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


 

New York Film Festival Review: ‘Private Life’ – Now on Netflix!

There is an age-old dilemma in Manhattan in respect to career and family. When I was a preschool teacher 10 years ago, the average age of the parents in my class when they gave birth was 40. My own mother had me at 22. This was the “normal” I understood. But, after I got married at 31 and moved back to Manhattan after years of traveling the world, I realized that I was faced with the same dilemma. My husband had not just hinted but boldly stated that he was ready for kids. I had just gotten deep into film criticism and similar projects, there was no way I was about to slow down now. Then, once I was ready it took a grueling 8 months to get pregnant. I know, some people will say that’s not a very long time, it takes years for some women to get pregnant. But that feeling of disappointment and fear month after month is palpable still. Those visceral memories are what made Tamara Jenkins new film Private Life so engrossing for me.

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Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti play a couple that put arts careers first and family second. Then the reality of the situation slams into them head-on. With adoption, fertility treatments, and surrogacy all on the table, this couple cannot seem to catch a break. The brilliance of this film is the fact that it’s rooted in reality. The emotional rollercoaster that is trying to be parents is all emotions at once. The comedy is as pure as the heartbreak. Giamatti is always fantastic. There is a beautiful juxtaposition in a performance from Molly Shannon. On the surface, it may appear to be an uncomplicated foil for Katherine’s character, but it is anything but. Private Life‘s essence lies in Hahn’s performance. Her soul-baring work will most certainly catch you off guard. It’s the quietest moments that crush you. Her specificity is award-worthy stuff, no doubt. Private Life is not just about having a kid, it’s about marriage. It’s about the delicate balance of love and hate and resentment between two people who promise to be together forever. Hands down, in my top three films from the festival this year. You can catch Private Life right now on Netflix. I highly recommend you do.

Get Ready for ‘A Bad Moms Christmas’ with this Hilarious Teaser Trailer

STXfilms has released brand new trailers and first-look images from A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS and we have it for you below!

A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas.  And if creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, they have to do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers.  By the end of the journey, our moms will redefine how to make the holidays special for all and discover a closer relationship with their mothers.

The film stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernandez, Cheryl Hines, Peter Gallagher, Justin Hartley, David Walton, with Christine Baranski, and Susan Sarandon.

A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS in theaters November 3!

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Celebrate Mother’s Day with a chance to win a trip to the world premiere of ‘Bad Moms’!

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Celebrate Mother’s Day with a chance to win a trip to the world premiere of Bad Moms by submitting your funniest #BadMomMoment.

Juggling a career, kids, and family is a 24/7 ‘round­the­clock job that can be overwhelming and under-appreciated at times. And a lot of times, those moments end up making pretty hilarious stories. You know, accidentally packing tampons in your kid’s lunch. Reaching for diaper rash cream instead of toothpaste. Putting the left shoe on the right foot. Sometimes you just need a break. If you also need better baby supplies, visit www.elitebaby.us/collections/nursing-covers

The kids are driving you crazy and you just want to run away. So why don’t you? Make sure the kids are in a safe place and go sit in your bedroom with the door closed and locked for a few minutes. Grab a coffee or a cookie on your way in there, too. If you need to blast some music to drown out the calls of your needy, irritating children, go for it. As long as they’re safe, they will be okay for a few moments so you can refocus and get some much needed peace.

So eff it. No one’s perfect so give up the guilt and be a “bad mom” for a minute. Do a little something for yourself: ditch the PTA and get an ETA on your next massage. Swap the Happy Meal with Happy Hour and down a shot or two. Skip the bedtime story and whip out 50 Shades of Grey. Share your funniest #BadMomMoment for a chance to win BIG. Check out BadMomMoment.com for all the details.

Watch the Bad Moms trailer starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Mumolo, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Christina Applegate

Bad Moms hits theaters July 29th

Michael’s Review: ‘Tomorrowland’

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“Inspiring people makes the world a better place”, a quote from a young Frank Walker in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland which opens this weekend in theaters. A film that would like to do just that, inspire young people to dream big and achieve greatness to help better our world and save the future, a noble goal and a powerful message for this generation. Inspired by the Disney theme park on the same name, this film sets it’s sights to become the next great Disney family adventure, but can it win over audiences this summer?

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Frank Walker (George Clooney) opens the movie by saying, “The future can be scary” for which optimist and science enthusiast Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) responds, “When I was a kid the future was different.” Two varying perspectives from two very different generations who will need to work together to save the planet. We flashback to 1964, a young Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) attends the New York World’s Fair where he  meets David Nix (Hugh Laurie), a judge for new innovations in science at the fair who is unimpressed with Walker’s attempt to create a jetpack. A young girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy). who is attending the fair with Nix, sees something in Walker and gives him a pin which results in Walker being transported into a futuristic cityscape known as Tomorrowland.

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Years in the future we find Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), sneaking into a former NASA launch site in Cape Canaveral to stop the site from being destroyed.  Her father, Eddie (Tim McGraw), is an NASA engineer who was employed at the site so the destruction vastly effects the Newton family.  She returns home where Athena finds the young girl and hides a pin in her helmet for her to find. After being arrested for attempting another sabotage mission on the NASA site, Casey discovers the pin among her personal items. Casey discovers that upon contact, the pin instantly transports her to Tomorrowland. She briefly explores Tomorrowland, before a timer on the pin expires and returns Casey to her world. Desperate to return, Casey begins to search for another way back.

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Casey hits the road to find answers, but soon finds her life threatened by robots sent to protect Tomorrowland from any more visitors. With the help of Athena, Casey finds Frank, who informs her that the world is coming to an end. Understanding that they must stop this from happening, the two begin their journey back to the place that neither can live without. With hope on their side, even the tinniest of actions could change the future.

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Tomorrowland is a movie with an important message about saving the Earth from our mistakes and director Brad Bird’s ambitious film delivers its point with dialogue and visuals pointing to our demise, but will any of its core audience listen? One of Bird’s mistakes in his delivery is the pacing of the film. In areas the pacing works and the film moves well enough, but there are gaps where young audiences could find themselves “zoning” out which, I fear, will cause the overall message of the film to be lost. Actress Britt Robertson is wonderful as the young science enthusiast. Robertson delivers on her desire to make her character unique and does well to stray her character away from cliche’s that plague way to many of these characters. George Clooney and Hugh Laurie are servicable but not overly amazing in this film. Clooney given more to work with with his character than Laurie, who had the makings of a great antagonist, but fizzled on the development. Raffey Cassidy is charming as the young Athena. Cassidy  Her characters interaction with her co-stars is wonderful and the young actress delivers.

Overall, Tomorrowland is an enjoyable film which will hopefully inspire it’s audience to go out and make the world a better place.  As young Walker said, “If I saw people flying with a jetpack over me. I’d believe anything is possible.”

Stars:

3 out of 5

After Credit Scene?

At the very end of the credits there is a Tomorrowland pin that disappears with the “Tomorrowland flash” after a hand grabs it. Aside from this, there is no stinger after the credits

Trailer:

The Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’ Arrives

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Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller The Visit and we have it for you below!

Shyamalan returns to his roots with the terrifying story of a brother and sister who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a week long trip. Once the children discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing, they see their chances of getting back home are growing smaller every day.

Shyamalan produces The Visit through his Blinding Edge Pictures, while Jason Blum produces through his Blumhouse Productions alongside Mark Bienstock (Quarantine 2: Terminal). Steven Schneider (Insidious) and Ashwin Rajan (Devil) executive produce the thriller.

The movie stars Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation), Deanna Dunagan (The Cherokee Word for Water), Peter McRobbie (Inherent Vice), Ed Oxenbould (Paper Planes), and Olivia DeJonge (The Sisterhood of Night).

The movie arrives home on September 11, 2015

The Poster for M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Visit’ Arrives

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Universal Pictures has released the teaser poster for the upcoming thriller The Visit written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, The Purge and Insidious series).

Shyamalan returns to his roots with the terrifying story of a brother and sister who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a week long trip. Once the children discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing, they see their chances of getting back home are growing smaller every day.

Shyamalan produces The Visit through his Blinding Edge Pictures, while Blum produces through his Blumhouse Productions alongside Mark Bienstock (Quarantine 2: Terminal). Steven Schneider (Insidious) and Ashwin Rajan (Devil) executive produce the thriller.

The movie stars Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Recreation), Deanna Dunagan (The Cherokee Word for Water), Peter McRobbie (Inherent Vice), Ed Oxenbould (Paper Planes), and Olivia DeJonge (The Sisterhood of Night).

 

Follow Grandma’s Rules and tune-in this Thursday for the trailer debut

The movie arrives home on September 11, 2015