Movie Report Card: Knives Out

11/27/19
Title: Knives Out
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford​

GRADES

ACTING: 90
DIRECTING: 85
SCREENPLAY: 85
EDITING: 85
CINEMATOGRAPHY: 90
SOUNDTRACK: 85

​FINAL: 87/B+ 

COMMENTS

Knives Out can be a chore to sit through. There's a lot to like, and quite a bit that's frustrating. Rian Johnson, seems to over complicate things here, where he doesn't need to do so. Sure, it's a whodunit, but a lot of times things happen that just seem like filler. A lot of Knives Out comes across like Johnson, is trying to be smarter than the audience. However, it's not THAT smart, and it's a bit over-writing for the sake of over-writing. The social commentary happening here, can feel really forced, and it took me out of the film at times. This also bogs down the movie, and it can feel a bit boring. That being said, the entire thing works because of the cast. There's a lot of stunt casting happening here, which helps to throw the audience off the trail. With a lot of movies like this, usually we have one, or two pieces of stunt casting which give the entire thing away. Here, it works, and the performances are all top notch. Daniel Craig, is wonderful here. He is the glue holding this together. His delightful, southern, detective, is fantastic. I would love some kind of spinoff, with his character. I want to see more of him. Like, now. Despite my issues, I had a good time with the film. All in all, Knives Out is an often times charming, funny, modern, mystery, with some rocky roads. The less you know about the plot, the better.