Jack and I enjoyed this story of a hot-headed American chef trying to make a clean and sober comeback in London after many fiascos in Paris. The food stylings and music are just great. Maybe the plot's a bit pat (could be butter, er, better) but this is going on the food movie list as soon as I finish the post.
Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller (who were both last blogged in American Sniper) once again co-star as the chef and sous-chef with layered performances (and she has an interesting haircut). Daniel Brühl (most recently in The Woman in Gold), Matthew Rhys (I know him better for 109 episodes of Brothers & Sisters than for 40 episodes of The Americans--I quit watching the latter because it was so bleak), and Omar Sy (last in Jurassic World) all do well as some of Cooper's cohorts, plus I appreciated cameos by Emma Thompson (most recently in Saving Mr. Banks), Uma Thurman (I liked The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Henry & June (1990), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), Kill Bill 1 and 2 ((2003 and 04), Prime (2005), The Producers (2005), and five episodes of Smash in 2012), Alicia Vikander (last in Ex Machina), and Lily James (first blogged in Cinderella).
"Poor John Wells," I wrote about the director in my post for August: Osage County, since it rated low, as did this (28% critics, 60 audiences on Rotten Tomatoes). The script is by Steven Knight (The Hundred Foot Journey) and the story by Michael Kalesniko (wrote Private Parts (1997)).
Jack, who is a big fan of blues music, particularly loved the opening sequence with It Serves You Right to Suffer by John Lee Hooker remixed or something by "The Avener" (stream it here or listen to JLH's original in a much slower tempo). The rest of the music, by Rob Simonsen (last blogged for Foxcatcher), should be released in an album, but hasn't.
The haters have no taste. Savor the experience and sample this movie while you can.
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