Unnecessary Goodness

Expanded thoughts on the movie Chef and what it says about food and the prodigality of God:

Jon Favreau plays Carl Caspar, a chef who quits his job at a well-to-do LA restaurant after a heated exchange with its owner. Desperate to make ends meet without sacrificing his creative integrity, Caspar starts a food truck. The rest is movie history.

With smart and frequently hilarious writing, a snazzy soundtrack, and a talented cast (special hat tip to John Leguizamo as Caspar’s buddy Martin), the fun factor is already high with this one. But since I can never leave well enough alone, allow me, if only for a few paragraphs, to wax ineloquent about one of the things that put Chef a step above mere entertainment for me.

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Chef

This past weekend, some friends and I watched Jon Favreau’s Chef (2014). Perhaps I’ll attempt a more in-depth review at a later date when work deadlines aren’t breathing down my neck; for now, just know it is a fantastic film. Behind all the drool-worthy food stuffs and toe-tapping, finger-snapping music, there’s a story about family with some meaningful things to say about fathers and sons. It’s funny, wise, and refreshingly non-Disneyesque. Queue it up after the kids are in bed. You’ll thank me later.

Baba Yaga is Back

In which Neo goes after the Russians over a puppy dog. Yes, I really did just say that. Go check out my review of John Wick, now up on MovieByte:

Once upon a time, before he retired, the Russians called him Baba Yaga. The Boogeyman. This and this alone should tell you that John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is not a guy you want to mess with.

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2014 Year In Review: Movies

1. Interstellar 2014
2. Captain America: The Winter Solider 2014
3. Gone Baby Gone 2007
4. The Hunt 2013
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 2014
6. Fury 2014
7. About Time 2013
8. Edge of Tomorrow 2014
9. Lone Survivor 2014
10. Guardians of the Galaxy 2014

Honorable Mentions:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2004
A Few Good Men 1997
John Wick 2014
Tommy Boy 1995
Hot Rod 2007

A Good Man

“My name is Barry Allen and I’m the fastest man alive. A friend recently gave me the idea for a new name and something tells me it’s gonna catch on…”

Barring a handful of shows I’ve followed with more or less regularity over the years (The Walking Dead, Parks & Recreation, Fringe), I don’t watch much TV, and I don’t pay close attention when networks air their latest and greatest. But there’s one new show I’m honestly happy about. That show is CW’s The Flash.

It’s DC territory from now on, so if watching a man get struck by lightning and turn into a speedster isn’t your thing, it isn’t your thing. For the rest of us, The Flash has all the ingredients of sly, good-hearted comic book fun.

It’s brand-spanking-new, of course, so I might eat those words in a few months’ time, but I’m choosing to be optimistic. Here’s why: Barry Allen is a good man.

He’s good in much the same way that Steve Rogers is good, because with or without his powers, he’s ready to be a hero – one with a moral compass that points very stubbornly north. If chivalry is dead, Barry didn’t get the memo. He seems determined to make us believe in knights again.

A good man is hard to find. But when you do, it’s nothing short of inspiring. He even inspired me to take a swipe at the old keyboard again, and given how busy this season of life is, that’s saying a lot.