Monthly Archives: July 2023

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Animation | Directed by Christopher McCulloch
A beloved Adult Swim cartoon comes back to tie up some loose ends.


Dean Venture (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas), left, and Dr. Orpheus (Steven Rattazzi) in “The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart.”
By DANIELLE DOWLING

Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, Biography | Directed by Salima Koroma
The fraught behind-the-scenes drama of the short-lived quiz game app is chronicled in this smart, briskly funny documentary.


A still from the documentary “Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia,” directed by Salima Koroma.
By CALUM MARSH

They Cloned Tyrone
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Juel Taylor
In Juel Taylor’s imaginative sci-fi movie, Boyega teams up with Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris to find the forces undermining their community.


Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, Jamie Foxx as Slick Charles, John Boyega as Fontaine in “They Cloned Tyrone,” a film Directed by Juel Taylor.
By ROBERT DANIELS

Remainder
NYT Critic’s Pick | Directed by Na Jiazuo
In Na Jiazuo’s striking directorial debut, young people inhabit a place seemingly made up of those who owe money and the thugs who try to beat it out of them.


Huang Miyi, left, and Li Jiuxiao in “Streetwise.”
By GLENN KENNY

Return to Dust
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Ruijun Li
Li Ruijun’s newest feature is a touching portrait of love and resiliency that doubles as a critique of China’s ruling class.


Hai Qing and Wu Renlin in “Return to Dust.”
By AUSTIN CONSIDINE

Oppenheimer
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, History | Directed by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s complex, vivid portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” is a brilliant achievement in formal and conceptual terms.


Christopher Nolan’s new film, “Oppenheimer,” Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, N.M.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Barbie
PG-13 | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | Directed by Greta Gerwig
She’s in the driver’s seat, headed for uncharted territory (flat feet!). But there are limits to how much dimension even Greta Gerwig can give this branded material.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Food! Glorious Food!

Price Increases Lead to Big Jump in Profit at PepsiCo
The maker of Gatorade and Lay’s, which nearly doubled its profit in its latest quarter, has been raising prices by double-digit percentages for more than a year.
By J. EDWARD MORENO

A Sriracha Shortage? It Depends Which Brand You’re Looking For.
Huy Fong Foods is having production issues for the second year in a row, causing some people to pay high prices on eBay. Other hot sauce makers are seizing the moment.
By REMY TUMIN and CLAIRE MOSES

Aspartame Is a Possible Cause of Cancer in Humans, a W.H.O. Agency Says
The F.D.A. and the powerful beverage industry protested the new findings, and a second W.H.O. group stood by its standard that the sweetener is generally safe.
By CHRISTINA JEWETT

4 Easy Dishes That Embrace Everyday Vegetables
These vegetarian recipes transform affordable produce and pantry staples into spectacular dishes.


Ripe tomatoes blended into a spicy salsa add freshness to cheesy potato tacos.
By HETTY LUI MCKINNON

EAT
The Sandwich Southerners Wait for All Year
A lush tomato, eaten in peak summer, is meant to be pined over.


By ERIC KIM

A GOOD APPETITE
The Easiest Salted Caramel Ice Cream Doesn’t Require a Machine
Whipped cream and store-bought dulce de leche are all you need for this frozen summer treat.


This no-churn recipe has deep, complex flavor and toasty caramel notes
By MELISSA CLARK

Paneer Chile Dry is Spicy and Sticky, Crisp and Melting
And if your basil plant is going bananas, there’s punchy, speedy pad krapow gai (Thai basil chicken) and basil butter pasta.


By MELISSA CLARK

Venison Steak Salad
By Nigella Lawson

Anchor Brewing, the Oldest Craft Brewer in the U.S., Will Close After 127 Years
“The stake through the heart of Anchor was the pandemic,” a company spokesman said.
By LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA

The Martini Has Lost Its Mind
Ordering a dirty martini these days doesn’t guarantee gin, vermouth or even an olive — but you might get squid ink or a mozzarella ball.
By Becky Hughes

THE POUR
A Fresh Look at French Wine, From the Inside Out
For the first time in 20 years, a sweeping new wine book examines France thoroughly. What’s new may be surprising.
By ERIC ASIMOV

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

| Afire
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Christian Petzold
Christian Petzold’s new film, about a sour young writer and the woman he desires, generates both cruel comedy and heartbreak.


Thomas Schubert, left, and Paula Beer in “Afire,” a tale about friendship and romance, jealousy and enmity.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

20 Days in Mariupol
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Mstyslav Chernov
While the Ukrainian city was under siege by Russian forces, a team of journalists recorded the brutal war, resulting in this essential documentary.


A scene from the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” which charts Russia’s attack on the city.
By JASON FARAGO

Theater Camp
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Comedy | Directed by Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman
In this bitterly funny mockumentary set at a drama institute, the actors feel their characters in their bones.


Molly Gordon and Ben Platt, foreground, in “Theater Camp.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Lakota Nation vs. United States
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary, History | Directed by Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli
In 1980, the Lakota were offered money for their stolen Black Hills land. They refused to accept the settlement and continue to fight today.


By CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN

Black Ice
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Documentary, Sport | Directed by Hubert Davis
The Canadian filmmaker Hubert Davis amplifies the voices of hockey players of color and reveals the sport’s lesser-known pioneers in this smart, sensitive documentary.


A scene from “Black Ice.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Earth Mama
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Savanah Leaf
In Savanah Leaf’s moving, intimate feature debut, a pregnant woman tries to regain custody of her two children in foster care.


Tia Nomore, right, who stars as a pregnant single mother in “Earth Mama,” with Doechii.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Thriller | Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
In this franchise’s seventh entry, Tom Cruise’s mission includes increasingly improbable leaps, chases and stunts. Luckily for us, he chooses to accept it.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Gray Matter
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Meko Winbush
Things don’t go well when a teenage girl with mental superpowers ends up at a secret facility in this Max movie entirely devoid of suspense or character.
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Food! Glorious Food!

Cottage Cheese Makes a Comeback
The diet staple of the ’70s is jiggling back into the mainstream — bringing with it a host of health benefits.
By Dani Blum

Our ‘Best Gazpacho’ Is a Five-Star Reader Favorite to Sip All Summer
“I could live on it, and might,” writes one reader. “This is my third weekend making a double batch,” notes another.


By JULIA MOSKIN

It’s Never Been a Better Time for Vegan Ice Cream
As the bases for nondairy versions have improved, so have the offerings at plant-based dessert shops around the country.
By CHRISTINA MORALES

It’s Too Hot to Cook. Make These Cool Summer Recipes Instead.
Here are 24 no-cook recipes for when it’s too sweltering outside to sear, roast, sauté, boil or even think of turning on the stove.
By KRYSTEN CHAMBROT

This Fried-Zucchini Pasta Took Three Generations to Perfect
Capers and pistachios play on a tradition from Yotam Ottolenghi’s family.


By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

A Corn Pudding That Tastes Like Elotes
“It’s like Mexican street corn and cornbread had a baby.”


By KIM SEVERSON

EAT
This Melon Salad Is Pure Pleasure
Flavor and texture take top billing in a simple Jamaican dish.


By BRYAN WASHINGTON

ENGLAND DISPATCH
At This Brewery, Blessings Are as Important as Barley and Hops
At Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, the monks help make Britain’s only Trappist beer, a full-bodied brew that has won fans since its launch five years ago.


Father Joseph Delargy saying a blessing at the beginning of the work day at the Tynt Meadow, Meadow brewery in Coalville, England.
By STEPHEN CASTLE

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Once Upon a Time in Uganda
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Cathryne Czubek
A new documentary tells how a Ugandan filmmaker and an American producer have reshaped African cinema.


By ROBERT DANIELS

Amanda
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Carolina Cavalli
A delusional college grad befriends an agoraphobic misanthrope in this stylish dark comedy by the Italian | Director Carolina Cavalli.


From left, Galatéa Bellugi as Rebecca and Benedetta Porcaroli as Amanda in the Carolina Cavalli feature “Amanda.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Lesson
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Thriller | Directed by Alice Troughton
A tense standoff between two writers kindles familial fireworks in this wittily self-aware melodrama.


An unhappy family in a den of deceit: from left, Richard E. Grant, Daryl McCormack, Julie Delpy and Stephen McMillan in “The Lesson.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Biosphere
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by Mel Eslyn
What happens when a petulant, anti-intellectual president destroys the planet and he and his childhood buddy, the brainy one, are the only survivors?


Sterling K. Brown (left) plays the wiser consigliere to Mark Duplass’s childish former president in “Biosphere.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Joy Ride
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy | Directed by Adele Lim
Four friends travel to China in a trip that goes entertainingly off the rails in this terrific comedy, starring Ashley Park and Sherry Cola.


From left, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola, Ashley Park and Sabrina Wu in “Joy Ride.”
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Food! Glorious Food!

In Scotland, Taking the Traditional and Making It New
Tartan, whisky, restaurants in the middle of nowhere — all are being reimagined in newly fashionable “Outlander” territory.
By AMY TARA KOCH

36 HOURS
36 Hours on Martha’s Vineyard
Seafood shacks, charming cottages and wild beauty are just a few of the draws that lure visitors to the Massachusetts island year after year.
By REMY TUMIN

The 20 Best Texas Barbecue Restaurants From the New Generation
Over the last decade, the rule book for barbecue has been rewritten. Here are some the most important new authors of this singular cuisine.
By BRETT ANDERSON and PRIYA KRISHNA

TUNISIA DISPATCH
In Tuna-Obsessed Tunisia, a Favorite Food Becomes a Lot Less Affordable
Tunisians put canned tuna on pizza, pastries and pretty much everything else. Don’t even ask for a tuna-free sandwich. But inflation risks turning an everyday essential into a luxury out of reach.
By VIVIAN YEE

Prue Leith’s Great American Road Trip
The “Great British Baking Show” judge steps out of the tent to sample the flavors of the U.S. on a 2,200-mile drive.
By PRUE LEITH

In Berlin, a Summer of Open-Fire Cooking
Plus: a hotel in a former palace, artisanal Italian sweets and more recommendations from T Magazine.

A GOOD APPETITE
A Cherry Pie That’s as Sweet (or Sour) as You Want It to Be
Use whatever kind of cherries — fresh or frozen, sour or sweet — in this adaptable cherry pie from Melissa Clark.


Cherry season is fleeting, but a classic cherry pie is forever.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
This Melon Salad Is Pure Pleasure
Flavor and texture take top billing in a simple Jamaican dish.
By BRYAN WASHINGTON

It’s Not Summer Without a Tinto de Verano
The irresistible combination of red wine and citrusy soda has been a longtime favorite in Spain — and it’s perfect for at-home bars, too.


With a name that specifically calls out summer, there’s no mistaking the ideal time to sip a tinto de verano.
By Rebekah Peppler

THE POUR
In Sherry Country, Wines of the Future That Look to the Past
Using older methods and sometimes forgotten grapes, these producers hope to reveal the magic of the terroir to a new generation of consumers.
A palomino vineyard in Pago Miraflores, where Alejandro Muchada is making unfortified white wines and resurrecting traditional viticultural methods.

A palomino vineyard in Pago Miraflores, where Alejandro Muchada is making unfortified white wines and resurrecting traditional viticultural methods.
By Eric Asimov

Maggie Harrison’s War on Wine
Her painstaking blends are dazzling diners and critics — and upending long-held notions about how winemaking is supposed to work.
By ALEX HALBERSTADT