My penultimate newsletter for 2024. If you’re still looking for gifts, there are some ideas from

‘schaotic asian group chat that I was a part of it. Here’s what you should – or shouldn’t – see in the last days of the year!

• If you remember my TIFF post, I absolutely hated it BABY GIRLthe second film of the year in which Nicole Kidman is seduced by a younger man. It lacks sexual perversions, it doesn’t deserve to stand alongside true erotic thrillers, and with its flaws, in my opinion, it doesn’t provide interesting reading for our generation about this genre. More for paying subscribers next week.

• As most people have said, NOSFERATU falls squarely into the “but why bother when the originals are just fine” category of remakes. But as for the famous Lily: -Rose Depp > Collins > James

• UNION, Brett Story, Stephen Maing’s documentary about Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, is inevitably a slow and agonizing film. It documents their struggle to organize without the help of national unions. There is no traditional distribution, but fortunately it is possible Rent it until January 5th.

• Here are some suggestions for non-traditional Christmas movies Post from last year.

Dir. Tyler Taormina

In the cinema and so on VOD

Growing up, I dreamed of big family gatherings. I still dream about them now. A popular and stately old house full of conversation spots and people coming and going from every room. Except Grandpa, who stays in his chair all night. The kids stay in the basement and huddle around the one cousin who has confiscated the video game console and held it hostage until he dies (virtually, which is never the case). Something delicious hisses out of the oven, the scent wafting through the house and covering every inch of it, along with the music set at just the right decibel level. All the warmth and wine of a house party without the social anxiety.

This special bonhomie is bottled to perfection Christmas Eve at Miller’s PointTyler Taormina’s tender snapshot—actually a snow globe, with Carson Lund’s hazy, dazzling cinematography—capturing a night with the Balsanos on Long Island. The memento is nostalgic but not sentimental, tinged with a note of decided regret. At least three generations of the Italian-American family can be seen in the wood-paneled ancestral home. Siblings, in-laws, cousins, and second husbands are so numerous that it is impossible to say exactly who is related to whom. Don’t bother keeping track; You’re only there for a moment.

But even in this brief encounter it is enough to enjoy her presence. Each scene is a mosaic of convincing faces with non-movie star features. The cast largely consists of unremarkable actors as well as cinematic nepo-baby kings – Francesca Scorsese and Sawyer Spielberg in two small roles.

A few loose threads emerge: an uncle secretly writes a book; the teenage girls want to sneak out to see a boy; An older generation of siblings argues about selling the house. However, there is no big fight. It’s a done deal, less sad than inevitable. The film is set sometime in the early 2000s, but may be older. Christmas classics and oldies like “The Ronettes” and “Sister Act” soundtracks are constantly playing in the background.

The decorations and details are observed with surprising precision. A strangely long corded telephone. Socker Boppers. A little girl slides down the stairs step by step in her Christmas party dress, black velvet and festive bow. I swear I had the exact same thing. And then there is the spread. Thanksgiving redux with an Italian flair on porcelain painted with holly berries. Ham, mashed potatoes, ziti.

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The crazy “National Lampoon’s Vacation” energy that heralds the film – a whirlwind car ride through the festively decorated neighborhood and the credits rolling on the screen – is, in a way, fake. The film slips and falls into the quieter home video category, unspectacular but worthwhile. There is also a touch of the surreal. Like Taormina’s previous film Ham on ryeThe film captures the absurd rites and rituals of youth. As the teens sneak into a bagel/donut shop inexplicably swarming with teenagers and, in the film’s drollest moments, are pursued by two otherworldly cops (Michael Cera and Greg Turkington).

Somewhere in the middle of the film there is a neighborhood parade, a large event in which the fire trucks roar through the streets and can seem insignificant compared to the Balsano’s anticipation of it. It’s like Christmas, which is over as soon as the 24th approaches. The film’s greatest achievement is that it captures the holiday and its unique status as something to celebrate and mourn at the same time. For Taormina, this is not a big farewell, but a sleepy march into the night – cozy, mysterious and melancholic.

• Ham on rye (Taormina, 2019)

• Cathedral (Ricky D’Ambrose, 2021)

• Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergmann, 1982)

• A Christmas story (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008)

• Eephus (Carson Lund, 2025)

Christmas Eve at Miller’s Point highlights the joy and inherent cheesiness that comes with upholding traditions. At the end of the night, everyone gets cherry affogatos, and one of the uncles is beholden to his salami sticks, which find the meat wrapped around breadsticks. For me, nothing epitomizes holiday traditions like cookies—especially the Italian-American variety. These delicate, crumbly treats often end up in a bland mess and always carry a hint of sadness. Nobody rushes to collect them at parties and save them for later. But still, it doesn’t feel like Christmas without her. (In the Mid-Hudson Valley, where I grew up, there wasn’t a small remnant of Italian Americans, so these were always a staple.)

Traditional Italian cookies have largely resisted efforts to improve them. Few bakeries have dared to transform these purposefully dry cookies into something more “tasty.” Rainbow cookies are a notable exception, and while places like Archestratus and Ciao Gloria have refined them with premium ingredients, I still appreciate even the waxy versions.

The others, mostly variations on butter cookies, seem indifferent to their lower status, whether they’re topped with jam, dipped in chocolate, shaped like flowers, or printed with a cherry or chocolate chip on the thumb. Nobody even asks for the biscotti treats like reginelle with sesame coating or pignoli with pine nuts or anything with anise or fennel. The controversial licorice flavors could be another reason why they didn’t catch on. Or that they absolutely need a coffee or amaro accompaniment.

However, I have found excellent cookies of all kinds elsewhere Bread and saltthe Target Bakery in Jersey City, which prepares and sells primarily Italian products. They’re only open three days a week, don’t publish a menu, or offer delivery service. You just have to show up and hope for the best. And it’s the best. Rick Easton is a gluten wizard who has perfected the laborious art of bread baking. He knows it’s really hard and thinks all of you doing it at home are positive from your thoughtswhich reflects my personal mantra that there are some things I will never make at home when I can just as easily buy better ones (if I have the means).

However, I’m getting off topic. Held in December to coincide with the holidays, Bread & Salt whips up Italian Christmas specialties like struffoli (nuts and cracker balls tied together with honey and sprinkles) and bocconotto (small butter tarts filled with jam or chocolate, if you like). I’m lucky) and Susamielle, smelling of honey. I just tried them for the first time last week. It’s a surprise to bite into the hard S-shaped cookie and find that it doesn’t crumble at all. They are extremely pliable, instead of breaking they fold like taffy. I’m addicted to the texture. Bread & Salt has given these cookies new life for me and I think I’ve found a new tradition.

1. Cannoli

2. Pastaciotto

3. Cartoccio

4. Chiacchiere, but only if you get it with a side of cannolli filling, which for some reason we were able to get at our local bakery. It was like chips and dip on sucrose steroids

5. Rainbow cookies

6. Baci di Dama (mini hazelnut sandwich cookies)

7. Chocolate Covered Jam Sandwich Shortbread Cookies

8. Biscotti and Cantucci

9. Caprese cake

10. Brutti ma buoni (“ugly but good” nut meringue cookies)

11. Cassatina, it varies depending on your mood

12. Taralli

13. Reginalle

14. Amaretti

15. Pizzelle

16. Sfogliatelle, but if done right this might be the third best thing

17. Butter biscuit with cherry

18. Shortbread cookies filled with a mysterious substance without jam

Cuccidati (stuffed with figs) or mostaccioli are not included here because I haven’t eaten them yet.

Tell me your favorites.