Since it’s coming up on New Year’s, I’d better wrap up our recent viewing. I could quit now, since I’ve done all the discs, but I guess I’ll throw in a couple of streaming movies we’ve seen.
We loved Bullet Train. It stars Brad Pitt as a scruffy, sensitive international criminal in Tokyo code named Ladybug. His handler calls to give him a job - grab a suitcase of money on the bullet train. AaronTaylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry are “twins” on the train, bringing the kidnapped son (Logan Lehman) of a Russian mobster home - and it’s their bag of money. Then there is a cute little schoolgirl, Joey King, who has her own mission. And many more.
Pitt has been trying to cut down on violence because he keeps killing people, mostly by accident. But not everybody feels that way. So this movie has a lot of violence. But it’s mostly an action-comedy, with lots of silly banter. Like the twins being arguing over their codenames, and Henry being obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. Setups, like a water bottle full of knockout drops, pay off nicely, and not always the way you expect (someone gets hit over the head with it). There are absurd stunts and wild fights. Ok, not John Wick level, but still good.
In fact, unlike John Wick, this doesn’t really break new ground, or raise the bar. But it is a goofy joyride. Of course, it misrepresents the actual Shinkansen in many ways, but I think we can forgive that.
Glass Onion: a Knives Out Mystery Featuring Benoit Blanc doesn’t break new ground either. But it does help to reviving the old genre of a star-studded, glamorous mystery, like the old Poirot movies, as well as The Last of Sheila. We start by meeting the suspects… that is, cast. Each one receives an elaborate puzzle box, and they all join a Zoom call to solve it. They are:
- Katherine Hahn, a soccer mom and political candidate
- Leslie Odom, Jr, head of an engineering co.
- Kate Hudson, a washed up model turned sweatpants designer and party girl
- Jessica Henwick, Hudson’s put-upon gopher
- Dave Bautista, a muscle-head, misogynistic social media influencer
- Madelyn Cline, as Whiskey, his girlfriend
- Janelle Monae, a mysterious woman who opens the box with a hammer
- Finally, Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
The box reveals an invitation to a party on a Greek island, hosted by these people’s mutual friend. Billionaire disrupter Ed Norton. When they arrive, we discover that Craig had not been invited - how he got the invite is a mystery. But Orrin accepts him, because he has planned a murder mystery weekend.
So the games and puzzles show the influence of Sheila, while the setting reminds you of Evil Under the Sun. The planned play murder is quickly dispatched, but someone is shortly murdered in actuality, followed by chaos. There is a big twist in the second act, but I felt like there should have been a few more. The solution is a bit unsatisfying - intentionally, because the culprit is an idiot. In fact, they all ate, except Craig and Monae. This is a bit on-the-nose - everyone is some kind of obnoxious internet type, easy targets for the online crowd. But it is fun and funny. And Monae handles her role with a lot of style and dignity. She’s my favorite part, except for a few cameos, like Serena Williams.
I should also mention that we also saw Amsterdam as well. This is a historical romance set between the world wars. Christian Bale is a badly wounded veteran and doctor, and John David Washington is his brother-in-arms. After the war, they meet nurse Margot Robbie, and she is added to their bond. Back in the states, they are confronted by a murder and a mystery, which involves an plot against America, and they enlist general Robert Deniro to help out. The cast is great, but the script seems somehow unfocused and the pacing odd. The ending, for instance, is given almost entirely in voice over. So it’s sort of too quick, but also seems to go on forever. The political message is also a bit clunky, as in Onion. We didn’t find it bad, but can’t really recommend.
We saw all these on streaming, as well as a few more. Since this blog is technically about our DVD queue, consider this a bonus.
See you in the new year!
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