Starring: Anita Yuen, Kenny Bee
Director: Tsui Hark
Category: Foreign Language & International
Format: widescreen, More
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Rated NR: Not Rated. This movie has not been rated by the MPAA.
"Food and fisticuffs meet in a dazzling exhibition of "cook fu" when rival chefs compete in an acrobatic display, turning ordinary dishes such as beef chow fun and sweet and sour pork into culinary masterpieces. The film culminates in a 3-day cooking contest to re-create the majestic Qing Han Imperial Feast, a banquet held in the 17th century to unite a divided China."
I've never been a fan of slapstick or physical comedies, movies with outrageous plots, mistaken identity or zany hijinks do nothing for me, except annoy. I never "got" "The Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello irritated me, (slapping, poking and hitting people isn't funny to me, sorry). Jerry Lewis films never did anything for me and even present day Jim Carrey movies, (a man who irritates my eardrums far less than Jerry Lewis) do nothing but bore me. So you can see, my patience for this type of movie is pretty much non existent, and so I was all ready to give this film a bad review when a recent email stopped me in my tracks.
The email came from a delightful person who reads this site, AND is also a fan of the cooking movie genre. Jojo recommended a few movies to me, one of the suggestions was a movie called "God of Cookery (Hong Kong, 1996)" and Jojo wrote :
"Okay, this one I'm suggesting because I find it a lot of fun. However, I'm from Hong Kong and I'm not sure if some of the humour translates terribly well if you're not familiar with Hong Kong films and culture. It's a good mindless immature movie about cooking."
That got me thinking, did I dislike this movie because I don't like movies like this OR, could it be because I don't understand the culture? I think the answer is, a little bit of both. So how can I write a fair review of the movie when I don't understand it? I don’t want to write things like “this movie sucked” and “what were they thinking” when I never finished watching the movie, I never even gave it a fair chance. I now understand that not understanding the culture as well as not being a fan of this genre made me think this was a waste of my time. I have since found this review and this review very helpful in trying to understand what I was watching, so much so that I'll re-rent this somewhere down the line and give it another chance. I will say one negative thing though, and this has nothing to do with the actual movie really. The copy of the movie I had was terrible, it looked almost like a bootleg version, dark and grainy with sub-titles that were tiny and impossible to read, a better copy would greatly improve my ability to sit through this a second time, hopefully Netflix will resolve that.
OH! I almost forgot, today is the 2nd anniversary of this website! YAY MurrayHill5!
As much as I enjoy the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year I also secretly dread it too. It's a lot of work, what with the cooking and gift buying, making your own card or even just filling out store bought ones, the baking takes forever and the cleaning is a must so that relatives won't think you live in squalor... it's all so overwhelming to say the least. Then, as if that wasn't enough, add to that the family dysfunction that is also a large part of the holidays and it's enough to drive anyone insane, or at the very least, to sneak off for a few nips of something strong while no one is looking. It seems everyone has a crazy second Uncle who drinks too much and falls down, or a cousin who you suspect has some kind of arsenal in his basement and is teetering on the edge of sanity. Perhaps your family function isn't complete without "THE FAMILY FIGHT," you know, the fight by which all other fights pale in comparison. The fight that ends with relatives taking sides, and people holding your brother back from your cousins husband, lots of heated words and threats of violence, maybe someone, perhaps a neighbor has called the police and the kids are suddenly quiet and behaving for the first time all year. The dinner, the lovely dinner that everyone spent days planning, shopping and preparing for is suddenly dripping from the ceiling and walls after having been flung far and wide...oh yes, the dark underside of the holidays, ya gotta love them.
So, what's better than actually experiencing it first hand?
Why, watching a movie about someone else’s holiday misery of course. One of the most memorable movies of this genre, for me, has always been "Home For The Holidays" directed by Jodie Foster and starring Holly Hunter. Holly Hunter plays a single mother who is heading home for the long Thanksgiving weekend (and dreading it) just as her own life seems to be falling apart around her. She's lost her job, her teenage daughter (Claire Danes) informs her at the airport that she plans on losing her virginity while her Mother is away AND she feels the burden of heavy guilt for not wanting to go home to her family on this otherwise family oriented weekend. What follows is a sometimes funny, sad, and poignant movie on the subject of family loyalty, love and the holidays.
So, it was with certain eagerness for this type of movie combined with the cooking movie genre that I enjoy that I popped "What's Cooking?" into my dvd player the other day. I rented the movie because the blurb about it on Netflix seemed promising;
"What's Cooking?" is a rapt celebration of families braided from a comic collision of cultures. Gurinder Chadha peers behind the front doors of ordinary Los Angeleno houses to reveal the sweet and savory mix.
This customer review seemed promising;
This hidden gem, did not get the marketing it deserved when it opened briefly last Thanksgiving. I saw it opening night at the Sundance Film Festival with 2500 people, and they all loved it. Sometimes the best movies are the ones that get overlooked, and in this case...Whats Cooking is a surefire winner in all aspects. The cast is brilliant and all the actors give it their fullest for this modest independent flick. The Food Scenes were shot by Jong Lin who also shot the fabulous food scenes in "Eat Man Drink Woman" by Ang Lee, which I also Highly recommend. Everyone will relate to a certain family member, especially if you have ever experienced the craziness that takes place around the holidays. Asians, Latino, African-Americans, and Jewish families unite together in one of the best movies of the year! Don't let this one slip by, Do yourself a Favor, rent Whats Cooking! You are in for a real treat...but remember just eat a little something before hand...The Food Scenes will make you Ravenous!!!!
With all that promising hype, you’d think I was in for a reel treat (haha I made a pun), but, I thought the movie was just okay. I watched it through, and it held my attention but there were definite moments where I wanted to gouge my eyes out and plug my ears, some of the acting was really pretty bad and a bit too LOUD. As a food movie, it was a little better than okay, there are some really nice well shot cooking scenes and I liked the attention that was paid to showcasing how the different families added their unique cultural touches to the Thanksgiving meal. There are shots of spring rolls being rolled and noodles being cooked at the Vietnamese house, salsa being prepared and tamales being wrapped at the Mexican American house, shiitake mushroom stuffing and macaroni and cheese being made at the African American home and some hilarious and endearing shots of canned sweet potatoes being dumped into a baking dish and covered with mini marshmallows at the Jewish American household. The one food that was present at each household was a turkey, which sort of acted as a symbol of what unites us in our cultural differences on this typically American holiday. Most frightening food moment in the movie; Mercedes Ruehl leaves the turkey to thaw overnight on the counter with just a kitchen towel thrown over it. Um...isn't that breaking all kinds of hygiene rules and creating health code violations? Haven’t I read all my life that you're not supposed to let poultry, especially raw poultry EVER sit out for too long or get to room temperature, and certainly not OVERNIGHT? I know it was a movie, but after I saw that I was yelling "Don't eat the turkey" to the on screen family when they were gathered around the table for the meal. shudder
Also interesting, at least to me, was that each head of the family was a famous actress, while most of, (but not all) the cast were lesser known actors. The Avilas had the always fabulous Mercedes Ruehl, the Seeligs had the always entertaining Lainie Kazan, the Williamses had the incredible Alfre Woodard and the Nguyens had the beautiful Joan Chen, who I found it hard to believe was playing a woman old enough to have a son in college, but I guess that's just me being nitpicky. Most miscast character in the movie; Kyra Sedgwick as Lainie Kazan's daughter, I thought Julianna Margulies who plays Sedgwicks girlfriend was a better match to play Kazans daughter, but again I nitpick, and since I’m nitpicking, the most annoying character (to me) in the movie goes to Ann Weldon who plays Alfre Woodard's mother in law and who's over the top performance as the overly critical old woman with the CONSTANT scowl on her face was at first tolerable, then became unbearable and finally ended with being so cliché I wanted to throw things at the screen.
I found a pretty good and more accurate review of the movie at ReelViews if you're interested in reading a better written and more in-depth review than the one I give here. As for me, I'd like to give this 3 spoons because of the performances of some of the cast and the food shots, but sadly, as a whole, I think the movie is only worth 2 spoons. 
I wanted so much to say many fabulous things about this movie. I read the synopsis of the movie on Netflix before putting it in my queue and renting it, knowing that I might be disappointed. I even read the not so happy member reviews and yet I still rented the movie because I wanted to give it a fair chance. This wasn't a bad movie, it's just that I've seen it before, and done so much better, as Eat Drink Man Woman.
Widower Martin Naranjo (Hector Elizondo) is a Los Angeles restaurateur with a booming business and three headstrong daughters (Jacqueline Obradors, Tamara Mello and Elizabeth Pena) all on the verge of leaving the house to pursue their individual destinies. He knows he must let go, but things get even more complicated when brassy neighbor Hortensia (Raquel Welch) sets her sights on Martin.
Starring: Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, More
Director: Maria Ripoll
Category: Comedy
Format: Widescreen, More
Language: English, More
Subtitles: English, More
PG 13: For sexual content
The two movies couldn't be more similar. I think Tortilla Soup may have been intended as an American remake because I did catch that it was based on a screenplay by Ang Lee when I was watching the credits. But why remake a movie that was so well done to begin with and within 7 years of the first one? I don't understand, especially because I think this one went straight to video. Hmmm, or maybe I do under$tand
The film wasn't a total wash, I have always liked Hector Elizondo and while I think he was a little restrained with his acting, his character sort of wooden, I thought he did ok as the father (Martin) in this movie. Truly standing out for me was Elizabeth Peña who I thought did an excellent job playing the older sister Leticia, a devoutly religious, heading towards becoming an old maid school teacher, who decides to act on her feelings for another teacher after she mistakes some secret love notes to be from him. I've never been a fan of Raquel Welch's acting, hey, I think she looks fantastic for a women in her late sixties, (she paid good money for it, she should look great), but her acting has never appealed to me. In the movie she plays Hortensia the mother of a friend of the girls. I thought she played her part a little too over the top, bordering on psycho and quite frankly a little annoying. Maybe that means she did a good job and her acting is just something I, a mere mortal, cannot understand. Whatever it was, whenever she was on screen it was like fingernails on the blackboard for me. Paul Rodriquez played Orlando to Peña's Leticia and I couldn't help but feel that this usually funny, stand-up comedian was trying so hard to hold back the laughter and the jokes. I found his attempt at serious acting to be sincere, a funny man trying to play the straight guy with every single ounce of his being, it was kind of endearing.
After my initial disappointment with the movie, (it really is almost an exact copy of EDMW), I continued watching just for the food. As far as cooking movies go, there was a little less cooking than I would have liked to see, but still enough to satisfy my desire to watch someone else prepare meals in a seductive and mouthwatering way. When I say seductive here, I mean in that way that's fascinating to watch, like "oh, so that's how you make a basting brush from banana leaves" or "ha, no wonder my guacamole isn't so great, I never add enough lime." I don't mean in the food porn type of way that seems to be popular on cable food channels these days. You know those shows right, the ones with the unshaved just rolled out of bed looking guys with pan juices slowly dripping down their arms and butter glistening on their lips. Then there are the shows with the perfectly coiffed ladies, dressed to kill, cooking without an apron and the close-up shots of their heaving bosoms as they breathlessy chop onions, or the slow motion camera action as they bring a plump morsel up to their pouting lips for a taste. Those shows get on my nerves, but I digress.
The movie had lovely shots of fish steaming on the grill, salsa being made in a molcajete, tomatoes being sliced for Pico de Gallo, eggs being vigorously beaten with sugar for a flan and so on. The dishes, once they were at the table, were gorgeous presentations and quite appetizing. Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of Two Hot Tamales fame and the owners of the restaurant Border Grill in Los Angeles were the food consultants for the movie. I think, I could have even forgiven the movie for it's flaws had there been more cooking and more showcasing of the meals. You know, less dialogue and more close up shots of food being chopped, diced and sliced, fried, boiled and roasted, whipped, beaten and kneaded, that, would have won me over. heh
I wanted so much to like this film and really, I tried my best to watch it without constantly comparing it, but it was so similar to Eat Drink Man Woman that I found it very hard not to, and sadly, this one lost.
Additional movies with Hector Elizondo:
Additional movies with Elizabeth Peña:
I borrowed the following blurb about the movie from Netflix:
Starring: Christopher De Leon, Dina Bonnevie
Director: Laurice Guillen
Category: Comedy
Format: Full Screen, More
Language: English
Subtitles: Spanish
Rated R: For sexuality and language
"In the tradition of Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet comes American Adobo, a comedy-drama about five Filipino-American college friends who reunite years after graduation (around a sumptuous banquet) to compare notes about their lives. Top-lined by the Philippines' most distinguished dramatic actor, Christopher De Leon, American Adobo offers just the right combination of ingredients; it's a fabulous feast for the head and heart."
How can one top that quote? It made the movie sound so wonderful, so scrumptious, I couldn't wait to find some time to sit down and watch it. I always say, "One man's yuck, is another man's yum" and so while it seems that others liked it, I have to say that I was very disappointed in this movie.
Perhaps my expectations were too high, or maybe, and this is more likely, the blurb made false promises. I was looking forward to a movie along the same vein as Eat Drink Man Woman or Mostly Martha and other such wonderful movies of that genre that combine cooking with cultural themes and a storyline that keeps you riveted to the screen. Sadly, this movie has none of that.
From the opening credits themselves, which show a close-up of someone chopping chicken, slicing string beans, breaking and whisking eggs, putting tomatoes through a food mill, you get the feeling this is a movie whose central theme is about food and cooking, meals shared by family and friends. The "sumptuous banquet" mentioned in the blurb, is just a bunch of friends sitting around a table passing the occasional bowl of food around. This movie is as much about food and being Filipino in America as let's say Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines.
Five college friends get together on a semi-regular basis to have dinner and discuss their lives. My first peeve- Two of the friends looked way to young to have gone to college with the others, but ok, although not believable I let it slip. The central character Tere, cooks amazing adobo, is attractive but frumpy, intelligent but naive, well loved by all her friends but not independent without them. She laments at becoming an old maid and feels that the only way her life is to be validated is if there is a man to lead the way. This is my second and third peeve. Why is there always this underlying belief that women can't be strong, independent, intelligent and happy if there is no man in their lives? Why in a movie that touts a central theme around cooking is there no cooking?
The other subplots are just as mediocre and cliché-a friend struggling with his sexuality and his feelings for one of the other friends. He cannot bring himself to come out of the closet, especially to his religious overbearing mother. A believable story line if it stopped right there. This is something that goes on everyday in the real world, yet the story takes a turn for the ridiculous and we find the friend on a plane back to Manila to intercept a package of naked photos of him and his lover that he accidentally sent to his mother. He arrives just as she's signing for the package and in her excitement to see her son he grabs the package out of her hand. The package is forgotten and alls well that ends well...yeah ok. Another friend struggles with feelings for a boyfriend whom she loves but cannot be with because he cheats on her constantly, but, when he writes her a song, she melts and takes him back. Ok, so how many times does he have to do this to you before you realize you are being suckered? Then there's the friend whose marriage is obviously over but stays because of the children. His wife is stereotyped as a shallow, materialistic Imelda Marcos type who cares for nothing except playing mah-jongg and who looks old enough to be his mother. His children don't relate to him and so in order to “find himself” he needs to go back to Manila and see if life would be better for him there. Ok, I can believe this, but then the scene of him in Manila lasts all of 5 minutes, and somehow he hooks up with a women who was an acquaintance of his wife’s and who, as far as I was led to understood was stuck back in America. So how, did she suddenly come to be in Manila and in the very same bar? He comes back to the U.S. with her, intending to get married and bring his son back with them to live in Manila. In the interim, his teenaged daughter has had a child and is still with the teenaged boy who is the father of her baby and so now she's calmer and more responsible. The unlikely fact that the boy would still be with her, and the way the director makes it seem like the otherwise strict father just accepts this, just annoyed the hell out of me. AND, furthermore, what is this notion that once women have babies they "settle down"? I expected a little more from a female director and so my disappointment runs deep.
In spite of everything, I watched the movie to the end, and although most of the time, I was saying "give me a break" I did shed a little tear in the end. I thought the actors did the best they could with the story and while some of the acting was better than others, none of them did all that badly. In my opinion, this movie is not a comedy like the blurb says, nor is it about food and cooking, nor do we get a real sense of what it’s like to be Filipino in America. For all it's cliché and melodrama this is more like a soap opera than a movie.
I saw the movie Chocolat the other night. The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris and directed by Lasse Hallström. Having never read the book, (I do plan on reading it now) I found the movie to be quite enjoyable...
I wasn't bothered by whether the movie seemed realistic or not, or whether it kept true to the book, which I now know it didn't. What movie ever truly does? For a few hours I was taken someplace that let me forget about my daily grind and let my imagination soar. Of course now my head is filled with fantasies of one day owning a Chocolatier/ Pâtisserie/ Boulangerie in a small town. I choose all three for my shop because I like baking breads and pastries too. Ohhhh! to spend my days making Artisan chocolates, pastry and bread, in a medieval town in France not caring if I'm making enough to pay the bills, wearing cute little outfits and never having a bad hair day. I'd have a little cafe counter and I'd serve fresh- roasted to order coffee, rich dark hot chocolate sprinkled with chile spices and serve handmade pastry. I'd listen to the gossiping locals who stopped in to say hello and buy my goods while I hand rolled little truffles NEVER ONCE getting chocolate on myself or in my mouth. Yes I like that idea indeed. I'll have to learn French.
An observation after watching the movie:
I love the idea of a warm chocolate drink enhanced with chili spices. To me it sounds so wonderful, thick dark rich cocoa- sweet, spicey and fragrant, what could be better? I found some recipes that look very interesting although they don't use the chile spices I would add them if I made the drinks. Mole is something I have not yet tried to make, perhaps it's time has come. I'm going to see if I can find the book she talks about, it sounds like it would make quite an interesting read.
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