Shelly and I spent our week at the beach in October and enjoyed gorgeous weather and relaxation. There was a classic car show at the Inlet and we saw these classic beauties cruising up and down the Coastal Highway. Most cars were from the 1960's and 70's but there were some 1950's with tail fins, and older models.
We dined outside for lunch every day, and enjoyed the sunshine and moderate temperatures. Here's a couple photos and a video of a sunrise.



We also binge-watched a couple miniseries and a movie. I had been waiting for The Sopranos prequel movie, "The Many Saints of Newark," to air. It was decent, but not great, maybe a 6.5 out of 10 stars. It's a movie on HBO Max and at the theater and is the prequel to the classic HBO series, "The Sopranos." It takes place in the 1960's and 70's and is about the DiMeo crime family headed by Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Christopher from The Sopranos. The teen Anthony Soprano, Dickies' nephew, is played by Michael Gandolfini, James Gandolfini's (Tony Soprano) son. It takes place in Newark, NJ, and also features young stars from The Sopranos, including Silvio, Pussy, Paulie, and Carmelo. Here's the trailer:
The movie features a number of places and events that were originally referenced in The Sopranos. It also shows Tony's struggle with his mother, Livia. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say it was a decent movie and worth watching. As a major fan of The Sopranos, I was happy to see the references, the young characters, and some answers to questions I had. I read that there might be a spin-off from this movie, which would be great.
We also watched a fantastic miniseries on Netflix called "Maid." It's about a young woman in Washington state who flees her home with her 3-year old daughter due to domestic violence. It follows the pair as they enter a domestic violence shelter, and she becomes a maid cleaning enormous houses on FIsher Island. Her struggles to provide for her daughter while enduring almost daily obstacles, government red-tape, and generally, everyone dumping shit on her is heart-wrenching. However, there is inspiration in the story as she fights every day to survive and her pursuit of attending college to become a writer. The story is told through the journal she keeps on events, thoughts, and feelings.
Rarely do I have visceral reactions to TV series, but I found myself feeling sadness and pain during her lows, and cheering her when she succeeded. It's inspired by the powerful New York Times best-selling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land.
It stars Margaret Qualley as Alex the maid, and Andie McDowell as her mother, and untreated, bipolar, free-spirit. The acting is wonderful, and IMDB gives it 8.6 stars out of 10. I give it a 9. I highly recommend you watch it if you have Netflix. Here's the trailer:
Lastly we watched the 6-episode miniseries, "The Undoing," on HBO Max. It's an excellent psychological "who done it" starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, and Donald Sutherland. Kidman and Grant play wife and husband clinical psychologist and oncologist in NY City, and have a 12 year-old son. A woman is murdered and...and that's about all I'll say. I think you'll enjoy it very much. I give it 8 out of 10 stars. Here's the trailer.
We're back home and look forward to next month when we return to our beloved beach.
Comments