The Menu: Everything is amazing

Movie Review: The Menu (2022) on HBO Max

To say it's suspenseful is to downplay it. To say it's a thriller is to come up short. To say it shocks is to give it short shrift. The Menu is many things, but as a film it is a mind-blowing mystery that never fails to surprise and keep you wondering what could possibly happen next. 

Cast, timing, and the element of surprise is what make this film work.

Ralph Fiennes is Chef. He is ego personified, chief among all those of the guests invited to marvel at his exclusive restaurant on an island far removed from the drudgery of civilization. Anya Taylor-Joy is Margot, seemingly the alter-ego, the least polished of the posh guests on the list. She is companion to Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), who is most eager of the guests to be impressed and most eager to impress Chef. John Leguizamo is a movie star most eager to make appearances. And so the list goes on of the rich and pompous for whom Chef has prepared a multi-course lavish meal for which he is famous. 

Timing is everything. As Chef prepares each course for serving, he chaps his hands and the cook/servers yell, "Chef!" and guests come to attention. As a viewer, you come to attention, too. And like an illusionist about to perform the next extreme feat of magic, you prepare to be surprised. First, by the elegant culinary delivery. Then by the...

...the excellent element of surprise. After a bit of discourse on the meal, or the food, or some bit of history, Chef slaps you to attention with a dramatic twist.

Some of it is shocking. And you wonder--what in the hell! How did he do that? Is this real? Some of it is genius. All of it just leads you into the next course, wondering but not ready for the next slap. And then it comes.

The Menu is an odd title. This isn't about the menu. It's about The Delivery, the Final Delivery. Don't dare bow out early. Stay to the end. You really must. You won't believe it.

And so, I rate The Menu an A+ for Amazing. The food looks amazing, the presentation is amazing, the casting is amazing--everything is wonderful. If it just weren't so shocking! No, that was amazing, too, in retrospect.

Tolkien: Exceptional Storytelling

Movie Review: Tolkien (2019)
Version: Library Blu-Ray

Much was written about the early life of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien, but not much has been told in film. The 2019 film Tolkien brings to life his struggles and triumphs as an orphan and prodigy of language and the arts in early 20th century England and the imagination that brought him to write two of the world's most beloved stories in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

As a young boy, John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien and his younger brother Hilary would lose both their father and mother and be sent to live with relatives and then a boarding house to grow up. Their legal guardian was a kindly Catholic priest named Father Francis, who shepherded their upbringing and quality education. Tolkien takes us through those cold, difficult days, and the part camaraderie played in building Tolkien's imagination and the appreciation of friendship and fellowship that would become key themes in his books. He struggled to pass his exams to earn scholarships and just as he was about to attach himself to an esteemed professor of language, The War to End All Wars (World War I) erupted and Tolkien found himself on the front lines in Europe, where his experiences fueled many of his visions for the horrors of battle for his stories. Of course, he returned after the war to become a professor of philology and write his books. Many of his friends did not make it through the war, providing grist for his tales as well. 

Tolkien is a rugged, ambitious telling of Tolkien's early life and a celebration of language and storytelling. The action is vivid, its settings are breathtaking, and the characters are heartwarming, making for brilliant film making and the story memorable. So, too, the imagery is evocative. The film does Tolkien himself proud. Harry Gilby is excellent as young J.R.R. and Nicholas Hoult is devout as his adult self. Colm Meany was wonderful as Father Francis. They lead a great cast. As a steadfast Tolkien fan, I found the film Tolkien exceptional.

Collide: A Cheap Fast and Furious Ripoff and Disappointing

Movie Review: Collide (2016)
Version: Library borrow

Collide turned out to be the second of two bad movies of a double feature at home. I would call it a cheap Fast and Furious ripoff, with Nicholas Hoult as down-and-out American Casey Stein trying to reboot his life of poor choices in Germany, where he meets bar keep Juiliette (played by Felicity Jones). She isn't into this loser, but he inserts himself into her life and he promises to change his ways as an errand boy for East European Geran (played by Ben Kingsley), which he does by quitting that work and working in a metal reclamation center. Then Casey learns that Juiliette is seriously ill and as an American she isn't covered for the kidney transplant she needs to stay alive and requires six-figure money fast. So he rejoins Geran in a scheme to heist drugs and cash from money laundering kingpin Hagen Kahl (played exquisitely by Anthony Hopkins). From there, the story becomes a car chase movie with smoke and mirrors, but without the ensemble cast of a Fast and Furious.

I said that Anthony Hopkins is exquisite as Kahl. If there is a saving grace to the movie, it is Hopkins who, as ever, is the consummate professional actor giving depth and range to his character. There are hints of Hannibal Lecter from Hannibal as well as William Parrish from Meet Joe Black in this character. He is menacing in parts, elegant and patrician in others. Contrast him with Ben Kingsley who, fine actor as he has been, seems to have become stereotyped as these slimy accented characters with little dimension. In Collide, he plays a caricature of a character, almost a comic relief to Kahl. Geran could have been so much more dangerous, so much more threatening, so much more scheming. There is also not all that much depth to the Juilette character. Casey gets by as a schemer and it isn't until the end that we find out he's really much smarter than he lets on. And this is probably as much a scripting problem as an acting one. For an actor, it's in the portrayal, in the facial expressions, in the voice and pauses. In the script, it's the situations created and the dialogue provided. In Collide, the script certainly failed.

The big reveal at the end is plainly a cheat. Again, this is a scripting problem. Why wait till the end to surprise your audience? Why not give us hints along the way so we can say, "Ah, yes, now it makes sense!" Instead, we say, "Oh, thanks, now you tell us!" Perhaps the title Collide is about the collision between audience expectations and reality when you get to the end of a disappointing movie.

Viewer beware: Watch Collide at your own risk. Perhaps fast forward to the Anthony Hopkins parts and you will be just fine. Otherwise, I suggest you give it a skip.