East Side Sushi (2014)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Hollywood can't make this kind of Gold.I used to work at a sushi restaurant and the little things in the script is so hilariously true to life... right to the type of customers, the whole having to master cutting cucumber, getting mad at ordering teriyaki at a sushi bar... looking stuff up on craigslist -- the little things! (The only thing I found to be a little unrealistic was how the restaurant getting together during their lunch break(?) feeding their staff nice sushi and rolls... well, I guess they really are a nice restaurant and not stingy to their workers! What luxury...)The main lead, Juana, is beautiful!! She sort of reminds me of a young Salma Hayek, but cuter. She's great!The main lead's father deserves Best Supporting Actor award; his delivery and reactions are so natural and hilarious... he's immediately very likable. Aki, the Japanese chef, (and they actually got a real Japanese guy!) is good too. Just great casting overall - very very likable cast, even the young daughter. ('There's a Chinese man at the front door.' haha) I love the scene with the main lead and the chef having sake together; great script-writing. To me, that scene was touching (got me teary) and hilarious at the same time bringing up the issue about being a woman and races. (soo funny and true about assistant chefs being Chinese and Korean... 'he smells like ashtray!' haha Koreans love to smoke)I love how they intertwine Mexican and Japanese culture together. Very very cool. I really enjoyed it and was engaged the whole time; it went by really fast. If you work at a sushi restaurant/love sushi/like Mexican/Japanese cultures, or just want a movie to inspire to go after your dreams, watch it. You'll love it. It's funny, cute, touching film that you can enjoy multiple times. It's not a big budget movie and perhaps may have a little high quality TV-Movie feel, but who cares. These are the types of movies that's worth watching; real-life conversations and stories people can relate and be inspired to.Highly recommend! It has become one of my favorite movies. One funny goof I noticed... when the chef asks the girl to help him out with the phone orders, she puts it on regular plates instead of a to-go box. xDOh and when Mr. Yoshida was cutting the cucumber "art" and the customers respond in amazement/kind of sucking up to the chef is sooo funny - that really happens in real life... it's also funny because that cucumber didn't even look amazing at all. What the hell was that? Haha

Let me say up front that I loved this movie. Why? It was an engaging story about a woman determined to better herself and her family, who rises not with the help of a protest group or organized movement but by working hard and standing up for herself. This is a character that every young woman in the country should see to help them realize they can stand up for themselves and move forward on their own and no one can stop them if they do.Juana (Diana Elizabeth Torres) is a single mother living with her father and daughter who has dreams of working as a chef. She knows how to cook, she knows what is needed but what she hasn't had is the opportunity to prove herself. Working at a fruit cart she and her father own, she is attacked and robbed one day which sets her off to tell her father that things could be better.Walking by a sushi restaurant she notices a sign in the window saying they are hiring. Talking to the wife of the owner she gets a position at the restaurant working in the back. But she doesn't just accept her role there. She begins watching how things are done and learns more and more each day. She watches the sushi chefs in front to see how things are done. Noticing her watching, head chef Aki (Yutaka Takeuchi) helps her to understand the various intricacies of how things are done.He teaches her how to make the rice they use in a specific way and she practices at home. He does the same with how they cut the fish and how other things are handled. Already owning a chef's knife of her own Aki is stunned with how quick she learns. None of that will come in handy when it comes to talking to the owner of the store, Mr. Yoshida.As old school as they come Mr. Yoshida refuses to allow a woman to work the front line of his restaurant. As far as he is concerned they come her for an authentic sushi experience and there is no place for a woman in that. Knowing she is fully capable this bothers Juana but rather than fight with the owner she continues to work on her skills.As she researches more and more about the history and skills needed to be a top sushi chef Juana discovers a contest for the most skilled sushi chefs in the city. Not only do the contestants need to have top skills they need to create a dish that is their own. As she experiments with different dishes on her family Juana's skill vastly improve to the point that Aki wants to use her more at the restaurant. When Yoshida objects Juana takes matters into her own hands and enters the contest. With only 4 out of the many who will apply her odds aren't likely. When she is selected to compete you find yourself rooting for her to win. But will she? This movie was a joy to watch. What makes it so is a combination of the story, the performances and the emotions tied into the path that Juana takes. Each moment on screen isn't a wasted one, with all of the subtle things we see helping to fill out what could have been a short film but instead is a feature that holds your interest from start to finish. You can't help but root for the underdog here and don't let that term bring to you memories of Rocky Balboa. Juana is her own character and is fully fleshed out with a great performance by Torres, enough that I'm looking forward to seeing her in other roles.To use a culinary phrase to describe this film it refreshes the palate with something quite tasty and sparkling that will leave you hungry for more. This is one I can see myself watching more than once.

Normally this is the kind of movie I wouldn't watch or skip over after a few minutes but this has a compelling and different storyline that is wonderful to watch. It's not great film making. Most of the movie comes off like you would expect a low budget film but the movie (to me anyway) is about aspirations and things that get in your way and about stereotypes and prejudices that can keep you from getting ahead. I won't get into the details but for once white people are not the ones portraying the oppressors and it isn't about class struggle but just what real people have to deal with everyday. The actors are not great but for a change they have faces like your neighbors, not Hollywood caricatures. There's so many things about this movie to hate but I couldn't help but like it. I wish Hollywood (or canada) would make more movies like this.

Behind the scenes at our favorite restaurants are the hidden, talented and relentlessly hard-working individuals who are instrumental in delivering the dining experience, but all too often do not share the spotlight. This is a film about a tough, young single mother who tries to move out from behind the scenes.But it so much more than that -- it is a touching, funny, inspirational film about family, parenting, cross-cultural friendship and understanding, breaking glass ceilings and cultural barriers, and determination. Most importantly, the story unfolds and the characters develop (and some, evolve) at a perfect, subtle pace. In these days of hateful, sound-bite generalizing and bashing of people who do not look like me, this film is a reminder of how wrong the talking heads are.