Netflix review: Rian Johnson’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ is an immensely satisfying sequel.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

The biggest mystery facing the Glass Onion is not the true identity of a murderer. You don’t have to peel the layers of this proverbial onion to know there’s a far broader question being asked: would Netflix somehow screw this sequel up? I’m delighted to report that Rian Johnson’s follow-up to Knives Out will make the transition to streaming without so much as a scratch. The central mystery remains gripping, the pacing taut, and the cast suitably stellar. This whodunnit is fresh, smart, and most importantly fun.

Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, the debonair southern detective. This time around, Blanc is invited to an isolated Greek island by billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton, giving Elon Musk post-burning man vibes.) Bron has invited several of his closest friends for a weekend getaway that just happens so happens to include a murder-mystery game. Things go wrong faster than you can say “bad idea.”

I was worried that Glass Onion would suffer from an overreliance on Craig’s detective. Knives Out benefited immensely from a core focus on Ana de Armas’ fish-out-of-water character. The film smartly employs him as a foil for its many new cast members. The new faces are stellar across the board. Janelle Monae shows incredible versatility. Leslie Odom Jr. and Kathryn Hahn have the tough job of playing the respective sticks in the mud while the rest of the cast gets to have fun. Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista really let it rip. We’re used to this from Bautista, but it is a particularly welcome departure for Hudson. As I reflect back on the past years of the pandemic, her character provides particular hilarious relief. There are also several delightful cameos. I won’t spoil them for you, but suffice it to say it seems like nearly everybody wanted in on this thing.

Whodunit films seem to be light work for Rian Johnson. His 2005 debut, Brick, was an exceptionally hard-boiled film noir that just happened to be set in a high school. Despite their common director, Brick and Glass Onion could not be more different. Where Brick was pitch black noir down to its very bones (even down to the dialogue), Glass Onion is a sun-drenched delight inspired by holiday mysteries such as Evil Under the Sun and The Last of Sheila. It provides necessary effervescent support as we head into the cold winter months. I can’t wait for the next chapter!


Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Theatrical: The film released in select US theaters on November 23rd, 2022

Film releasing on Netflix (US) on December 23rd, 2022 at 3:00 AM EST


 

Interesting trivia about Wes Anderson movies

In honor of Isle of Dogs coming out this week, I’ve put together this fun little trivia database. Here are some highlights:

  • 13 actors have been in another Wes Anderson movie
    • Bill Murray
    • Jason Schwartzman
    • Tilda Swinton
    • Jeff Goldblum
    • Edward Norton
    • Bob Balaban
    • Anjelica Huston
    • Roman Coppola
    • Frances McDormand
    • Kara Hayward
    • Harvey Keitel
    • F. Murray Abraham
    • Fisher Stevens
  • 6 actors have all been in the last 3 Wes Anderson movies
    (Isle of Dogs, The Grand Budapest Hotel & Moonrise Kingdom):

    • Bill Murray
    • Jason Schwartzman
    • Tilda Swinton
    • Edward Norton
    • Bob Balaban
    • Harvey Keitel
  • Owen Wilson and Roman Coppola are now tied with the number of movies written with Wes Anderson (3) and both have been nominated for an Oscar.
    • Owen Wilson: 2002 Oscar Nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson [The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)], Rushmore, Bottle Rocket
    • Roman Coppola: 2013 Oscar Nominee for Best Writing, Original Screenplay: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola [Moonrise Kingdom (2012)], Isle of Dogs, The Darjeeling Limited
  • Wes Anderson uses the same cinematographers.
    • Tristan Oliver: Isle of Dogs & Fantastic Mr Fox
    • Robert D. Yeoman: 2015 Oscar Nominee for Best Achievement in Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman [The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)], Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Bottle Rocket

Battle of The Actors Round 3 Match-Ups! Actors Round of Sweet 16!

Untitled-1Last Week Melissa McCarthy, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Julianne Moore moved on to the round of 16 along with Judi Dench, who beat Eva Green in the bonus match-up. This week is the men’s match of the Sweet 16! Let’s get it on!

Brad’s Bracket:

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Jeremy’s Bracket:

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Liz’s Bracket:

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Melissa’s Bracket:

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Michael’s Bracket:

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Battle of The Actors Round 2 Match-Ups! Actors Round of 32!

Untitled-1Last week we had Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Robin Wright and Helen Mirren move on with Charlize Theron beating Anne Hathaway in the bonus matchup. This week we switch back to the men for the final men’s match up of the round of 32!

Brad’s Bracket:

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Jeremy’s Bracket:

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Liz’s Bracket:

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Melissa’s Bracket:

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Michael’s Bracket:

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Battle of The Actors Round 1 Matchups Part 3!

Untitled-1Amanda Plummer, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Julianne Moore moved on in the brackets and Anne Hathaway beat Emma Thompson in the bonus bracket by yet ANOTHER slim margin ..this weeks matchups we switch gears and return to the guys…actors showdown! Let’s get it on!

Brad’s Bracket:

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Jeremy’s Bracket:

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Liz’s Bracket:

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Melissas’ Bracket:

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Michael’s Bracket:

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2015 MTV Movie Awards Nominations Announced

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The 2015 MTV movie awards is upon us and the nominations for the coveted golden popcorn (sorry, I can’t say that without laughing) are here! The award show is unique as it is one of the few awards shows where the viewers actually get to vote for the winners. You can vote for your favorites at MovieAwards.MTV.com through April 11.

I for one can’t wait for the Best Shirtless Performance..that’s a tight race…get it!

Amy Schumer, star of Judd Apatow’s upcoming Trainwreck, will host this year’s show on Sunday, April 12 at 8/7c on MTV.

Movie of the Year
“American Sniper”
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1″
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Gone Girl”
“The Fault In Our Stars”
“Boyhood”
“Whiplash”
“Selma”

Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1″
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Shailene Woodley, “The Fault In Our Stars”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Scarlett Johansson, “Lucy”

Best Male Performance
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars”
Miles Teller, “Whiplash”
Channing Tatum, “Foxcatcher”

Best Scared-As-S**t Performance
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Annabelle Wallis, “Annabelle”
Jennifer Lopez, “The Boy Next Door”
Dylan O’Brien, “The Maze Runner”
Zach Gilford, “The Purge: Anarchy”

Breakthrough Performance
Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
David Oyelowo, “Selma”
Dylan O’Brien, “The Maze Runner”
Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”

Best Shirtless Performance
Zac Efron, “Neighbors”
Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Channing Tatum, “Foxcatcher”
Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars”
Kate Upton, “The Other Woman”

Best Duo
Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill, “22 Jump Street”
Zac Efron & Dave Franco, “Neighbors”
Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars”
Bradley Cooper & Vin Diesel, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
James Franco & Seth Rogen, “The Interview”

Best Fight
Jonah Hill vs. Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street”
Chris Evans vs. Sebastian Stan, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Dylan O’Brien vs. Will Poulter, “The Maze Runner”
Seth Rogen vs. Zac Efron, “Neighbors”
Edward Norton vs. Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Best Kiss
Ansel Elgort & Shailene Woodley, “The Fault In Our Stars”
James Franco & Seth Rogen, “The Interview”
Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″
Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Rose Byrne & Halston Sage, “Neighbors”

Best WTF Moment
Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne, “Neighbors”
Jonah Hill, “22 Jump Street”
Jason Sudeikis & Charlie Day, “Horrible Bosses 2″
Miles Teller, “Whiplash”
Rosario Dawson & Anders Holm, “Top Five”

Best Villain
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street,”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
Peter Dinklage, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Musical Moment
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1″
Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Seth Rogen & Zac Efron, “Neighbors”
Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig, “The Skeleton Twins”
Miles Teller, “Whiplash”

Best Comedic Performance
Channing Tatum, “22 Jump Street”
Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Rose Byrne, “Neighbors”
Chris Rock, “Top Five”
Kevin Hart, “The Wedding Ringer”

Best On-Screen Transformation
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Elizabeth Banks, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1″
Zoe Saldana, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”

If I Chose the Academy Award Winners and Nominees – 2015 edition

I’ve now seen most of the films that had a release in 2014. This makes me more qualified to vote for the Oscars than 97.548% of the Academy’s membership. With the Oscar ceremony occurring tonight, I’ve picked, as I have the previous two years, who I think the nominees and winners should be in the bulk of the major categories. Once again, the foreign film category will be left off because I simply haven’t had access to enough foreign films to make a comment on them. Those that have made it to my neck of the woods, I will say, have been very good for the most part. Read More →

New Trailer: ‘My Own Man’ – Original Documentary From Netflix & Executive Producer Edward Norton

myownmanNetflix, the world’s leading Internet TV network, will premiere the original documentary My Own Man, from executive producer Edward Norton on March 6, 2015. The film was written, produced and directed by David Sampliner (Dirty Work), and will premiere exclusively on Netflix in all territories where Netflix is available. Read More →

Check out the ‘Birdman’ Q&A & A Buy 1 Get 1 Free Ticket!

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Check out this fun Q&A from this year’s New York Film Festival after a press screening that Liz and myself had the honor to attend. Everyone is very charming and you’ll fall in love with Michael Keaton all over again! Check out Michael’s review here.

Go see Birdman, it’s a truly mesmerizing experience for the senses.

Buy one ticket, get one free. Use promo code REGALBIRD at checkout at any Regal Theater. Offer ends 2/5. While Supplies Last. Terms Apply. Read More →

Netflix News: Marco Polo On for Season 2, Trailer for The Fall Season 2, New Documentary & 7 New Series!!

Netflix

Whew. Netflix is really ramping it up! There’s lots of news, so let me break it down. Read More →

Michael’s Review: ‘Birdman’ or (The Unexpected Virtue of Greatness!)

birdman-movie-poster-1There are films you experience and there are films you view. Do you know the difference? A film you experience is one that you become completely immersed, that you lose yourself to the world in which you are subjected to. Experiences like Birdman do not come along everyday. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu opens his film with his main character hovering, weightless, in his underwear, deciphering the current state of his life.  It’s the only time the camera, and the audience, are given a reprieve in the film, as it is shot completely in long takes. It’s a movie in name, but a test of endurance for your mind. So come along with me now and enjoy the tale of the Birdman. Read More →

New York Film Festival Announces Main Slate! ‘Gone Girl’ – ‘Inherent Vice’ – ‘Birdman’ – ‘Foxcatcher’

We at Reel News Daily love film festivals and one of our very favorite is the New York Film Festival because they often have the most anticipated and unexpected treasures. Stay tuned for our coverage!

  • 2 World Premieres
  • 5 North American Premieres
  • 13 U.S. Premieres
  • 10 New York Premieres
  • Only 1 Joaquin Phoenix movie (sadface)

Read More →