Aculinary competition becomes a battleground as a famous Cantonese street-food chef goes up against his Michelin-starred, classically trained rival. Genre: Drama. Original Language: Chinese
Cook Up A Storm is a Lunar New Year comedy, inspired by Nicholas Tse’s own TV Show Chef Nic’. Released a little late into the season, it features a Chinese-Korean ensemble cast with familiar faces to both fans of Hong Kong film productions as well as K-Pop fans. But with a premise as cut-and-dried as it sounds, it’s probably more likely to appeal to fans of the aforementioned familiar faces. Chinese name ć†łæˆ˜éŁŸç„ž Director Raymond Yip Screenplay Wen Jun Genre Comedy Running time 13600 Recommended for Fans of the cast members, those looking for mindless visual entertainment NOT recommended for Anyone on a diet, or expecting a cinematic masterpiece Starring Nicholas Tse as Sky Ko, Jung Yong-hwa as Paul Ahn, Tiffany Tang as Uni, Michelle Bai as Mayo, You Ge as Seven, Anthony Wong as Sky Ko’s father Plot outline Sky Ko Nicholas Tse, a Cantonese cook with a chip on his shoulder, meets his match in the form of Paul Ahn Jung Yong-hwa, a Korean-Chinese three-star Michelin chef. The former caters to local tastes at his popular time-honoured traditional shop, while Paul’s new Western-influenced restaurant aims to innovate. The problem is Paul’s restaurant, Stellar, opens right in front of Sky’s little shop. This takes away a chunk of Sky’s formerly thriving business. Naturally, Sky despises everything about Paul. That’s the least of Sky’s troubles. His dad, a world famous chef, left him when he was only a little boy, and claimed that Sky would never be a good cook just because he couldn’t cut some lousy vegetable. However, these rivals inevitably end up working together in an East meets West culinary fusion. Review Cook Up A Storm isn’t bad, but it isn’t good either. It’s definitely a visual treat, with its extreme close-ups of spices sizzling in the kitchen, and the chefs’ adept movements as they swiftly debone and toss a whole fillet around. But it really stops there. The film progresses and ends as predictably as expected. If and a big if you don’t expect too much from it, you might find yourself enjoying the show. Screenplay I would warn for spoilers but like I said, it’s not really that hard to foresee how this story ends. The screenplay had its moments, but the film didn’t really make me laugh out loud. I guess that in itself is kind of damning for a comedy. It made me smile in certain parts, for sure, but perhaps its only memorable comedic moment was when Paul punched his former boss, and the latter moaned about his destroyed nose job, likely a little gag at South Korea as the plastic surgery capital of the world. That did make me wish that they’d further explored Paul’s mixed Chinese and Korean background. I would wager that it might’ve made the film a little bit more interesting. Sky is perhaps an easier to love character, but Paul’s characterisation was a lost potential. I’m guessing it’s because the screenwriter wanted audiences to dislike Paul’s coldness just as much as Sky did. We do find out more about Paul towards the end of the film after his assistant backstabbed him, but by the time that happened, there was very little room for more character development left. Cinematography The campy slow motion was ridiculous enough to tease a few snorts out of me at first, but it was kind of overdone, even for a comedy. But I did enjoy the use of slow-motion for its gratuitous food porn shots. Here, I must emphasise on the importance of avoiding this film if you’re hungry or on a strict diet. Seriously. Cook Up A Storm gives Food Network shows a run for their money. If anything, the film is partly a rhapsody of food and I can dig that. Overall, the camerawork is probably one of the better parts of the film, even with its campy factor. I ended up feeling hungry by the end of the whole spectacle, but it was pretty worth it. Dramatic Delivery Most of the principal cast members are silver screen veterans. However, the film’s formulaic screenplay doesn’t really do any of them any favours. But I did appreciate the chemistry between most of the actors. The little frisson of energy between Nicholas Tse and Yonghwa was pretty fun to watch. Of course, it helps a lot that they’re both really good-looking, I’m not going to lie. What I didn’t like in the slightest was Sky’s friends’ attempts at slapstick comedy. More often than not, it was borderline painful to watch, cringeworthy, and terribly unfunny. They were unneeded. Final Thoughts Cook Up A Storm is pretty much as formulaic and predictable as it sounds, but I did enjoy it a little bit. I do like Nicholas Tse’s face a lot, so that would probably explain why. Would I watch it again? Yeah, I wouldn’t mind watching it again if any of my local TV channels aired it and I had time to spare. You’d probably enjoy it a little bit too if you’re into Food Network level of pornography, and appreciate the cast members’ faces. CookUp a Storm (2017) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterJun 8, 2023, 1004 AM ETCloseKevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. You can follow him via Twitter Vikings released Dalvin Cook on Friday, ending the running back's six-year tenure in had made one more effort to trade Cook, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday, before processing his Miami Dolphins are expected to have an interest in signing Cook, sources told Schefter. Cook can sign with any team after 401 ET who turns 28 in August, was set to take up $ million in cap space for 2023 and was due to earn $11 million if he spent the season with the Vikings. Those are big numbers for an aging running back who surpassed 1,500 touches in his career last Vikings owe Cook $2 million, but by releasing him after June 1, they save $9 million in cap space while taking on $ million in dead money on their 2023 cap."I hold Dalvin in the highest regard and am grateful for his contributions on and off the field," coach Kevin O'Connell said in a statement. "Dalvin is a tough, dynamic player and a respected leader by his teammates, which was evident by his multiple seasons as a team captain. As a finalist for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, Dalvin's approach to the game and his commitment to sportsmanship is clearly respected across the league. We appreciate Dalvin's positivity, energy and leadership and will be pulling for him in the future."Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel declined to comment about Cook's availability when asked Thursday and complimented his current group of running backs, which includes veterans Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Myles Gaskin and rookie Devon Achane."Overall, very happy with the way they've practiced, very happy with their competitive camaraderie," McDaniel said. "They are all trying to be the best, but they're not doing it in spite of each other and they recognize that each one of them can help them get better, so it's been a cool camp for them."The long-rumored split seemed certain after the Vikings re-signed Cook's longtime backup, Alexander Mattison, to a contract that included $ million in full guarantees over the next few seasons. Given multiple opportunities after that move, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah refused to speculate on whether Cook would be on the Vikings' 2023 roster."Dalvin has been an incredible leader for this organization for years, and I quickly noticed how respected he is among everyone in our building," Adofo-Mensah said in a statement. "I'm fortunate to have been around such an enjoyable, talented and hardworking person like him over the last year."Mattison is expected to take over as the team's primary tailback, with 2022 backups Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler - and possibly rookie DeWayne McBride - competing for the No. 2 role. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said last month during organized team activities that Mattison has been demonstrating "that all-three-down kind of ownership that he's been capable of for a long time."Cook, a second-round draft pick in 2017, struggled to stay on the field for much of the early part of his career in Minnesota. His rookie season ended after four games because of a torn ACL, and an assortment of other injuries cost him between two and five games in each of the next four seasons. A chronic shoulder injury ultimately forced him to wear a harness for long stretches of his nevertheless managed to produce four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2019 to 2022 and scored a combined 29 rushing touchdowns during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He also proved to be an effective receiver, averaging 42 receptions per season after his rookie managed to start every game in 2022 for the first time in his career, even after separating his shoulder in Week 3. But he finished with an average of touches and 86 yards from scrimmage per game in O'Connell's new scheme - both the lowest since he became a full-time player in did knock off two of the six longest runs of his career in 2022 a 53-yard score in Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins and an 81-yard touchdown in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills. On the latter, he recorded a top speed of mph, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the seventh-fastest speed of any ball carrier in his efficiency numbers, which measure the frequency of carries that produce a positive outcome, dipped noticeably. He led the NFL with 62 carries that either lost or did not gain a yard. And as ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, only of his carries gained a positive total of yards over expectation in Next Gen Stats' model, the second-lowest rate among running backs with at least 200 carries in underwent shoulder surgery Feb. 14 in hopes of avoiding the chronic separations he has had. At the time, the Vikings said he would be fully recovered in time for the regular season. He had not been participating in the voluntary portion of the Vikings' offseason program, and the timing of his departure means there will be no clash over whether he reports for mandatory minicamp later this month.
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