Megan Leavey: Kabob Recipe đ„ đ„ đ„ 1/2
/Year Released: 2017
Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Starring: Kate Mara, Common, Ramon Rodriguez, Tom Felton Edie Falco
(PG-13,116 min.)
Genre: Drama Based on True Story
âYou don't leave because you have somewhere to go, you leave because nothing is keeping you there.â Ââ Meagan Leavey
***
Two self-destructive creatures heal each other. One human, one canine.
Feeling trapped in her old life, Megan enlists in the Marine Corps, where she forms an unlikely partnership with a combat dog. Based on a true story.
A little like the ill-fated rapport between a wild horse and a prisoner in the haunting film, The Mustang, where the wild horse is just a reflection of Roman, a veteran prisoner who doesnât get along with people.
And that is exactly what Meganâs (Kate Mara) mother Edie Falco says about and to her daughter. The fact that Falco is most remembered for her role as mob wife Carmela Soprano in the long running HBO series just cements her iron fist not really hidden in a velvet glove.
Megan Leavey is really running away from herself when she decides to become a Marine, as indicated by our quote:
âYou don't leave because you have somewhere to go, you leave because nothing is keeping you there.â
In this case it is the death of her best friend that removes any love for her hometown in Upper New York state. Later on we realize some guilt over that death still churns inside her.
Maybe that is why she defies orders and goes out drinking ÂÂâ strictly verboten in the Marine training Ââ and winds up drunkenly relieving herself in the bushes by an MP.
Her punishment is cleaning kennels for bomb sniffing dogs, and there is where she and Rex meet, none too promising either, since he ends up biting the bottom that she has foolishly not padded, much to the amusement of the hazing crew that routinely advise newcomers they only need to pad their arms when acting as training dummies.
Rex is honestly the âmost aggressiveâ dog on the team. So, of course, Megan ultimately gets paired up with him. Given that my dog whispering veterinarian brother-in-law recounts that German Shepherds have a fear attack syndrome, this makes sense.
Rex is just as messed up inside as Megan is.
Once she overcomes her fear of him and demonstrates a scared-as-hell inside but outward domination on him, they become best buddies.
Sure, it is all too rushed and a bit saccharine, as Chris Nashaswaty tells us in a witty review:
So, in the kind of fast-forward plotting that could only exist in a movie racing to get in and out of its furry, four-legged redemption story in under two hours, Megan enlists with the Marines where she will end up finding the canine that will give her life meaning.
She meets Rexâthe meanest dog in the kennel. Itâs love at first sight. Well, after he bites her in the ass.
First impressions aside, Rex turns out to be big, soulful-eyed pussycat beneath his ferocious bark. But really, only for her. These two have a special bond. And Megan becomes a model Marine trying to get assigned as his handler. In no time (literally, the film always seems like itâs rushing to catch a train), the two are shipped over to Iraq where they save lives sniffing out IEDs.
***
It is on their missions in Iraq that the bond grows even stronger, where Rex saves her life and many others, sniffing out buried IEDs with precision until one that is buried too deep gets them both.
The rest of the tale is Meganâs long recovery and her quest to get Rex assigned to her, fighting the system all the way.
As the tell it like it is gunnery sergeant Martin (Common) tells her,
âThey're not even dogs anymore. They're warriors, and they come back with all the same issues we do.â
We are with Megan all the way on her quest and its bittersweet victory, but keep your hankies around, even if you know you are being manipulated. Maybe Kate Mara, whose acting has been described as flat, helps rescue us from too much schmaltz and lets us cry along with her.
A grown-up Different Drummer is no longer subject to the âgreat gulping, chest-heaving sobsâ she embarrassed herself with when she watched Old Yeller at age ten, but several a few wet tissues show I am still a sucker for our canine companions.
A must see for dog lovers.
âKathy Borich
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Trailer
Film-Loving Foodie
The most meaningful time for Megan and Rex in in Iraq, so letâs cook up some kababs to celebrate their courage and tenacity.
Linked here are 4 recipes them, which are also quite popular in Afghanistan, Iran, India, and even England, too.
Todayâs recipe is from Different Drummerâs own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Loverâs Cookbook.
Kasmiri Griddle Kabobs
1 pound ground lamb or beef
1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup channa dal, rinsed and drained (looks like a yellow
split pea, a smaller form of garbanzo bean)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 black cardamoms, seeds only
12 cloves
20 peppercorns
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup pureed onion (2 medium)
Oil for pan frying
Combine meat and salt in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Skim off the top. Lower heat to medium and cook uncovered, until water is absorbed. Drain any accumulated fat and cool slightly. Transfer to processor and pulse 4-5 times.
In the meantime, toast channa dal, coriander, cardamom seeds and cloves separately. Grind dal into a powder in a spice grinder. Divide powder in 2 batches. Combine coriander and cardamon seeds, cloves, and peppercorns and grind into a powder. Add to 1 batch of powdered dal. Stir in cayenne. Add powedered spices to meat.
Add pureed onions to meat and process to a paste. Transfer to a shallow container and chill uncovered about 2 hours. Just before cooking, mix reserved dal powder well into mixture. Adjust salt.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in skillet. Taking 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time, form small patties and brown in a skillet. Flip to brown other side. Handle patties carefully as they are fragile. Continue until all mixture is used. Serve with a chutney of your choice.
Recipe Source: Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover's Cookbook
