Movie Review - Glass Onion

Director: Rian Johnson
Genre: Comedy/ Mystery/ Crime
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Madeline Cline, Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 52: A MOVIE RELEASED THIS YEAR
 
    
Description: Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to Greece for his latest case.

Review: The best murder mysteries have something to say about the world outside the mansion in which the murder takes place. It is the competing interests of people from all sorts of backgrounds, that provide most of the suspense and intrigue; the murder is merely the fuse to the bomb.

This was the strength of “Knives Out”, written and directed by Rian Johnson, which gestured to the cruelty and narrow-mindedness of white America via a bizarre murder in a wealthy family. The sequel “Glass Onion” is set on the private island of the wealthy tech entrepreneur Miles Bron, which is inevitable rocked by murder and intrigue. Once again, old-fashioned detective Benoit Blanc finds himself at the center of the mystery. And once again, the murder prompts digging into the ills of our society.  

“Glass Onion” has to take a few big leaps to get going, we meet all the characters. Not a family this time, but a group of old friends. All invited by Miles, we meet YouTuber Duke, controversial politician Claire, scientist Lionel, star Birdie and longtime associate Andie.  

“Glass Onion” mocks the very richest people, the characters are enhanced and fit perfectly into this crazy, sometimes hilarious murder mystery. Even though this film follows the same story telling structure as “Knives Out”, it being non-linear, “Glass Onion” is a very different movie. Besides the setting, the story is far from the family drama we had in “Knives Out”. Which makes it just as unique. I loved both movies equally.

Again, the film has a fantastic cast. Benoit Blanc is the only character we already knew, played fantastically by Daniel Craig. I think he is one of my newer favorite movie characters. I love his detective style, his way with words, the things that annoy him, the situations he gets himself into or gets into due to others. From the other guest, Janelle Monáe was the one that most impressed me and her character is the most interesting one. Up until the halfway point, her character Andie is a mystery. I loved that.  

“Glass Onion” is one of those films that you need to watch at least one more time, since there will be a lot of things you missed the first time. You have different things to focus on on second viewing, because of the non-linear storyline, things are revealed. On a second viewing, you will be looking for hints, if you could pick them up. And that’s why I love murder mysteries and whodunits like this.

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” was one of my most-anticipated films of 2022 and it didn’t disappoint. This might even be my favorite film of the year.

Rating: 5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Almost Famous

Director: Cameron Crowe
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2000
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bijou Philips, Jimmy Fallon

Description: A high school boy (Patrick Fugit) in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rollin Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 49: A MOVIE ABOUT A MUSICIAN
 
Review: It’s 1973. Fifteen-year-old William Miller lives in San Diego and dreams of becoming the best rock journalist ever. His great love of music was born from a collection of records his sister left him four years earlier when she left home. William writes articles for local magazines and also sends them to a rock and roll magazine. The editor of this magazine, Lester Bangs, is in San Diego and William seeks him out. He manages to get an assignment from Lester to write about Black Sabbath who are performing in San Diego. When William is trying to get in, he meets a few groupies, including the mysterious Penny Lane. Moments later, Stillwater’s band members arrive. Partly because of his contact with Penny, William gets in touch with this band, who actually, because he is a journalist, consider him the enemy.

Some time later, William is approached by Rolling Stone Magazine, to write an extensive tour report of Stillwater. And so William, leaving behind a very distressed mother, travels with the band along with Penny.

“Almost Famous” a good film about music. The film describes director Cameron Crowe’s own life as a rock journalist and he says that this film is a love letter to music. Even though the film isn’t very realistic, it does have many layers. The search for success and happiness, the loss of youthful innocence, it’s about love and passion.  

“Almost Famous” is considered to be one of the best film of 2000. I personally wouldn’t go that far, but it’s strong enough to be memorable.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 129: Deepwater Horizon

Director: Peter Berg
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Dylan O’Brien, Kate Hudson

Description: A dramatization of the disaster back in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon created a giant explosion, which created the worst oil spill in American history.

Review: In April of 2010, the biggest oil spill in American history took place in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of a massive leak, oil seeped into the water for almost three months. This oil disaster also had some explosions and heavy fires. This is perfect material for Hollywood. And normally these kind of stories turn into sappy films about heroic people who are praised. That’s at least what I was expecting. But “Deepwater Horizon” is a lot better than I expected it to be and it’s not a sentimental disaster film at all.
Director Peter Berg used the book “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hours” as his inspiration. It’s basic facts and not a bunch of heroic characters and sentiment. The characters in this film are based on actual people that survived this disaster. And Berg doesn’t try to make anything look better or more beautiful than it is. The central character is technician Mike Williams, who leaves a wife and daughter at home and travel to the platform for three weeks. Williams is accompanied by Andrea Fleytas, a tough young lady working in a men’s world. On board of the Deepwater Horizon, that functions as an explorer to find new oil sources, the team leader is determined to get everything check on safety. The big shots don’t think this is necessary and feel like everything is safe enough, they need to drill. Off course, things go wrong.
Hectic and chaos, not very surprising in a disaster movie. Berg didn’t take the time to be all technical about the cause of the disaster, thank goodness. And the connection between Wahlberg’s character and his wife at home is not turning into a tear jerking and is kept to a minimal. It’s just enough to know that something is terribly wrong and that Williams is a family man.
Berg excels in great shots of impressive explosions and the immense sea of fire. The film keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s a surprising film, because I expected just another over-sentimental disaster film. I was wrong, and I love that actually! “Deepwater Horizon” is a surprisingly great film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 33: Mother's Day

Director: Garry Marshall
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Shay Mitchell, Sarah Chalke, Jon Lovitz, Hector Elizondo, Larry Miller, Jack Whitehall

Description: Three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother's Day.

Review: Mother’s Day is the day that we celebrate all the great mothers on the planet. They deserved their own film, but this is not really the tribute I was hoping for.
We follow several stories revolving around mothers a week before Mother’s Day. Jesse has to solve a fight with her mother, but also kept it a secret that she married an Indian man and together they have a son. Her sister also hides something, the fact that she is gay. Kristen is adopted and wants to meet her biological mom: career lady Miranda. Sandy has to share mother’s day with her ex-husband’s new wife, who is much younger than her. And Bradley and his daughters are still struggling after their wife/ mother’s death.
We had “New Year’s Eve” and “Valentine’s Day”, which weren’t all that great to begin with. “Mother’s Day” isn’t either. I liked Jennifer Aniston, but I always like her. But the rest of the cast is a bit bland. And that story of Jess was just oo ridiculous. She and her sister kept such a big secret, because their parents are pretty racist and not very open minded. And everything is forgiven and forgotten in literally one second. Not believable at all.
I don’t think “Mother’s Day” is film that would make a lot of mothers happy. It’s hardly funny, super cliché and predictable. Out of all the assemble films with multiple storylines, that eventually cross paths, there is only one film in this genre that wins. And it’s not by Garry Marshall (it’s “Love Actually”, in case you were wondering). So if you want to watch a film with your mom on mother’s day, don’t watch this.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 73: Nine

Director: Rob Marshall
Genre: Drama/ Romance/ Musical
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Stacy Ferguson, Sophia Loren

Description: Famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.

Review: There is line between film and theater, they are two different worlds. That’s something you can conclude after watching “Nine”. The show worked on Broadway, but not so much on the big screen. Director Rob Marshall was successful with the musical “Chicago”, but “Nine”…. No.
“Nine” is filled with big names. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the lead. He is a fantastic character actor, almost always flawless in his performances. Sadly this is not one of those performances. But it’s not all his fault, because his character is a bit limited. All the women in the film are okay. Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Nicole Kidman.
The film has a very thin storyline and no surprises. With a cast like this, I expected more quality. “Nine” didn’t deliver.

Rating: 2/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 151: Something Borrowed

Director: Luke Greenfield

Genre: Comedy/ Romance/ Drama

Runtime: 113 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, John Krasinski, Colin Egglesfield, Steve Howey

Description: Friendships are tested and secrets come to the surface when terminally single Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) falls for Dex (Colin Egglesfield), her best friend Darcy's (Kate Hudson) fiancé.

Review: Poor Dex, he earns heaps of money as a lawyer in Manhattan, can smile like Tom Cruise, can get every woman he wants and gets a mansion from his father. But Dex wants to teach, he doesn’t do it, but he wants to. And his love life also shakes up his stabile life. The ideal son in law is torn between the serious and single lawyer Rachel and the partying and outgoing Darcy.

A romantic comedy like “Something Borrowed” is about love and the problems that come with it. Viewers love it. The movie looks like a perfectly styled soda commercial, with picture perfect fashionably dressed people, sunny weather, hip clubs, New York apartments and a house in the Hamptons. Rachel is the one to mess it all up, by having a ‘fun night’ with Dex, the man who is about to marry her best friend Darcy. How the two are friends is a big mystery, they have nothing in common. There has always been something between Dex and Rachel, but right before the wedding is the perfect time to actually speak about those feelings.

A romcom is a genre where, as a viewer, you have certain expectations and you always know the outcome somehow. It’s like unwrapping a present when you can already see by its shape what’s inside it.

Kate Hudson is good in her role, but she didn’t manage to make me feel any form of sympathy. Ginnifer Goodwin is likeable as Rachel, but it’s a character she has played before and she brings nothing new to the screen. Colin Egglesfield as Dex is okay. I think he’s just another pretty face and very forgettable. John Krasinski, who was only given a supporting role, is the only character I could relate to, he was the only sensible one and I actually sympathized with him. It also has to do with Krasinski’s high likeability level. He’s the only actor that gets away with the comedy part of the movie.

“Something Borrowed” is not a very original movie, filled with romcom clichés. Thanks to John Krasinski it was a bearable film to watch and the movie did have its moments. But overall it’s a meaningless romcom that will easily be forgotten.

Rating: 2/ 5