idris elba double feature!

"This is an optical illusion.

It's actually Black and White!"

 

Jay Sinclair, music man that he is, posted that on his fb.

I stole it as soon as I saw it, of course.

Such a pun lover am I!

 

And just what brought it to mind today?

Well, yesterday, I started my new A*List with two movies featuring one of my favorites, Idris Elba.

His half-century birthday is coming up, on September 6th, so I'm celebrating it early.

(smile!)

I had invited mi tres amigas to come along, but one had birthday80 celebrations for her mom, so she was out.

The other two agreed to the second film in the line-up, but abstained from the first.

No worries!

So, off I went to see "Beast" on my own!

Idris was a widowed doctor, toting his two teenaged daughters off to Africa to try to relive a happier time when their mom was alive.

The girls end up with a new appreciation for dear ol' dad after he saves their silly selves from a rampaging lion!

The movie is actually a travelogue to promote that continent, but it also carries a strong anti-poaching message.

It reminded me of the old Mutual Of Omaha Wild Kingdom films of my youth.

Nice!

Then I puttered about with errands while awaiting the 5:30 PM screening of "Three Thousand Years Of Longing", that Barbara and Carolyn had already planned to see.

Yeah, I meant to word it that way.

We had the room to ourselves, strangely enough, even though this was its opening night.

Let me assure you, dear reader, that this movie is well worth seeing!

In a way, it's like an old Arabian fairy tale, in which a being pleads for its freedom by beguiling its listener with a string of stories.  

This time, the fable weaver is a Djinn and the listener is an aging writer, off to explore other lands and gather new inspiration for her own tales.

What a lovely movie it is, too, almost bringing me to tears at its end, with mild whispers of another movie I had loved and found exquisite.

Afterward, we three older women headed off to dinner at Bonefish Grill!

That was always a favorite and we were actually out of the movie in plenty of time for the kitchen to be open.

That isn't usually the case, as Barbara favors late evening film times.

So, a special treat was needed for all!

And a special treat I had, too, opting for the Pineapple Glazed Shrimp, an chef's offering only available this evening.

How scrumptious it was!

And of course I had the Bonefish Salad as a side!

Carolyn ordered her usual, the Chilean Sea Bass.

Barbara took the appetizer-portion of the Ahi Tuna, changing this and that as she does.

(smile) 

It is rare that she orders anything as it's written on the menu.

(smile)

And while we were waiting for our meals, and even during them, we talked a little bit about the movie we had just shared.

I tried to steer the conversation to my experiences on a real movie set...

but neither of them seemed interested, so I dropped it.

Barbara did most of the talking, but none of it was new: complaints about her car debt, about her lack of holiday travel fare from the mother of her honorary 'granddaughter', about the missing amiga's failure to check in with her about Labor Day plans, about her lack of new students to tutor.

Seriously.

(Sigh)

I have only myself to blame.

I know how she is and I know how Carolyn has become.

It's as clear as black and white.

(Sigh)

Time for a change.

"$100,000 Pyramid" is about to come on and that's always fun for me.

Yes, please - more puns!

These are from last week's show.

"Are you squidding me?"

"The fax of life"

"A tale of two kitties"

"William Shook-speare"

"This Hertz me more than it Hertz you"

Very funny!

(smile!)