Knives Out movie review

MOVIE TITLE:    Knives Out

RATING:  PG-13

LENGTH:   2 hours, 10 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Directed by Rian Johnson, this funny “whodunnit” has the same vibe as the 1985 film Clue with an old-fashioned mystery and an outstanding ensemble cast.   You will definitely be entertained.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• LOTS of smoking
• A murder with blood
• Profanity and 1 F-bomb
• Talk of a young man pleasuring himself
• Talk of an affair
• Talk of blackmail
• Talk of illegal immigration

THEMES:

• Greed
• Dishonesty
• Truth
• Follow your heart
• Family

THINGS I LIKED:

• The star-studded cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, LaKeith Stanfield, Frank Oz, Jaeden Martell, and Noah Segan.
• I mentioned Daniel Craig in the list of the fantastic ensemble.  He is really over-the-top and hilarious as the “last of the gentleman sleuths.”   His accent was completely unexpected, which made it even more entertaining.
• If you like seeing Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas together, you’ll be happy to know that they’re both going to be in the movie No Time To Die in 2020, the next James Bond 007 movie added to the franchise.  Ana, by the way, was really great in this film.
• I wonder how casting decided on certain characters. For example, K Callan is almost 7 years younger than Christopher Plummer but she plays his mother in the movie.
• The humor keeps the drama firmly planted tongue-in-cheek.  It’s normally very tricky to keep the tension high for the audience while providing wit and fun, but this movie actually balances it very well.
• They say that Rian Johnson based Jaeden Martell’s “manbaby” character on the trolls that Tweeted criticism of his previous film Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017. Apparently, they’re at it again by writing reviews with terrible scores to get back at Rian Johnson. Sheesh.  His character is kind of a throw-away character that doesn’t really do anything other than be the butt of jokes.  Maybe that was intent by Johnson to get a jab at the haters.
• The title of the movie comes from the Radiohead album Amnesiac. (2001)
• Witty and clever dialogue.
• Interesting music in the beginning.
• That chair in front of the huge knife display reminded me of the iron throne in Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (DVD).
• As an author, I thought it was interesting when Michael Shannon’s character, Walt Thrombey,  talked about how his father wrote his books.  He said the plots just popped in his head fully formed.”  All of my books are non-fiction, but I’ve talked to many of my fiction author friends who describe the same thing.  Cool.
• I loved the contradictory humor when characters would say something and the exact opposite thing would play out.
• I thought it was so funny that none of the characters knew what country Marta was from.  She never corrects them in the movie, so none of us actually knows the truth.
• There are so many bizarre decorations all over the house that there is always something intriguing to look at.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Some may think that the movie is too over-acted.  Not me.  I thought it made it all the more fun.
• Act 1 and Act 2 were much better than Act 3.
• While funny in the context of the story, there’s a lot of puking.

FUNNY LINES:

* “How old is she?” – Lieutenant Elliott   (LaKeith Stanfield)

“We have no idea.” –   Linda Drysdale    (Jamie Lee Curtis)

• “I’ve never been to a will unveiling before.” – Marta     (Ana de Armas)

“Think of it as a theater production of a tax return.” –    Benoit Blanc     (Daniel Craig)

•  “Immigrants, we get the job done!” – Richard Drysdale      (Don Johnson)   quoting a line from the Broadway show Hamilton – Vocal Selections
• “The game is afoot.” – Benoit Blanc
• “Look around.  I mean, the guy practically lives in a CLUE board.” –  Lieutenant Elliott   (LaKeith Stanfield)

INTERESTING LINES:

• “Does being kind make you a kind nurse?” –  Benoit Blanc

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

   and    (also by Director Rian Johnson)

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@TrinaBoice