Heart Eyes, Vol. 239: Best Pictures (2024) and Gochujang Potato Stew
Friends! Hello. Happy Friday. Today is an absurdly beautiful day where I am—blue skies, green hills, trees and everything else bursting into bloom—and although it’s supposed to cloud over tomorrow and rain the day after that, it really is a balm for the soul. Just the idea that this kind of day is even an option! Anyway, regardless of what outside is doing, it’s the weekend and I am ready. I hope whatever you’re up to, it feels like spring. I think you’re doing great.
What to Watch, If You Want: Some Best Picture Nominees
I have, in recent years, absolved myself of any guilt I might feel about ignoring the Academy Awards and the films nominated to win them. It’s been really freeing: the Academy is a mess, I don’t have to care what they think, and the movie police are not actually coming after me for not doing what feels like pop-cultural homework! I see what I want and I skip what I don’t, and it’s great.
This year, there were a lot of nominees I actually wanted to try. As we go into Oscars Weekend, I haven’t seen all of the Best Picture nominees, but I’ve seen six of them, which has got to be a personal record since the category was expanded. (The ones I bailed on are Oppenheimer, Maestro, Anatomy of a Fall, and Zone of Interest, all of which I feel I can basically live without, though I do believe Oppenheimer is good and will probably win. I just didn’t have ANOTHER three-hour historical saga in me!) (Truthfully, I was very proud of myself for getting to two-thirds, but then realized I’d overlooked Maestro, which puts me at a less-impressive 60%. Ah, well.)
So…maybe you’d like to watch a movie this weekend? Or maybe you’ll just watch the ceremony to see what everyone’s wearing, which I also support. Either way, in the spirit of the Blockbuster Review, here are some thoughts:
American Fiction: This feels like the kind of excellent mid-budget movie that doesn’t get made so much anymore, and I’m so glad it did. The trailer is a bit misleading—Jeffrey Wright’s character does write an intentionally terrible “Black” novel and then watch in horror as it becomes a huge hit, but that’s sort of a secondary plot in what’s ultimately a lovely, funny, sad, more or less redemptive family dramedy. I don’t think it will win, but Sterling K. Brown’s perfect supporting performance might.
Barbie: I mean. It’s not a perfect film but it is a wonderful film, and legitimately one of the most interesting of the year. (I don’t think it will win, and I’m not sure it should, but part of my rubric for all these other movies has been “Is this more interesting than Barbie?” And truth be told, the answer for most of them is NO.)
The Holdovers: Another retro vibe! And not just because it takes place in the 70s. I confess the premise of this movie feels a bit canned to me, but somehow it grows beyond what’s on the page, into an expansive meditation on grief and loss and connection—probably through a trio of excellent and heartbreaking performances. I’ve heard people say this one’s going to be a Christmas classic in years to come, and I wouldn’t be surprised.
Killers of the Flower Moon: Scorsese did his best with a story that is horrifying and fascinating and also extremely difficult to adapt—so many minor characters, each with one key thing to contribute!—and there are a lot of successes here, for Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro and the Oklahoma landscape and public awareness of this entirely shameful chapter in American history. It drags in the middle, and how could it not, at nearly four hours long? Still, a friend called it “the only Scorsese movie I’ve ever liked,” and I agree.
Past Lives: I knew I would like this movie, but I also realized halfway through that I had been putting it off all year because I was afraid it would be too sad and too stressful. Which was mostly unfounded until the last two minutes or so, which were both sad and stressful, but also lovely and well-earned. Greta Lee is almost TOO glamorous here; what a presence!
Poor Things: This movie is absolutely not for everybody, but I’m really glad I saw it. The best descriptor I’ve come up with is something along the lines of “like a sexually explicit Edward Scissorhands,” if that means anything to you? (This is basically a compliment; I love Edward Scissorhands.) It’s packed with ideas, it’s so much fun to see Emma Stone take a risk on something weird and challenging and succeed, and it’s such a fascinating and beautiful production. I also want to say that I’ve read some takes claiming this movie is antifeminist or exploitative in some way, which I think misreads the power dynamics involved and also misses the point.
What to Cook: Gochujang Potato Stew
The Times recipe developer Eric Kim has given us all many gifts over the years (those microwave-steamed eggs, such a cozy breakfast!), but I’m especially loving one of his newest dishes: a spicy, complex, vegetable-forward Gochujang Potato Stew (NYT gift link). At the tail end of winter, isn’t a new, boldly flavored soup just what we all need to carry us through?
The base of this soup is gochujang, a spicy-salty-sweet Korean hot-pepper paste; Kim then layers in soy sauce, a bit of honey, and veggie broth, red onion, lots of garlic, tiny potatoes, white beans, and a whole bunch of greens. (The recipe notes say it’s a nod to two different Korean stews, gochujang jjigae and dakdori tang.) It’s somehow both cozy and light, and I loved it—although I keep gochujang around for all sorts of uses, I'd never tried it this way before. It’s a whole new world!
The gochujang I have on hand is quite spicy—surprisingly so, considering it’s Annie Chun’s, not even a Korean brand—and so I used half the amount Kim calls for, which put me smack in the middle between “my nose is running” and “this is is inedibly hot.” That is to say, perfect! I say do what feels right in your heart (and your mouth), but don’t sleep on this recipe. It’s a banger.