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Murder Underground
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'This detective novel is much more than interesting. The numerous characters are well...
Deadly Intent (Anna Travis #4)
7.5
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Anna Travis is back in a new gripping mystery from Lynda La Plante, featuring the female detective...
Crime Police Detective
A Land without Jasmine
Wajdi al-Ahdal and William Hutchins
Book
A Land without Jasmine is a sexy, satirical detective story about the sudden disappearance of a...
Dead Gold (Moccasin Hollow Mystery #4)
10.0
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The dazzling lure of Olympic gold fame is a spotlight glare hotter than any fifteen minutes of fame....
Mystery Suspense
Deadly Tides (Misty Pines Mystery #2)
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A missing surf legend. Waterlogged clues. Can he trust his gut instincts to end the wave of murder? ...
Police Procedural Psychological Suspense Mystery
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Knives Out (2019) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019
Donut Hole
Knives out is a classic old fashioned murder mystery given a breath of fresh modern day life to make it one of this years biggest delights. Knives out from the get go clearly and proudly wears a history of films/tv shows that it ows its existence to on both of its arms from Murder she wrote to Hetty Wainthropp a dash of Clue and many other murder mystery stories/tales too. Sets are fascinating with every nook and crany intricately stuffed full of the very things that inspired it almost as if its proud to display and pay great tribute to this sadly almost forgotton genre. As a film its comparable mostly to murder on the orient express mixed but its quirkiness, intelligence and charm help it soar way above that movie. Daniel Craig plays an almost Poirot character and its fascinating to watch his mind tick over and piece the puzzle together gradly along side the viewer. Its a slow burner but not a second of it drags as we follow the gradual and methodical webb spun infront of us. Pieces of clues are scattered everywhere tucked away in subtle background objects, woven into dialog and even hinted at in character names keeping your brain constantly engaged/stimulated and your eyes and ears paying attention. Its all so intricate, gradually layered, unpredictable and intelligent not even once using cheap methoods or reasoning to come to a conclusion. Subbtle themes underline the entire film too pulling the film into the present and making it higly relevant to today's goings on. Characters are deceitful, betray each other/lie constantly and the film depicts how these traits can be just as bad as murder but almost never face the same consequences. Symbolisum and metaphors are also everywhere along with great use of shadow showing inocence and and sinister intent (echoing back to classic film noir movies). Knives out certainly indeed left me smiling and challenged as well as thought provoked and rewarded. A clever, intriguing and facinating movie with a message that in a world plagued with racism, polotical lies, selfishness, deceit, distrust and the internent being used instead of knowledge nothing is more powerful than the wisdom of the old and the kind heart and inocence of a good heart.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Knives Out (2019) in Movies
Jan 3, 2020
Original and Quirky...enough
KNIVES OUT was one of the films I had circled on my calendar as a "must see". It seemed to be a perfect antidote to the CGI-Fest films that are very prevalent in the multi-plex today. So...when life got in the way and I couldn't get to this film for about a month, I tried (and succeeded) in not getting this movie spoiled for me in my various Social Media feeds.
And I'm glad I went to such lengths, for I found KNIVES OUT to be a truly original and entertaining film that kept me guessing throughout the length of the film - right up to the "big reveal."
So...if you haven't seen this film...stop reading this now...go see it...and come back.
Still here (or are you back)? Okay...let's continue...
Directed by Rian Johnson (known by many as the Director of THE LAST JEDI, but I think this movie owes more of it's heritage to his breakthrough film BRICK or his Sci-Fi action flick, LOOPER), KNIVES OUT is an old-fashioned, Agatha Christie-type murder mystery complete with an oddball Detective trying to figure out "whodunnit" that features an All-Star cast of suspects as well as an Oscar winning murder victim.
As I stated above, Johnson has traversed a murder mystery-type film before in his neo-noir homage BRICK, but in this film he really let's his wings fly as he plays, marvelously, with the drawing room murder mystery pastiche. Johnson wrote and directed this film and the twists and turns and originality of his vision is apparent on screen, playing with expectations without being too clever.
He has assembled an All-Star cast of actors playing interesting characters. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Toni Colette, Don Johnson and Jacob Trombley all bring star power and charisma to their roles and each one COULD have been the murderer. As often happens in these types of films, each one gets A scene to shine, but only the one "whodunnit" really gets to step out.
As the Law Enforcement on their trail, Lakeith Stanfield (GET OUT) and Noah Segan (LOOPER) play off each other well and they play off of Daniel Craig (James Bond, of course) very well. Craig plays Private Detective Benoit Blanc with some sort of Cajun-type accent that works more than it doesn't, I enjoyed his performance enough to find it charming and not annoying.
Special notice needs to be made of the performances of Christopher Plummer - as the murder victim (I'm not spoiling anything here, it's in the trailer) and Frank Oz (the famous Muppeteer and Director). Both are "old pros" who bring a grounding to the proceedings. Their performances are almost down to earth commentaries on the other characters/performances and they both helped out this film tremendously.
Finally, the film revolves around the journey that Ana de Armas' character, Maria Cabrera, is on in this film. She is the audience's eyes and ears into this story, having clues and plot points revealed to her as we, the audience, have them revealed to us. I fell in love with de Armas when she played Joi in BLADE RUNNER: 2049 and she is pleasant enough company here to search out this mystery with.
With all these pieces - and characters - to put together and move around, I did find that this film suffered a bit by "too much" and "too fast" at times that caused me not to care about certain people and circumstances (especially at the beginning), but that was quickly forgotten/forgiven as the film progressed and I was engrossed in the mystery - a mystery that I did not know how it was going to end.
And that, is unique and rare enough for me.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And I'm glad I went to such lengths, for I found KNIVES OUT to be a truly original and entertaining film that kept me guessing throughout the length of the film - right up to the "big reveal."
So...if you haven't seen this film...stop reading this now...go see it...and come back.
Still here (or are you back)? Okay...let's continue...
Directed by Rian Johnson (known by many as the Director of THE LAST JEDI, but I think this movie owes more of it's heritage to his breakthrough film BRICK or his Sci-Fi action flick, LOOPER), KNIVES OUT is an old-fashioned, Agatha Christie-type murder mystery complete with an oddball Detective trying to figure out "whodunnit" that features an All-Star cast of suspects as well as an Oscar winning murder victim.
As I stated above, Johnson has traversed a murder mystery-type film before in his neo-noir homage BRICK, but in this film he really let's his wings fly as he plays, marvelously, with the drawing room murder mystery pastiche. Johnson wrote and directed this film and the twists and turns and originality of his vision is apparent on screen, playing with expectations without being too clever.
He has assembled an All-Star cast of actors playing interesting characters. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Toni Colette, Don Johnson and Jacob Trombley all bring star power and charisma to their roles and each one COULD have been the murderer. As often happens in these types of films, each one gets A scene to shine, but only the one "whodunnit" really gets to step out.
As the Law Enforcement on their trail, Lakeith Stanfield (GET OUT) and Noah Segan (LOOPER) play off each other well and they play off of Daniel Craig (James Bond, of course) very well. Craig plays Private Detective Benoit Blanc with some sort of Cajun-type accent that works more than it doesn't, I enjoyed his performance enough to find it charming and not annoying.
Special notice needs to be made of the performances of Christopher Plummer - as the murder victim (I'm not spoiling anything here, it's in the trailer) and Frank Oz (the famous Muppeteer and Director). Both are "old pros" who bring a grounding to the proceedings. Their performances are almost down to earth commentaries on the other characters/performances and they both helped out this film tremendously.
Finally, the film revolves around the journey that Ana de Armas' character, Maria Cabrera, is on in this film. She is the audience's eyes and ears into this story, having clues and plot points revealed to her as we, the audience, have them revealed to us. I fell in love with de Armas when she played Joi in BLADE RUNNER: 2049 and she is pleasant enough company here to search out this mystery with.
With all these pieces - and characters - to put together and move around, I did find that this film suffered a bit by "too much" and "too fast" at times that caused me not to care about certain people and circumstances (especially at the beginning), but that was quickly forgotten/forgiven as the film progressed and I was engrossed in the mystery - a mystery that I did not know how it was going to end.
And that, is unique and rare enough for me.
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Six Cats a Slayin' in Books
Oct 24, 2018
Kittens and Murder at Christmas
Charlie Harris's feline family has grown quite a bit. Someone left him a box with five kittens in it, and he's taking care of them while trying to track down the owner so he can figure out what to do with them next. Fortunately, Charlie's Maine Coon cat, Diesel, has taken to the kittens and is helping take care of them as only a cat can. That isn't the only problem Charlie is facing this Christmas, however. There's also his new neighbor Geraldine "Call Me Gerry" Albritton. Gerry is rubbing everyone the wrong way, including Charlie. Charlie isn't prepared for murder, however, and when one happens, he begins to investigate. What will he uncover?
Fans of this series know to expect a wonderful puzzle wrapped in a cozy shell, and that's just what we get here, with the Christmas setting only helping the cozy feeling. The mystery of the kittens occupies much of the early book while the foundations of the main mystery are being laid. Once the dead body turns up, we focus more on that with the kittens taking their place as a sub-plot. The twists of the mystery keep the pages flying, and the story takes a more serious tone. That tone provides a nice contrast to the Christmas season and the kittens, both of which keep the book from becoming too dark. I was thrilled to get to spend so much time with the series regulars; I just love Charlie's family and extended family. This book left me with happy tears in my eyes and Christmas carols in my head. What more could you want?
Fans of this series know to expect a wonderful puzzle wrapped in a cozy shell, and that's just what we get here, with the Christmas setting only helping the cozy feeling. The mystery of the kittens occupies much of the early book while the foundations of the main mystery are being laid. Once the dead body turns up, we focus more on that with the kittens taking their place as a sub-plot. The twists of the mystery keep the pages flying, and the story takes a more serious tone. That tone provides a nice contrast to the Christmas season and the kittens, both of which keep the book from becoming too dark. I was thrilled to get to spend so much time with the series regulars; I just love Charlie's family and extended family. This book left me with happy tears in my eyes and Christmas carols in my head. What more could you want?
Romancing the Null (The Outlier Prophecies #1)
6.0
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An impossible prophecy. An unlikely partnership. They'll have to work together to prevent a...