Chef 2014

I was really surprised by the charming experience this movie provided.

The plot was a bit cliche towards the end, but I can't fault it too much. It's obvious this was meant to be a feel-good movie and it succeeds magnifically in doing exactly that. The rhythm of the story is always very upbeat and I really liked that. Even the drama and the low point in the protagonist's story are not dragged for too long, the movie just moves along with a satisfying pace.

Whoever chose the music that accompanies the whole film did an exceptionally good job. The song reflects the mood and the place of what's on screen in that moment. Chapeau!

The cast had a tangible chemistry. From the minor roles such as Johansson and Hoffman to more prominent ones like Leguizamo, everyone was really good. Favreau shined as Carl, showing the passion a chef feels for the food he cooks.

Now, the food. The food is the real co-protagonist. You may think the movie is about Carl and his son. It's not. It's about Carl and his food. Carl can't be happy if he's not happy with what he cooks as a chef. Everything else comes later. As soon as he gains his gastronomic freedom, he also gains a bond with his son, through the food.
The cinematography of the cooking scenes was on point. It can only be described as food porn. Not only that, but they managed to capture the controlled chaos that is any cooking business.

Overall, great cast, really nice cinematography, excellent soundtrack, the story could have been better. 8/10
Cooking pasta while Scarlett Johansson makes sexy eyes at you? 10/10

After directing the three blockbusters (Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens) Jon Favreau comes back with this lovely and simple story called Chef. I wasn't sure what to expect from it but something told me that I would have a good time watching it. It's a delightful comedy/drama with absolutely delicious moments, literally! We can definitely feel that this film was a project developed with a lot of passion from Jon Favreau and what I love more about it, is its "Indie" feeling.

Jon Favreau directed, acted and wrote this story about Chef Carl Casper who is a very respected Chef that works at a well known restaurant in L.A. When he received a bad review from a food critic (what leaded to other disastrous situations) he gets fired. That made in reconsider some decisions in his life and he starts thinking about taking another course in his life. He ends up in Miami with a food truck by the name of "El Jefe" serving a lot of cuban dishes.

One thing that I liked to see was how Favreau wanted to portray a friendly relationship between a divorced couple, that is a rare thing to see in a film. The relationship between father and son is also very affective and warm to see. The way he develops Carl make us care about the character and that's another bonus on the film. This is a film that felt real although it has some predictable moments.

The performances were very good! Jon Favreau has a great and very honest performance, he was great to see that he is actually a pretty good actor and he was able to connect with the audience. The supporting roles are very entertaining and funny. Sofía Vergara doing something different than usual, a more calm and down to earth woman was good to see. The little boy that plays their son was also very good. The rest of the cast, John Leguizamo, Bobby Canavale, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt were all good on their roles. Robert Downey Jr.'s five minutes on screen were absolutely wonderful. His scenes were very funny, that guy is awesome! Dustin Hoffman has very few scenes on screen too but it's always great to see him.

It celebrates the love for food and that is passed through the screen. All of the scenes involving cooking are shot in an gorgeous way! At those scenes is all about the food, it's the food that's important and that is a very cool aspect of the film because with that Favreau was able to turn all of the dishes and the ingredients into characters of the film too.

Chef spreads a lot of charm and heart all over the place! You will left the theater with a feel good vibe and I bet that by the end of it you will be hungry like I was!!

Let me tell you a story. It is a love story actually. There were two lovers: Apple and Twitter, and they loved each other so much that they made a movie for everyone to see how great they are. And how well they fit together...

No, but seriously, this 100 minute twitter advertisement is just terrible. This is a movie about a talented chef, who is a real a*hole as a father. He gets upset about a review written about him. Also, his (another a*hole) boss (you can't get a decent ad without hiring a big star like Dustin Hoffman) that doesn't let him be artistic with the food. So he goes indie and starts his own "food truck".

There are some good lines here and there but nothing special with the script. Overall, the acting, the writing and the directing are very generic.

I really hate being like the critic in the movie, but this movie was done to promote stuff and make you feel good about it, it wasn't art or even a decent flick. I stopped watching it after 50 minutes. If you can watch something else, better do it.

This is my humble opinion, sorry if there were mistakes, English isn't my primary language.