S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. I'm Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hindman. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We've got some last minute cooking tips for you to spice up your big meal. It's midday edition with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. We'll talk about making cooking approachable.
S2: Whether it's a grilled cheese or making tomato soup from scratch , which is not complicated at all. It doesn't have to be complicated. Find an easy recipe and just do it.
S1: Plus , we'll discuss films that we're thankful for this year. That's ahead on Midday Edition. And. Whether or not you're prepared for Thanksgiving , we are cooking up something special. Today on Midday Edition , it's all about last minute turkey tips and what to do with your leftovers come Friday. Joining me now is Sam Zion , also known as Sam the Cooking Guy. He's a restaurateur , YouTuber and cookbook author based in San Diego. Sam , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thanks , Andrew. Nice to be here.
S1: Sam , I would put myself firmly in the category of people who are not prepared for Thanksgiving. I still have to buy a turkey. All the other things , you know , that I'll be cooking on Thursday and it's just me and my husband.
S2: There's a couple of things that I think are almost mandatory. I think you should spatchcock your turkey. And that's simply taking the backbone out and opening it up like a book , essentially butter flying. I mean , it's a little , you know , um , you need good kitchen shears. You're cutting the backbone out of a turkey. There's cracking. There's , you know , body parts and stuff.
S1: So if you're it's not for the squeamish. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. I was gonna say if you're squeamish , then , you know , have your partner do it for you. You can get , uh , a spatchcock turkey in , in many , um , uh , meat stores. Meat stores. There's got to be another term for butchers , butcher thinking meat store. Like , I've never done this before , but it cooks in about half the time and it cooks evenly. You imagine a football shaped turkey. The top is going to cook faster than the bottom. You're going to turn it over. You've got a £15 turkey. It's going to be hot. We get an hour and a half in. You're going to flip the thing over to help a cook evenly. No spatchcock is the answer with a chicken too. So spatchcock first and then you want to brine it. And we all , I think most of us know about wet brining salt sugar solution , maybe some herbs. You sit the turkey in this giant bucket and it's got to be in your fridge. It's a mess. It's a pain and you don't need to do that anymore. Now we want a dry brine , and dry brining is simply , um , seasoning the outside and inside of a turkey with kosher salt. Putting it in your fridge uncovered 24 hours at least before you're going to cook it. And it's a tablespoon of kosher salt for like every 4 or £5 of turkey. It draws out moisture , then it pulls it back in and it gives you much more tender of a turkey. Juicier. Honestly. Way tastier. Much better. So you you spatchcock you dry brine it regardless of then what you do to it , you're going to be way ahead of the game.
S1: I my mistake that I made last year was I think I over brined it and maybe the turkey was pre brined. I see that sometimes in the in the store. So if somebody yeah it was too salty. So if somebody sees a turkey in the store that says it's pre brined what should it. Don't buy it.
S2: Don't know. Don't brine it okay. You don't need to I mean I don't know what they do. I don't know how they do it. And I hope it's not a chemical thing that I don't know , but I mean , I'm happier doing my own. But in the case that I've described , when you do the kosher salt and I'm saying kosher salt , not table salt , not iodized salt , there's more sodium in a tablespoon of table salt because tiny grains , they fit closer together. There's no gaps really kosher salt big chunky grains. There's gaps in there. So less sodium. And you can really season because it's a it's chunkier and better. But once you dry brine 24 hours later , don't rinse off or wipe off the salt. Just leave it and then prep as normal.
S1: So Sam , a little later in the show , you're going to show us your famous stuffing omelet. But before we get there , what else can we do with our Thanksgiving leftovers ? Give us some examples.
S2: We just shot for YouTube a leftover Thanksgiving burrito. So literally we everything that would go on the Thanksgiving table in the burrito. And you think about it. We had mashed potatoes , we had turkey , we had stuffing , we had cranberry sauce. We had the spinach souffle. We had , uh , crispy onions , everything.
S1: That the kitchen said. Gravy. Yes.
S2: Yes. And you think it would almost be too much ? It not only was it not too much , honestly , it was spectacular. Look , uh , leftovers are my favorite thing. Here's a copy of my book. Sam the cooking Guy. Intentional leftovers. And it's all about making , like , one thing. Like how to make a great salmon or meatballs or a meatloaf , and then 4 or 5 things to do with those items after you've made the main dish. I couldn't have a leftover book without a chapter being on Thanksgiving , and so this one has in it the stuffing omelet that I'm going to make for you guys. Something called stuffing balls. You're mixing stuffing with some beaten egg and cheese and stuff and baking them in the oven. They're fantastic , of course. Tacos. We have a taco restaurant. Leftover turkey tacos with stuffing in them is one of the greatest things ever. Um , there's a recipe here for , uh , lettuce wraps made with turkey and hoisin , Asian inspired lettuce wraps. But it's like 5 or 6 ingredients. One of the greatest things ever. You need only let your mind wander a little bit. We did another Thanksgiving video a week ago or so. We took the entire Thanksgiving dinner and turned it into breakfast. So the turkey and the stuffing became this really delicious hash. We took leftover sweet potatoes and green beans and made them into fritters , which was I didn't think I was gonna like them because I'm not really a green Bean fan. I did it for the video and I love them. So just let your mind go. Um , Turkey and dumplings. Chicken and dumplings we've all had before. You've already got the turkey for the soup for the. You know that that part of it. You can make the dumplings easily. You've probably got gravy. You've got some stock in the house. You got to use all these things when you cut the backbone of the turkey out like we've already discussed. Do not throw it away. Save that to make your gravy. If if you are so inclined , and if you're not so inclined , then take it , freeze it , and use it for stock or soup next week , next year , month from now. It doesn't really make any difference.
S1: Yeah , no bone on wasted.
S2: So hundred percent.
S1: Cooking in general can be very intimidating for folks who have less experience. What's your advice for making it more approachable ? Yeah.
S2: Just start , just start. Find a recipe. I say this to people. People come up and they go , oh , we love to watch and we talk. And I go , do you , do you cook ? And they go , no , no , I can't cook. And I go , no , I bet , I bet you can cook. You just don't. They go , you're right , I don't because I can I go , can I ask you this question. Can you ride a bike ? And of course everybody goes , yes , I go , well , I can guarantee you what time in your life when you couldn't ride a bike and somebody helped you , but you got better because of this little thing called practice. You know , you couldn't , you know , use a spoon at one time as a little kid. Now you can. It's the same thing. So find something relatively easy , whether it's a grilled cheese or making tomato soup from scratch , which is not complicated at all. The great tomatoes in it can start with that and onion and garlic. It doesn't have to be complicated. Find an easy recipe and just do it. The example I use , I go like if you're going to make a a pineapple upside down cake , first time you make it , it's hard as a rock. It's burnt. There's way too much sugar. If you make it a second time. Now , you know , okay , I'm going to cut back on the sugar. This is all called experience. I think it's burnt because it shouldn't have been at 450 degrees for 12 hours. Might have been a typo in the recipe. So I'm going to back off the time. The second time you do it , you're going to be better. Third time when I started a cooking show on TV , I didn't cook. My wife did all the cooking. I started because I hated what I did and I need to find I needed to find some amount of career happiness. And I found it. And perhaps that's a conversation for another day , but I now can cook. I mean , in my case , it's that 10,000 hours theory. You do something for 10,000 hours , you're going to be able to do it reasonably well. Yeah. now I can cook. I'm not a Gordon Ramsay. I'm not a , you know , a proper , uh , trained chef. But I couldn't find my way around a kitchen pretty good.
S1: So one of the ways I think we can maybe demystify cooking , or at least , uh , make it a little bit easier to approach , is just by owning our mistakes. So can you give me some examples of Thanksgiving horror stories that have that , uh , from your kitchen that you can share with us ? Yes.
S2: Of course. Absolutely. Singe turkey. Um , many years ago , like , I don't know , it was probably we probably followed the recipe and some recipes will say , start your on your oven at 500 or 450 , put the turkey and give it ten minutes and turn it down to 350. You're just browning the skin a little bit. Well , if you miss the turn it down to 350 stage , you're going to end up with trouble. And we did that and none of us knew until we started. Yeah. And by the way , you have to use your nose. We really started smelling turkey way before we thought we were supposed to. And this is a football turkey. So the breasts were high up in the oven. There was a lot of heat coming down. So the thing about , you know , mistakes in cooking is you can still eat your mistakes. So yes , we got rid of the skin that had to go right away. And maybe the first quarter of an inch was way too much. But we've kind of figured it out. We got rid of that bad part , some foil on top to protect it. Now we did turn it down and it turned out to be , you know , not too too bad.
S1: That salted turkey , the overly salted turkey that I made make great soup. The turkey was not great , but the soup was better.
S2: But then you know what ? Gravy. Gravy is the great equalizer when it comes to the Thanksgiving dinner. Gravy can take care of horrible , lumpy mashed potatoes , which the answer for lumpy mashed potatoes is by a potato ricer. It looks like a giant garlic press , and it will save you from ever having a bad mashed potato. But but bad mashed potatoes can be helped by good gravy. Dry turkey helped by gravy. Terrible stuffing , made much better by good gravy. So the gravy is could be the key to a successful dinner. Sam.
S1: Sam. Along the lines of repurposing leftovers. I hear you make a really great stuffing omelet. So show me what you got here.
S2: It's an outstanding one. Everybody should make it. You're hopefully going to have leftover stuffing , right ? Yeah. So. Okay , okay.
S1: We've got an induction cooker in here. Yes. Tell me what you're doing as you do it.
S2: Well , if I , if I was at home , I would have warmed the stuffing maybe in the microwave for just a couple seconds. Here is a little different. So I'm just going to warm it up a little bit. I don't want to put it in the pan cold. So this is just going to take a second to just get this warm. And then while this is warming I can do this.
S3: I've got a couple eggs that I put in my little deli container that I'm going to season. I figure this one might be just an easier way. And now that you're sensitive to overly salted things , I'll try not to ruin it.
S1: We're shaking the eggs. Shaking the eggs in a Tupperware container you like.
S2:
S1: Just when you're. When you're on the move.
S2: Yeah , yeah , yeah. Just , you know , like if you were camping , you want as little as possible.
S3: So this is just like an easy way to do it. So this just needs to be warmed up a little bit. Part of my fingers. But I'm a cook and um , it doesn't take very long.
S1:
S3: There's , uh , lots of extra onion and celery and sage and time , and that's pretty much it. I'm fairly old school and basic on my stuffing. I do like bacon in it. I did chorizo a few years ago and it tasted outstanding. But I put the trees into early and it made the whole thing red , which was really weird for a stuffing , you know ? Yeah. Okay , so this is there. Let me turn this down. I don't want to burn the eggs. So now we're making a pretty straightforward , simple little two egg omelet. So we need some butter in the pan.
S1: Butter is a good thing. So after you've warmed up the stuffing , you've set it aside on a plate. And now you've got a clean pan with the butter.
S3: Yes , I forget people aren't watching.
S1: They used to. I'm used. To.
S3: To. I'm used to that part of it. Right. Okay. So the butter goes in once that's melted. Going too much heat. Now the eggs can go in. And this is pretty basic omelet. Simple 101 omelet making. So there's a little salt and pepper in there. And now we're just going to pull away from the sides I'm going to keep it relatively flat. Pull away from the sides and let the uncooked egg run in behind because I want. When we're all done here , you know , I want this sort of in that half moon shape. It's too early to put the stuffing in , so I'm going to wait till we're pretty close to this being done a unique fan.
S1: Oh , yeah. I make them every morning. Yeah , yeah.
S3: Great protein. They're really good. Hardly. I mean like 70 I don't know , 70 , 60 calories in an egg. So a couple eggs in a pan with lots of vegetables is a very good , good start to your day.
S1: I like , uh , chopping up some kale from my garden. Yeah. Swiss chard. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Oh , I love that. Okay , so stuffing goes in there. All right. And just sort of on half. And now the cheese end before anybody yells at me , I'm using American cheese because it really is.
S1: The stuff that singles.
S3: It's 100% because it melts so well in here. Right ? And now we want this. Oops. Come on. Cooperate with me. There we go. Okay. So we're going to give it just a minute or so on this side to cook. And then we're going to flip it back over again. Let the cheese start to melt in on the other side of it. And then we'll plate it. And you can have your first stuffing omelet okay. Because why not. Yeah. Regardless of what we have at Thanksgiving , there is always extra stuffing because the next day these are expected. No , none of my kids live at home anymore , but they need to leave with enough stuffing that they can pull this off themselves. Uhhuh. So now we're loose. Right now you just one like that.
S1: The flipping of the omelet is a real , real.
S3: Well , this is a very rustic omelet. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S3: Very rustic. So now we can kill the heat and the residual heat in the pan. We'll just continue cooking this. But I love it. I just love it. I love to cut it open. I love to see the melty cheese in here.
S5: And there we go.
S1: It's still it's it's an intact omelet.
S3: It's essentially an intact omelet.
S2: More or less. You can.
S3: Do that. And if you had.
S2: A little bit left.
S1: Now , I have to admit , I'm not the biggest stuffing fan , so I'm very curious to to to try this out. Maybe you'll win me over.
S2: Well , there you go.
S1: Okay , so I would.
S3: Make a cut and you want to go into the middle. I just put a little extra stuffing on top just for looks.
S2: All right.
S1: Let's get a good bite here.
S3: Nice melted cheese. I like the way that looks. Might be a little warm.
S1: It's savory. I taste the the herbs. The cheese definitely adds it. I usually don't put cheese in my omelets or eggs , but I really love that.
S2: I mean , you know , uh , go crazy with the cheese. You want to use a stinky camembert ? Yeah. I mean , I guess you could. I don't think I would. I don't want the cheese to take away from the stuffing and I really want it to melt. Well.
S3: So hence I like the American cheese.
S2: I mean , I might go Monterey Jack , but I wouldn't do anything like a super sharp cheddar. Wouldn't be my choice for this. But listen , uh , who am I to say what you should have in your stuffing omelet ? Yeah , you should just have a stuffing omelet.
S3: Okay , that's the best part.
S1: Well , Sam , this has been an absolute delight. Thank you so much for joining us. Sam Zion is a YouTuber , a restaurateur , and a cookbook author based right here in San Diego. Sam. Thank you.
S2: You're welcome. And you're a great host. Thank you Andrew. Thank you. You bet.
S1: Coming up , how to incorporate fruits and veggies into your Thanksgiving meal and get some help in the kitchen.
S6: Get your kids involved in any stage of the process , from meal planning to shopping to chopping , and then trust them that they're going to be able to do it.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hindman. Thanksgiving is tomorrow , and many of us have something cooking. But it's not all about the turkey. Your Thanksgiving plate needs some greens , too. We have got you covered with some last minute tips for adding fresh produce to your big meal. Midday edition producer Ashley Rush sat down with Elise Bryant , events and culinary program manager at Olive Wood Gardens and Learning Center. Elise started by telling Ashley about their cooking and gardening classes in National City.
S6: Here at Oliver Gardens and Learning Center. We have an eight acre farm and garden. Um , we love to highlight access , education and advocacy. And , uh , I'm always inspired by what we're growing in the garden when I'm teaching classes. Seasonality is really important to us and teaching people. That is one of the main ways we like to keep people engaged.
S7: That's great. And from , you know , the classes to our Thanksgiving dinner table.
S6: I think sometimes people think that it's not going to be filling enough or they're not going to be as excited about plants , but some of my favorite recipes are highlighted by the season. Mhm.
S7: Mhm. And I want to know more about your favorite recipes. So when it comes to Thanksgiving side dishes what's your favorite plant based option for that.
S6: Oh I love to use brussel sprouts. And I know that's a big one for lots of people. But we have this really great recipe that's maple glazed brussel sprouts with apples and cranberries. So it's a little sweet , a little savory , and it really like pops on the table.
S7: And okay. What's the secret to getting , like , the perfect level of crispiness on the brussel sprouts ? Because I feel like that's how you make or break it. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. So I like to boil them first and then saute them and then bake them. So it's a little bit of a few steps in there. Um , but I think that you can even sauteed them and then baking them , but baking them is going to be your best bet to get them real crispy. Okay.
S7: Okay. So then I also want to talk about this butternut pecan sweet potato mash you make. So I'll eat anything with pecan. But if you add sweet potatoes you know I'm sold.
S6: And so , uh , this one is actually pretty easy. I like to just roast the sweet potato and the butternut squash. Um , and then you mash it all together , and you make this delicious pecan topping with coconut oil , a little bit of maple syrup for sweetness , a little bit of cinnamon. So it's a little play on the classic mashed butternut squash. Except for you're not using marshmallows. It's delicious.
S7: It sounds delicious. So you say we can also sneak fresh fruit into desserts.
S6: I like to use , um , some pears in this recipe. They're seasonal and you add a little bit of ginger. And I always love to use maple syrup as my sweetener. So just a little ginger , a little maple syrup , some cinnamon. And then you just cook your puff pastry , add your fruit in this case the pear. And then you bake them off. You can sprinkle a little bit of white sugar on there just to get a little crispy crunch and then serve them. And everybody will be really impressed. Okay.
S7: Okay.
S6: Uh , a galette is almost like an open face pie , I would say. So we're using puff pastry to make it easy for us. But you can use a regular pie crust if you want and just sort of fold it over the edges. And so it's an open an open faced pie. Mm.
S7: Mm. Okay. Sounds really good. Um , okay. So outside of the kitchen , you know , you're at the store. What are your secrets for making sure you're selecting the freshest ingredients , whether that's , you know , at the market or even picking it from your garden. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. Uh , I'm going to highlight seasonality. Again. I think that looking for things , uh , especially now in this season are like those cool weather crops like brassicas , kale , broccoli , the brussel sprouts , any type of greens right now are in season. So you're you're trying to think seasonally and locally. And that's going to be your freshest your freshest options.
S7: And , you know , in general , food and especially healthy food can get really expensive. We've all seen our grocery bills skyrocket thanks to inflation.
S6: Oftentimes there's an abundance of it and it can be discounted a bit. Organic is great , but anytime time you can get vegetables into your diet , that's also great. So if it's conventional , I wouldn't worry as much about getting organic as getting veggies on your plate , so that can keep the cost down some I would say like knowing your farmer , talking to your local farms , talking to your food hubs , going out and actually like sourcing food from folks that are growing it. Sometimes they have an abundance and they don't know what to do with it. So you can often get some kinds of deals.
S7: And you also teach family cooking classes that get kids and parents involved in the process this Thanksgiving.
S6: We love to. We have a lot of programs here that teach students to get in the kitchen. When they are cooking the food that they're eating , they tend to try things more. So I would say , get your kids involved in any stage of the process , from meal planning to shopping to chopping , and then trust them that they're going to be able to do it. And I think there's a lot of ways that parents can exclude kids , but if you include them , I think they're going to be more apt to try things. Mhm.
S7: Mhm. And I feel like teaching them those skills is a really empowering way to , you know , keep them cooking for the rest of their lives too.
S6: So we if we talk about proteins , we're talking about making their muscles strong. We talk about carbs. We're talking about how to keep their energy up. So we associate it to their body. Uh , something else the educator will say is try with your tastebuds and not your eyeballs. And so that's a fun way for kids to actually feel engaged. And and they all laugh about it and then they try it. And I've heard so many kids say , I didn't think I liked vegetables. And then I tried the taco that we made that has vegetables , and I , I love it. And then they eat their whole plate.
S7: You know , I get really overwhelmed when cooking.
S6: Um , I think a tip for me that has been really helpful is getting everything ready beforehand. So getting all your ingredients out , uh , in the restaurant , we call it Mason place. So you're getting all your ingredients ready , and then you have your recipe right next to you. You're also cleaning as you go , which doesn't sound that fun , but you'll be happy that you're doing it while you're cooking. Because as you're cooking and your space is clean , it's a lot easier to follow the recipe and make things more delicious. If your whole space feels chaotic and dirty , then you're not going to enjoy it as much , I don't think. Um , also try things. Try new things in the kitchen. I think that people get really stuck in recipes , and if I like to empower people to say , cook what you have and cook what you like. And so I think it's more about trying things and not being so rigid in a recipe.
S7: And at least I want to talk more about Olive Wood Gardens , which is really about making gardening and cooking accessible to everyone , especially residents in National City. Talk to me about the importance of that work.
S6: Yeah , so Oliver Gardens is located in National City , and we invite the community onto the property , um , to teach about gardening and food access. So in National City , there is a high rate of type two diabetes and chronic illness due to the access to fresh food. And National city is a food desert , but also challenged by a food apartheid , which is a term coined by Karen Washington. So that means that there's been policies put in place to have more fast food restaurants and not as much fresh food access. So here are all of would we invite the community to learn how to garden and cook with what they're growing , so that people can feel more excited and empowered about going out and finding fresh food in their neighborhoods , and also growing that food and being change makers in ways that our outside of all of would. Mhm.
S7: Mhm. And I feel like , you know , the way your group comes in to help address that issue of , of food access and food apartheid as you mentioned , is through providing skills to make it a more sustainable way to keep food in the community.
S6: Um , because we do a lot of education with the students. The students come here and then go home and talk about what they learned at Olive wood , whether that's being in the garden or being in the kitchen and trying new foods. And so we found that a lot of people , um , parents especially , were calling and saying , how are you getting my kid to eat fresh vegetables ? And what kind of recipes do you have ? And so we started this program called cooking for Salud , which is one of our largest programs. Um , and once you graduate from that program , you can become a kitchen Ista. And the kitchens are really great advocates , and they help educate lots of folks in the community. They go into the schools and talk to parents. Uh , they volunteer in all of our programs. They're just like sort of the heartbeat of olive wood. And so we have a lot of different folks from the community coming in. And I think it all starts with the kids.
S1: That was Elise Bryant , events and culinary program manager at Olive Wood Gardens and Learning Center , speaking with Midday Edition producer Ashley Rush. Still to come , a special edition of Midday movies with films we're thankful for.
S8: I think the film , in its last moments , is ultimately a plea for kindness and for compassion , and a plea to create a family of your own when the one that you have fails you.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hindman. It's time for another edition of Mid-Day movies in the Thanksgiving spirit. Our midday movie critics have a few films from this year that they feel thankful for , but these are films that have not gotten as much attention and love as they perhaps deserve. Midday edition host Jade Hindman sat down with KPBS Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi. Here's that conversation.
S9: All right , so looking back on 2024 , there are films that really got lost in the shuffle of big studio releases or just failed to gain traction with audiences. But are films that you both feel grateful for ? So to kick this list off , let's start with a film that you Yazdi discovered at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
S8: It is going to have a formal release in cinemas by Janus Films later this month , so everybody can watch it then. This movie won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year , and India picked another film , the more popular Lapita Ladies or Missing Women , which , incidentally , is streaming on Netflix. And it got picked for its submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Film , causing a bit of a stir. But I think all we imagine is light is definitely worth checking out. It's a patient examination of a few characters on the fringes of society in modern day Mumbai , and the camera here is constantly looking up at the high rises of the city and the affluent people who live there , knowing that the city has no regard for those on the fringes. The film circles around three characters who are nurses in a small hospital in the city , and there is a documentary like rigor to this film , which makes it ring really authentic. The film is languid and meditative and altogether without judgment , and it just filled me up. I think the film , in its last moments , is ultimately a plea for kindness and for compassion , and a plea to create a family of your own. When the one that you have fails you. I think it's really worth checking out.
S10: Also to be grateful for. Here are our film festivals here in San Diego. I mean , you found one film there , but there are always gems at these festivals and sometimes that's the only place that you can find them. So I'm thankful for film festivals are.
S9: There we go.
S10: And here's the trailer.
S11:
S12: Of course you haven't.
S11: You're not a woman. I love. Her.
UU: Her. He's like a nice guy. Loves God.
S11: But the real issue is safety. No , that's life or death.
S10: Okay , but I want to interrupt this trailer because that's all I want you to hear. Because honestly , the less you know about this film , the better. I'm not even sure I want to tell you what genre it's in , but I will say it's extremely tense , sometimes violent , weirdly funny , and absolutely brilliantly and cleverly crafted. It's written and directed by J.T. Molnar , and it's only his second feature , but it is so expertly crafted and structured that I just fell in love with it. And interesting fact is that Giovanni Ribisi , an actor , actually served as the cinematographer. Apparently he's been doing shooting some music videos recently , but he does a stellar job on this. It's visually stunning and stylized , and this film was just such a surprise to me. And I know it's violent and it's disturbing , but it was an absolute cinematic delight because I just love movies that the filmmaker has such assurance and craft that he holds you spellbound. So please do not watch the trailer. Do not watch any of those dumb YouTube videos explaining what the film is about , or noting all the references to other films. Just go in blind. And that's how I went to see it , and I am so glad I did. But it was really a wonderful , wonderful cinematic experience for me.
S9: Beth , you going love a violent and disturbing movie. I don't care what season it is.
S13: I will find them out. Find it.
S9: Well , Yazdi , you've got another film from earlier this year and it uses tennis as a backdrop.
S8: The entirety of the film uses tennis as a metaphor for sex. The three principal characters here , they are intelligent. They're highly driven athletes who know better , but they just can't keep their hands off of each other. The film is sexy and smart and unpredictable , and it has an absolutely killer techno soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And I'm really thankful for filmmakers like Guadagnino , who have always been making smart , challenging , original films that are deeply carnal. And there aren't too many filmmakers like that. Here is a scene showing how competitive two of the characters are , even when they're married to each other.
S14: Tell me it doesn't matter. Tell me it doesn't matter if I win tomorrow.
S11: No , you tell me if it matters. You're the professional competitor , art. It can't be about avoiding my judgment. I'm not a nun. I'm not your mommy.
S14: I'm just asking that you love me no matter what.
S11: What am I ? Jesus. Yeah. You can beat him.
S14:
S11:
S8: Challengers , by the way , is streaming right now on Amazon Prime , and it stars Zendaya , Mike Feist , and Josh.
S9: O'Connor and Beth. I'm not surprised that you have another horror themed film on your list. And this is from David Cronenberg's daughter.
S10: Yes it is. So this is Caitlin Cronenberg , and it's a slow burn horror film that's just brimming with the blackest of comedy. The title of the film is humane , and that is absolutely ironic. What I love about Cronenberg's kids , and this includes his son Brandon , who has a few films under his belt , and this one , they obviously have their dad's DNA , but they also have a unique voice. And so this is Caitlin's first feature , but she did an amazing short subject that you can find on YouTube with her dad. And it's called The Death of David Cronenberg , and it's jaw droppingly great , but also absolutely simple. It's such a clever film , and I hadn't realized that she had directed it when I saw it for the first time. But seek that out and also seek out humane and inhumane. She gives us a near-future dystopian world. An environmental collapse has forced humanity to need to lose about 20% of its population for the Earth to survive. And so we spend one night with a family in which a high profile father plans to enlist in the government's new euthanasia program. But when things don't go quite as planned , the family dinner serves up some ugly truths about human nature. And here's a scene from the film.
S15: I don't want a 1 in 4 chance of dying tonight. Sorry , those odds don't work for me.
S16:
S15: I've made mistakes. A lot of them , especially recently. But I am sure as hell not ready to throw in the towel.
S11: None of.
S16: Us are.
S15: Because here's the thing. I barely know you fucking people. I know we're family and all , but what ? We see each other three , maybe four times a year. Always here at dad's. I mean , we never get together on our own. We never even call each other unless it's an obligatory birthday call. I am closer with the lady who does my nails than I am with any of you.
S17:
S15: All right ? Now , it's not going to be mine. Oh ! No.
S18: Let me see. What ? Look at you.
S15: He doesn't deserve a cent of dad's money. He's just snorted all the way. Oh my God.
S19: She's not wrong. She is clean.
S15: Oh , whatever. You cover sticks. Listen , guys , one less sibling means more of dad's money for the rest of us. I'm trying to.
S20: Recruit them to gang up on me.
S15: No , I know where Jared stands. Actually , you do get the severity of the situation , don't you ? You do get that. One of us is leaving here tonight in a body bag. One of our cold , dead bodies is being wheeled out that door and thrown in the back of that mobile morgue at the end of the driveway , right alongside dad.
S10: And the film is surprisingly funny and savagely funny , and she's far more humorous than her dad or her brother. But this is another masterfully calibrated film , and it's a slow burn that's well worth the wait at the end.
S8: Beth , I watched this film at your recommendation. It wasn't what I expected , but what it was is wonderful. It really it really surprised me. I think folks should seek it out. Yeah.
S13: Yeah. You don't.
S10: Know where it's going at.
S13: First it.
S9:
S8: Okay.
S9: Okay. All right. We'll have to check it out.
S8: And once we all get past giggling about it , it's really a movie worth checking out. It's a little independent film from writer director Megan Park , and it's about an older teen who takes mushrooms and has a trip and comes face to face with her own older self , and what appears initially to be a raunchy comedy about the older self dispensing advice to the younger self eventually morphs very unexpectedly into something entirely else , something very sweet. And it helps that the older self is played by the wonderful Aubrey Plaza. But it is Maisy Stella playing the younger self who has to do a lot of heavy lifting , and she's entirely up to it. And maybe I'm a sap , but of all the films I've seen this year , this one reminded me the most to be thankful for the year and now , and to appreciate the present. And hence , I think this is perhaps the most apt to recommend for Thanksgiving.
S9: That's great. I can't wait to see that one. Yes , I felt like you said it too proper though. Like , you know , you got to say , my old ass. I mean , that's really captures the sentiment I feel like.
S10: And I have to say , this one wasn't too sappy. It was. It was actually very sweet. And it was. It took a nice , surprising turn to that point.
S8: Yeah , it's not remotely sentimental. It just earns its sweetness towards the end. And here is a clip of the exchange between the younger and older versions of the main character , where the younger version is horrified to find out that she will have a PhD when she's older.
S21: Tell me something good. Um.
S11: Um. Something good. Um , why are.
S21:
S22: Okay.
S21: Okay. You're gonna be psyched. Okay.
S22: Tell me that you are a PhD student. Yeah.
S21: I know what. You're joking , but.
S22: I don't want to tell you. In what , because I want you to have something to look forward to.
S21: Look forward to ? Yeah. Did you just tell me ? I'm in my 40s and I'm still in school. 30s.
S22: 30s. 30s.
S9:
S10: Yes , Xena , the Warrior Princess has now turned to directing , and the film is about a fellow New Zealander and fellow kick ass woman , Margaret Moth. Moth was a video journalist who covered the wars in the Persian Gulf and Bosnia. And here's a little bit of the trailer.
S23: She was the first camerawoman for Television New Zealand. She looked so rock and roll 24 over seven , a female cameraman and a male dominated world. That definitely gave her a charge.
S24: She did. She dressed , she said whatever she wanted , and it was something that people were in awe of.
S25: That's my big ambition when I was a kid to be a paratrooper.
S23: She was just too cool for me , that's for sure. She got on so well with military people because she was so ballsy.
S26: Margaret never made anything about being a female. She just did it. Look at me. Here's the camera. This is what I do.
S23: The most valuable thing that she can imagine was being where history is being changed. At a certain point , sex , drugs and rock and roll just wasn't enough. War was the ultimate drug.
S27: I remember telling Margaret , there's only so much Russian roulette you can play.
S28: Margaret and Mark are seated in the back of the van. I'm seated in the front passenger seat and I'm looking left and right. And all of a sudden.
S26: I saw some , like , flash.
S29: Your mom rang and told me that she'd been shot in the face by a sniper.
S10: Honestly , if lawless was just a little bit younger , she probably could have played mothe to perfection in a biopic. But instead she has chosen to deliver a fabulous documentary about moth , and it's also a tribute to her and her adventuresome spirit. This is lawless first venture as a director. She's never helmed any episodes of Xena , which is something a lot of actors will do on their own series. But apparently she was just inspired by moth story and decided she wanted to tell this in her own voice and warts and all , and in a punky style that moth would have appreciated. I got to speak to lawless last week , so check out my interview and please check out this film. It's amazing.
S9: All right , well , before we go , I have to say that I don't have a movie per se , but I do have a series that I'm so into right now. It's Alex Cross on Prime. Uh , it's a crime thriller series. Uh , the lead is Aldis Hodge , and he is very. He's deep , he's intense. He's really great in the role of Alex Cross. And I think that's one you guys have to just check out.
S13: All right. Absolutely.
S8: Absolutely. Yeah.
S9: You can find more information about where to watch these films on Best Cinema Junkie blog at pbs.org.
UU: The real Noriega. He owes me a favor.
S1: That was Midday Edition host Jade Hindman speaking with KPBS Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando and Movie wallows podcaster Yazdi. And that's our show for today. If you missed anything , you can download KPBS Midday Edition on all podcast apps. Midday Edition and Roundtable will be taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving. We'll be back again on Tuesday. But before we go , I'd like to share who I'm thankful for the Midday Edition team , our host Jade Hindman , and producers Ashley Rush , Giuliana Domingo , Andrew Bracken , and with the help of Elaine Alfaro , senior producer Brooke Ruth , arts segment contributors Julia Dixon Evans and Beth Accomando , technical producers Ben Read Lask , Brandon Trufant and Rebecca Chacon. The Midday Edition theme music is from San Diego's own surefire soul ensemble. I'm Andrew Bowen in for Jade Hindman. Thanks for listening and happy Thanksgiving.
