llpayton-1 Reviews

Iron Chef America: The Series (2004–2018)

Has none of the charm of the original

[15 April 2005]

Like many imports into American television Iron Chef America is a pathetic shadow of the original. Mark Dacascos, as The Chairman, is the nephew of the Japan's Chairman Kaga but exhibits not a soupcon of the self-mocking humor of his uncle. Dacascos is a lauded martial arts expert but in this context his posturing is hokey in the extreme. Alton Brown, though interesting on Good Eats, as sole commentator for Iron Chef America is boring as is the roving reporter. The two commentators, Kenji Fukui and Yukio Hattori, along with the guest commentators/judges are key to the original show's appeal. The snappy rapport of Fukuisan, Doc, and many of the frequent guests entertains as they make astute observations, lame jokes, and bicker affably. The Japanese Iron Chefs are entertaining, have engaging personalities, and actually take a hand in the cooking of every dish themselves. Yes, they have assistants but that is just what they do, assist, not the preparation of entire dishes. As for the American impostors, Flay displays symptoms of smugness and arrogance and Batalli is sweet but unappealing. Morimoto is still a great Iron Chef but he should have followed Wolfgang Puck's lead and gotten out of this debacle while he still had his dignity. I understand that in a restaurant preparing the food is not their role but this is a cooking competition and every dish should be basically prepared by the chef, but these American Iron Chefs do not even take a hand in many of the dishes which are expertly prepared by their talented pastry chefs, sous-chefs and/or assistants. These talented underlings and some of the guest competitors are the only redeeming quality this show offers and they do some amazing things. The Japanese judges have relatively unbiased palates and are always polite even as they are voicing their criticisms. They also express themselves beautifully and savor the nuances of the dishes. Food Network should choose judges who have a more cosmopolitan palate. The job of a critic is to be discerning not to be mean-spirited and sarcastic. You can call a spade a spade without calling it a darned old shovel. Brutal honesty is not a virtue I care to see promoted. Much of the personality of the Japanese import must be credited to the actors who performed the voice overs. They must have had a ball in taping as the dialogue is frequently ridiculous, but ridiculously entertaining!

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Michael Caine is the best Scrooge on film

[10/10 · 10 September 2004]

Michael Caine gives the character of Scrooge sly humor that I've not seen in any other performance. Instead of raging his hatred of Christmas he remarks on it with keen sarcasm. Dickens uses humor and irony throughout his writings and I truly enjoyed seeing it brought out in this movie. Maybe making it more amazing is that Mr. Caine gives this performance opposite the whole troupe of The Muppets. I am also impressed with how much of the content of the original story is included with the most important passages remaining intact. The Ghost of Christmas past is so true to Dickens' description, more so than any other version I've seen. Also interesting is that this character is mostly computer generated in a world of puppets. The Ghost of Christmas Present is completely infectious with the spirit of Christmas and I love the way he expands to fill any space he inhabits and gets smaller to relate to Scrooge. I find all of the songs enjoyable and high quality, the production numbers entertaining. This movie is also the best of its kind showing Ebenezer truly in love with Belle and the sadness of their parting. The Muppets are matched well to Dickens' characters and the performers are at their very best in this film.

I love the cast and production of the film starring Reginald Owen from 1938 and it sets the bar for all other movies to be judged by. Alastair Sim (1951)is the scariest Scrooge and the movie has a very dark quality. I love Albert Finney as Scrooge in the 1970 musical, and look forward to "Thank You Very Much" being sung as the they parade through the streets and dance on the coffin. George C. Scott gives the character pathos and shows how truly haunted Scrooge is, not only by the ghosts but by his own past, while his conversion is subtle and believable. I watch each one of them portray Dickens' most famous character every year during the holidays and, in my opinion, Caine is simply the best Scrooge ever.

note: I purposely left Patrick Stewart's 1999 portrayal of Scrooge off the list, it doesn't rate being included among the greats.