Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week. It's hard to believe we are already in October, I'm not sure where I misplaced September.
1) Many of us fondly recall the 1991 movie Father of the Bride, starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton as parents whose daughter is getting married, much to the dismay of her father who still thinks of her as a little girl. The charming movie was so successful it spawned a sequel, Father of the Bride 2, about the daughter and her mother both having babies. Director Nancy Meyer reunited the entire cast for Father of the Bride 3 (ish), which featured the Banks family getting together on a Zoom call while son Mattie proposes to his girlfriend, a lovely nurse quarantining in a hotel room. It was such a delight to see everyone, as well as new members of the family, Ben Platt and Florence Pugh, who play the babies all grown up. Kieran Culkin's performance as Mattie was so sweet, it brought tears to my eyes. You can find the video on Netflix's YouTube channel here , and while you're there, donate money to World Central Kitchen, who do an amazing job feeding people affected by natural disasters and the COVID-19 crisis. 
2) I'm still obsessed with looking at people's backgrounds on TV, and trying to see what they books they have on their shelves. Author Eddie Glaude Jr. made it easy for me as he placed several of his books face out when he was on MSNBC, and I hope other people take notice and start doing the same.
3) We have 300 apartments in our building, and three elevators. With the COVID restrictions, each elevator at maximum capacity of two people, and more people moving back into New York, the lines to get into the elevator are getting longer and longer. Now I have to be strategic about leaving the apartment. I go to the laundry room at 6:30am, and no one is on the elevator or in the laundry room. Running errands during the day, I have to plan to avoid the morning rush, the after school crowd and after work rush. I don't how office buildings are going to make this work.
4) I watched the movie Just Mercy on HBO. It's based on the book by Bryan Stevenson about his work in Alabama providing legal assistance to men on death row. Michael B. Jordan is fantastic playing the character based on Stevenson, and Jamie Foxx is astonishing as a Black man falsely convicted of murdering a young white woman. This is a movie that everyone should watch, about how the legal system can be so abused by people who are callous at best and evil at worst. Tim Blake Nelson's performance as convicted felon whose testimony was coerced to get a conviction is also terrific. The trailer is here. 
5) I finished two books this week.
Reading the memoir Becoming Duchess Goldblatt was a great tonic. Duchess Goldblatt is a fictional character who became hugely popular on Twitter for sharing her gentle insights and witty sayings. This memoir is by the woman behind the Duchess, who created her after losing her husband, her new home, her job, and most of her friends following her divorce. She shares her terrible year, and how creating the Duchess brought her a new sense of self, many gifts, and new friendships, including one with her musical idol Lyle Lovett. She shares many of her best tweets in this heartwarming book. If you are on Twitter, give the Duchess a follow. 
If you like twisty psychological mysteries, Lisa Unger's new novel Confessions on the 7:45 is for you. When Selena sees her husband having sex with the nanny on camera, she confronts him. Does the woman she met on the train ride home and shared this information with have anything to do with her now-missing nanny? There are so many moving parts in this story, if you can guess what happened, you are smarter than me. My full review publishes on October 5th. 
I hope you have a good week- remember to wear a mask, stay socially distant, wash your hands, and make sure you are registered to vote. Our democracy depends on our active participation, and voting is the most effective way to make your voice be heard.
Just Mercy is on my list to watch. With all that's going on in the world right now, I don't need any added stress or anger, but it has important message and the reviews I've read are very positive. I listened to the book, but it's been several years now and a lot of the details are fuzzy.
ReplyDeleteWhat an ordeal to get in and out of your apartment building! I'm glad there are restrictions to keep people safe, but it must take a lot of planning to avoid the crowded lobbies. Stay safe!