FILMS from AFAR

This film has Judy Blume written all over it, but its main character lacks the genuine naivete that makes Blume's tween characters so lovable. Playing Stacy in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Sunny Sandler (Adam's daughter) wades into mean girl territory with her friends, poses and pouts for her male crush, and vamps in a sexy outfit for TikTok. It feels like a decidedly LA version of tweenhood. If you are only picking one tween girl flick this year, go with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. That's not to say that Sunny doesn't play the character well, and it appears that all the Sandlers had a lot of fun making this movie. There are likely inside jokes galore here. Papa Sandler is in relax mode and lets his daughter take top billing, with family interactions feeling, well, pretty real. Same with the cameos and portrayals in the multigenerational Jewish community, though Sherman's performance as Rabbi Rebecca is more grating than great. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Netflix.

All the ingredients to fulfill the romcom formula are here, but somehow the magic is missing in this film. The List falls flat. This could be because the characters aren't sketched to feel entirely believable (Abby's mentioned law school and screenwriting chops feel far-fetched, and best friend Chloe doesn't seem to have to work at all). Or it might be that the film's rhythm is off because scenarios and jokes that were probably fine on paper feel awkward and unfunny. The film has a couple of highlights, endearing actor Navarro among them, and the cast plays their characters as basically good people. While there's some suspense in seeing what Abby will do with her love life, the ending -- a romcom cliché -- ultimately doesn't satisfy. You can leave this film off your list. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Universal Pictures.

This unique, energetic, and charming film about a gang of scrappy best friends from the neighborhood is boosted by fast-moving dialogues, inventive action sequences, and four spirited performances. Miguel Wants to Fight is ultimately a film about friendship. The four adolescents, friends since early childhood and now on the cusp of young adulthood, share a surprisingly sweet and extraordinarily strong bond -- so much so that a late-film argument between two of them is intentionally hard to watch. We care about and root for these teens, as they do for each other. Their diverse backgrounds offer fodder in the script, from writers Shea Serrano and Jason Concepcion, for some cleverly funny heckling among local teens. Behind their witty repartee, the characters are depicted as wholesome, a little nerdy, and charmingly childlike. Each of the four main actors embodies these traits in natural and likable ways, especially lead Flores, whose irrepressible smile and general air of nervousness are a welcome antidote to the toxic masculinity around him. Bolstering the humor are imagined action sequences of Miguel, a film buff, envisioning himself triumphing in a variety of fight scenarios, from fantastical Bruce Lee, Matrix, and Crouching Tiger-style skirmishes to anime-inspired battles, some set to Spanish rap and all brought by director Oz Rodriguez and crew to life with upbeat graphics. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Hulu.

Earlier this summer a group of my college friends got together for a reunion. Accentuating just how many years have passed since we graduated, conversation turned quickly to kids, jobs and, finally, cooking. This came as a relief to me, because it turns out I’m not the only adult struggling with cooking. What to make, how to cook it, having the right ingredients, planning ahead, pleasing all your eaters -- it's a bizarre intersection of overwhelming and boring, or fun and frightening. It seemed like we all felt equally inadequate as we shared favorite recipes and apps. But we also all love to eat and keenly appreciate a great meal (here's a photo of the scrumptuous Japanese dinner in San Francisco's Noe Valley we were savoring when we had this conversation). I especially love how meals can bring people together and provide an excuse to linger and talk. Case in point: When our waiter at the restaurant that night announced they didn't serve coffee (or desserts we were interested in), we still knew we wanted more time together. We zipped down the hill to the Mission for unexpectedly delicious cappuccinos, tiramisu and cannoli at the only nearby place we could find open at that hour, a chic corner restaurant called Caffè Fiore. Cooking, Conversation & Community This enchanted evening and our conversation about cooking stuck with me as I went about the rest of my summer. When I got back home from my travels and faced an empty kitchen, I made the potentially rash decision to get serious about learning to cook. The objective? To learn to enjoy the process as much as I enjoy the result of good cooking. I may not know how to cook very well, but I do have other skills – namely, writing and teaching. Why not put those to use? Couldn't I try to teach myself in the kitchen and share the process with others by writing about it? Journalists also know how to find the right sources, and you'll notice much of my cooking is inspired by the New York Times Cooking app. I need more sources, so I'm hoping you'll send me yours, dear reaters (readers who eat). Because this blog is launched as more than just a place to share my adventures in the kitchen, I hope it can be a space to gather and share ideas, to celebrate successes and failures together and to commemorate what good food and great meals mean to us all. Like long summer dinners with friends, I hope this endeavor inspires conversation and community. My First Recipe When I recently renewed my Cooking subscription, the first thing I searched for was summer salads. Eventually I settled on this one: I can’t say I have much experience with Panzanella. Those of you who know me know I’ve lived many years in Spain, and this Italian dish (described by the recipe’s author as a “Tuscan bread salad”) has a lot in common with ingredients found in Spanish cooking. It’s basically a deconstructed gazpacho. This is easily a dish my mother-in-law, Teófila, might have made versions of in the past. She used to deep-fry chunks of old baguette for the kids to dip in their hot chocolate or liven up their vegetable purees. Teófila fed the whole family with love, but especially the kids. Here she is changing baby Teresa's life with a bite of ice cream during a hot summer in the village. Ingredients The NYT recipe calls for “preferably stale” baguette or ciabatta. Unfortunately, my fabulous local bakery is currently closed while they move locations. On the up side (today only), most of the baguettes sold at the Safeway near my house are already stale. Other ingredients include tomatoes, mozzarella, red onion and a bunch of fresh herbs. Really, what could go wrong? A few things, it turns out. For starters, I knew I had to make some adaptations if I hoped the kids would eat the salad. Take vinegar – they can smell it a mile away and won't touch the stuff. Similar reactions awaited the capers and cucumbers. I opted to leave the capers out and tried to hide the cucumber by cutting it into tiny pieces. I also left off the red pepper flakes because, okay, I forgot. I probably cut the parsley and basil a little too finely, and I couldn't get the garlic to the paste-like substance they recommended, which meant small bits of garlic in occasional bites. But just to be clear, this was totally fine by my palate. Here's where the NYT might take issue with my rendition of their careful work... I skipped the dressing entirely, instead sprinkling just olive oil, which is ubiquitous in our house. On my own salad, I added sherry vinegar, which is my favorite (and, in my defense, is used in many gazpacho recipes). I put too much, which meant of course that I needed more bread chunks to soak it up. Right? My final Panzanella with Mozzarella and Herbs is pictured below. Reactions My daughter's first response: "Is there cucumber in this?" She admitted the salad wasn't her style but saw its appeal, especially the bread. Her friends, though, called it "amazing!" They're welcome back. If you are familiar with Panzanella or have tried this recipe, do you think I made a mistake skipping the Dijon and red wine vinegar dressing? Anyone have another bread and/or tomato salad recipe to share? What’s your favorite summer salad? I’d love to hear in the comments. Meanwhile, you can find me at the fridge, picking the bread and cheese out of the remaining salad. Hasta pronto!

Buckle your seatbelt and be prepared for nonstop action in this telling of the legendary tale, which looks spectacular but doesn't get to the fable's real messages until late in the game. Without the Buddha's introductory revelations about The Monkey King, this film's titular character could seem unredeemable (besides his self-aggrandizing humor) for a chunk of the action. Sure, he was ostracized as a child and never learned to love or be loved. We get it. But it takes an hour-plus of fast-paced, far-fetched brawls before his young, female sidekick Lin shows him what he's been missing -- and sees the lonely creature inside him as well. In that sense, the film aims squarely at a very young audience, for whom the action will be entertaining enough. Older viewers can appreciate the film's textured look, which was meant to mimic Chinese brush painting. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Netflix.

A new addition to the growing body of corporate biopics, this film features excellent acting and a multi-layered, female-centered perspective. Where The Beanie Bubble slips off course is in structure. Attempting to go back and forth in time, particularly in the final act, and stuffing the tale with quite so many elements (relationships, back stories, even the main character's penchant for plastic surgery) ultimately results in an overstuffed and overly demanding film. But the lead performances are all outstanding, and this is a fascinating, feminist tale of luck, greed, and ego that captures the zeitgeist in story, character, and look (wardrobe deserves special mention). You finish the film wondering why it took so long to bring this story to screen. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Apple TV+.

This is a slickly-made documentary with off-the-court insights into some up-and-coming players, but its interest may be limited to fans of basketball. Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey runs long for casual followers of the sport. It captures a moment's worth of rising players and offers genuine insight into their drive and what motivates them. All the players profiled come across as hardworking, sincere, and devoted to their craft and the people in their lives. Probably every one of them deserves the big break few will get. The film also serves as a deep dive into the G League and the various options for rising players aiming to make into the NBA. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.

A sweet and well-constructed story blending coming-of-age, romance, and cross-cultural themes, this film is appealing on multiple levels. One of Love in Taipei's greatest strengths is its earnest depiction of how immigrants and their children can feel "torn between two of everything" -- cultures, languages, countries, homes. In the case of Ever and the other young people in the tale, that stretches to include life choices, career paths, and romantic partners, all informed by their loyalty and obligations to families who have sacrificed for them and hold cemented ideas of how their lives should go. It's a duality many people in their teens and early twenties can probably relate to. Though this film has that broader appeal, Taipei and Taiwanese culture are given central billing. The city is on glorious display, with the main character experiencing it -- and its sights and food -- through new eyes. Sometimes that enjoyment can feel didactic and over-packaged. The film also shortchanges its secondary characters -- the other people at the summer school who are always there but never really introduced. These flaws can be overlooked because the main cast is so likeable and the messages so positive. The film's soundtrack charmingly mixes English and Mandarin tunes. In a self-aware wink, a character early on nudges another: "This isn't the 90s… Everyone knows Asians are cool now." It's a nod to the many Asian and Asian American films, series, and talents crossing over to global audiences in recent years. This film should add to the mix. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Paramount+.

For fans of global agent action heroes like James Bond, Jason Bourne, or Ethan Hunt who have longed for a female version, this film is for you. Netflix, which described Heart of Stone even pre-release as an "upcoming blockbuster," clearly has a franchise in mind. That'll be just fine for Gadot's many followers, who might have been disappointed by Netflix's previous Gadot action vehicle Red Notice. Mention of Rachel Stone's troubled childhood could offer avenues for character development in sequels. There are enough other interesting characters in her orbit to create a storyline viewers might be excited to drop back into, especially hacker Keya (Bollywood star Bhatt, in her first English-language role) and fellow spies Nomad (the U.K.'s Okonedo) and Jack of Hearts (Germany's Schweighöfer). The film's international cast is a big part of its appeal and neatly fits with the storyline's idea of a non-nation-based spy outfit. If planned sequels also repeat the globe-trotting action of this original, even better. It's always fun to glimpse real cities subjected to false action -- here, for example, buildings explode in Reykjavik and cars spin out around Lisbon's famous trams. Gadot, as always, commands the screen. She's as believable as any of her male counterparts in this film's impressive action sequences, which send the actress sailing over cliffs, hurtling down hills, jumping out of planes, speeding through cities, kicking bad guys' butts, and generally saving the day in a myriad of ways. Do you have to completely suspend belief to enjoy this film? Of course, but isn't that half the fun? Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Netflix.

This highly anticipated and exceptionally campy romcom will please fans of the book and LGBTQ romances, but viewers should approach it with as uncritical a lens as possible. That's because Red, White & Royal Blue is chock full of hokey one-liners, implausible scenarios, and worn stereotypes. Its two gorgeous leads lean into the affair, calling a hard-on "Big Ben" and vowing to "no longer be the prince of shame!" Dialogues are similarly cringy throughout (text messaging proves more inventive than spoken dialogues). Probably the funniest lines of the movie come from a minor character who calls the prince "Little Lord F—leroy" and vows to "Brexit" his head from his body if he doesn't follow her orders. US-UK stereotypes are aplenty, from "uncultured" Americans to uptight, polo-playing Brits. The British royal family takes some hits for being outdated, expensive figureheads, while the American political system appears to work fluidly to support an open-minded female Democrat for president (Thurman, sounding very strange as a Texan politician). A couple of quieter sequences offer a bit more character insight, and one sex scene is shot in notably tender detail, but none of that feels like the film's real ambition. This is a light-hearted romance starring beautiful people that should all play quite well on streaming. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.

This is a slickly-made documentary with off-the-court insights into some up-and-coming players, but its interest may be limited to fans of basketball. Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey runs long for casual followers of the sport. It captures a moment's worth of rising players and offers genuine insight into their drive and what motivates them. All the players profiled come across as hardworking, sincere, and devoted to their craft and the people in their lives. Probably every one of them deserves the big break few will get. The film also serves as a deep dive into the G League and the various options for rising players aiming to make into the NBA. Read the full review at Common Sense Media. Images courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.

Uneven in its humor but driven by two solid central performances, this remake is sure to earn relentless comparisons with the original. White Men Can't Jump is also streaming in some territories on Disney+, which could mislead viewers into thinking the film has been toned down. In fact, this Jump seems to be trying hard to be edgy, with music video director Calmatic at the helm, and it's sometimes successful. There's lots of verbal ribbing, as in the original, including some homophobic heckling and plenty of mutually racial taunts. Much of the verbal jousting feels heavily scripted. Likewise, the banter between Harlow and Walls (and the back-up comedic pair of Myles Bullock and Vince Staples) doesn't always hit its mark, but there are occasional laugh-out-loud lines. The film has a definitive Black outlook -- White guy Jeremy, played by Harlow, is the odd man out, and the writing and directing team behind this version (unlike the original) is Black. Jump's appeal relies heavily on enjoying the two main characters and believing the deeper connection between Jeremy and Kamal. Walls is a charismatic leading man, and Harlow makes an impressive feature film debut here, though he definitely seems more comfortable with comedy than drama. The film also has tender moments of father-son love, male bonding, and men realizing they need the support of their women. Read the full review at CommonSenseMedia Images courtesy of Hulu