Before everything changed, I had planned to show this for our monthly movie night. While we were still hosting them, I would try not to watch a movie I'm showing for our movie nights beforehand, I didn't hold to that standard for Knives Out. I'm not ashamed to admit I was drawn in by Chris Evan's potty mouth and beautiful knit sweater.
I will say, some of the movie is somewhat predictable. You know pretty early on who is the sort of baddie of the movie. But, I didn't predict exactly how everything would eventually unfold. The things I really loved about the movie were the performances and the design of it. Everything from the set pieces to the wardrobe were beautiful (even aside from that sweater, the costumes were well thought out and told you who the characters were).
Ana de Armas was brilliant in the lead as Marta. Even without saying a word, you knew how she felt. You could sense how much she was paying attention to details throughout and knew how smart she was. I'm really excited to see where her career goes after this.
I've seen some less than enthusiastic reviews of Daniel Craig's accent, but I found it to be believable. Is it over the top? Oh yeah, but I feel that's to be a bit expected with this type of movie. It fit into the world that was being built. The performance of the character was extremely well done too. Going back and reviewing some of the scenes, you see he was quietly observing things and taking mental notes even when you felt he was getting bested by the family. His speech at the end is something to witness as well. It's even more impressive when you learn that he memorized the whole thing as if he were doing it live on stage instead of just being able to rely on movie cuts. In fact, Rian Johnson made cuts longer so Daniel could go uninterrupted.
And of course there's Chris Evans, playing both with and against type. I think at this point in his career, most people are used to him as Captain America. His character definitely is not the stand up guy that Steve Rogers is. While his character is a spoiled and entitled brat, you are given glimpses of some better behavior that leaves you questioning if he's really good and he just plays to his family's expectations. Admittedly, Chris Evans is what drew me most to the movie. I was excited to see him in a cheekier role. I originally knew him from Not Another Teen Movie, so I loved that he got to show off his sense of humor that I knew he was capable of more than in the Marvel movies.
Plus, the rest of the cast is extremely talented too. Everyone from bigger players like Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, and Toni Colette to some more up-and-comers like Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martel, and (the criminally under utilized) Riki Lindholm all hold their own in such a big, fantastic cast.
Don't go into this expecting a movie that changes the whodunit game, but do go in for a fun and entertaining ride and beautiful film making.
Staff Picks
Here are some other picks from staff members. These will all be available to put on hold for our No Contact Hold Pick Up. You can place your holds online or by calling the library. After it's on our hold shelf, you will receive a call from the library to verify the holds. Staff will also inform you on when the hold will be available for pick up and how the process works.
Staff pick from Director, Lindsay
The Peanut Butter Falcon
When Laura, the library associate responsible for this newsletter recommended The Peanut Butter Falcon, I had never heard of it and thought, "what a strange title." I placed the title on hold and apprehensively watched it when it arrived on the hold shelf for me. As per usual, Laura's recommendation was spot on. The movie is the story of Zak, a young man with Down's Syndrome who runs away from the nursing home that he lives in to attend a professional wrestling school. Through a strange set of circumstances, Zak teams up with a man on the run, Tyler. Together they go on a journey to get Zak to wrestling school. The movie was a great blend of moving and funny. It is probably one of the best movies I have watched recently. I highly recommend checking out a copy of the DVD.
Other picks include Grace and Frankie from Haley and Outlander from Jan. For the kids, Jolene recommends Leapfrog's Phonics Farm.
Upcoming Event
Unfortunately we aren't able to host any in house programs, but if you want to get your movie fix, we do have an online movie discussion coming up!
I will be hosting a discussion group over Zoom on June 23 at 6:00 pm. I don't have a specific movie for you to watch, but the theme will be A Hero's Journey, to tie in with our Summer Library theme for that week. Watch any movie of your choice that fits that theme and be ready to discuss.