"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Movie Review: Knives Out (2019)

Good day to everyone!

I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy! Today I am going to review for you the latest movie that I saw in the theater, and that was back in January. I love mysteries and this one was a fun time. I hope that you enjoy this review!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


Knives Out (2019):
"The guy practically lives in a Clue board."
The famous detective Benoit Blanc is hired by an anonymous person to further investigate the suicide of the 85 year old mystery writer Harlan Thrombey. He finds that Harlan's family aren't telling him everything and tension grows as Harlan's will is going to be read. He finds himself in a mystery equal to the ones the man used to write, but is there a solution?
"I keep waiting for the big reveal."
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Drama.
Length: approx. 131 minutes.
Costumes: 8, just usual clothing.
Script: 5, so there was a lot of swearing. There are quite a few arguments where people yell bad words. One insult that I thought was hilarious was "Weak sauce."
Crew:
Directed by: Rian Johnson.
Written by: Rian Johnson.
Starring:
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc.
Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey. "You had to find a game to play with him."
Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey.
Riki Lindhome as Donna Thrombey.
Jaeden Martell as Jacob Thrombey.
Toni Collette as Joni Thrombey.
Katherine Langford as Meg Thrombey.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale.
Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale.
Chris Evans as Ransom Drysdale.
Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera.
Edi Patterson as Fran.
K Callan as Greatnana Wanetta.
Noah Segan as Trooper Wagner.
LaKeith Stanfield as Lieutenant Elliott.
Frank Oz as Alan Stevens.
Cinematography: 10, I'm going to give it a 10 because it was really cool to me. Most movies I think about the cinematography afterwards and say, "Eh, it was the normal." But it is rare that I find a movie where while watching it I think, "Wow! This is so neat!" Yep, those stick with me and this did exactly that. I love the aesthetic that goes with it and from the first it pulled me in.
Cinematography by: Steve Yedlin.
Music: 9, this music, like the cinematography, helped get me hooked! My first comment to my sister who went with me was "Creepy music!" (and that was a compliment). The score has a great amount of mystery, tension, and surprise, while being a little spooky at times.
Music by: Nathan Johnson.
"Physical evidence can tell a clear story with a forked tongue."
Quotes: 7, okay, so the reason that this has a lower rating is because of this one time where the dialogue was trying to sound really cool, but it didn't work and was hilarious to me.
It's when Jodi asks Benoit, "Do you suspect foul play?" There is a pause, then he replies, "I suspect foul play." She literally just asked you that, you could have just answered yes. Or, she could have asked, "Do you think something's wrong?" then he could have been all dramatic with the answer. Usually I'm not this picky, so I was surprised that I noticed this. Other than that, my sister and I quote this a lot, but I can't put most of them here because they are spoilers.
Oscars won: It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and I thought it was going to win because to me it was more complicated than another mystery Gosford Park (2001) which won the award in 2001, but it didn't.
Content: 6, it is a mystery involving death and some violence, scary scenes, along with a lot of smoking. Another thing is that one character vomits a few times, so there are several disgusting times. There are also one or two suggestive and racist comments.
Source
Originality: 8, this was an epic mystery. The way it was told was so great, I can't recall seeing anything like it! But, one note is about a name. When my sisters and I were little my mom would sometimes read us Choose Your Own Adventure stories, and our favorite was Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? - by Edward Packard. When we heard about this movie for the first time, we immediately thought of this book. This movie is a mystery about a man who has died named Harlan Thrombey. I don't think that you can get much closer than that! While it is pitched as an original story and I really liked it, I'm suspicious about the coincidence.
Good For: Mystery fans!
Age Range: It's rated PG-13 and I agree with that just because of what the language and content that I mentioned. As always, it depends on each person's comfort level.
Overall Score: 8!
"Close the book with a flourish."
Bonus thoughts:
I went to see this because of the great cast and director Rian Johnson (who directed one of my favorite STAR WARS movies, The Last Jedi (2017)), and came out really impressed. My older sister and I had talked about what we thought was going to happen but we weren't ready for this. Ah, it was so good! I mean, my only problem with it was all the bad words and smoking, but other than that it is one of my favorite mysteries because while it is a fun time and complicated, it also has a great message.
I'd never seen Daniel Craig in anything, but he did such a great job, I totally wasn't expecting it. And, he pulled off a southern accent!
I need to talk about Marta. She is now one of my favorite fictional characters! She is so sweet, kind, honest, and great. If nothing else that I have said has convinced you, you should all watch this for her.



Thanks for reading this far! Now I need to know if any of you have seen this! What are your thoughts? If you haven't, does this look interesting to you now? Stay safe everyone! And, Happy Mother's Day!

MovieCritic

16 comments:

  1. This movie was crazy and I loved it! Marta was so sweet too! The casting all around was phenomenal. Great review : )

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    1. Same! I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great. Her character was amazing. The rest of the cast all were excellent choices! Thanks! :)

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  2. I LOVED this movie. Though it was really hard to sit there at first and hear a southern accent coming out of Daniel Craig's mouth, lol. I know him from James Bond and am so used to ONLY seeing him in James Bond.

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    1. Me too! I first watched the trailer because of Chris Evans and when I heard Daniel Craig I couldn't believe it because though I've never seen James Bond I know that's who he is! I was impressed that he pulled it off (after the initial shock. XD)

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  3. I've been wanting to watch this one, but didn't have chance to get it out of the library before all this happened. But I look forward to it after that. I love a good mystery.

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    1. Yeah, I plan to get my mom and younger sister to watch it after this because they love mysteries, too. Once you're able to see it I would love to hear your thoughts!

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  4. Acccckkk this review definitely upped my interest in watching this GIVE IT xD

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  5. I really want to see movie! As soon as I saw it come out I kinda wanted to watch Knives Out. We don't always watch PG 13 movies so I don't know when I will get to see it.

    astordetective.blogspot.com

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    1. I think you'd really like it, Rakayle! Yeah, even though I've been watching PG-13 movies as long as I can remember I still avoid them whenever possible because I get tired of the content, so I can understand that.

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  6. Ooh, I really want to see this one! I also think the soundtrack is just my cup of tea, I love spooky/creepy scores. :)

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    1. The score is great! :) I listened to the list you put in your post from Spotify, and you had some from great soundtracks! What is your favorite?

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  7. Yes, this is such a good movie.
    It had so many twists that I could never have predicted. We need more whodunnit films (if they're good, anyway), and the cast was just perfect.

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    1. Same! My sister and I thought that we had it figured out, but we were wrong! Whodunit movies are awesome. I'm really looking forward to Death on the Nile that is my favorite Agatha Christie book and is supposed to come out this fall!

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  8. I love this one! SO entertaining!!

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    1. It was actually you saying how awesome it was that convinced me to go see it!

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To comment, or not to comment? That is the question. Whatever you decide, I would love to hear from you!! I am always open to suggestions, advice, and any other comments! Even if you don't agree with me, I would love to hear from you as long as you keep the comment respectful and on subject. And, please, no swearing. I love comments on old posts!!
My computer won't let me leave comments, so it might take a few days, but I will reply!

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles