Netflix Movie World

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Movies I Watched in February

This month I continued on my Chris Pine-athon as well as watched a few more recent movies that I never got around to seeing (I like to wait until the library orders it so I can watch it free). Here are the movies I watched in February in order of release year (films with an * have been viewed previously):

Merrily We Live (1938) - Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, Billie Burke, Bonita Granville
Blues in the Night (1941) - Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, Elia Kazan
The Sea Wolf (1941) - Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield
Madame Bovary (1949) - Jennifer Jones, Van Heflin, Louis Jourdan
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) - Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, S.Z. Sakall
The Silver Chalice (1954) - Virginia Mayo, Paul Newman, Pier Angeli
Ransom! (1956) - Glenn Ford & Donna Reed, Leslie Nielsen
The Big Country (1958) - Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives
*The Pink Panther (1964) - Peter Sellers, David Niven, Capuchine, Robert Wagner
Luv (1967) - Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk
Wait Until Dark (1967) - Audrey Hepburn
Ice Station Zebra (1968) - Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine
U-571 (2000) - Mathew McConaughey, Bill Paxton
Man On Fire (2004) - Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning
Dream House (2011) - Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz
Z for Zachariah (2015) - Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine
The Huntsman: Winter's War (201) - Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Chris Hemsworth
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot (I probably would have stopped this partway through but I wanted to see Gadot as Wonder Woman because her stand-alone movie comes out this June... co-starring Chris Pine ;) Watch the trailer here - it's set during WWI.)

Favorite Film of the Month: Hands down Merrily We Live (thanks to Caftan Woman's post!). I laughed so much! You can currently watch a (blurry) copy of the movie on YouTube.

Least Favorite: Actually there were quite a few films this month that didn't really impress me, either because they were just too long (Madame Bovary, The Big Country, Ice Station Zebra, Batman v Superman), or not my kind of movie (Blues in the Night, Luv). I haven't had a month this bad in a long time.

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Chef's Table Season 3 Netflix Series Review

Chef's Table (2015-)
Season 3 (2017)

Watch Chef's Table Season 3 on Netflix
Created by: David Gelb
Starring: Jeong Kwan, Vladimir Mukhin, Nancy Silverton, Ivan Orkin, Tim Raue, Virgilio Martinez
Rating: TV-MA

Plot:
This series examines the lives and work of world renowned chefs.
Season 3 features Jeong Kwan of South Korea, Vladimir Mukhin of Russia, Nancy Silverton of California, Ivan Orkin of New York, Tim Raue of Germany, and Virgilio Martinez of Peru.

Verdict:
I enjoyed season two, and season three is more of the same. I don't watch cooking shows and am not a cooking fanatic, so this show is not really aimed at me, but I can certainly appreciate the artistry and devotion to a craft. I liked episode four, about Ivan Ramen, the most.
This is a unique show, and even if your prefer scripted shows, this offers intriguing stories. Any show that focuses on artists grabs my attention, and these chefs are just that.
Watch it.

Review
If you've seen this show before it's more of the same, looking at the backgrounds and inspirations of the world's greatest chefs. It can be fascinating, though I liked season two just a bit more (read my season 2 review). That was my first experience with a show like this. Season two was more focused on artistry, not just the food but even the restaurant, while season three is more about the quality of the good. If I had watched this season first, I'd probably like it over the second.

Episode one may be the wildest story with a woman that ran off at a young age and later became a monk who cooks. Her fame is amazing in that she didn't try to become famous, like most chefs do. Many of the other chefs traveled the world for inspiration and exposure and Jeong Kwan did neither. Episode three is the other side of fame, Nancy Silverton becomes great and establishes franchises only to become disillusioned and let go of it all. She decides to focus on just one kitchen.

Episode four is my favorite because it's the food I'd most like to try. I knew nothing past instant ramen noodles, and Ivan Orkin provides an education. This episode also single handedly earned this season a TV-MA rating with chef Ivan's constant cursing.

Episode six is the most creative with Virgilio Martinez laying out courses based on the altitude in which the food is found in Peru. Episode five was my least favorite. Tim Raue the typical big ego chef that knows it but doesn't care.

All of these chefs are artists that devote their lives to their craft. Their tenacity is inspiring, especially in an occupation you wouldn't necessarily associate with art. These are meals truly hand crafted from the ingredients to the presentation.

Ingobernable Season 1 Netflix Series Trailer

Ingobernable (2017-)
Season 1 - 15 episodes (2017)

Ingobernable Season 1 premieres Friday March 24

In this Spanish language series, when Mexico's president Diego Nava compromises his ideals, his wife Emilia Urquiza (Kate del Castillo) leaves him. When he's found dead she's the main suspect, already presumed guilty and now on the run.

Sand Castle Netflix Movie Trailer

Sand Castle (2017)

Sand Castle premieres Friday April 21

Set in 2003 Iraq during the second Gulf War, Private Matt Ocre must help a village of locals where anger and resentment fester. This stars Henry Cavill, Nicholas Hoult, and Tommy Flanagan. Matt is a machine gunner that must save a village in Iraq.