Film Review – Chef (2014)

Director – Jon Favreau

Starring –  Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr, John Leguizamo, 

Synopsis – A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family. (provided by IMDB.com)

(there will be spoilers)

REVIEW

Just a few weeks after Doug Liman goes up a blockbuster gear with “Edge Of Tomorrow” we see his fellow Swingers allumni Jon Favreau drop down from making Blockbusters to a small budget but more personal film. Will this be another positive step on Faveaus career snakes and ladders?

Chef sees Jon Favreau play Carl Casper, a chef that has lost his way with his son and as a chef. This is obviously a passion project for Favreau after years of big budget films. The first thing that struck me is the indie feel that this film brings. Mr Favreau has taken “Chef” back to “Swingers” basics by writing a great little character driven story that is full of charm, humour and a great dollop of feel good.

One good aspect that Favreau has brought to this script is the use of social media. A lot of jokes come in the form of Casper starting to use twitter and that it takes his young son to teach him the basics, this is the youth of today. Anyone with their own business could easily be inspired and motivated by what they see on screen.

Favreau is always consistently good on screen and as Chef Casper he continues to bring it. This is a troubled man that is full of passion for his food but can’t show it and at the same time struggles with the needs of being a father. Favreau has always had an eye for talent (Robert Downey Jr as Iron man) so it’s no surprise to see him bounce off the rest of the cast to great effect. For me though it’s the scenes with Percy (Emjay Anthony) that really stand out as they don’t have many big emotional scenes together but a natural progression between them as the film goes on.

This isn’t the big studio picture that I’m used to from Favreau. Yes It may have big star names on the poster, but believe me they are mostly small roles that screams out as a favour between friends. This isn’t the flash sets of Tony Starks mansion, nope, this is mostly hand held cameras in real locations of America and it’s more the better for it. The film looks glorious on the screen as the food truck travels through various locations. Please heed this warning though, make sure you have eaten beforehand because every shot of food looks delicious. This is food porn at it’s best.

You know when a film is a little more personal to the director because every little aspect has been considered, including the soundtrack. It really does add to the feel good factor as it’s got some well known songs but remade for the film. One scene involves the build up of a song that you know is familiar, but it’s only when the cast start singing it, a version of Marvin Gayes “sexual healing”,  that you can’t help but nod your head along.

I really enjoyed Chef but there is a couple of let-downs in the form of the ex wife Inez (played by Sofia Vergara) we all know how good Vergara is from Modern Family but unfortunately her character is here just to service Casper getting his food truck. She is also involved in the slightly soft ending of Casper and her getting remarried, and the reception being in his new restaurant. It’s not a bad ending but a little less creative than the message this film is sending out

VERDICT 

I really enjoyed this film and would recommend a viewing to all that ask. It’s not often we get that many nice feel good films at the cinema so snap it up whilst you can.

RATING

 

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE

Film Review – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director –   Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie

Synopsis – Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.(provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

This week it was confirmed that Captain America 3 would be hitting our screens in 2016, without part two being on the big screen. This is a bold statement from Marvel considering that I (and i’m sure everyone else) was disappointed by the first film. So where has this vote of confidence come from, well it could be down to the fact that this film is very good.

Well firstly I have to get something off my chest regarding the recent promotion of this film, why do we need so many exclusive clips of this film? First we had a 6 minute clip of a great action scene, followed in the last month by the first ten minutes, yes ten minutes, shown before the recent “300: Rise Of An Empire” film. Throw in the multiple trailers and it would be hard for anyone to not feel like they’ve seen the whole thing before sitting down before this film. Were Marvel worried that the audience doesn’t want to see another Captain America film? Well I would like to throw this plea out there, stop showing these extended clips!

Marvel have always thought outside the box when it comes to choosing directors and the Winter Soldier is no exception, they have chosen prolific television directors Anthony and Joe Russo. These guys have a track record in comedies but apparently were hired on the basis of their excellent action packed paintball episodes of the television show “Community”, For me this is a master stroke as the action in this film is some of the best i’ve seen in a Marvel film. Captain America. In the previous movies the shield has been used as, well a shield, but in this one its all part of his offense. The fights are fluid and well paced with Cap now able to call on a wide spread fighting styles to take down an opponent and its definitely impressive, enough so that I had a good smile on my face and found an occasional “whoa” whisper out my mouth.

As with most the films in this Marvel Universe Cap isn’t alone when action is required. In this film he calls upon the services of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and introducing Anthony Mackie as The Falcon. By now we all know what the Black Widow brings to the table, but it’s the first time we really get to see what Nick Fury is like under attack without his super buddies around, and its pretty badass.

As a character Captain America isn’t going to be the lighting up the screen with witty remarks every two minutes, Marvel have Iron Man for that, but what you do get in this film is plenty of heart. Briefly in “The Avengers” we got a feel for how Steve Rogers felt after waking from his cold sleep, its not the advancement of technology or the world thats different but the people in the world that he has the biggest issue with . This is a man that was willing to sacrifice everything to put an end to evil, but found out it changed nothing.

The Winters Soldier is the first film in the series that is more of a conspiracy thriller than a Superhero piece. This works well for the first half of the film, as its action packed and fast flowing whilst giving the audience a good amount of character building. Its inevitable then that things slow down in the second half, with alot of information being thrown at the screen whilst Cap goes undercover to find the truth. This is all before it turns into a formulaic end battle that we used to seeing from Marvel, I think this is the forth Marvel in a row that ends with some sort of battle in the sky, this please has to stop.

What about the actual Winter Soldier though? Well its not a spoiler to say that the Winter Soldier is Steve Rogers childhood friend, Bucky, who was presumed dead in the first film. We get a little exposition as to how he survived for this long, but not a great amount. The Winter Soldier is alright as an evil Captain America clone (possible future clue) but overall he is a little disappointing in terms of villainy.

All this doesn’t matter too much though as Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a very good film that tries something different, even if they don’t go the whole way and change the final act template that the company obviously pulls out on every script meeting they have.

VERDICT

A very good film that attempts a different tone from the other heroes films. A good sign as phase two of Marvels expanding superhero world, comes to an end.

RATING

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE

Film Review – Her

Director – Spike Jonze

Starring –  Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson

Synopsis – A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

In todays world of social media we are always hearing tales of people falling for each other via the internet. Everyone has the chance to talk to complete strangers online via our mobile phones or laptops. There’s even shows on televisions like “Catfish”, where people have fallen for each others personalities and grown to be in a relationship, depending on that person, before they have even met the person to see if its the same in real life. In Her we have a director, Spike Jonze, who gives us an insight into a future where its normal to relate to an operating system, rather than a human. Can a film audience relate to it on screen though?

Firstly we must credit Jonze and Director Of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema with shooting a visually stimulating film. They have picked locations from around the world, such as Shanguai to show the future of Los Angeles. They employ big skylines, bold colors, bright and clean streets and homes stocked with intelligent appliances. Each shot looks strategically planned so to get as much detail in the frame. Its only February but I will state now that this will be one of the best looking films that you will see this year.

We all know about Joaquin Phoenix’s off screen persona, but no one can deny his on screen talent. In “Her” he plays Theodore, a surrogate letter writer for people that are too busy or find it difficult to put their feelings down on paper. This is a man that can put together a beautiful letter but struggles with human interaction in his real life. Spike Jonze employs alot of extreme close ups of Theodore and its here we see a wide range of emotions which can be expressed through the slightest movement Phoenix’s face. Phoenix has always been able to play intense characters on screen but here he has a sweetness and charm that we aren’t used to seeing. Scarlett Johansson brings playfulness, innocence, and intelligence as the voice of Samantha. If I have one problem its that we are very used to her voice by now, so when you hear it you get a instant picture of Scarlett floating around in cyber space, it might have been much better to have used an unknown ladies voice.

Jonze was the scriptwriter of the piece and shows us a future where we disconnect from each other and rely more upon electronic devices to run our lives. People walk around without noticing those around them as they interact, at a touch of a button, with their OS-1s. The relationship between Samantha and Theodore doesn’t seem that strange on screen as you can really hear the connection between the leads grow, whilst learning from each other. As the film moves on Samantha continues to grow and understand far more than expected, her open eyed eagerness to learn takes her away from Theodore in search of answers. Jonze poses alot of questions regarding the big question of love and human nature, and doesn’t give us the answers. I have a feeling that this film will show you something different the more you view it. 

VERDICT

With a beautiful soundtrack to accompany this film and carry you through it. This is very good film, overall, that will give you plenty to talk about once the film has finished, that is after you have checked your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  

RATING

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE