Terry-25 Reviews

Ousama no restoran (1995– )

Delicious comedy with extra helpings of Japanese culture

[10/10 · 18 January 2005]

This wonderful ensemble comedy concerns the fall and rebirth of a once-great French restaurant in Tokyo. The chef-owner of the restaurant dies and leaves the place under the management of his neer-do-well son. However, the terms of the will stipulate that the restaurant will be owned by his other son - a young man with some business experience but no clue about owning a restaurant. In the first episode, the young owner visits the restaurant incognito in the company of an enigmatic former waiter played wonderfully by Koshiro Matsumoto. The restaurant is almost completely empty, and the selection of food is determined by which dishes the chef is comfortable in making. As episodes progress, Matsumoto steadily guides the establishment back to what it was before. The best episode concerns the effects of a magic coin on the night where a new signature dish is being created. Great acting, great writing and unusually good music add up to a drama that deserves many sequels.

The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)

Got a one because there was no option for a 0

[1/10 · 25 July 2001]

I see a number of people felt the same way I did about this movie. The $4.88 I paid for this DVD was overpriced by about $4.78. I must have seen worse movies than this - films that were offensive or overly violent. However, for plain embarrassing ineptitude, this one takes the cake. It makes "Attack of the killer tomatoes" look like Ibsen in comparison. I'm reaching for new superlatives of bad, but I fall short. If you have a chance to see this movie, take a walk instead.

Picking Up the Pieces (2000)

If you have an opportunity to see this - don't

[2/10 · 15 March 2001]

I got lured into renting this movie on the basis of a good cast (Woody Allen, Cheech Marin, David Schwimmer), and the fact that it was directed by the filmmaker who did "Like Water for Chocolate." I was not terribly bothered by the lampooning of the Catholic religion. My main problem with the film is that it was poorly written, poorly acted, uninteresting and unfunny. Halfway through I was musing, "Which has more laughs - this movie or the trip to the dentist I'll make tomorrow?" I guessed that it would be the dentist, and this was overwhelmingly true. This gets a 2 on my scale - saved from an even worse fate by a few mildly amusing scenes with Woody.