Elissa Suh

New York

i write about film and food | @mubi @screenslate @eater @bonappetit @lithub @bombmagazine @voguemagazine @filmmakermag @archdigest @anothergaze @tmagazine

Articles

Let me solve your movie dilemmas

2 weeks ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

In Haley Mlotek's book No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, she writes about preferring to watch movies when they aligns with her mood, allowing her to absorb its full impact. “I want them most when they are uncanny replicas of life—moments and experiences used like elements rather than reflections. They warp under being watched.”I can relate. But sometimes, the right moment never comes.
Q: What movies should I play at a party?

2 weeks ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Movies deserve your full attention, but sometimes they’re just background viewing, but not in the mindless, nefariously passive way of Netflix. of Buttered Popcorn asks what makes the perfect party backdrop, much like the bar at Nitehawk, where old films silently play on a vintage TV. Could some movies actually be more enjoyable on mute? When it comes to party-movies, subtitles and genre movies are your friends here.
FOOL'S SPRING

1 month ago | pigmami.substack.com | Jalil Johnson |Elissa Suh

I always consult last year’s outfits or phone a friend in whiplash weather. These are the fluffy, fun ideas that have recently come to me by way of last year’s camera roll, and running into real friends going about their real lives. Kicking off with my precious Tibi sweater I purchased in 2024.
SHORT TAKES #07 - by Elissa Suh - MOVIEPUDDING

1 month ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

Compact appraisals of things I’ve recently watched and eaten. Read them all here. My latest savory pastry obsession are the pigs in a bed (stuy) fromWelcome Home,a newish bakery from L'appartement 4F alum. The lattice croissaint is filled with sausage cooked with cayenne, and a hint of maple syrup. The best bits are the unassuming parts of the dough directly under the fennel-scented sausage that have been steamed into something soft like cheese or frangipane.
Meet Susan Chardy, the Breakout Star of Rungano Nyoni’s Thrilling and Urgent ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’

1 month ago | vogue.com | Elissa Suh

In recent years, a wave of films has sought to confront the horrors of sexual violence and abuse against women, but On Becoming a Guinea Fowl stands apart. The second feature from Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni, who won the Un Certain Regard award for best director at Cannes, the film balances the comic, the tragic, and the surreal with a gutting sense of urgency. Susan Chardy as Shula in On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, in theaters now. Photo: Chibesa Mulumba.
Honest opinions on this year's Oscar nominees

1 month ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

The Oscars are the pinnacle of middlebrow culture. Sometimes a nomination can even diminish or complicate my interest in a particular film, that stamp of “prestige” rendering it over- or underrated or simultaneously both. Take Conclave, for instance, which can be viewed as either an airplane movie or more, depending on when you clocked it during its hype cycle. During awards season, watching movies is about managing expectations more so than usual. All to say, don’t take the Oscars too seriously.
WHERE I'M EATING IN NYC NOW

1 month ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh |Emily Wilson

Taking a page froom Grub Street and from The Angel, this is an honest accounting of where I’m dining and where I’m looking forward to eating the most most. It features a mix of restaurants frequenting on the regular, and others I’m excited to check out. It’s truer to life than a typical “best” or “hottest” list, and I’ll likely expand on places I try in future posts. Let me know what’s on your radar, or if end up at any of these restaurants and want tips on what to order. Updated 2/27.
WHAT I'M WATCHING NOW

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

For paid subscribers, here is a running list of what I think are the best movies playing this month, or what I am looking forward to checking out. This includes new releases, NYC repertory screenings, and streaming premieres. Screen Slate, which where I contribute, is an excellent resource that always has an exhaustive list of what’s going on (they post every day). Consider this list my personal recs and your cheat sheet.
ODD COUPLES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY AND BEYOND

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh

My java-obsessed friends would have me hanged for me for this, but now and then I like to indulge in a sugary coffee beverage. The key to enjoyment is reminding yourself that it’s categorically dessert, and not a proper cup of joe. Here are three unorthodox concoctions I’ve had recently, ordered from least to most illicit.
Triple feature 02: The Brutalist

2 months ago | moviepudding.substack.com | Elissa Suh |Katherine Lewin

Triple Feature combines one new movie / one old movie / one restaurant. Check out the first installment here. Brady Corbet, 2024Even at three hours and thirty-five minutes, The Brutalist glides. The sumptuous visuals, presented in VistaVision, a bygone film format last seen in Mary Poppins, gives the film a richness you can’t ignore. You don’t need a fancy film degree to appreciate that this movie looks like millions of dollars more than it actually cost.