Belle NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Music, Musical, Sci-Fi | Directed by Mamoru Hosoda In this gorgeous anime, a high school student journeys into a virtual world and finds herself amid cute, kooky and menacing fellow users.
Magical U: A scene from “Belle,” directed by Mamoru Hosoda. By MANOHLA DARGIS
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler In a documentary constructed around a lecture from 2018, the lawyer Jeffery Robinson presents a persuasive look at United States history.
Jeffery Robinson in the documentary “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.” By BEN KENIGSBERG
In Nikiski, Alaska, an educational moose hunt brought students of Jesse Bjorkman’s outdoor-explorations class face to face with their food. By Victoria Petersen
Wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano being stored near Parma, Italy. By Alexis Benveniste
A GOOD APPETITE Chili, Biscuits and All, in One Pan This dish, spicy and studded with ground turkey, doesn’t need hours of simmering. It’s weeknight fast.
Golden cornmeal biscuits stay tender on the bottom and crisp on the top in this easy one-pot chili recipe. By Melissa Clark
Thomas Keller Insignia series, sets ($249.95 to $1,199.95) or by the piece ($99.95 to $310), hestanculinary.com. By Florence Fabricant
FRONT BURNER The Big Cheeses From the Vineyard Prufrock, a washed-rind cheese from Grey Barn on Martha’s Vineyard, took honors at the recent World Cheese Awards.
Prufrock, right, with some of its Grey Barn cheese siblings. Prufrock, $20, dibruno.com, thegreybarnandfarm.com. By Florence Fabricant
A Hero NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Asghar Farhadi In the latest film from the two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, a good Samaritan comes under suspicion.
Sahar Goldoust as Farkhondeh and Amir Jadidi as Rahim in “A Hero.” By A.O. SCOTT
Expedition Content NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Ernst Karel, Veronika Kusumaryati An engrossing documentary looks back at a 1961 expedition to New Guinea and the creation of the landmark ethnographic film that resulted.
Listen up: A scene from the documentary “Expedition Content.” By MANOHLA DARGIS
In New Orleans, King Cake Is a Way to Make Joy The colorful cake is more than a dessert — it’s the flavor of the city. And a diverse community of bakers are adapting the Carnival specialty to their own tastes.
This king cake, from the chef Dominick Lee, has a caramelized apple filling. By KAYLA STEWART
Milk Companies Look West, Pressuring Northeast Dairy Farmers Organic milk has been a lifeline for small farms in Maine and other New England states. Now those farms are facing trouble as milk processors look to huge dairies in Western states. By MURRAY CARPENTER
Chicken Soup for the Weary Soul After another difficult year, finding joyful moments in cooking can feel impossible. But for our columnist Eric Kim, it’s a worthy resolution for the new year.
This simple golden elixir, a real panacea for life’s ailments, starts with the leftover carcass of a roasted chicken. By Eric Kim
A GOOD APPETITE Crisp-Edged Tofu Straight From Your Oven A coating of cornstarch and oil plus a long stint in a hot oven mimics the deep fryer for this tofu sheet-pan dinner.
The cornstarch draws out moisture, resulting in a crunchy, crispy tofu without frying. By MELISSA CLARK
THE POUR No-Sweat Answers to Some Basic Wine Questions Don’t let fussy protocol interfere with the pleasure of enjoying a bottle. Best practices can help, but they should never inhibit. “The first and most important thing to know about drinking wine is this: There are no rules.” By Eric Asimov
The Lost Daughter NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal This dreamy thriller follows an academic with a mysterious past who heads to a beach vacation on the Greek islands.
Dakota Johnson, left, and Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature directorial debut. By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Dishes like black-eyed peas, served here with rice and salt pork, are among the foods thought to bring good luck, health and abundance. By KAYLA STEWART
Several Chicago restaurants now serve their own takes on the Italian beef sandwich, like this vegan version from Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat. By PRIYA KRISHNA
FRONT BURNER A Year of Shabbats in One Cookbook A new book from Faith Kramer looks at Jewish food around the world through the lens of the Friday night dinner.
“52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen” by Faith Kramer (The Collective Book Studio, $32.50). By FLORENCE FABRICANT
WINE SCHOOL California Cabernet Beyond the Stereotypes Any wine can be legitimately criticized, but lazy generalizations obscure significant differences among places and styles. By ERIC ASIMOV
WINE SCHOOL The What and Why of Orange Wines It’s a recently popular style made with ancient techniques: whites produced using the methods for reds. Is it a passing fancy, or will it endure?
Montenidoli Vernaccia di San Gimignano Tradizionale 2019 (Artisan Wines, Norwalk, Conn.) $25
The Tragedy of Macbeth NYT Critic’s Pick | | RDrama, History, Thriller, War | Directed by Joel Coen Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand play a toxic power couple in Joel Coen’s crackling adaptation of Shakespeare’s Scottish play.
Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” His trajectory from weary soldier to raving, self-immolating maniac is astonishing to behold. By A.O. SCOTT
Parallel Mothers NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Pedro Almodóvar The Spanish director finally confronts the legacy of his country’s political violence in his new film, starring Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit.
Penélope Cruz, left, and Milena Smit in “Parallel Mothers.” By A.O. SCOTT
Memoria NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul Tilda Swinton stars in Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s elusive and enchanting new film, set in Colombia.
In “Memoria,” Tilda Swinton plays a British expatriate in Colombia whose perceptions come into question during this startling movie. By A.O. SCOTT
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Don’t Look Up R | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Adam McKay Adam McKay wants you to know that it’s the end of the world and you should absolutely, unequivocally not feel fine. (But do laugh.) By MANOHLA DARGIS
The Matrix Resurrections R | Action, Sci-Fi | Directed by Lana Wachowski Keanu Reeves plunges down the rabbit hole once more in this familiar-seeming mind-game movie, the fourth in the series. By MANOHLA DARGIS
The King’s Man R | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | Directed by Matthew Vaughn This prequel to the “Kingsman” series presents the confusing origin story of the elite British spy agency, founded by Ralph Fiennes (naturally). By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
A Holiday Feast, Cooked in the Cab of a Truck Long-haul drivers are under intense pressure this season, but many will carve out the time (and the onboard space) to make steaks, turkeys and charcuterie boards. Margie Gilles has been cooking in her truck more since the start of the pandemic, and plans to do so for the holidays. Credit…Annie Mulligan for The New York Times By Priya Krishna
To Eat Oysters Better, Treat Them Like Wine The bivalves’ merroir — yes, merroir — is much like grapes’ terroir, telling a much deeper story about the place they were grown, Melissa Clark writes.
To get the best sense of oysters’ individual flavors, it’s best to eat them unadorned before adding garnishes like mignonette or cocktail sauce. By Melissa Clark
Paul and Linda McCartney with their three daughters in Rye, England, in 1976. As young parents, the couple came to believe that eating animals was unethical, and eventually reimagined the Christmas feast. By Julia Moskin
FRONT BURNER Two New Sources for Food News Whetstone, from the writer and television host Stephen Satterfield, has started a podcast and John McDonald, a co-founder of Tasting Table, has a newsletter, Broken Palate. By FLORENCE FABRICANT
THE POUR Seeing 2021 Out With a Pop, a Pour and a Fizz Nothing says “Happy New Year” quite like a bottle of bubbly. Here are six Champagnes and six sparkling wines to help you toast 2022.
Roman Kaplan at his West Side restaurant, the Russian Samovar. The writer Anatoly Naiman said encountering Russian exiles there was like having friends come back from the dead. By DAVID MARGOLICK
President NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Camilla Nielsson In a riveting new documentary, Camilla Nielsson follows the first democratic election in Zimbabwe since 1980.
Nelson Chamisa, center, is the subject of the documentary “President.” By CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN
The Novice NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Thriller | Directed by Lauren Hadaway The obsessive ambitions of a college rower are masterfully orchestrated in a debut feature by the writer-director Lauren Hadaway.
Isabelle Fuhrman as the rower Alex Dall in “The Novice.” By TEO BUGBEE
The Hand of God NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino’s autobiographical drama about growing up in Naples is sensual, sad and occasionally sublime.
A scene from Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” which keeps company with recent memoir-like movies. By A.O. SCOTT
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Spider-Man: No Way Home PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Jon Watts In the latest installment of the “Spider-Man” series, Tom Holland faces the past and a very secure franchise future. By MANOHLA DARGIS
Last Words Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Jonathan Nossiter In this post-apocalyptic drama, a young man meets the grizzled last guardian of a cinematic archive, played by Nick Nolte. By GLENN KENNY
Mother/Android R | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Mattson Tomlin In this sci-fi thriller, a pregnant woman and her boyfriend try to outrun hordes of vengeful robots. By LENA WILSON
Swan Song R | Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Benjamin Cleary In this future-set drama, Mahershala Ali plays an ailing father who decides whether or not to clone himself for the sake of his family. By NICOLAS RAPOLD
THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS Cultivating Olives on the Slopes of Mount Etna For millenniums, farmers and vintners in northeastern Sicily have benefited from the area’s mineral-rich soil, a result of volcanic eruptions. By MARTA GIACCONE
The Best Cookbooks of 2021 A deep dive into the world of grains, a collection of new cookie classics, unforgettable recipes from Shanghai and more, as tested by New York Cooking and the Food desk. By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Mikio Shinagawa in an undated photo outside his SoHo restaurant, Omen. As fashionable haunts in New York go, it was an unlikely candidate. By ALEX VADUKUL
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