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Film Reviews (International)

The hundred-foot journey (2014)

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My Ratings: 4/5

The hundred-foot journey is a very well cooked film, tender and succulent, a perfect fusion of the spicy Indian masalas and the subtle French cuisine.

The film is an emotional drama, a journey of a young boy Hassan (Manish Dayal) from being a good cook to a world famous chef.

But not so fast.

The hundred-foot journey unfolds itself in a slow pace; lures the audience to get accustomed to the Southern French countryside to get introduced to the characters and be a part of a beautiful story told to perfection.

The Kadam family spearheaded by Papa (Om Puri) opens up an Indian restaurant at a hundred-foot distance from an already established French restaurant owned by none other than the ever-competitive Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).

The battle begins and the battleground is their respective kitchens.

And what follows is a food fest.

At one end we have the delicate French sauces to entice you and on the other hand the aromatic Indian spices to create magic, believe me you will want to eat on both sides of the street.

And then of course though somewhat predictable, the aromas of the two cultures finally blend in and the result – a couple of sweet love stories.

Superb acting by Om Puri, he is undoubtedly the spine of this film and also provides the needed comic reliefs in regular intervals.

Helen Mirren is as usual at her best, Charlotte Le Bon, Manish Dayal all acted brilliantly. And if you care to remember Juhi Chawla’s cameo as the mother who made Hassan realize the essence of good cooking.

A.R.Rahman’s music perfectly compliments the superb visuals by cinematographer Linus Sandgren.

The last half of the film is a bit stretched but then again it’s probably necessary for the desired conclusion.

Overall the film has a sense of tranquility that tends to stay with you, one of those movies that leave you with a pleasant smile.

Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake – the producers.

The hundred-foot Journey comes from one of my favorite directors Lasse Hallstrom who has pampered us earlier with amazing movies like What’s eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House rules, Chocolat, Hachi: a dog’s tale and many more.

So I went with lot of expectations and came out of the cinema hall hungry yet satisfied.

Totally worth it.

Film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEO1TWeM5JU

Film Reviews (International)

Chef (2014)

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My ratings: 3/5

One thing is guaranteed, after watching the film Chef you are bound to feel hungry!

Director Jon Favreau (of Iron man fame) teases your taste buds and keeps tempting you with exotic variety of dishes throughout the film. Almost one third of the film consists of close-up shots of cooking – food being sliced, diced, chopped, minced, steamed, fried, roasted and garnished.

Well, that’s exactly what a Chef does … isn’t it?

Carl Casper, the Chef (Jon Favreau himself gets into the lead act) is artistically suffocated while working in a restaurant owned by hot-tempered, business-minded Riva (a brief encounter with Dustin Hoffman).

What follows is Carl’s comic twitter battle with famous food critic Ramsay Michel (Oliver Platt) who writes shit about his food; which eventually leads to Carl getting famous but also fired from his job.

According to Molly’s suggestion Carl (since unemployed) decides to spend more time with his young son Percy (Emjay Anthony). By the way Molly is the super hot waitress/receptionist played by none other than sexy Scarlett Johansson. Another brief appearance.

Now Carl’s curvy ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) arranges an old food truck for him so that Carl can start his independent business, free to cook whatever he wants. With his trusted assistant Martin (John Leguizamo) by his side and Percy (his kid) as a helping hand Carl starts selling Cuban sandwiches. The tasty ones.

Some more tweets after, Carl is successful, happy and content, and also turns out to be a great family man. Wow!

A predictable storyline – the film has absolutely no surprises other than Sofia Vergara being restricted from being sexy and bitchy.

Overall a lighthearted, fun film which gives you just enough laughs and a great appetite.

Oh! and Robert Downey Jr. also makes his cool special appearance as Sofia Vergara’s ex-husband who humiliates Carl but also gets him the food truck.

Any other cameos to mention?

Ya – Russell Peters as a Maimi cop!