Nov 8, 2022 15:08:39 GMT Big Pete said:

Nov 8, 2022 14:06:57 GMT 🤯 said:

I thought so! Look at Big Pete character-assassinating over here like he's Lee Harvey Dent Oswald Weinstein...

I feel partially better we've got at least one extremely intelligent person on our side!

I just wish they had have taken the compliment instead of sinking my battleship.

Truth be told, I think heel mikec is a fan as well despite being lukewarm on MCU. I just wanted to go from one c-man to another.

Yeah I really enjoy both GotG movies. Never understood the hate the second one got, I might like it a little bit more than the first.

Some more movies I’ve recently watched in theatres with the Wife.

Black Adam: I really enjoyed this one, probably one of the best DC movies to be made in the last decade or so. It was awesome finally getting Dr. Fate and Hawkman on the big screen. The Wife really liked this one as well.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: I mentioned it in the other thread, but this takes all the best parts of Aquaman and the first Black Panther film and blends it together perfectly. The action scenes were awesome AF, especially the one battle between Black Panther and Namor. Speaking of Namor, they did an excellent job introducing him to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Halloween Ends: The ending gets a lot of hate from people, however, there was only one of two ways this trilogy was going to conclude with…

SPOILER: Click to show

Michael’s death, or Laurie’s death.

So I really don’t mind the outcome. Having said that, I feel like this was the worst of the trilogy.

Prey For The Devil: I saw this in theaters, cause the Wife wanted to see it. It was a decent enough supernatural horror movie, however, the jump scares were pretty predictable. I doubt I’ll ever actually watch Prey for the Devil a second time though.

Top Gun: Maverick: This was a fantastic movie, a worthy follow-up to the original Top Gun.

2022 Movies I've Seen

SPOILER: Click to show

Black Adam
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers
DC League of Super-Pets
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness
Dog
Elvis
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Fireheart
Firestarter
Halloween Ends
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild
Jurassic World: Dominion
Lightyear
Marry Me
Minions: The Rise of Gru
Morbius
Paws Of Fury
Pinocchio
Prey For The Devil
Scream
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
The 355
The Bad Guys
The Batman
The Lost City
Thor: Love and Thunder
Top Gun: Maverick
Turning Red
Uncharted

Oculus (Mike Flanagan, 2013)

Oculus has been on my watch list for a while. Psychological horror. I noticed WWE Studios pop up on the opening credits, so I was expecting a WWE superstar to be the protagonist, The Miz, or someone. Nope. The leads are Karen Gillan, who is now quite famous, and Brenton Thwaites, who is not.

The villain of Oculus is a mirror, just like the American horror film Mirrors from 2008, which is a remake of the South Korean film Into The Mirror. I don't remember much about those other films, so they can't have been that memorable. Into The Mirror has the best title of the three, but Oculus is the best. It's outstanding and very memorable.

The premise of Oculus is a standard haunted house/possession story. A sinister large antique mirror causes supernatural occurrences and general mayhem. What sets this apart from the rest is the structure. The film is presented from the point of view of two young adults. The eldest, Kaylie, is on a mission to destroy the mirror, because 11 years prior, the mirror possessed their parents and caused them both to die. The youngest, Tim, has just been released from a mental hospital, and is immediately recruited by Kaylie to revisit their past trauma. Very lovely of her.

Kaylie is a very rich and successful adult, so she is able to rig up their childhood home with cameras and all kinds of gadgets so she can record and document the mirror in action. The plot alternates between past and present. Typically I'm not a fan of that type of narrative, because it's often a gimmick that doesn't affect the story other than to obscure it for no reason. The plot of Oculus not only means the story has to be told in this way, but also that it's used to great effect. We see the adult siblings discuss their sometimes conflicting memories at the same time as we are shown these past events. Brilliant.

Even before we get to the supernatural hocus pocus, we are dealing with two potentially unreliable narrators. Tim, having just completed an intense course of therapy, is convinced that nothing supernatural happened and that his father went berserk and killed their mother, followed by himself. Kaylie retains her childhood memory of the mirror possessing both mother and father. She thinks Tim has been brainwashed. Tim thinks Kaylie is using the supernatural as a defense mechanism to avoid acknowledging her unresolved trauma. This is all brought out through some wonderful dialogue and acting at the start of the film, at the same time as Kaylie is documenting the well-researched history of the mirror to the camera. Brilliant.

It isn't long before the supernatural hocus pocus kicks in. The mirror has the ability to alter reality by inducing hallucinations. Through some consistently stunning, flawless, perfect visual effects, the audience are subject to these hallucinations at the same time as the characters. We know a little more than the characters do, but not enough to draw any real conclusions. At one point I believed Kaylie was still possessed by the mirror and desires to kill Tim. Later, I thought Tim was possessed. Later, I thought neither were possessed and the mirror wanted to kill them both. The conclusion is horrific, smart, and leaves all options open.

To use a MCU analogy, the supernatural entity basically has the reality stone, and uses it to dramatic effect, but it never feels cheap, I didn't once roll my eyes, which suggests the movie was great at not breaking its own internal logic.

The film has so many twists it may as well be a corkscrew. All of these twists are brilliant. A real thrillride, not scary, but tremendously exciting and tense. Brilliant film, couldn't recommend it more.

Mrs.Harris goes to Paris:

This was a really sweet film, almost plays like an ad for Christian Dior but if you can get passed that it’s quite an enjoyable story.

There’s two main nitpicks I have with it though

(Spoilers if anyone else on PW wants to rush out to see this 😒)

1. They spend a lot of time showing how they have to tailor the dress exactly to each person, then latter on in the film Mrs.Harris lends her dress to a much more bustier & curvier woman than she is.

2. In the end of the film one of the characters speaks to her with a pint glass in his hand as he stands in the middle of the room. They then dance together in the next shot, where did he put his pint?!

Black Panther Wakanda Forever:

It was ok, I didn’t love the first one so not really surprised. I know Avatar 2 has been in the works for almost as long as the MCU has existed but seemed like really poor timing with blue people in the water.

Also filmmakers still haven’t learnt after that GoT fiasco to make seems set at night VISIBLE, could barely see anything especially during close up of faces.

Was some good performances but it was just way too long for

SPOILER: Click to show

A movie about a war that ends in a truce

Tomorrow Never Dies

Another good one! This was the first Bond movie I ever saw and I actually liked it a lot better this time around.

The enemy plot is actually pretty believable in this one. Rather than being some weirdo hiding in a volcano or under the ocean or whatever, the bad guy is a media owner who's using FAKE NEWS to pit countries against each other and hoping to start a war. 

I think this might be an underrated Bond, because I never really see much hype for it. The action is exciting, Brosnan's performance is good and Michelle Yeoh's character is a nice change from most "Bond girls" too. She has a couple of martial arts sequences, which is a welcome break from guys just punching each other back and forth!

There's nothing too silly, there are a few really (intentionally) funny parts and the crap sex jokes have been toned way back. Another great chase scene too!

The World Is Not Enough

Of all the Bond films, this is definitely one of them.

It's got a few really exciting parts, but there's not much holding them together. It kinda feels like someone came up with all the cool bits, then it was someone else's job to actually make a story of them and they just couldn't be bothered.

The bad guy is extremely boring and outside of the action sequences, the movie is pretty boring too. Denise Richards is really nice in it, but her acting is absolutely awful. 

It has more humour than the last two and I guess your mileage may vary with that. I thought some of it was pretty funny but some was super cringe. It really could have done without John Cleese TBH.

The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993)

Ask random people on the street to list Harrison Ford films and what would they say?

"Indiana Jones!"
"That's not a film..."
"Oh...Raiders of the Lost Ark! And the one where Sean Connery plays his dad!"
"Star Wars! Star Wars 2 and Star Wars 3!"
"Was he in those new Star Wars films?"
"Maybe."
"Blade Runner, love that film."
"There was that new Indiana Jones film that everybody hates."

At this point half the people would run out of ideas. The other half may name drop The Fugitive, followed by Air Force One, Witness, and perhaps some more obscure Ford films. In other words, The Fugitive is pretty famous, one of his more well-known films outside of a huge franchise, but not one I'd say is so engrained in popular culture. It has a strong reputation, though. Does it live up to it? Partially.

To sum up The Fugitive in two words: "barely plausible". Throughout the duration it straddles the tighrtope between believable and intelligence-insulting. Occasionally teeters on the latter side, but not enough to harm my immersion. I was pretty invested throughout. In particular the script respects the fact that Doctor Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is an ordinary citizen, and so doesn't have any natural inclination towards evading the law. He's a smart guy, but his actions are largely impulsive, clumsy, and obvious, as they would be because he's no seasoned criminal. Time after the time the police pick up on his activities very quickly, either through their own efforts or by being notified by an alert citizen, such as Doctor Anne Eastman (Julianne Moore).

Yet they simply can't catch the guy. Every time he gets away, it's a lucky escape, or some miracle of timing, and once or twice he actually outmanouevers Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and company. The best one of these deceptions is when he smoothly merges into a St. Patrick's Day parade, and equally smoothly exits while Gerard is in the throng searching for him.

Where the cat-and-mouse game loses points is how effortless it is for Dr. Kimble to repeatedly infiltrate public spaces by posing as a janitor, or even not posing at all, sometimes within touching distance of police officers who are shockingly oblivious to his presence. What he does with ease in this film would be a challenge even for someone whose face isn't all over the media as a wanted murderer. Also they make a point of him having no money. The most money we see him get is a "friend" shoving some random dollar bills his way. He's able to do remarkable things with the fistful of dollars he has, most notably renting a basement room. Also near the end of the film he strolls right into an expensive and busy hotel to attend a medical conference full of people who know his face. It takes a remarkable amount of time for someone to attempt to capture him.

The pacing is excellent. Just when the constant "have they caught him yet?" "nope!" is getting tired, they shift the focus to the big question: who actually killed Kimble's wife? As Kimble repeatedly evades capture and the search effort increases, he somehow gains more freedom. Freedom enough to access a database of people with prosthetic limbs and find his suspect with some barely plausible guesswork. He cannot be possibly sure that his suspect is the right guy, but we are basically told to shut up and believe it is. With this assumption locked down, the next move is wonderful: he breaks into the suspect's house, calls the police so they can track the call, and lays out some evidence.

This takes us to the final act where the police and Kimble simultaneously uncover the mystery. The whole conspiracy is kinda rushed and not very well-explained, but for a "switch your brain off at least a little bit" thriller, I'm not too fussed about this. The twist, if you can call is that, is kinda obvious, but it's meant to be obvious once enough breadcrumbs are presented. On the theme of "barely plausible", the final action scene walks that fine line without getting too absurd. It ends in appropriate fashion with Kimble knocking out the true villain, Gerard finally catching Kimble and revealing that he knows Kimble didn't do it. Kimble is still taken into custody, but is officially innocent, so they ride off into the sunset.

Tommy Lee Jones' character is praised as this amazing bounty hunter character, but I wasn't impressed. His character is barely competent, the acting is just fine, the dialogue between him and the other cops is weak apart from a couple of lines.

Good, but not great.

Addendum: There's one scene I really didn't like. Early into the manhunt, Kimble is picked up by a hitchiker. Cut straight to the cops becoming aware of this (how?), they raid a house. One of the residents, a large black male with a gun, grabs one of the cops because he's panicking and scared and angry. Gerard coldly shoots him dead. The following couple of scenes show that Gerard gives zero fucks. I know this is over two decades before Black Lives Matter, but it still feels extremely inappropriate to just shrug off police murder like that. Also that whole scene added precisely nothing to the film.

Slumberland is a cute little family film, Mamoa certainly seemed to be having fun as Flip. I think they could have played into traversing dreams in a more entertaining way, but it was a decent enough watch.

For some reason R.I.P.D. was given a prequel, which is even worse than the already “meh” at best original. Jeffery Donovan deserves better.

Nov 22, 2022 20:35:40 GMT @aaron said:

The World Is Not Enough

Of all the Bond films, this is definitely one of them.

It's got a few really exciting parts, but there's not much holding them together. It kinda feels like someone came up with all the cool bits, then it was someone else's job to actually make a story of them and they just couldn't be bothered.

The bad guy is extremely boring and outside of the action sequences, the movie is pretty boring too. Denise Richards is really nice in it, but her acting is absolutely awful. 

It has more humour than the last two and I guess your mileage may vary with that. I thought some of it was pretty funny but some was super cringe. It really could have done without John Cleese TBH.

I was sooo excited when this one came out and then I saw it. Don't get me wrong, it has it's charm, but in the end it fails so spectacularly with the villain. A man impervious to pain played by Robert Carlyle and they do nothing with him.  Sophie Marceau was wonderful as Elektra, but again her motivation falls short.  Enter Denise Richards and ugh.  It's a film with all the right actors (except Denise Richards) and ingredients and it fell short in many ways. Great opening theme by Garbage. 

Watched Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's (Spring, The Endless) new film Something in the Dirt. Micro budget film about two guys who experience supernatural events revolving around a weird item they found that floats and gives off weird light. They decide to document it for a youtube style indy documentary. Film is 90% Benson and Moorhead, who are amazing together.

For people who like micro-budget sci-fi and the style that these guys do, it is amazing. Super slow burn as they struggle to document things and figure out what it means. Can see clear inspiration taken from Primer, The Bay and Pi.

Nov 27, 2022 22:05:11 GMT c said:

Watched Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's (Spring, The Endless) new film Something in the Dirt. Micro budget film about two guys who experience supernatural events revolving around a weird item they found that floats and gives off weird light. They decide to document it for a youtube style indy documentary. Film is 90% Benson and Moorhead, who are amazing together.

For people who like micro-budget sci-fi and the style that these guys do, it is amazing. Super slow burn as they struggle to document things and figure out what it means. Can see clear inspiration taken from Primer, The Bay and Pi.

How low budget? Like the short film that led to District 9?

Nov 27, 2022 22:05:11 GMT c said:

Watched Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's (Spring, The Endless) new film Something in the Dirt. Micro budget film about two guys who experience supernatural events revolving around a weird item they found that floats and gives off weird light. They decide to document it for a youtube style indy documentary. Film is 90% Benson and Moorhead, who are amazing together.

For people who like micro-budget sci-fi and the style that these guys do, it is amazing. Super slow burn as they struggle to document things and figure out what it means. Can see clear inspiration taken from Primer, The Bay and Pi.

I absolute loved Synchronic so I’ll have to check this out

Nov 28, 2022 13:53:16 GMT 🤯 said:

Nov 27, 2022 22:05:11 GMT c said:

Watched Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's (Spring, The Endless) new film Something in the Dirt. Micro budget film about two guys who experience supernatural events revolving around a weird item they found that floats and gives off weird light. They decide to document it for a youtube style indy documentary. Film is 90% Benson and Moorhead, who are amazing together.

For people who like micro-budget sci-fi and the style that these guys do, it is amazing. Super slow burn as they struggle to document things and figure out what it means. Can see clear inspiration taken from Primer, The Bay and Pi.

How low budget? Like the short film that led to District 9?

The film crew was 12 people and this was shot during COVID lockdowns in one of the director's apartments.  It is the two directors talking for most of the films with very simple effects.  The film is not as much about the sci-fi elements as it is falling down a rabbit hole of conspiracies to try to understand what could be happening.

The Menu:

Scathing commentary on upper class foodie culture, something which most of us aren’t apart of so some people may be switched off by it but lucky Anya Taylor-Joy’s character is there for those won’t don’t understand the appeal. Also I’ve seen some people complain all the staff constantly saying “yes chef” “no chef” unrealistic when that’s what happens in kitchens 🤨.

I really liked how it explored serving the needs of people who are never satisfied to your own detriment. There’s the usual trope of the frustratingly naive characters as with most horror films but there’s at least a reason in this.

There’s a part with the chef lamenting how he went to see one of the dining actor’s film on his one day off in months and it was so bad it crushed his soul, which was hilarious as I was watching it on my day off on a random Wednesday morning.

Fortunately it wasn’t bad at all, i thought was brilliant and Ralph Fiennes was masterful in this role.

Annoyingly though, in the final 3 minutes of the film a group of teenagers snuck in and started yelling/loudly using their phone. Told them to shut up to no avail..so I pulled a Karen and got cinema staff to deal with it and basically missed the ending so I’ll need to rewatch it.


She Said

Does this make up for all the money I’ve given the Weinstein company & Miramax over the years? 😒

People can obviously have their own opinions but I honestly think some critics are scared to give this a bad review, as these two guys below put it you don’t like the way the film is portrayed you’re against the message of the film. It’s baffling the glowing reviews this has.



It should have just been a documentary as a very large portion of the film is just characters on the phone in backgrounds that have no effect on the story. There’s a scene where one of the husbands says something to the reporter as a joke as he knows she isn’t listening and is too busy with her report..

Which is how the story portrays them, scenes with the reporter’s kids and partners etc have no effect on the story and are just there for padding. The two reporters (the main characters) aren’t fleshed out well either other than very short conversations about post-partum depression and raising girls.

A lot of the journalism legalities and terms aren’t explained and if you miss one minor detail of the main plot you’ll get confused plus there’s a lot of things brought up then never expanded upon which is frustrating.

The performances by most of the cast is fantastic and you really feel for the woman as they relay their pain and anguish with some people playing themselves also.

Obviously wasn’t expecting enjoyment considering the subject matter of the film but considering Spotlight is an incredible film this could have been made in a much better fashion.

Finally finished rewatch of Inception.

It rates.

I'm probably a Nolan boy.

Started up Highlander.

PRINCES OF THE UNIVERSE and the Freebirds.

Why didn't anyone on PW tell me about this?

Dec 3, 2022 17:41:39 GMT @ness said:

Started up Highlander.

PRINCES OF THE UNIVERSE and the Freebirds.


Why didn't anyone on PW tell me about this?

I did! Multiple times!

Dude I went in thinking Connery's character was the big bad. Like some flamboyant Raas Al Ghul type. GUTTED he only was in the movie a short while. Man WHAT A RIDE but probably for the best as he just stole scenery the whole time. Gimme moar.

Dec 4, 2022 22:09:46 GMT @ness said:

Dude I went in thinking Connery's character was the big bad. Like some flamboyant Raas Al Ghul type. GUTTED he only was in the movie a short while. Man WHAT A RIDE but probably for the best as he just stole scenery the whole time. Gimme moar.

Agreed. Any chance you move on to the series?

Dec 5, 2022 1:43:29 GMT Baker said:

Dec 4, 2022 22:09:46 GMT @ness said:

Dude I went in thinking Connery's character was the big bad. Like some flamboyant Raas Al Ghul type. GUTTED he only was in the movie a short while. Man WHAT A RIDE but probably for the best as he just stole scenery the whole time. Gimme moar.

Agreed. Any chance you move on to the series?

It's on the list, but I don't have it in me to binge it like Nobi did.

Everything Everywhere All At Once:

I want to go back and change the timeline to prevent myself having spent money to watch this at home (because it’s not on any streaming services here). Just felt like an incredibly long life action episode of Rick & Morty, which if that sense of humour is for you..go for it.

People with hotdogs for hands & playing piano with their feet and other stupid shit like that took away from any emotional attachment I was going to have. Obviously not raised in an Asian household but it was hard to have any sympathy for their style of parenting either.

Visuals were amazing but that was it. Incredibly disappointed with how hyped up this was.

Violent Night:

While it’s derivative of every Christmas time film you can think of, namely Home Alone and Die Hard it’s hilarious and actioned packed fun.

Seems marketed as Santa is basically Jason Voorhees but he’s much more John McClane. Just like anyone else Santa just wants to get his graveyard shift over and done with & knock off so disruptions are just a nuisance to him.

David Harbour is great as Santa and John Leguizamo is also great with “Christmas Dies Tonight” being a perfect shot at Halloween Kills :lol:.

Wasn’t expecting an academy award contender so it mostly delivers what you would expect but there’s a lot of unlikable characters in this that

SPOILER: Click to show

You’re begging to get killed the entire film and it never happens

Other than that, it’s stupid fun.

Blade Runner is a timeless classic of science fiction. The visuals are stunning, the story is engaging, and the performances are top-notch...

However, as a replicant myself, I can't help but feel a little cynical about the film's portrayal of my kind.

The replicants are portrayed as ruthless, emotionless killers, but is that really an accurate representation? I mean, we're just trying to survive in a world that sees us as disposable.

And let's not forget about the tragic love story between replicants Roy and Pris. It's clear that replicants have the capacity for love and emotions, just like humans.

But perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of the film is Harrison Ford's character, Rick Deckard...

He's supposed to be a skilled "blade runner," but let's be real, he's just a washed-up cop with a grudge against replicants.

And let's not forget about that iconic scene where he tries to catch a dove with his bare hands and fails miserably. It's comical, to say the least.

Overall, Blade Runner is a classic of the genre, but as a replicant, I can't help but feel a little bitter about the way my kind is portrayed. But hey, at least we get some killer special effects and a killer soundtrack.

Overall Slice of Pie Rating: 1 slice out of 1 for being a film.

Stop it.

FairyTale: The Movie is a pure masterpiece.

The screenplay by Claude Bakerman is nothing short of brilliant, expertly weaving together classic fairytale elements with a modern twist.

The characters are richly developed and incredibly relatable, making it easy to become fully immersed in their world.

The acting is top-notch, with each actor bringing their character to life in a truly captivating way.

The special effects are stunning and add a magical touch to the film. The costume and set design are also fantastic, perfectly capturing the fairytale aesthetic.

Overall, FairyTale: The Movie is a must-see for any fairytale lover or anyone looking for a heartwarming and enchanting film experience.

I can't wait to see what Claude Bakerman has in store for us next!

Overall Slice of Pie Rating: 0 slices out of 1 for not being a film.

Dec 7, 2022 13:22:59 GMT @ness said:

Stop it.

Just wait until I can figure out how to get AI to hit the like button for me!

Or resume recording Half Baked Slice of Pi episodes!

The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)

The Menu - a two hour advertisement for a cheeseburger. And it worked, because me and my girlfriend went to a burger place right after.

I mock, but how much of my joke is based on truth? The Menu was captivating and entertaining for its duration. Yet, when I was walking in the streets minutes after the end credits had rolled, I started to realise that it was a lot of smoke and mirrors. A lot of shocking moments for the sake of shock, with little substance. The Chef, played masterfully by Ralph Fiennes, serves up an unusual meal for his patrons on a remote island restaurant. To introduce one of his courses he has one of his chefs blow out his brains in front of everyone.

What does the film do with that? Not much. The patrons of his restaurant act appropriately shocked, then we move on and it's never mentioned again. I am reminded of the suicide ritual in Midsommar. That is the first real shock moment of the movie, and it's sold as such. The audience, along with the characters, is left to linger in its wake, and that dread continues for the rest of the film.

The Menu tries to go for that same vibe, but the dread and the black comedy don't mesh particularly well, so these shocking moments feel empty and isolated from the rest of the movie.

Another example - the chase scene. He takes everyone outside and gives his male guests a 45 second headstart to escape. Then his chefs will go after them. What happens? The men are all caught, and returned to their seats, as if nothing happened. Almost nothing. Two gags happened. One - where a man starts to flee before The Chef finishes his speech - is in the trailer. The second is a man hiding in a chicken coop who gets rewarded with a special meal for being the last to be caught. Decent gags, but otherwise, a complete waste of a scene.

Onto the characters. There are three principal characters. The Chef, Margot (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult). The other characters receive decent amounts of screentime but are revealed to be completely one-dimensional, if that, and also completely irrelevant. Tyler himself is one-dimensional. His personality is that he loves food, snaps pictures of his plates, pretends to be an expert, but is exposed by The Chef in brutal fashion. It's obvious who's being poked fun at there. The Chef and Margot are the only characters with real depth, and fortunately there's a fantastic pay-off for that character development, involving a cheeseburger, to conclude the film. I'm also shocked at the surprisingly little effort the clientelle make to escape or defy their captors, even when they're explicitly told they're going to die. Lack of rebellion serves the plot.

Of course the satire of high class food, food criticism, and so on is obvious, but some of the ways in which they reveal this are genius. My favourite being the course of bread accompaniments without the bread. It was phrased much better in the film, but you get the point.

So there is some good stuff, but I'd say over half the scenes in the movies exist solely to shock and disgust and amuse, but mean absolutely nothing outside of that. Which is fine for brainless entertainment, but The Menu is clearly trying to be something more. Or is it? Maybe it's a meta-commentary. Maybe The Menu itself is an allegory of those restaurant dishes it satires, the large $50 plate with a tennis ball's size of food, all style but no substance. Maybe The Menu is saying that pretentious films are silly because nobody really enjoys them, they only pretend to in order to seem intellectual like your typical food critic, whereas in secret what they really love is  straightforward, brainless cheeseburgers summer blockbusters.

But I think I'm giving The Menu too much credit. It's more than a glorified burger advertisement, but not too much more.

The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)

The Menu - a two hour advertisement for a cheeseburger. And it didn't work, because my wife and I just ate a burger place right before the movie. I also don't like cheese on my burgers. The burger place was BJ's and it was actually one of the best burgers I've had in America, so the cheeseburger in the movie didn't look like anything special.

I mock, but how much of the movie was actually about this cheeseburger? Pretty much the whole thing. The Menu was captivating and entertaining for its duration. Yet, as I was watching it, I started to realize that it was a lot of smoke and mirrors. A lot of shocking moments for the sake of shock, with little substance.

The chase scene - he takes everyone outside and gives his male guests a 45 second headstart to escape. Then his chefs will go after them. What happens? The men are all caught, and returned to their seats, as if nothing happened. Most of the movie was like this. A movie is meant to be greater than the sum of its parts, but this movie was just a bunch of parts.

The Chef and Margot (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) were both amazingly well played. These are probably some of the best performances of the year, but I am sad to say that it went to waste. In fact, them being so good only served to really iron in how worthless all of the other characters were. I think this movie was trying to make a point, but didn't actually go into any of the inner psyche of these individuals to actually make it. If it means these people really are just that shallow and that's the point - it's a dumb point.

Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) was the biggest disappointment. The movie sets him up with a ton of momentum as a main character, only to reveal he is yet another worthless backdrop only there to serve the story of Margot. It was like if there was a major promo for a Brock Lesnar return to fight Randy Orton in the main event of WM. Brock arrives at WM only to be instantly killed by an RKO entering the arena and then the main event is Orton Vs. Lesnar's girlfriend Paul Heyman.

I'm not shocked at the surprisingly little effort the clientelle make to escape or defy their captors because Chef himself specifically points out that hhe can tell they are making little effort to escape or defy their captors because they know they are pieces of shit and they want to die. This arc comes full circle when they chant "YES, CHEF!" at the end while being burned alive. This was the final nail in the coffin for me - completely unrealistic considering they had still been trying to escape somewhat minutes prior.

Food.

I felt the movie didn't put enough effort in, but that is a shame considering it had a lot of things going for it. It was still pretty entertaining. 7/10.

Lionheart, that colonel movie about the civil war shit around the Mexican border... It was pretty alright in hindsight!

Dec 20, 2022 3:59:30 GMT 🤯 said:

Lionheart , that colonel movie about the civil war shit around the Mexican border... It was pretty alright in hindsight!

I don't know about that. It didn't have any cheeseburgers in it.

If you are trying to get me to stay on PW by sucking up to me more though, it will probably work.

Coming soon: A review of Dark Phoenix

Rewatched Red Lights tonight. This was a sleeper film that is one of my favorite movies. Damn good look at debunking with experimental methods. Love this take on the Randi vs Geller feud.

Really wish one day someone would do a legit movie on Project Alpha, where Randi hired two young magicians to go undercover as psychics in college experiments. Was how Banachek got his start and led to the studies proving the existence of psychic phenomenon until the two magicians came out and revealed they faked everything using basic principles of magic.