Like filmaker Liz Garbus, I listened and loved the fascinating music of Nina Simone (her raspy voice, piano skills, and fearless song choices) for years, but I have not had a chance to learn about her life. Fortunately, Garbus had done all the hard work to create a striking documentary on Ms. Simone. Garbus’s sources came from Ms. Simone’s own voice speaking about her own life, diaries, and performances. She also conducted interviews with the people who were closest to Ms. Simone including her abusive husband, long-time guitarist Al Schackman, and beautiful daughter Simone Kelly. What Happened, Miss Simone? is a masterpiece that sheds the light on her life, which filled with turbulence such as fame, violence, and racism, and how it shaped her music and personality. It’s a must-watch on NetFlix for fans of Ms. Simone.

The interview with Liz Garbus about the film is also worth a read.

Took the boys to see Inside Out. With a big bucket of popcorn and comfortable couches at Regal Cinema, they made it through the entire movie even though they didn’t get the concept at all. This is definitely another groundbreaking work from the creative minds at Pixar. The storyline and the execution are superb as always. So glad to see they continue to push the envelope.

Because my three-year-old son is obsessed with dinosaurs, I checked out Jurassic World first to see if it is not too much for him to watch. As expected, it is not my type of movie and it isn’t good either. I doubt that my little guy can sit through 2 hours. Now I feel OK that he can skip it. We’ll try to catch Inside Out instead.

Stephanie Soechtig’s documentary, Fed Up, provides an informative and frightening perspective on obesity, sugar, and the food industry in America. You probably already know what causes most Americans to be overweight, but it is still worth watching. It is available on Netflix.

Speaking of fed up, I am in my third week of intermittent fasting and cutting off sugar as much as I can. In the morning, I replaced my hot coffee with hot green tea. I don’t eat anything until 1pm. Yesterday, I was so into working that I didn’t eat until 2:30pm and I felt fine. My daily lunch had been Spring Mix with four pieces of Thanh Sơn’s fried tofu and lots of Sriracha sauce. If I get tired of that, I would go to Così for a bit more fancy salad. I also walked a mile or so after lunch. Then I had another hot green tea. Dinner I just have a regular meal with my family. Skipping breakfast is not a big deal for me. I did that when I was younger. I usually had breakfast all by myself so I don’t miss it at all.

I am feeling better with the new routine even though I haven’t made that much change in my diet. Let’s see if I get better result in a few months.

D.L. Hughley goes through a huge pile of laundry list in his latest special Clear. It’s hard to remember every jokes he made, but one particular stood out on the topic of police brutality. His routine would have been more effective if he dove deeper into a particular topic rather than landed short punchlines. It took me a minute to get the “airbag” reference.

An emotional interaction between Kate, an A.L.S. patient played by Hilary Swank, and Bec, Kate’s caretaker played by Emmy Rossum. While Swank’s portrayal of an A.L.S. victim is excruciating and persuasive, Rossum’s depiction of a wild college student is sincere and convincing. Their powerful performances are the key success of the film.

What a charismatic stand-up comedian. For an hour and forty-five minutes, Gabriel Iglesias delivered his craft with high energy, clever transition, and sincere storytelling. From making flawless Indian accent to dealing with his weight to raising his stepson, Iglesias never ceased to be hilarious. He brought back so many great memories including fixing the good old Nintendo games and using the paid phone. The Fluffy Movie is highly entertaining.

Aziz Ansari drew a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden even though his performance was not superb. From immigration to animal cruelty to misogyny to technology, he had some good topics, but he didn’t land the punches. Perhaps he was too nice to take a firm position on his stands. It could also be that my expectation of him has escalated after Buried Alive.

One-line review of recent movies I have watched.

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, which took over twelve years to complete, gives viewers the true evolvement of the characters.

In Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, both Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman gave their outstanding performance.

In Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, Bruce Dern gave an unforgettable performance of an aging man who refused to give up what he believes.

Mark Raso’s Copenhagen is just a beautiful romance.

Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street marks a fruitful collaboration between Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio.

A brilliant documentary of the renowned designer couple Lella and Massimo Vignelli. Beyond their expansive portfolio ranging from corporate identities to furnitures to interior designs, what stood out are the two advices from Mr. Vignelli. First, never work with bad clients because you’ll get worse ones. If you work with good clients, you’ll find better ones. Second, it’s not about the size of the project, but the size of effort you put into it. Thank you Mr. Vignelli.