Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Be Kind, Please Rewind


He’s a Guacamole Diplomat. He's the...

Vidiot 

Week of November 23, 2018

My favourite dish is Americanized ethnic food. First up...


Crazy Rich Asians

The easiest way to distinguish between rich and poor Asians is the wealthy ones wear gold-plated surgical masks.

Mind you, as this romantic-comedy points out, well-heeled Asians can also be extremely rude.

Rachel (Constance Wu) agrees to attend her boyfriend Nick’s (Henry Golding) friend’s wedding in Singapore. During their visit, Rachel is introduced to Nick’s well-to-do relatives (Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong), whom she gets along with swimmingly. However, the matriarch of the family (Michelle Yeoh) feels that Rachel is not the right fit for her son, while others accuse her of being a gold-digger.

Although it does shatter stereotypes with its all-Asian cast and enamors with the pageantry associated with Asian nuptials, this aptly cast adaptation of the 2013 best-seller does little to differentiate itself from the typical Caucasian rom-com formula.

In fact, the only difference between Asian and Caucasian families is that the former doesn’t banish their elders.  Yellow Light


Little Italy

The single greatest contribution Italian cuisine has made to Western civilization is heartburn. 

However, this romantic-comedy maintains that pizza is a much better offering than indigestion.

When her work visa expires, culinary student Nikki (Emma Roberts) must return to Toronto. While her family (Alyssa Milano, Adam Ferrara) is happy to see her, their pizza business has been suffering ever since they had a spat with their partner and his son, Leo (Hayden Christensen).

As the former friends feud, Leo and Nikki form a relationship that will force both parties to make amends, and update their menus.

Brimming with bad Italian stereotypes and even worse acting, this American/Canadian co-production is better left in the oven. Although it borrows from Romeo and Juliet, the leads lack the chemistry to dethrone the star-crossed lovers.

Incidentally, if Leo plans on marrying Nikki he’s going to have to get a divorce from his mamma first.  Red Light


Outlaw King

The key to being a great Scottish King is making sure your Queen’s woollen fleece is sheared every summer.

However, the ruler in this drama has broken from tradition and married a human.

In the wake of William Wallace’s execution, Scottish King Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) plots a rebellion against the monarchy. But when an Englishman overhears his plans, Robert has no choice but to slay them. This murderous act incites England to declare Robert, his new wife (Florence Pugh) and their allies (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tony Curran) outlaws.

While this historical Netflix film plays fast-and-loose with the facts, the overall experience is a visceral one backed by gory battle scenes, stirring speeches and convincing portrayals. In fact, it stands as the best feature the streaming service has produced thus far.

However, it would’ve been easier to get the British out of Scotland by staging a Robert Burns poetry reading.  Green Light

***My Verona***


Pizza My Heart

While it’s not widely known, Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America was initially a pizza delivery.

And while that factoid has been lost to history, this comedy assures America’s obsession with pizza hasn’t.

In fair Verona, New Jersey is where we lay our scene: two families, The Prestolanis (Michael Badalucco, Natalija Nogulich) and The Montebellos (Dan Hedaya, Gina Hecht), war with each other over who sells the best pie in town. But their long-standing feud is about to be turned on its head when Gina. (Shiri Appleby) falls in love with her sworn enemy Joe. (Eyal Podell). The lovers must now bring peace to their pizzerias.

ABC Family’s modern retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, this 2005 movie-of-the-week is a goofy but guilty pleasure that tones down the calamity of the play and gives way to zaniness.

Lastly, when ordering from a Romeo and Juliet themed pizzeria, get them to hold the poison.

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