Film Focus: Point Break

After a brief hiatus I am back and focused once again on replaying the movie moments that inspired the recipes in our current spring/summer edition of Gather. Next up, “Point Break”. One of director Kathryn Bigelow’s first notable big screen efforts, the film, starring ’90s heartthrobs par excellence, Keanu Reeves (as federal agent Johnny Utah) and Patrick Swayze (as thrill-seeking beach bum Bodhi), remains a cult favorite. In it, Reeves goes undercover posing as a surfer to nail a crew of wave-riding bank robbers known as the ex-presidents. To pay homage we fried up a batch of conch fritters with Fresno pepper rings, avocado and lemon wedges all in a radical beer batter (Presidente brand, naturally). Though much of the movie is, understandably, beach-bound, one of my favorite scenes happens far above the water’s edge. Nothing like some early morning skydiving; it is, as Bodhi says, 100% pure adrenaline.