{"id":255943,"date":"2025-09-26T10:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T10:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/255943\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T10:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T10:58:13","slug":"richard-brodys-new-york-film-festival-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/255943\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Brody\u2019s New York Film Festival Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes names are misleading. Arabic numerals originated in India, Chinese checkers are German, white chocolate isn\u2019t chocolate at all. The same does not hold for Pokito<\/a>,<\/strong> a cozy dive in Williamsburg whose name is a misspelled version of the Spanish word for \u201clittle.\u201d On a recent Monday, two patrons walked in during happy hour to find the place empty. An abundance of kitschy wall decorations (fuzzy dice, fake flowers, party streamers) gleamed under flashing lights, casting the room in lurid shades of pink and green. Behind the bar, a creaking dumbwaiter transported dishes up from the basement kitchen. Yelling over the jaunty wails of \u201cDavy Crockett,\u201d by Thee Headcoatees, the guests ordered from a menu of Latin- and Asian-inspired cocktails and small plates and, under sensory attack, opted to sit outside. First came the Toki Highball, a tart mix of Japanese whiskey, plum wine, and lemon-basil tea, topped with a lip-shaped ginger gummy. Thirst piqued, the duo stepped back in to request the Frozen Yuz + Me, a smoky, salt-and-cayenne-rimmed margarita, and chips with a zingy, carrot-based hot sauce. As the sun set and happy hour waned, the dedicated customers raced to the bar for a thirteen-dollar combo of Orion, a refreshing Okinawan lager, and a shot of Suntory whiskey. The drinks settled\u2014perhaps too quickly\u2014and the pair remembered that they had work the next morning. Groaning, they made yet another pilgrimage for one final, cautionary order: hummus, with tangy slices of sourdough from the Brooklyn-based Howling Bread bakery. Licking their fingers, they were soon joined by the bartender, on a smoke break. \u201cBefore you run back in,\u201d he smirked, \u201ccan I get you anything else?\u201d Red-cheeked and reticent, the duo shook their heads and took their sheepish leave.<\/p>\n

This Week With: Kelefa Sanneh<\/p>\n

Our writers on their current obsessions.<\/p>\n

\"Chappell<\/p>\n

Chappell Roan at Forest Hills Stadium.Photograph by Ragan Henderson<\/p>\n

This week, I loved<\/strong> seeing Chappell Roan at Forest Hills, on the first night of her eight-night, three-city mini-tour<\/a>\u2014and, apparently, the first night of Halloween. In front of what looked like a haunted house, she sang, strutted, slithered, caught an unexpected view of her own backside on the video monitor (\u201cOh, my God, I forgot my bottom was just a thong,\u201d she said), and generally acted like the most entertaining pop star on the planet.<\/p>\n

This week, I cringed at<\/strong> the uncomfortable face-off<\/a> between Gervonta (Tank) Davis, the virtuosic lightweight boxer, and Jake Paul, the social-media star<\/a> who has built a lucrative boxing career by having a punchable face, and also by being a better puncher than you might think. Davis is about five feet five and weighed 133.8 pounds before his most recent fight, while Paul is six-one and weighed 199.4, but no matter: they are scheduled to meet in November for a boxing match that is officially just an \u201cexhibition,\u201d to be aired on Netflix. Paul, shirtless, hulked over Davis, who had his hands in his jacket pockets and feigned boredom, as if the whole thing were beneath him. Maybe it is.<\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019m listening to<\/strong> \u201cPACIFIC MODE mix003<\/a>,\u201d a mix by the Tokyo-based d.j. known as YELLOWUHURU, which is the musical equivalent of that emoji with two spirals for eyes and a squiggly-line mouth. For more than two hours, YELLOWUHURU cycles through warm and woozy variants of house music, with an emphasis on echoing sound, gentle cacophony, and noises that seem to be melting. Apparently, this mix was recorded at 5 A.M., but it\u2019s perfect for any time you feel like getting lost.<\/p>\n

This week, I\u2019m still thinking about<\/strong> \u201cInteresting Times,\u201d the mesmerizing podcast from Ross Douthat, the New York Times columnist, which also earns that spiral-eyes emoji\u2014but for very different reasons. Douthat talks to a wide range of guests, nudging them toward unexpectedly cosmic discussions of good and evil and the future of humanity. He asked<\/a> Noor Siddiqui, the founder of a company that does genetic testing on embryos, what the human race might lose if we stop making babies the old-fashioned way. And he asked<\/a> the technologist Peter Thiel if he ever worried about hastening the arrival of the Antichrist.<\/p>\n

Next week, I\u2019m looking forward to<\/strong> YoungBoy Never Broke Again\u2014also known as N.B.A. YoungBoy\u2014the Baton Rouge rapper whose mournful and sometimes beautiful tracks evoke a reckless life; videos<\/a> of the chaotic atmosphere at his concerts have been going viral. I\u2019ll be out of town when he hits New York (Saturday, Sept. 27), but I\u2019m hoping to make it to the Prudential Center, in Newark, on Monday, Sept. 29.<\/p>\n

P.S. Good stuff on the internet:<\/strong><\/p>\n