Beautiful Creatures (2013)

I know what you are thinking and that is I am have seen so many Zoey Deutch (Good Kids) films this year and while you may be right I have made it my mission to see as many as I can. For today's film, we cruised over to IMDB.com and we checked out the 2013 film Beautiful Creatures which was adapted for the screen and directed by Richard LaGravenese (The Last Five Years) and is based off of the novel of the same name by Kami Garcia. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Ethan Wate, your everyday small South Carolina town kid who dreams of one day leaving the town of Gaitlin to see the world outside. Plans change for Ethan when the mysterious Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) shows up and stirs things up to the point that Ethan discovers that his town actually holds some very dark secrets that make it anything, but boring. The film also stars Deutch as Emily, Jeremy Irons (Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice) as Macon Ravenwood, Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder) as Amma, Emmy Rossum (The Day After Tomorrow) as Ridley Duchannes, Thomas Mann (The Stanford Prison Experiment) as Link, Emma Thompson (Burnt) as Mavis Lincoln/Sarafine, Kyle Gallner (The Haunting In Connecticut) as Larkin, Tiffany Boone (The Following) as Savannah Snow, and Pruitt Taylor Vince (Constantine) as Mr. Lee.

This was a time in Hollywood when every studio was looking for the next teen book franchise to turn into a film dynasty like they had with Twilight, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, etc. Unfortunately, no one was interested in some witches (or casters) with southern drawls because no other film was ever made and I could be wrong about that. I do not know exactly how many books were written in the series, but this seems like a thank the heavens moment for no other film. I am not saying that it was a terrible film because it had some cool moments in it, but it wasn't exactly that great either. The whole entire film felt like a witch version of Romeo and Juliet where Juliet finds out that she is a witch who doesn't know how she is going to turn when she hits 16. Is she going to be a good witch or a bad evil witch? Then she has to deal with the fact that Romeo is no one special because he is a mortal and he has the potential to screw things up so that the dark side ends up choosing her. The whole film is a back and forth argument of you shouldn't be with him versus the star crossed lovers realizing that they should be together. The only real difference is how the events play out and what the end result is which I loved the final confrontation sequence at the end of the film even though the build up was annoying. I am going to give the film an B-/C+ for a final grade because it's somewhere in there.

Burnt (2015)

One of the most stressful jobs in the world has to be that of a chef because you are dealing with what people consume. If someone is to get sick from eating your food then you as a chef will be no more. It’s as simple as that, but why am I talking about food right now? Well the reason is that the film I chose for today is called Burnt and it stars Bradley Cooper (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as two star Michelin chef Adam Jones. Adam was one of the top cooks in Paris until he threw it all away with addiction. Now some years later, he has returned to London to try and reclaim his integrity and reputation as the best of the best to get a coveted third star, but that road will not be easy for him. The film also stars Sienna Miller (The Lost City Of Z) as Helene, Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War) as Tony, Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick: Chapter 2) as Max, Omar Sy (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) as Michel, Sam Keeley (In The Heart Of The Sea) as David, Emma Thompson (Sense And Sensibility) as Dr. Rosshilde, Uma Thurman (Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Simone Forth, Alicia Vikander (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) as Anne Marie, Lily James (Pride And Prejudice And Zombies) as Sara, Matthew Rhys (The Americans) as Montgomery Reece, and the film was directed by John Wells (August: Osage County).

There was one thing that this film definitely taught me when it was over and that is I don't think I could handle the pressures of being a chef or even to work with one. Every job field has the type of boss that Bradley Cooper's character is, but man he was intense especially considering that he is chasing perfection. I love the fact that it was him narrating in the beginning telling you his journey to redemption after he squandered his reputation in Paris because it builds what the journey of the film is going to be about which is what is more valuable? You being an absolute a-hole in the kitchen who is driving his staff to the brink of insanity because the Michelin star is the only acceptance you've ever known? Or working as a team and building the sense of family so that when the third star does come, it feels like you have done it as a whole? That is what Bradley Cooper's character has to battle throughout the film because the only thing he strives for is perfection, but at what cost? Now the real question moving forward is whether or not this is a good food film or not? Do you learn anything interesting about food? No not really because this is a film more focused on the idea of rockstar chefs like Gordon Ramsey. Unfortunately, Cooper isn't as convincing of an asshole as Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen, but he tries his best which must count for something. The subplots in the film feel like they struggle to truly be heard because the film is too focused on the main plot. At one point, he makes out with Sienna Miller, bad guys show up, beat him up, and it's never really addressed again? Nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed watching it and I do think it's worth a viewing so I am going to go ahead and give the film an B- for a final grade.