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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

5/1/2023

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Genre: Mystery, Crime, Comedy, Satire
Rating: 12A
​Warnings: Racism Mention, Some Violence

Benoit Blanc is back with another ensemble cast for another murder mystery. This time he's less mysterious himself, with a few fun gay tropes (his sulk in the bathtub, his outstanding wardrobe, and his discomfort at Birdie flirting with him, among others) and a view of his home, boyfriend/husband and a few of his famous friends.

Likewise, the group he's investigating moves from the stilted, unfriendly family and their old-money ways to a carefree, close group of friends and their celebrity behaviour. While the pandemic setting does make for a very precise period piece, the characters feel both like stock characters and like personal parodies of certain individuals.
Daniel Craig seemed like he would be a sleek or hard-boiled detective, before bringing his Texan-accented fun Benoit Blanc to life. Edward Norton, notoriously difficult to work with, was the perfect self-aware choice for unlikeable Elon-a-like Miles. Janelle Monae is the multifaceted actual protagonist Andi, Dave Bautista as the dumb muscle streamer, Kathryn Hahn as the career woman politician; all of which they were brilliantly cast.

This snapshot moment that Glass Onion is set in, paired with the celebrity version of the closed room mystery, gives this film a much more satirical aspect. The humour and genre keep it light, but there's some razor sharp critique and well-deserved mockery of both certain famous people and their entire out-of-touch celebrity world. The ending, combining the murderer's comeuppance and some political justice, gives the audience a strong gleeful feeling of vengeance and schadenfreude.

However, this isn't just a good murder mystery and satire, it's a really good film. Full use is made of flashbacks, either revealing a more detailed or alternative view of a previous scene or giving you a chance to rewatch a moment with the perspective of new information. Blanc's talk through of the murder is shown, masterfully, with different characters as murderer in each shot. The changed scenes are especially brilliant, the time equivalent of a zoom in on something. Foreshadowing hangs deliberately and obviously in multiple places, keeping the tension high with a "but which of those is it?" for the observant. Things that don't quite seem right are revealed as deliberate clues and as red herrings.

A talented and worthy sequel to the first Knives Out, Glass Onion is an exciting and enjoyable caper. If a third Knives Out is made, and it's as good as this, it could be an iconic series.
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Hateful Eight

15/3/2016

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Genre: Mystery, Historical
Rating: 18
Warning: Intense Gore, Intense Racism

The eighth Tarantino film (presumably not counting 1987's "My Best Friend's Birthday", which makes it nine), this is a detour from many of his signature tropes and a definite epic. However, while he has stepped aside from his visual style, his obsessive use of the n word is still firmly in place; prepare yourself for an uncomfortable and in depth look at racism in the real life western setting. His love of gore is still strong, too, so be prepared for that.

If you can deal with those things, there are near-gratuitous sweeping shots of absurdly beautiful snowy landscapes and an abundance of tiny background details in indoor scenes to make up for it. With great fame comes great ability to get genuine antiques and mountains of props, it seems.
The plot is mostly linear, with occasional and clear flashback scenes, and takes place over a couple of days in one large room. The mysterious back stories, goals and even identities of the characters all build into the larger mystery as the one-room mystery meets gritty western. You know less than the main characters and piece things together slowly, suspecting them themselves as much as you follow their suspicion of others. Every small plot twist is sudden and unexpected, but reveals much about the previous events.

By the end of the film you'll be arguing with yourself about which characters are the real hateful eight - by the start of the main plot there are nine characters present, for one thing. No character is particularly likable, except some minor characters in flashbacks, but this film teeters between having a wholly hateful cast and justifying or minimising the hatefulness of some. Easily defined characters are not what Hateful is really going for, despite it's title, and the nuance of their hatefulness makes each character believable and intriguing.

If you're a diehard Tarantino fan, or watching because you admire his individual style, this isn't going to be your favourite of his films, but it is a great film. It's quite the filmography to live up to, and it deserves it's place. Seeing a Tarantino film in the cinema was a personal goal, having a blood phobia as I do, but the violence might mean this is better suited for home viewing.
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Hail, Caesar!

10/3/2016

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Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Rating: 12A
Warning: None

With no prior knowledge of the plot, the Coen name alone was enough to get me to the cinema. The poster gives a hint to the sheer amount of talented and recognisable actors, and they aren't just there as big names.

The plot of the overall film is somewhat like a jigsaw, beginning with unrelated characters and snippets of the overarching events. Mildly confusing and very intriguing, you may realise early on what the picture is of, but it comes together either way.

Despite not being aimed at children, this film avoids anything that would need warning for or warrant a higher rating - no sex, no swearing, and minimal smoking for the times it's set in - meaning it's a safe view for families and as light watching.
The interesting part comes in it's three settings of the kidnapping location, the film studio and the in-film scenes. The way the acting and action changes between real and fake are clear, but the changes in lighting, such as the colour, shadows and tone, give the visual 'feel' a noticeable difference. It's easy to tell when scenes on film sets are being seen by the characters and when they're being seen through the studio's cameras.

The contrast between real and fiction in the studio sits next to the contrast between the studio and the kidnapping setting, too. While some things are perfect comparisons, such as a dark outside night kidnapper scene and an overly well lit nighttime film scene, some are amusingly matching. Some characters are as 2D and predictable as you might think, and then at the same time three dimensional and surprisingly complex.

Just as the film doesn't have unneeded sex or violence, as the first ever Coen Brothers film where no one at all dies, it has a sense of whimsy and a gentle sense of humour. That moment in the trailer with the pronunciation of "oh that it were so simple"? Part of a long scene of funny failures and frustration, playing out slowly and surely.

Altogether, Hail, Caesar! is great as a comedy and as a mystery, and a great addition to the filmography of everyone involved. Anyone can watch it and probably should.
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