Knives Out

So like a lot of good movies, I didn't see this one in the theaters. I regret that immensely. First off, cause its Rian Johnson and I really enjoy his work. Also, the movie was semi-spoiled for me a few weeks ago so I wasn't in a rush to see it because I didn't know if I'd enjoy it still. Well, if there is a sign of a good movie, its that you can watch it despite knowing the ending and still really enjoy it, and that was the case with Knives Out.

The story is a Whodunit surrounding the sudden death of the patriarch of a wealthy family. Almost immediately, you are introduced to a star studded cast that is very much the suspects of the night and the story is rife with red herrings, plot twists and mystery solving. But one way or another, Rian Johnson is able to make a movie that could easily just be a simple whodunit murder mystery that's been done about a billion times into a really fun, hilarious, and thrilling murder mystery that of course subverts all those expectations Rian Johnson loves to subvert.

Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer, a competitor for the national treasure hall of fame) is found dead in probably the first five minutes of the movie with his throat slit. However, the police and the main detective (played by Lakeith Stanfield) have all but proclaimed it a suicide. However, a private investigator by the name of Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) was hired to look into the death and determine the real cause of death, and that investigation starts when he interviews the closest people to him, most namely his family.

And yeah... the cast is really good. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Katherine Langford, and Jaeden Martell all make up these really colorful characters that I was surprised on how interesting they all were individually. I think when I saw the posters and trailers I knew that we'd get some wacky characters, but this is just a weird family and there is so much to love, or love to hate about them that they're probably the most entertaining part of the movie.

Other suspects include Harlan's nurse Marta Cabrera (played by Ana de Armas), his housekeeper Fran (played by Edi Patterson), and Harlan's mother Wanetta (played by K Cahlan). You get it, the cast is great. But the reason they're great is because you watch this very rich family slowly start to tear one another apart as the prospects of them either getting or not getting inheritance tears them apart.

And here you might be expecting me to say that Daniel Craig is the best part of the movie and that's very far from the truth. He's good. He's funny, he's clever, and he's written... sort of well but surprisingly, he's not the best part of the movie. I would say, he's not even that good at his job. But he's got this kentucky drawl and he's got some really funny dialogue and moments throughout the film that it does not surprise me that they've already announced a sequel and potential franchise surrounding this character. I'd for sure watch him again and I think Rian Johnson and Lionsgate knows that.

Honestly, I'm slowly figuring out that Rian Johnson is one of my favorite directors working today because its very hard for me to point out things that I don't like about his movies, they usually have to be pointed out to me. I personally really liked The Last Jedi, probably more than a lot of people and even with further viewings, I still really enjoyed it. And it took me a few viewings and listening to other people talk about the film to make me realize some of the flaws, but even when I saw the flaws, it didn't matter to me. I'm wondering if that'll be the same with Knives Out, that I'll really enjoy it right now, watch it again and really enjoy it, but the more I listen to people's takes, the more holes will be put into it. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see, I already bought it.

Overall, Knives Out feels both like a classic whodunit, while also updating the genre to the modern day. It has this really awesome timelessness that while yes, they have smart phones and they have the internet, they're still in a large mansion that looks like the mansion from Clue. That on top of the fact that they dress like they're characters from the board game, just makes the film even more fun, even despite some flaws that I'm not even totally aware of existing.

If you haven't heard anything about Knives Out, watch it as soon as you can so it is not spoiled for you. But even if it was spoiled, do watch it because you may not know the whole story like I did and there are still some fun twists and turns.

But those are my thoughts on Knives Out. Feel free to comment and discuss below and let me know how you felt about it, what Rian Johnson movies you enjoy or do not enjoy, along with any other thoughts you have. You can also send your thoughts to me on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks for Reading!