Welcome to the kitchen table. You all know I do a lot of sewing -- community quilts and such. Well, I usually have something to watch while I stitch (the hand stitching, anyway). I've discovered internet TV! Netflix mostly -- it's cheap and there is a wealth of material there if you hunt around. I would like to share some of my finds on Netflix -- and hope that you will share yours, as well! Let us know where you do your streaming; Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, or other channels -- for some movies are available in several places.
Friday night's a great night to fix some food and kick back with a good movie. And with that in mind, tonight's subject is:
At the Table
Movies are below the fold!
Big Night
What a cast this little movie has! Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm, Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, Campbell Scott -- and more. The story is set on the New Jersey shore in the Italian community. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub play brothers who own a struggling restaurant. Their food is wonderful -- but no one comes. Ian Holm's character, on the other hand, owns a fantastically successful restaurant where the food is only so so but the tables are always full. He convinces the brothers to fix a special dinner for a celebrity guest -- and in the hopes of saving their restaurant they do and it is a night to remember. I'm not going to tell you more about that except to say the story is an exploration of what is really important -- money, success, fame, or family?
See the trailer for "Big Night" here.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
In Tokyo is a tiny, tiny restaurant. It seats ten, at a bar (not tables). It is located in a subway station. And the bathrooms are down the hall. Yet this tiny restaurant has three Michelin stars. Three. Michelin. Stars. That means that in the opinion of the Michelin critics, a meal at this restaurant merits a trip to the country in question -- it's that good. The restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, is the result of the life work of Jiro Ono, an elderly man who has made it his mission to perfect the art of just one thing -- sushi. And I do mean perfect. This documentary tells his story and that of his sons. I was mesmerized. I'm thinking you will be, too...
See the trailer for "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" here.
Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana
Confession time...I have a weakness for Bollywood movies, ever since seeing Lagaan. Netflix has an abundance of movies from India -- and once you watch one, many others are suggested! Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana is a charming, silly tale about a rogue of a guy who drugged his grandpa, stole some money from him, and ran away to London. Years later, he's in big trouble. He owes money to a gangster. Said gangster lets him go home to the Punjab to get the funds. On his return, he finds that grandpa has dementia and doesn't remember much -- and shortly thereafter, grandpa passes away. The active part of grandpa's business is left to a brother -- but the inactive part, the chicken restaurant, is left to our miscreant hero. He can sell it to get the funds for the gangster -- but only if he can recreate grandpa's secret recipe for Chicken Khurana. What is the secret ingredient? Well, I'm not telling you -- but you should know that grandpa was a bit of a rogue, himself. And his special chicken had the effect of opening peoples' hearts...
See the trailer for "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana" here.
Dean Spanley
Oh, what a marvelous movie! And what a cast! Peter O'Toole, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Judy Parfitt -- and more. This is about Edwardian gentlemen, the wine Tokay, and reincarnation... Jeremy Northam takes his difficult father, a man who cannot grieve the death of his other son, to a lecture at the home of an Indian gentleman -- and there they meet, for the first time, a churchman, Dean Spanley (played by Sam Neill). Jeremy Northam's character continues to run into the Dean over the next couple days and is so interested in him he invites him to dinner, promising a bottle of the Dean's favorite wine. At dinner, he discovers that the Dean goes into a sort of trance while drinking this particular wine and seems to recall a life in which he was a dog. How fascinating is that? There is nothing for it but to procure more bottles of this wine and entertain the good Dean to learn more. This is a story, not so much about past lives as about the father/son relationship and releasing grief. See it. You won't regret the time. Peter O'Toole is especially bloody amazing in this film -- and so is Sam Neill.
Watch the trailer for "Dean Spanley" here.
Got any favorite movies about meeting around a table, over food? Please share!
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.
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