Monthly Archives: March 2024

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Truth vs. Alex Jones
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Dan Reed
| Directed by Dan Reed (“Leaving Neverland”), the documentary offers a lesson in how conspiracy theories work and shows how parents confronted Jones in court.


The documentary shows how, just as the parents were dealing with unfathomable grief, Alex Jones, through his Infowars broadcasts, began promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

La Chimera
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
In her latest dreamy movie, the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher follows a tomb raider, played by Josh O’Connor, who’s pining for a lost love.


Josh O’Connor, center, in “La Chimera,” the latest from Alice Rohrwacher, who has quickly become a must-see filmmaker on the international circuit.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

DogMan
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Directed by Luc Besson
An electrifying Caleb Landry Jones plays the damaged heart of this oddly wonderful tale of resilience and revenge.


Caleb Landry Jones in “DogMan.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Adam Wingard
The latest in the Warner Bros. Monsterverse franchise shows signs of an anemic imagination.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
36 Hours in Cape Town
The spectacular South African city is shedding its Eurocentric identity and emerging as a culturally rich African hub.
By JOHN ELIGON

Ready, Set, Garçon! Paris Waiters Race as Storied Contest Returns
Contestants rushed through the streets with croissant-laden trays in a moment for the French capital to showcase its cafe culture ahead of the Summer Olympics.
By AURELIEN BREEDEN

An Easter Loaf Baked With Fruit, Spices and Caribbean Sun
This classic Jamaican treat is bold, bright and vibrant, and central to the holiday.

An overhead image of a loaf on a platter, partly sliced to show its insides full of dried fruit.
At Easter, Jamaican spice bun gets a lift from raisins and cherries.
By Brigid Washington

A GOOD APPETITE
The Egg Dish You Need to Make Right Now
A fragrant mash-up of shakshuka, eggs in purgatory and egg curry, this easy one-pan recipe can be made with pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand.

An overhead image of eggs tucked into a bright red, tomato-based sauce, scattered with herbs.
This heady, aromatic meal goes well alongside toast or nestled on a bed of rice.
By Melissa Clark

FRONT BURNER
Learn ‘Modernist’ Bread Making Basics With This Free Online Course
Peruse vintage home goods from Provence, pick up chocolate-dipped matzo and more food news.


By FLORENCE FABRICANT

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The NYTimes has changed their paywall so that all links are available for a month.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy | Directed by Radu Jude
In Radu Jude’s shambling, acidly funny movie set in Bucharest, a foul-mouthed gofer named Angela tours the troubled heart and soul of her country.


The sneakily charismatic Ilinca Manolache plays Angela in “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Immaculate
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Horror | Directed by Michael Mohan
The actress stars as a fresh-faced nun who, by the end of this erotic thriller-horror mash-up, runs amok in her convent.


In “Immaculate,” Sydney Sweeney plays an American nun at a creepy Italian convent where danger is lurking for her.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
PG-13 | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Gil Kenan
This overstuffed entry in the franchise is an eclectic, enjoyable barrage of nonsense.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Femme
Not Rated | Thriller | Directed by Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping
In this white-knuckle thriller set in London, a drag performer seduces his attacker, an intensely closeted hustler played by George MacKay.
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Limbo
Not Rated | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Ivan Sen
Long on atmosphere and short on plot, this stylish Australian noir pulls through thanks to a haunted performance by Simon Baker.
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

You Can Call Me Bill
PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe
A documentary on the “Star Trek” actor unboldly goes where other profile movies have gone before.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Food! Glorious Food!

Belgium or Brooklyn? 5 Bold New Places to Eat in Brussels.
Exciting young chefs wielding a palette of spices from places like Korea, Latin America and Morocco are turning the capital of Europe into a culinary upstart.
By ALEXANDER LOBRANO

An Old Trick to the Crispiest Tofu
Why fry when you can freeze?


Freezing, then roasting tofu yields a crisp result without deep frying.
By Eric Kim

Margaret Grade, Whose California Inn Was Beloved by Stars, Dies at 72
Her Manka’s Inverness Lodge drew actors and writers who dined at Ms. Grade’s farm-to-table restaurant and reveled in her eccentric flair.


Margaret Grade, the owner of Manka’s Inverness Lodge in Inverness, Calif., in 2011. “I didn’t know the term ‘working capital,’” she said of her early days as an innkeeper, “and as a result I had none.”
By KIM SEVERSON

Serge Raoul, Whose SoHo Bistro Glittered With Stars, Dies at 86
Raoul’s, which he founded, was a celebrity magnet and a neighborhood institution in the 1970s and ’80s. But he had never planned on a life in the restaurant business.


Serge Raoul outside his SoHo restaurant, which opened in 1975. A filmmaker by trade, he had set out to find and run a restaurant where his younger brother could be the chef.
By PENELOPE GREEN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

‘Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus’: A Parting Gift From a Master Musician
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Music | Directed by Neo Sora
The final concert of the Japanese virtuoso is captured in an aching meditation on mortality and legacy.


The musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in the film.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

The Tuba Thieves
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Drama | Directed by Alison O’Daniel
In this film, the artist Alison O’Daniel uses the theft of tubas from Southern California high schools as a central hub in a wheel with many spokes.


A scene from Alison O’Daniel’s film, “The Tuba Thieves.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Knox Goes Away
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Thriller | Directed by Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton is quietly compelling as a beleaguered hit man in this downbeat thriller.


Michael Keaton in “Knox Goes Away.”
By Jeannette Catsoulis

Snack Shack
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy | Directed by Adam Rehmeier
Performances from the two main characters elevate this boisterous teen comedy to the level of raunchy art.


Gabriel LaBelle, left, and Conor Sherry in “Snack Shack,” directed by Adam Rehmeier.
By CALUM MARSH

— Of Possible Interest —

Glitter & Doom
Not Rated | Musical, Romance | Directed by Tom Gustafson
Songs by the Indigo Girls soundtrack a musical romance.
By WESLEY MORRIS

The Animal Kingdom
Not Rated | Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | Directed by Thomas Cailley
This French sci-fi tale plunges us into a world where a mysterious sickness turns humans into strange, sometimes terrifying part-animal creatures.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Food! Glorious Food!

A GOOD APPETITE
A Weeknight Skillet Chicken Dinner, Rich With Greens
This forgiving and adaptable weeknight dinner stars tender chicken thighs, braising greens and whole garlic cloves.


Serve this skillet meal alongside crusty bread, rice or noodles, anything that will sop up all the savory, schmaltzy sauce.
By Melissa Clark

Five Easy Dill Dinners
Ginger-dill salmon, skillet chicken with orzo, dill and feta and (frozen) fava bean stew are herbaceously springy.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

Pantry-Friendly Persian Lentil Rice With Dates
More weeknight dishes that wow: herby pork larb, sticky chicken with brussels sprouts and shrimp in purgatory.
By MELISSA CLARK

Max Hardy, 40, Dies; Helped Bring Chef-Driven Cuisine to Detroit
With his unique blend of Lowcountry and Caribbean influences, he ranked among the best of a new generation of Black culinary wizards.


Hardy prepared roasted snapper with coconut grits and a spicy coconut sauce for a Black History Month dinner this year in Detroit. He opened a string of high-profile restaurants there beginning in 2017.
By CLAY RISEN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Love Lies Bleeding
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | Directed by Rose Glass
In this neo-noir, the ever reliable, always watchable actress plays a small-town loner who’s struck by the unexpected arrival of a mysterious drifter.


aty O’Brian and Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Oscars 2024: Print Your Ballot!

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
36 Hours in Austin
Admire the skyline from a kayak, treat yourself to barbecue and start each morning with a breakfast taco in the colorful capital of Texas.
By SHANNON SIMS

A GOOD APPETITE
A Comforting Rice Dish That Won’t Break the Bank
Adas polo, a Persian recipe perfumed with cinnamon and layered with caramelized onions and dates, only feels expensive.


You can make adas polo as simple or as elaborate as you like, but this minimalist version features warmed dates.
By MELISSA CLARK

A Complexly Flavored (but Weeknight-Friendly) Vegan Curry
Meera Sodha’s easy recipe combines tender cauliflower, buttery cashews, sweet peas and warming spices for a five-star, reader-favorite dinner.
By MIA LEIMKUHLER

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Chinese takeaway-style tofu and vegetable curry
This nostalgic, fragrant pot of curry smells and tastes as authentically Saturday night as a favourite TV show
Meera Sodha’s Chinese takeaway- style tofu and vegetable curry.
Meera Sodha

THE POUR
To Find Great Values in Italian Wine, Look to Abruzzo
A new generation of exacting growers and winemakers has brought vitality to an Italian region known for its cheap wines.
By ERIC ASIMOV

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Dune: Part Two
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya make an appealing pair in Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up film, and the actors fit together with tangible ease.


Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani in “Dune: Part Two.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Shayda
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Noora Niasari
This stirring film from Noora Niasari follows an Iranian woman and her daughter living in a women’s shelter in Australia.


By NATALIA WINKELMAN

  • Of Possible Interest —

Spaceman
R | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Johan Renck
Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan star in a baffling Netflix misfire about a man in, well, space.
By ALISSA WILKINSON