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[[File:22._NO_RESERVATIONS_(2007).jpg|thumb|326px|Theatrical Movie Poster]]
 
[[File:22._NO_RESERVATIONS_(2007).jpg|thumb|326px|Theatrical Movie Poster]]
   
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'''''No Reservations''''' is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin, the screenplay by Carol Fuchs is an adaptation of an original script by Sandra Nettelbeck, which served as the basis for the 2001 German film '''''Mostly Martha''''', and revolves around a hard-edged chef whose life is turned upside down when she decides to take in her young niece following a tragic accident that killed her sister. Patricia Clarkson, Bob Balaban and Jenny Wade co-star, with Brian F. O'Byrne, Lily Rabe and Zoe Kravitz—appearing in her first feature film—playing supporting roles.
'''''Traffic''''' is a 2000 American crime drama directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the ilegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the characters do not meet each other. The film is an adaptation of the British '''Channel 4''' television series '''Traffik'''.
 
   
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The film received a mixed reception by critics, who found it “predictable and too melancholy for the genre”, resulting into an 41% overall approval rating from '''Rotten Tomatoes'''. Upon its opening release on July 27, 2007 in the United States and Canada, ''No Reservations'' became a moderate commercial success: The film grossed $12 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing over $43 million at the domestic box-office and over $92 million worldwide. Breslin was nominated for a '''Young Artist Awards''' for her performance.
20th Century Fox, the original financiers of the film, demanded Harrison Ford play a leading role and that significant changes to the screenplay be made. Soderbergh refused and proposed the script to other major Hollywood studios, but it was rejected because of the three-hour running time and the subject matter — ''Traffic'' is more of a political film than most Hollywood productions. USA Films, however, liked the project from the start and offered the film-makers more money than Fox. Soderbergh operated the camera himself and adopted a distinctive cinematography tint for each story so that audiences could tell them apart.
 
 
''Traffic'' was critically acclaimed and earned numerous awards, including four Oscars: Best Director for Steven Soderbergh, Best Supporting Actor for Benicio Del Toro, Best Adapted Screenplay for Stephen Gaghan and Best Film Editing for Stephen Mirrione. It was also a commercial success with a worldwide box-office revenue total of $207.5 million, well above its estimated $46 million budget.
 
 
In 2004, USA Network ran a miniseries—also called Traffic—based on the American film and the earlier British television series.
 
 
*'''Directed by:''' Scott Hicks
 
*'''Directed by:''' Scott Hicks
 
*'''Produced by: '''Kerry Heysen, Sergio Aguero
 
*'''Produced by: '''Kerry Heysen, Sergio Aguero
 
*'''Written by: '''Carol Fuchs, Sandra Nettelbeck
 
*'''Written by: '''Carol Fuchs, Sandra Nettelbeck
 
*'''Starring:''' Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clackson, Bob Balaban
 
*'''Starring:''' Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clackson, Bob Balaban
*'''Music by: '''Philip Glass
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*'''Music by: '''Philip Glass[[File:No Reservations (2007) trailer|thumb|right|335 px]]
 
*'''Cinematography:''' Stuart Dryburgh
 
*'''Cinematography:''' Stuart Dryburgh
 
*'''Edited by: '''Pip Karmel
 
*'''Edited by: '''Pip Karmel
*'''Country:''' U.S.A.[[File:Traffic (2000) Trailer|thumb|right|335 px]]
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*'''Country:''' U.S.A.
 
*'''Language:''' English
 
*'''Language:''' English
 
*'''Running time:''' 104 minutes
 
*'''Running time:''' 104 minutes
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<span style="font-size:20px;">Plot</span>
 
<span style="font-size:20px;">Plot</span>
==='''Mexico storyline:'''===
 
In Mexico, police officer Javier Rodriguez (Benicio del Toro) and his partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) stop a drug transport and arrest the couriers. Their arrest is interrupted by General Salazar (Tomas Millan), a high-ranking Mexican official who decides to hire Javier.
 
   
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Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the head chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan, New York, and one of the bests chefs of New York.
Salazar instructs Javier to apprehend Francisco Flores (Clifton Collins Jr.), a hitman for the Tijuana Cartel, headed by the Obregón brothers.
 
   
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[[File:Kate3.jpg|thumb|left|338px|Kate in one of her sessions with her therapist]]
Back in Tijuana, Flores, under torture, gives Salazar the names of important members of the Obregón cartel, who are arrested.
 
   
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She is obsessed with the kitchen, with the preparation and presentation of the dishes, and she's an exaggerated perfectionist. Her therapist (Bob Balaban) can see this during their sessions. Kate's boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson) says she will fire Kate unless she goes to theraphy, so when Kate goes to theraphy she can't stop talking about dishes and cooking. In a session, her therapist asks her why she thinks she needs therapy but Kate is obvlibious about her obssesion.
Javier and Salazar's efforts begin to cripple the Obregón brothers' cocaine outfit, but Javier soon discovers General Salazar is a pawn for the Juarez Cartel, the rival of the Obregón brothers. That entire portion of the Mexican anti-drug campaign is a fraud, as Salazar is wiping out one cartel because he has aligned with another for profit.
 
   
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Kate is the best at her work. She runs her kitchen at a rapid pace as she coordinates the making and preparation of all the fantastic meals, and personally displays the food to perfection on every dish. She intimidates everyone around her, Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her special dishes, however she is ready to leave the kitchen in an instant when a customer insults her cooking.
Javier's partner Sanchez attempts to sell the information of Salazar's true affiliation to the DEA but is killed for his betrayal. Javier, who can no longer stomach working for Salazar, decides to make a deal with the real DEA. In exchange for his testimony, Javier requests electricity in his neighborhood so the kids can play baseball at night rather than be tempted by street gangs and crime. Salazar's secrets are revealed to the public and he is arrested and dies in prison.
 
   
 
<gallery type="slideshow" position="center" widths="350">
Javier explains to the media about the widespread corruption in the police force and army. In Mexico, Javier watches as children play baseball at night in their new stadium.
 
  +
kate15.jpg|Kate doesn't mind about contradicting her customers about her dishes
==='''Wakefield storyline:'''===
 
  +
</gallery>
Meanwhile, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), a conservative Ohio judge, is appointed to head the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy, taking on the title drug czar. Robert is warned by his predecessor (James Brolin) and several influential politicians that the War on Drugs is unwinnable.
 
   
His daughter, Caroline (Erika Christensen), an honors student, has been using cocaine and heroin which gradually develops into a drug addiction after her boyfriend Seth (Topher Grace) introduces her to free-basing heroin. Caroline and Seth are arrested when a fellow student overdoses on drugs at a party.
 
   
As Robert and his wife Barbara (Amy Irving) struggle to deal with the problem, he discovers that she has known about their daughter's involvement with drugs for over six months.
 
   
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But personally Kate has no life since her whole world is centered on the kitchen.
Robert realizes his daughter Caroline is a drug addict and is caught between his demanding new position and difficult family life.
 
   
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When Kate's sister is killed in a car accident, Kate's nine-year old niece, Zoe (Abigalil Breslin), must move in to live with her, as it was Kate's sister wishes if something happened to her. Kate is devastated by her sister's death and with all of her problems, Paula decides to give Kate a week off.
On a visit to Mexico, he is encouraged by the successful efforts of Salazar in hurting the Obregón brothers.
 
   
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<gallery type="slideshow" widths="346" position="center">
When he returns to Ohio, Robert learns his efforts to see Caroline rehabilitated have failed. She ran away to the city of Cincinnati, where no one knows her location. She steals from her parents to procure money for drugs. Her addiction leaves her vulnerable, and she quickly becomes the victim of human trafficking.
 
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kate7.jpg|Zoe doesn't want to eat any elaborated dish Kate prepares for her
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</gallery>
   
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During this time, Paula hires a new sous chef to join the staff, Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart), who is a rising star in his own right and could be the head chef of any restaurant he pleased. Nick, however, wanted to 
Robert drags Seth along as he begins to search Cincinnati for his daughter. After a drug dealer who is prostituting Caroline refuses to reveal her whereabouts, Robert breaks into a seedy hotel room and finds a semi-conscious Caroline being raped by an older man. He breaks down in tears as Seth quietly leaves.
 
   
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[[File:Kate4.jpg|thumb|346px|The athmosphere at the kitchen is difficult because of Kate and Nick's icy relationship]]
Robert returns to Washington, D.C., to give his prepared speech on a "10-point plan" to win the war on drugs. In the middle of the speech, he falters, then tells the press that the War on Drugs implies a war even on some people's own family members, which he cannot endorse. He then walks out of the press conference and takes a taxi to the airport. Robert and Barbara go to Narcotcs Anonymous meetings with their daughter to support her and others.
 
==='''Ayala/DEA storyline:'''===
 
[[File:00._Helena10.jpg|thumb|338px|Carlos Ayala is arrested by the DEA in front of her wife Helena and his son.]]
 
A third story is set in San Diego, where an undercover DEA investigation led by Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzmán) leads to the arrest of Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), a high-stakes dealer posing as a fisherman.
 
   
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work under Kate since he's an admirer of her work. Kate meets him while one of her visits at the restaurant.
Ruiz decides to take the dangerous road to immunity by giving up his boss: drug lord Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer), the biggest distributor for the Obregón brothers in the United States. Ayala is indicted by a tough prosecutor, hand-selected by Robert Wakefield to send a message to the Mexican drug organizations.
 
   
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When Kate returns to work, the atmosphere in the kitchen is somewhat chaotic as Kate feels increasingly threatened by Nick as time went on due to his style of running her kitchen. Nick has an uplifting personality , he loves to listen to opera while he cooks and he loves to make the staff laugh. Nick also flits persistently with Kate and Kate finds herself strangely attracted to Nick.
[[File:Helena_6.jpg|thumb|left|312px|Helena hires Frankie Flores to kill her husband witness against him]]
 
   
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[[File:Kate11.jpg|thumb|left|330px|Nick, Kate and Zoe have a funny dinner at Kate's home]]
As the trial against Carlos Ayala begins, his pregnant wife Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) learns of her husband's true profession. Facing the prospect of life imprisonment for her husband and death threats against her only child, Helena decides to hire Flores to assassinate Eduardo Ruiz; she knows killing Ruiz will effectively end the trial nolle prosequi. Flores plants a ar bomb on a DEA car in an assassination attempt against Eduardo Ruiz. Shortly after planting the bomb, Flores is assassinated by a sniper in retaliation for his co-operation with General Salazar; the car bomb kills agent Castro, but Gordon and Ruiz survive.
 
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Nick's uplifting personality has not only affected Kate but Zoe as well, who has been coming to work with Kate.
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One afternoon Nick comes to Kate's home and he and Zoe cook for Kate. That was the wish Zoe makes to Kate (since Kate promises she can ask her a wish to amend what Kate has done wrong for Zoe in the last days).
  +
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Kate and Nick fall in love.
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  +
  +
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<gallery type="slideshow" position="center" widths="340">
  +
kate9.jpg|Kate and Nick fall in love
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</gallery>
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Yet life hits her hard when Paula decides to offer Nick the job of head chef and Kate's relationship with Nick turns a sour note due to Kate's pride.
  +
  +
In the end, Kate allows herself to become vulnerable and tear down the walls she has built throughout her life so that she and Nick could start fresh. The movie concludes with Zoe, Nick and Kate having opened their own bistro.
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<gallery type="slideshow" position="center" widths="342">
  +
kate16.jpg
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</gallery>
   
Helena, after the failed attempt to kill Eduardo Ruiz and knowing Ruiz is soon scheduled to testify, makes a deal with Juan Obregón (Benjamin Bratt), lord of the drug cartel, who forgives the debt of the Ayala family and has Ruiz poisoned.
 
   
Carlos Ayala is released, much to the dissatisfaction of Gordon, who is still angry over the death of his partner. Soon after the release, Gordon bursts into the Ayala home and surreptitiously plants a listening bug under his desk and leaves.
 
   
 
==Cast==
 
==Cast==
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==Music==
 
==Music==
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The film soundtrack makes extensive use of operatic music, and includes (uncredited) Liz Phair's song "Count On My Love".
 
{| border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"
 
{| border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
  +
|1. Truffles And Quail - Conrad Pope
|1. Helicopter
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
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|2. Sway - Michael Buble                                        [[File:NoreservationsOST.jpg|thumb|356px]]
|2. No Swinging the Club in the Car
 
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
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|3. Celeste Aida - Luciano Pavarotti
|3. Immunity
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
  +
|4. O Mio Babbino Caro - Renata Tebaldi
|4. What's Your Daughter On?
 
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
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|5. Zoe & Kate Watch Video - Phillip Glass
|5. You Two Don't Like Me    [[File:Trafficost.jpg|thumb|334px]]
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
  +
|6. Libiamo Libiamo - Joan Sutherland
|6. La Cagaste
 
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
|7. The West End
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|7. Via Con Me - Paolo Conte
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
|8. I Know She's In There
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|8. La Donna E 'Mobile - Joseph Calleja
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
  +
|9. Un Bel Di 'Vedremo - Renata Tebaldi
|9. La Pura Verdad 
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
  +
|10. Zoe Goes To the Restaurant - Phillip Glass
|10. Just Shoot Him
 
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
  +
|11. Cielo E Mar - Luciano Pavarotti
|11. Loading the Plane
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
|12. I Can't Do This
+
|12. Mambo Gelato - Ray Gelato
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|- class="listRowEven"
  +
|13. Nessun Dorma - Luciano Pavarotti
|13. The Police Won't Help You Find Your Car
 
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
|14. Piano Sonata #1 in F Minor movement #?
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|14. Count On My Love - Liz Phair 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|15. On the Rhodes Again - Morcheeba
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|16. Give the Po' Man a Break - Fatboy Slim
 
|- class="listRowEven"
 
|17. Rockers Hi Fi (Love and Insanity Dub)- Kruder and Dorfmeister Sessions
 
|- class="listRowOdd"
 
|18. Ascent (An Ending) 
 
 
|}
 
|}
  +
==Reception==
 
==='''Critical reception:'''===
  +
*'''Rotten Tomatoes''', an aggregate of reviews from published critics, showed only 41% reviewed it favorably.
  +
*Matt Zoller Seitz of '''The New York Times''' said, "What's unexpected and gratifying ... is the film's enlightened attitude toward parenthood and work, which the movie's publicity campaign conspicuously glosses over, even though it’s the story's driving force ... Make no mistake: ''No Reservations'' is a factory-sealed romantic comedy ... But the emotional details of Kate, Nick and Zoe’s journey are surprising, honest and life-size, and the film’s determination to present their predicament sympathetically, without appealing to retrograde ideals of femininity and motherhood, makes it notable, and in some ways unique."
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*Roger Ebert of the '''Chicago Sun-Times''' stated, "The movie is focused on two kinds of chemistry: of the kitchen, and of the heart. The kitchen works better, with shots of luscious-looking food, arranged like organic still lifes. But chemistry among Nick, Kate and Zoe is curiously lacking, except when we sense some fondness—not really love—between Zoe and her potential new dad ... the characters seem to feel more passion for food than for each other."
  +
*Carina Chocano of the '''Los Angeles Times''' called the film "one of those movies that presents life precisely and meticulously as it isn't, presumably as some kind of consolation for how it really is" and added, "With its simplistic compartmentalization of dueling personality types, kindergarten view of grown-up love, exquisite styling, overripe camera moves and lousy, overwrought score, the movie feels stubbornly, resolutely disingenuous and one-dimensional. Everything in it is designed to make you feel better, so why does it feel artificial and palliative in that really depressing way?"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Reservations_(film)#cite_note-5 [5]]</sup>
  +
*Todd McCarthy of '''Variety''' observed, "Agreeably prepared and attractively presented, this remake of the tasty 2001 German feature ''Mostly Martha'' bears too many earmarks of Hollywood packaging and emotional button-pushing, but doesn't go far wrong by closely sticking to the original's smart story construction ... Scott Hicks' work cuts both ways, creating a warm cocoon that fosters engagement with the well-drawn characters while at the same time steering the material in softer-than-necessary directions and refraining from peeking any deeper into the main characters to suggest what makes them tick. Without question, '''Ratatouille''' deals more profoundly with the personality makeup and urges of a driven chef-as-artist than does this genial divertissement."
   
   
  +
<gallery type="slideshow" widths="342" position="center">
==Release==
 
  +
Aaron+Eckhart+Catherine+Zeta+Jones+No+Reservations+DPxamz5bqO4l.jpg|Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart at the movie premiere
==='''Box office performance:'''===
 
''Traffic''<span style="font-size:15px;"> was given a limited release on December 27, 2000 in four theaters where it grossed USD</span><span style="font-size:15px;"> $184,725 on its opening weekend. </span>
 
 
<span style="font-size:15px;">It was given a wide release on January 5, 2001 in 1,510 theaters where it grossed $15.5 million on its opening weekend. The film would make $124.1 million in North America and $83.4 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $207.5 million, well above its estimated $48 million budget.</span>
 
 
 
 
====<span class="mw-headline" id="Critical_response" style="font-size:20px;">Critical response:</span>====
 
 
===='''Rotten Tomatoes''' reported that 92% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on a sample of 154, with an average score of 8/10, and the consensus being "Soderbergh successfully pulls off the highly ambitious Traffic, a movie with three different stories and a very large cast. The issues of ethics are gray rather than black-and-white, with no clear-cut good guys. Terrific acting all around." At '''Metacritic''' the film has received an average score of 86, based on 34 reviews.<span style="font-size:11px;line-height:0px;"> </span>Film critic '''Roger Ebert''' gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "The movie is powerful precisely because it doesn't preach. It is so restrained that at one moment—the judge's final speech—I wanted one more sentence, making a point, but the movie lets us supply that thought for ourselves". Stephen Holden, in his review for '''The New York Times''', wrote, "''Traffic'' is an utterly gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Or rather it is several interwoven thrillers, each with its own tense rhythm and explosive payoff". In his review for '''The New York Observer''', Andrew Sarris wrote, "''Traffic'' marks [Soderbergh] definitively as an enormous talent, one who never lets us guess what he's going to do next. The promise of '''Sex, Lies and Videotape''' has been fulfilled".====
 
===='''''Entertainment Weekly''''' gave the film an "A" rating and praised Benicio del Toro's performance, which critic Owen Gleiberman called, "haunting in his understatement, [it] becomes the film's quietly awakening moral center". Desson Howe, in his review for the '''Washington Post''', wrote, "Soderbergh and screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, who based this on a British television miniseries of the same name, have created an often exhilarating, soup-to-nuts exposé of the world's most lucrative trade". In his review for '''Rolling Stone''', Peter Travers wrote, "The hand-held camerawork – Soderbergh himself did the holding—provides a documentary feel that rivets attention". However, Richard Schickel, in his review for '''Time''', wrote, "there is a possibly predictable downside to this multiplicity of story lines: they keep interrupting one another. Just as you get interested in one, Stephen Gaghan's script, inspired by a British mini-series, jerks you away to another".====
 
 
====<span class="mw-headline" id="Top_ten_lists" style="font-size:20px;">Top ten lists:</span>====
 
 
====''Traffic'' appeared on several critics' top ten lists for 2000. Some of the notable top-ten list appearances are:====
 
*====2nd — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._O._Scott A. O. Scott], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times The New York Times]''====
 
*====2nd — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jami_Bernard Jami Bernard], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Daily_News New York Daily News]''<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_(2000_film)#cite_note-25 [25]]</sup>====
 
*====2nd — Bruce Kirkland, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Toronto_Sun The Toronto Sun]''<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_(2000_film)#cite_note-26 [26]]</sup>====
 
*====3rd — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Holden Stephen Holden], ''The New York Times''====
 
*====3rd — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Weekly Entertainment Weekly]''====
 
*====3rd — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Travers Peter Travers], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone Rolling Stone]''====
 
*====4th — [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert Roger Ebert], ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Sun-Times Chicago Sun-Times]''====
 
*====4th — Jack Mathews, ''New York Daily News''====
 
 
 
==Accolades:==
 
The film won '''Academy Awards''' in the categories '''Best Director''' (Steven Soderbergh), '''Best Supporting Actor''' (Benicio Del Toro), '''Best Film Editing''' (Mirrione) and '''Best Adapted Screenplay''' (Stephen Gaghan).[[File:Del_Toro_Oscar.png|thumb|194px|Benicio Del Toro won an Oscar for his role in "Traffic"]] It was also nominated for Best Picture, alongside another Soderbergh film, '''Erin Brokovich''', but lost to '''Gladiator. Traffic '''was nominated for five''' Golden Globe Awards''' including''' Best Motion Picture - Drama, Soderbergh''' for''' Best Director, Del Toro '''for''' Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Catherine Zeta-Jones '''for''' Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture '''and''' Steven Gaghan '''for''' Best Screenplay. B'''oth Del Toro and Gaghan''' '''won in their respective categories.''' '''In addition, Del Toro won''' Screen Actors Guild Award '''for''' Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. '''He went on to win '''BAFTA Award''' for''' Best Actor in a Supporting Role '''along with Gahan, who won for '''Best Adapted Screenplay'''.
 
 
 
 
<gallery type="slideshow" widths="344" position="center">
 
Steven-Soderbergh-Oscar.jpg|Steven Soderbergh receiving his Oscar for Best Director for '''Traffic'''
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 
==='''Box office:'''===
 
  +
''No Reservations'' was released in 2,425 theaters in the US on July 27, 2007 and earned $11,704,357 and ranked fifth on its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $43,107,979 in the US and $49,493,071 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $92,601,050.
 
  +
==Awards and nominations==
 
  +
Abigail Breslin was nominated for the '''Young Artist Award''' for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actress for her performance as Zoe.
 
===='''[[File:Sagtraffic.jpg|thumb|left|358px|Traffic won the Screen Actor Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture]]'''====
 
 
===='''New York FIlm Critics Circle''' named ''Traffic'' as the '''Best Film''', Soderbergh as '''Best Director''', and Del Toro as '''Best Supporting Actor'''. '''Los Angeles Film Critics Association''' awarded Soderbergh '''Best Director'''. Members of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Film_Critics_Association Toronto Film Critics Association] voted Soderbergh as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Film_Critics_Association_Award_for_Best_Director Best Director] and del Toro as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Film_Critics_Association_Award_for_Best_Actor Best Actor]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Society_of_Film_Critics National Society of Film Critics] also voted Soderbergh and del Toro as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Society_of_Film_Critics_Award_for_Best_Director Best Director] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Society_of_Film_Critics_Award_for_Best_Supporting_Actor Best Supporting Actor], respectively.====
 

Latest revision as of 12:52, 2 November 2014

22

Theatrical Movie Poster

No Reservations is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin, the screenplay by Carol Fuchs is an adaptation of an original script by Sandra Nettelbeck, which served as the basis for the 2001 German film Mostly Martha, and revolves around a hard-edged chef whose life is turned upside down when she decides to take in her young niece following a tragic accident that killed her sister. Patricia Clarkson, Bob Balaban and Jenny Wade co-star, with Brian F. O'Byrne, Lily Rabe and Zoe Kravitz—appearing in her first feature film—playing supporting roles.

The film received a mixed reception by critics, who found it “predictable and too melancholy for the genre”, resulting into an 41% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Upon its opening release on July 27, 2007 in the United States and Canada, No Reservations became a moderate commercial success: The film grossed $12 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing over $43 million at the domestic box-office and over $92 million worldwide. Breslin was nominated for a Young Artist Awards for her performance.

  • Directed by: Scott Hicks
  • Produced by: Kerry Heysen, Sergio Aguero
  • Written by: Carol Fuchs, Sandra Nettelbeck
  • Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clackson, Bob Balaban
  • Music by: Philip Glass
    No_Reservations_(2007)_trailer

    No Reservations (2007) trailer

  • Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh
  • Edited by: Pip Karmel
  • Country: U.S.A.
  • Language: English
  • Running time: 104 minutes
  • Budget: $28 million
  • Box Office: $93 million
  • Release date: July 27, 2007
  • Distributed by: Warner Bros.


Plot

Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the head chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan, New York, and one of the bests chefs of New York.

Kate3

Kate in one of her sessions with her therapist

She is obsessed with the kitchen, with the preparation and presentation of the dishes, and she's an exaggerated perfectionist. Her therapist (Bob Balaban) can see this during their sessions. Kate's boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson) says she will fire Kate unless she goes to theraphy, so when Kate goes to theraphy she can't stop talking about dishes and cooking. In a session, her therapist asks her why she thinks she needs therapy but Kate is obvlibious about her obssesion.

Kate is the best at her work. She runs her kitchen at a rapid pace as she coordinates the making and preparation of all the fantastic meals, and personally displays the food to perfection on every dish. She intimidates everyone around her, Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her special dishes, however she is ready to leave the kitchen in an instant when a customer insults her cooking.


But personally Kate has no life since her whole world is centered on the kitchen.

When Kate's sister is killed in a car accident, Kate's nine-year old niece, Zoe (Abigalil Breslin), must move in to live with her, as it was Kate's sister wishes if something happened to her. Kate is devastated by her sister's death and with all of her problems, Paula decides to give Kate a week off.

During this time, Paula hires a new sous chef to join the staff, Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart), who is a rising star in his own right and could be the head chef of any restaurant he pleased. Nick, however, wanted to 

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The athmosphere at the kitchen is difficult because of Kate and Nick's icy relationship

work under Kate since he's an admirer of her work. Kate meets him while one of her visits at the restaurant.

When Kate returns to work, the atmosphere in the kitchen is somewhat chaotic as Kate feels increasingly threatened by Nick as time went on due to his style of running her kitchen. Nick has an uplifting personality , he loves to listen to opera while he cooks and he loves to make the staff laugh. Nick also flits persistently with Kate and Kate finds herself strangely attracted to Nick.

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Nick, Kate and Zoe have a funny dinner at Kate's home

Nick's uplifting personality has not only affected Kate but Zoe as well, who has been coming to work with Kate.

One afternoon Nick comes to Kate's home and he and Zoe cook for Kate. That was the wish Zoe makes to Kate (since Kate promises she can ask her a wish to amend what Kate has done wrong for Zoe in the last days).

Kate and Nick fall in love.


Yet life hits her hard when Paula decides to offer Nick the job of head chef and Kate's relationship with Nick turns a sour note due to Kate's pride.

In the end, Kate allows herself to become vulnerable and tear down the walls she has built throughout her life so that she and Nick could start fresh. The movie concludes with Zoe, Nick and Kate having opened their own bistro.


Cast[]

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- Catherine Zeta-Jones - Kate Armstrong


Aaron




- Aaron Eckhart - Nicholas "Nick" Palmer


Abi





- Abiagail Breslin - Zoe



Patricia clackson


- Patricia Clarkson - Paula






- Bob Balaban - Therapist

- Jenny Wade - Leah Scott


Music[]

The film soundtrack makes extensive use of operatic music, and includes (uncredited) Liz Phair's song "Count On My Love".

1. Truffles And Quail - Conrad Pope
2. Sway - Michael Buble                                        
NoreservationsOST
3. Celeste Aida - Luciano Pavarotti
4. O Mio Babbino Caro - Renata Tebaldi
5. Zoe & Kate Watch Video - Phillip Glass
6. Libiamo Libiamo - Joan Sutherland
7. Via Con Me - Paolo Conte
8. La Donna E 'Mobile - Joseph Calleja
9. Un Bel Di 'Vedremo - Renata Tebaldi
10. Zoe Goes To the Restaurant - Phillip Glass
11. Cielo E Mar - Luciano Pavarotti
12. Mambo Gelato - Ray Gelato
13. Nessun Dorma - Luciano Pavarotti
14. Count On My Love - Liz Phair 

Reception[]

Critical reception:[]

  • Rotten Tomatoes, an aggregate of reviews from published critics, showed only 41% reviewed it favorably.
  • Matt Zoller Seitz of The New York Times said, "What's unexpected and gratifying ... is the film's enlightened attitude toward parenthood and work, which the movie's publicity campaign conspicuously glosses over, even though it’s the story's driving force ... Make no mistake: No Reservations is a factory-sealed romantic comedy ... But the emotional details of Kate, Nick and Zoe’s journey are surprising, honest and life-size, and the film’s determination to present their predicament sympathetically, without appealing to retrograde ideals of femininity and motherhood, makes it notable, and in some ways unique."
  • Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "The movie is focused on two kinds of chemistry: of the kitchen, and of the heart. The kitchen works better, with shots of luscious-looking food, arranged like organic still lifes. But chemistry among Nick, Kate and Zoe is curiously lacking, except when we sense some fondness—not really love—between Zoe and her potential new dad ... the characters seem to feel more passion for food than for each other."
  • Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times called the film "one of those movies that presents life precisely and meticulously as it isn't, presumably as some kind of consolation for how it really is" and added, "With its simplistic compartmentalization of dueling personality types, kindergarten view of grown-up love, exquisite styling, overripe camera moves and lousy, overwrought score, the movie feels stubbornly, resolutely disingenuous and one-dimensional. Everything in it is designed to make you feel better, so why does it feel artificial and palliative in that really depressing way?"[5]
  • Todd McCarthy of Variety observed, "Agreeably prepared and attractively presented, this remake of the tasty 2001 German feature Mostly Martha bears too many earmarks of Hollywood packaging and emotional button-pushing, but doesn't go far wrong by closely sticking to the original's smart story construction ... Scott Hicks' work cuts both ways, creating a warm cocoon that fosters engagement with the well-drawn characters while at the same time steering the material in softer-than-necessary directions and refraining from peeking any deeper into the main characters to suggest what makes them tick. Without question, Ratatouille deals more profoundly with the personality makeup and urges of a driven chef-as-artist than does this genial divertissement."


Box office:[]

No Reservations was released in 2,425 theaters in the US on July 27, 2007 and earned $11,704,357 and ranked fifth on its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $43,107,979 in the US and $49,493,071 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $92,601,050.

Awards and nominations[]

Abigail Breslin was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actress for her performance as Zoe.