Chef: Another of the Great Food Movies

Movie Review: Chef (2014)
Version: Netflix

One of my favorite film writer-producers is Jon Favreau. As my wife says, "He has a real feel for people." He does. Favreau has a feel for what audiences like and for what make characters interesting. As a writer, Favreau also has a flare for the humorous and the emotional. All this came together in the making of Chef, a heavily character driven story about a successful gourmet chef in California who finds himself in a flame war on Twitter with a leading restaurant critic, which causes him to lose his job and his professional dignity in front of the whole world. 

Jon Favreau is also a terrific actor and he plays the male lead as Chef Casper in this movie that he also directs, playing opposite Sofia Vergara as his ex-wife, Inez, and Emjay Anthony as his son, Percy. There is also a particularly intense scene in the restaurant in which he plays opposite Oliver Platt as the critic Ramsey Michel and an unpleasant confrontation with the owner of the restaurant, Riva, played by a usually affable Dustin Hoffman. Favreau is his most amazing with his kitchen staff, including souse chef Martin played by John Laguizama, and in scenes with Laguizama and Anthony teaming together in a taco truck while traveling from Miami to California with many scenic stops in between, trying to save his career and his relationship with his son. You should see Favreau chop vegetables, butcher a pig, sauté in a pan, like the real thing! He's also great at plating food. As a creative director, he made Chef another of the great food movies!

There are high points and low points in this film. But the highs well overcome the lows, and the lows are the subject matter not the techniques. You will breeze through this film with the amazing cinematography and wonderful acting and what is a great script. I dare you to not like this film! It's a plain joy to watch with Favreau leading affable characters who make you like watching.

Simone LaFray and the Chocolatier's Ball

Book Review: Simone LaFray and the Chocolatier's Ball by S.P. O'Farrell
Version: Amazon Prime Kindle-free ebook

Don’t be late to the ball -- to reading Simone LaFray and the Chocolatier’s Ball by fine storyteller S.P. O’Farrell. It’s an enthralling YA suspense tale for young and older readers alike.

Simone is a twelve-year-old sleuth in training, following in her mother’s footsteps to becoming a master spy. While mother is away “on business” outside of Paris, Simone helps her father run the family’s famous chocolate patisserie and watch over her sister Mia, a dancer who loves being the center of attention, really the opposite of Simone. Mentoring Simone is Elaine, head of the French spy ministry, and ready to spring a trap on everyone is "The Red Fox", a notorious art thief, who has an eye on a major piece of art in a Paris museum, Simone, and her father’s busy shoppe. Simone spends 150 clever pages trying to catch "La Volope Rossa" who is here, there, and everywhere, while trying to help her father escape the scowls of his penniwise accountant-cousin always going on about the miserable financial shape of the otherwise most desirable patisserie of Paris, while also helping him avoid the clutches of a ruthless chocolate magnate intent on securing his book of secret family recipes. Then they are stolen in the dark of night, plunging the patisserie into disarray -- and the only answer is crafting a winning entry in the infamous Chocolatier's Ball of Paris.

How all this plays out is the well imagined story in Simone LaFray and the Chocolatier’s Ball. For as with all tales of suspense, nothing is as it seems which plays out until the final suspenseful page.

As much as this is a great story, it is also a well crafted tale. You will find it easy to read but hard to put down, with it's breezy chase scenes and lost umbrellas and suspenseful reveals. O'Farrell engages your senses in each stroll or run or stationary view of the streets and districts of Paris, and there is the busyness of the patisserie with its many delectable smells and chaotic sounds. You've got to be there, surrounded by chocolate.

Now I'm looking forward to O'Farrell's next novel.

Windsong: A Great Tale of Adventure Across the Atlantic by Sail

Book Review: Windsong by Shane Granger

Version: ebook by author

I've written about the harrowing tales in the life of Shane Granger before in The Vega Adventures. In it, he survived a category 5 cyclone (hurricane) and the 2004 tsunami that hit Sumatra and surrounding lands and islands and discovered a mission in life: delivering life-saving medical and educational supplies to the spice islands off Indonesia. Now Granger is using his amazing storytelling skills to tell about some of his other life-changing adventures. His newest book is Windsong.

You will join Granger as a down-on-his-fortunes young man walking a quiet beach in West Africa who stumbles on a half buried hull. Curiosity gets the better of him and before he knows it, he is consumed with a desire to figure out why a sailboat is half buried on a tropical beach, and he becomes almost obsessed with uncovering the truth. The locals think he is crazy, but many come to admire his determination and soon they begin to aid his quest until one day he has unburied the hull to find a decent old ship that's actually worth salvaging. 

And so begins the tale of a man and what will become dreams of restoring an old sailboat to its former glory and a sailing jaunt across the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way he will meet an old boat builder, a young boat repairman, several willing accomplices with supplies their owners won't miss, a couple of lovely ladies, amiable sailors willing to share their food, and one large great white shark down on its luck. 

Granger will restore the sailboat and have several run ins with nature before he actually launches Windsong westward, where nature will do its best to delay landfall in Brazil. But this is ultimately a story of the journey to get there. And Granger will learn a lot about himself as a sailor and a man along that journey. His story is full surprises and interesting twists about a trip that should have taken a couple of weeks but lasted more than a month. And then when he got there, there were even more surprises you will never guess, including a hilarious encounter with a pope.

It seems Granger never makes a port without finding an amazing woman he falls madly in love with, and one that causes him troubles he can do well enough without, thank you. He barely escapes one in West Africa only to meet two in Brazil, one who risks his life and freedom. 

Windsong is available as an ebook only through Granger's website, Vega 1892, where sales are for fundraising to support his mission to bring medical and educational supplies to the remote spice islands off Indonesia and the Banda Sea. Also on the ebook page is The Vega Adventures and soon, The Sahara Adventure. All great adventure reads.

The Dyslexia Code: There Is No More Compassion -- Do It!

Book Review: The Dyslexia Code: There Is No More Compassion -- Do It! by Karl de Leeuw
Version: Free ebook from the author

Dyslexia is often portrayed as a problem to be fixed. Karl de Leeuw looks at it differently, as a gift, as he explains in The Dyslexia Code: There Is No More Compassion -- Do It! In 80 well-researched, well-written pages, de Leeuw shows, tells, and explores why those with dyslexia just think differently and that difference makes them better thinkers, better problem explorers, and better problem solvers.

Most of the hundreds if not thousands of books on dyslexia are written by academics and health professionals, who look at the condition from the outside. De Leeuw sees it from the inside, having dyslexia himself and having a daughter with dyslexia. So he understands what it's like to see the world as a dyslexic. They don't see it 2-dimensionally as most of easy-readers do. They see it more 3-dimensionally as most difficulty-with-reading do, which means they are visualizers and listeners who process information differently. And, de Leeuw explains, that accounts for some of the greatest geniuses and prolific patent-holders being dyslexics. Instead of "fixing" dyslexics, we should be helping dyslexics flourish with their talents, he suggests.

Thus, in The Dyslexia Code de Leeuw spends time and space talking about the condition, how to test for it, how to educate those with it, and how to plan for a future where people with dyslexia can use those talents instead of stifling them. He discusses resources. So, if you know someone with dyslexia, or suspect they have dyslexia, or if you have it yourself, you should read The Dyslexia Code and make sure others do, too. It's readable, understandable, and relatable. You won't even need a medical dictionary to get through it.

I must confess to being confused by the subtitle, "There Is No More Compassion -- Do It!" This book shows lots of compassion, and de Leeuw gives you plenty of room and route to "do it!" My advice as a reader is to focus on the "Code" part of the title, because this book decodes the code that dyslexia can be to help you understand and address it if it's in your life. Then make the most of life with your "gift".

Call of the Wild: Man and Dog Find Escape Through Nature

Movie Review: Call of the Wild (2020)
Version: Amazon Prime rental

Call of the Wild is a film as big as all the outdoors and as intimate as the heart of the family dog. We witness this in this amazing film based on the book of the same name by Jack London.

This is an ambitious telling of the tale done in a little over an hour and a half. In it, we meet a rambunctious family mutt named Buck, owned by a county judge whom only the judge likes but only a town scoundrel dares snare to sell to some anonymous newspaper ad seeing dogs to help tame the Alaska wilderness. And so, Buck finds himself on a train ride north from his comfortable California home to a whole new life in the snow-filled gold fields of the Yukon. Buck learns a whole new way of living, including how to walk on ice, how to navigate in snow, and how to mush on a dog sled as part of a scraggly team led by likable French Canadian postman Perrault (Omar Sy). It's finding his snow legs and helping Perrault meet the challenge of making a delivery schedule that Buck finds the call of the wild inherent in his soul. Midway through the delivery schedule, Perrault's contract is canceled and Buck and the team are put up for sale. It's now that Buck meets an old acquaintance, John Thornton (Harrison Ford), an old man who has escaped the misfortunes of life to live out fate in the wild country. He rescues Buck from a dangerous fortune hunter (Dan Stevens) but with the understanding Buck is free to go his own way any time. A friendship is bonded nonetheless and the two set off on a journey of discovery that leads Thornton to find the richness of life and Buck the keys to legacy from his own personal call to the wild.

This film isn't about Harrison Ford's character -- he is very much a supporting actor in this role. And yet Call of the Wild would very much not be the film it is without him in that role. It defines his legacy as a lead actor even so. I would see this movie just to see him in this role. At the same time, the main character, Buck, isn't even an actor. This is probably a SPOILER, so read with caution, but Buck is done all in CGI. Imagine all the things Buck must do to make this character come to life and the effort required to train a dog to do them all, and get the expressions on its face. In a sense that's a cheat, making Ford's work to carry this film even more weighty. To our fortune, it all works, brilliantly.

The setting for most of this film, the wild of Alaska and the Yukon, the wild of nature, is also brilliant. It calls to you as it calls to Thornton and especially to Buck. This would be even more so on the large screen in a theater, of course, but being as COVID-19 interrupted theater screenings, we will just have to imagine that.

The book Call of the Wild was written in 1903 but London's story translates well thematically and technically in 2020. We can all appreciate the breath of fresh air it represents cinematically and metaphorically in these complicated, claustrophobic times. I suggest you gather the family around the big screen at home this weekend and enjoy Call of the Wild and escape the wild ride we are on for at least and hour and a half (and some change).

Knives Out: In the Tradition of an Agatha Christie Who Done It, But Better!

Movie Review: Knives Out (2019)
Version: Amazon Prime rental

In the mood for a good mystery? In the style of an Agatha Christie who-done-it? With an ensemble of strange characters all of whom are prime suspects but only one surely must of done it? A ring of clueless policemen but one immensely smart privately consulting detective with at least one irritating quirk who can't quite figure out the crime-defining question but is always on the cusp of finding the answer? Oh, and the victim -- the irascible old man everyone has a reason to kill! Well, that's Knives Out in a nutshell!

It features the usual cast of notables. Christopher Plummer is the victim, one famous mystery writer Harlan Thrombey. Did he commit suicide or was he killed by any of a number of family members or family staff in a position and with a reason to slit his throat? There is daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband Richard Drysdale (Don Johnson), and ungrateful grandson Ransom (Chris Evans). They've been living off the old man's fortune too long, to his disappointment. Son Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon) ran the old man's publishing house but was never allowed to run with his instincts and always felt held back in his father's shadow. His son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) was a spoiled family muckraker who enjoyed inciting a family squabble. Granddaughter Meg Thrombey (Katherine Langford) was the apple of her grandfather's eye, dutifully sending a six-figure check to cover her college tuition, until he discovered her mother Joni (Toni Collette) was double billing the accountant and stealing from dear old granddad. That leaves housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson) who was discovered with a blackmail note and nurse Marta (Ana de Arnas) who was the last person to see Harlan alive. Who could solve this difficult crime? Why, the privately consulting detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) with the irritating Southern gentlemanliness. And so he goes after the clues and that one remaining question he can't quite solve till the very end.

Now, watching a Brit like Craig handle the Southern drawl and charm with such adeptness, after years of watching him play steely-eyed James Bond, was a revelation of his acting skills. He totally took on that role and won the character. He vied with Jamie Lee Curtis, with her verve and sparkle, for steeling the show. It should be noted that Frank Oz of Muppets fame came out of whole cloth to play a human attorney.

The only thing I can compare this film to is Murder on the Orient Express or perhaps Clue, mysteries with large ensemble casts and celebrity roles. It has that look and feel. And so you cannot take it seriously as a mystery, although the conclusion is a surprise. Still, it was a fun story and worth a watch. Jamie Lee Curtis is always fun to watch, Daniel Craig is interesting in this new role, Chris Evans gets to stretch his creative legs in this role, and Toni Collette is delicious in her character. Christopher Plummer commands the screen. Just for their performances, it's worth the watch.

So here's the gist of the story. Harlan Thrombey is a famous mystery writer. His family returns to the "ancestral home" to celebrate his 85th birthday. The next morning his private nurse discovers he has died and investigating police surmise Harlan has committed suicide. But private detective Benoit Blanc, anonymously hired by a mysterious source, attends a follow-up interview of those present that evening, and he has questions. He discovers each of the family members had reason to want Harlan Thrombey dead. Grandson Ransom had left the party early that night but returns late to answer questions and so also becomes one of the suspects. Through flashbacks we learn truths about some of the testimony and about other events that give context to occurrences that night, including an important role nurse Marta played. Even up to the end, all isn't as it seems. Of course! In the last moment, Benoit Blanc discovers the answer to his final question and the culprit is revealed.

As is always so with these ensemble casts, everyone is not just a suspect but every clue is a misdirect. And the job of the viewer is to listen intently without getting snookered. Knives Out is probably one of the better written who-done-its. I think you will agree. Perhaps when it fades to credits, you will find that's the real reveal at the end.

Dying of the Light: Cage and Yelchin at Their Best

Movie Review: Dying of the Light (2014)

Version: HBO on Demand

Dying of the Light will never rate up there with any of the great suspense or spy films of either the 20th or 21st centuries, but on a cool weekday evening, it suffices. Nicolas Cage as a broken down CIA agent whose life has been spent recouping his frittered away legacy career and Anton Yelchin as an up-and-coming agent backing his mentor are probably the best part of the film. Cage can play a pretty fired up down-cast character full of angst and frustration and he does so with verve and gusto in this story. Yelchin is always the fresh young face never sure of his footing but willing to give it his all -- he fills this role well here. Would that the script had given them more room to actually act.

In this not all bad, not all good story, Cage plays Evan Lake, a tired and struggling CIA agent with a degenerative brain condition that is slowly but inexorably wiping away his mental skills just as he has discovered his arch terrorist enemy has resurfaced after 22 years. This is Lake's one last chance to bring Muhammad Banir (Alexander Karim) to justice or perhaps just exact revenge on him, one last chance before he himself loses his cognitive abilities and the CIA loses interest. Yelchin plays Milton Schultz, an inexperienced but learning CIA agent who has spent his fledgling career tailing Lake and learning the ropes, and now he notices something's wrong and wants to help, but Lake won't be straight with him. As Lake slowly opens up to Schultz about his problem and his discovery, he decides Schultz may be more than a young pup who won't give up his bone, he may be helpful in getting to Banir, if he doesn't get in the way and get himself hurt.

The CIA for its part isn't convinced Banir even exists and doesn't want to invest assets to go after him. And they worry Lake is on a wild chase for nothing. They also worry Lake is a danger to himself and others, so they try to sideline him. But Lake goes rogue, taking Schultz along, however reluctantly. And so off on the chase they go to Eastern Europe and the Middle East in search of a dangerous man no one is sure is really there.

There is little remarkable about the plot or the settings, nor really the side characters, to make this film interesting. This is really a two-man film. The bad guys are stereotyped lifeless mannequins placed around conveniently to be killed as scripted. Injuries are just bothers, although the bad guys are always quickly taken out and on to the next. Lake and Schultz shrug off wounds, although Lake's rib wound looks pretty serious.

I won't go on. Cage and Yelchin, who was at this point mid-stride in what would be a growing career cut short by a strange vehicle accident in real life, are on top of their game. They are what saved this film. If you're tired of network game shows during the week, give Dying of the Light a watch and enjoy Cage and Yelchin at their best.