We would watch any movie that had Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae playing opposite each other, and Dave whips up a batch of popcorn that's head-spinningly delicious.
Dave: I’d been avoiding watching this movie - it got fairly bad reviews online, and I hated to see Issa Rae make a misstep. But boy am I glad I watched it. It’s not art, but the two main characters are so adorably sweet that I could forgive a lot of the nearly incomprehensible plot and some breathtakingly horrible acting by the bad guy they call Mustache. I’d watch Rae and Nanjiani in almost anything, but, despite being stuck in a pretty formulaic plot and surrounded by characters as thin as tissue paper, their comedic timing and natural chemistry really came through. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
So, we’ve reached the Iron Chef stage of the pandemic, where we’re molding our weekly popcorns around the things we happen to have on hand. Luckily we got a lovely bunch of cilantro from our farm share this week, we have some lovely southwestern Penzey’s spice blends, and we regularly keep lime juice around for cocktails. So spicy cilantro lime popcorn was born. Granted, a lot of the deliciousness came from the 3 tablespoons of butter and generous dusting of salt, not from the cilantro that, sadly, ended up pretty soggy. Still, we were ready for another bowl of this before all the murders happened in the movie. I’d definitely make this again, but tweaked a bit, using less butter and sprinkling on cilantro after it had cooled off a bit. Still, it was pretty delicious. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Joe: The Lovebirds is a curious film. In its attempt to feel completely off-the-cuff and unguarded, it instead shines a spotlight on just how very aware of itself it is. To be sure: Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani have insane amounts of chemistry and play off each other beautifully - from her arched eyebrows to his bumbling cover-ups, they are never anything less than delightful. By the time the film reaches its final act, however, the story's arc loses every shred of propulsion. The climax is jaw-droppingly dumb, barely worth the paper its written on, which almost obviates everything that comes before it. Still, there are worse ways to spend a Friday night than watching two incredibly attractive people tromp around New Orleans, piecing together the clues of a crime that barely makes sense. PS: Do y'all remember Issa Rae's "ratchet" videos on YouTube back in the day? I miss them. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
I nearly smacked Dave's hands away from this popcorn because I couldn't grab enough in my fists, and didn't want to share a single kernel. I don't know where he found this recipe, but I want to make it again and again and again. It was salty and citrusy and cilantro-y, and I wanted him to make more the nanosecond we finished the first batch. He didn't comply, and it's probably for the better. Overindulgence could have caused it to lose luster. Also, how many of you actually think cilantro tastes like soap? Because I can't imagine it being anything less than delicious. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Popcorn recipe from: Some random site that Dave stumbled upon.
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