KNIVES OUT -- dir. Rian Johnson; Daniel Craig, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, etc. etc.

I'm gonna see this tomorrow. kind of looking forward to it. not my usual kind of thing

I'm totally looking forward to it tomorrow, looks fun, gonna take a (big) kid.

the donut monologue

Even funnier the second time around. Craig is having a total blast with this role.

I got to see slightly more than one viewing due to a newer theater in the area completely fucking up the aspect ratio and taking long enough to fix it that I saw the first twenty minutes twice. It's a lot more effective when everyone's head is visible on screen instead of just a hideously elongated torso.

first i hated the Craig voice, then i got used to it and loved it. fuckin' donuts

the laziest insult was "CSI KFC" but I still laughed

This was tons of fun. I guess I was expecting maybe one more twist, but this really didn't feel like a movie of twists. Just good actors playing good character actors playing good characters.

Felt maybe 20 minutes too long but overall I enjoyed it. I did liked the payoff of JLC’s character at the end.

seeing this tomorrow morning :D

enjoyed how all of the foreshadowing played out, although nearly always in a slightly less obvious way

It's a pretty clever subversion of a whodunnit, if you think about it.

This was a real hoot.

Loved it!

I liked the way the “mystery” was structured, in that it gives you so much up front that you *think* you need to second guess, when actually you kinda don’t. Really v funny all the way through, Craig’s donut speech was hilarious. Toni Collette was brilliant, and Chris Evans’ handsome rich d-bag was a+ right down to the loafers.

Also a lot of bad takes earlier in the thread have come home to roost, which is nice.

I'm always happy to be wrong about stuff like this (in that it's good when an original movie performs well)

this was highly entertaining. I was maybe slightly disappointed as my expectations were risen a little higher by Ned's effusiveness above and I thought perhaps there was going to be maybe, something else or something more tricky or artsy about it (like, I started scanning the background set thinking there was some kind of clue in all the skulls); there isn't, really; and I did think the Nazi kid was kind of wasted. I guess the subtext of the immigrant coming in and "stealing" everything was a bit compelling. But then not everything needs to be a grand comment on society either. Well acted throughout, I really enjoyed it.

There's at least one scene referred to in the first trailer that didn't make the final cut -- assuming it's all the same scene, it's a bit where Walt's wife, whose name I can never remember, steps out of the car with some groceries in front of what is presumably their house and there's somebody in a knit cap seemingly lurking ominously on the front porch. I half wonder if that's meant to be some acquaintance (or enemy) of Nazi kid, but until/unless it surfaces on home release we won't know; I'm guessing he has more scenes with just about everybody that he trimmed down for time and focus.

I liked the way the “mystery” was structured, in that it gives you so much up front that you *think* you need to second guess, when actually you kinda don’t.

Yeah this was key for me -- part of me was wondering the whole time after it's clear that Harlan really did die that way whether Marta was an unreliable narrator the whole time even WITH the puke giveaway. Which is a sign of a good first watch, if you ask me.

I guess the subtext of the immigrant coming in and "stealing" everything was a bit compelling. But then not everything needs to be a grand comment on society either.

What I really appreciated was that for all the supposed political/Trump subtext, it's less about overt stuff -- there's the one family argument scene for sure but that's a lot of back and forth -- than the just barely concealed subtext of 'if you're well off and 'from here' you don't even have to think about this shit no matter who you support, and when you do you're almost certainly going to get it constantly wrong and be a patronizing dick looking out for yourself.' Absolutely one of the most effective jokes was how none of the Thrombeys really know what Marta's exact background is, and it was an even cleverer move by Johnson never to show what it exactly was either.

Also I'd either missed or forgotten that after the making of this de Armas ended up joining the new Bond film -- I'm willing to bet that Craig was behind that, especially since it's all tied in with him getting Waller-Bridge onboard for screenwriting -- so I think it's kinda great we'll get these two again in scenes together playing completely different characters in a few months.

Toni Collette was brilliant

Her hippy/wine mom dancing to Roxy Music to JLC's obvious total disdain was fantastic.

Their total ignorance of Marta's background, even from the more "woke" family members, was hilarious. Great throwaway gag.

(I assume we can include a few semi-spoilers in the thread, right?)

Since I loved this film but also love second guessing creative choices, I wonder if it would have been a better reveal/stinger at the end had the drop of blood not been revealed earlier? Esp. since the drop, as revealed earlier, never really comes up again, and never really serves (imo) as a point of suspense (unlike all the other clues left behind). Absolutely harmless the way it is, but might have been more fun if it was revealed as something Craig noticed that no one else noticed, not even the camera.

For lots of reasons, seems like there could have been room for Adam Driver in this, either in the Chris Evans role (though Evans was great) or maybe even in the Michael Shannon role, since both Driver and Shannon share the same sense of mass and menace.

I'm going to see this again sometime, but I was trying to remember why Jamie Lee Curtis was cut out of the will, since she seemed the least reliant on her father (vs. all the others coasting or stealing).

The drop of blood felt like a (unknowing) point of suspense to me when Blanc was closely examining the hall outside the study.

Absolutely harmless the way it is, but might have been more fun if it was revealed as something Craig noticed that no one else noticed, not even the camera.

On my second watch I was looking closely to see what Blanc does when he first meets Marta out on that porch, and he does take a clear quick look down at her shoes -- he might even do two, now that I think about it. But it's quick enough that it doesn't stand out at all.

I'm going to see this again sometime, but I was trying to remember why Jamie Lee Curtis was cut out of the will, since she seemed the least reliant on her father (vs. all the others coasting or stealing).

I've wondered a bit about this myself. He seems to care for her the most -- otherwise why tell her what her husband is up to (and I love the unspoken sense shown via various shots that he's been sending her notes this way for a long time) -- but probably *because* she's made the most for herself as a result and still something of a jerk regardless he probably thought "Welp, doesn't need me at all!" (Which him telling Walt he made a mistake by handing him the business on a plate reinforces.)

I wanted you to be at the funeral but I was outvoted

funny how everyone wanted that

so many chekov’s guns in this sucker. the bit toward the beginning where Harlan says something about people — or was it specifically Ransome? — not being able to tell a real knife from a trick knife may have had my fave payoff

yes!! i was going to say that too.

Agreed though I admit I only caught that in full on the rewatch! My other favorite rewatch bit — realizing that (establishing shot of house and dogs aside) it essentially begins and ends with the ‘my house/my rules’ coffee mug.

And yes the knife comment was specifically Ransome. I enjoy how Harlan honestly respects/is wary enough about Ransome to let him into his plan, realize even if he doesn’t say it that Ransome probably came up with the murder scheme that he loves so much he scribbles it down in his notebook and, realizing he’s fucked as far as he knows, trusts/appreciates Marta enough to get her out of the jam to the best of his knowledge at the time. A storybook setup and one of the meta touches but — and on a second watch I was looking for this closely — the logic of the story generally holds up beat for beat.

the knife comment, and a few other moments, are these intriguing hints that Harlan’s written the plot of his own murder mystery in some way and while that doesn’t pan out, it’s devious in its execution

These characters are so richly (no pun intended) drawn, with the exception (ironically) of the nominal lead (Craig), but he's an audience surrogate anyway. Love how much we learn about everyone through subtle actions and fleeting line readings

Do we ever learn why Shannon has a cane?

Just 'cause, I guess. I like we don't know everything.

Nice interview with Noah Segan here. Among other things, that little 'shh-shh' moment in the climax of his was an improv.

https://nerdist.com/article/knives-out-noah-segan-murder-friends/

this was great... one clever bit no one has mentioned yet; when Craig first mentions the Donut, he’s shot through a reflection of a storefront wreath.

Noah Segan was very good in his role, but I couldn't entirely concentrate due to his resemblance to Elon Musk.

I thought he looked like the SNL cast member that plays Eric Trump.

loved this

Even better the second time. Two new takeaways: Daniel Craig does hint that he knows about the blood drop when he chats with Marta on the patio. He gives the "Gravity's Rainbow" monologue, which more or less ends with him knowing where the projectile is going to land, just following its arc until it "lands at your feet" (or something like that), which implies he knows the blood is there, it's just a matter of figuring out how and why.

Other takeaway was Ransom. It's stated he and his grandfather were very similar, which is how his plan comes to him instantly, just like the stories game to Harlan. And then later, when he notes he was his grandfather's researcher for a summer, that indicates how he knew about the slayer rule. Not that these things were big reveals, just little touches that made more of an impact the second time around.

Oh, and one last thing I thought was funny was how the family was constantly using Harlan's clearly prized baseball to play fetch with the dog. Jamie Lee Curtis even puts it back in its perch dripping with slobber.

(And to tie it in with my apparently misbegotten post on another thread, this movie, with this cast, reportedly cost $40 million, which makes the $200 million price tag of certain mob epics seem even more nuts, since there's no way that one offers more bang for five times the bucks.)

Great movie and I loved that they didn't have Marta in any of the advertising. Reminded me of Raiden in Sons of Liberty...

xp No one had to be de-aged in Knives Out dude

is Scorsese and Marvel going to come up in every thread now that is about movies of any kind

All of the teeth in Knives Out were CGI, iirc.

This was good! Happy that the plot was played relatively straight - I thought they might go somewhere like Daniel Craig accuses the wrong person, or everyone confesses but nobody was guilty. Ransom having dunnit was on the cards as soon as he started "helping" Marta, but they didn't make it too obvious.

Strangely covetous of some big suspended eyeballs to hang in my study.

one Chekhov's gun that went unfired was the vomit in the big gulp cup - I was sure Blanc was going to sip on some of that liar puke, and the theater reacted to a very obvious setup that quickly evaporated.

In a way it had to be Ransom of all of the Thrombeys just because, as well written and enjoyably acted as they are, it would have been odd to single one of them out.

yeah I figured it was either going to be none of them or Marta

Felt like the original family member suspects sans Ransom got pushed to the back in the back half of the film, aside from that brief Shannon scene outside Marta's apartment, that up until the end it felt like it was either going to be Marta or Ransom.

It's almost as if when they're written out of the will they're written out of the movie, too. But really, that back half is all about Marta, there's really no more role for those other jerks she's escaped.

And yeah, two broad jokes I never expected but that the movie avoided anyway: the barf in the big gulp payoff and, when Blanc is talking to grandma and he asks her what she is thinking, I thought a lesser film would have had her pass gas for a quick gag.

This ruled

yeah I was missing the ensemble for a lot of the movie

I wonder how intentional obscuring Marta from the advertising was. it just strikes me as a deliberate, possibly subversive move to sell a film with an ensemble cast of stars that actually revolves around a relative unknown, and however that might relate to its well intentioned but on the nose political commentary.