Renner’s body coming down the stairs was hilarious. Some good physical comedy with dead bodies in this one.
I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but there are times here it just feels like beating a dead horse. Scott’s line about “we’ll follow you regardless of what you do or say”, or the introduction to Daryl McCormack’s character where he’s just listing all the bad faith tactics MAGA grifters use got an eye roll from me. Rian is an overall pretty good writer, but these just feel like lazy short cuts to explain a character or theme. Plus, I’m not sure how many MAGA people are rushing to see these, so I don’t think the message is really aimed at them. It feels masturbatory like four or five times a week, for six weeks, one time into the church magazine
I dunno, I think the humor in that joke is how long the list goes on for. There are a lot of jokes like that, I've finally been watching Peacemaker and I'm thinking of a joke where he rattles off a bunch of names of people who could be arrested and he goes on for over a minute. The humor is more in the length of the joke than the content. I don't think it's aimed at anybody in particular but to play devil's advocate here, why would the message be aimed at people who already agree with it? Like, on a level I get it, subtlety is clever and of course the choir doesn't want to be preached to, but on the other hand, what's the point of being subtle for the sake of the people already on your side about something? Who is that for? Left field derailment: have we always been able to quote or reply to parts of posts by just highlighting the section we want and choosing the option that pops up? Cause if so, holy shit, I'm really unobservant.
I did not realize we could do this either haha. I always did one quote and then manually chopped it up. This is a revelation. I’ll give you this and settle on the joke just didn’t land for me. I’m not saying Johnson is trying to only reach people who already agree with him either, just that I don’t think the MAGA crowd is tuning into any Rian Johnson films after the last two Benoit Blanc’s and The Last Jedi. To go along with your question though, I think people are actually pretty drawn to messaging they know they already agree with and in turn, people are also inclined to tell people what they want to hear. It’s the reason so many online spaces are echo chambers. How many grifter social media accounts are out there just to quote tweet dumb things the other side does with some pithy comment that says “look how dumb they are!” It gets engagement and that little dopamine hit. Hell, I definitely do this in the Politics thread. I don’t think Johnson is immune to this either. I don’t think it’s necessarily a conscious decision, but it’s human nature. I don’t agree that subtly is about being clever. It’s about treating the audience with respect and letting them put the message together from context. In that scene, we already see the ways they’re rationalizing Wick’s behavior. We don’t need Andrew Scott’s character to then literally say it. Again, I like Johnson a lot (he’s one of my favorite directors, particularly among blockbuster directors), but this is a recurring flaw in his writing. He’s a clever, but he doesn’t always know when to leave well enough alone.
I would also like to reiterate that I do like this movie quite a bit. O’Connor can’t be praised enough. Between this, The Mastermind, and Challengers he’s got to be one of the best young actors out there.
this was the first time I'd seen O’Connor in anything and he blew me away, fantastic performance. I think about the Louise scene like once a day Janelle Monae was really good in GO but I think this movie really succeeds in having a lead character that's not Blanc that you really root for, same as Marta
Fair point. I didn't say it was about being clever, I said that it is clever, or can be anyway, if done right. I guess I do get it but I also very much subscribe to Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped, especially in this timeline where in where people need to shout to be heard above the roaring din of stupidity that's infected our world. And I feel like that's not happening nearly as much right now as it should be. I'm very disillusioned. Also, subtlety. You keep saying "subtly" which, while a word, is defining an action, which I don't think is how you meant to use it. Or your auto-correct just sucks, which is also possible.
I don’t think it’s the job of art to be a place to just provide banal lecture about politics, and if anything is disillusioning it’s seeing artists think that they’re actually doing something significant by giving the same tired milquetoast criticisms that they’ve been giving for the past decade to absolutely no avail. They’re talking in their own echo chamber and patting themselves on the back for it. It doesn’t impact anything *and* it makes for bad art. There is nothing Rian Johnson has written in his movies about the political/cultural moment that you can’t hear every day of the week on the Daily Show
Just watched this and I really liked it. Funny moments and the reveal was good. Did anyone who watched this and has also read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie’s catch the subtle nod? If not, it was on the book club list and that doctor was also the killer
I thought this was fine. I was pretty hyped for it, and I definitely didn’t hate it, but it probably lands as my least favorite of the three. I was pretty riveted a third of the way in, but somewhere along the way it started to lose steam for me and never totally regained it. Found the political commentary kind of offputting or at least tired, and the conclusion didn’t feel as satisfying as in either of the first two.
just rewatched this with Mum tonight and I definitely think it's my favourite of the 3. it's less flashy than the previous two which I can understand turning people off but I find the amount of empathy and humanity it has really really moving, especially with the world the way it is the moment where Jud gets Martha to let go of her hatred for Grace and how it's echoed throughout the whole movie hit me like a truck this time around, I was getting real misty. Jud's whole character and the effect he has on Blanc is just some of Rian's best ever stuff
Saw this last night and liked it a whole lot. Knives Out is still easily the best, but this was successful enough at what it was going for that I can say I’m glad Rian is still doing these. (Even though it’s currently a 2/3 hit ratio, and even though I want him to now work outside of this series for a minute.) The main character’s relationship to religion was so good.
Josh O’Connor and Andrew Scott but the hot priest isn’t who you thought Josh Brolin looking like Jeff Bridges The Hawkeye himself Jeremy Renner Scooby-dooby-doo Tom Waits What’s not to love
Liked this quite a bit. I liked Knives out a little more, but it was better than Glass Onion for sure. I feel like the “plan” was a little convoluted and a bit far fetched compared to something more believable like in Knives Out, but it was still also better than Glass Onion. I really appreciated the religious themes and faith centered arcs as well. Jud: tries his best to love his enemy and to have the Christ-filled love of forgiveness and mercy in contrast to Wicks: con artist who preaches to his flock to constantly “be at war” with the enemy and putting his lust for power and money above all else is a strong reflection of the church today. One is trying to build your relationship with Christ, while the other wants you to build his bank account and couldn’t care less about helping you towards Christ. I like the dynamic between Blanc and Jud as well with them being on opposite sides of the fence regarding faith.
the overlap of Marvel actors (actual or prospective , see Daniel Craig in Doctor Strange) in Knives Out movies is always very funny to me. not a bad thing in the slightest, just a sign of how Rian's talent pool is also scouted by Marvel
even sociologically, i love when media demonstrates the in-group/out-group, sacred/profane dynamics of religious collectives/organizations, and it was interesting to see that embodied in how close-knit Wicks's inner circle was juxtaposed against everyone driven out/opposed to his style of preaching
The gag of "which Marvel alumni did it" is heightened by the fact that in this film they are all equally guilty of something.