The Nerdery Movie Night #273: Twisters and French Onion Dip Popcorn

In which Dave and I both ape the bad Oklahoma accents in our reviews (a reminder that we do not consult each other or discuss our opinions until we publish). Twinning! Again!

French Onion Dip Popcorn

Dave: This entire movie was essentially people saying something like “It have a tornado out thar in the soybean field y’all!” Unlike the original Twister, Twisters strikes a weird chord, giving country boy vibes and actual science equal footing as explanatory and predictive forces in their respective cinematic universes. The tornado sequences in Twisters were frightening and breathtaking, but they seemed to happen every 30 seconds, lessening their overall impact. Also, none of the characters were around long enough for anyone to care about past their bizarre mouthful-of-marbles accents. Was it fun to watch? Sure! Do I feel like a better person afterwards? Definitely not. (️️⭐️⭐️)

I had a creeping sense I could do better than Tricia Yearwood* at making a French onion dip popcorn recipe. And after combining several mommy blogs, I’ve hit upon something that is at the precipice of a brilliant recipe. It was a bit salty - potato chips and crispy fried onions will do that - but the salty french onion soul of the popcorn wasn’t lost in all the toppings. As an 80s kid, I definitely missed the dollops of sour cream but I still gobbled this up by the handful. I know folks poo-pooh prepackaged soup mix, but there’s a reason people have used it in recipes for decades. It’s good. In fact, it’s great. I’d make this for company as long as I knew they didn’t have some kind of arterial flow condition. (️️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Joe: Tonight I was in the mood for a film that required zero brain activity, and I fear I may have overplayed my hand when selecting Twisters. I saw the original Twister in theaters nearly 30 years ago. If memory serves me, it was fun and tense while being stupid. I wish I could say the same for this needless reboot. Twisters requires a willing suspension of disbelief that I'm rarely able to indulge in. The story is beyond moronic, which would be forgivable if the movie was even remotely suspenseful. It isn't. When storm chasers are literally herding Oklahomans away from their street-fair booths while an F5 is bearing down on them, and the Oklahomans are like "but mah oihl paintins!"... well, it's a level of stupidity that I just can't stomach. To say nothing of a subplot involving a greedy capitalist (is there any other kind?) and something something something about buying up the land from people who have lost everything after a storm. Idiotic. (⭐️1/2)

This popcorn was insanely salty. Like, I feel as if all the liquid in my body has been leeched from me and I may never feel anything but desiccation. While this is not an overstatement, I kind of liked the popcorn! Sure, it was a salt field, but it also had crunchy fried onions and potato chips that balanced out the blandness of the popcorn. I certainly liked it more than the movie. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

*or whatever country star had a Food Network recipe.

Popcorn: Dr. David Lewis 💅🏻

Twisters on IMDb

An aside: I (Joe) am 11 years older than Glen Powell, and I think he looks older than me. Thanks, skincare routine (and good genes)!