“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a movie that is on the subject of cooking, but with a hint of culture. The two competing cultures are the French and the Indian. Both have some great knowledge of how to be top-quality when it comes to being a chef, but there are some disagreements along the way. If you want to see for yourself which food you in any particular group, go to a French restaurant and an Indian restaurant and see what fits for you. Follow Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) in her restaurant or follow Hassan (Manish Dayal) in his restaurant and think to yourself what food seems captivating. “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is exquisite in food-quality, and vague with restrictions among the restaurant business.

Note: I am going to keep this review short.

The Plot: An Indian Family which is the Kadam family falls with Madame Mallory, proprietress of a well-known French restaurant. The Kadam family opens their own nearby restaurant, which results in undeniable chemistry and this influences Madame to take Hassan under her wing to work with him to become a professional chef.

Hassan, which serves as a talented chef, has actually got guts and would do what it takes become recognized by his cooking abilities. The only thing that is in his way is his strict and self-centered father Papa (Om Puri).

The movie drags a bit in the beginning but gets somewhat better. Hassan realizes that Madam helped him become a pro with cooking to work in higher-up businesses but there is a conflict with this. Does he want to cook for his family in the culture where he feels he belongs? Or does he just want to be at the top of his game all the time in a culture that is not his whatsoever?

Overall, this is a decent movie, but does it seem to be repeating the concept of the recent film “Chef” a little bit? I think it may be in small amounts. It is the subject matter that is creative but is the new trend in grabbing viewers attention when it comes to the subject of food.

I enjoyed this movie on a small chunk of it. The beginning was interesting, the middle tended to drag, but the ending (I am not going to give it away) the right ending but just was not revolutionary that much.

Therefore, three stars.

Director Ang Lee delivers a twisted, yet creative film that is incredibly artsy, but worth a viewing. It is “The Ice Storm.” Many twisted parents and kids of all sorts that make awful judgment and there are withdrawals by them. It stars Kevin Kline (as Ben Hood), Joan Allen (as Elena Hood), Tobey Maguire (as Paul Hood), Christina Ricci (as Wendy Hood), Sigourney Weaver (as Janey Carver), Jamey Sheridan (as Jim Carver), Elijah Wood (as Mikey Carver), and Adam Hann-Byrd (as Sandy Carver).

The plot: the year is 1973 in suburban Connecticut. There are two middle class families and that is the Hood family and the Carver family. Both families are fairly wealthy and luxurious. Both of the families are also extremely sneaky. The parents and their children participate in casual sex. Ben has a hidden relationship with Janey; Elena has a hidden relationship with Jim; and the teen Wendy has got a hidden relationship wit both Mikey and Sandy. The behavior of everyone does not only impair the judgment of everyone, but it spirals out everyone’s life to be out of control.

This film is an art-house film that is a must-see. I have watched and actually own a ton of art-house films that are spectacle, but “The Ice Storm” definitely takes the cake for being one of the most spectacular ones around. The chemistry between everyone in this drama is powerful and triumphant. You cannot help but wonder why it is titled “The Ice Storm.”

“The only big fight we’ve had in years is about whether to go back into couples therapy,” Ben says at some point in the film. Which may be one of the reasons for the obscene behavior. His wife Elena knows he is a liar and sees it as she says, “That sounds vaguely like an insult.”

The film moves forward. Both families still make harsh judgment. Then something tragic happens at a certain moment in the movie. Their judgment is like a routine, set to happen rarely between the parents, where it seems the children have tendencies to be a bit more horrid with the choices they make.

Lee is capable of enhancing the experience through the scenery with “The Ice Storm.” The color in the film is faded to have a hint of melancholy to the film. There is abundance of greenery in multiple exterior shots that makes viewers have the idea that the subject matter of “The Ice Storm” is not pleasant. Even though that may be the case, this is not a film to make people feel down. “It was 1973, and the climate was changing” (main tagline and noted on imdb.com).

Does the climate cause more issues? Is their any reconciliation? Or does the weather keep getting worse and does everything collide to sadness. Find out with “The Ice Storm”

Note: There is a Criterion Edition (For those of you who do not know what criterion is, it is an American video-distribution company that sells “important classic and contemporary films” to film aficionados”). Therefore if any of you are into art-house films or collect films, I would say give the Criterion edition of it a chance and go more beyond the film with its bonus features and interviews that are worth while to help us experience these art-house films as an art form. Thank you for reading.

“Let’s be Cops” Review:

“Let’s be Cops” is mannered to the point of absurdity. The film has some laughing moments, but it is not that funny. To describe its absurdity is that it is way to similar to other cop comedies. The movie is all preposterous—fake cops, and a lacking storyline. The film’s climax is the fake cops in a massive shoot-out; from how the film was advertised, the climax did not add up to me.

The movie was written and directed by Luke Greenfield, whose “The Animal” and “Something Borrowed” showed a similar taste in ridiculousness. Only thing though, the plots were quirky, and the stars in them were decent. “Let’s Be Cops” is a quirky idea and not worth it.

Two pals Ryan and Justin (Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr.) decide to go to a costume party dressed up as police officers. Surprisingly, everyone assumes they are real police officers. This makes them decide to run with being fake police officers. When they do this, these two idiots get tangled in a real life web of mobsters; they must put their fake badges on the line.

The fact that “Let’s be Cops” actually is a disaster explains how lame the film is. Audiences that enjoy cop-comedies and watch “Let’s be Cops” will expect themselves to be laughing non-stop, and I was not laughing that much.

Is there any evidence why this movie is not worth it? No. Does the characters have much chemistry? No. Is it worth it? If you are ok with wasting your money on a crappy comedy than go for it.