Chef

Have you seen Chef? Have you even heard of it? If not, I suggest taking 114 minutes out of your day to watch it.

I was surprised just how good this movie was. In short, Chef follows Carl Casper (played by Jon Favreau) as he tries balancing his professional and personal life. I knew nothing about this movie going in, so I will keep the plot and celebrity cameos a secret.

Written, directed and starring Jon Favreau, this movie showcases his best performance to date. I was surprised just how good he can be in a starring role. His character had a lot of depth which made it a joy to watch him on screen.

The most impressive aspect of this film is the script. The screenplay is so good, that it doesn't feel like it was written. Everything these characters said came across very naturally. You forget that you are watching fictional characters and instead, feel like you're watching real people in a documentary. The script is so well realized and is a testament to Favreau's writing abilities.

Working in restaurants for many years, I have a good understanding of the industry. I love the culinary world and I enjoy cooking myself. Having that background, I really could appreciate the level of accuracy that the film took in representing the industry and those who work in restaurants. There was clearly a lot of research prior to making Chef, and it comes across on screen beautifully.

You don't have to be a lover of food to appreciate this movie. With a great father-son relationship, great characters, and a very impressive script, Chef is a movie that I would recommend to all.

Captain America: Civil War **SPOILERS**

I hate when people talk during the movies. It gets under my skin and I think it is extremely rude. For that reason, I am dead silent when my butt is in a theatre seat.

There was a scene in Civil War where Spider-Man was holding Captain America back from retrieving his shield. Spider-Man had both of Cap's arms pinned back by the strength of his webbing. When that was happening, out of no where, I blurted out loud;

"I can't believe what I'm watching right now"

I really meant it. There was a moment where I turned into a 7-year-old. I literally could not believe what I was watching on screen. Ten years ago, the thought of this spectacle would have seemed impossible. Now, in 2016, we have our Marvel Civil War. 

To get one thing out of the way, Civil war isn't an "Avengers" movie. As the title states, this is a Captain America story and a continuation from the Winter Soldier. Despite the fact that this film has tons of characters, the Russo brothers were able to distinguish it as a Captain America piece. The movie is driven through him, and his decisions are what ultimately change the dynamic of the Avengers. 

Let's get Spider-Man out of the way. He's in two scenes (if we aren't counting the end credits scene which I missed out on). In both scenes, he was fantastic and stole the show. I won't proclaim that he is the greatest Spider-Man we've ever seen yet. The sample size isn't big enough for me to do that. So far though, I love Holland's portrayal and I am sure Spider-Man: Homecoming will be great. 

I won't lie, I had no idea who Black Panther was before I saw the movie. Let's be honest - you didn't know much about him either.  To my surprise, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther was one of my favourite aspects of the film. It was an interesting fold to the story. His father was assassinated, and he was on a mission to take out The Winter Soldier. He was very T-1000 like from Terminator 2. The civil war happening around him was meaningless to him as he was focused on bringing down Bucky. I loved Black Panther, and he was handled incredibly well. Never felt shoe horned in and I can't wait for his solo film.

I have to mention the airport scene. For over 17 minutes, I was never bored. Remarkably, the Russo brothers were able to craft something so perfect for Marvel, that I can't imagine a fight scene being more impressive. There were so many "holy shit" moments that it never got over indulgent. Did anyone expect Ant-Man to steal the show? I certainly didn't. His lines were my favourite and him growing into Giant Man was hilarious.

I will admit though, I never felt the "war" aspect  during the airport scene. Most of the characters were making jokes during the fight - which is fine. Marvel has built a universe in adding humour to their movies. But as amazing as the fight was, I never felt nervous because I knew they weren't actually trying to kill each other. I thought they should have killed War Machine off when he fell from the sky. I think it would have added some weight to the situation, and a reminded to the Avengers as to why they must get along. I guess all he needs now his robot legs.

What did feel like "war" to me, was the final confrontation between Tony, Bucky and Cap. Was it a ridiculous idea for Zeemo to have them fly out to the middle of no where to find other winter soldiers only for Tony to watch a VHS tape and hope that he will get angry? Of course. But that is besides the point. Just like I speculated in my trailer review, this was the best acting that Downey Jr. and Chris Evans have done in their Marvel roles. When Tony finds out that Bucky killed his parents, he was ready to kill. To me, Marvel has never had a more emotional sequence that the finale of Civil War. Seeing Tony react while watching the death of his parents was heartbreaking. You wanted him to seek his revenge, yet you didn't. Your emotions were torn as you understood both sides. It was riveting to watch and is the highlight of the film for me. To hear Tony say to Cap that he doesn't deserve his shield as his father made it was the best line of the movie. So much emotion, after almost a decade of movies, all summed in one line.

I enjoyed Age of Ultron. But the third Captain America movie felt more of a culmination of phase two,  (if not the entire MCU) than Age of Ultron did. It was hilarious at times, while heartbreaking in others. The Russo brothers are the perfect directors to move the MCU forward. No, I am not a Marvel fanboy for enjoying this movie and hating Batman V Superman. I am a fan of good movies, regardless of the studio. I just know when something is good, and when something is not.

Thanks for reading everyone!

What does a weekend marathoning the MCU movies bring out in someone? Click here to find out! 

Spirited Away.

There's a beautiful sequence in Spirited Away when Chihiro and No Face are riding a train. There's no exchange of words, and no fantastical imagery shown. It's quiet, peaceful, and a reflection on the true masterwork that is Spirited Away. Despite all the imagination put to screen, and the variety of characters shown throughout the film, it's this quiet moment that shows the confidence in the storytelling that Miyazaki and the team at Studio Ghibli crafted.

It's easy to think of Spirited Away as the "the Japanese Alice in Wonderland." A young girl goes on an unwanted adventure where a variety of colourful creatures and imagery are flashed on screen. It's an interesting comparison, and I won't argue with someone who sees the two as similar. I just happen to enjoy Spirited Away a little more.

There is something about Spirited Away that draws me in, and oddly enough, I can't really put my finger on the reason why. Of course, the hand drawn style is beautiful; just looking at the film is a treat upon itself. However the characters are not incredibly interesting to me, and I never feel a sense of danger for our main protagonist. Despite that, Spirited Away draws me in and I am locked in for the two-hour run time.

Why is that? What is it about the film that makes me like it so much?

I think it's the little moments that are little stories upon itself. Seeing the water pour over the Stink Spirit is both beautiful and disgusting. Looking into it, you see Miyazaki's attempt to bring up the negative impact of pollution to our natural world.

Chihiro helping Haku remember his name as they are falling from the sky is one of the most heartfelt moments of the film. Was I ever really invested in Haku as a character? Well...no...not really. But when this moment comes in the film, I couldn't help but get emotional. Perhaps I was invested, and I never really knew it.

You just have to sit back, and allow Miyazaki's imagination in. Spirited Away does a lot right, but most of all, it makes you FEEL something. Beautifully paced, quirky as can be, and strange beyond belief, Spirited Away is a sad reminder of how Hollywood lacks originality.  This movie may not be for all, but if you give it a chance, you might find something in it that you weren't expecting. 

A Weekend with the MCU

This week, we have guest blogger Jamie Burton from Board of Dice. Jamie has graciously loaned me his words for a great new post. Show him some love.

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Thought on the MCU so far.

This past weekend I watched (well, re-watched) all of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point in preparation for Captain America Civil War.

Starting from the very beginning with Iron Man, it was refreshing to take a look at how the films have grown since Nick Fury showed up in Tony’s house to tell him about the Avengers initiative.

The first few were super hero-y, to put it in a word. Yes, technically all of them are, but it was Captain America: The First Avenger that really broke that mould. It was a WW2 movie first, and a super hero origin second. It used a lot of tropes of the genre, from the general grittiness of the visual to the marching montages.

And then Avengers came around and really changed everything. Many more qualified people have spent hours analysing and talking about exactly why Avengers is “really that good” so I won’t go into many details. Suffice it to say, the MCU might have technically began with Iron Man, but it really began with The Avengers.

Given that I have just rewatched these films in order in a short period of time, I’d like to give my opinion on the “Best to Worst” as well as a brief line about what I think of the movie. So, without further adieu:

Jamie’s List of MCU Movies, Best to Worst 

1. The Avengers - While subsequent rewatches reveal more problems, this is still my pick for number one. The action is solid, the plot flows nicely and the characters are (mostly) all given their time to shine.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy - It is difficult not to place this one at the top, and only loses out to Avengers due to what that one started. Guardians has an amazing sense of humour, and the five main characters have an insane level of chemistry. The “12 per cent of a plan” scene in particular has what I consider to be the best extended dialogue scene in the MCU.

3. Iron Man 3 - Take Tony Stark, remove him from his OP suit for most of the movie and give him real, genuine problems to deal with. This, plus the humour and fanservice orgasm ending, makes for a great film. It’s a buddy cop film on steroids. And, while it pissed a lot of people off, I enjoyed the hell out of the Mandarin fake out.

4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The movie in particular suffers from the biggest “Why not just call in X” of the franchise, but while watching you hardly have a chance to notice. It’s a Bourne-style spy movie with Cap, where you get to see him adjust to a new style of combat and war.

5. Ant-Man - The one that wasn’t supposed to be good. How could it be? It’s such a crazy concept! But it pulled it off, partly by not taking itself seriously. It does have a more super hero-y vibe to it, but at its heart, it’s a heist movie. Doesn’t hurt that it is funny, too. I do wish we could have seen the Edgar Wright version, however.

6. Avengers: Age of Ultron - Hawkeye kills this movie. He was overlooked the first time around, but they made it up to him in spades here. Ultron himself is the best Dr. Doom on the big screen, as well, not that he had much competition. I like the way it was able to introduce side characters into the big picture without things getting too crowded. All in all, it is just a damn good time. Language!

7. Captain America: The First Avenger - Number seven was a toss up between this and the next, but I feel as though Cap is a better movie for many of the reasons stated above.

8. Iron Man - Tony’s first adventure did a lot of things right, and it is hard to find a lot of faults. It isn’t this far down the list for being bad, just that the others I enjoy more after watching them all back to back. That said, it does get mad props for getting all of this going.

9. Thor - There are going to be a few movies on here that I refer to as “half-good” in that half of the movie is good, and Thor is the first to fill that slot. I like Asgard, and the look into that side of things, but Thor on Earth is kind of dull. This one, at least, gave him more reason to be here.

10. Thor 2 - This one, on the other hand, is made worse for every scene that takes place on Earth. What could have been a fun romp through the other realms instead took too much of it’s run time to focus on Jane Foster. The villains weren’t anything special, either. But the parts that do take place in Asgard are fantastic. Heimdall steals the show on this one, but there’s a special place in my heart for Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.

11. Incredible Hulk - This is the defining “half-good” MCU movie, where the line is split at the halfway part of the movie. The opening in Brazil might just be the best Hulk-out in the MCU so far, and the one on the university campus is great too. Too bad the movie slows down after that and never really recovers. The ending fight in Harlem just feels like a chore to watch now.

12. Iron Man 2 - Why Whiplash? This is an example of one character bringing down an entire film. IM2 had a lot of good ideas. Don Cheadle is a better Rhodes, Tony’s drinking while dying is a great plot point. Justin Hammer is cringe, but it makes him a great opposite to Tony. Black Widow’s debut is awesome, and probably the only time you see hr actually being a spy. But the overall feel is brought down by a weak motivated villain (while the villain with better motivations is pushed to the sidelines) and what I’m assuming was a lot of producer interference. IM2 is an Avengers trailer, and while that was the shit before Avengers came out, upon rewatch, I didn’t enjoy it any more. That said, I did enjoy drunk Tony, in the suit, being a total idiot at his birthday party more this time around. At least Iron Man 3 was able to pick up a lot of the slack and deliver a better movie.

There we have it, my complete list as of right now. Some may swap positions before I even hit post, so they aren’t set in stone. The MCU has been a pleasure to watch unfold, and I look forward to what is to come. Civil War opens on Friday (in North America), and I am eagerly awaiting is. Where will it place on the list? Who knows!