was all pretty creepy. Great storyline, but I just can't get into sci-fi. **

The Sea of Trees is a very haunting, poetic story about a man's journey to the suicide forest of Japan.  After Arthur (Matthew McConaughey) arrives and finds a suitable place to die, begins to take the pills, he sees another person walking, lost, trying to find his way out of the forest to get back to his family. Arthur stops what he is doing and tries to help, but they stumble deeper into the trees, falling off cliffs, whisked away in  flash floods, while encountering dead bodies around every corner. We get flashbacks on why he's there. Excellent movie on human relations, life, death, spirituality. This forest in Japan really exists and averages 207 suicides a year. Some people change their minds and walk out. I think it would be really weird to want to commit suicide surrounded by dead and rotting bodies. I kept wondering, Don't they smell? Still, it was a very thought-provoking movie. ****

The Show was about a reality TV show host (Josh Duhamel). During one of those bachelor finales as the bachelor selects the woman he will marry, the other girl shoots him then shoots herself. Josh has a bit of a meltdown deciding he's tired of mindless, exploitive television. After much discussion on liability and the assisted suicide legislation, his producers decide to create a show where people commit suicide on camera. He decides suicide might have a higher purpose and agrees to host if they sell suicide as a celebration of life. Yeah, the justification is a little bent.  During one taping the audience gets a little bored with a death-by-car-exhaust because it's taking so long so they opt to fake the woman's death on camera and have her die for real backstage. Unfortunately, she changes her mind! Oops! She tries to fight her way out of the car but Josh pushes her back in. She turns off the ignition, but he crawls in and turns it back on effectively murdering her for the good of the show. It's all out of control. A janitor at the television studio (Giancarlo Esposito) who is working two jobs trying to support his family, loses both jobs - one of them because Josh is an ass, and opts to go on the show so we follow his story throughout the movie watching him struggle to find work and keep his house which is in foreclosure. The theme is interesting and so true - society is hateful and cruel and loves seeing misery. It's good for ratings. Watching the audience cheer was disturbing. Great performances and great ending, but very gruesome. I almost turned it off a couple times. There is just no valid reason for suicide and so many of the contestants were leaving behind children thinking their monetary winnings would give the kids a better life...? Without their parents? Nope. Not buying that. ***

Southside with You is about Barack and Michelle Obama's first date. It's amazing a president  and his wife can have such huge popular appeal that Hollywood would make a movie about their first date! The best president and first lady ever. I miss them. ***

Ten Cloverfield Lane During some kind of catastrophic power grid failure, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) took off down the highway after breaking up with her boyfriend. She gets in an accident and wakes up in an underground bunker out in the middle of farm land built by a crazed, temperamental, touchy doomsday survivalist, Howard [John Goodman], who tells her the world has ended. He's not sure if it's Russians or aliens or whatever, but the air is contaminated and they will be living for the next year or two underground away  from danger. She's not having it. I think being chained to the wall gives her pause. He tells her she needs to be less combative, and a lot more grateful as he saved her life from certain doom. Emmett, a young man, is also with them and can attest to the atomic flash of light he saw before entering the bunker. Still not convinced, she attempts a breakout only to be met at the door by a screaming woman with blisters all over her face so she begins to believe his story. Just when they start to settle in and accept their fate, a discovery makes her a nonbeliever again and she convinces Emmett to help her escape. They make a plan and even build a HAZMAT suit out of a shower curtain just in case, but it all goes wrong when Howard gets suspicious. It's a wonderful plot as it bounces the audience back and forth between believing and not believing and not really sure what to believe right to the end. Outstanding performances. Great soundtrack. Title graphics at the beginning were wonderful and the title repeat near the end was awesome. I appreciate a movie where someone took the time to pay attention to details. Excellent story. Outstanding, unexpected ending. Loved it. *****

Trading Christmas I ran out of movies on Christmas eve, took the DVDs I already watched to the library return bin and as I'm putting them in, my hand caught on someone's returned DVD...I took it home!  I figured the library wasn't going to be open for a few days so why not. I needed a movie. Yes, I steal stuff from the library.  LOL! I'm always saying how some films are "Hallmark movies" as a somewhat negative criticism. Well, this one WAS a Hallmark movie. It was good. Very clean cut G rating. It's about a widow who's college student daughter decides not to come home for Christmas for the first time and instead goes to Arizona with her boyfriend. The mother decides she'll surprise her daughter in Boston (not knowing she left) and does a house trade with a man. The woman's best friend decides to surprise her friend who she thinks is alone for the holidays and ends up staying at the house with the home swapper. The man's brother in Boston checks on his brother's condo when the security alarm goes off and they meet. Romance is all over the place....based on a romance book. It was sweet. Yes, I returned it to the bin the next morning. ***

Unconditional Love was a movie about a frumpy housewife (Kathy Bates) who never takes risks and her love for crooner Victor Fox (Jonathan Pryce) who sings Barry Manilow songs (I was humming Manilow songs all night!). Her husband (Dan Akroyd) decides he wants more adventure in his life and leaves her. She wins tickets to a talk show to meet Victor Fox but he is murdered enroute. She decides be risky, to go to England to sob at his funeral and meets his valet (long-time secret gay lover, the ever-charming Rupert Everett) . It was funny and sweet with LOL moments. Then it got a little goofy. Great characters and great cameos by Julie Andrews and Barry Manilow. ***


Watchtower is a foreign film with English subtitles out of Turkey about a man who lost his wife and baby in a car accident. He takes a job as a solitary guard for a lookout post watching the forests for fires. A pregnant young woman leaves college to work for a bus station near this watchtower. Later we find out the reason she left was because she is pregnant with her uncle's child after being molested while living with him and his family. She has the baby one day while working at the bus station diner. That was probably the most interesting [bizarre] childbirth scene I've ever seen! She leaves the baby out by the garbage and starts walking, stumbling, blood all over her skirt, in pain and in a daze. Our watchtower guard just happened to be at the restaurant eating and sees all this going on. He finds her walking, escorts her to the watchtower for some R&R, makes her comfortable...dilly dallies. I kept screaming, THE BABY!! GET THE BABY! HURRY UP before a dog eats it! Just when I didn't think I could handle the tension any long, he does run down the mountain to retrieve the baby. It was interesting for sure with themes of guilt and conscience. I think I'd love a job being a fire guard living in a tiny cabin on top of a mountain. Beautiful scenery. Tolerable performances.  There were some extra long unnecessary views of uninteresting stuff. Not ever sure of the point for such stagnation, but I find that common foreign films. ***

Monday, December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who enjoy holiday libations, here's an idea for the empty bottles!




This is an outstanding, chemical-free, non-toxic Christmas tree. It would be more aesthetically pleasing if they would have taken the time to remove all the labels. It's still awesome just less green. It would be a lot of work to put the tree up...and take it down, store the bottles, but still very cool and clever.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Thursday, December 21, 2017

MCS World Disease Map

I just checked out this worldwide disease map for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity although I think I've seen it or one like it in the past. There are 743 people on it so far. You can place yourself on it (anonymously if you prefer), write a profile, and be available as an adviser to others if you wish. See it HERE

I'm still considering starting some kind of support group for my area. I'm not sure if it will get many members or if will help or effect change in anyway, but support is seriously needed.


Monday, December 18, 2017

I Wear Speedos

I love that song "Despacito". Actually I love anything Puerto Rican and there isn't enough Puerto Rican music out there anyway, but when one of the songs hits the top 10 in pop music, people pay attention. If you haven't heard the song here is the video:



I saw this parody on it and thought I would die laughing. It's hilarious:



It's like a mankini! 

HAHAHAHAHA

TOO FUNNY!

Laughter is good...

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Christmas Shopping and Retail Toxicity

It doesn't take long for those of us who are chemically sensitive to become fully aware of the various toxic consumer products available for anyone to buy and everyone to use. The bad purchasing habits of people continue to pollute the environment seriously affecting our ability to survive in society. Some companies are well-known for their bad product choices as most of their inventory is cheap and purchased from China. Maximum profit is the priority.

A recent article on consumer awareness posted on the Organic Consumers Association website is titled "Holiday Buyers Beware: 9 Retailers Who Got an "F" Rating for Failing to Take Action on Dangerous Chemicals in Consumer Products." You can read the full article HERE.

In summary, the companies who have gone out of their way to reduce the number of toxic products are: Albertsons, Best Buy, Costco, CVS Health, Home Depot, Target and Walmart. I find this fascinating as several of these retailers are businesses I typically avoid because they carry cheap products, buy from China, and are all about profits vs. people. Some of them are Republican Party supporters so I boycott them anyway. Finding they are making an effort toward reducing chemicals in our environment is a pleasant surprise. It gives me hope.

On the other hand, here are the nine major retailers that received failing grades for not even bothering to try:

Funny...I've been saying for years Trader Joe's is just a junk food store masquerading as a health food outlet with all their prepackaged products. There you have it! Validation! The fact that Toys and Babies "R" Us is on this list is disturbing.

Bottom line, it's up to the consumers to use their spending power to let corporations know we won't tolerate poor quality and toxic products. Your shopping habits count.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Christmas Tree Syndrome


Do you have a living Christmas tree in your house? Think again!

HERE is an article about mold issues and Christmas trees.

No mention of the pesticides that are used on them. Although I don't know what organic tree farm uses to control insects, I was once told without some kind of bug control Christmas trees are covered in aphids. I would not want a bunch of bugs crawling around in my house either!

Artificial Christmas trees made with synthetics and plastics offgas toxic fumes. Some of these synthetic materials are also coated in lead-based plastics for strength that come off on your hands. This is a common material for Christmas light wiring. Over time these materials start to disintegrate leaving toxic dust all over the house. Check the labels on the boxes for health and safety warnings.



Again, only California cares about the health and safety of American citizens!

My little fake Christmas tree is made with bendable wire and synthetic needles. It doesn't stink.

Gold-or-Black-Metal-Elegant-Scroll-Christmas-Ornament-Display-Tree-Decor-3-SizesI think metal Christmas trees are the answer. They don't smell as good, but they are safe. Hang some fancy glass ornaments and good to go!


The Vatican is So Cool

When it's time to re-paint the Vatican, they use non-toxic, earth-friendly milk paint! It's made from the pope's cows' milk with non-toxic pigments and hand sponged right onto the buildings. Wow! Besides being environmentally-friend and concern for the safety of their employees and visitors, this is an age-old practice from a pre-chemical period in history that has withstood the test of time. You can read the article and watch the video HERE

They clean the statues in the Vatican garden with essential oils. Yeah, if you read my blog you know I hate essential oils. It seems oregano and thyme from Sicily kill mold and mildew. I knew that. I used essential oils to kill the mold under my house with some Thieves Household Cleaner.**

Excellent!! Too bad all this environmentally friendliness, common sense and compassion isn't more wide-spread. Governments and corporations could learn a thing or two from religion. (Who would have ever thought?)




**OK, I admit here there is some value to essential oils. Besides mold killing concoctions, I also use peppermint essential oil to keep spiders out of my house, but I still stand by the fact they should not be used on human bodies as perfume or in spaces as air fresheners!

Sunday, December 10, 2017

The Christmas Carrot

I dug up the last of my carrots today. The bounty always lasts until December and it's so nice to eat fresh, tasty, beautiful carrots through fall and into the winter. In previous years I made the mistake of leaving the carrots out in the monsoon rains - the dirt gets soggy and they split creating all kinds of problems. This year I covered them and they were perfect.


Look at this GIANT one! Hooray! And beautiful. I wonder if I'd let it continue to grow how big would it get? Next year I'll try that just for a fun experiment, but I'm going to need a new raised bed as the old one's floor fell out of it.

So much healthier than cookies, but not nearly as tempting....

Friday, December 8, 2017

Christmas Cookies Make Me Fart

So, my Christmas spirit is rampant and I was eager to try out a new gluten-free recipe for gingerbread cookies. To be clear I wasn't making them for myself, but for my library as I think I need to show gratitude for all the help those women give me all year long.

The challenge with this recipe is one needs to mix the dough and place it in the refrigerator overnight so it's easier to roll. That's just too much dough at my fingertips (literally) for some snacking. Initially, though, I thought I should try the cookies before I gave them to people to make sure the gluten-free option was edible.

I took a tiny bit of dough and rolled it out, baked, ate. Wonderful! How nice it is after five years to be able to make Christmas cookies. Later that night with weakened willpower I tip-toed back into the kitchen, unwrapped the refrigerated cookie dough, and extracted some more. Yum.

All hell broke loose at bedtime. My colon was rumbling loudly as if I had some alien trying to break free. And then large bursts of untethered flatulence expelled from my body so violently the walls of my bedroom vibrated. This continued until 6am. Around 2 am I got up, checked ingredients, and looked online.


Xanthan gum is evil. I seemed to remember someone telling me this once, but failed miserably at information recall as I blindly and single mindedly planned my Christmas cookie baking indulgence. Xanthan gum is commonly used in gluten-free products as a thickening agent and that's exactly what it does in the colon...it thickens everything.

From www.webmd.com:


People who are exposed to xanthan gum powder might experience flu-like symptoms, nose and throat irritation, and lung problems.  It can cause some side effects such as intestinal gas (flatulence) and bloatingNauseavomitingappendicitis, hard stools that are difficult to expel (fecal impaction), narrowing or blockage of the intestine, or undiagnosed stomach pain: Do not use xanthan gum if you have any of these conditions. It is a bulk-forming laxative that could be harmful in these situations.

All night bouts of uncontrollable farting tend to deflate one's Christmas spirit. Can you imagine if the library ladies would have eaten them??? I'd be on their shit list for sure.

I'm ready for Christmas to be over....

Forget BAKING my own cookies! I'll buy them:


THEY SMELL SO GOOD!!!
Especially the chocolate chip ones.
Oh! The green striped ones smell like peppermint!
I have been told the green stripped ones have a gooey chocolaty middle. ARGH!
FML.


Friday, December 1, 2017

November Movie Reviews

*****  Exceptional
****    Great
***      OK
**        So So
*          Blah

Baywatch  Brainless entertainment. It had some funny moments. I liked it when the Rock told the perpetually shirtless Zac Efron he had a man-gina and kept referring to him as a boy band.  The story started out fun introducing some of the more interesting beach characters and showing what superhero-lifeguards do, but then it took a dive into a drug ring plot with these lifeguards playing detective in order to save the world. Not very realistic. Most of the stunts were not very realistic either but used to increase the entertainment factor. This is a movie I might not have selected had there was anything else available. The very sweet librarian had it in her stack to take home and felt sorry for me for having nothing to watch so she gave it to me. She said it might be good eye-candy.  She loves The Rock. I couldn't get through it. I just got bored. I think it would have been more interesting had they focused on the lives of the lifeguards and the people they save, but obviously someone thought that wasn't superhero-ish enough. *

Ben-Hur Ooooh! The 2016 remake!  The star (Jack Huston) is gorgeous. The chariot races were gruesome and thrilling, but the violence tolerable with not too much gore. Jesus was handsome. Those white horses were magnificent. Performances excellent. Morgan Freeman was awesome. It was delicious. ****

The Big Sick was about a Pakistani stand-up comedian (Kumail Nanjiani) who meets and falls in love with a quirky American girl (Zoe Kazan) while his parents keep trying to fix him up in an arranged marriage with Pakistani women. He can't tell them he's in love and he can't commit to the girl because his parents would disown him for rejecting his traditions. I didn't quite see where this was going so at the break-up fight I put it on pause and did some other things. I came very close to turning it off. It wasn't funny, or romantic, but the cultural aspect was interesting. Then I returned to it and after they break up she ends up in the ICU with a life-threatening infection and he goes to be by her side bonding with her parents.  This added some intrigue, but only enough to keep it turned on. **

Cleveland Abduction is the story of Michelle Knight who with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were kidnapped and held captive for eleven, ten, and nine years, respectively. Very disturbing. Besides the daily rape, violence and mental abuse these women endured, how is it that his neighbors didn't notice anything or become suspicious? How is it when the police were called because a neighbor heard screams coming from the house they just drove away after saying, "Well, if you hear screams again call us." Or the police lack of involvement when the mother reports her missing, "Maybe she just ran away [because we are too lazy to get off our asses and make an effort]."  I was absolutely horrified this woman who survived only because she wanted desperately to see her son again was denied seeing him because he had been adopted! Yes, I understand it might have been disrupted to his new life, but he was 16 years old and deserved at the very least to know his mother didn't abandon him. Such a horror story. And that lunatic committed suicide...was no one watching a prisoner? He should have been in chains doing hard labor 20 hours a day. Eye for an eye.  It makes me so angry this happen so easily and went on for so long. Are we just blind and apathetic to people around us? Excellent movie, although very disturbing. ****

Eat Drink Man Woman is a Taiwanese movie with English subtitles about a chef and his three adult daughters who still live at home. Their lives are a mix of tradition and modernity with relationship challenges. Every Sunday they gather for a family dinner.  The food looked amazing, but I kept wondering how much of it was gluten-free. LOL. ***

The Edge of Seventeen is about a seventeen-year old (Hailee Steinfeld) who is going through those teen years. Woody Harrelson plays one of her teachers and he's hilarious. Kyra Sedgwick plays her neurotic mother. Outstanding writing. I've never been a fan of Steinfeld as I find her skills to be substandard, but in this movie she was exceptional. ****

Eyewitness was an incredibly low-budget film with second-rate actors who were embarrassingly bad. It might have been made for television. It was about a mother-daughter pair who go river rafting and come across escaped convicts looking for their loot. Typical plot, cliché in every way, really pathetic, but I lasted through the whole thing. Beautiful California scenery and lots of running up and down river banks, through fields, up hills. **

Get Out was fascinating in a really bizarre, frightening way! It's about an African American man who goes with his white girlfriend to stay with her parents for the weekend.  Unfortunately, that's all I can say without giving away the plot. Outstanding performances. Excellent story, but it is truly creepy and gets creepier as the movie progresses. Great ending. Just saying...I was so afraid it was going to end badly. The "alternative ending" in the bonus wasn't so good.  Very creepy. Then I watched it again to see what I missed. *****

How to Be a Latin Lover is about a Latin gigolo who decides when he is a boy he doesn't want to work for a living. The black humor at the beginning sets the stage. As a gorgeous young man he woos older, filthy rich widows and marries one which enables him to live a life of luxury for twenty-five years - until she dumps him for a younger man. He decides he needs another woman, preferably older and richer than the last one and goes on the hunt while moving in with his sister (Selma Hayek) and her 10-year old son who has a crush on a girl at school. He begins teaching his nephew lessons in how to romance women. Rob Lowe plays his best friend who is also living off an older rich widow and Kristen Bell plays a cat woman working in a yogurt shop. It has some funny moments, but most of it was goofy. **

Jackie was Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy during the assassination and the days that followed. Portman was great except the voice was a little weird, but I think Jackie kind of talked with that weird wispy breathy sound. Loved the costumes. Was Jackie really that crazy with grief? I always felt sorry for her being kicked out of the White House so soon after and it's hard to imagine how anyone would deal with watching your husband get assassinated. ***

Manchester by the Sea was about a strange, anti-social man (Casey Affleck) who's brother dies leaving in his will custody of his sixteen-year old son. Unfortunately custody involves moving back to this hometown which would force him to confront his demons, demons which made him strange and anti-social. It was a little slow. Michelle Williams was excellent, as always. **

Office Christmas Party I thought this would be really stupid, but it was actually tolerable and with an all-star cast: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon, and Jennifer Anniston. About an internet company that's about to be shut down if they don't get an account so they go against the CEO's orders not to spend money on a Christmas party in order to impress the account representative into thinking they have an outstanding office culture with happy employees. Wild party, crazy with some funny bits. I love McKinnon. ***

The Ottoman Lieutenant was a love story about a young Christian American nurse tired of the racist, sexist agenda of the United States heads to Turkey at the outbreak of World War I to help in an American hospital. She falls in love with a dashing Turkish Muslim officer. Rare are the movies that address World War I in Turkey. It was OK. The plot was too much like a romance novel complete with a love triangle for some extra drama: the good Christian doctor is her perfect match, yet she falls for the bad boy who's too gorgeous to really be that bad. The lead actress was a little bland in her emotional interpretations. Even the narration she did was lacking luster as if she didn't get enough read aloud practice in grade school. ***

Sleight is about this young guy who was supposed to go to college on a scholarship but needed to  take care of his little sister after his parents die so he becomes a drug dealer. He also does magic tricks on the side and appears to have telekinetic powers of some kind. His situation escalates when his boss starts expecting him to carry a gun and go after the competition, chop off their hands, etc. He gets into real trouble and has to come up with $45K as payback, but doesn't have it. Interesting movie, but a little unrealistic. I think it would have been a better movie if he really had telekinetic powers and could smack the bad guys down with a flip of a finger...or something. **

Snatched is stupid humor as only Amy Schumer can do. It's about a woman who is incredibly useless in typical Schumer style: drinks too much, acts like an air head, repeat, repeat. The opening scenes are unusual, cleverly written and humorous, but after that it becomes cliché.  The alcoholic imbecile takes her mother (Goldie Hawn) to Ecuador on a non-refundable vacation after her boyfriend dumps her. Schumer meets a handsome man and she gets drunk, again, of course. Why do people think drunken behavior is funny? Eventually the girls get kidnapped by Ecuadorian terrorists and run barefoot through the jungle. Not sure why terrorists are funny either. It has a great cast. Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack are hilarious.  Goldie Hawn has had too much cosmetic surgery which is very wrong. Her face was like a plastic mask. What happened to her smile? I struggled to find some resemblance to a woman who used to be one of my favorite actresses. We really need Hollywood to age gracefully so there are role models. It's very disappointing. The movie was tolerable. Had some funny moments, but still stupid. **

Steve Jobs Creepy movie about a very creepy guy. Was he that much of an ass? I couldn't get through it. *

These Final Hours is an Australian apocalyptic movie about the final 12 hours of the world with a play by play of which continents have been annihilated. Our hero leaves his pregnant girlfriend to head to some end-of-the-world party at his best friend's house. His best friend's sister is his other non-pregnant skanky girlfriend. Along the way he comes across two ugly men hauling off a ten-year old girl who is screaming for her father.  He can't turn away and rescues her, continuing on his journey with her in tow hoping to find her father.  He stops along the way to check on relatives. It's was an interesting story about priorities and the crazy things people might do when the world is about to end. A little unrealistic at times and some of the scenes were a little irritating like when he shows up at this wild, orgy-, drug-fest of a party leaves the little girl alone with crazy people and decides to follow this idiot girlfriend for some mindless sex? Really? He doesn't have better things to think about? I guess that was the point...the end is coming in a matter of hours why not be mindless? Or at the beginning when he takes off in his 1965 (?) attention-getting bright orange Chevy (?) with people wandering the streets carrying guns and looting, cars in the middle of the street on fire, and he doesn't for a minute think driving the only car that is working maybe he should lock the car door or carry a weapon? He runs for too long from a guy attacking him with a machete...a machete? Why not bash the guy over the head and take it from him? And who the hell is on the radio giving an update? Nothing else is functioning but some guy on a radio knows what is happening in the rest of the world? The last scene with the little girl was written poorly and the writers were confusing her with an adult. She wouldn't have behaved that way. A little melodramatic, unrealistic, some of the performances were good with moments of not-so-good, but it kept me watching and wondering what I would do if I knew I only had 12 hours to live.  ***


Why Him? James Franco plays an incredibly immature, dysfunctional, wealthy tech developer who is in love with a much younger Stanford college student. The girlfriend invites her family (Bryan Cranston, Megan Mullally) to his estate to meet him over Christmas. He wants to ask her to marry him, but only with her father's permission. It was very stupid humor, but I think James Franco must have had a lot of fun playing that part. Wouldn't it be nice to be that rich and carefree? **

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Deck the Halls...

Every Thanksgiving it is my tradition to cut some branches off my neighbor's pine tree (LOL...) and make myself a wreath. Last year I forgot. And when I finally remembered I decided I just didn't care. I could live without a wreath. This year I am not feeling as apathetic although I admit I have no patience for Christmas music on the radio lately. Donning garden shears I attacked the tree with new-found vigor. I even added some holly from my holly tree:



I didn't stop there! Hmmm...time to dig out the Christmas tree. It's fake and small. I haven't set it up for years because it just seems like such a waste of energy, but I did it anyway. Not sure what is possessing me.


Then I went to the Black Friday sales and bought some new Christmas lights. I love Christmas lights and they were cheap:


Oddly enough, I'm even considering making Christmas cookies this year. It might be dangerous. I used to make decorated sugar cookies and give them away, but since starting the gluten-, sugar-, dairy-free diet, I fear I wouldn't have the willpower. We'll see.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Smart Doctors Have One of These...


But then there are doctors who have not one, but two of these posters hanging in their office, yet scent their offices with essential oils. Wow. It pays to ask specific questions. I understand she's more of a "Chemical-Free Zone" person, but stink is stink and her posters should be clear.

You can buy your own poster at Mariposa Naturals For A Toxin-Free Experience

Monday, November 13, 2017

Festival!!!

I've had this little shelf for years, nearly my whole adulthood. One early morning as I was driving to work I past my apartment complex's garbage dumpster, there this little shelf stood looking neglected and unwanted. I slammed on my brakes. It was painted a strange bright red paint that looked like an oil gloss or auto paint. It had heart stickers on it. I loved it immediately and threw it in my back seat. I loved the red and the mangled stickers that screamed, "I have a history!" so I didn't strip and paint it for a long time.



I used to display my ceramics on it. Then years later used it for my art history books until my collection got too big. For the past twelve years it's been in my kitchen filled with cookbooks. I have red accents all over my kitchen because of this shelf. It's such a whimsy little shelf, so I put a whimsy little design on it with curly leaves. No red though. I hope I can cope. I guess I should buy new dish towels....or move it to another room. I don't think it matches any of my rooms!


My house is looking so cheerful!


Happy! Happy! Happy!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Flourless Cashew Bread (Recipe)

This is a gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free recipe. It does have eggs and yogurt so it's not dairy-free. It was posted by GirlAlive on her blog, TheRighttoBeAlive. She made it with her fancy Thermomix machine, but the recipe works fine using old-fashioned mixing and stirring. I had grave reservations it would turn out as I'm not good at baked goods and I had to convert the measurements from grams to cups so I was afraid it would be a little off. All is good.



Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups cashew flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks and 3 egg whites
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup apple juice
coconut oil

If you can't find cashew flour, you can make it yourself by grinding raw cashews into a fine meal using a blender, grinder or food processor. Mix the cashew flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Add egg yolks, yogurt and apple juice, mix completely. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter, mix thoroughly.

Grease a pan with a little coconut (or other) oil. I used a 10" x 10" baking dish because it seemed like I had way too much batter for a small loaf pan, but the batter condenses while baking so a large loaf pan would work wonderfully. Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for one hour, then 10 minutes at 350 degrees for a golden brown.

For a gluten-free, grain-free bread, it has a lovely texture and wonderful taste. Because I used a larger pan, once I cut them into squares it was almost like eating soft cookies, but this bread is not sweet so don't let it fool you.

The only problem is you might be tempted to eat the whole thing in one sitting. Easy to do. I'm trying really hard not to do this right now!

Thanks, GirlAlive. Great recipe.

Yum.


Wednesday, November 8, 2017

A Day of Firsts...

Actually I wasn't looking this
calm at the time and I
definitely wasn't sitting up.
First time to ever call 911 in an emergency.

First time to ever to be hauled out of my house on a gurney. (So embarrassing.)

First time to ride in an ambulance.

First time to ever go to a hospital's emergency room.

First time to reach my insurance deductible. (Ouch!)

First time to ever ride in a police car.

It also felt like the first time I realized my friends suck, however, I already knew that. My friends deserted me a long time ago when I first became chemically sensitive. So I replaced them with people who I had hoped were better. Some of them are even fragrance-free which even makes them safe, but in a crisis, no one is available. No one is there to help. No one is there for support. It's very humbling.

I kept thinking if I ever got a text or call from a friend who is in the hospital and clearly crying, I'd be putting on my coat and running out the door before the conversation was over. But most of my friends are married. They aren't going to call me first. Or second. Or a week later. They might not call me at all. I am a non-entity which is probably why when I called them the crisis didn't even register. However, I don't use phones so getting a call from me should have been a huge red flag. My friends are colorblind. I also realize living in the middle of no where is not helpful if you are in need of support.

It makes me think those of us who are chemically sensitive need to organize and support each other better. We need to be advocates for each other in emergency situations when the doctor is so incompetent someone with a clear head can ask questions and demand action. We need to help each other when the going gets tough or someone needs assistance. Not sure how to do that since we are spread out all over the world and hiding in isolation, but I'm thinking on it.

Any ideas?

I am happy to report only one person in the whole ER stunk. One of the radiology technicians was bathed in some kind of scented lotion. Everyone else was fragrance-free and the rooms didn't stink of chemicals. That was really helpful. My stress level was already high, but I can't imagine how the day would have gone if I were poisoned as well.

Now I'm going to go binge watch Game of Thrones. I deserve it.



Tuesday, October 31, 2017

October Movie Reviews

*****  Exceptional
****    Great
***      OK
**        So So
*          Blah

Absolutely Fabulous was absolutely the worst! Incredibly stupid British comedy. I think British stupid comedy is worse than American. I could never tolerate all those Austin Powers movies either. I lasted about ten minutes. *

Allied is about a French Resistance woman (Marion Cotillard) and a Canadian Intelligence Officer (Brad Pitt) who meet in Casablanca during WWII to assassinate a German officer. They fall in love, have a baby, then his commanders inform him his wife might be a German spy. He doesn't know if it's for real or if they are testing him and his loyalty. Very good. Excellent performances. Outstanding costumes. Great photography. This was quality Brad Pitt which has been missing for a long time. ****

All Nighter is about an awkward banjo-playing boyfriend (Emile Hirsch) who has little ambition and a whole lot of love for his girlfriend. He meets her dad (J.K. Simmons) at dinner and fails miserably every time he opens his mouth. Six months later dad shows up at his apartment looking for his daughter only to find they broke up months before. He enlists the ex-boyfriend to help find her, searching Los Angeles while following leads from one place to another all night long. It was rather entertaining and sweet. Performances were great. ***

Amateur Night was about a clean-cut, straight-up, unemployed father-to-be architect (Jason Biggs) who needs a job to pay for the hospital bills. He answers an ad for a delivery man job and ends up delivering hookers to their jobs. It's a comedy.  ***

Annie 1981 with Carol Burnett who is outstanding and hilarious. Also with Bernadette Peters, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry and Albert Finney. Excellent version, exceptional music, outstanding performances by all. That cute little Aileen Quinn is a perfect Annie. I've seen this move a dozen times but it's been a long time. I love a classic that stands the test of time. *****

Beauty and the Beast The one with real people and lots of well-known actors and actresses like Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Emma Watson, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline. I didn't realize I've never even seen the cartoon. This was typical Disney: beautiful sets, great music, classic plot. Loved it. ****

Black Beauty I thought Black Beauty was shipped to India, in a shipwreck, on an island, and rescued by a kid...or something. This was the life of a horse and the horse narrates (with Alan Cummings' voice). It was a sweet story. The horse was spectacular. Kids would love it. ***

Closure is about a young African-American woman who was adopted as a baby by a couple  who adopted eight (?) others. At the time doctors thought she would never walk and didn't know how extensive her disabilities would be. She ended up being a basketball player! She started asking questions about her birth family when she was about 12 and begins searching when she was about 25 years old. All she has to go on is a short summary given to her adopted parents when they adopted her with their last names obscured with white out. It was superb. Very moving. ****

The Comedian stars Robert DeNiro as an aging comedian who was once a popular sit-com star a character he can't shake no matter where he goes. After assaulting an audience member and spending time in prison, he does community service in a soup kitchen where he meets Harmony (Leslie Mann). It's a quirky non-love story. All-star cast with Danny DeVito, Edie Falco, Charles Grodin, Cloris Leachman, Patti Lupone and Harvey Keitel. Even Billy Crystal makes an appearance. Great scenes of rainy, snowy New York City with a jazz soundtrack. ***

Do You Take This Man is about a gay couple getting married and the 24 hours before the wedding as they find out things about each other they didn't know, question issues of trust,  feelings of stress and wondering  how to make it work. It's very sweet and romantic. ***

Equals was very interesting. It's a futuristic, sci-fi about a community devoid of emotion. There is some indication there was a big nuclear explosion or some catastrophe that changed civilization. There are now two areas, one with the Equals where no one feels anything and the other called the province (?) where hoodlums and those emotional people live. If you contract SOS and start feeling emotions, you are doomed. The "disease" has stages. Early stages and you are prescribed an inhibitor, later stages and you are carted off to the DEM to be exterminated. There are "hidders" people who are afflicted who pretend they are not, but if anyone sees signs of emotion in anyone they are to report them. Then there are "couplers"...no one is allowed to touch so sex is out of the question. Lots of people who become emotional don't understand their feelings and think they are doomed so they commit suicide. One man who has beautiful blue eyes (Nicholas Hoult) begins feeling emotions and starts noticing a woman (Kristen Stewart) who seems to react to things although secretly. Mesmerized, he starts following her around. They begin meeting in secret. It was rather interesting. Stewart is always really good at acting tormented so this was a perfect role for her. The photography was great with zoom-ins on emotional body language, especially eyes. The climax is edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. ****

Final Girl is a bizarre story about four teenage psychopaths who have been murdering women by hunting them through the woods. Veronica (Abigail Breslin) has been trained since a young girl to take them down. Not sure of the timeline here...if these boys have been murdering for the last twelve years and they are still in high school...hmmm... Anyway Breslin is kick ass and turns the tables on them by hunting them through the woods. It's gory...and strange. ***

Gremlins What a weird movie! It starts out feeling like a children's movie with kids and cute stuffed-animal looking creatures that coo and sing. Then it all goes wrong when they turn into these evil little beasts with fangs, red eyes and claws. Very violent. Then the girl tells why she hates Christmas - her father dressed in a Santa suit, thought he'd surprise them by crawling down the chimney with toys, and broke his neck...they found him a few days later when he began to smell. GOOD GOD! Definitely not a children's movie! And there was absolutely no reason for that story. So weird. Substandard performances by all. **

I'm Not Ashamed is the story of Rachel Joy Scott, the Christian girl who was killed at Columbine High School who professed her faith right to the last moment of life. Sweet story, all God-talk and cultish. I think kids who are in pain migrate toward something outside themselves that will give them strength and hope, and therefore, they are the most impressionable and easy conversion targets. I know I was as a teenager. Religion is all about how to survive suffering, or more importantly, how to make sense of and accept suffering. The lead actress was really outstanding. Some of the script was cliché and tired, but it was a good movie. Mass murders are senseless and it gets really tiring to hear how everyone should pray for the victims and their families as if that really does anything to promote change. The world sucks right now in so many ways with so much hate, disrespect, and apathy. ***

Into the Forest is a futuristic apocalyptic movie about a man and his two daughters (Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood) who are living up the woods somewhere, three days walk from town. The power grid goes out, no gas, no internet, no cell phone. They stock up on food and have chickens, but why they never fixed the roof which drips water constantly I can't figure out. Then the father has a chainsaw accident and dies. The girls are on their own but learn through books how to identify plants, herbs, etc and learn to store food. A sleazy man shows up for some drama. It was a nice movie about sisterly devotion and dedication. Yay, girl power! ****

Jack Reacher I've never been a Tom Cruise fan, but the sequel of this movie looked interesting so I ordered both. It's about an ex-military police officer highly trained who goes off the grid, but somehow knows when he is needed. I like a character with superpowers and this guy can take out a whole group of men in a matter of minutes. That was fun. And the character has moral conviction - another trait I admire - battling corruption and sleaziness. The story was OK although a little unbelievable, the dialogue was at times unrealistic with long dramatic speeches, the performances were adequate, the chase scenes with that Camaro were really good. Robert DeNiro has a small role and he was great. ***

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back This one had a slightly more interesting story centered on government and military corruption. And a kid to add some intrigue and emotion. They sure did run a lot in this movie, all the time. It was exhausting. I just don't care for Tom Cruise. ***

Keeping Up with the Joneses is about a middle class couple (Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher) living on the perfect cul-de-sac working their mundane jobs, living their mundane lives and then the new neighbors (Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot) move in. Can Hamm and Gadot be any more gorgeous?  The neighbors can't help but watch them and feel envious at their romance and supposedly exciting jobs until they start acting suspicious...like spies. It was cute and funny and I could look at Jon Hamm for hours without getting bored. ***

Patriot's Day was about the Boston Marathon bombing. All-star cast with Mark Walberg, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and others. Excellent story. Great music. Superb performances. During the bombing scenes it was like horror movie music. ****

Silence is about the last Christian missionaries in Japan during the 1600s and the persecution of Japanese Christians who converted. Adam Driver was rocking some serious cheekbones. Both he and Andrew McCarthy must have lost a lot of weight to play those parts. The story was very disturbing. The martyrdom of Christians was ruthless and exceedingly torturous. The Christian devotion shown right to the end is zealous and ignorant. Beautiful scenery, excellent performances, disturbing story. ***

The Space Between Us was about a kid born on a space station on Mars and because his fetal development took place in zero gravity, he is incompatible with Earth. So he's stuck. At age 16 he meets a girl online who is on Earth, and with a photo of his mother and father decides he wants to risk his life, go the Earth to meet the girl and find his dad. It was a sweet story and fun to see him amazed by Earth since we all take it for granted. Some of the lines of teenage love were a little corny, but I think kids are corny anyway. ***

Split was about this guy (James McAvoy) who has 23 split personalities and he kidnaps three teenage girls. Two are debutante types and the third is strangely anti-social and odd. She gives us flashbacks of past trauma incited by present trauma, but her story is unclear to the end.  Psycho-thriller. McAvoy was outstanding. Betty Buckley played his therapist. ***

Whiskey Tango Fox Trot is about a reporter (Tina Fey) stuck in a rut in NYC and opts to take an assignment in Afghanistan. It was an interesting drama with humor thrown in for fun. There are scary people in the world. ***

The Wiz Live! is a live television production of the Broadway musical The Wiz from 2015. All-star cast: Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Amber Riley, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo, Uzo Aduba, and Stephanie Mills came back as Auntie Em. The sweet thing who played Dorothy had an outstanding voice and spirit. I had no idea that Uzo Aduba could sing that well. I loved the 1978 movie with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and I used to have the soundtrack.  One of my favorite songs, if not my favorite song of all time is "Home." Excellent. Loved the "Making of the Wiz Live" bonus. And then I watched it all again...*****

The Zookeeper's Wife is about how the Zabinska family, owners of the Warsaw Zoo after the zoo was destroyed and the animals shipped off or killed by the Germans, started a pig farm as a cover to smuggle Jews out of the Warsaw Ghetto. Excellent story, great performances. I hated Jessica Chastain's fake accent...it just seemed wrong, but other than that it was excellent. All and anything could be forgiven with one glimpse of those snuggly white lion cubs. ****