Benoit Blanc and the “Knives Out” franchise is the movie series that Gen Z and Millennials have been waiting for, for a long time. For years, there were so many great series and movies with ensemble casts concerning a murder mystery or mysterious death, and we missed out on that great sub-genre. That is until Rian Johnson offered his deliciously entertaining “Knives Out” in 2019. He follows that up with “Glass Onion,” a movie that is a continuation but is by no means a repeat of the original film. Johnson absolutely thrives on subverting expectations while delivering some great social commentary right down to the literal Glass Onion.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Violent Night (2022)
Every now and then we need one of these silly, slapstick, self aware action adventures, and “Violent Night” fits the bill. It watches like a sketch on SNL, adapted in full length form. From minute one, it never forgets what kind of movie it is and paints a crude stroke over the Christmas spirit. For its intended audience, it’s a refreshing antidote to typical holiday fare. Tommy Wirkola’s “Violent Night” is “Die Hard,” and Michael Dougherty’s “Krampus,” meets “Bad Santa,” with full shot of Christmas adrenaline.
It also props Santa Claus up as something of a major bad ass.
Fall (2022)
There are two types of survival films: One where our characters are in a situation where despite their best efforts, are screwed. The second type is where common sense evades moronic protagonists who dig themselves in to a hole from minute one. Scott Mann’s “Fall” is the second type. Despite being acrophobic’s nightmare (that is about all “Fall” has going for it) it’s basically a how to, of what not to do when honoring a loved one.
DO spread their ashes if you want; it’s trite but sweet.
DON’T climb to the top of a humongous, unstable radio tower to do it.
What ever happened to lakes, oceans, or stable cliffs?
Smile (2022)
I think we can all agree that the marketing for Parker Finn’s “Smile” has been pretty genius. It’s a movie that has built enough clout to attract an audience that’s been big enough to continue a large swell of even more horror films coming in to theaters. It’s good because now we can start to see more movies as immensely disturbing as “Smile,” one hopes. While it’s often compared to “It Follows,” I’d say “Smile” is more in the vein of “The Babadook.”
BAD MOVIE MONDAY: BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006)
Want to hear something funny? As I was sitting here, getting ready to write this review, I only just this very second realized that “Black Christmas” is a play on words. Specifically, it twists around the cheerful upbeat title of the 1954 movie White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. In my usual clueless chimpanzee-like way I had never made this connection even though I must have seen the original Black Christmas thirty times in the last thirty-five years. Anyway, that’s my way of introducing today’s movie. Which is not the original, but instead the 2006 remake starring Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Hudson, Lacey Chabert, Kristen Cloke, and Andrea Martin. It was directed by Glen Morgan, who was a brilliant writer on The X-Files and a not so brilliant writer on the most recent incarnation of The Twilight Zone.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (2022)
The Walt Disney Co. hasn’t done very much since it acquired the trademark to the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character in 2006 – for those unfamiliar with the back story, Walt Disney created Oswald for Universal Pictures in 1927 and made 27 silent black-and-white shorts. But Disney lost the rights to the character, at which point he created a new character called Mickey Mouse.
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Stonks Goes the Distance! (2022)
Stock trading and investing might not sound like the most obvious choice a children’s book, but the 2021 “Stonks on the Moon!” by the pseudonymous Professor Clark offered a playful mix of child-friendly fiction (complete with anthropomorphic animals and a story about believing in one’s purpose) with sly tributes to investing world’s machinations – including the “to the moon” focus of “apes” and characters that bore more than a coincidental resemblance to Tesla chieftain Elon Musk and financial analyst Keith Gill.
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