Mystery abounds in brilliantly fun Knives Out

Daniel Craig, LaKeith Stanfield, and Noah Segan in Knives Out. Image courtesy Lions Gate.

At the center of Knives Out is a murder most foul. Legendary mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is discovered dead by his nurse Marta (Ana de Armas) the morning after his birthday party. The suspects are Harlan's flesh and blood. Could it have been his daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), or her husband Richard (Don Johnson), or his son Ransom (Chris Evans)? Was it Walt (Michael Shannon), or his wife Donna (Riki Lindhome), or his son Jacob (Jaeden Martell)? Or maybe it was his daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) or granddaughter Meg (Katherine Langford)? Everyone has a motive and opportunity, and it's up to private eye Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, sporting a brilliantly absurd southern accent), Lieutenant Elliot (LaKeith Stanfield), and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan) to determine what caused Harlan Thrombey's demise.

Saying too much more would ruin the fun writer/director Rian Johnson has with Knives Out. This movie is a blast from start to end, zigging and zagging and zigging again from one deliriously clever twist to the next. Johnson weaves his tale tightly, providing the audience nearly exactly the amount of information to make the final big swerve ending nearly perfect. This is an incredibly difficult trick to pull off in a genre notorious for hiding vital information from the viewer just for the sake of maintaining the mystery. That isn't Johnson's style though. Rather, he employs storytelling and filmmaking sleights of hand to retain a scintilla of ambiguity, just enough to keep the audience from knowing for sure what led to Harlan Thrombey's demise. You could watch Knives Out for days on end to find the little Easter eggs and hints Johnson throws in to throw viewers off. He borrows liberally from films like Rashomon and The Maltese Falcon as little tricks, playing on audience expectations from years of precedent, only to upend the expectations early on because it's far more fun to play with a genre than adhere to the rules strictly.

Johnson fortunately carries over the mystery genre tradition of the terribly wealthy family being terrible. The characters (and cast by extension) in Knives Out are an absolute hoot, dropping bon mots and retorts with the perfect amount of spite and malice. They are designed to be perfectly detestable, wrapped up in their world of wealth yet trying ever so hard to think they've earned anything despite starting at third base. It is so, so much fun watching these folks squirm during Benoit Blanc's interrogations or realize everything they'd planned for in life has gone to pot. The Thrombeys deserve the worst, and yet there is something sad about the entire affair. The film depicts a family that long ago gave up on ever actually liking one another, effectively waiting for their patriarch to die to inherit their slice of Harlan Thrombey's millions. Johnson's sense of humor doesn't completely cover the sadness of that scenario; avarice tore the Thrombey family asunder and nothing can ever repair that lost connection. Harlan Thrombey's legacy is a family with motive to murder him, which is both tragic and apropos for a genre dedicated to greed.

It is easy to read the tragedy in Knives Out, but Johnson and company are far, far more interested in putting on one helluva show than reflect on the sadness of being. This is one of the most purely fun films to come out this year, balancing entertainment with a fun little mental puzzle to keep viewers enthralled and engaged in the action on screen. Almost everything works about this film – from the writing and directing to the casting and right into the spacing, lighting, and even costumes. Every little thing in this movie means something, every frayed thread on a sweater or confused memory leads to something big and interesting. Knives Out is a piece of exquisite filmmaking that never fails to entertain its viewers, which is about as high of praise as a film can get.

Review: Four and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 130 minutes

Genre: Crime

tl;dr

What Worked: Script, Acting, Daniel Craig's accent

What Fell Short: One reveal is a little too obvious

What To Watch As Well: Brick, Murder on the Orient Express

Infinity War a big, bold Avengers installment

Thanos (Josh Brolin) in a scene from Avengers: Infinity War. Image courtesy Disney.

Avengers: Infinity War makes it clear from the start exactly what the eponymous superhero group faces. The movie kicks off showing the brilliant power its villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) possesses, while hinting at just how zealous he is about it. Stakes matter in a movie as big and bold as Infinity War; viewers need to respect what the nearly two-dozen heroes have to battle against to make the necessary bloat worthwhile. The heroes in this movie aren't simply fighting the concept of amazing destruction, but a being legitimately powerful enough to make that happen. What they face is important, and the movie never lets up on how much they have to accomplish to win.

Infinity War is both the movie one would expect from Marvel's years of buildup and something largely unexpected. It's as big as it should be, littered with heroes ranging from franchise staples to new additions in the last decade or so of movies. Viewers get barbs lobbed between Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) chills with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel). Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America (Chris Evans), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), and Drax (Dave Bautista) take on aliens and other malevolent beings. Spider-man (Tom Holland) is around being all doe-eyed and awkward. Almost everyone of note from a decade of movies is here, and Infinity War spends a lot of time ensuring they all get a few moments to shine. The result is an immense run time, although directors Anthony and Joe Russo keep the drag to a minimum, making for a pretty smooth 150-minute movie. 

 

Pretty much every aesthetic selling point is handled well in this movie. The action sequences are well coordinated and range from small melees to epic battles against alien beings. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s trademark jokes work more often than not, in large part because the addition of so many otherwise unconnected characters adds a new dynamic to the banter. On the most basic level, Infinity War is the movie people who have followed this franchise would want; the good stuff is there, and it's done rather well. And yet there's still a lot of unexpected bits to Infinity War. With the high stakes established so early, the tone of the movie is not as bright as the banter makes it appear. The jokes aren't as jovial or friendly as they usually are in Marvel films; in this case, the humor is rooted in fear and stress, a reaction to the situation the heroes face. The tone is less hopeful than before, more desperate and worrisome.

A lot of that has to do with how writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely plan their narrative. The film’s focus at first glance is stopping Thanos, the actual protagonist is Thanos himself. It's his quest to collect the Infinity Stones that drives the movie, his journey toward what he believes to be a better universe. The heart of Infinity War lies not amongst the collection of heroes, but with its villain. Brolin's Thanos is not a simple monster bent on destruction for the sake of destruction, or evil just because the film requires him to be the villain for the heroes to fight. The methods to his goal of creating balance in a chaotic universe are horrifying, but there remains an iota of logic to what he wants to accomplish. In his mind, he’s performing a selfless act, and its his fervor as much as the abundance of power he seeks that makes him so dominant. Fanaticism is incredibly dangerous, especially for an infinitely powerful being capable of sacrificing everything for what he deems to be a necessary cause.

 

Making a superhero movie based on the villain is an interesting, albeit counterintuitive choice. What it does though is give Infinity War a sense of urgency it didn’t have before, selling Thanos’ power and conviction to his cause. It makes for a fairly dark superhero movie, adding enough shade to a sunny franchise to keep the audience guessing at what comes next. There’s still reasons for optimism in the Marvel Universe, but they are far more difficult to find than ever been before.

Review: Four and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 150 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away
Target audience: People who have watched MCU movies for the last 10 years, as well as anyone else into comic book movies.

Take the whole family?: The tone gets pretty heavy, and families who prefer to limit their children's exposure to violence should keep the kids home. Generally though this isn't too problematic.

Theater or Netflix?: Totally worth a trip to the cinema.

What happens next?: That is an enormous question. Looking at the upcoming slate of films – Ant-Man gets his sequel in a few months, followed by a Captain Marvel movie – gives a little idea of how things will play out. But given how this movie goes, there's a whole lot of room for interpretation for the next installment. Although that is half the fun of these movies; trying to figure out what happens next.

Watch this as well?: Just pick just about anything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and you'll be in pretty good shape. D.C. has Wonder Woman, but that’s about it.

Gifted's sweetness can't mask plot, character flaws

Mckenna Grace and Chris Evans in Gifted. Image courtesy Fox Searchlight.

There isn't that much about Gifted worth remembering after its 101 minutes are over. It has a few good enough ideas in there, endearing performances and a couple of moments that can invoke involuntary weeping on occasion. But the final act is bitter, and the additional time to reflect reveals some notable plot holes and a thoroughly unremarkable final product. It's an enjoyable enough movie in the moment, but one that leaves viewers empty at the end.

That isn’t to say Gifted is truly bad. It is admittedly a pretty likable film starring very likable actors putting in tremendously charming performances. There's a great rapport between stars Chris Evans and Mckenna Grace, their performances as a low-key uncle and precocious niece balancing each other and forging a pretty great fictional relationship. The film also has Jenny Slate putting in a remarkably restrained performance as Grace's first-grade teacher, and Octavia Spencer is around to be Octavia Spencer and win over the audience with her pitch-perfect Octavia Spencer-ing. They contribute greatly to the much appreciated genial vibe the movie aims for in its first two acts. Even the drama over what to do with Grace's brilliance builds, director Marc Webb and screenwriter Tom Flynn avoid throwing in over-the-top screaming or additional theatrical moments to keep things grounded. The arrival of Evans' mother (Lindsay Duncan), who shows up to move Grace to Boston for more formal education, doesn’t result in forced drama either. The conversations between her and Evans remain civil enough and sometimes regretful about a broken past.

It's during the first 70-minutes or so that Gifted offers up an interesting philosophical question concerning the cost of genius. Grace's intelligence is at the center of the movie's drama, with Evans' wish for his niece to have a normal life fighting against Duncan's pursuit of her granddaughter's mathematical potential. Both sides make fair points about whether or not genius owes anything to society. A child should be allowed to be a kid, but having a brilliant child go through a regular school day is counterproductive to their needs and their greater potential. The debate itself is interesting and is handled with respect for both arguments and in a generally civil manner.

The problems arise when any additional thought is put into how a situation like this should be handled in real life. Gifted shifts its focus to an either/or proposition, with the girl either attending public school or going to an elite program and evolving into a computer. It takes until the very end of the movie for Webb and Flynn to admit that a third option, challenging the girl with collegiate courses part-time and send her to school to achieve the necessary socialization, both exists and makes the most sense. The belated realization of that course of action makes Evans' character, a former associate professor, look like kind of an idiot or at least a jerk, considering he was willing and eager to offer zero intellectual rigor for his niece. Childhood is designed to be challenging; revoking that aspect of it wholesale is bad parenting, and a point the filmmakers keep largely hushed even as the level of brilliance Grace's character exhibits increases every ten minutes.

Yet the worst characterization is granted to Duncan. Initially portrayed as someone willing to be moderately reasonable and have some compassion for her children is painted at the end as an absolute monster willing to ruin her granddaughter's life and let a beloved orange one-eyed cat die because the cat is an inconvenience. Aside from providing Evans a rare literal save the cat moment, it strips Duncan's character of her humanity and turns her into a cartoon villain nearly ghoulish in her pursuit of intellectual glory. Why the dark turn needed to exist is unclear considering Gifted went out of its way to avoid painting any one character as evil.

It's at this point when the flaws Gifted got away with for so long come to the forefront. The little clichés it used to carry the plot forward become clear, as do the less than stellar ways actresses like Slate and Spencer are utilized, wasting a fair amount of talent in the process. Gifted gets a lot of mileage from the performances by Evans and Grace, along with the presence of the one-eyed cat, but it doesn't do enough to support their efforts and presence. Charm can at least make a movie watchable, but it can't do much more than that without a well-told story and a strong final act.

Review: Three out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 101 minutes

Genre: Drama
 

Ask Away

Target audience: People who are interested in watching geniuses wrestle with their standards.

Take the whole family?: The PG-13 rating seems fair for the minor adult content and, mostly, the lack of interest anyone younger than that would have for it.

Theater or Netflix?: Wait for it to stream.

Does Chris Evans work as an everyman?: He does shine in one of the rare human roles he's gotten. Evans has a low-key charm that works for movies like this, sort of like Kevin Costner but with personality. If he does eventually leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe he hopefully finds a home of sorts in romantic comedies and mild dramas.

Watch this as well?: Director Marc Webb is responsible for one of my favorite romantic comedies from the last decade, (500) Days of Summer, which shares the underlying geniality as Gifted but is a more interesting and innovative movie.

Heroes fight heroes in aptly titled 'Civil War'

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. star in "Captain America: Civil War". Image courtesy Disney.

In most other years I’d be much more elated to see “Captain America: Civil War.” It’s mostly what I want from a superhero film, a smart film with well-done action sequences and one of the most fascinating villains the Marvel franchise has produced. Timing is part of the film’s issue, with the spate of comic book flicks wearing me out as a viewer, and the film does possess some of the issues afflicted “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and especially “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” That “Civil War” remains an entertaining, exciting flick despite those problems is a testament to the filmmakers’ talents and to the performances of Chris Evans as the eponymous hero and Daniel Brühl as the villain Zemo.

Offering too much of the plot in this case

At the heart of “Civil War” is the question of what the world should do with beings of enormous strength and talents who traipse around the world doing as they please. The solution in the film is to rein in the heroes with a third party, in this case the United Nations, providing oversight and control to these beings when they fight aliens, gods and insane robots. It’s a solution that splits the Avengers, with one camp led by a perpetually guilt-ridden Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in favor of some control over them: he’s joined by War Machine (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Evans’ liberty loving Captain America opposes the concept and is wary of government agendas: he has Black Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) in agreement. Conflict between the camps arises after Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is accused of bombing a United Nations meeting, pitting Captain America’s old friend against Iron Man’s crew and a vengeful Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Is everything as black and white as it seems though? And what, exactly, is Zemo up to on the periphery of the heroes’ internal struggle?

My main regret with the otherwise very good “Civil War” is the diminished presence of the eponymous hero. Evans has grown into the role beautifully since his first outing, establishing why he is the leader of a band of loners featuring a god, a rage-fueled beast, and a lovable alcoholic narcissist. Yet the almost two-and-a-half hour run time features almost as much Tony Stark – a character with three films to himself – as it does Steve Rogers, and there is much more to mine from the character. Perhaps rerouting Stark's visit to Queens to meet Spider-Man (a line or two of dialogue would have covered it) into Rogers' story would have helped. As it is, “Civil War” is a better “Avengers” film than a feature on Captain America, and I’d still like to see another entry devoted to Evans’ Steve Rogers.

It's a symptom of a larger problem with these superhero films, the need to incorporate as many characters as possible to build to the end game. A film purportedly about Captain America spends a sizable amount of time introducing characters like Spider-Man and Black Panther – both of whom have their own movies scheduled for release in 2017 and 2018, respectively – while balancing screen time for established characters like Black Widow (who still does not have her own film), Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, Black Falcon, Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Vision, Hawkeye, War Machine, Iron Man and Cap himself. The villain also must receive a modicum of attention to keep the plot moving, although not quite enough to make him as vital as he should be (Brühl can only do so much with so little time). “Civil War” is a hefty film, but it isn't long enough to offer adequate time for all these characters and the regular plot machinations without some trimming, leaving Brühl's Zemo and Hawkeye a little left out and cutting down the quality time spent with Cap and Black Widow – a the high point of “Winter Soldier.”

“Civil War” nearly pulls it all off though thanks to some terrific writing and the directing talents of Anthony and Joe Russo, who know how to stage a good, satisfying fight scene between super powered protagonists and keep the film going with ease. Even with so much time diverted to the plethora of characters the filmmakers always focus on telling a complete story with depth and nuance and one heck of a twist at the end. And Brühl's Zemo makes for a compelling, quiet villain who succeeds without the aid of super powers or impossible technology. He's cunning and ruthless and daring, yet oddly sympathetic because he fights such powerful figures without powers or even henchmen to throw at them. It’s a nice change of pace from the textbook big bads in the other Marvel properties.

“Civil War” is a victory for comic book fans and the millions of people who will flock to theaters this weekend to see it. The film is on the upper end of what the genre has to offer, offering a good balance of smarts and brawn while effectively setting up the massive two-parter three years down the line. It's still admittedly a slight step down from “Winter Soldier” – arguably the best of the recent Marvel films – but “Civil War” is still a damn good superhero movie.

Review: Four and a quarter out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 146 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: Pretty much anyone willing to pay money to see Marvel superheroes fight.

Take the whole family?: There is a fair amount of violence in this, so perhaps keep kids younger than 10 at home.

Theater or Netflix?: Definitely good enough for a theater trip. It's also much more fun with an audience.

Why can't DC do films like this?: Some of it is on Marvel/Disney, who are smart enough to build up to its main selling point instead of tossing two vital characters fight on the first shot. “Civil War” is a logical progression of the relationship between Captain American and Iron Man, with a modicum of third-party puppetry thrown in; “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” features two idiots too dumb to talk to each other and avoid their battle royale.

Watch this as well?: The first two “Captain America” films are among the best to come out in Marvel's recent spate of releases, while the first “Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” are a lot of fun as well. Feel free to skip “Howard the Duck” though.