storybandit
Joined Jan 2002
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges2
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews6
storybandit's rating
I rented this movie hoping for something along the lines of Fried Green Tomatoes. You know, the kind of movie that flips back and forth between an individual's relationship with an older person in the present day, and the stories that older person tells about his/her youth.
That's not what I got.
There's this wonderful use of black and photography at the beginning and ending of the film, which really sets off the son's interaction with his mother in the present day, and his telling of the story of his parent's early love. When the film moves to Lou and Zhao in their youth, the screen is filled with the most brilliant colors and scenery one could hope to see in a movie.
And there's lots of it - beautiful scenery, I mean.
The film begins and ends in black and white. There isn't much to the interaction between the son, his mother, and what remains of their home town. His father has died and he is there to help with the funeral. His mother has very clear ideas about how it should be done and the son makes sure that those things are taken care of...it's really just that simple.
However, in between the black and white is a long romantic story about a man and woman who fall in love by staring at one another by gazing longingly at one another across great expanses of gorgeous scenery.
At first, I was intrigued. The concept of making food for the men building the school house and placing it in the same bowl every day, hoping that this really cute guy would notice the bowl was...well...endearing.
But, then, it started to get difficult for me to believe. Perhaps I'm simply not a romantic at heart, or perhaps this is nothing more than proof that my upbringing in the USA makes it impossible for me to understand some of the films I rent, but I really started to see Zhao as self destructive, obsessive compulsive, stubborn, and codependent.
About 2/3s of the way through, I had to turn it off. However, the next evening I turned it back on and finished watching the film. Really, it's an interesting story and beautifully done. Just a lot more dreamy romance then I tend to prefer.
That's not what I got.
There's this wonderful use of black and photography at the beginning and ending of the film, which really sets off the son's interaction with his mother in the present day, and his telling of the story of his parent's early love. When the film moves to Lou and Zhao in their youth, the screen is filled with the most brilliant colors and scenery one could hope to see in a movie.
And there's lots of it - beautiful scenery, I mean.
The film begins and ends in black and white. There isn't much to the interaction between the son, his mother, and what remains of their home town. His father has died and he is there to help with the funeral. His mother has very clear ideas about how it should be done and the son makes sure that those things are taken care of...it's really just that simple.
However, in between the black and white is a long romantic story about a man and woman who fall in love by staring at one another by gazing longingly at one another across great expanses of gorgeous scenery.
At first, I was intrigued. The concept of making food for the men building the school house and placing it in the same bowl every day, hoping that this really cute guy would notice the bowl was...well...endearing.
But, then, it started to get difficult for me to believe. Perhaps I'm simply not a romantic at heart, or perhaps this is nothing more than proof that my upbringing in the USA makes it impossible for me to understand some of the films I rent, but I really started to see Zhao as self destructive, obsessive compulsive, stubborn, and codependent.
About 2/3s of the way through, I had to turn it off. However, the next evening I turned it back on and finished watching the film. Really, it's an interesting story and beautifully done. Just a lot more dreamy romance then I tend to prefer.
What's Cooking is a wonderful look at four very different Thanksgivings. All four families: 1) live in LA, 2) have issues that come out (in a very messy way) over the dinner table, and 3) have problems making/serving/eating the food being served.
It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it tickled my thought processes because there are some things about family gatherings that just seem to be the same everywhere.
It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it tickled my thought processes because there are some things about family gatherings that just seem to be the same everywhere.
A friend of mine and I decided to get together and watch a video. Her son was in bed and we were just hanging out for the evening. Since the family received a DVD player for the holidays, we decided to try the thing out and watch one their three DVDs. That means that Space Cowboys won out over The Secret of Nihm and Stargate.
On the whole, I enjoyed the film. It's not unlike Cocoon in the sense that 4 old guys find themselves training with a bunch of young kids - and somehow manage to keep up. The concept is strong enough to keep the plot going, but not exactly believable: a Russian 'satellite' is about to crash into the earth, and these former NASA pilots (who never made it as astronauts) are the only men (still living) who have the antiquated technical knowledge needed to fix the darned thing. So, the hotheaded leader of the bunch strikes up a deal: send us into space and we'll fix it for you.
NASA wants them to train the younger astronauts and watch the events from the ground. The former NASA pilots insist that it's a hands on job and they have to do it themselves. OK, that part's pretty believable. So are the number of characters who they run into at NASA with some kind of tie to people these guys knew back in their glory days - most of those people are dead now, but their friends and family are still working at NASA.
Enough plot description. Personally, I liked the movie because it made me laugh. The winter-spring romance that gets thrown into the middle of it all is annoying and unnecessary, but the arguments and ancient grudges are not.
The fact that the retirees manage to save the day after one of the younger NASA astronauts manages to mess things up (in a BIG way), made the movie fun. It was a lot like one of those kids films where the adults can't seem to stop tripping over their feet and the kids are the only one's who can figure out why the ghosts keep coming back and things keep disappearing.
It's sort of like a science fiction version of Scooby Doo with the Mystery Van being replaced by the Space Shuttle and four senior citizens (plus two young astronauts) taking the place of Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, Daphne, and Fred.
That darned Russian and his pal at NASA would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those darned kids!
Er, uh...old guys.
On the whole, I enjoyed the film. It's not unlike Cocoon in the sense that 4 old guys find themselves training with a bunch of young kids - and somehow manage to keep up. The concept is strong enough to keep the plot going, but not exactly believable: a Russian 'satellite' is about to crash into the earth, and these former NASA pilots (who never made it as astronauts) are the only men (still living) who have the antiquated technical knowledge needed to fix the darned thing. So, the hotheaded leader of the bunch strikes up a deal: send us into space and we'll fix it for you.
NASA wants them to train the younger astronauts and watch the events from the ground. The former NASA pilots insist that it's a hands on job and they have to do it themselves. OK, that part's pretty believable. So are the number of characters who they run into at NASA with some kind of tie to people these guys knew back in their glory days - most of those people are dead now, but their friends and family are still working at NASA.
Enough plot description. Personally, I liked the movie because it made me laugh. The winter-spring romance that gets thrown into the middle of it all is annoying and unnecessary, but the arguments and ancient grudges are not.
The fact that the retirees manage to save the day after one of the younger NASA astronauts manages to mess things up (in a BIG way), made the movie fun. It was a lot like one of those kids films where the adults can't seem to stop tripping over their feet and the kids are the only one's who can figure out why the ghosts keep coming back and things keep disappearing.
It's sort of like a science fiction version of Scooby Doo with the Mystery Van being replaced by the Space Shuttle and four senior citizens (plus two young astronauts) taking the place of Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, Daphne, and Fred.
That darned Russian and his pal at NASA would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those darned kids!
Er, uh...old guys.