(film review) - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I am going to be real honest with you guys and tell you, I am going to back-date this post as it is now the new year (Happy New Year), but I needed some time to let this movie sit with me. I watched it and while I enjoyed it, my company said they did not enjoy it as much as the first one. Apparently Knives Out was better, but since I last saw it in 2019, I had to rewatch it to either agree or disagree because I remembered I enjoyed the movie and found it clever and funny. On the rewatch, I found myself laughing and giggling at the mastery of Knives Out. The clever writing and the dialogue. The acting is superb and I said as much in my review of it too. So when it was over, I immediately rewatched Glass Onion again, now for the second time and, well...while it was soo much better on the second watch, did I find this one better than the last

Glass Onion centres around a tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), on his private island and a murder mystery party where he invites a group of people to participate. Once on the Island, the murder mystery party turns into a real murder mystery when a death occurs. It is up to Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to find out who the killer is before the morning and before more people wind up dead.

I enjoyed this movie and it was even better on the second viewing, however I do feel the first one is more polished. The directing is great, it is the clever writing and the dialogue that strikes again. The acting is superb and the comedy is very near belly-aching funny. Every actor did a great job portraying their characters and with such an ensemble, Rian knows how to work with a variety of very talented and gifted actors. This was shown in the first movie and again here. There are some gags in this movie that were hilarious and every time it happened, I laughed and then grinned, but always found it funny. It was like, the joke got old really quickly, but I still found it hilarious. The twist in the movie was great and was just as unique as the first movie, but not the same. Daniel Craig plays his role just a great as he did the first time around, although I do believe in this one, he was less reserved. Janelle Monae is an absolute gem in this movie, especially as I do not know her to be a seasoned actor like Edward Norton or at this rate Daniel Craig or Katherine Hahn. Every character was well thought out but unlike the first movie, I just felt we needed a little more about the characters here and more from them. With that said, I did feel Jessica Henwick was wasted as she had soo little to do and she's great.

The music was great and the special effects, scenery and cinematography was also top tier. There was a little 'blue screen' in places which was a little distracting but for the most part, did not ruin the movie for me.  In the very end, I loved how things panned out, the call back to earlier things said or done and generally just how good this movies was crafted. On the rewatch, you will see specific things the second time around as Rhian does a masterful job. I will say though, there is a very high possibility that I just prefer the first movie over this one due to how much the first movie impacted me at the time. A little like Hangover and then Hangover 2 (we did not need 3). Where this movie is just as good as the last one, I just feel Rhian did not necessarily go bigger or did he polish it well enough. It is possible that I just wanted a little more depth with the characters or just more characters. Insane, clever and soo very well directed with a lovely twist.

Definitely get out to the cinema to see it, I believe it is worth it.

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(film review) - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

I have read a lot of columns and articles revolving around a lot of what people have been stating about this film. Apparently it is a parody of sorts of the main actors life. And after viewing this film, I guess I am at liberty to say, I somewhat agree. To an extent of course. Fortunately, this film came out a lot later over her in the UK due to it's limited release in the states.

You need to be of a certain age to remember Tim Burton's Batman It starred Michael Keaton and Jack Nicolson. These days, people only talk about Christopher Nolan's Batman and if you are lucky or unlucky, you might have caught Val Kilmer or George Clooney's Batman. Although Nolan's Batman Trilogy was great, Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns were great films, however, Keaton didn't return after Returns. They are deemed by most, the original Batman films and arguably, Keaton was the best Batman, EVER! Obviously this is subjective and open to debate. It came out in 1989 and although I can proudly say that I didn't see the film when it came out, I did however watch it on my cousins VHS.

This film is about a man named Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton) who is a washed up hollywood actor trying to get back on track to where he used to be in life. Infamous for playing the role of Birdman, a fictional superhero character which has grossed him popularity and success decades earlier, Riggan wants to reinvent his career by writing, directing and starring in his own Broadway Production. His best friend and lawyer, Jake (Zach ) tries to help him where he can and give him good advice while he is struggling with the production involving problems with the actors. Riggan employs Mike (Edward Norton) a method actor to help resolve this issue. Riggan also struggles with his daughter, Sam (Emma Stone) and the relationship they have together, not to mention that the grand opening is in a few weeks, the previews have been terrible and an influential critic promises to write a negative review, just because she doesn't like Riggan. It is a lot to take in and deal with for Riggan, not to mention the good old glory days being Birdman. Is it time for the Birdman to resurface?

Not to give too much away, this film is an oddly laced black comedy where the location is set on and around the set. Cleverly directed with very clever screenshots. When you go to watch it, I want you to count how man times the camera changed angles. Now I don't mean pan into an angle, I mean change. Film does it all the time, however, this film comes across like one long consistent shot that continues moving. A bit like what Gravity did, but I felt that this film was soo much better due to the dynamic characters and how they used the technique. There is soo much things going on and soo many clever things to see, hear and laugh at. You might even cry during the course of this film, but if you find yourself unable to get into it, you must enjoy the actors and their efforts to bringing their characters and this screenplay to life. Excellent. From the trailers, you aren't particularly shown what this film is about other than a few laughs here and there and a fight, but once you watch this film, you WILL enjoy it. If you don't, I dare you to leave halfway through the film. The actors deserve their nominations for awards, the director and the film. Brilliantly written and directed. I can't really think of anything else to say other than go and see it. It's really really good! Quite possibly one of the best films I've seen this year. I know, we've just started.