rothdoriath

The first season was quite enjoyable. Good premise, good jokes, funny situational humor. Worth watching even if it's not the greatest Star Wars parody of all time. This is the Space Janitors that lives in my mind. Recommend it.

The second season was... okay. Took a turn to the light side, so to speak. Less room for humor but still had its high points. But while Space Janitors was more clever than smart, the cleverness starts to dip here. Noticeably.

Third season is not great. The show takes a turn to strangeness and weakness. Very little good here. The cleverness is all but gone. Now it feels like a show written by children who think they are adults. It's just a weird season where the humor and story falls flat. Some good parts, but mostly just... dumb. There's a weird D&D boardgame episode too that, somehow, really doesn't land. I think the show wanted to become Community in Spaaaace, but that didn't work. Feels like the characters got less and less intelligent. And flatter in the process.

The fourth season... where to begin? It seems that not all came back for the revival. Darby and Pat are back with the Empire with a new set of friends. Why? Uncertain. It doesn't make sense. There's no feeling of continuity. And, crucially, it's not funny. I had really hoped it would be better, but the quality dip from Season 1 to Season 4 is noticeable even if the special effects are a *little* better. I won't be finishing it.

All in all, watch season 1. Then watch season 2 if you like it.

Then consider stopping.

The people behind the show, though, seem great and passionate. Lots of people made this show happen. Very much want to praise the effort. But effort, unfortunately, doesn't make a watchable show - even when I am predisposed to watch Star Wars parodies.

I do not watch horror movies or enjoy gore or grossness, so I was concerned about watching The Menu. So first let me put some worries to rest:

• There is no cannibalism.

• There is no vomiting or nausea-inducing food stuffs.

• The movie is not gross.

• There is realistic violence but it is not a slasher film, and the violence is not excessive.

• You will not need to get therapy for trauma afterwards.

To say what it *is* might be to spoil too much. It's unique, unpredictable, and toys with your expectations much as overly fine dining toys with your expectations.

The movies it reminds me most of are Knives Out and The Exam. It has that clever, stylized, and *fun*/intense feel.

The sets are stylistically compelling. The food looks delicious. The acting is excellent on all counts. The score is great (great enough for me to stick around for the credits). The humor was subtle, clever, and landed well without relying on the low hanging fruit as many comedies do. The story and characterization is good, and you will find yourself with mixed feelings at times--which is precisely how you want a film like this to go.

The message is also complex. I've seen a lot of emphasis on the class warfare side in some reviews, and that's there, and then there's the skewering of foodie culture. Also there. But I did not find it one-dimensional or pushing a particular political agenda. It was complex and perhaps a kind of Rorschach blot for the viewer. In other words, if you're worried about paying money to get some sort of social-political PSA shoved down your throat, don't. In fact, you might appreciate how the elites are presented.

But I believe the film's underlying message is far deeper than any of that. It's more about creativity, obsession, being at the height of one's skill, and the costs of that. I found myself resonating with it a lot. I had mixed feelings. I won't say more to avoid spoilers.

Truly a unique film, and in my view a classic. Perhaps it deserves only 9 out of 10 stars. A movie can always be better. But this one is unique and did, I think, exactly what it intended to do. More movies should be like this.

It will stay in my mind a good long while even after I had a wonderful time seeing it. So 10 out of 10 it is.