Tag Archives: movie reviews

A Modern Whodunit: Knives Out

Movie Review,

Fans of classic mysteries in the tradition of the late Dame Agatha Christie, this is your movie!  Knives Out, currently showing in movie theaters, keeps audiences guessing whodunit to the very end.

The all-star cast, which includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, and Don Johnson, portray the family and staff of the late mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer) as they gather first for the birthday party of their patriarch; and again after his demise, which occurs later that same night.  The family members, instead of grieving, though, are more apt to quibble and point fingers at each other as to who had more motive and means to commit murder.

Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc, a modern Hercule Poirot-type detective with a southern accent, who was hired by means of a secret message to investigate the death.  Blanc follows clues and shadows Marta (Ana de Armas,) the late author’s private nurse, through wild goose chases that uncover more than one suspect and enough red herrings to hide the true criminal to the very end.

Marta, the only character other than the detective who was not after Thrombey’s fortune, spends most of the movie believing she is responsible for his death.   Marta tries to hide, and fails completely in attempts to lie, about her involvement in the crime.  Her surprising motivation-a promise made to the elderly author immediately before his demise.   Why did he prompt her to lie, and what other secrets will be uncovered before the end of the movie?  Who actually is responsible for Thrombey’s death?  And who will inherit his estate?

I was both pleased and surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.  The mystery was intriguing, the plot had as many twists as any good novel, and the action was enjoyable.  There was just enough humor included to keep the story from becoming too dark without turning the whole movie into a spoof of the genre.  Not to mention, the majority of the action takes place on an estate that contains hidden compartments, a secret door, and a horde of “props” from Thrombey’s novels, (spoilers) some of which may prove important to the plot!

Check it out at a theater near you!

 

 

 

 

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The New Hero on the Block: A Review of Captain Marvel

Movie Review, , ,

Move over boys, there’s plenty of room in this galaxy for the fiercest female superhero to appear in many years.  Captain Marvel, the latest addition to the Marvel universe saga, hit theaters last week and the title character, played by Brie Larson, lives up to the moniker.

This movie is set mostly in 1995, which means chronologically it predates the events presented in any of the other Marvel movie storylines except for the one detailing the origins of Captain America.  A much younger (thanks to CGI) Nick Fury is already in place as the head of SHEILD, but the organization has not yet developed its mandate to stop alien threats, mostly because it is not yet aware of their existence.

Fury, accompanied by “the new guy” Phil Coulson, is unprepared for his first encounter with the green-skinned alien shapeshifters called The Skrull, but he is smart enough to recognize that there’s more than meets the eye to the mysterious young woman who claims to be hunting them as a member of the Kree defense force.  Ready or not, Earth is about to become a battle ground between these two alien races, both previously introduced in other Marvel movies.

What follows is a story of loss, betrayal, and battles both on land and in space as Carol “Vers” Danvers has to piece together lost memories to determine who she really is, and which side in a galactic war is actually a threat to not only humanity, but the galaxy at large.  The powers she acquires, and the ease with which she wields them, prove her to be more than a match for any of the previously shown Marvel heroes or villains.

Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) and Lashana Lynch as fellow pilot Maria Rambeau in a scene from the new movie.  From imbd.com

This movie seemingly attempts to raise the quota of female characters in the Marvel franchise.  In addition to a female lead with mind-blowing abilities, there are also featured two hardcore female test pilots, a (deceased) female scientist who was actually an undercover Kree agent, a female supreme being of the Kree race, and a female Kree warrior for Carol to face off against.  Despite the occasional estrogen overload, though, the central story is more about overcoming limits and finding the hero inside one’s self.

Spoilers: those invested in the Marvel universe will be very interested in the fine details scattered about the movie, including; the true story about how Fury lost his eye, the origin of the name “Avengers,” and the fate of the Tesseract after it was sunk in the ocean during Captain America and before it appeared in the desert in Thor.

I loved this new version of Captain Marvel, and am now even more pumped for the conclusion to the Marvel epic, Avengers: Endgame, which is coming in April.  Captain Marvel is currently showing at a theater near you.