Let's Eat: light meal instead of a feast

Mediocre. That is how I would want to summarize Chapman To's directorial debut: Let's Eat. I really appreciate his decision to based his movie in Malaysia, and his effort in enrolling HK, Singaporean and local star in his movie, but obviously it is not enough to lift this dish to another level.


The story is a simple love in the kitchen story, central around the main chef in Ah Yong's Cafe (obviously it Colliseum in KL which are, in real life, famous for its steak and chops), who specialize in Hainan chicken rice. His rigid use of top quality ingredient earned him loyal customers but in return, the restaurant earning can barely support its workers. Enter the owner's daughter, fresh from oversea to make administrative changes to the cafe. The bulk of the show tells the clash between the two, with one fixed on test-and-tried way of cooking while the other insists on changes to boost the profit. When things go south due to an online food critic, both have to settle their difference and come together to enter a cooking competition in order to save the restaurant.




Run of the mill CNY movie storyline, I would say. No surprise there, I can even safely say that everyone expected that the 2 leads will end up together at the end of the show, even though their age gap is so obvious. Though it is far from a bad movie, it is rather mundane and no breakthrough at all. The script is average with a few moments of humour, largely supplied by one half of FAMA duo, C Kwan. The direction is good, considering it is Chapman To's debut, but there are few sequence felt tedious and stretchy. The cooking sequence, however, is actually nicely shot; I actually felt that To could actually cook based on the screenshot. The pace, however, felt draggy at time, with nothing much happening in between. Probably the movie had to make space for the advertiser, with non related mentions of MyMotor and Ruyi& Lyn.


CNY had been forgiving on many bad Chinese movies. Let's Eat is far from being a bad movie, it is a rather good mediocre movie. However, it will face stiff competition at the boxoffice. For a meaningful and polished film, I would definitely go for Ola Bola. For the crowds who wanted humour, I've heard From Vegas to Macau is funny enough albeit storyline that borders to challenge our intelligence. Probably I will wait for Stephen Chow's Mermaid. On the other hand, Chapman To had shown so much potential on the director's chair, I cant wait for his next work.

Ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: light offering, but the cooking sequence is so nicely done that they makes me hungry..

Ola Bola: I would want to believe again....

Chiu Keng Guan has a tough act to follow. After a good start with WooHoo and Great Day, he actually made a masterpiece in "the  Journey". Although all of these are basically CNY movies, where everyone has low tolerance for bad movie, I am sure everyone will agree with me that Chiu's work is one of the better locally produce movies and yet marketable. Journey further strengthened his legacy being the highest grossing movie in Malaysia before the record was broken by Polis Evo. I personally love Journey very much as it is so right in so many way. Therefore, it is unavoidable to compare between Journey and Ola Bola.


Reading reviews and watching how the movie was made help me to appreciate the movie even more. Ola Bola tells about the local football team when they qualify for the Olympics in 1980. The events are real, and even some of the references are correct but the characters are made up. The story focus on a few of the players, the struggle they had behind the field, and ultimately the final game for qualification of Olympics. Chiu really put in LOTS of effort in this movie. From the minor details to the multiple 80's references, you can really believe we are there with him in that age where everyone seems to have long hair.



Chiu aims big, but in the early part of the movie, at times, it felt artificial. The story about Tauke and Muthu were rushed, without giving us time to know the characters. Rahman's broadcaster character was not given much background for us to appreciate. It felt like eating instant noodle. It may work for the hunger but lack the substance of a full meal. This is where Ola Bola fails; in Journey, the story is very focus on the 2 leads, their clash of culture and ultimately, acceptance of diversity. We were given time from the first frame to know them well, fell for them and actually cry for them. In Ola Bola, all these expected to be done in the first 10 minutes, when we see Tauke and Muthu struggle on their daily work while juggling with the passion to play football. Initially I do felt that it was a mistake, but after finishing the show, I understand why he rushed the story. The film actually picked up when the final football match starts. And boy, the match was filmed so well that even though we knew Malaysia will beat Korea (come on, that is not a spoiler at all!), our heart skip a beat when Ali miss the goal every time. Not exaggerating, it is that well captured. And at the last goal, the editing is sooooooo well, that I was so moved that I shared Marianne's tear when she meet tauke in the present day (watch it to know what I mean). The only drawback, I felt, was the script. At certain points (plural...), it was too preachy; much like Jack Neo Singaporean movie that at times, felt like government public announcement. We all know that the story wanted us to understand unity, that we all are bound together for the same goal despite our diversity, but I prefer it to be conveyed subtlety (like in Journey) than repeated so many times explicitly.




Will this break the box office records? I would want to believe so... but there is a catch. Journey is a light comedy drama which will pull in a crowd. Ola Bola is played more like a dramatic sports movie with only a few light moments. It would not be easy but Chiu is known to make miracle.
Will the movie impact us as a country? I would want to believe  also.....

ratings: 4 half poink~!
comments: I admit I was bias. But the despite feeling bit letdown in the first half, the second half actually make it probably the best movie of the CNY lots.