Knives Out (second-pass)
Cert: 12A / 130 mins / Dir. Rian Johnson / Trailer
Not a great deal more to add upon my first brief mutterings on this movie, other than to say that it will become a firm favourite in the years to come and I'm already hoping Benoit Blanc has more outings in the future.
Knowing the story and its outcome, a second-pass of Knives Out meant I could get fully immersed in the magnificent performances which Rian Johnson plucks from his cast - one of the very few exceptions where the players of a movie are clearly having an absolute ball and it still results in something which isn't self-indulgently awful. And although there are narrative 'tells' to pick up when re-watching, the identity of the murderer never seems too obvious, the motives of the non-murderers are just as potentially solid, and Blanc most definitely does not know whodunnit all along.
Come for the murder, stay for the fun.
Then come back again for both...
Agatha Christye type things.
It is.
It is.
It will be high up on a a lot of performers' CVs for quite a while, and with good reason.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Another pre-Christmas flick arriving with much anticipation*1 is Rian Johnson's Knives Out, a good old-fashioned, star-studded whodunnit murder mystery in the very best traditions of Agatha Christie but with a (12A-permissible) potty mouth. Heading up the cast list are Jamie-Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans and Don Johnson, but it's Daniel Craig who really steals the show as sleuth Benoit Blanc (with his force of character being sequel-bait alone).
Now despite the many 'film of the year' plaudits I've seen so far, it's important to note that Rian Johnson is neither deconstructing nor reinventing the genre here; he's just having a load of intricate fun in the sandpit. Viewers versed in Christie's canon will feel instantly at home with something that's definitely an homage rather than a rip-off. The film never tries to be smarter than its audience, and that counts for a lot. You can spend your time trying to second-guess the outcome, or you can enjoy the two hours in the company of a cast and director who understand character-play through a viciously squabbling family full of potential murderers.
*1 Cineworld Unlimited advance-screening, and dear lord the casual cardholders were getting their money's worth with this one. The place was packed (which is a good thing), attracting as it did the type of patron who apparently pays for the card but doesn't use it very regularly so doesn't know how to behave in a cinema. The shuffling, the talking, the phones, the smell. Did I mention I don't like people? [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Well I don't know what we've done to deserve the interesting films still within the months of Summer, but I certainly won't complain about that*1. Steven Soderbergh is back directing for at the big-screen after four years with a hillbilly-heist movie set in the drawling sunshine of Carolina and Virginia.
After being fired from his construction job, faded highschool football-star Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) begins plotting a daring robbery at the Charlotte Motor Speedway stadium during its busiest weekend. For this he enlists the help of his bartending brother Clyde (Adam Driver), hairdressing sister Mellie (Riley Keough) demolitions-expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) and Joe's calamitous brothers Sam and Fish (Brian Gleeson / Jack Quaid). All they have to do is bust Joe out of prison first…
Quite unlike anything else which has crossed my path this year, Logan Lucky is a dryly-comic caper set against a backdrop of NASCAR, child beauty pageants and misspelled tattoos. But although the Southern States are mined for grins, this never becomes exploitative or unnecessary. While the trailer lets you know that there are jokes here, the final movie delivers them at a more restrained pace, going hand-in-hand with their perfect deadpan delivery. It quickly becomes evident however that Soderbergh can't direct comedy for shit, and just happens to be blessed with a cast who know what they're doing*2.
But this is a smarter film than it might first appear and even more charming, managing to craft an intriguing story and satisfying ending without tipping over into schmaltz. Despite the incredibly strong cast, I can't see Logan Lucky lighting up the box-office, and the natural home of a movie like this is on DVD, a future Saturday night cult classic. It's also the second film this year to hurl a borderline unhealthy amount of John Denver into the soundtrack*3.
One of the jewels in Soderbergh's varied (albeit uneven) crown, Logan Lucky is a lot of fun and should stand up to multiple re-watches. Each one accompanied with ice-cold beer…
*1 Not least because this year's Blockbuster Season has also presented us with far more than its fair share of absolute cack, too. [ BACK ]
*2 With the inglorious exception of Seth MacFarlane, outstaying his welcome during his first appearance, being every bit as engaging as we've come to expect… [ BACK ]
*3 Which is fine right now, but I can't help feel this musical train is going to reach the end of its track, and pretty soon. [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Spectre (NO PLOT-SPOILERS)
Cert: 12A / 148 mins / Dir. Sam Mendes / Trailer
Right, I'll keep this short. Just got in from seeing Bond 24*1 and wanted to review it while it's fresh. Unfortunately, I can't talk about any of what's on my mind without wading into spoiler-territory. Hit me up in this thread on the Facebook page if you want to paddle in those waters. In the meanwhile…
Yes, the much-anticipated Spectre finally hits our screens three years after Skyfall, headed once again by director Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig as everyone's favourite craggy-faced governmental hit-man. As Mendes' second Bond-outing and Craig's fourth, expectations are running understandably high, especially as the story follows the ongoing thread surrounding MI5 and its place in the global security chain. But chess-metaphors abound as shadowy forces move behind the scenes, and James Bond discovers his nemesis.
To be honest, it's an odd fish of a movie which has been undermined by its own hype. Thoroughly acceptable (indeed fantastic in many places), but capable of much more depth which it squanders lieu of car/boat/plane chases and a largely unconvincing central relationship between Bond and Dr Madeleine Swann (and that's largely down to her under-developed character). Monica Bellucci is underused, Dave Bautista is underused, and although Christoph Waltz gets his moment in the spotlight, he's seriously underused. All of this wouldn't be a problem if there was more going on at the Bond-end of things, but compared to his shellshocked, self-doubting character in Skyfall, James is running on autopilot a little here.
But it's still one hell of an autopilot, of course. Ben Whishaw's Q is a welcome low-key touch to the film, as it Ralph Fiennes' M (as he deftly steals some of the best lines). The film's about half an hour too long, the script is occasionally over-written, as is the action, yet all of this isn't a drawback. In fact, it's not really until you get outside of the cinema that you start thinking about all the things you didn't get.
But enough of my moaning. Spectre is very, very good at being a James Bond film, and that's what's important. Of course it could be more, and many might feel it should be more. But let's not over-analyse what is a proudly mainstream action-thriller and a British institution in its own right.
…right?
It is, but probably just the once.
Well obviously you're going to buy it; it has to go with the others, doesn't it?
Sadly not.
I think Spectre achieves what Spectre sets out to do, but that's not what Skyfall had lined up for it.
Not particularly.
There isn't.
The latest Bond installment features Mr Mark Preston as an un-named Spectre-agent, who also appears as an un-named Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and as an un-named stormtrooper (presumably a different one) in Star Wars: Rogue One.
It may be an 'extra' role, but fair fucking play to the guy :)
*1 Sounds like the world's most exciting news-channel; it's actually just real-time footage of glue drying. Sorry.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
And so Craig returns for another round as the increasingly world-weary hero in the 23rd Bond movie. A great, lengthy pre-titles sequence sets the scene for an agent who's worried he's losing his edge, in an organisation that's struggling to keep its head above water…
In some respects, it's been pared down nicely to a muted version of the spectacle we've seen in previous films; by the final showdown, the world isn't at stake, only the worlds of four people standing in a deserted chapel. Elsewhere, CAT diggers and tube trains ramp up the action to precisely the level of mayhem we've come to expect.
Javier Bardem makes an excellent villain, although I'm not convinced that he's an excellent Bond villain. He carries a layer of madness and tragedy that lifts him way above other characters in his class, but at the same time caps his overall threat-level. He's so wrapped up in his personal agenda that you get the impression that he won't know what to do after he's achieved it, like a dog chasing a car. Ultimately, this makes him arguably more human than anyone else on-screen, which may be the point, but seems a little out of place for a story where we're meant to be cheering the good guys. There are some interesting themes running through the MI6 threads, particularly with the overall fear of obsolescence, but they're pretty much shrugged off by the end of the story, and they're just not as engaging as watching Bardem's Silva losing the plot scene by scene.
A hugely entertaining movie which doesn't outstay its welcome.
Oh, and the chase sequence at Embankment tube station? I'm probably not the first person to point out that they put things on the Tube escalators to stop you sliding down them like that. So, y'know, don't try that. Just saying.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
