A place to do basically anything I guess - Mostly talking about movies, shows, or maybe the odd books that have caught my eye. Just random stuff - no rhyme or reason
LET'S TALK ABOUT LOKI'S SHOES (ACTUALLY, HIS WHOLE WARDROBE)
Production costs aside, clothes tell the audience about how characters think of themselves.
Loki's shoes in the S2 finale raised a lot eyebrows, but I find them quite fitting: they are comfortable, practical, and most importantly, they are humble. The camera brings this to our attention to communicate his evolution in character.
Loki has always dressed well, often times ostentatiously. Whether he is at war, passing as a Midgardian, or held captive as an Asgardian prisoner, Loki communicates his social class and sense of superiority through clothing. For him, clothing armors his fragile sense of self and against others' opinions of him. He intends to be perceived as deadly charming but ultimately unapproachable.
His attire in the first Thor movie is roughly equal parts green and gold, signifying his royal status. His style is dressed down for his brother's misadventures in Jotenheim, yet overall both silhouettes are lofty, princely, but not hardened or threatening.
In Avengers, Loki's look has more black and leather, with exaggerated emphasis on his shoulders meant to intimidate as he assumes the role of villain. The silhouette is very hard, heavy, and edgy. Gold detailing is prevalent as well. Combined with the goat's helm, this is Loki's most pretentious outfit, which speaks to an undercurrent of low self-esteem and a compulsive need to impress. There's no mistaking he is the main antagonist of the story.
In Thor 2, Loki's attire is similar to Avengers but the overcoat is exchanged for a less bulky version (perhaps conveying he is less guarded now that the effects of the Mind Stone are no longer influencing him). Loki's role likewise pivots from the harsh lines of a villain to the more flexible edges of a reluctant villain-turned-ally. This aligns with his character arc when he protects both Jane and Thor, seemingly sacrificing himself.
In Thor 3, Loki's silhouette is streamlined even further. The overcoat is done away with in favor of what appears to be a leather doublet, pauldrons, and vambraces. Gold accents are minimal. While stylish, Loki's attire is more practical than showy, and his helm serves the dual purpose of protection as well as weaponry. At this point in his arc, Loki has become a full antihero, joining his brother's side in rescuing as many Asgardians as possible, and eventually dying in a vain bid to protect Thor from Thanos.
The TVA does something very fun and interesting in taking away Loki's ability to dress himself. Since Loki cannot use his magic in the TVA, he is forced to wear the same clothing as his captor/advocate, who eventually becomes his best friend and peer.
Perhaps, on a subconscious level, this helped Loki to feel included. We know by his pwn admission that Loki fears being alone and desperately craves a sense of belonging. At the same time, he intentionally dresses to put people at a distance, thereby protecting himself from potential rejection at the cost of isolating himself further.
When Mobius gives him that TVA jacket for the first time, Loki seems uncharacteristically pleased. It is not an attractive jacket by any means, yet he neither scoffs at it nor refuses to wear it. Instead, Loki puts it on and is content when Mobius says it looks "smart" on him. He continues to dress like Mobius and, indeed, mimic some of his mannerisms such as placing his hands on his hips. Without clothing meant to push people away, Loki opens up, has more fun, and makes friends.
Loki's choice of attire as he assumes the mantle of God of Stories (and time) is fascinating. Setting aside the clear design inspiration from the comics, Loki's silhouette is soft, remarkably so. His colors are earthy hues of green, and the only bit of flare are the light gold trimming and crown. The look brings to mind the garb of sages and wise wizards rather than royalty or warriors. He's powerful yet approachable because there is humility in his bearing. And that humility springs from a well of healthy self-worth, self-love, and a deep love for others.
The shoes are not meant to be attractive. They are meant to help him ascend the throne, nothing more.
Peter Quill: You seemed pretty casual about me returning from space like it was no big deal
Grandpa Quill: Please, compared to the other stuff that’s happened on Earth these past few years, you returning from space is nothing
Peter: Oh yeah, I guess after the snap anything’s normal
Grandpa: You better believe it. Did you know they added Captain America’s shield to the Statue of Liberty?
Peter: That’s unexpected but it’s not too weird
Grandpa: A witch placed a whole town in New Jersey under some spell and mind-controlled them into acting in her sitcom
Peter: Okay that’s fucked up
Grandpa: One day the sky turned back 2000 years
Peter: This is NOT normal
Grandpa: There’s an entire race of humans that live and breathe underwater
Peter: Please stop
Grandpa: Werewolves and vampires are real, always have been apparently
Peter: Is this what a midlife crisis feels like?
Grandpa: Oh, don’t forget djinn, they’re out there too
Peter: I’m just gonna stop listening
Grandpa: A newborn Celestial emerged from the ocean and got immediately petrified, then another Celestial showed up a few days later, it was larger than the entire planet
Peter: Alright that’s it, we’re moving to another planet right now
Grandpa: Oh and rumor has it the entire multiverse is in danger of falling apart, we’re not safe anywhere
Like in Sweet Tooth it’s implied that there was (at least) two eggs with heartbeats (or at least it seems to me they where implying).
BUT
Who raised Peter in that abandoned laboratory???? Who named Peter????? Who taught Peter to talk???? Why did Peter have to die so early????? I needed a Peter backstory and that bastard scientist killed him before we could learn it😭
Most episodes of Be Cool, Scooby-doo have gags where Shaggy and Scooby trick the monster with disguises. My favourite happens to be the one from the season 2 episode, Renn Scare.
NGL but I honestly thought that someone (or even multiple people) were gonna die by dairy cow not left alone long enough or too long with how much focus it got during the tour.
And honestly I’m kind of disappointed that no one died from death by dairy cow.
The more I think about it the more I wished Tyler had died by dairy cow meat. Like this is the foodie who pretends he knows everything there is about food.
So when Chef Slowik ask him what else the cocky bastard ask for the dairy cow beef instead of the lamb, Elsa brings over several cuts (some poisonous some not)(because any chef worth their salt would know which is which). Tyler grabs the poisonous cut, cooks it for 2 seconds before presenting it to Chef Slowik. And Chef Slowik isn’t a idiot so he has Tyler eat - and through the rest of the dinner (or quicker) Tyler is being killed by dairy meat.
Ok but like I'm still thinking of the Hawthorne staff. I can't say I remember their last lines but omigods they were amazing showstoppers
Jeremy Louden & "The Mess" where the meal serves as a reflection but also Jeremy had the time to reflect on the greatness he was aiming towards but didn't want and he made a mess of himself and for what?
Katherine Keller & "Man's Folly" where the meal serves to bring the women together to feast before death and practice honesty as the men are being hunted; is this too not a perverse reflection of our society?
But also I think I'm just obsessed with Katherine in general because when they're walking back into the restaurant without the men there's this amazing wide shot where you can see how all the women are wearing heels and they're kind of shaking and Katherine's solid black vans' are gliding on the floor. + when she says "killing you was my idea, I pitched that" and I immediately became obsessed with her because here she is gorging herself on her own folly as she welcomes the diners to dine with her and the staff to witness her
Elsa & the barrel: I remember her last lines because holy fuck the implications in that sentence alone!!!! "I didn't forget the barrel. He never told me about the barrel." Because even in death she's still worrying about work and about living up to exacting unrealistic standards. But she's also amazing because her power dynamics with the customers were amazing because she was supposed to the server in a place of subservience but she was in control the entire time and it was amazing
But once again that last fucking line. It's like being slapped and then spit upon because she was perfect and it wasn't enough. But also as a reflection of Slowik because he pit Margo|Erin & Elsa against each other, but did he really mean to, or is it just another careless action that leads to harm that does not concern him.
Elsa is amazing because she proves that Slowik is just like his customers even when he doesn't care to realize or confront it
The sommelier & "The S'more" I know that the s'more was Slowik's dish/masterpiece but there's this shot where the sommelier is gleefully pouring the wine that will aid the fire and that scene is so dynamic to me because the entire movie he's been this contained character who's poured the wine while extolling it's background making it worth the price tag but then in that shot there's this sort of mad joy on his face because he's going to die, but at least these customers are about to get their comeuppance too. It's the face of someone who has already dug the two graves and is snuggling into the 2nd grave because the 1st has been filled the way he planned
I don't really know the name of the other servers but holy shit they were great at building and maintaining the atmosphere too!
Not gonna lie i actually though The Menu would have the chef having human on the menu, at least that’s the vibe I got from that one trailer I saw.
I was so hoping for a asshole diner or someone to be killed and then served to the horror of the current survivors. Don’t get me wrong I love the movie but I’m sad the cannibal vibes I got was wrong.
Fun comedy-horror. Just the right amount of weird tension & satire. The characterization of the Tyler character was 👌 👌
But honestly what knocked my socks off was the reveal of female protagonist's profession and how it was handled. Like, she's stumbled into this absolutely unhinged murder party and she's detested this Chef guy since about 10 minutes in, and frankly it's already clear he's as annoyingly pretentious & soul-sucking as the diners... But then he pulls her into the backroom to say: straight up, I know a fellow service worker when I see one. And it turns out he clocked right away why she acted squirrly about the old rich dude at the next table. The fact that he could read the situation, and then matter-of-factly listens to her story of a sexwork job that made her uncomfortable... In that brief moment, they are the same.
It's how I was able to buy her getting away in the end. The way he kept prodding at the problem of her. She was tricked there by a dick customer (a service gone wrong) and the Chef knew that far before she & the audience did. It felt he was hoping for an excuse that could fit into his delusions.
Lillian wasn't completely exaggerating when she said she put Chef on the map: He had another high end restaurant before Hawthorne, called Tantalus. Got 2 Michelin stars 2 years in, then closed up shop. Isn't heard from again until 3 years later, running a taco truck in Portland. He agreed to the interview only if he could keep his privacy, his own land, and it had to be by the water so he could source his own fish.
It's established the movie star has a peanut allergy during the tour, and this turns out to be setup for the menu's eighth course, where Felicity is ordered to force feed him a dish completely comprised of peanuts so as to kill him through anaphylactic shock.
Anne (wife of man who paid Margot to look like his daughter while jacking him off) actually couldn't eat The Island as is due to a shellfish allergy. Hers was salmon.
The broken emulsion gag escalates to where the servers literally waterboard Lillian with it.
The restaurant has hidden cameras in the dining room, so even if Elsa missed something, it still got caught.
The taco truck Chef was running was, according to him, the happiest he'd ever been, but Margot call him out on it later, asking why he parked his truck at a Food Expo where he KNEW food critics were going to be, if he wanted to be left alone.
Man's Folly was supposed to have more details about a woman chef's actual experience in the kitchen, from harassment to stereotypes.
The women DO get bread with Man's Folly, and it IS as delicious as promised. You can even see Tyler chewing on bread when Chef comes up to confront him afterwards.
Not only did Tyler bring Margot knowing she would die, he sincerely thought Chef was going to spare him. And even when called out on it, he STILL didn't apologize or take it back, because all he cared about was experiencing the menu.
Them all coming to the kitchen to watch Tyler screw himself over wasn't originally in the script. They were just supposed to watch from the dining room.
Margot makes another bid for her life before being ordered to go get the barrel. Which Chef appreciates enough to tell her so.
Margot smiles upon seeing Tyler's hanging.
Lillian realizes she's never going to get to write about this last experience, and THAT ends up being her real just desserts.
Instead of dropping the ashes to set it all on fire, Chef originally drops a match.
We never found out Margot's true fate. The boat literally stopped a half mile away, so she was stuck there.
The last scene is of firefighters combing through the burnt wreckage, and the very last thing we see is the one photo of Chef as a young man, flipping a burger, but happy.
Chef Julian Slowik really said “Men are disgustingly entitled towards women, including me. I am part of the problem. In penance, I am going to empower the victim of my harassment to ritualistically stab me and to both design and present one of the weird little Saw courses for this evening. It was, in fact, her idea to end this with murder-suicide.” We love that growth. A TRUE feminist ally. King shit.
NGL but I honestly thought that someone (or even multiple people) were gonna die by dairy cow not left alone long enough or too long with how much focus it got during the tour.
And honestly I’m kind of disappointed that no one died from death by dairy cow.
Saw The Menu and I can’t help but kind of laugh at how jealous Elsa gets at Margot/Erin and the possibility that Slowik can and might replace her.
Which wouldn’t be funny if Slowiks plan was only to kill the asshole diners and not everyone who works there. Like did Elsa not get the memo about the evening plan of murder and suicide? Was she afraid that Slowik would back out of the suicide part and run off into the sunset to start a new restaurant with Margot/Erin? Or did she actually think in the last hour(?) of them living that Slowik was gonna kill her, hire Margot/Erin and have her play hostess until the place goes up in flames?
