Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Sharkflei
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
noreenkendall
A Well acted thoughtfully choreographed story. Enjoyable especially if you need a little boost to your day. Refreshing to watch a wholesome family film with no computer generated graphics.
vicstevinson
EAST SIDE SUSHI is a modest film with great intentions, some freshman bumps, and enough predictability to hold it back from greatness. It's a great watch, but gets issue-laden and doesn't find unique solutions for presenting ore resolving them.Lead actor Diana Elizabeth Torres delivers her role with magnetism and genuineness. She's a promising talent and I hope to see her a lot. Visiting her IMDb page, I noticed IMDb still refers to female actors as "actresses." Time for them to retire that term in the same box as "negro" and "retarded." The scene in which ethnicity of the Asian men in the sushi bar is addressed is probably its best moment. It unravels the real reason our protagonist can't get ahead.Yutaka Takeuchi possesses a lot of magnetism and never overplays his hand, even though his role isn't written with a great deal of uniqueness. He makes a great leading man, though it would be good to see him liberated from such typical-Asian-male depiction. He's quite dashing and manages to telegraph interest below a simmer.To its credit, East Side Sushi made me ravenous, with a great desire to try sushi with fresh spicy elements.
Sexy Scientist
This movie is all about the story, none about character development. All characters are one dimensional and the story also does not have much content. But here, less is more. Whatever the story, however short, is solid. There are all around awesome performances, weather it is our lead actress Diana or the supporting cast Rodrigo, Yutaka or even Kaya. The background music is a bit off putting and looks like it's been picked up from public domain. It always tries to over dramatize the situation. The movie has some clichés, but they are well put. This is one of those films which fills you with energy, while being far from an action film. Positivity oozes out it every single minute. If you want to watch a moral boosting, feel good movie, I highly recommend you this. But beware, you will end up hungry and craving for sushi till the end of the movie.
Jennifer Lynx
Oakland, California is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the U.S. Over 100 different languages are spoken in the region. In "East Side Sushi", we see two of those cultures collide in the most time honored tradition, over food. Juana Martinez, a single mom, and her father run a fresh fruit cart, a staple in Hispanic street food, that is when they aren't working their other jobs. Urban life has its drawbacks and when Juana gets robbed, she decides a change is needed. She takes a chance and answers a help wanted sign in a Japanese restaurant. She lands the job, discovers the passion of sushi, and sets out to become a sushi chef herself. As a Hispanic woman, this proves to be a more a difficult task than one might presume. "East Side Sushi" is a feel good story, at times hilariously funny, made on a shoestring budget, and as such has no money for advertising campaigns. Relying on word of mouth, it is finally being released in theaters, at least in California. If you like food, particularly Mexican and/or Japanese, if you live in or near Oakland, CA or just like urban themed dramas, or if you like good independent cinema, then I recommend this film. It is not a perfect film, sometimes feeling a little forced and a couple of scenes seem unlikely, but it has great pacing, some wonderful characters, a fun sense of humor and really brings out the beauty of the city across the bay.
