Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery  (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Mystery/Crime  ‧ 2 Hours 19 Minutes

Directed by ‎Rian Johnson

Written by Rian Johnson

THE CAST

Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

THE STORY

(In their own words) 

Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

THE BEST

The BEST things about the film

1. The Mystery – It’s unpredictable, which is very ideal in a mystery, but I feel like that has become too hard for films without some supernatural element. This film managed to surprise us with each turn. It’s grounded and real and the motivations all make sense. I will go as far as to say that director Rian Johnson has helped me fall in love with mysteries again.
2. The writing is really just exceptional. Well crafted, thought out, wonderful dialogue, and takes us to places we don’t expect. Rian Johnson has a great ability to flesh out characters to be both believable and ludicrous at the same time. He’s definitely a master storyteller.
3. Daniel Craig is a comedic gem – Daniel Craig reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc from the first Knives out film. I was so glad to discover that his comedic chops from that film weren’t a one hit wonder for him. I never expected the man who played James Bond for so long to end up being a fantastic comedic actor, but he is. He’s authentic, natural, specific, focused, puts on the jacket of a character without playing a character, which is the difference between being a character and a real person put into a funny situation. 
4. Terrific Ensemble – While I am giving special props out to Daniel Craig, the whole ensemble works well together. From top to bottom the cast is full of really talented actors who have great screen chemistry together. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

1. There is one scene that has some just awful green screen happening. At this production level, we shouldn’t be seeing that. I get that special effects scenes are expensive, but you’ve gone this far with the production, have it happen with stunt people or something. It just looked silly.

BEST NON-SPOILER LINES

Be careful not to confuse speaking without thought with speaking the truth.

THE LESSON

A friend that “owes you” isn’t really a friend. 

THE FINAL WORD

This stand alone sequel to knives out will keep you guessing through the whole film. If you liked the first Knives Out, you will like this one. It is funny, fresh, and inventive in its storytelling. Easily one of the top four most fun films I’ve seen this year. Daniel Craig is a comedic gem. Dave Batista is becoming another ex-wrestler turned actor that when I see them in a film, I know that I’m going to have a good time. Rian Johnson shows again that he is an excellent craftsman in writing, directing, and overall storytelling. He is making me fall in love with murder mysteries again. If you can watch this film with a crowd, but whatever you do, don’t miss it. 

THE VERDICT
My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery gets a Love It

THE MEME REVIEW

THE TRAILER

THE VIDEO REVIEW

THE PODCAST REVIEW

Watch in theaters for one week starting November 23rd and on Netflix December 23rd. www.Netflix.com/GlassOnion

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
PG-13 ‧ Action/Adventure ‧ 2 H 41 M
Written by Ryan Cooglar And Joe Robert Cole
Directed by ‎Ryan Cooglar

THE CAST

Sars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett.

THE STORY

(In their own words)

The leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda fight to protect their nation from invading forces in the wake of King T’Challa’s death, while a new threat emerges from the hidden undersea nation of Talokan ruled by Namor.

THE BEST

The BEST things about the film

1. The Feel – It doesn’t feel like a standard Marvel film. It has so much heart. They take these heartfelt moments and lean into them without the traditional Marvel, “I’m about the have an emotional experience and I can’t handle that as a human with a smart phone, so let’s make a funny quip to diffuse a connection to humanity.”
2. The Tributes to T’Challa/Chadwick Boseman are wonderfully done.  
3. Love the female centric storyline.
4. It exceeded expectations. Let’s face it, Boseman’s death made us really skeptical how they would handle the next film, they didn’t just make the best of the situation, they leaned into it and made a fine film. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

1. There were some silly unnecessary attempted comedy quips in the beginning that didn’t feel like they worked.  It had me worried early on but they didn’t go back to that which was really a relief. 
2. Final Battle – the numbers didn’t make sense. How many people are there?
3. Long. This film is a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes. There’s a lot of story in here.

THE LESSON

How you handle loss can determine if you are a good guy or a bad guy. 

THE FINAL WORD

From the opening credits, we know that we are in safe hands with the director as he pays respect to Boseman’s Black Panther. While the film is long, it is full of new action sequences, weapons, and a formidable, well-motivated nemesis.  This film has a refreshingly different tone than other Marvel films, as it has moments of heart that it leans into without cracking jokes, finally allowing us to savor the moments of human feelings they create inside us. This film is a great finish to Marvel’s Phase 4.

THE VERDICT

My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

Really strong Like It, prepared for it to go higher. 

MEME REVIEW

THE TRAILER

Hey friends and Fans!

Reviews are moving over to the review site “You’re Watching A Movie With Silas Lindenstein.” Check out the review for Pearl here.