Category Archives: reviews

Movie Review: “The Hundred-Foot Journey”

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Hundred Foot Journey

The opening of “The Hundred-Foot Journey” immediately transports viewers to a location evoking all five senses: a bustling, chaotic Indian marketplace where shoppers compete for the best ingredients for their kitchens. A crowd envelops a vendor offering urchins, arguing their case to justify their right to purchase – when the seller stops them all and agrees to sell to the mother of the young Hassan Kadam, who has opened an urchin and is savoring each taste with nearly sensual relish. Hassan is a cooking prodigy, urged on by his mother – the matriarch of the family and the head chef at the family’s restaurant in Mumbai.

Following a post-election riot, tragedy strikes and both the restaurant and Hassan’s beloved mother are lost in a fire. The family flees India and heads to Europe, taking refuge first in Holland, followed immediately by England. Deeply unsatisfying attempts to grow roots in their new environs lead the family back to the mainland, this time to France. A chance brake failure strands the Kadams just outside Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, in the south of France, and the young Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon of “Mood Indigo”, an amazing ringer for a young Winona Ryder) tows them to town.

 

Marguerite feeding the Kadams

Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) offers the stranded Kadams a homemade feast

 

Hassan’s brother and sisters are eager to leave, but their eccentric father, played by Om Puri (“Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Gandhi”), insists on establishing a restaurant in an abandoned building on the edge of town. This gorgeous farmhouse has the unpleasant disadvantage of being directly across the street, exactly one hundred feet away, from Le Saule Pleurer (translation: “The Weeping Willow”), a high-class establishment that garnered a star from le Guide Michelin. As Marguerite explains, “one star [from Michelin] is good, two is amazing, and three is only for the gods.”

 

Kadam family arguing

The Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri, far left) and anchored by Hassan (Manish Dayal, far right standing), argues over whether to settle in the south of France

 

Le Saule Pleurer’s owner is the taciturn Madame Mallory, a widow with a heart of ice and a burning desire to garner another Michelin star. Madame Mallory is played by the sublime Dame Helen Mirren (“Red”, “Red 2” and – the first place I saw her – “White Nights”), whose failed French accent is the sole flaw in her otherwise fantastic performance. The fully grown and strikingly handsome Hassan (Manish Dayal of “White Frog” and the “90210” reboot) continues to thrive in the kitchen, turning the family’s Maison Mumbai into a destination worthy of attention. With Marguerite a sous chef for Le Saule Pleurer, Hassan and Marguerite find themselves on opposite sides of a quickly simmering war between the two restaurant owners, Papa on one side and Madame Mallory on the other.

 

Hassan studies French cooking

Hassan (Manish Dayal) studies les livres de cuisine lent to him by Marguerite

 

Hassan eagerly devours the French cookbooks Marguerite snuck over to him, learning the key sauces, ingredients and techniques needed to prepare fine French cuisine. (I’m nearly positive one of them is Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations, and if Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking isn’t one of them – it should be.) The two young chefs have more and more surreptitious rendezvous, including one where Marguerite confides what is required to prove cooking chops to Madame Mallory. Meanwhile, moves and countermoves by the two restaurants’ generals escalate until a breaking point is reached – xenophobes deface the wall outside Maison Mumbai and set a fire that temporarily injures Hassan. During his convalescence, Hassan manages to break down the divide between himself and Madame Mallory, proving to her that he has the talent to make it in her storied kitchen and finally getting her to admit that he is “more chef than anyone [she] has met.” This begins his personal journey of discovery, not just for Hassan but also for Marguerite, Papa and Madame Mallory.

 

Madame Mallory in her kitchen

Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) is not amused by limp asparagus

 

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a lovely film, neither too lighthearted nor too depressing. The charm of the south of France is seasoned with beautiful scenes in marketplaces and lush forests, and the time spent in the kitchen seems like a missed opportunity to bring back “Smell-o-Vision”, though lovers of French and Indian cuisines (like myself) can easily imagine the rich scents wafting up from the pots and pans scattered on stovetops in both restaurants. The actors are all superb, although it helps that excellent talent is paired with a humorous, sweet script. My only beefs with the movie, and they’re sized more like an amuse-bouche, are Mirren’s dodgy accent and the fairly maudlin ending. Still, these are insufficient reasons to spurn this film; it was surely one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. As far as whether or not to bring kiddos, there are a couple of scary scenes – particularly the two attacks on the Kadam family restaurants – but otherwise it’s a family-friendly movie. Consider “The Hundred-Foot Journey” a very solid investment of two hours and something worth ordering again and again.

3-1/2 stars out of 4

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” opens nationwide starting August 8, 2014. This movie is rated PG for thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality.

Movie Review: “Planes: Fire and Rescue 3D”

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Planes: Fire and Rescue

 

Almost a year after the first “Planes” movie was released, the folks at Disneytoon are back again with an adventure featuring Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook), the mild-mannered crop duster-turned-racer. This time out, our story opens with Dusty sustaining critical damage to his gear box, a part long since out of production, putting him at risk of crashing when he pushes the needle into the red. His very real concern about crashing puts him in a metaphorical tailspin, leading the depressed Dusty to go on a flying bender that ends with him careening into a pylon and accidentally starting a fire.

The haphazard firefighting by Propwash Junction Airport’s sole – and well-past decrepit – fire truck, Mayday (the prolific Hal Holbrook – “Wall Street” and “Lincoln”), exposes the airport’s lack of sufficient fire safety equipment. Immediately thereafter, the authorities sweep in and pull the airport’s license to operate until there are at least two pieces of firefighting equipment onsite. Looking for meaning in his life, or at least to help out his friends, Dusty volunteers to undergo the certification required for the airport to re-open, and he flies up to scenic Piston Peak National Park, to study under the taciturn helicopter Blade Ranger (Ed Harris – “The Truman Show” and “Apollo 13”).

 

Dusty and Blade

Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) and Blade Ranger (Ed Harris) take to the skies over Piston Peak National Park

 

The lovely park is hugged by trees, hills, and a gulch with a raging river, and it features the stunningly renovated Fusel Lodge which is managed by the arrogant Superintendent, Cad (John Michael Higgins – “Bad Teacher” and “Pitch Perfect”). As much as Blade wants to make even minor improvements to the firefighting capabilities of his crack team, Cad is focused solely on the grand re-opening of the Lodge, gushing over the champ and ignoring the heroes. Dusty makes friends with members of Blade’s team, including the amorous Lil’ Dipper (Julie Bowen – “Ed” and “Modern Family”), the philosophical Windlifter (Wes Studi – “Last of the Mohicans” and “Avatar”), and crazy smokejumper Dynamite (Regina King – “Boyz n the Hood” and “The Boondocks”). Though Dusty learns the mechanics of fighting fires, his impulsive decisions override his training and put him on Blade’s bad side.

 

Superintendent Cad and Dusty

Cad (John Michael Higgins) and Dusty (Dane Cook), discussing the grand re-opening of the Fusel Lodge

 

When Blade suffers injuries from compensating for Dusty’s mistakes during a wildfire, Windlifter is left to direct the team as the fire spreads close enough to threaten the Lodge and all its visitors. Dusty has to put his own personal safety on the line to prove to everyone – and himself – that he has what it takes to be a true hero.

Ultimately, I found the movie to be just okay. Understanding that the first “Planes” movie was originally intended to be a direct-to-DVD movie that detoured to the theaters, this felt much like something that could have gone straight to DVD. There were no visible advances in graphics or effects, the plot was fairly predictable, and it straddled an interesting line between repetition and sophomore slump. The movie has some cute moments, and the casting is truly wonderful, but the drive to see it will be fueled primarily by Dusty-philes and merchandising.

 

Vehicles in danger during a fire at the park

Piston Peak in peril, the park’s firefighter, Pulaski (Patrick Warburton), looks for help from the team in the sky

 

The two big questions that I typically see pop up around these movies are: should I see this in 3D and is it too scary for my child? As to the question of whether to see this in 3D or 2D, I’d say that there’s no tangible benefit to seeing it in 3D. Frankly, the best use of the 3D display was in the end credits – and that’s insufficient to justify the surcharge. When it comes to the scare factor, the scenes with the fires (two of which are probably a bit scary for those under 7) are likely to be the biggest issues. Dusty and the Piston Peak team are put in harm’s way, and though the graphics aren’t hyper-realistic, I can imagine that some kids might find even those brief scenes a bit tough to take.

 

Piston Peak firefighting team

Some of Piston Peak’s finest, including Lil’ Dipper (Julie Bowen) – far right – and Windlifter (Wes Studi)

 

In the end, “Planes: Fire and Rescue” does the job it sets out to do; it continues this fork of the “Cars”-world franchise and it offers all new characters for kids to collect at their local stores. Parents can expect some amusing one-liners and great cameos, and kids get to see Dusty in action all over again. For many, that’s reason enough to head to the theater.

 

2 stars out of 4

“Planes: Fire and Rescue” opens nationwide starting July 18, 2014. This movie is rated PG for action and some peril.

21 books and 10 lbs (week 28): Overdue books

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I realize I’ve been sorely neglecting the book reviews I should have been posting as I’ve made my way slowly but surely through the year. In the past several months, I’ve made my way through four books – some of which were FAR better than the others. As far as my weight goes, I’ll be reporting on that in a separate post, since there is news to provide there and I’d like to have separate space to think it all through. I am still aiming to get through 21 books, though – as Goodreads was kind enough to point out – I’m moving too slowly. You can see farther down on this page just who owes me a month of my life back. Hopefully the next few books will go faster…

As far as the books go, you can see where I am on Goodreads at any point, or you can wait for me to post my reviews here. So, without further ado, catching everyone else up on my last few months of reading:

 

Book 3: “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson

The quintessential “pirate” book, “Treasure Island” breathes life into the character of Long John Silver, a character of broad reputation and dubious morals. A young innkeeper’s son, Jim Hawkins, gets recruited to go on a hunt for a sea-faring hunt for treasure, where he uncovers mutiny and danger. As one of those books that I felt I always should have read, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When you think back to the books you were required to read in school, “classics” typically stood in for “boring” or “why am I reading this” or “isn’t there something written within the last century?” This book was a fairly good read, the first time I’d ever read any fiction centered on pirates, and it was interesting reading about Silver and buried treasure. You saw Jim come into his own, learning probably more than he cared to about the dark side of human nature. For what’s typically considered something aimed at children (the “classics” version of YA?), I’m surprised at the amount of death and danger. Then again, I guess every century has its way of trying to shock parents.

 

Book 4: “The Magic Mistake (Oh My Godmother, #2) by Barbara Brauner and James Iver Mattson

From the presses at a Disney imprint comes the second book in a series about – you guessed it – Fairy Godmothers. Only, in this case, you have a young girl who’s been tapped to head off to Fairy Godmother school, leaving her family and friends behind. Lacey Unger-Ware (great name) is the young girl in question, and though she resists her call to join the corps, an accident places her squarely in the position of having to serve as a fairy godmother to her best friend’s mother…or have everyone hate her. A series of madcap mishaps ensue, and it’s up to Lacey to save the day – and herself – by saving others. I read this one with dd, who liked it a lot and asked to get more books from this series. I was sent a copy by the Disney folks so that I could see what she thought, and I was happy to see yet another example of smart YA writing. As much as dd liked the book, I found myself snorting along and enjoying it immensely. Definitely two thumbs up.

 

Book 5: “Telegraph Avenue” by Michael Chabon

Having loved “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay”, I figured that this one had to be worth a read. I saw Chabon appear on “The Colbert Report”, plugging the paperback release, and I went out right away to get a copy for myself. What then ensued was my “Midnight’s Children” moment for the year. I could not have been more disappointed with this book if I tried. I liked that Chabon tried to explore the lives of multi-cultured couples in Oakland, CA, centering around a failing record store in a failing neighborhood about to be gentrified and steamrolled into a whole new existence. Archie and Nat are co-owners of this anchor for a driftless neighborhood, and the relationship between the two men and their families is the central point on which the book should turn. Instead, you follow the shiftless Archie more often than not, finding him less an anti-hero and more just a poor excuse for a husband and father. Threads of stories don’t get pulled together too well, as everything suffers under the weight of Chabon’s apparently editor-free writing. The idea was just far better than the execution. Chabon’s rambling narrative – including one epic 8-page-long sentence that was a chapter unto itself – reduced the value of the book to bare minimum. It was as though someone took filet mignon and smothered it in a rancid sauce; you can’t even come close to eating it with any sort of pleasure. Unlike the bother books I read this year, this one was a terrible bore and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

 

Book 6: “Perfect Ruin” by Lauren DiStefano

The first book in the Internment Chronicles series was just the breath of fresh air that I needed after slogging through “Telegraph Avenue”. Yet another delightful YA novel that I picked up for free at the local movie theater, “Perfect Ruin” centers around a young girl – Morgan Stockhour – living in a controlled, but generally happy, society established on a chunk of floating earth, suspended high above the planet. Strict measures determine the number of children, who will marry whom, and even the lifespan (population controls being important when you have finite space), but Morgan is fairly happy in her existence on this higher plane…until a murder is committed, and her illusion of a happy society is well and properly shattered. She begins to dig into what happened, her natural curiosity getting the better of her, and she uncovers far more than she bargained in the process. This was a delightful book (not just because of the contrast with the prior read); I’m definitely hooked and can’t wait for the second book in this series to come out. Further proof that the YA tag should never be used to weed out books…but perhaps to weed them in.

 

Book 7: “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas

Dumas’ book was a literal page-turner; I found myself devouring the book 50 pages at a time. The story focuses on a young man, Edmond Dantès, wronged by a rival suitor for his beloved Mercédés. Dantès is tossed into prison, where he befriends an abbé right as he is on the verge of desperate measures. As time passes, Dantès’ mind and body both strengthen, and when he manages to escape from prison, he reinvents himself as the eponymous Count so that he can take revenge on those who contributed to his imprisonment. I’m not quite sure how I’ve managed to miss every theatrical version of this book, since the material is so rich you could mine it for ages. Dumas draws his characters in 3-D; they just seem to have such depth and emotion. Where Chabon was slow and plodding, Dumas races from household to household, weaving an incredible tale of love, betrayal, politicking, redemption, mystery, and finally – salvation.