Mark Mylod

A group of wealthy people pay somewhere between one and two grand for a dining experience at the Hawthorn, an exclusive island restaurant. For the duration of the meal, the guests can't leave the island - it's meant to be an experience in which they tour the grounds where the food is grown, caught, and prepared, before getting to eat each exquisitely crafted course.

As the evening goes on and the group is served increasingly odd courses, things take a very, very dark turn.

Ooh, this was good. It starts off mildly funny, as the group (except for Margo) tries to appreciate and enjoy things like the fancy bread plate that doesn't include bread (also known as the "unaccompanied accompaniments"). Only Margo, Tyler's dinner date, seems willing to say aloud that the chef is clearly insulting the diners with his various courses.

Then things get mildly uncomfortable before becoming downright horrific. It's at this point, though, that the humor also becomes even better - it's very, very dark, but made enjoyable by the fact that it all pokes fun at the powerful, the people who can afford to pay a couple grand for a single meal that barely consists of anything edible.

It's intense, riveting, and slick. The one problem, for some viewers, may be its believability. You somehow have to accept that an entire restaurant full of staff and diners would allow things to reach the point at which the movie ends. It worked for me overall, but I'm not entirely sure why. I suppose there was something hypnotic about the setup, Chef Slowik's magnetic control over the restaurant, and even his loud clap at the beginning of every course. There was something cult-like about it. Just about every potential way out was just another part of the show.

The ending manages to be equal parts horrific and ridiculous. The one thing I had an issue with: it's marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker, not chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker. You'd think a chef would know better, but then again maybe it was just another sign of Chef Slowik's disconnect from his humble origins.

All in all, I enjoyed this and expect that I'll be rewatching it at some point.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (meer)

Esta temporada comienza con el vacío de poder que los protagonistas buscan llenar a través de Poniente y Essos. En el Castillo Negro, Jon Nieve lucha por equilibrar las demandas de la Guardia de la Noche con las de los recién llegados Stannis Baratheon, quien se erige como el legítimo rey de Poniente. Mientras tanto, Cersei trata de mantener su poder en el Desembarco del Rey en medio de los Tyrells y el surgimiento de un nuevo grupo religioso liderado por el enigmático Gorrión Supremo, mientras Jaime se embarca en una misión secreta. Al otro lado del Mar Angosto, Arya acude en busca de un viejo amigo mientras que un fugitivo Tyrion encuentra una nueva causa. A medida que aumenta el peligro en Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen descubre que su frágil control sobre la ciudad requiere algunos duros sacrificios.… (meer)

Various factions plot to gain political control over a fantasy world.

This season feels a bit like it's stalling for time. Which is weird to say, because a lot of really huge things happen. A couple storylines - the ones about characters in the north - have fully functional arcs, but I don't really care about those characters. The good characters' stories are just starting to get going when the season stops abruptly. Basically, seasons 1-4 were one big 40-episode season, and season five is like the beginning of a second giant season. I envy people first watching the show 5 years from now, who actually get to watch complete stories.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.9/4… (meer)