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    When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works,...

A thousand and One (2023)
A thousand and One (2023)
2023 | Drama
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
An excellent, emotional ride lead by a terrific Teyana Taylor
Inez (Teyana Taylor), fresh out of prison, takes her son from the foster home. The film follows their lives for over a decade as they strive to live a happy family life in the Harlem neighborhood of New York.

The acting is what carries the film the most. Everyone is fantastic. Grade-A performances.

The simple sets are well designed, and watching as their home evolves provides a brilliant layer to this film.

The brief moments of background narration showcasing the changing city as we progress through time was brilliant.

I only minus one star because I felt that the ending wasn't very satisfying, like the Director couldn't decide on whether the finale should be optimistic or not, so they opted for an anti-ending.

But I definitely recommend everyone give A Thousand and One a watch.
  
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
The hidden truth of those dogs, cats, and other four-legged friends you care about continues. More like a three episode animated series than a 80 minute feature film, The Secret Life of Pets is a collection of three interconnected stories, a Pup Furtion with Chloe as the wise Paul and four wolves instead of just Winston Wolf. First, Max (now voiced by Patton Oswald) and Katie have a new master, the baby/toddler Liam. Parenthood give Max an anxiety disorder turning him into a canine version of Marlin protecting his yound ward from all the dangers of New York City instead of the Great Barrier Reef. Katie and new hubby take Max and Duke to the country for some relaxation where Max meets alpha dog Rooster who teaches our old dog new tricks. The second story is Gidget who is entrusted with Max's toy Busy Bee and loses it in the apartment of a cat lady. Gidget is given lessons in cattitude by Chloe to save Busy Bee. Last up, Snowball who moonlights as a costumed hero meets a femme fatale Daisy who wants Snowball to save a circus tiger from an abusive Russian. For a supposed family feature, there is a lot of animal cruelty on display whether intentional or not. I cannot support any film without regard for the safety of its animal cast. Therefore, avoid Secret Life of Pets and watch Aladdin a second time.
  
Cartier's Hope
Cartier's Hope
M. J. Rose | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cartier's Hope is set within the gilded age of New York City during the year that Mr. Cartier and his infamous diamond were making headlines all over the city. However, despite the name, the diamond is a background character to Vera Garland, her journalist alter ego Vee and all of the drama that surrounds Vera's life.
Vera is a society girl turned journalist in 1910, which means she has ruffled feathers amongst all of her peers and her family. While trying to prove her worth as a journalist to her mother and the men in her field, she stumbles over a chance to get her big break and perhaps finally have a mother who is proud of her. But this means using Mr. Cartier, without his knowledge, to get her scoop.
There is a lot of hype around this book. And I fell into it, but the book did not live up to it. Overall it is a decent story. But there is so much in the way of background storytelling that readers can easily get lost in the noise. And while the diamond was a key part of the last third of the book, I feel we were oversold on the idea of the book centering around the diamond.