culture porn 1/12
our weekly playlist
screenshot me:
all of us strangers (searchlight) and passages (sbs)
plan a double feature with two riveting indies investigating the unsettling complications of queer romance. with stunning performances (andrew scott and paul mescal in STRANGERS, and PASSAGES' franz rogowski and ben whishaw) set in london (STRANGERS) and paris (PASSAGES), both stories explore the human struggle between loneliness and love. perhaps the truest way to seek connection is to start with one's self.
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the holdovers (peacock)
give me a boarding school and new england, and i'm interested (thank you DEAD POET'S SOCIETY). this recent alexander payne film uses paul giamatti's talents as a cranky professor who holidays on a deserted campus with dominic sessa (a strong newcomer, cast right from the boarding school he attended!) and the wonderful da'vine joy randolph. though it's a dramedy - a word i'm somewhat tired of hearing - it brings the right amount of comedy.
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the heaven & earth grocery store (riverhead books)
this book is so popular, i gave, received, and devoured james mcbride's NYT best-seller for the holidays. delving into the mix of jewish, black and christian cultures in pottstown, pennsylvania, its heart-wrenching tale of a family's love and life unspools over decades. i first fell for mcbride while working on the adaptation of his novel GOOD LORD BIRD with SHOWTIME, and while i prefer the earlier book, they both share his keen ear for character and authentic dialogue.
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die hard (available for rent on atv+ / prime):
this holiday break i was finally able to watch possibly one of the greatest christmas movies (yes, it's a holiday movie!) of all time. 80s LA office party meets bruce willis and alan rickman and reginald veljohnson: what's not to love? all who watched with me agreed that we miss movies like this. in fact, i want to host a DIE HARD themed holiday party one year. if you're a fellow fan, consider yourself invited.
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trading places (available for rent on atv+ / prime)
if you sense an 80s theme here, you're right. another brilliant holiday movie, that i finally watched in full thanks to encouragement from eric. eddie murphy - only 22 when this came out - is brilliantly comedic, as is dan akroyd. forty years after its release, this humanist screwball comedy has plenty of off-color jokes that would make 2024 jaws drop. but there's still so much to love, and i find the humor tinged with self-aware brashness.
insights & inspo
‘plant-based’ has lost all meaning
greenwashing has infiltrated the ‘plant-based’ food movement. originally coined for vegan or vegetarian diets, the label’s vagueness became an easy target for marketing misdirection, capitalizing on perceived healthiness. consumer skepticism has led to the association of plant-based foods with artificiality and now companies in this space are avoiding the label even if they shouldn’t have to. the future calls for greater transparency in ingredients and you know…being plant based.
more insights here