Coffee and Popcorn

Clever!

Agent Carter (TV Series, 2015-)

Hiya! It's been a while. Have you been watching Agent Carter, starring Hayley Atwell as the brave and clever Peggy Carter? In every episode, at some point she finds herself grabbing a coffee or a sandwich at the L&L Automat, often to have a meeting with Jarvis (James D'Arcy), butler and confidant to inventor Howard Stark. 

This particular Automat is obviously a set, but it draws inspiration from the self-service eating establishments of the early 20th century, Horn & Hardart. The addition of a counter and waitress - Peggy Carter's friendly neighbor Angie Martinelli (Lyndsy Fonseca) - is an embellishment from the real Automats, where freshly cooked quality food was accessible to customers through glass cubbies at the drop of a coin. But the set designers for Agent Carter still manage to capture the right feel, and now I really wish there was a place like this that I could visit.

(Image sources: 1, 2, 3)

On another note about this blog, I'm going to be changing the format a little bit. I love sharing YouTube clips from various movie and TV scenes, but those clips are usually completely reliant on the account that hosts them, which means there is a risk that a clip might at some point disappear completely. So instead, I'm going to try and do screen shots and dialogue excerpts, with links to clips if they're available.

Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994)

The Midnight Express where Faye worked and filled her head with The Mamas & The Papas is located in the Lan Kwai Fong (蘭桂坊) area of Hong Kong. Well, was. The building since then has been a tobacconist and a 7-Eleven.

I Love Lucy (S3, Ep. 27 - "The Diner" - Air date: April 26, 1954)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Before Sunrise (1995)

Sitting in a booth in Vienna's gorgeous Cafe Sperl, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) pretend to call their best friends to tell them about having just met an intriguing new person they find attractive. It's a great scene (well, I love the whole movie) but I'm even more into the above clip of the general atmosphere of the cafe.

Falling Down (1993)

"I don't want to be your buddy, Rick. I just want a little breakfast."

Chasing Amy (1997)

Full disclosure: I did not like this movie. Clerks is kind of a classic, and Dogma was a very weird but fun direction. Mallrats had the kid on the escalator. This one, well I had problems with it. But considering the Affleck Frenzy happening, seemed like a good enough time to post it. Plus, Silent Bob speaks.

Death Proof (2007)

"'Feelings' is NOT parsley!"

I haven't heard people have much of an opinion on parsley, one way or another, so maybe Susie Diamond is right.

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

"Hey, little lark, get outta the dark / Foul owl on the prowl."

Benny & Joon (1993)

"Oh Brad, oh Brad, Brad please don't be dead!"

Natural Born Killers (1994)

"Somehow I thought this movie was romantic when I was a teen. Of all things... I still love the social commentary though and the diner scene seems to fit perfectly with it."

Basquiat (1996)

Nurse! Oysters Rockefeller and a lovely Pouilly Fuisse, pour plaisir."