This Souffle Does Not Rise
1. No Reservations—no relation to Anthony Bourdain’s food and travel show—may be the blandest most flavorless movie ever made about chefs. When the real estate (Bleecker St, the apartment of Catherine Zeta Jones’s character) is more interesting than the characters, the movie’s in trouble.
2. When a movie contains five or six montages set to music, that’s just laziness.
3. What is the point of casting Zeta Jones as a sexless careerist? If she’s looking to broaden her range, this is not the way to go.
4. Aren’t we all over that “I chose a career over propagating the species” female guilt? Why can’t a strong female just be a strong female without being made to feel inadequate?
5. Aaron Eckhart has the most cringe-inducing role as a caricature of the sensitive male. His “exuberance” is supposed to be charming, but it’s just embarrassing. I only hope his career survives his overacting while singing Nessun Dorma in orange Crocs.
6. Nessun Dorma is to opera what My Way is to karaoke joints.
7. At least Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) plays a recognizable child.
8. This is the second day in a row that I heard myself say, “We should’ve watched Resident Evil 3.”
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 28th, 2007 at 22:37
great review! good thing i opted not to see the film!
September 28th, 2007 at 23:02
Thanks for the heads up! It looked like a stupid flick just from the trailers alone…
September 28th, 2007 at 23:41
Ignore the storyline(if you can find it) of RE:Extinction. Try to imagine Kim, Gerald and the characters in No Reservations got infected by the T virus. Enjoy.
September 29th, 2007 at 00:01
Given the bad review, i’d still want to watch it because of Abigail Breslin. She’s just unforgettable in Little Miss Sunshine. Far from Dakota Fanning though.
I just hate to predict this. But i don’t want her growing up like some Britney or whoever slutty celebrity we know who used to be a child star. But somehow, i see the aura. God bless the child.
September 29th, 2007 at 00:10
I’m sure it would’ve done you better to opt into watching the original German movie it was based on–Mostly Martha. I wonder why Hollywood manages to turn compelling foreign independent films into whitebread wonders?
September 29th, 2007 at 04:28
“…should’ve watched Resident Evil 3.”
That or ‘Joshua’. The former features evil as an infection, the latter evil as genius.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:51
Speaking of cooking+movies….I think Ratatouille is more interesting.
September 29th, 2007 at 18:50
Just watch RE3: Extinction the next time you get the chance. Don’t look at other movies, just watch Resident Evil.
October 1st, 2007 at 09:34
the trailer looked corny and aaron eckhart looked oa. thanks for the heads up.
October 2nd, 2007 at 18:37
What is the point (also) of casting brilliant NYC (but Irish-born) actor Brian F. O’Byrne in the thankless neighbor role? They paid for rib-eye when it was just a hamburger role. (Sorry! Metaphor abuse…)