This has become the trend and it bums me out. I liked "Knives Out". While not the best movie ever, it was fun and entertaining while being a bit different in approach. When I heard about "Glass Onion" I though...Hey, this could be great if they play it right, but it sounds like they played it only so-so. I'll still watch it at some point but I'm less enthused to go after it.
Pale Blue Eyes. With the subject matter and plotting it could have been easy to go with an exploitation genre film, but instead it was an engaging period mystery with very good performances. 4/5
Film appreciation is of course subjective but - I thoroughly enjoyed "Glass Onion". Some complained about some surprise twists. They evidently don't understand how mysteries work. Easy 8/10. Watch it! Not that critics are always right, it scored 92% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Menu…if I were to go into viewing it expecting a riveting, edge-of-your-seat horror film, I’d probably give it a 5/10. If I watched it expecting a deliciously biting -pun intended - satire reflecting modern-day cultural mores, and in particular the excesses of the celebrity chef/elitist gourmet food culture (which I did), it’s a solid 9/10 for me. YMMV, of course.
Bad Santa 2 4/10 Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio 6/10 1917 7/10 Glass Onion 5/10 The Pale Blue Eye 5/10
Oh yes, I know that. The critics are often off from what I find entertaining. If this movie is not too predictable I will likely find it entertaining and enjoyable, and if it actually keeps me guessing I will find it rare and enjoyable so long as the guesswork does not culminate in a non-sensical ending for the sake of being quirky and odd. That is almost as bad as when they hand the "mystery" to you on a silver platter....like happens in so many movies. Tell the story and let the audience figure it out if they can...that is the fun of a mystery.
Side note - "Glass Onion" scored even higher with audiences than it did with the critics 92% positive rating. For me the surprise reveal came from left field and still absolutely worked. You are of course right about what each of us finds entertaining. Everyone's mileage varies. Most loves that new "Top Gun" movie and I lasted about five minutes. I am going to give it another try ... maybe I'll smoke a fat one first.
Predator (1987) John McTiernan directed, what a 3 movie run he had with this, Die Hard, and The Hunt For Red October. Still incredibly fun and fast paced, holds up well!
A Man Called Otto It tugs at your heartstrings, and the role was tailor-made for Tom Hanks. I enjoyed it. 7/10
Faces - John Cassavettes Try as I may, I can't really get into his films. This one felt like a total chore. I was more disappointed by A Woman Under the Influence though, as it seemed to gloss over the most interesting aspects of the story. It's loud and chaotic, and I've heard critics call it realism, but I don't know any group of people that act like the people in any of the films of his that I've seen. 4/10
Girl In The Headlines (1963) 9/10 A fabulous British Whodunnit (re-titled The Model Murder Case in America) starring Ian Hendry. Across a riveting 90 minutes, Chief Inspector Birkett (Hendry), with his dry-humoured sidekick sergeant (Ronald Fraser), track down the killer of a young woman, shot dead in her London flat. Plenty of twists and turns - including a shock revelation at the end - as they also uncover a related drug smuggling racket. A stellar cast - including a young Jeremy Brett and an ever younger Jane Asher - plus some great scenes on The Thames. Music plays an integral part across the whole film, either incidentally or central to the action. Superb interior lighting effects, and a wonderful production all round. (There's a bit of jarring 'bad' girls deserve 'bad' outcomes dialogue, for which I've docked a point.) Ian Hendry steals the show with a superbly commanding performance. His eyes alone are incredibly expressive. There was always a stillness, and vulnerability, about him. A brilliantly versatile actor, who was on the cusp of international stardom in the 1960s. Then it all fell apart for him. So very sad.
