[Intrepid Homoludens]

Well, big R and I are consummating our recent Netflix membership and I'm finally catching up on my movies, so I recommend....

The Aviator - Beautiful cinematography; straightforward, vanilla direction by Martin Scorcese; performance by Cat Blanchett of the legendary Kate Hepburn worthy of the Oscar she won for it; Leo diCaprio, despite his nice enough performance, was really badly miscast as Howard Hughes - he just doesn't possess the chiseled good looks, stature, and charisma (he's too damn young looking for the part!); Kate Beckingsale as Ava Gardner is pathetic, and more so Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow.

Babette's Feast - Easily among my favourites of all time. This is an homage to humanistic sacrifice and the power of art to elevate the soul. To lump it as merely a 'food film' is to be stupid, it soars far beyond that.

Tampopo - Japanese director Juzo Itami's social commentary and satire on various fascinations, obsessions, and symbolisms on food. A widowed mother undertakes a near impossible quest to make the perfect bowl of ramen noodles, thus recruiting a ragtag band of gourmet chefs and gourmands to help her out. It's on my list of all time favourites as well, and is still as funny and sensually provocative as ever since I first saw it well over ten years ago.

We need to fill in our queues some more. We got Spirited Away and Million Dollar Baby waiting. Does anyone recommend anything else?