The Menu (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Menu (2022): Famous chef hosts guests at his restaurant on a remote island, where evil surprises await. The foodies make too easy targets and a suspension of disbelief is needed throughout but manage that and this makes for a delicious black comedy from starter to dessert. B+

The Wonder (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Wonder (2022): Ireland, 1862. Girl hasn't eaten in 4 months yet remains healthy. Miracle? Fraud? English nurse is brought in to investigate. Mystery with a satisfactory resolution. Florence Pugh plays the nurse well, but lacks a strong opposing character to play against. B-

Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Banshees of Inisherin (2022): Two lifelong friends have a falling out. Things deteriorate from there. Ireland, 1923. Loneliness. Lack of opportunity. Quiet. Slow. Both the setting and the movie. More like a short story. A mood piece. A character study. Excellent acting by all. B+

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022): German. Life of WWI recruits from enthusiastic enlistment to weary armistice. Violent, gory, relentless madness of war. Not exciting as much as mind-numbing. Anti-war gem if not for unfortunate touches of German blame-shifting for WWII. B-

POTD: The Night Watch

From 2022 07 03 Amsterdam

Today's photos-of-the-day are from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The first photo shows "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt van Rijn from 1642. It's the best known painting in the Rijksmuseum's vast collection of Old Masters. Almost everyone is familiar with it. But how many photos ever show what people see when they stand with their backs to the famous painting? The second, bonus photo does just that. I think the building itself is an Old Master. Follow me for other unusual views of famous places. ;-)

Bonus photo after the jump.