The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Jack and I ate up this delicious story of a family from India opening a restaurant in the south of France across the street from a traditional establishment run by a difficult owner. Helen Mirren (last blogged in RED 2) is fun to watch in anything, even if she's playing a stodgy control freak. As the Indian patriarch, Om Puri (can't say I remember specific performances in any of his 256 credits but his face is familiar) brings heart to his character, as do Manish Dayal as his son the chef and the lovely Charlotte Le Bon as the French sous-chef with a winning smile and wonderful wardrobe of flirty dresses.

Director Lasse Hallström (profiled in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) leads with an even hand from a screenplay by Steven Knight (Oscar-nominated for Dirty Pretty Things (2002), with many nominations and wins for that script and for Eastern Promises (2007), both much meaner and grimier than this project), based on the novel by Richard C. Morais.

Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey lend star power to the band of nine producers and, no doubt, assisted in the securing of the spectacular locations, including Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val and a late sequence at Restaurant Le Georges in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The magnificent photography of said locations courtesy of Linus Sandgren (Promised Land and American Hustle, among others).

The go-to composer of Indian soundtracks of the 21st century so far, A.R. Rahman (most recently scored Million Dollar Arm), provides native and other tunes for our enjoyment. I've been listening to clips from the movie's official website while writing.

Yesterday, while watching a scene in Land Ho! that takes place in an upscale restaurant, I suddenly wondered if I had remembered to put this movie on my list of food movies. No, I had not, because, for the first time in years, I had completely forgotten to blog about this one. The error is now corrected and the food movie list is updated.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are merely simmering with an average of 65% but their audiences are more bubbly at 85. We're with the audiences. Try it. You'll like it.

Land Ho! (2014)

Jack, Ann, and I enjoyed this languid tale of two old friends traveling in Iceland, with glorious photography and an upbeat soundtrack. Earl Lynn Nelson (72) is, like his character Mitch, a retired doctor--not a professional actor--who is from Kentucky and practiced in New Orleans. Mitch is kind of boorish, and every now and then when I was thinking I'd had enough of him, the scene cut away (co-director Aaron Katz also edited) to another beautiful shot by cinematographer Andrew Reed. Co-director Martha Stephens is Nelson's cousin and she also hired him to act in her two previous features (that's his entire acting resumé). Paul Eenhoorn (65), an Australian who is new to me despite his 30 credits, plays Colin as low-key and thoughtful. FYI I found the actors' ages not at my usual reference imdb, but by reading a review on the AARP website.

Ann asked me after the movie if there was a script and I assured her there was, having read that Stephens and Katz propelled the low-budget project from idea to completion in one year (here's more to read if you want). But AARP reports that Nelson and Eenhoorn improvised about half the dialogue, which explains a lot. There's a scene where Mitch meets a honeymooning hipster couple, who are played by Ben Kasulke (he shot Safety Not Guaranteed and Your Sister's Sister, among others) and Christina Jennings, who worked on this movie as second camera operator and producer, respectively.

I'm having fun listening as I write to the soundtrack and outtakes by Keegan DeWitt, streamed from this page on his website.

Speaking of AARP, two friends saw this on Saturday afternoon. At ages 66 and 73, they thought they were the youngest folks in the room. I'm not sure the demographics of the audience today because we always watch the full credits and everyone else is gone by the time the lights go up.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics weigh in at 78% and audiences at 60. We liked it and it cemented our desire to see Iceland one day.

Lucy (2014)

Neither the best nor the worst action pic of the summer, this thriller about a woman who accidentally gains super powers is still pretty fun, with Scarlett Johannsson in the title role, Luc Besson directing and writing, and great location shots of Taipei, Paris, and other places. Johansson (last blogged in Under the Skin) is no stranger to this genre and conducts herself well as she gets stronger and stronger, Morgan Freeman (most recently in Now You See Me) is the professor who explains it all for you.

Besson, a Frenchman whose last picture The Family is on a billboard in one scene, is a maître of crime action and science fiction, and he keeps the pace going with the able help of cinematographer Thierry Arbogast (Heartbreaker) and composer Eric Serra, whose excellent score you can stream on youtube.

Two of my rules are in effect: Rule 12, which states that one can always survive driving the wrong way on a crowded one-way thoroughfare, and Rule 2, that one can always see the Eiffel Tower if one is in Paris. See the complete list here.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics liked this better at 65% than its audiences at 48. It's still on some big screens here (#11 at the box office after six weeks) and you may enjoy it if you're caught up with everything else you want to see.

Rule #16 for movies (and TV)

The only one to stay after class to talk to the teacher or professor is the star of the show. This courtesy of Jack, a veteran of the classroom. For the complete list of our rules, go to this link.

Get On Up (2014)

Jack loved this bio-pic of James Brown so much he saw it twice, first with Andy and Krista and again with me, and we're all in agreement. Chadwick Boseman is superb as the Godfather of Soul, and, like director Tate Taylor's The Help, this movie has fabulous wardrobe and cars from the 1930s to the 80s. Boseman (last in these pages in Draft Day) is skinnier than Brown ever was, but otherwise perfectly portrays the mood-swinging innovator. The rest of the cast (62 credited, 29 uncredited) is great, too, notably Viola Davis (most recently in Prisoners) as Brown's mother, Octavia Spencer (last in Snowpiercer) as his aunt Honey, Nelsan Ellis (played Martin Luther King in The Butler, Henry the Waiter in The Help, and mentioned in The Soloist) as musician Bobby Byrd, and singer Jill Scott (as herself in Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005), starred in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008-09), and you can hear tracks at her website), who doesn't sing a note as Brown's wife DeeDee. Allison Janney (last in Tammy) and John Benjamin Hickey (The Ice Storm (1997), The Anniversary Party (2001), Then She Found Me (2007), 40 episodes of The Big C (2010-2013), and six of The Good Wife (2012-13), to name a few of my favorites) have a funny bit in a hotel sequence.

The script is by brothers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow) and the story is credited to them and Steven Baigelman, who is now working on Miles Ahead, directed by and starring Don Cheadle as Miles Davis, currently filming.

A young actor plays a young Mick Jagger, and someone says, of the 1964 Rolling Stones, that they won't last (wink wink). Jagger acted as a producer and music producer on this movie.

Imdb lists 43 tracks and the soundtrack has twenty. Boseman does an admirable job lip-syncing to the original cuts, and there's no faking that dancing. Jack and I commented that Michael Jackson probably would not have done the moonwalk if not for James Brown, who had a most profound influence on modern pop music. You can hear clips of many of the songs from the movie at the official website. Additional music is by Thomas Newman (last scored Saving Mr. Banks) but it's not available to stream as far as I know.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics average 75% and audiences 78. Forget about them. This is really good stuff for anyone who loves this kind of music, and we feel sorry for anyone who doesn't.