Knives Out

Nothing was typical about this. Everything was beautifully done in this movie, the story, the flow, the scenario, everything. I highly recommend it for mystery lovers, for anyone who wants to watch a good movie!

With the exception of my wife and daughter, and possibly my mother, Agatha Christie is the woman whom I love most on this planet. She truly was the most gifted and brilliant fiction writer who ever lived, and it rejoices me to see that her work still inspires other writers and filmmakers nowadays; more than forty years after she passed away. There are still many adaptations of her original work, but with "Knives Out", writer/director Rian Johnson attempts something entirely different. It's abundantly clear that Johnson was inspired by all of Christie's typical trademarks and hobby-horses, and he pays tribute to her most legendary characters and favorite settings, but the plot of "Knives Out" is entirely new and scripted directly for the screen. A good old-fashioned murder mystery/whodunit set in the enormous mansion of a wealthy family, full of eccentric people each of whom have dirty little secrets, convoluted plot twists, continuous red herrings that practically make it impossible to guess along, and a fabulous all-knowing but slightly odd sleuth slowly unravelling the clues.

Daniel Craig is downright terrific as Benoit Blanc, a private detective with a bizarre accent and weird one-liners, hired by someone anonymous to dig deeper into the strange and sudden death of patriarch Harlan Thrombey. It looks like suicide, but literally every greedy member of Harlan's bloodline had a motive for killing and - also in delightful Agatha Christie tradition - the plot even thickens after the reading of the will. It would be a shame to reveal too much about the plot, but rest assured that is refreshing and inventive, compelling as well as humorous, complex but simultaneously light-headed and 200% entertaining. The cast is phenomenal. Craig clearly enjoyed depicting a heroic protagonist that is the complete opposite of his James Bond character, and the Thrombey family exclusively exists of great talents, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Colette, Christopher Plummer and Don Johnson. "Knives Out" is perhaps slightly too long, but never tedious, and very well-directed by Rian Johnson (who honestly doesn't deserve all this hatred from disappointed "Star Wars" geeks)

No, it wasn't perfect. No it was not Academy Award material. But it was a delightful story with lots of classic whodunnit elements. I thought we got to know each character well and, like in an Agatha Christie novel, fulfilled their roles. I thought Craig did a nice job and kept things moving along. Plummer was good in his limited screen time. Once again, I'm so fed up with people who decide that IMDB presents an opportunity to destroy a valid system by giving a movie such as this a rating of One. Do you really think this film ranks down there with Alligator Women on Venus. That's what the One ratings are for. It's usually because a film gets a little hype and those with no imagination or who are unhappy with their lives feel the need to throw everything off. Use lower ratings, but try to show some objectivity.

Great movie that really does have all the hallmarks of the classic murder mystery. The story is fairly typical, there is a shocking death, everyone has their motives, and piece by piece the truth is pulled together by a sleuth, in this case Benoit Blanc (great name), who comes across as a more modern version of Hercule Poirot.

To discuss the story, is to give away the twists and turns it takes, which are delightful. Tension is maintained really well throughout the film as you constantly try to guess and workout where this mystery is going, and even right at the end the twist that comes doesn't do anything to release that tension until literally the last 1min of the movie.

The real joy though is in an all star A-list cast all performing at the top of their game, and working so well together. In many cases playing against type which is a joy to watch. If you're a fan of murder mystery, then this is a much watch!

As a fan of mysteries (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Columbo, Monk, Psych.etc.) I was thrilled to see someone making a classic style whodunnit...and the cast! Figure you can't go wrong. Well I enjoyed it & while the cast all have time to shine it is Daniel Craig with his Southern drawl & especially Ana de Armas that steal the show. For anyone keeping away because they hated The Last Jedi...I agree, it was my least favourite of all the Star Wars films, but this is a well written film that was well acted and I can only hope this will inspire others to reinvigorate the murder mystery genre.