The Nerdery Movie Night #266: Trap and Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios

Josh Hartnett avoids the Feds and we try to avoid cardiovascular disease as a result of this popcorn.

Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios

Dave: SPOILER ALERT. M. Night Shyamalan finally gives us a twist by teasing a twist and then pulling back - look, he’s growing! While this movie mostly seemed to exist to make Saleka Night Shyamalan into a household name for her songs “I Sound Like Ariana Grande” and “I Still Sound Like Ariana Grande.” Despite the interstitial music videos with dancers clad in everything from Ziploc™️ bags to Glad™️ bags, the rest of the film was surprisingly tightly written and gripping. Josh Hartnett wasn’t masterful, but rather exceedingly adequate as the main character. Hayley Mills’s main character trait seemed to be that she didn’t have to move much in any of her scenes, while Hartnett’s daughter main character trait was that she was inexplicably a teenage girl with Farrah Fawcett hair in the mid 2020s. Those flaws aside, the film kept me gasping and saying “How are there still 45 minutes left!?” throughout. While it ultimately fell a bit flat with the “superstars are angels” and “social media will save us” tropes, it was still a good watch. (️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

Food & Wine has gotten a little too big for its britches. Whose idea was it to put these flavors together? On paper it sounds great, but in reality, it just tastes like overdone caramel where you accidentally added salt instead of sugar. There is probably some amazing, hermetically sealed test kitchens in which this would be a ten-out-of-ten triumph, but in most American households - even those households, like us, who have made 200-some popcorn recipes - this is a dud. Still, it’s a salty dud, so we ate 95% of the bowl. But that, dear reader, doesn’t mean that you should try it yourself. (️️⭐️⭐️)

Joe: Man, I haven't seen Alison Pill in anything since The Newsroom, and by golly, I had forgotten the kind of acting chops she possesses. Anyway, Shyamalan's film lacks the twist his films are (generally) known for. However, this particular ride is pretty darn fun, thanks in part to the solid acting - even Shyamalan's nepo-baby daughter as Lady Raven is good. It's a blast watching Josh Hartnett (!!) as the anti-hero outwitting the Feds again and again, even if there are plot holes large enough to fly a jumbo jet through. If you can turn your brain off for the running time, it's solid filler. (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Longtime readers will know that my cooking instincts aren't as sharply honed as Dave's - not by a long shot - but even I thought, "gee, this seems like a lot of salt.". I should have listened to that little niggling fear. MY GOD IS THIS SALTY. It neutered all the work that went into it (I shelled 2 cups of pistachios because I was too cheap to buy the slightly more expensive "we shelled all of these for you" bag at Wegmans). Had I heeded my hesitations and omitted the additional two teaspoons of salt, this would've been terrific. Alas. (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Popcorn: Food & Wine

Trap on IMDb