THE MENU (Mark Mylod, 2022)

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(Directed by Mark Mylod from a script by Seth Rice and Will Tracy; starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Hong Chau, Nicholas Holt, John Leguizamo, Judith Light, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, and Aimee Carrero. Released 18 November 2022; watched 2023w35 via Max)

A deliciously horrific (dark, dark dark) comedy-of-manners (think Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME if Octave went all Count Zarnoff ) meets excoriation of a CHEF'S TABLE culture that takes the love out of that most primal of arts – though it could be applied to any art, really – and in whose gut, as Ralph Fiennes's executive-chef-cum-cult-leader Julian so aptly puts it, that art becomes shit.

With the exception of the (apparent? I'm not discounting that I may have misread the final scene and relish the chance to revisit at some point) turn in the remaining diners' attitudes at the final course – I couldn't tell if it was acceptance or resignation or conversion or all (or none) of the above – feeling more than a bit like a switch flipped (had it been seeded throughout, perhaps that would have worked better; as it was, the totality of "The Menu" and its attendant punishments didn't feel as complete as it could have had total conversion to Julian's perspective been achieved – in my eyes, it didn't go far enough (which probably says more about me than the film itself)), THE MENU ranks among my favorite recent releases – so much so that It's now the second film (the first being PARASITE) that I purchased on Blu-Ray midway through my first viewing.

Indeed: as PARASITE did for peaches, THE MENU does for s'mores.

jumbled

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Being the state of my brain at present: wires have a tendency to cross and short when I know I have to be somewhere later in the day – no matter how far off the anointed time – and they are, indeed, crossed and shorted: MainThing suffering or at least I'm feeling MainThing's unwillingness to budge with more acuity.

Mutually assured destruction via staring contest(?)

Not that I'm not looking forward to the appointment – it's the interaction, even with people that are dear to me, that I'm not looking forward to. Need to recharge with no potential for that in sight. Tired of everything, tired of everyone.

(AKA Tuesday.)

Fortunately, Colin Stetson's score to THE MENU (PostScript on that bit of filmic brilliance coming soon) is playing so at least there's that.

physical media FTW (always and forever)

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Excellent piece on the virtues of physical media AKA why I will continue to collect, adore, and hoard my beloved Blu-Rays like a squirrel with acorns.

A collection of physical media is a bulwark against fear—the fear that rights holders may take works out of circulation, whether because of a mere contractual lapse or a calculated market-making and desire-stoking scarcity... The shutdown or lockdown of a single site may eliminate all access to the only extant source for a major movie. Thus, physical media take on an essentially political role as the basis for samizdat, for the preservation in private of what’s neglected or suppressed or destroyed in the public realm, be it through mercantile vandalism, doctrinaire censorship, or technological apocalypse.

THE FLASH (Andy Muschietti, 2023)

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(Directed by Andy Muschietti from a script by Christina Hodson and starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Maribel Verdu, Ron Livingston, Michael Shannon, Kiersey Clemmons, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Antje Traue. Released 16 June 2023; watched 2023w34 via Max.)

Still from THE FLASH: Sasha Calle's Supergirl arrives to kick Zod's ass.

That THE FLASH even exists as more than a punchline (box office returns notwithstanding) after nine years of development, a litany of directors and visions, and the unending drama in and around the DCEU, is cause for celebration (or at the very least, a slow clap); that it's as enjoyable as it is – though not without significant flaws – is reason for elation.

Excepting his choice in Batfleck's new costume (which raises questions about his taste when it comes to his upcoming take on the DCU Batverse in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD), the sometimes-jarring and unearned tonal shifts, and my general weariness with both Miller's take on Barry (their iteration is far too Spider-Man-y for my taste) and the lackluster supporting characters (though I would certainly alter the timestream to save Maribel Verdu) surrounding him, Muschietti, to his eternal credit, made the most of a thankless mission that, for the most part, didn’t feel like the Frankenstein monster of visions and meddling for which its production history had seemingly destined it.

Keaton's return as Batman was wonderful and welcome – though I can't deny that his iteration felt tonally out of place here; I wanted to be more excited than I was by his presence. Were the possibility not sadly precluded by his health issues, Val Kilmer's Batman would have been the perfect fit (as I said in my Postscript on my BATMAN FOREVER rewatch, his Bats is the one I could see figuring out how to survive a fall from outer space and struggling to raise Damien) for this take – and would have solved the issue of Nu-Bruce in the Gunniverse-adjacent Flash-DCU which elicited a smile but felt forced, at best.

While I have my fingers crossed that we'll get more of Sasha Calle's Supergirl – she would be PERFECT for WOMAN OF TOMORROW (though, admittedly, Melissa Benoist would be amazing too; if they were going to bring any two over from the CW, let it be her and Grant Gustin) – it's lamentable that THE FLASH will most likely be the final time we'll see not only Calle, but also Affleck and Irons – who I wish had gotten their own film series as I still want to know more about their Gotham (BATMAN '16 digital-exclusive comics, DC?) – and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman: all deserved better than development hell, Joss Whedon, BvS, WW84, and that atrocity of a Batsuit seen here.

But hey: if nothing else, THE FLASH earned its place on a pedestal for being the first superhero film to save a baby by sticking it in a microwave (the DCEU's version of Indiana Jones's nuclear fridge?) – and to FINALLY give us Nic Cage as Superman facing down a giant spider.