The January doldrums are starting to get shown to the door and it looks like February just might have a few things to get me into the theater – if the weather holds here in New England. There are a couple of things I’m intending to make my way out for, such as Birds of Prey and hopefully The Photograph. I’m also kind of weirdly excited to see The Call of the Wild even if the trailer made clear its every manipulation of emotion. There may be one or two others that I’m keen on but don’t remember unless I see a trailer for it.
One film I’d picked up recently on the cheap that I’d seen before was Chef. I’ve talked before about my enjoyment of the Chef Show that was spawned by this film but I just love the film. It’s got its element of fun in Jon Favreau doing some small side gig with friends like Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson from his Marvel side as they have small roles in it but get some decent billing. It’s mostly about Favreau and his bond with his son as played by Emjay Anthony as Favreau’s character has lost his way with everything long after a divorce, a restaurant job that has him just producing his greatest hits, and a dead love life. The shift to getting a food truck and getting back to basics is a familiar storyline and it’s a bit of male bonding journey material with John Leguizamo joining along as well, making for a really good dynamic between the three as a road trip film. It connects well with his ex as well in Sofia Vergara and delivers some good laughs, some strong heart, but also this intense desire to eat every single thing they put on the screen for food. There’s a lot to like with this film and it charms me every single time and makes me wish I could cook better.
A lot of my daytime movie viewing was taken up by Impeachment broadcasts this week but I snuck in a classic in order to shake the cobwebs loose with Shaun of the Dead. Honestly, so much has been written about this film and what it does over the years that there’s very little left to say. But it is a delight and after finally starting to watched Spaced as well, it has a little extra connection for since fans of that show were involved in this film as well and you can see some carryover bits. It’s still my favorite of this “trilogy” of films.
Another film I slid in during a break while looking for something to jam to, Interstella 5555 continues to be a delight with plenty of replay value. A lot of that is simply because it is music more than film in a way but it has a fun story that plays out to the music. I’ve long been a Daft Punk fan and combining their stuff with the Matsumoto work and style is something that I still find to be transcendent. And I have such fond memories of when my kids were little and this would play on the TV that the combination of the music and the colors – plus the repetition – would make it so easy for them to dance to even as toddlers.
