A few reviews

[Gaith]

^ I went to see Doctor Strange 2 at a theater earlier this year, and as I recall, there were previews for Don't Worry Darling, Amsterdam, and See How they Run. It was quite the retro trifecta. I'm mildly interested in seeing Amsterdam, but I guess I should go with Run first!


You want a few reviews? I've got a few reviews!



RRR (2012)

Thanks to videos from Honest Trailers, Patrick Willems, and Pitch Meeting, I was alerted to the existence of RRR, a three-hour Indian historical action/fantasy epic starring two Indian megastars, plus Rome's Ray Stevenson and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's Alison Doody as the villains. While I wasn't as blown away by it as some, I did thoroughly enjoy the film, and think director S. S. Rajamouli would be an excellent choice to helm the next Thor. (Surely we can all agree the MCU is long overdue for a Bollywood-style dance ending.) RRR is utterly devoid of subtext or subtlety, but sturdy storytelling and ecstatic direction keep things humming along. I think a skilled editor could cut out 15-20 minutes of superfluous action beats and make it even better.

Grade: B+





The Running Man (1987)

The Arnold Schwarzenegger dystopian sci-fi flick The Running Man seems to be less remembered than 1993's Demolition Man, and I'm not sure why. Is it because The Running Man is overshadowed in Arnie's filmography by Total Recall, which features lots of similar aesthetics? Is it because Demolition Man has Sandra Bullock and Wesley Snipes, not to mention Denis Leary, while TRM merely has Yaphet Kotto and Jesse Ventura? In predicting reality shows and deepfakes, TRM seems just as prescient. It's too bad, then, that the movie didn't keep the ending of Stephen King's story, in which the protagonist flies an airplane into the media corporation's skyscraper... actually, that was a lucky break, wasn't it. Maybe if Edgar Wright does indeed make a remake/new adaptation his next movie, TRM will get some more love.

Okay, but how's the movie itself? Well, it's a lot of fun. Despite being rated R for violence, it lacks the OTT gleeful carnage of Verhoeven's film, but it's got some satisfyingly hard-hitting action beats nonetheless, and plenty of classic Arnie one-liners. The movie is also one of the loudest I've ever seen; no joke, some 10-15% of the runtime seems to be shots of crowds cheering wildly. And of course the murderous titular game show has a troupe of female aerobics dancers to juice up the proceedings, because why the heck not? The Running Man isn't one of Arnie's all-time classics, but it's got to be one of the better runners-up.

Grade: B+

Escape from Mogadishu (2021)

This Korean film is based on a true story of South Korean and North Korean diplomats and their staff/families who find themselves forced to band together when the Somalian capital devolves into civil war in 1991, two years before the events depicted in Black Hawk Down. Now, I'm no expert on that particular conflict, and I know neither of those two films are documentaries, but... yikes. Escape from Mogadishu doesn't seem to have gotten a lot of English-language press, so I don't know how many of its details are accurate, but it's certainly a pulse-pounding, tense-as-hell ride.

Grade: B+




Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

It's Lawrence of Arabia. What more is there to say? I'd love to see a big-budget HBO miniseries attempting a more accurate telling of the exploits of Lawrence and his fellow British officers over 10-12 hours, as the movie gives the erroneous impression that Lawrence was the only one who really gelled with the native tribesmen, and the Ottoman antagonists, in their one significant scene, are given just about no depth whatsoever. I admit I was distracted, however, with how much Maurice Jarre's score sounded like Alan Silvestri's from The Mummy Returns. Of course, I got that backwards, but... y'know.

Grade: A



Glass Onion (2022)

Rian Johnson is an imaginative writer and a skilled director, but I'd like to see him go back to the 2-hour or shorter running times of his first three films. The Last Jedi, among other faults, was inexcusably long, and Knives Out, while generally delightful, was a hefty 130 minutes. Glass Onion is only nine minutes longer than that, but, given that A) we already know Daniel Craig's detective Benoit Blanc, B) his co-protagonist this time around isn't as compelling, and C) just about everything in this movie is bigger and flashier, I felt the length. Edward Norton is lots of fun as a character with several agendas, but, while I'd happily return to Knives Out from time to time, I wouldn't be heartbroken if I didn't have to cut through Glass Onion again.

Grade: B

 

[DonkeyKonga]

^ I went to see Doctor Strange 2 at a theater earlier this year, and as I recall, there were previews for Don't Worry Darling, Amsterdam, and See How they Run. It was quite the retro trifecta. I'm mildly interested in seeing Amsterdam, but I guess I should go with Run first!


You want a few reviews? I've got a few reviews!



RRR (2012)

Thanks to videos from Honest Trailers, Patrick Willems, and Pitch Meeting, I was alerted to the existence of RRR, a three-hour Indian historical action/fantasy epic starring two Indian megastars, plus Rome's Ray Stevenson and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's Alison Doody as the villains. While I wasn't as blown away by it as some, I did thoroughly enjoy the film, and think director S. S. Rajamouli would be an excellent choice to helm the next Thor. (Surely we can all agree the MCU is long overdue for a Bollywood-style dance ending.) RRR is utterly devoid of subtext or subtlety, but study storytelling and ecstatic direction keep things humming along. I think a skilled editor could cut out 15-20 minutes of superfluous action beats and make it even better.

Grade: B+





The Running Man (1987)

The Arnold Schwarzenegger dystopian sci-fi flick The Running Man seems to be less remembered than 1993's Demolition Man, and I'm not sure why. Is it because The Running Man is overshadowed in Arnie's filmography by Total Recall, which features lots of similar aesthetics? Is it because Demolition Man has Sandra Bullock and Wesley Snipes, not to mention Denis Leary, while TRM merely has Yaphet Kotto and Jesse Ventura? In predicting reality shows and deepfakes, TRM seems just as prescient. It's too bad, then, that the movie didn't keep the ending of Stephen King's story, in which the protagonist flies an airplane into the media corporation's skyscraper... actually, that was a lucky break, wasn't it. Maybe if Edgar Wright does indeed make a remake/new adaptation his next movie, TRM will get some more love.

Okay, but how's the movie itself? Well, it's a lot of fun. Despite being rated R for violence, it lacks the OTT gleeful carnage of Verhoeven's film, but it's got some satisfyingly hard-hitting action beats nonetheless, and plenty of classic Arnie one-liners. The movie is also one of the loudest I've ever seen; no joke, some 10-15% of the runtime seems to be shots of crowds cheering wildly. And of course the murderous titular game show has a troupe of female aerobics dancers to juice up the proceedings, because why the heck not? The Running Man isn't one of Arnie's all-time classics, but it's got to be one of the better runners-up.

Grade: B+

Escape from Mogadishu (2021)

This Korean film is based on a true story of South Korean and North Korean diplomats and their staff/families who find themselves forced to band together when the Somalian capital devolves into civil war in 1991, two years before the events depicted in Black Hawk Down. Now, I'm no expert on that particular conflict, and I know neither of those two films are documentaries, but... yikes. Escape from Mogadishu doesn't seem to have gotten a lot of English-language press, so I don't know how many of its details are accurate, but it's certainly a pulse-pounding, tense-as-hell ride.

Grade: B+




Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

It's Lawrence of Arabia. What more is there to say? I'd love to see a big-budget HBO miniseries attempting a more accurate telling of the exploits of Lawrence and his fellow British officers over 10-12 hours, as the movie gives the erroneous impression that Lawrence was the only one who really gelled with the native tribesmen, and the Ottoman antagonists, in their one significant scene, are given just about no depth whatsoever. I admit I was distracted, however, with how much Maurice Jarre's score sounded like Alan Silvestri's from The Mummy Returns. Of course, I got that backwards, but... y'know.

Grade: A



Glass Onion (2022)

Rian Johnson is an imaginative writer and a skilled director, but I'd like to see him go back to the 2-hour or shorter running times of his first three films. The Last Jedi, among other faults, was inexcusably long, and Knives Out, while generally delightful, was a hefty 130 minutes. Glass Onion is only nine minutes longer than that, but, given that A) we already know Daniel Craig's detective Benoit Blanc, B) his co-protagonist this time around isn't as compelling, and C) just about everything in this movie is bigger and flashier, I felt the length. Edward Norton is lots of fun as a character with several agendas, but, while I'd happily return to Knives Out from time to time, I wouldn't be heartbroken if I didn't have to cut through Glass Onion again.

Grade: B

Running man also is the only movie to ever have an even BETTER punchline by the villain after Arnold says: 'I'll be back'.

Honestly, the one liner the villain says after that is a goddamn masterpiece.

 

[bionicbob]

THE FABLEMANS (2022)
directed by Steven Spielberg

Wonderful.

This is easily Spielberg's most sentimental movie in years. Cynics might call it self-indulgent, but I found it to be deeply thoughtful and rich in story and emotions. As the old saying goes: I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more.

A coming of age story, that works both as a bittersweet love letter to his parents and an exploration of the power of film.
Beautiful cinematography. Fantastic editing. Great score by John Williams. And an amazing ensemble with a stand out performance by Michelle Williams.

50 years as a filmmaker and Spielberg is still The Master of his Art.
Highly Recommended.

 

[TM2YC]

Risky Business (1983)
I assumed this would be a goofy 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' type teen comedy, but the opening night-time skyline titles in the style of Nicolas Winding Refn's later 'Drive' (with a fab Tangerine Dream synth score), quickly had me reconsidering what this was going to be, long before Rebecca De Mornay goes full R-rated and we get in to a wicked satire of Reagan-era capitalism and upper middle class suburban mores.

 

[TM2YC]

A re-watch of the 1996 trilogy of Sharpe TV-movies...

Sharpe's Regiment (1996)
'Sharpe's Regiment' takes Sharpe out of his usual battlefield scenario and follows him back to England, trying to find a missing regiment of new recruits, by going undercover as a raw recruit, along with his trusty friend Harper, uncovering government corruption and profiteering in the process. The despicable and pathetic commanders of the Regiment are deeply prejudiced against the Irish, so when Sharpe and Harper finally reveal their true identities, Irishman Harper makes them pay by forcing them to repeatedly shout "God save Ireland!". It's a wonderful moment. You know a show is running on all cylinders when they can remove the characters from the war setting of nearly every other entry and still have it be glorious action adventure.

---

Sharpe's Siege (1996)
Sharpe has come up against many a useless officer but young Col. Bampfylde is on another (lower) level of enjoyably foppish, contemptible, upper-class twittery. I love the scene where the mischievous Capt. Frederickson eggs Bampfylde on into annoying Sharpe, to the point where a duel is threatened, then Frederickson takes delight in revealing who Sharpe is and watching Bampfylde squirm in terror. After the assault on a stronghold by his cowardly superior officer flounders, Sharpe captures the seemingly impregnable fortress with a small band of his "chosen men", then later has to hold it with all the fortifications gone, the guns spiked, the powder drowned, and even the front gate blown, against a numerically superior force. All the genius tactical manoeuvres which Sharpe employs to turn the tide of every forlorn situation is brilliantly dramatised. I particularly enjoyed the moment when I realised that one of his daring bluffs to outwit the enemy was foreshadowed in the very first scene. But not as much as I enjoyed the bit where Capt. Palmer denounces Bampfylde in front of Lord Wellington, lionises Sharpe's exploits, then kicks Bampfylde in the nuts. This is prime Sharpe action adventure, one of the very best films in the series!

---

Sharpe's Mission (1996)
The more usual incompetent officer subplot, is replaced by an evil double-agent officer for Sharpe to unmask. Of course Wellington and his latest "exploring officer" knew all along, they trust in Sharpe's innate suspicion, antagonism and heroism to sniff him out. I loved all the comedic stuff with the well-read Harris being left at camp to protect the honour of Sharpe's new wife from a wannabee Lothario poet/journalist. The finale feels somewhat lacking, following right after the terrific siege in 'Sharpe's Siege' but all the double crossing and intrigue that leads up to it is excellent.

 

[TM2YC]

Sharpe’s Revenge (1997)
Unfortunately ’Sharpe’s Revenge’ features some sloppy plotting on the intrigue, with for example, people who (as far as we know) have no knowledge of a murder having taken place, informing another person, who was the only witness to the murder, that it has happened??? Other non sequiturs crop up across the runtime, in a way that suggests they had 3-hours of footage/story that had be edited down to the standard 1 3/4 hour Sharpe runtime. Enjoyment is further hindered by Sharpe being incapacitated for a good chunk of the film, Harper being abroad and Sharpe cruelly betraying Fredrickson, while the loyal Fredrickson is away saving Sharpe from being hanged. Sharpe’s wife’s betrayal isn’t unmotivated but it’s still a bit underdeveloped and the final confrontation with the evil Ducos is unsatisfactory. None of the original Sharpe movies are bad but this one is far from the series at its best.

 

[asterixsmeagol]

Home Alone (1990)
Maybe there are a couple of fanedits here. One just to tastefully tone down the more hysterical moments and another to remove the burglary plot, so it's simply a gentle story of a kid left alone at Christmas, finding his courage and inspiring another to find theirs.

Wow, an edit to remove the burglary story would be really interesting.

 

[addiesin]

Wow, an edit to remove the burglary story would be really interesting.

And an alternate edit removing Kevin, called Bad Burglars.

 

[TM2YC]

Wow, an edit to remove the burglary story would be really interesting.

I probably won't get round to it but I'd like to see somebody else have a go.

---

Late Spring (1949)
While there isn't anything in 'Late Spring' that particularly sets it above, or apart from many other fine films in Yasujiro Ozu's career (the similarly themed and superior 'An Autumn Afternoon' for example), it is still very good. I can never quite work out if he manages to create reviting tension and heart melting emotional drama, despite the minimalism of his direction and narrative scope, or because of it. Chishu Ryu is of course wonderful in every frame but I was initially a bit put off by Setsuko Hara irrepressibly grinning for the first 40-minutes, no matter what difficult subject is being discussed. I briefly wondered if this was some form of stylised Japanese acting that I don't really understand, like in Noh theatre. But then when her smile does begin to slip and drift further down in to despondent sorrow, it makes it so much more powerful.

---

Aladdin (2019)
How does this manage to suck all the pizazz, humour and craft out of the same Oscar winning songs? It returns to the familiar problem that has dogged most of these drab Disney CGI remakes, in that when you remake something that was perfect, any change, big or small, will always be for the worse. The most damning comparison is right at the end when we are given a new appreciation for the classy craft of the original, which combined visual storytelling and wham bam humour into an all-time crowd-pleasing finale of a line “Phenomenal cosmic power… itty bitty living space”. In the new one the lines are separated from the visuals which had neatly conveyed what was happening, so the movie has to pause to allow Will Smith to literally explain what is happening for the audience in words. Please stop making these Disney and please audiences, stop paying to watch them. It’s your fault they keep making more. This was on free-to-air TV over Christmas, so I'm absolved of the guilt .

Ah Mark Kermode sighing for 8-minutes...

 

[TM2YC]

Sharpe's Justice (1997)
I really didn't like 'Sharpe's Justice' when it was first on TV, it didn't follow the usual Sharpe formula I'd loved and this was the penultimate chance to spend time with these characters. Sharpe is out of his depth, out of place, on the wrong side and even gets beaten in a duel by this episode's arrogant upper-class b*stard. Sacrilege! But watching it once again, I appreciated the very different story and it's political/historical shadowing of the infamous "Peterloo Massacre", although this is set 5-years before that incident and a year before the Battle of Waterloo (from which the massacre is named). Sean Bean is very strong here, especially in the scene where he angrily storms in to confront his estranged wife but then just stands there looking heartbroken. I enjoyed the way Harper and Hagman seek to protect Sharpe, one of them, as he struggles to find his footing between the poverty stricken Northerners he came from and the high society he now uncomfortably finds himself in.

---

Sharpe's Waterloo (1997)
This epic finale to the original 14-film Sharpe series is as good I remembered. Director Tom Clegg and the stunt team pull out all the stops to portray the chaotic action of the Battle of Waterloo. The deaths of Harris and Hagman at the end still hits hard, as the fallen comrades reach out for each others hand with their last breath. Young Paul Bettany, as a fictionalised Dutch noble who Sharpe is serving under, makes a terrifically hate-able example of the dangerously arrogant upper-class officer antagonist. He annoys Sharpe so much that even his familiar swearing reaches new heights for this final episode "What an idiot. What a dirty little Dutch buffle-brained b*stard. I'll ram his poxed crown, right up his poxed ar*e. The blue-blooded tw*t!" . All credit to actor Daragh O'Malley for keeping a straight face as Sean Bean spits out the line and rides off. I love the brass orchestral version of 'Over the Hills & Far Away' that composer Dominic Muldowney plays over the shot of Napoleon in the distance at the very end. Now I need to decide if I want to re-watch the two disappointing belated sequels from 2006 and 2008, just to have some more Sharpe, or just pretend that 'Sharpe's Waterloo' was always the perfect end to this story.

 

[TM2YC]

News From Home (1977)
Credit to Director Chantal Akerman for the creative spark needed to make a sometimes engaging feature-length experimental documentary out of nothing but random b-roll of New York and her reading letters from her mother on the voice-over. Sometimes the combination of the yearning tone in her mother's distant letters and the depressed looking faces we see scurrying back and forth on the bleak, crumbling, rubbish strewn streets of late 70s NY really gel but at other points I felt no connection at all. I actually preferred the long passages where Akerman stops talking and we just observe people and wonder who they are, as they sometimes gaze back at us, the camera. The final 10-minute, wordless and virtually meaningless shot is interminable and begs the question, if it was really important to be this long, why does it end randomly on a far away shot of Manhattan, when it was showing a (slightly less) far away shot of Manhattan for the whole 5-minutes before? I can only suppose it must be there because the audience is presumed to need a whole 10-minutes silence to contemplate the earth shattering power of the previous 80-minutes?

---

Daughters of the Dust (1991)
I was quite confused during the first part of 'Daughters of the Dust', with dreamlike flashbacks and flash-forwards being narrated by a semi-imaginary unseen character, about other characters we haven't been properly introduced to, on the subject of a setting and events that haven't been properly explained. There is a fine line between experimental and poetic, and just poor storytelling. So I took the unusual step of going to Wikipedia, reading what the plot was about, then rewatching it from the start, where upon it made much more sense and I actually liked it. Julie Dash and her cinematographer Arthur Jafa shot one of the most perfectly beautiful films I've yet seen. It's golden sun-dappled look, mysterious feel and historical setting reminded me of 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'.

 

[TM2YC]

Dark City (1998)
I was a bit suspicious of the "revisionism" of the belated Director's Cut, so I opted for the Theatrical Cut, rightly, or wrongly. Maybe it's just the TC but the editing is absolutely horrible and headache inducing. Cut, cut, cut, with no obvious motivation behind them. Surely with this type of Neo-Noir, you'd want to create a moody atmosphere and let the viewer soak it up through long shots. Especially as just about every shot looks like one of the most beautifully lit things you'll see outside of an Edward Hopper painting but you're only gonna get 24-frames (if you're lucky) to look at those nice shots before it's cut, cut, cut to an equally nice shot from a different angle. The score is overbearing and again, seems designed to do the opposite of creating that Noir atmosphere. Is it just me or this film undeniable proof that Kiefer Sutherland is one of the worst actor of all time? Thank goodness William Hurt is also there to be subtle and brooding. The chase through the city, while it is morphing, is so cool, as is the hypnotic training montage and the operatic insanity of the "wizard battle". I kept thinking of Terry Gilliam during 'Dark City' and how this could have really used some of his humour to enliven this interesting but inherently goofy premise. Although it's not a phrase I like because substance is in the eye of the beholder and style is not a bad thing but I do find it hard to resist not saying "style over substance".

 

[Masirimso17]

Dark City (1998)
I was a bit suspicious of the "revisionism" of the belated Director's Cut, so I opted for the Theatrical Cut, rightly, or wrongly. Maybe it's just the TC but the editing is absolutely horrible and headache inducing. Cut, cut, cut, with no obvious motivation behind them. Surely with this type of Neo-Noir, you'd want to create a moody atmosphere and let the viewer soak it up through long shots. Especially as just about every shot looks like one of the most beautifully lit things you'll see outside of an Edward Hopper painting but you're only gonna get 24-frames (if you're lucky) to look at those nice shots before it's cut, cut, cut to an equally nice shot from a different angle. The score is overbearing and again, seems designed to do the opposite of creating that Noir atmosphere. Is it just me or this film undeniable proof that Kiefer Sutherland is one of the worst actor of all time? Thank goodness William Hurt is also there to be subtle and brooding. The chase through the city, while it is morphing, is so cool, as is the hypnotic training montage and the operatic insanity of the "wizard battle". I kept thinking of Terry Gilliam during 'Dark City' and how this could have really used some of his humour to enliven this interesting but inherently goofy premise. Although it's not a phrase I like because substance is in the eye of the beholder and style is not a bad thing but I do find it hard to resist not saying "style over substance".

I heard this movie contained ideas and concepts from The Matrix before that movie came out.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I heard this movie contained ideas and concepts from The Matrix before that movie came out.

Yeah when Dark City came out it was such a novel concept that I loved it. Now that these concepts are almost common tropes, the movie doesn’t really hold up. But I loved it back then. Plus Jennifer Connelly.

 

[TM2YC]

Argentina, 1985 (2022)
I do love a great courtroom drama and this new Argentinian film about the "Trial of the Juntas" is 140-minutes of thrilling and powerful scenes of people in smoke-filled rooms arguing about politics, morality, history and the law. Ricardo Darin plays the old head prosecutor Julio Strassera, who is portrayed as worried and paranoid after years working under a genocidal dictatorship, who finds his courage thanks to his team of young energetic lawyers and a down-to-earth family who have his back (or are prepared to give him a kick up the backside). This is what I call an "action movie" and the cinematography is amazing.

---

If These Walls Could Sing (2022)
Mary McCartney gets her dad Paul to bring all his old musician mates down to the famous Abbey Road Studios for sit-down interviews. There is little imagination in the presentation and a structure which is not much more than random clips on a timeline, rather than a coherent narrative history but I can't deny that the quality of the people, music and anecdotes, makes this a very pleasant way to spend 86-minutes. Although I believe this is brand new to Disney+, the decision to crown the documentary off with Kanye West performing, feels an editorial decision that was taken some time ago.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

My wife and I have been wanting to watch this but the longer rutile has thwarted us on weekdays (and we’re often not around on weekends). Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to it.

 

[TM2YC]

My wife (an attorney) and I have been wanting to watch this but the longer rutile has thwarted us on weekdays (and we’re often not around on weekends). Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to it.

I forgot to mention that Amazon Prime booted it up with English subtitles and an admittedly very well done English dub, so then after reading all the intro info subtitles, I had half a minute of my brain being very confused as to how I could understand the people talking in this foreign language film and why their lips looked off? Then I realised, switched it to Spanish, and restarted the film .

 

[TM2YC]

*SPOILERS!*

The Menu (2022)
'The Menu' is an entertaining enough ride, with regular jolts on the soundmix to keep you awake if you aren't entertained. The behaviour of the characters in extremis stretches credulity and the film is counting on you being happy to be spoon fed information (pardon the pun) and to not really think about the mechanics of the premise. For example, it cuts away when Margot uses the radio because if you heard what she said, or thought about what she would've said off screen, the following scene doesn't make sense. If you don't believe what you are seeing, it's difficult to be horrified by it. I think the film also assumes you view Margot as the down-to-earth, relatable, protagonist, instead of an insufferable, self-obsessed, killjoy, who was a lot higher up on my list of characters deserving of death (within the confines of the story) than others. Or maybe I've got more compassion for obviously damaged and flawed people (regardless of their wealth and privilege), than poor people who are ar*eholes for no obvious reason. There was something genuinely interesting and powerful that it almost says about the sadness and rage of the Chef character but this lacks the real satirical wit of 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory', or unsettling horror of 'Midsommar', two films that I felt 'The Menu' echoed.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

*SPOILERS!*

The Menu (2022)
'The Menu' is an entertaining enough ride, with regular jolts on the soundmix to keep you awake if you aren't entertained. The behaviour of the characters in extremis stretches credulity and the film is counting on you being happy to be spoon fed information (pardon the pun) and to not really think about the mechanics of the premise. For example, it cuts away when Margot uses the radio because if you heard what she said, or thought about what she would've said off screen, the following scene doesn't make sense. If you don't believe what you are seeing, it's difficult to be horrified by it. I think the film also assumes you view Margot as the down-to-earth, relatable, protagonist, instead of an insufferable, self-obsessed, killjoy, who was a lot higher up on my list of characters deserving of death (within the confines of the story) than others. Or maybe I've got more compassion for obviously damaged and flawed people (regardless of their wealth and privilege), than poor people who are ar*eholes for no obvious reason. There was something genuinely interesting and powerful that it almost says about the sadness and rage of the Chef character but this lacks the real satirical wit of 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory', or unsettling horror of 'Midsommar', two films that I felt 'The Menu' echoed.

I agree with everything you’ve said. It took me a bit but I ultimately accepted that it is a satire and the character behaviors and plot contrivances could be excused as such. Still, I felt it would’ve worked better for me without the horror elements. It wasn’t scary and those elements, for me, only served to undermine the satire

 

[TM2YC]

How the heck do you delete a double post!?

Done

I just remembered this hilarious recut in reference to 'The Menu':

It's from 2-years ago and I'm sure it's got some of the same shots in it.