The Prince-Lewis household enters its own Mexican standoff, except the guns are replaced with popcorn and farm animals.
Dave: Let the record show that this week I chose between two movies: one an endearing, if treacly, vignette of an organic, back-to-the-earth farm, and the other, a campy dish-fest between the grande dames of British cinema: Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith. Readers, I know how much Joe loves adorable animals, so I choose the farm documentary that featured adorable sheep dogs, cute lambs, vaguely menacing barn owls, and surprisingly sweet gophers. I’m sure we will watch seasoned British actresses kvetch and drink champagne another week. Many of the reviews of The Biggest Little Farm harped on the “science” that viewers got to see throughout the movie; mostly, I just saw incredibly endearing shots of animals, including vaguely gross ones like worms and bugs. Perhaps “science” and “bugs” are one and the same, though I highly doubt it. At any rate, I hope the many shots of close-up encounters with animal poop will dissuade Joe from wanting to have a full-fledged farm at any point in the future. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
I’m not sure what this popcorn was playing at, but it seems as if there was no added fat (read: butter) or salt within a mile radius of our popcorn bowl. That, in my not-so-humble opinion after having eaten over 100 popcorn recipes, is unforgivable. Even more galling is the fact that the bacon and lightly fried jalapeños smelled so darn good, but failed to deliver in the finished product. I’d have rather dispensed with the popcorn and eaten the jalapeños straight out of the cast iron skillet. Still, with the addition of roughly a tablespoon of salt table side, this popcorn was very good, if not great. At least we have a lot of bacon and some jalapeños to use in some Tex-Mex style dinner this week! (⭐️⭐️1/2)
Joe: About halfway through this film, I paused it, turned to Dave, and said, "It's kinda wild that exactly a year ago, we were watching Babe and eating bacon-flavored popcorn, and we've come full circle to this documentary." Surely Dave didn't make the year anniversary of the pandemic lockdown connection when he selected this film, but it sure was on-the-nose for me. Lord. A year we were scrambling to recoup our financial losses as we were literally supposed to be in the Netherlands before the borders closed. Anyway. I have a soft spot for animals, and am nearly inconsolable when animals are in peril, so this film essentially had me in tears for most of its running time. Sure, it was edited artfully to elicit that kind of reaction from saps like me, but I don't care. It was effective. Despite its flaws (and the blatant privilege of the farmers), I loved this film. Also, I want a farm even though I wouldn't be able to handle animals dying or being in pain. Christ, I'd be a useless farmer. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Back when we started this endeavor, we made a Bacon Jalapeño popcorn from the initial Food Network list we were working off of. We both really enjoyed it. Frankly, I don't remember what it tasted like, but you can't really go wrong with bacon on anything. (And yes, I am fully aware of the juxtaposition of loving animals as much as I do but not hesitating to devour them - clearly, I am not nor ever will be a full-on vegetarian.) This recipe, from the formidable Popcorn Board, called for the jalapeños to be sautéed in butter, and let me tell you: it made all the difference. It softens the punch of the pepper and maximizes the balance to the saltiness of the bacon and parmesan. This is absolutely a popcorn I would eat every week, even if it would cause me to go into cardiac arrest. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Popcorn recipe from: Popcorn Board
The Littlest Big Farm on IMDB.
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