How do I know when autumn has settled in for good? I’m suddenly making soups and stews. Friday was Turkey tomatillo chili with okra added to thicken things up; Saturday was yellow eyed bean soup with some chopped fennel left over from another recipe. A risotto with butternut squash and chestnuts (above) is already in the rearview mirror; I’m eyeing a pork stew next. The dutch oven and the Instant Pot are getting a workout.
It’s all comfort food for a huddle-up nestle-down season. The bears are going into the cave and taking with them proven pleasures: Books they want to reread over the coming months, favorite movies and music and TV shows. There are certain films I go to for the warmth of their familiarity, delighted that the same thing will happen the same way no matter how many times I watch it. Certain jokes get funnier: Katharine Hepburn answering Cary Grant’s frenzied plea to vacate her apartment (there’s a leopard loose in it) with a calm “But, David, I have a lease,” or the store clerk who, when asked whether the balloons come in funny shapes, responds “Not unless round’s funny.” (“Bringing Up Baby” and “Raising Arizona” respectively.)
Powell and Pressburger’s “I Know Where I’m Going!” — not just a great romantic comedy but the template for an entire genre — is for me a mug of cocoa that never hits bottom. The human comedy of Yasujiro Ozu’s “Ohayo” (“Good Morning”) can tide me over to spring. Anything with Fred Astaire in it is another log on the fire. I’ll spend the months between this year’s bountiful mushroom crop and next year’s with a viewing or two of the luscious “Phantom Thread.”
All right, maybe “Phantom Thread” wouldn’t top your list — it’s an acquired taste. But that’s the point: You’re holing up with the things that taste good to you. So what’s your cultural comfort food? What’s the movie you’ll always stop and watch when you come across it while channel surfing? Or the TV show that never gets old, or the album you’ve listened to so often it’s engraved on your DNA? Time to share while we’re loading up the larder.
holing up with the things that taste good to you. So what’s your cultural comfort food? Mostly noir, certainly not the Celtics. I did however just finish Silverview, le Carré’s swan song to spydom and his readers 😢sad but revealing, his son, Nick’s afterward seems spot on and provides comfort…
The Long Kiss Goodnight - have not seen it for years, but could not get enough of it for a long time. Comedy thriller? It was smart enough to not take itself too seriously.
There are many films I'll watch whenever they are on TV, but certainly among them are "feel good" movies: Casablanca, Ride the High Country, Sullivan's Travels, And Then There Were None, North by Northwest. In other categories - Straight Story, almost any Noir especially Kubrick's The Killing, L.A. Confidential, Advise and Consent and so, so many others . . .
Anything with Fred & Ginger, and The Bandwagon, The Shop Around the Corner; Austen’s Persuasion (her best, IMO); Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life and Inner Visions; Steely Dan’s Aja; all the Ella Songbooks (got ‘em all!); Joni’s Hissing of Summer Lawns; turkey chili, chicken soup, and minestrone.
Given that my list of all-time favorites (10/10, *****) has recently passed the 200 mark, I've never asked myself this question. But even without looking at the list, I know that the two films that make me absurdly happy are "School of Rock" and "That Thing You Do." Obviously that's a residue of my years as a rock critic (1972 - 2003), but I'd somehow never made that connection before.
(And my cinephilia is directly connected to it: I met David Kleiler because he was connected to the local punk / new wave scene through his musician son David Jr., and 20+ years later I essentially adopted him as my film mentor after I'd changed teams from literature.)
Don’t forget a pan of Katherine Hepburn brownies — the best!
holing up with the things that taste good to you. So what’s your cultural comfort food? Mostly noir, certainly not the Celtics. I did however just finish Silverview, le Carré’s swan song to spydom and his readers 😢sad but revealing, his son, Nick’s afterward seems spot on and provides comfort…
Ps. Comfort food for thought
The Long Kiss Goodnight - have not seen it for years, but could not get enough of it for a long time. Comedy thriller? It was smart enough to not take itself too seriously.
Local Hero. Quirky script + great Lancaster performance + awesome soundtrack + amazing setting.
There are many films I'll watch whenever they are on TV, but certainly among them are "feel good" movies: Casablanca, Ride the High Country, Sullivan's Travels, And Then There Were None, North by Northwest. In other categories - Straight Story, almost any Noir especially Kubrick's The Killing, L.A. Confidential, Advise and Consent and so, so many others . . .
The Lady Eve.
Movie: Breaker Morant; Album:Blue; TV show: The Wire ( that was too easy);food:navy bean soup.
Anything with Fred & Ginger, and The Bandwagon, The Shop Around the Corner; Austen’s Persuasion (her best, IMO); Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life and Inner Visions; Steely Dan’s Aja; all the Ella Songbooks (got ‘em all!); Joni’s Hissing of Summer Lawns; turkey chili, chicken soup, and minestrone.
The engraved on my DNA albums are Revolver and the Band, but I totally get the Joni references tho I’d be a Hejira guy if I had to choose.
So, where's the recipe for the Butternut Squash Risoto?
Given that my list of all-time favorites (10/10, *****) has recently passed the 200 mark, I've never asked myself this question. But even without looking at the list, I know that the two films that make me absurdly happy are "School of Rock" and "That Thing You Do." Obviously that's a residue of my years as a rock critic (1972 - 2003), but I'd somehow never made that connection before.
(And my cinephilia is directly connected to it: I met David Kleiler because he was connected to the local punk / new wave scene through his musician son David Jr., and 20+ years later I essentially adopted him as my film mentor after I'd changed teams from literature.)