Knives Out

Meet the Thrombey's... Although pretty late to the party, I was just on time to catch this hilarious, who-done-it mystery movie before it slipped out of theaters and I was totally impressed. Having been exposed to various members of this ensemble cast at some point in their careers I was excited to see how they would be able to co-exist onscreen as an acting family unit.

The accomplished and versatile ensemble cast is one of the many reasons to see this, with Toni Collette, who left so many speechless with her performance in Hereditary, or Katherine Langford who played the vitally important role of Leah in Love Simon, to veteran actors Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Shannon, the film seems to have the right actors to carry the story along. Most people will have seen Daniel Craig act in his many roles as James Bond over the years, but they will be in for a pleasant surprise at his ability to play a quirky detective with a southern drawl and a penchant for finding the truth, no matter where it may lead him. Audiences will too have seen Chris Evans play Captain America in his many appearances in those movies of the Marvel Cinema Universe, but they will again be perturbed and flummoxed at the impressive quality with which Evans' is able to bring his character in Knives Out, Ransom, to life.

Director Rian Johnson hosted a 23 minute video with Vanity Fair where he broke down a scene in the film, which is highly worth seeing (Before or after viewing, no spoilers!), in it he offers his insight into how the scene was setup from where the cameras were being pointed, to how it was working with all of the talent, to the behind the scenes "movie magic" that we don't get to see. It was fantastic to see how excited he was about explaining some of the minute details of what went into making Knives Out, which in turn allowed for more of his voice to come out and be evident when watching the film. He really is an exceptional director, who we should expect more big things from in the future.

Ana de Armas, who plays Marta Cabrera, has to be mentioned here, not only because she's the leading actress of the movie, but because she steals the show despite being listed third on the movie's first billed cast list. Although, she occupies a substantial amount of screen time Armas uses many subtle acting skills to bring power and depth to her role, which is important to the development of the films story.

Like the above poster shows, Knives Out is a robust, dynamic multi-genre movie that has something for everybody. I saw "multi-genre" because it's not just a drama, it has too many comedic elements to be pigeonholed into solely that category. Additionally, it's not exclusively a thriller or mystery movie, because at it's core it's truly a family "dram-edy" about a mysterious, thrilling event that happens to the family.. I won't confuse you anymore, but what I'm trying to say is that Knives Out is a great American movie with something for all audiences. See it when you have the chance.

The Avengers

Where to begin on this one?... Hmmm alot happening surrounding this movie, and maybe even more that occurs during it. It's so difficult to do a movie like this justice in a review, because it means such different things to the people that will see it. Take me for instance, I wouldn't consider myself a comic book nerd by any stretch of the imagination, but as a kid I probably browsed a couple of those Marvel comic books and I of course knew who all those superheroes were/are. Don't ask me where Hawkeye originated from or what Captain America's shield is constructed of because I won't be able to tell you. I think that stuff are important elements of the story, but alas I don't allocate too much of daily life to remembrance of fictional superhero character etymology, it's mostly spent immersed in more tangible things like working to pay the bills, socializing with friends, eating meals, etc. That's sort of a jab at fan-boy comic book geeks who don't seem to grow up, the ones that you satirized in television and other films. Think Jeff Albertson or Comic Book Guy, from the Simpsons. Anyways, I think it's worth mentioning them because they never seem satisfied by a "major" motion picture effort like this one, bringing it down with commentary like, "Hated Iron Man's Mark VII suit, it didn't incorporate the arc reactor enough into the total design". Major in parentheses because of the $220 million budget of this film, apparently another couple million dollars would've been necessary to achieve that perfect Iron Man suit luster, I'm sure. But, truthfully a movie of, The Avenger's, proportions attracts such a diverse audience that it is almost impossible to review it in a way that is relevant universally, but nevertheless I'll try.

It goes without saying that this movie has an exceptional cast, but I obviously just said it, so let me touch on a few performances that sort of sealed the deal. Robert Downey Jr., as Tony Stark, was probably the most memorably and I attribute this to a couple reasons. One being that he's gotten the most practice playing the role of the billionaire playboy/philanthropist/inventor in the two Iron Man movies, the other being the script. In this movie, his role is very well written, heavy on quips and retort, especially with Chris Evans character, Captain America. Samuel L. Jackson's character, Nick Fury, also had a larger role in this film, which went over well with me. His emergence as a more conflicted, secretive S.H.I.E.L.D director was portrayed well by the accomplished actor.

Joss Whedon, the movie's director, deserves a ton of credit for just how good the movie was. You may remember him from The Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, Angel, or as the writer of the original Toy Story. As the film's director he does an uncanny job of introducing the superheroes to us and then letting them interact together on-screen in a way that's obviously out of this world and very down to earth (If that makes any sense). Even more credit to his writing prowess, as the script stood out to me as an above average achievement for a blockbuster of this scope. Stan Lee, the venerable "Godfather" of all Marvel Comics, is made out to be a genius in the way that he's assembled "The Avengers" through the development of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans', and Chris Hemsworth's characters in Thor, Captain America, and both Iron Man installments.

Quite simply, The Avenger's is way better than the Hunger Games, can be enjoyed by females (Just ask my roommate) it will outshine any effort that Spielberg and Co. can muster for Men in Black 3, so it should be a must see for all moviegoers for the month of May.