A Pinch of Portugal

I was really looking forward to this as I have just returned from Lisbon and I am a chef!. However this movie was disappointing!! I'm not sure where they get these B-grade actors from - it spoils what is an already average movie. At the very least - they could have given the actress who plays Anna some basic training on how to use a knife and taught her how to chop/slice the vegetables. As soon as I saw how bad she was I knew it was going to be an average movie. The other disappointing fact was that there were hardly any scenes actually shot in Lisbon - it was mainly outside of the city. I suggest you don't waste your time - a predictable film with an even more predictable ending.

source: A Pinch of Portugal

7.2 stars. The whole food theme is overdone, however it's not been done exactly like this one yet, so that's the only fresh thing about this film. The setting of Portugal is cool, but the whole scene is too polished, too much Hallmark, not quite enough foreign feeling to it. I didn't get the full zest of Portugal, it's too Western-Canadian-British-Aussie feeling and not enough of the grit and grime of the actual country they are attempting to capture. The man who runs the market is a sleeze, which was actually off-putting, I wanted to root for him. The lead female has been in several Hallmarks. She has charisma, the only saving grace of this movie.

source: A Pinch of Portugal