THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
When Hassan (Manish Dayal) and his family, led by Papa (Om Puri), move to a quaint village in the South of France with the grand plan of opening an Indian restaurant in the picturesque countryside, they are undeterred by the fact that only 100 feet opposite stands a Michelin starred classical French eatery. However upon encountering the icy proprietress, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), the Kadam family realises they may have bitten off more than they can chew. Outraged by the new arrivals, Madame Mallory is determined to have their business shut down. As cultures clash and food flies, an all-out war escalates between the two establishments.
This quaint little comedy may have been made by some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and the director of Choclat but the only thing mouth watering about this film is the food it delivers throughout. Do not go see this film on an empty stomach or you’ll leave the cinema with the munchies.
See if you liked: The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP
Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) has a car accident leading her to blot out any memory of her accident. Now, several years later, she finds her life radically different, making her question if anyone really knows what is going on and what may have happened to her.
This British mystery thriller is another film which has been adapted from a bestselling novel of the same name; does it do the book justice? With a cast of Kidman, Firth and Mark Strong you would hope so. Fast paced with a great eerie setting, stylish and intelligent, this may stick with you for a while.
See if you liked: Black Swan, The Butterfly Effect
LIFE OF CRIME
Ordell Robbie (Mos Def) and Louis Gara (John Hawkes) hit it off in prison, where they were both serving time for grand theft auto. Now that they’re out, they’re joining forces for one big score. The ploy is to kidnap Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston), the wife of a wealthy Detroit developer and hold her for ransom. Everything is going to plan, with one hitch; the lowlife husband doesn’t want his wife back. So now it’s time for Plan B and the opportunity to make a real killing.
Here we go again another film adaptation, this time from the novel The Switch, An American crime comedy. Not a terrible film, being heavily character driven but storyline is pretty weak with no suspense you would expect from a crime film. It is however a whole ball of fun.
See if you liked: Ruthless People, Out of Sight.
SEX TAPE
Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) are a couple who have sex at every chance they can get. After having two children, they have fewer opportunities to have sex. While the children are away one night, they try to reignite their sex life. After Jay struggles to get an erection, Annie suggests making a sex tape. They film themselves having sex in every position listed in The Joy of Sex. After Annie asks Jay to delete the tape, he ends up inadvertently synching the video to several iPads the couple had given away over time. After failing to get it out off the cloud, they set out to get back all of the gifted iPads, leading to a series of awkward encounters and close calls.
Unless your massive Diaz fan who wants to see her half naked, this film is a complete bore. It’s just way too eager to please but it does have a few laugh-out-loud moments. To be honest I can see the cinemas being full of man just eager to get there jollies perving over Diaz.
See if you liked: The Other Woman, Bad Teacher.
MY PICK OF THE WEEK: BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP.
