Knives Out

[Bill Mullins]

Watched "Knives Out" with the family this evening. When it came out, I saw it mentioned that there were magic posters in the backgrounds of some scenes, so I knew to watch for those. What I didn't know until I read the IMDB trivia about it was that Ricky Jay was to have been in it (in the M. Emmett Walsh role), but passed away before filming began. The producers managed to sneak him in there anyway (see bottom right of frame).

[Richard Kaufman]

Just watched it. Terrible and overlong. I thought the first one was bad (it's not a murder mystery when you know who the killer is from the moment he comes on screen), but this one was worse.

[Bill Mullins]

Richard -- It was the first one we watched tonight. Haven't seen the sequel, "Glass Onion", yet. Living in Alabama, I have trouble with affected Southern accents, and Daniel Craig's is pretty broad. But otherwise, I liked "Knives Out" okay.

[Dave Le Fevre]

Daniel Craig's accent in Knives Out seemed most peculiar, to my UK ear

[Brad Jeffers]

Ricky Jay also gets a mention in Glass Onion.

[Edward Pungot]

A bit of a tangent, but I bring it up because it’s a “whodunnit” film that gets mentioned twice in the magic community of recommended films to watch. I haven’t seen it yet myself, but it is on my bucket list.

Chris Kenner mentions it on his Vanishing Inc. Masterclass. It is also mentioned in a past newsletter of the Buck Twin’s Art of Play online venture.

The Last of Sheila (1973)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_Sheila

[Jack Shalom]

Just watched it. Terrible and overlong. I thought the first one was bad (it's not a murder mystery when you know who the killer is from the moment he comes on screen), but this one was worse.

I liked the first one, but this was illogical and boring. Not well thought out at all. You can't set something up as an Agatha Christie and then have no final plot twist when the movie cries out for it. Very disappointing. Soooo many holes in the plot.

[Joe Mckay]

A bit of a tangent, but I bring it up because it’s a “whodunnit” film that gets mentioned twice in the magic community of recommended films to watch. I haven’t seen it yet myself, but it is on my bucket list.

Chris Kenner mentions it on his Vanishing Inc. Masterclass. It is also mentioned in a past newsletter of the Buck Twin’s Art of Play online venture.

The Last of Sheila (1973)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_Sheila

Jon Allen is another magician who raves about this movie.

[Joe Lyons]

I thought the first one was bad (it's not a murder mystery when you know who the killer is from the moment he comes on screen), but this one was worse.

I agree, haven’t seen the Glass Onion, in the first one I kept waiting for the plot twist (and different killer) at the end that never came.
The Last of Sheila was great, I would watch Dyan Cannon and Raquel Welch hang wallpaper - Richard Benjamin, James Coburn, James Mason and Ian McShane for other reasons.
Great script, great acting and great ending which also skewered Hollywood and all the clues in plain sight.

[Brad Jeffers]

RK EDIT TO REMOVE LINK TO PIRATE WEBSITE

I haven’t seen it yet myself, but it is on my bucket list.

You must have either an extremely long bucket list, or an extremely crappy one.

[Edward Pungot]

“We all know what the B.S. stands for. M.S. is ‘more of the same’. And Ph.D. is ‘piled higher and deeper’.”
- The Sheriff’s Retort to The Medicine Man
(Knott’s Berry Farm, Ghost Town, Buena Park, CA)

[Leo Garet]

"Knives Out" is on one of the "back channels" every other minute. I recorded it and tried several times to watch it before giving up. I never got far enough into it to pass any other comment than what I saw was dreadful.

[Richard Kaufman]

I saw "The Last of Sheila" when it opened. It got a lot of play at the time because Stephen Sondheim co-wrote the script. The movie is also a lot of fun, something the "Knives Out" films are most definitely not.

[erdnasephile]

I'm clearly in the minority here, but I actually liked the original. I didn't have any great expectations and decided to enjoy it without intentionally trying to figure out who did it--which is what also probably makes me the perfect audience for your next card trick.
(Then again, I really loved the director's "Rogue One" as well, which not a few seemed to dislike.)

[Jonathan Townsend]

Glass Onion (Beatles reference?) goes onto HBO soon (Jan 9?)

[Richard Kaufman]

I also liked "Rogue One," but it was directed by Gareth Edwards. Rian Johnson directed that turd known as "The Last Jedi," which totally squandered Mark Hamill's involvement.

[erdnasephile]

Hi, RK: Ugh! My aged brain is losing it! You're, of course, correct. (Although not the director, I think Johnson had a cameo in "Rogue One", right? Off topic: for you "Rogue One" fans, "Andor" on Disney Plus is pretty good thus far.)

Just read that Knives Out 3 is coming in the future.

[Richard Kaufman]

Netflix paid over $400 million for Knives out 2 and 3.

[Robert77]

For the original, I was baffled by the basic plot device involving a certain amount of a certain fluid. I figured that a larger than normal dose would be, cough, rather immediately noticeable.

[Marty Jacobs]

Each to their own, but I thought the original Knives Out and Glass Onion were both a lot of fun. They're comedy whodunnits, so I can live with the fact that they're a bit predictable and full of plot holes. They remind me of the Coen Brothers films (in a good way). Most murder mysteries end up being whydunnits, not whodunnits, anyway. Even some classic Agatha Christie novels and TV adaptations suffer from this issue.

I also think Rian Johnson is a good director, and The Last Jedi is the type of film that gets better on repeat viewings. But, hey, I liked The Phantom Menace, and I still think it is a decent Star Wars film, so what do I know! But, if you like action sequences, The Last Jedi isn't the film for you. Even Mark Hamill struggled with the disillusioned version of Luke Skywalker we meet in the movie. I have more issues with The Rise of Skywalker because it trod all over the idea that a "nobody" could become a Jedi Master. But, I'm not going to say any more, in case people haven't seen the film. My six-year-old daughter was quite taken with Rey as a character, so I'm pleased these films exist. But I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with them when they were first released. I don't think any Star Wars film can live up to the associated hype.

There was also a good example of verbal misdirection in Glass Onion (the thing with the drinking glass), which I liked a lot.

Marty

[Richard Kaufman]

Please don't disgrace the Cohen brothers' films by comparing them to Rian Johnson's hack work.

[Marty Jacobs]

Please don't disgrace the Cohen brothers' films by comparing them to Rian Johnson's hack work.

I'm not disgracing anything. There are clear similarities, specifically in the dark humour and general tone of the two Knives Out films. I also think it is unfair to brandish Rian Johnson as a hack, even if you don't like his films. He clearly cares a lot about his craft. Also, as much as I adore many of the Coen Brothers' films, they've produced one or two questionable movies.

I really don't understand why there is so much hate for these films. Is it because they've been a surprise commercial success?

Marty

[katterfelt0]

I really don't understand why there is so much hate for these films. Is it because they've been a surprise commercial success?Marty

I can't imagine that's the case. It would seem odd: "My appreciation of this movie is based on an inverse correlation with it's popularity."

[Dave Le Fevre]

I really don't understand why there is so much hate for these films. Is it because they've been a surprise commercial success?Marty

I can't imagine that's the case. It would seem odd: "My appreciation of this movie is based on an inverse correlation with it's popularity."

Imagine that there are two conjurors. Or actors. Or musicians.

And in your opinion, both are mediocre.

One of them is considered fairly average by most people. The other one is praised by all and sundry.

You might resent that praise. The attitude is I dislike film A because it's mediocre. And I really dislike film B, since despite its mediocrity, praise is lavished upon it.

[katterfelt0]

I really don't understand why there is so much hate for these films. Is it because they've been a surprise commercial success?Marty

I can't imagine that's the case. It would seem odd: "My appreciation of this movie is based on an inverse correlation with it's popularity."

Imagine that there are two conjurors. Or actors. Or musicians.

And in your opinion, both are mediocre.

One of them is considered fairly average by most people. The other one is praised by all and sundry.

You might resent that praise. The attitude is I dislike film A because it's mediocre. And I really dislike film B, since despite its mediocrity, praise is lavished upon it.

I can definitely see that happening.

[Marty Jacobs]

Dave's analysis is correct. If you dislike a film that, in general, most people like, it can make the success of that film more irritating because you believe that it doesn't deserve the plaudits and popularity. Like many forms of entertainment, cinema is subjective. I'm sure Richard has good reasons to dislike the film, and I'm cool with that. I was surprised that so many people on here disliked it, though.

Marty

[AJM]

I’ve seen both Knives Out and Glass Onion - while I preferred the first, I found both to be an easy and entertaining watch.

Sometimes I like a movie that needs a fair bit of concentration & focus and sometimes I just prefer some effortless entertainment. These movies fell into the latter category in my opinion.

YMMV

Andrew

[Joe Lyons]

I enjoyed Rian Johnson’s Brick and Looper.

I liked the acting, cinematography, etc. on Knives Out, but for some reason (hype?) my expectation was too high on the mystery.

I’m sure I’ll grab some popcorn and enjoy Glass Onion now that I’ve lowered my expectation.

[Leo Garet]

I like what I like because I like it.

If I've seen comments, either for or against anything, I'll carry that with me, but it won't affect my judgement. I like what I like because I like it and not because others like or dislike it.

There are any number of books, films TV programmes etcetera ad infinitum that I like that people don't like. Good luck with that.

I'm reminded of this situation on a daily basis by my wife.

[Travis]

I’m a big fan of Rian Johnson’s work. If you’re not watching Poker Face, you’re missing one of the best series’ running right now, created by Johnson and Natasha Lyonne. It’s a fab homage to Columbo. Very fun.

His first feature film, Brick, is very unique and cool, I think. Also loved The Brothers Bloom and Looper.
And, yep, I think The Last Jedi is the only good film to come out of Disney’s addition to the Skywalker saga. The two JJ Abrams films are hot garbage.

As for Knives Out and Glass Onion, I enjoyed them.

[Joe Mckay]

I just noticed that you can glimpse a copy of The Magic of Michael Ammar in this movie.

You can see it here:

https://youtu.be/tdhk3m7oVeo?feature=shared&t=115