The Cobbler

The Cobbler  - 99min - PG13

Adam Sandler has a very specific skill set in his acting. When he has no one to mind him he tends to run his jokes into the ground.  His brouhaha about womanizing female actresses and also his issue with the Native Americans walking off his set. BUT this movie is fine.  Take a look at my review on Web Wombat. 

Chef

Chef - 114min – R

There is something wonderful about watching a true master of a craft doing what they love. It doesn’t matter what that skill is, watching someone put so much passion into their work is a wonder to see. The same can be said about this movie. It was kind of mind bending to see a movie about a person who is doing what he loves being played by the person who is also doing what he loves and doing it well. I am completely satisfied at the tasty meal that is this movie. I give it a green light and want it to add it to my menu of great movies.

The Chef is Carl (Jon Favreau) and he works for Riva (DustinHoffman). Riva owns the restaurant and has absolutely no imagination or ambition. He has a menu that has worked for the past 10 years and he has no desire to change. The largest critic (Oliver Platt) in the city is going to be reviewing their restaurant. Carl wants to wow the critic but Riva orders him to stick to the tired menu. The critic pans the meal and Carl has words with the Critic. Well in this age of modern technology and instant access to the world, his rant goes viral and Carl loses his job.

Carl and his son, Percy (Emjay Anthony), and his Ex-wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), plan a trip to go back to Miami to get in touch with Carl’s roots, the birth of his career. Cal decides to get a Food Truck and reinvent himself and start simple. He wants to just get back to cooking. With the help of his son and his line cook, Martin (John Leguizamo) they get the truck ready and drive it back to LA.

This film is marinated in talent. The characters’ honesty and genuine love of the story come through in every scene. The dash of personality that is added to small but important roles of Scarlett Johansson as the wise hostess who pushes Carl in the right direction and the completely loony performance by Robert Downey Jr. as Inez’s ex-husband are spectacular.

The blend of comedy and drama complement each other.  The story of a father and son reestablishing their relationship adds to this balance as well as the relationship between Carl and Martin.  There is not one overpowering flavor that drowns out the rest of the story elements.

Reality show chefs always say good ingredients presented cleanly will win over flashy overly complicated dishes. This movie takes that same direction with good story elements to let the viewer savor the truth about life we can relate to.  The story of a person who’s lost in the rut of life and finding their way to a new life is a great story that I think I needed. I have seen a few bad movies recently I needed some cinematic comfort food.

Carl talks to Percy at one point in the film and says that the work he does touches people. I can see the duality of what he was saying: he not only touches them as the character in the movie, but also as a filmmaker who will touch the lives of anyone who sees this film.

The interaction between Carl and Ramsey, the food critic, did bring out something that I struggle with. My natural tendency to be diplomatic comes from knowing how hard people work on the movies I see.  I have helped out on a feature film. I’ve had a glimpse at the difficult nature of how a movie is made.

When a movie is bad I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. I can still be respectful of the person but still be accurate about the view I have. If something that a director I have loved in the past does not live up to the quality that they are capable of I am going to say it. I am going keep it entertaining but also pointed, but with the absolute understanding of how hard it is to make a movie and what a labor of love it is.

I am encouraged by a film that has next to no budget but gives everything it can, and I am disappointed in a movie that has millions of money but no soul. The film medium is way too important to treat it like a fast food chain that just bangs out movies. Movies are best when in the hands of a person who is passionate about their craft.

Go and see this movie. If you go in hungry it will satisfy your need for an enriching story. 

Trailer from JoBlo Movie Trailers via YouTube

Little Fockers

Little Fockers rated PG 13 98 min

I have never been a fan of this franchise; I am going to temper my review with a focus on the filming aspects then go into my own views of the film. The movie had no technical gafs, and feeling of the film was good, it had good tempo and it moved from scene to scene smoothly. The cast had good chemistry together and everyone was believable in their roles. I enjoyed the music and the lighting of the film. I am trying to look at the good things for this film and I am really coming up short. All of these aspects I have listed are really weak. Aside from doing a good job in making a film, I am now faced with the fact that this is not a movie worth making. Really it was hard for me to watch the talented cast and crew sell this movie with all of their hearts and souls and it falling soooo flat. It was like watching someone tell a joke that you already know and suffer through as they tell it badly. The Jokes were a rehash of the poor dynamic between Greg (Ben Stiller) and his father in law Jack (Robert De Niro). They mix in some of the awkwardness of Kevin (Owen Wilson) interest in Greg’s wife in the second film and hoped that it would be a good. The new members of the cast are the twins who are adorable in their perspective roles (Daisy Tahan and Colin Baiocchi) but are not enough of a draw to pull this story back from the brink. Putting in the new dynamic of twins and the quirkiness of parenthood and the stress people go through in this change of life is usually comedy gold but for some reason it did not pay off for them. I think the writer should have focused on the aspects of that underlying story instead of beating the dead horse of the previous films. Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand characters were very enjoyable but again not enough to make this movie a win for me.

Paul Weitz takes the reins in this film taking over for Jay Roach. I have to say that both of these Directors are hit and miss with my viewership. For Paul Weitz I think his best work was on About A Boy. And Jay Roach best work was on the Austin Powers and did well on the first installment but should have stopped there. At the time of this post ther are rumors of a 4th in that series.

I would not recommend this film even if you are a fan of the other films. They are milking this for all its worth. The Cast may have a great time in doing these films but I would suggest they follow the Model of A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. I have to admit they all work well together let’s just get them some better material to work with.