WAKE UP DEAD MAN: more Benoit Blanc Benoit Blancing via Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig, due 2025

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed

As noted here:

https://x.com/rianjohnson/status/1794005920898502741

Ned Raggett, Friday, 24 May 2024 16:01 (one year ago)

After all these years, it’s the first time U2’s Pop has had any influence on the culture at large…

paisley got boring (Eazy), Friday, 24 May 2024 17:01 (one year ago)

Radiohead, Beatles, U2

omar little, Friday, 24 May 2024 17:03 (one year ago)

i cannot believe anyone watched glass onion and wanted more of this

close encounters of the third knid (darraghmac), Friday, 24 May 2024 17:04 (one year ago)

it won't surprise you to learn that U2 bit that title from an old blues song

the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Friday, 24 May 2024 17:07 (one year ago)

i cannot believe anyone watched glass onion and wanted more of this

The first film was fun. The actors and director had fun making it. Audiences had fun watching it. It grossed beaucoup bucks. The makers concluded from this that a sequel would earn beaucoup bucks and all they had to do was repeat the formula, have fun and entertain themselves.

They forgot the part about audiences having fun. The sequel grossed beaucoup bucks anyway. The makers drew one important conclusion from this. Maybe they'll be proved right.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 24 May 2024 17:29 (one year ago)

The sequel grossed beaucoup bucks anyway.

citation needed

bae (sic), Friday, 24 May 2024 18:39 (one year ago)

i think Netflix said it did well for them

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/64RTtSZP6SA/hqdefault.jpg

omar little, Friday, 24 May 2024 18:56 (one year ago)

yeah 2nd one only made 15 million at the box office but it was barely in theaters. It seemed to be popular on netflix despite no-one I personally know liking it

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 24 May 2024 23:23 (one year ago)

Yeah the theatrical run was I think over a Thanksgiving weekend and only in select theaters, typical Netflix stuff. Seemed like a self-own to me on that front.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 24 May 2024 23:57 (one year ago)

I didn't really like either one but I thought Glass Onion was more fun. The wrestler in a banana hammock was funnier than anything in Knives Out.

papal hotwife (milo z), Saturday, 25 May 2024 00:02 (one year ago)

Okay various cast members have been announced over the past week:

Cailee Spaeny
Josh O'Connor
Andrew Scott
Jeremy Renner
Mila Kunis
Glenn Close
Kerry Washington
Daryl McCormack

Plus rumor mill says Tom Hardy and Lindsay Lohan, which would be a combo.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 31 May 2024 18:04 (one year ago)

one year passes...

And we got first teaser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRqU2276eaQ

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 June 2025 01:33 (six months ago)

!

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 1 June 2025 02:12 (six months ago)

This series has no fear of being corny af. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Sunday, 1 June 2025 02:31 (six months ago)

Been catching up on Poker Face and thinking about how Gen X Rian Johnson's reference points are — this real love of '70s pop entertainment, the murder mysteries and detective shows.

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 1 June 2025 02:38 (six months ago)

three months pass...

My not-so-measured opinion on this is that I’m certain I will love it, any haters can gargle on my nutsack for all I care

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Tuesday, 2 September 2025 18:44 (three months ago)

Don’t understand the hate for Glass Onion

Dumpy's Rusty Nuts Gimmick Poster (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 2 September 2025 18:48 (three months ago)

there are some very well considered answers to that question on the other thread, Boring

Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 2 September 2025 19:12 (three months ago)

Glass Onion was way better than Knives Out, maybe this will rise above occasionally amusing.

Lady Sovereign (Citizen) (milo z), Tuesday, 2 September 2025 19:18 (three months ago)

whaat

sleeve, Tuesday, 2 September 2025 19:26 (three months ago)

is there a missing comma? or is it like part of a to-do list?

tuesday:
get coffee
drop off e-waste at city recycling center
wake up dead man
lunch with terry

andrew m., Tuesday, 2 September 2025 19:34 (three months ago)

take it up with mr b. vox

Nancy Makes Posts (sic), Tuesday, 2 September 2025 20:06 (three months ago)

I should maybe take this to the other thread, but one of things I appreciated about Glass Onion is that they didn't have to make a second film, and when they did, they could have made Knives Out II, and they didn't, it was very much its own thing. I'm looking forward to seeing what this is - maybe it'll be their A Haunting in Venice!

Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 4 September 2025 08:33 (three months ago)

I sincerely hope the twist doesn't hinge on the missing comma

Tracer Hand, Thursday, 4 September 2025 09:08 (three months ago)

Wake up dead, man...

m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Thursday, 4 September 2025 10:46 (three months ago)

Seeing raves for Josh O'Connor's performance.

jaymc, Sunday, 7 September 2025 17:40 (three months ago)

rewatching glass onion and it seems kind of like poker face season 2 to season 1, sillier, looser, ultimately less satisfactory but still quite enjoyable

corrs unplugged, Monday, 8 September 2025 10:42 (three months ago)

Okay, new trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHM1K1JByBI

Ned Raggett, Monday, 8 September 2025 17:34 (three months ago)

locked room mystery, I'm in

Brad C., Monday, 8 September 2025 20:01 (three months ago)

two months pass...

One last trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hc8yz5-d5Y

But, repeating myself from elsewhere as I just saw an early screening: three for three, Johnson and Craig et al can do wrong, completely right at my mental pleasure center once more when it comes to ensembles, whodunits, the whole nine yards. The accent's as thick/wonderful/crazy as ever, the meta is there once more in the best way, Josh O'Connor holds his own very well, deeply hilarious when it needs to be, harrowing when it needs to be. The vibe is spooky story as much as anything else, and it's a treat. It is also, without being a faith-based film at all, easily one of the most engaging and serious religious films I've seen in quite a while, overtly Catholic by default (all the more striking given Johnson was raised Evangelical) but beyond that, while at the same time I know my hardcore atheist mom will love it as much as my firmly Anglican dad will and the relaxed agnostic in me appreciated it all. Fun cameos too. I hope they make a million more of these in whatever way they want to go.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 24 November 2025 03:35 (four weeks ago)

Seeing this with extended family first thing Wednesday morning!

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 24 November 2025 03:40 (four weeks ago)

Rian Johnson let slip on bluesky that he passed on a Benoit Blanc + Muppets mystery

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 24 November 2025 06:55 (four weeks ago)

that would be so great omg.

Tracer Hand, Monday, 24 November 2025 08:31 (four weeks ago)

I don’t think it was anything formal, just that he was aware of the meme and didn’t think it would actually work.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 24 November 2025 12:37 (four weeks ago)

he’s wrong

Tracer Hand, Monday, 24 November 2025 12:43 (four weeks ago)

maybe he’s saving up that move for a foghorn leghorn joint

Tracer Hand, Monday, 24 November 2025 12:44 (four weeks ago)

that's what a cold winter night is made for, cozying up and enjoying a foghorn leghorn joint.

map, Monday, 24 November 2025 17:22 (four weeks ago)

Liked this one. Easily the most (sorry) soulful of the three.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 26 November 2025 19:05 (three weeks ago)

There it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJxzhUAGBDw

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 2 December 2025 19:13 (three weeks ago)

Meantime, I quite like this. (Read it only after you've seen the film.)

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 2 December 2025 19:22 (three weeks ago)

I need to see this a second time

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 2 December 2025 19:50 (three weeks ago)

Okay, today's the Netflix day.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 12 December 2025 17:15 (one week ago)

ooh thx

challopvious (sleeve), Friday, 12 December 2025 17:24 (one week ago)

Netflix Day, the Day of Light

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 12 December 2025 17:26 (one week ago)

is Josh O'Connor nude in it

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 12 December 2025 17:38 (one week ago)

only if you believe in it

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 12 December 2025 17:49 (one week ago)

The Masterbehind

Ward Fowler, Friday, 12 December 2025 17:50 (one week ago)

But, anyway, his performance caps a remarkable year: four distinct performances.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 12 December 2025 19:06 (one week ago)

Truly. (And if you want to do a double feature, The Mastermind just landed at MUBI today in turn.)

Ned Raggett, Friday, 12 December 2025 19:23 (one week ago)

About half an hour in and I've laughed loudly three times.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 12 December 2025 22:25 (one week ago)

And more to come!

Ned Raggett, Friday, 12 December 2025 23:35 (one week ago)

saw it in the theater and had a blast. it meandered a bit in the middle in a way that made me worry, but it stuck the landing.

jaymc, Saturday, 13 December 2025 00:00 (one week ago)

is rian johnson's first name pronounced like ryan or ree-an (or something completely different)

mookieproof, Saturday, 13 December 2025 00:56 (one week ago)

like Ryan afaik

jaymc, Saturday, 13 December 2025 01:09 (one week ago)

ty

mookieproof, Saturday, 13 December 2025 01:13 (one week ago)

As usual the plotting is whatever, but I'm a Big Sleep plot-doesn't-matter guy. It does pull off a more credible discussion of faith and Catholicism and obligations than more serious films. Thanks again, Josh O'Connor.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 December 2025 21:20 (one week ago)

Really has. I love Saeed Jones's thread and the replies to it -- the phone call scene is destroying people, unsurprisingly.

https://bsky.app/profile/theferocity.bsky.social/post/3m7vfzuldvk2k

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 13 December 2025 21:50 (one week ago)

Confession and guilt are so often invoked in this movie not (just) in the murder-mystery sense, but as something weightier. In fact, the murder itself is almost ancillary to the story, in a weird way. It drives the story, of course, but the resolution is so much more soulful than clever. Though the movie is very clever, too, and pretty funny as well. The first Knives Out may still be the best, but this one is the deepest, for sure.

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 13 December 2025 23:08 (one week ago)

Yeah we liked this a lot. Josh O’Connor really gives it some heart and soul. Brolin really establishing himself as Gen X Jeff Bridges. (To the degree that the Lebowski references felt related.) Also it made me wonder if Johnson is a Mike Flanagan fan, this is kind of in his territory.

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 13 December 2025 23:39 (one week ago)

Also the rare movie with two lead Joshes. :)

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 13 December 2025 23:57 (one week ago)

It's such a shame that Netflix doesn't really mess with physical media, because it would be nice for fans to buy this one or the previous one.

Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 14 December 2025 00:01 (one week ago)

goddamn i really enjoyed this. really moved me, different tone than the other two, but maybe for me the richer for it.

Josh O’Connor is such a lovely actor, so many depths and layers to him.
(Also this is a guy who somehow made fkn CHARLES sympathetic in The Crown which is a fuckin magic trick if there ever was one so he’s forever goated to me)

And deploying Bridget Everett for that phone scene was incredible, laser precise casting. Fucking beautiful, as always, forever.

Brolin too. Love the way he can show up for these quirky non-starring roles & just blow the doors off. Good shit.

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 14 December 2025 07:07 (one week ago)

Watched it last night - lowkey the most rational and humane take on the benefits and pitfalls of religion I can remember seeing, plus a cracking yarn of course. Here's to many more.

chap, Sunday, 14 December 2025 10:41 (one week ago)

Yeah, I can't remember the last 'big' movie that took religion so seriously, without a clear "religion is, actually, good/bad" bent.

It reminded me a lot of the Father Brown stories - I should reread them, but I remember (found myself typing "ah recall") that one of them ends with him pointedly not telling the police who the murderer was, so that he can hear their confession (and I think the murderer might go off and kill themselves, but no bother to Father Brown, he got the confession - this is obviously a punch pulled in this film with "By the time I saw the blue lips, I knew she was already done for").

I remember seeing Pulp Fiction in the cinema and Marvin's shooting in the car dumbfounded me - it's not the obvious comparison but the phonecall scene did something similar: "Did they do that? Can they do that?"

Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 14 December 2025 12:26 (one week ago)

Glenn Close took too gargoyle-ish a turn in the last third, but it's her most entertaining performance in years.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 14 December 2025 13:00 (one week ago)

yeah she was great

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 14 December 2025 15:31 (one week ago)

If you wanna see how sexy O'Connor can be, find the 2017 Morbs-approved God's Own Country, a UK variant on Brokeback Mountain.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 14 December 2025 15:39 (one week ago)

not to bring this heavy conversation down to my usual level of stupidity, but I had a hard time figuring out whether the church was supposed to be Episcopalian or Catholic. Like the church was founded by Josh Brolin’s grandfather? And I don’t recall seeing any Catholic Church in the New World with a cemetery around it although I noticed in the credits it was an Anglican church in the UK.

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 14 December 2025 16:16 (one week ago)

this movie is fine but I'm not sure it deserves hyperbolic praise? like, the phone call scene...this is just good screenwriting. it's effective but I don't know why people would find it so transformative unless they like, never watch decent drama. I also felt like the characterizations of half the potential suspects are pretty scant given the run time. In general I think this film succeeds in part because of lowered expectations; I expected to hate it after disliking the second one, but it was better than that, so, ok.

I'm pretty certain the church has to be Episcopalian because 1) the grandfather had a child, which wouldn't have (acceptably) happened in a catholic church and 2) the confessions are done face-to-face, which doesn't usually happen in Catholic church either (it can, but it usually doesn't)

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 14 December 2025 16:56 (one week ago)

I can't remember the last 'big' movie that took religion so seriously, without a clear "religion is, actually, good/bad" bent.

Conclave?

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 14 December 2025 16:58 (one week ago)

Huh, I thought only Catholics had confession. Though come to think of it, I think I once went to an Episcopalian wedding, and maybe there was kneeling there, and I thought that was only a Catholic thing, too.

The phone call, I'm with akm, generally. I had to think back to what some were talking about - the phone call? which phone call? - until I figured it was the one with Bridget Everett. Not that the scene wasn't good, it was really beautiful, but I thought it was there mostly to underscore the innate goodness/faith/commitment/selflessness of the priest, who like de Armas in the first one is presented as a maybe flawed but still inherently good, honest person, especially set against people who are decidedly not that. It was a way to show his faith so deep that he would put his own freedom at stake to do the thing he was put on this earth to do. Akin to his own near-confession at the police station, a very Christlike move meant to bring conclusion and peace to his community.

Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:20 (one week ago)

I took it as Catholic. Are there any Episcopal churches named “Our Lady of” etc? (Serious question, I don’t know of any but also I’m not an expert on church names.) I don’t remember the whole backstory, but didn’t the grandfather’s daughter come from his life before he joined the church?

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:21 (one week ago)

Catholics scan it as Catholic, fwiw: https://uscatholic.org/articles/202512/in-wake-up-dead-man-benoit-blanc-goes-to-church/

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:25 (one week ago)

Monsignor also apparently a strictly Catholic title according to Wikipedia

trm (tombotomod), Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:29 (one week ago)

If you wanna see how sexy O'Connor can be, find the 2017 Morbs-approved God's Own Country, a UK variant on Brokeback Mountain.

I'd absolutely forgotten he was in that (with a crap Yorkshire accent iirc)

Father McGammycurry (calzino), Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:32 (one week ago)

I noticed in the credits it was an Anglican church in the UK.

I called that it was in the UK while watching the film - the church looked very English. Turns out it's in Epping Forest, not too far from where I live in East London.

chap, Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:39 (one week ago)

the church looks very much like the rectory down the road from me. Which has been there since medieval times and was built upon in the 18th and 19th centuries. I was thinking maybe old US churches look very much like Brit ones.

Father McGammycurry (calzino), Sunday, 14 December 2025 17:42 (one week ago)

the episcopal church is essentially diet catholic imo

ivy., Sunday, 14 December 2025 18:04 (one week ago)

To answer my own question, it’s definitely Catholic on reflection. I was just confused by the grandfather thing and the obviously English-countryside outdoor shots of the church, which the Episcopalians imitated in the 19th Century.

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 14 December 2025 18:06 (one week ago)

I was thinking maybe old US churches look very much like Brit ones.

Yes, the Episcopal churches in older parts of the East Coast US definitely replicate the Ye Olde Englishe style. Tudor Gothicky.

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 14 December 2025 18:08 (one week ago)

The colonial era Anglican churches in the US were very Georgian, though. the Gothic Revival took hold in the 19th Century.

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 14 December 2025 18:10 (one week ago)

I was Catholic and the dialogue and ceremonies all coded Catholic to me imo

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 14 December 2025 18:31 (one week ago)

the episcopal church is essentially diet catholic imo

I call it ‘relaxed Catholic,’ having been raised Episcopalian. That’s why I love Anglican guilt complexes: they don’t exist.

Ned Raggett, Sunday, 14 December 2025 20:39 (one week ago)

yeah confession et al all felt handwavey Catholic more than anything

the ginormously tall pulpit is an English affectation, right? I’ve only come across it in English movies, never seen one irl.

Almost looks like yr preaching from the prow of a huge ship, v intimidating!

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 14 December 2025 21:02 (one week ago)

This was really good, but I thought that visually, it looked a lot more Netflix'y than the other two. Which was too bad. Still, I could watch ten of these films, and I hope they keep on trying to make each one different from the last.

Frederik B, Sunday, 14 December 2025 21:18 (one week ago)

Don't think I've ever seen that sort of tall pulpit in a Catholic church.

LocalGarda, Sunday, 14 December 2025 21:27 (one week ago)

Thought the pulpit was a reference to the one Orson Welles preaches from in the 1959s Moby Dick movie.

Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Sunday, 14 December 2025 21:35 (one week ago)

prow/pulpit was terrifying, VG otm

I loved the organ interruption

challopvious (sleeve), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:10 (one week ago)

also "I should have led with that" lololol

challopvious (sleeve), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:10 (one week ago)

this was much better than Glass Onion but I agree that the suspect pool felt a little underdeveloped, a couple of short scenes of them all bickering in church meetings woulda helped

challopvious (sleeve), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:12 (one week ago)

read on bsky "what I like about Benoit Blanc movies is that they aren't about Benoit Blanc" which I think is a good point

challopvious (sleeve), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:12 (one week ago)

He's not the focus, but I do love that our new serial hero is a gay Southern atheist who plays Cats in the car.

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:15 (one week ago)

well, yeah

challopvious (sleeve), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:16 (one week ago)

Also Phantom, dude likes his Sir Andrew Lloyd.

Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:27 (one week ago)

Oh, and for what it's worth, it didn't look very Netflixy to me on the big screen, which is another reason I wish Netflix released it on physical media. By and large I feel Netflix. looks like shit.

Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:28 (one week ago)

Firing this up in 10 minutes, more later

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 14 December 2025 22:50 (one week ago)

ftr Ive had three friends in the last 24 hours go, "Who's the lead priest with the big ears, he's great!"

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 14 December 2025 23:00 (one week ago)

Really good. Glad they veered away from the action-comedy direction they started to point towards on Glass Onion. This feels much more of itself. More in the spirit of the first one

Some superb performances throughout, I did come away feeling like I never really got to know some of the characters though. There were a remarkable number of expository scenes with characters narrating. I could have done with a bit more showing and less telling.

But that's a nitpick about a really fun film

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Monday, 15 December 2025 01:44 (one week ago)

Aces.

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 15 December 2025 02:21 (one week ago)

I'm pretty certain the church has to be Episcopalian because 1) the grandfather had a child, which wouldn't have (acceptably) happened in a catholic church and 2) the confessions are done face-to-face, which doesn't usually happen in Catholic church either (it can, but it usually doesn't)

― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, December 14, 2025 8:56 AM (thirteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

it’s catholic, it was said explicitly in the film and there are all sorts of clues

this was ok — funny, plenty of heart, but the benoit character was less compelling than prior installments and I’m sorry, the movie is just too long for such a shaggy dog plot

comrade jhøsh (k3vin k.), Monday, 15 December 2025 06:15 (one week ago)

A feeling I had shortly after watching this (and the same thing has happened with other streaming-centered films): a flash of anger and frustration that this didn’t get a real theatrical run.

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 15 December 2025 11:23 (one week ago)

I think for recent things like this and "Frankenstein," it took some directorial pressure and I presume some good contract negotiation to even get what they got. Same thing for home video. Netflix doesn't do that much, but Scorsese (for example) got "The Irishman" to Criterion, as Del Toro will I'm sure with "Frankenstein," too. It's nuts to me that "Glass Onion" can't be purchased on physical media, and I presume there are no plans for this one to get out there, either, because it's left to Netflix to steward the films, and they do a shit job. They look like shit and they seem to have little interest in preservation or legacy.

More and more I respect Sean Baker's pro-theatre stance. At the Red Sea Film Festival: “I don’t understand why you can’t wait an extra three months for your streaming money. I don’t care what happens with my next film, I’m gonna get a 100-day theatrical window. I think that’s a good place for this moment. When you’re going directly to streaming, it takes away from the importance of a film. The theatrical experience elevates the importance. The way you present a film to the world is important.” Baker also ensured "Anora" got a nice Criterion release.

Of course, he made that statement while serving at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, so I guess you pick your masters if you want the money.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 13:31 (one week ago)

I’m sorry, the movie is just too long for such a shaggy dog plot

Long films have to justify their length by having enough story. Most modern films that are long don't at all.

Important to make the distinction between plot and story here - plot is only one part of the story matrix, along with character and theme. JUST a shaggy dog story doesn't justify two and half hours, but this certainly had enough of the other stuff that it did.

It felt the perfect length to me.

chap, Monday, 15 December 2025 17:54 (one week ago)

I didn't think it was too long, but we stopped for a bathroom/snack break and were surprised to see there was still 40 minutes left. We were like, how can it take that long to finish up? Because at that point it seemed like the plot was close to resolving. BUT there were more turns to come, and the last act I thought really pulled it together thematically and emotionally.

paper plans (tipsy mothra), Monday, 15 December 2025 18:09 (one week ago)

I did think it was a little too long, both to get its gears going but also to just get to the end. At the same time, it's much more of a character study than the other two, so the plot machinations don't really matter so much. They're almost background. Hence that phone call scene. They're in the manic midst of it, speeding toward a solution and ... life and duty suddenly intervenes and the priest just slows down and does what he is there to do. To his detriment, as far as the plot goes, and perhaps to ours, as far as pacing goes. But he is true to himself and his character, which redeems the semi-indulgence.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:13 (one week ago)

it seemed like it was written for a season-long caper with one episode per suspect. the jeremy renner character seemed weakest of the bunch.

Philip Nunez, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:27 (one week ago)

Renner's eyeballs get huger with each film.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 December 2025 18:28 (one week ago)

Renner was weakest given how essential Renner was to the reveal.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:34 (one week ago)

Yeah he didn't have much depth beyond shifty alcoholic. Doesn't help he's the blandest actor in the ensemble.

chap, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:47 (one week ago)

Missed yours, but yeah!

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:50 (one week ago)

ha, I think that was meant for the Rob Reiner thread.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:51 (one week ago)

i thought Renner’s drunk acting was pretty good - that scene where he’s in the bar hiding in the booth & stands up -his posture is v funny. sort of bending slightly backwards to overcorrect like “i am quite sober this is how sober people stand”

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 15 December 2025 18:56 (one week ago)

^^ my thought too

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 December 2025 19:00 (one week ago)

That's the sort of thing that could just as easily be good direction as actor choice. Regardless, I generally find Renner good or solid in most things, just his character is somewhat underwritten in this one.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 15 December 2025 19:17 (one week ago)

It did feel like the first act was a bit too much telling instead of showing, with narration carrying the heavy load of introducing a massive cast of possible victims/murderers. And then after that it was like OK how many of these characters will actually have anything to do besides be jerks? Kerry Washington also didn’t get to say much.

trm (tombotomod), Monday, 15 December 2025 19:51 (one week ago)

But as soon as Blanc walked through the door it was a good time imo

trm (tombotomod), Monday, 15 December 2025 19:52 (one week ago)

My wife and stepdaughter were very much like “so when does the movie begin” after about 30 minutes, and I assured them that the table was being set, “just wait”.

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 15 December 2025 21:27 (one week ago)

Felt like it took at least that long to clear the table too.

Chris L, Monday, 15 December 2025 21:39 (one week ago)

It's your fault for not explaining the glory of Josh O'Connor. Xpost.

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 15 December 2025 21:40 (one week ago)

Thinking about it, I think as a fun movie it was great. Great acting, great visuals, great script.

As a twisty whodunit, I think it worked less well than the other films. It wasn't as though it was unobvious who the killer was pretty much throughout. The question was more how than who, and even the how wasn't much of a surprise.

So to have all these extra characters serving simply as dummy suspects, who weren't given much screentime at all and ultimately served to make this into an ensemble film, I'm not sure it worked on that front.

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Monday, 15 December 2025 21:42 (one week ago)

I know it doesn't matter, but in terms of plot machinations I kept wondering about Wicks' corpse getting from the coroner to Dr. Nat's house. Like, what actually happens between an autopsy and a funeral, and would they ever just turn the body over to the family?

Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 15 December 2025 21:42 (one week ago)

I liked the slow start, personally. Making me wait for Blanc to turn up was a nice touch

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Monday, 15 December 2025 21:43 (one week ago)

The thing about this movie is it actually wrestles with stuff thematically - the conflict between the priest's faith and Blanc's atheism, neither of which are ridiculed - which the first two didn't, they were more wish fulfillment fantasies with obvious goodies and baddies. There's obvious baddies here too obv, but I like that it's got something going on like that. Didn't expect a pinch of Schrader in my cozy murder mystery.

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 12:11 (one week ago)

Oh that's definitely its strongest point. And also the satire against Trumpian/far-right radicalisation

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 12:20 (one week ago)

Also far-right grifters and opportunists.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 13:03 (one week ago)

Yes, that's always appreciated too, but we got that in the first two as well.

I liked that it didn't give us the big Blanc Uncovers Everything, Grifters Defeated catharsis that part of me was yearning for, and instead at the end ppl still believe whatever they want. It's the only believable way for it to play out in our era.

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 13:07 (one week ago)

yeah that’s actually better

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 14:45 (one week ago)

for a film, not real life

Modollno Kahn (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 14:45 (one week ago)

oh yeah 100. it had a cool, non-judgemental and forgiving tone to it that felt very refreshing

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 14:56 (one week ago)

xp to Jordan: They took the body when they put Samson into the coffin, so it would have been released by the police for interment by that point. The real question is where they hid the body when Samson got in the coffin

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 03:19 (six days ago)

fine with it as a film - rian needs to put this series aside for at least a good 10 years.

My homies buttthole surfers' record sounds like a f (Western® with Bacon Flavor), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 06:15 (six days ago)

btw I loved this

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 18:45 (six days ago)

DJP, that's what I was asking! Not a big deal to elide it but I would have appreciated a quick shot of them awkwardly transporting the body to the basement during the explanation.

Jordan s/t (Jordan), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 19:13 (six days ago)

Oh got it, I was confused

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 19:34 (six days ago)

Feels like they also cut scenes with the author character snidely offering critique of the locked room novels. Also seemed like they were missing some setup for Kerry Washington taking up smoking being a thing?

Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 17 December 2025 19:45 (six days ago)

I did not feel that way about either of those things

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 19:49 (six days ago)

I absolutely loved that Mila Kunis was the chief of police

It’s not at all a role I would have imagined her in and she killed it

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 19:51 (six days ago)

Her scenes also felt truncated. Like they'd shot her reading the novel and coming up with Eureka moment but remembered she tells everyone this so they cut it, but now you miss her slamming the book down or some dramatic gesture.

Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 17 December 2025 20:11 (six days ago)

I absolutely loved that Mila Kunis was the chief of police

She had a "Shalom, Y'all" plaque on her desk.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 17 December 2025 20:19 (six days ago)

a lot of nice bits that end up in a boring movie

look, he's country's own david bowie- deal with it (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 17 December 2025 20:37 (six days ago)

I wonder if some movies do indeed work better on the big screen. For sure I'm less prone to distractions - phones, snacks, pets, pausing, etc. - which forces me to just chill out and take it in. "One Battle After Another," for example, I was mixed on it, but maybe the stuff I liked most on the big screen I wouldn't have liked on the small screen? Dunno.

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 18 December 2025 00:51 (five days ago)

liked this a bit more than the last one, but also agreed with everyone who thought it was too long and overstuffed. Other than Close, the rest of the ensemble cast were wasted - it's hard to see e.g. what Cailee Spaeny or Andrew Scott's characters brought to the story other than decor.

anyway, making Blanc the POV character was one of the weaknesses of Glass Onion, so I'm also glad they course corrected here - Blanc is best when seen through the eyes of others.

in terms of the movie's depiction of religion, someone mentioned Mike Flanagan upthread - it does feel of a piece with Midnight Mass in that it treats religion seriously but also wary of its potential to corrupt. Midnight Mass is also more explicitly Catholic (although bonus points for having one of the best representations of Islam I've seen in a western TV show)

Roz, Thursday, 18 December 2025 01:37 (five days ago)

I enjoyed it on the big screen for the most part, whereas I got a different feeling about Glass Onion, which I watched at home. I strongly feel some films (e.g. Kubricks) really do have to be seen on a big screen to get the right impact.

Not sure about "overstuffed". WUDM is one of those films that manages to be quite long, but feels like key parts, and even whole characters, were brushed over very quickly with just the briefest of exposition.

Even the politician character, and his relationship to his adoptive mother etc, didn't feel much more developed than "He films everything and he's a prick". I did like the few times he got to actually say stuff though.

Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Thursday, 18 December 2025 12:03 (five days ago)

I went into the film 1) aware of the running lenght and 2) at any rate resigned to the fact that every mainstream release thinks it needs a Lawrence Of Arabia lenght these days anyway, so did not find it overlong at all.

Big screen aside it's much more about not being able to use my phone. Two hours in a dark room is praxis these days, just the slightest damage mitigation for my declining attention span.

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Thursday, 18 December 2025 13:11 (five days ago)

Hear that

Nicholas Raybeat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 18 December 2025 13:33 (five days ago)

I think that one thing lacking in the second or third films is an opportunity for the suspects to interact, which really rounded them out in Knives Out - there's two book clubs in this but they're all nervous catching of each other's eyes rather than much interaction. I suppose all three have a situation with a central Bloke - he'a just a lot more absent in the first.

I have to say I'm not sure how it could have been more explicitly Catholic without paying someone to walk through cinemas with a censer - the face to face confessions were a power move, the "four Hail Marys" just the meaningless words that indicate submission - the confession booth is part of a big plot point after all.

On which note, the deployment of Jeffrey Wright as a sort of framing device amused me. It's very effective: when Bishop Monk tells you that someone is a dick, then the matter is settled. I thought it brought a slight Wes Anderson feel that Jud's review was in a gymnasium, a real parole hearing vibe. I get that it's a seminary, but because it's a seminary, it will absolutely have some purpose-built "the bishop will scare the shit out of you now" rooms.

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 19 December 2025 14:00 (four days ago)

I wonder if working on 1 hour show like poker face messed up sense of timing for feature length. I feel like having 2x the characters means you actually need 4x the time to flesh them out if you use TV show pacing.

Philip Nunez, Friday, 19 December 2025 21:35 (four days ago)

I don’t think there was a problem fleshing out the characters. I greatly enjoyed this movie as-is and don’t see how making it 7 hours long would be an improvement

our beloved RIFF LORD (DJP), Friday, 19 December 2025 21:51 (four days ago)

I am looking forward to movie 7 or 8, where halfway through the narrative perspective shifts and we find out that Charlie Cale's been working at the establishment for a week now.

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 19 December 2025 22:36 (four days ago)

It would be the fifth Charlie Cale by then though, we mightn’t even know who’s playing them

fall of the house of urrsher (sic), Saturday, 20 December 2025 06:13 (three days ago)

I really liked this, especially the Louise phone call.

It did feel not-so-much overstuffed but that there was perhaps too much of the best parts (Monsigneur and Father) and not enough of the parts that ended up being not-best (because they weren’t fleshed out enough) (the line of potential suspects)

Both Damascus moments seemed unnecessary and yet irremovable from the DNA of the plot

by the clicking of her thumbs, something canine (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 20 December 2025 09:49 (three days ago)

Second Damascus moment not unecessary at all imo! Unecessary to the mystery perhaps, but important thematically - it shows Blanc has developed respect for the priest's role (without renouncing his atheism) and sets him up for the moment of grace.

a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Saturday, 20 December 2025 10:10 (three days ago)

Oh no, it was intrinsic to the plotting— but it did (on my first viewing) feel like another speed bump in the pacing. It was an effective dovetail from Father Jud’s insistence that he “turn himself in”, bc grace etc.

by the clicking of her thumbs, something canine (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 20 December 2025 19:19 (three days ago)

This also felt like there was a scene missing telegraphing it. It could have been as small as an insert shot of Blanc having vague facial gymnastics that he goes through again as he processes the phone call scene, but maybe they didn't want to break from the flow.

Philip Nunez, Saturday, 20 December 2025 21:52 (three days ago)

ty for new dn

vague facial gymnastics (sleeve), Saturday, 20 December 2025 23:01 (three days ago)

glenn close was really good in this. was a pretty good time overall, wish we had a little more between the two preachers, and maybe a tiny bit more focus on the ensemble but the emphasis on josh o’connor’s moral journey grounded this film a lot more than glass onion. i liked ana de armas in the first film, but she was basically a saint, while o’connor was a lot more complex

harper valley paul thomas anderson (voodoo chili), Sunday, 21 December 2025 13:23 (two days ago)

Glenn Close's performance was judt hammy enough without pushing it too hard

Jonk Raven (dog latin), Sunday, 21 December 2025 15:39 (two days ago)

yup

The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 December 2025 15:40 (two days ago)

I kept saying things like “oh, hey, [name of actor], glad to actually see you on screen” out loud

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 21 December 2025 16:00 (two days ago)

Like, I hadn’t seen Church or Renner or Close in anything in forever (I know they’ve all done stuff lately, it’s just stuff I haven’t watched)

Clever Message Board User Name (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 21 December 2025 16:01 (two days ago)

yea andrew scott and cailee spaeny didn’t too much, which is too bad, and jeremy “facial muscles still recovering from catastrophic accident” renner was too vital to the plot for the impact he made on screen

harper valley paul thomas anderson (voodoo chili), Sunday, 21 December 2025 19:18 (two days ago)

should’ve switched scott and renner’s roles, maybe

harper valley paul thomas anderson (voodoo chili), Sunday, 21 December 2025 19:18 (two days ago)

A good interview from the National Catholic Reporter (I don't imagine it's hard to drag this information out of Johnson on this press tour, but I suspect not many are asking) https://www.ncronline.org/culture/very-catholic-knives-out-rian-johnson-talks-priests-forgiveness-and-complicated-faith

Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 21 December 2025 20:02 (two days ago)


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.