The Hundred Foot Journey

The Hundred Foot Journey, the latest film from talented director Lasse Hallstrom is a touching romantic comedy for the foodie and non-foodie alike. It's a beautiful film to watch, imbued with so much heart and love that you don't want the movie to end, at least I didn't. Not a perfect film but still a great one which is why I'm giving The Hundred Foot Journey three and a half buckets of Killer Korn.  











Right off the bat, The Hundred Foot Journey has an amazing cast and it's their performances that make this an extremely entertaining film. From the subtle facial expressions to the overt shows of emotion, this movie hit a home run on the casting. The story centers around an Indian family that has left Bombay after the destruction of their restaurant. They are seeking somewhere else to live other than under the flight path of Heathrow Airport in London. They wind up in a small town in France and the father, Papa Kadam who is played by the amazing Om Puri falls in love with an abandoned structure and decides to buy it and turn it into a new family restaurant. The only catch is just across the road, a mere hundred feet away lies a highly celebrated restaurant owned and operated by Madame Mallory, played by the exquisite Helen Mirren. Her eatery has already earned a much coveted and seemingly impossible to earn Michelin Star and she desperately wants another. Papa however is undeterred because he feels he has an ace up his sleeve, that would be his son Hassan, played wonderfully by Manish Dayal. Hassan learned everything he knows about cooking from his mother but he doesn't refer to himself as a chef, he considers himself at first to be nothing more than a cook.

Papa opens up his restaurant and the hilarious rivalry begins in earnest. Mallory and Papa go toe to toe over zoning rights, animal vaccinations, and produce from the market. She bests Pap at first but he's a fast learner and eventually evens the score. That goes on as Hassan and the sous chef in Mallory's restaurant named Marguerite played charmingly by Charlotte Le Bon begin to fall for each other but it's not all picture perfect. The rivalry at one point turns racial and even potentially deadly, but that is handled with a deft and light handed touch by Lasse. That same skill is shown when the budding romance between Papa and Mallory comes to light, it will make you smile. Hassan goes from a cook to celebrated chef in Paris but seemingly loses his way. This is the only cliche part of the movie for you see what's coming next, at least I did. It did not detract from the charm this film exudes in any way thankfully. I just wish Hassan's brother Mansur played by Amit Shah and his lovely sister Mahira played by Farzana Dua Elahe were more fleshed out. The questions as to what happens to the restaurant when Hassan leaves is never adequately addressed in my opinion.

As I have said already, The Hundred Foot Journey is a beautiful film to look at. The lighting and camerawork was exceptional. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren did a wonderful job at not just capturing the landscape and quaintness of the small French town Saint Antonin, but also those moments in the kitchens where spices are being sprinkled into a dish and the food is being lovingly prepared. Be warned, this movie CAN make you hungry, I know it did me. The beautiful score provided by the two time Academy Award winning composer A. R. Rahman was the perfect accompaniment for what was on the screen. It possessed the magical blend of classical and Indian music that this playful score was built upon and which this movie was all about. It was a job well done, hats off to you Mr. Rahman. If you are a foodie then see this film, if you're not a foodie, see this film because it has the potential to convert one into a foodie. Best of all though, it will absolutely entertain you and if you have a burning desire to see a grown up movie, go buy a ticket to The Hundred Foot Journey, it will not disappoint. I'll see you at the theater.    

July 21, 1951 ~ August 11, 2014

The world is a worse place today.

The dates above represent the life span of one of the most transcendent talents to have ever lived. His name was Robin Williams. He was an amazingly funny man that left behind a collection of incredible movies that included The World According To Garp, Awakenings, Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, the voice of the genie in Aladdin, and Good Will Hunting to name just a few. We were not worthy.

Robin quietly (and not so quietly) suffered from depression and battled with substance abuse issues throughout most of his career but his talent could make you forget all of that in a blink of an eye. He could make us laugh to the point of passing out and many times he was the butt of the joke. People watched Comic Relief, the charity to help the homeless because they wanted to see him, Whoopie Goldberg, and Billie Crystal lose their minds on stage and make us feel good about helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

The world is indeed a worse place today than in was yesterday. He was the epitome of the phrase "one of a kind". When people say "there will never be another like him/her", that phrase was never more appropriate than it is when talking about Robin Williams. Thank you for all you've shared with us Robin and have given us and may you finally find peace in death that you could not find in life. We will all miss you so much.

   

Into The Storm

Into The Storm, the latest movie from director Steven Quale is at times a rip roaring roller coaster of a movie. The other times it's a tired melodrama that slows the pace down considerably. Thankfully the roller coaster ride is more of what you get with Into The Storm and because of that I give it three buckets of Killer Korn.












This is Steven Quale's second full length feature film, his first being Final Destination 5. I have no idea if that movie was good or bad and quite frankly I didn't care who directed Into The Storm because they trailer had me at "storm". Let me explain, deep, deep, deep inside me lives this guy who loves storms and get's giddy when there's thunder shaking the buildings and lightning blazing across the skies. He is too small however to compel me to go storm chasing (I shout his behind down every time he brings it up). So when I saw this trailer I was all in, director be damned which is very unlike me but when I saw those jets getting swept up in a F5 tornado, an F5 wouldn't have kept me away. Okay, maybe an F5 would have, but if it were an F3 I would have been there munching on my popcorn and having a great time buddy.

Made for a scant $50 million dollars, Storm should have no problem making that money back and then some at the box office. There are no big names in the film and the cast holds only two really familiar faces. Sarah Wayne Callies who played Lori in The Walking Dead plays Allison, a women with a PhD in meteorology and Scott Lawrence who's a consummate character actor that's been in pretty much everything plays Principal Walker. Richard Armitage who is a good actor in his own right but hasn't done many movies plays Gary, a widower with two young boys under his care. The rest of the cast is comprised of mainly TV actors so they came relatively cheap which is good. You can't have a film called Into The Storm and have a weak looking storm so the money they saved on casting went towards the jaw dropping special effects. So don't go in expecting Shakespeare like performances and you'll be fine. Oh, and this movie is NOT a remake of the 1996 movie Twister, just letting you know.

The plot is a simple one written by John Swetnam, never before seen weather patterns are converging on a small Oklahoma town during high school graduation. Tornadoes touch down and wreak havoc while boy and girl struggle to stay alive in abandoned building before determined dad can save them as he dodges twister after twister. The big moment though is when an F5 forms and touches down, that's when the jaw drops and everything in it's path is destroyed. Yep, I'll admit it, I was giddy. Into The Storm is a pure popcorn summer movie that was far better than Guardians of the Galaxy could ever hope to be on less than half the budget. Think about that if you see it and imagine what could have been had Storm possessed the kind of budget Guardians did and vice versa. Check out Storm, you won't be sorry and I'll see you at the theater!  

Spoiler Time: Get On Up

Hey Kornheads, that's that time of year again, actually it's more that time of week but you know what I meant. This is where I break down everything completely wrong and some of what's right with the Tate Taylor directed Get On Up. Don't ask me why because based on the box office, there isn't a soul in this land that's going to see this movie but this could be fun. Let's get started, shall we?


Making a movie on the life and times of the Godfather of Soul is a daunting task. That is the only pass I give the director, screenwriters, and producers. That man has done so much, accomplished so much, and lived such an amazing life that to try and distill it all down into a two hour movie is a foolish attempt, and yet Get On Up is in theaters today. The problem with it is simply...everything. Outside of the Oscar award winning performance of Chadwick Boseman, this movie is a joke. From the blatant Ray ripoffs to the lack of James Brown's cultural impact on his people, this movie misses on damn near every level.

Did you know James Brown performed for the inmates at Rykers Island in New York back in 1972? Did you know one of his wives died while undergoing plastic surgery? Did you know he recorded three hours of music for the film Black Caesar without ever seeing the movie? Remember his epic concert he gave before the Muhammad Ali, George Foreman fight in Kinshasa, Zaire? Remember his iconic groundbreaking song "(Say It Loud) I'm Black and I'm Proud"? Did you know of his somewhat friendly rivalry between him and Little Richard? Did you know James' first love was baseball but went with singing because the girls loved singers? Did you know he owned radio stations? Did you know his nickname in prison was 'Music Box'? Did you know he had a sit down with President Richard Milhous Nixon regarding the state of affairs in the ghetto? Did you know he was a drug addict up until his death on Christmas in 2006? Did you know he is the most sampled musician in the history of music and that without James there would be no hip hop? If you knew none of this don't worry, you aren't alone because it appeared that those involved with Get On Up didn't know any of this either.

None of the things I listed were in the movie, NOT ONE! And yet Get On Up was supposedly about James Brown. It could have been a movie about some fictional character, say James "Thunder" Early played by Eddie Murphy in the Dreamgirls movie. Then Get On Up would have been decent, but to say this was a movie based on the most influential man in music is a misnomer. It's just flat out not true. Tate Taylor said "this movie is about singing and dancing" which is the absolute wrong idea to have when you call yourself making a James Brown biopic. The man was so much more than that and Tate Taylor needs to be ashamed of himself and he needs to be banned from doing anymore movies that deal with Black people. He obviously doesn't get it. I would have loved to have seen what this movie would have looked like had Spike Lee directed it.

Now the sad part is this, Tate Taylor's career will survive this but Black movies will take a huge hit. As of today, Get On Up has earned just $17,113,630. Hollywood will point to that number and say, "See, there's no market for Black movies" completely ignoring the fact that this "Black" movie is just horrid. And that may have something to do with everyone behind the camera being white and everyone in front of the camera, with a few exceptions, being Black. I'm glad I saw it, just to see Chadwick's mind blowing performance but this movie needs to be burned and forgotten about and the sooner the better.

Tell me Kornheads, when you heard about this movie, were you excited to see it, indifferent, or had no desire whatsoever? I'd love to know!

Get On Up

Get On Up, the latest film from the director that bought the bestselling novel The Help and the terribly unfunny Pretty Ugly People to the screen, Tate Taylor now brings to theaters what has to be the worse idea for a James Brown biopic, Get On Up. This movie is the most disjointed, unfocused, surface only story of the Godfather of Soul that could have possibly been made. I would have given this movie barely a bucket of Killer Korn but because of the amazing performances of the incredibly talented cast, I'm giving it two and a half.









A few days ago I was in a cab and the driver and I got to talking about James Brown and the driver asked me who I thought could play him. I said the only one that could play "the hardest working man in show business" was dead. He asked me who that was and I said "James Brown". I now reject that statement outright because after watching Chadwick Boseman talk, dance, and sing like Mr. Brown I now feel there are two people that could play Mr. Dynamite. Chadwick Boseman didn't impress me in 42 so when I heard he was pegged to bring James Brown to life in his biopic, I was apprehensive. In 42 I felt his performance was stiff and lacked any real emotion and I viewed him as a mediocre talent. After seeing Get On Up I now know that Chadwick is an amazing talent with no limitations, for him the sky's the limit. Sadly though his amazing performance was saddled with a muddled, milquetoast vision of James Brown and his life. Get On Up was more dancing and singing than truly delving into the man himself. It was Ray without being anywhere as good as that film, and Ray could have been so much better. Could it do for Chadwick what Ray did for Jamie Foxx? Perhaps. The possibility for Chadwick winning an Oscar is not inconceivable, not with his scintillating portrayal.

In a movie that was directed by a white man, produced by white people, with a script written by two white men from London, England it's really no surprise that this movie did not touch on what Black people loved most about James Brown. That probably explains why I was the lone Black face in the theater. Black people are staying away from this movie in droves because they somehow instinctually know they will leave disappointed, like I was. There were things I was hoping this movie would reveal about one of the most important and influential men in music and in the end the few things I hoped to learn weren't even discussed in passing. Quite frankly this was a flat out embarrassment to the legend and James would be pissed off that this movie is supposed to represent him to the world and somehow tell his story.  I would like you to read the article penned by award winning screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard about what went on as they put this movie together, The Whitewashing of James Brown. It's extremely telling how Black peoples opinions are viewed as not important.

The cast was an impressive one so the performances were amazing. Viola Davis played mother Susie Brown, Nelsan Ellis from True Blood fame played Brown's best friend Bobby Byrd (portrayed in this movie with having NO backbone), Lenni James played father Joe Brown, Dan Aykroyd played promoter Ben Bart, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer played Aunt Honey, Craig Robinson played the amazing Maceo Parker, Tika Sumpter played Yvonne Fair, and Jill Scott played James' last wife Deedee Brown. Sadly everyone in the cast (other than Dan) proved to be the only Black faces that had anything to do with this movie, but they were amazing. The film itself cut have been trimmed by at least fifteen minutes and it made me wonder if the people responsible for this went to the Quinton Tarantino school of film making. The story jumped all over the place which made it hard to focus at times.

I walked out of Get On Up the same way I walked in and that was upsetting. My memories of James Brown weren't enhanced, I wasn't shown anything new that I didn't already know about and since that was the case, it makes one wonder why do the damn movie in the first place. The answer to the question came as I was exiting the theater. I passed an elderly white couple as the man was trying to explain to his companion exactly what "the groove" was. This movie wasn't made for Black people to see, learn more about, and enjoy their hero, it was made for white people strictly. White people who had no idea what James was talking about when he was talking about "the groove". If you were looking for any real insights to the legend, stay away from this movie and everything that has to do with it. If you want to see Chadwick Boseman light up the screen then check it out and enjoy him as he does his thing and I'll see you at the theater.

Spoiler Time: Guardians of the Galaxy

What's up Kornheads? It's that time again. Time for me to reveal all the questions that this movie inspired that really have no answers. This one will be short and sweet, I promise. Really, so go grab something to drink or get a snack and enjoy the ride. I should have added brief to that ride thing. If you haven't seen the movie yet, maybe reading this will discourage you to do so. SAVE YOUR MONEY people. Seriously, put that shit right back in your pocket and keep it moving!


Guardians of the Galaxy clearly indicates the time of directors paying their dues or making their bones is over. As indicated in my review of this movie, I stated director James Gunn has never directed a film that was profitable. That his only claim to fame, and the film that may have gotten him this gig was a movie called Slither that lost money. He wrote Slither and Super, another movie that lost money along with a few of other films that he didn't direct. He penned the Scooby-Doo movies which were successes at the box office so of course he was pegged to not just direct but write Guardians. Now I always thought that only weather forecasters were the only people that could be wrong or off 80% of the time and keep their jobs. I was wrong.

Guardians starts off with a very young Peter Quill being kidnapped from earth. Seemingly long before the Kevin Bacon Footloose movie was released. I say that because all the music on his cassette tape that he had on him when he's kidnapped are from the late 70's early 80's. Footloose was released in 1984 and since we aren't given a year as to when Peter was taken how would he know ANYTHING about that movie or who in the hell Kevin Bacon is? Is he watching Hollywood movies on the other side of the galaxy? No explanation, you're just supposed to buy that plot hole.

The movie opens with him hot on the trail of a metallic orb. He has no idea what it does or what it contains and he seems to be the only one looking for it. As he dances across a path that leads to the orb he acts as if no one else knows about this thing until later in the movie do you see that EVERYONE gives a damn about it. So then how is Peter the first to arrive on the scene and get his hands on the orb before everyone else? That's never explained, you're just supposed to buy yet another plot hole.

I'm guessing, based on his musical equipment that plays human cassette tapes on his ship that he may have been back to earth. That would be the only logical explanation as to why his Walkman still works. Those things only worked on AA batteries so Peter must have a shit load of Duracell batteries in the hold of his ship somewhere. While he's here getting batteries, is he going to the movies? None of this makes ANY sense and yet you're just supposed to accept this little earth nostalgia stuff as charming.

Glenn Close aka Nova Prime signs a peace treaty with the Krull, getting what they wanted while calling for a cease fire between the two forces and yet when Ronan is on his way to destroy her world, she reaches out to her enemy to help her fight Ronan. Why in the world would she expect any help from her sworn enemy? It's that same reasoning I suppose that causes The Collector's assistant to touch the stone after he explains the destructive power of said stone, thereby obliterating her and destroying his shop.

And lastly (see, told ya...brief), how in the hell does Peter know what a dance off is? Or even what dancing is? He's been on the other side of the galaxy for twenty years. I would assume "dancing" is what humans call that action, not the rest of the galaxy. I would think it would be called something else someWHERE else, or am I mistaken? I won't mention the fact that everyone speaks PERFECT English either, complete with colloquialisms and sarcasm. I know it's a comic book blah blah blah, does that mean you get to be lazy and not put a creative spin on the movie? Nor will I mention the racial thing either, why beat a dead although somewhat significant horse?

I have heard this movie referred to as a "space opera". If this were ANY kind of opera, the diva would have been yanked off the stage and beaten with wet loaves of bread. Oh, and Rocket steals the movie. Later Kornheads!    

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy, the latest film by writer/director James Gunn is a movie that should be missed and is only worth seeing if you can find someone to pay for your ticket. If you are a fan of the comic book that spawned this movie then you may enjoy it, but if you're like me, someone who's never even heard of Guardians until this movie then you can skip it and be the better for it. This is the worst film from Marvel Studios to date and I thought Captain America: Winter Soldier was an unfunny joke. Because of that I am giving this poor excuse of a space adventure one bucket of Killer Korn.

Okay, so who is James Gunn, the man behind this garbagepiece? He is a writer/director who's biggest claim to fame to date was a little comedy/horror film called Slither. It starred Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, and Michael Rooker. It cost $15 million dollars to make (minus the marketing budget) and it made about $12 million dollars worldwide. In other words, NO ONE SAW IT! Tucking his tail between his legs, Gunn then turned back to TV where he began and directed some TV pilots and a short TV series called PG Porn where the tag line read,"For People who love everything about porn...except the sex". Then he wrote and directed an independent film called Super which cost $2.5 million dollars (again minus the marketing budget)and it made in total $327,716. Then he did a segment in a movie many believe is the worst film in the history of film, Movie 43. This is a man who has never had a profitable film in his career and for some strange reason the brain-trust at Marvel decides to put him at the helm of of this franchise (Guardians 2 has already been announced) and give him a budget of $170 million dollars (that's again minus the massive marketing budget). I say all that not to disparage Mr. Gunn, on the contrary. I said that so if you see Guardians and you walk out of it feeling unsure if it was good or not, take heart and know that the reason you feel that uncertainty is because he's a relative newcomer to directing these types of movies. By types I mean scope and potentially profitable.

Guardians stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Starlord. He's a thief that appears to be a bumbling fool and yet has the skills to locate and steal a force so destructive that people barely notice. Michael Rooker (once again working with Mr. Gunn) plays Yondu, the being that kidnaps Peter from earth when he was a young boy. Zoe Saldana, the one time professional wrestler Dave Bautista, Glenn Close, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, and Lee Pace round out the human portion of the cast. Vin Diesel and Bradly Cooper voice Groot and Rocket Racoon respectively. It's a decent cast but to say I was less than enthused to see this movie would just about hit the nail on the head. However, thanks to some unforeseen drama in my life, I needed an escape to take my mind off my issues for an hour or two. While Guardians gave me some of what I needed this movie is nothing special. Now as I have already stated, I have never read the comics this movie is based on so I went in with extremely low expectations. They were barely met. Guardians is a movie that seems like it wants you to take it seriously one minute only to go out of its way to let you know it's all tongue in cheek the next. It's that inconsistency that harms the product.

Now I wasn't going to bring up the racial component to this movie but fuck it, here it is. The bad guy in the film, Ronan is a blue shaded evil villian bent on destroying the galaxy. His "henchwomen" are the green Gamora and the multishaded blue Nebula, the adopted daughters of Thanos, who is purple. Ronan particularly wants to destroy the planet Xandar for whatever reason. Glenn Close aka Nova Prime resides on the lovely earth looking Xandar which is populated by white and pink people, with a very light smattering of Black people (I saw three in total). In order to save the white people of Xandar, the beings of color follow the white man as they attempt to destroy Ronan, the villainous being of color. When I left the theater something gnawed at me and it wasn't until I was on my way home did this realization come to me. I know some will roll their eyes at this and others will say, "hey, that's how the comic was." Exactly, that's the point. Further enforcing the stereotype that people of color cannot survive unless they follow the white guy who will save the day from the big bad villain of color. Maybe this was done on an unconscious level, maybe not, who's to say? All I know is that the underlying racial theme of this movie is subversive, subliminal, and destructive. After all, little Black and brown kids read comics and go to the movies too.

There wasn't much I liked about this movie and I highly recommend you skip this film. Unless of course you like spending money on mindless entertainment with corrosive subliminal racial undertones and significant plot holes. In that case, enjoy, and I'll see you at the theater.