Friday Meals on Reels: The Nines.

Hopefully my newly-coined term “foodgrab” is soon to enter the film blog venacular. That being, of course, a screengrab from a classic or new movie which represents the first time the filmmaker shows us - wait for it - food.

In screenwriter/blogger John August’s film The Nines, we see food for the first time at the 11:40 mark:

At first glance, this screengrab doesn’t show us much other than the sort of typical Chinese takeout meal that we’ve seen in countless other movies, but it actually wasn’t until I took a closer look at it that I noticed the artwork on the wall in the background. The pair of paintings depicting “7″ and “2″, obviously, are a reference to the movie’s titular Nines, for which there are copious references, visually and otherwise. The fact that I’ve grabbed a more or less random still from the movie and still stumbled across a Nine here is pretty indicative of what August was going after.

And that’s to say that he was going after something damn clever and innovative. I can’t say, however, that it works completely. Or maybe it does work and I’m a bit too thick or close-minded to get it. It’s really difficult to sum up The Nines without giving away its central themes and rather bizarre plot twists, so I won’t try to accomplish that here. If you hadn’t read about it previously, I’ll over-simplify the movie’s plot by telling you that The Nines tells three separate stories, starring three main actors who play three distinct characters, and all three of the stories kind of interact with each other. Except that they also don’t. And they’re related, except where they’re not. Multiple dimensions may or may not be involved. And that’s about all I can safely say about it.

The only reason I want to keep the plot a secret is so that you might go out and watch The Nines yourself. It’s odd and a bit random, a mind-bender that actually does not completely bend your mind as much as it perhaps stretches it a bit - but it’s truly worth watching because of how very different its objectives are. For such a “traditional” mainstream Hollywood scriber as August (who has written Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the - sorry - excreable Charlie’s Angels movies, among a few others), Nines is about as not conventional, un-structured, non-Hollywood as you can probably get, and that’s also what helps it be as weirdly compelling as it is. It helps a whole lot, of course, that the film is exquisitely shot, and the performances of Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy in the movie’s nine (get it?) leading roles are all seriously great. They all have to pertform as characters who are distinctly different, yet retain some similar characteristics and subtleties shared by each of their three respective roles. It’s a tricky balance but absolutely intriguing to watch. Ultimately, it’s a movie that does stick with you a bit because its ambition and invention are right up there high where they ought to be.

So go add The Nines to your rental queue of choice today - and in the meantime, find out what the insanely resourceful and breath-takingly sublime Mrs. Burbanked has cooked up for you, after the jump.

Today’s Friday Meals on Reels: Nine Flavors Buddha’s Noodles

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 5 ounces sliced baked ham, cut into strips
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 pound of thin vermicelli, cooked al dente, drained, rinsed & cooled
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2½ tablespoons sesame seeds
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot chile oil

Grill the chicken breasts, then cut into strips and allow to cool. Place the first five ingredients - chicken, ham, green onions, walnuts and pasta noodles into a large bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, make the dressing by mixing the next four - which adds up to NINE, by the way - ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the mixture in the larger bowl. Use just enough dressing to completely coat the noodles. Refrigerate. Toss periodically and serve cold the next day - or in a week or three days ago, depending on what dimension you happen to be in. To mix things up all wacky-like, heat the oils and seeds in a pan over medium heat until the seeds are lightly browned, cool for five minutes, then add the soy sauce. Enjoy quickly, because the universe that you know may be ending at any moment.