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

Just saw it again with Rian Johnson’s commentary in my ear, some great stuff about sets and locations, improvised moments, and especially cinematography. Biggest revelation for me was hearing that Benoit Blanc’s voice owes the most to Ken Burns talking head, writer, and Lost Causer Shelby Foote.

Also Johnson storyboards his movies himself with bad line drawings, and one of the key payoffs for Marta’s story, of knowing by look and feel which drug was which, wasn’t in his first draft but was pitched by his first readers.

wow yeah shelby foote did basically talk like that

omg that is awesome

We’re still in theaters this weekend! If you haven’t caught @KnivesOut yet or if you want another shot of whudunnitness we’ve got you covered. Though I can’t promise it will equal the splendor of my original storyboard vision. pic.twitter.com/95rzRbSmBE

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2020

lmao

nice to know that i share the drawing ability of a successful film director

I don't :(

Hahah I love the Safdies reply to that.

People laughed at my boards, but they’re helpful. pic.twitter.com/jzGPHWSnjM

— SAFDIE (@JOSH_BENNY) January 19, 2020

that last effort has me humming "that aint workin, thats the way you do it"

And we're off:

Update: Lionsgate's CEO says a Knives Out sequel is officially happening. Production is getting underway soon. https://t.co/USnQHmBWN7 pic.twitter.com/atjZjrlL39

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) February 6, 2020

Blanc. Benoit Blanc.

this movie fucking ruled!!!

I always associate detective stories with medicine, but daniel craig reminded me of someone particularly charismatic and brilliant I trained under which endeared me to his character even more than I might have otherwise. totally bought the accent and was ROLLING at “detective KFC” or whatever that diss was

ensemble cast overall was fantastic I thought. ana de armas was really good! so much goodness in her character. hope she gets some critical love for this role. and man did she look good in this movie

"CSI: KFC"

how's the novel

SUPER racist! v glad he updated it.

what novel?

saw this around Xmas and k3vin otm, Daniel Craig was great as was everyone else especially Ana de Armas. it is always good to see Craig cutting loose w/an accent and w/his not inconsiderable comic chops and natural charisma. the manner in which the mystery was "solved" early on was an excellent red herring, for how it all continued to pile up thereafter. biggest laughs in the theater came from the Gravity's Rainbow zing and "that was the dumbest car chase of all time!" plus:

"I spoke in the car about the hole at the center of this donut. And what you and Harlan did that fateful night seems at first glance to fill that hole perfectly. A donut hole in a donut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the donut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a donut hole, but a smaller donut with its own hole, and our donut is not holed at all!"

This movie was lit

i am somewhat ashamed, but also not, to share with you that at the climactic shot of marta holding the mug on the balcony i whispered to myself, "boom. suck it"

very good movie, i think it's safe to say that the shushing during the denouement was the best part.

A donut hole in a donut's hole.

I heard the rest of his monologue but I was giggling through it after he dropped this

I appreciated that Ana de Armas, probably 29ish when this was shot, was able to play a nuanced character that didn’t seem artificially old or young. Just a responsible person, not a kid, who lives with her mom and works a private nursing job, but still has social potential to live out

btw this is super OTM

When they were like "Harlan was friends with his nurse" I was ready to roll my eyes and grimace through a bunch of painful pandering that played up the lecherous old man angle but then they showed the two of them interacting and I sat there going "wait, I'm buying that they ARE friends, this rules, what is happening" and that reaction made me so much more invested in the subsequent events and the family's behavior; all of that rests on how pitch-perfect de Armas was in that role and her obvious chemistry with the rest of the cast.

i probably said this already but her joy and saltiness and confidence with harlan was utterly at odds with how she behaved with anyone else (apart from her family) - it was a great, bold choice to show that contrast and reveal this other side of her that’s basically hidden throughout the rest of the movie

otm

Love Finds Knives Out
Out West with Knives Out
Knives Out Rides High
Knives Out Gets Spring Fever
Judge Knives Out and Son
Knives Out Meets Debutante
Knives Out's Private Secretary
Life Begins for Knives Out
The Courtship of Knives Out
Knives Out's Blonde Trouble https://t.co/GnIHqL8Pt3

— Matt Prigge (@mattprigge) February 11, 2020

btw i guess i will see this. MoMA is having a Craig retro in March; do you think the theater audience experience will add much?

Sure, it's well filmed!

(Plus, I love watching any movie with a twist or surprises or shocks with a crowd just to hear the reactions.)

The audience I saw it with was really into it. Lots of laughs throughout. Definitely enhanced the experience.

It absolutely benefits from a packed theatre and a big screen for laughs, gasps, and pretty / unshowy photography.

idk how he missed Knives Out II: The Sharpening

SPORKS THROUGH

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 25, 2019

this was extremely entertaining

I just saw this a third time. The writing, direction and acting remain air-tight, and like my last viewing there were all sorts of subtleties I caught that I hadn't quite noticed before. But one of my biggest fresh take aways this time is that the lighting and make-up are impeccable.

I honestly don’t know from cinematography digital or otherwise but Steve Yedlin is evidently thinking about these things on his very own level

I wonder if he'll graduate to more of an A-list, since most of his stuff has been Rian Johnson or ... gunk?

Still on 949 US screens in its 13th weekend!

This was good. Need to watch it again for sure

I honestly don’t know from cinematography digital or otherwise but Steve Yedlin is evidently thinking about these things on his very own level

The behind the scenes stuff (which is quite good, as is the commentary, which includes Yedlin) very much had Yedlin making the case about what one can do with digital cameras in particular, and Johnson, self-admittedly one for preferring film, freely admits Yedlin pretty much showed him the way on this front for the shoot.

Best bonus feature on the disc probably has to be the cast/Johnson chat after the SAG preview screening in LA in mid-November. Tons of amazing cut-up moments; Craig and Evans in particular seem like they should do some sort of separate comedy, they'd probably kill at it.

Saw this yesterday (it's on Amazon Prime now). Enjoyed it quite a bit. Not a single bad performance, but de Armas was amazing - the best performance I've ever seen her give. (I counted four different places people thought she was from, with the correct answer never revealed.)

she says where she's from but I can't remember now

doesn’t appear to be on prime in the US

It is, just not for free

I was about to clarify what Prime means but wgaf, it’s definitely available for rental on all your local digital rental platforms

I had to look this up and it is still designated as prime video even if it isn't free for prime members, which is very confusing

did they invent some idiotic new designation where things are available for early rental, but just for prime?

thank god for watchable movies that keep my mind off of shit like that

I think it's just anything you can stream is prime video

To clarify, I paid $6 for the rental - I said it was on Amazon Prime because that's where I rent movies, as opposed to YouTube or wherever else.

amazon, like everyone else, has fucked up their branding again

My pet theory is they are eventually going to drop the name “Amazon” and the whole consumer business will just be “prime”