27 October 2018

Weekend Cooking: Review: Burnt (movie)

Review of Burnt (the movie)What do get when you mix a chef's story with actors Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl, and Uma Thurman? The movie Burnt (directed by John Wells, 2015).

This is the story of Adam Jones, a two-star Michelin chef in Paris who lost it all thanks to drugs, sex, and a uber-diva attitude. After hitting rock bottom and letting down his mentor and friends, Adam hides out in New Orleans as an oyster shucker, while cleaning up his act.

We learn all that through the backstory. Burnt opens as Adam leaves NOLA for London, hoping, with the help of his old friends, to find a restaurant that will allow him to earn that third Michelin star.

I liked the premise of Burnt, and Bradley Cooper is certainly easy on the eyes. Adam Jones is one of the world's best chefs and has an artist's temperament to match. He's determined to take advantage of his second chance, staying focused on his career and hiring the best kitchen staff to help him. Besides proving himself to his backers and to the critics, he has to contend with the dirty laundry of his past, including drug dealers and pissed-off fellow chefs.

While there were plenty of pretty plates of food and a developing relationship with his second-in-command, Helene (Miller), I found it hard to connect with Adam's struggle to rise out his self-made ashes. First, I was not wowed by the kitchen scenes and didn't sense Adam's love of food, flavors, and the perfect dish. Second, although we get a few teasers of Helene's story (she has an adorable daughter, for example), we don't learn enough about her to root for her relationship with Adam.

Burnt was nicely filmed, and I appreciated the use of creative lighting in a few scenes. Unfortunately, good acting and artsy restaurant meals weren't enough to make this a Michelin-starred movie for me. Burnt is, however, a pleasant enough way to spend a evening. Here's the trailer:


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Weekend Cooking hosted by www.BethFishReads.comWeekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

NOTE: Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr.
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10 comments:

Mae Travels 10/27/18, 6:22 AM  

"Burnt" in your interesting and enjoyable summary sounds fair but not wonderful -- you didn't make me want to watch it. But I don't think you were trying to convince me to watch it. Amusing review, though!

I'm binging on the BBC version of the Cormoran Strike tales this weekend. I don't know if you have reviewed them (they've been on Cinemax since June for US consumption).

Best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

rhapsodyinbooks 10/27/18, 6:24 AM  

Good point about the character just not conveying a love of food!

bermudaonion 10/27/18, 7:14 AM  

I had hoped to see this in the theater but never did and now I'm glad for that. Maybe we'll check it out on streaming.

Tina 10/27/18, 7:46 AM  

Somehow I thought about Bourdain a little when reading this. I haven’t seen it but Bradley Cooper AND a foodie movie, I’m in!

Jackie McGuinness 10/27/18, 9:44 AM  

I have to check this out because it sounds really familiar.

gluten Free A_Z Blog 10/27/18, 10:52 AM  

I love watching any movie with Bradley Cooper- I'm going to look into it!

jama 10/27/18, 11:13 AM  

Thanks for featuring "Burnt." Sorry to hear it didn't wow you, but as you say, BC is easy on the eyes, so maybe I'll take a chance on it . . . :)

Les in Oregon 10/27/18, 11:25 AM  

Too bad this wasn't more impressive, especially with such a wonderful cast. Still, it might be worthwhile on a rainy Sunday afternoon later this winter. Thanks for the heads-up!

Heidenkind 10/29/18, 1:26 AM  

I was also disappointed in Burnt, especially considering how great Cooper was in Kitchen Confidential (which is awesome, btw).

Nancy Andres at Colors 4 Health 11/2/18, 8:48 PM  

Thanks so much for hosting this fun Linky party. Enjoyed the flick, as I enjoyed the behind the scenes scene of a restaurant and Bradley Cooper's Smile. Nancy Andres, author of “Colors of Joy: A Woman’s Guide for Self-Discovery, Balance, and Bliss” and blogger at Colors 4 Health

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