Reviews

Saw this at an industry screening yesterday in NYC! I liked KNIVES OUT and was really looking forward to this follow up. Definitely worth the wait! Technically it's a sequel but you really don't need to have seen the first film to follow the story, as it's only hold over is Daniel Craig. But it's Janelle Monáe who really steals the show among this star-studded cast. Everyone brings their "A" game in this feature all around. The writing is tight and the art direction is amazing!. The beautiful cinematography in Greece is breath taking! If you like Agatha Christine and her flair for twists and turns then you will probably like this film. Rian Johnson has written an amazing script and Craig' "Detective Benoit Blanc" is funny and unforgettable! I can't wait to see what he'll do in the next outing! I will have to watch this again because I know I missed some things because I was laughing so much.

If I could give less than 1 star, I would give this film that here. To be honest I have seen student films made by students who aren't even film students make better films. It's one thing to be low budget, I can totally understand that because filmmakers must work with what they got in that instance, but this was simply horrible. However this film seems like they cut corners on almost every aspect of filmmaking (sound, lighting, writing, acting, etc.) and probably spent all the funds on a huge wrap party. I had to laugh at some points because it looked like they were so many unnecessary close-ups that did nothing to add to the story. It was like they lost the master shots and only had to work with the close ups. The actors were all very stiff that it looked like they forgot their lines and/or were reading from cue cards. I wouldn't be surprised if those involved in this mess deleted this nightmare from their resumes and reels.

I recently discovered this series on one of the PBS networks and found it very enlightening. I have always found it interesting to hear the thought process that a film director has when they work on a film. But as I watched more episodes I saw a pattern: the complete lack of diversity! I counted only three directors who are POC (John Singleton, John Woo, and M. Night Shyamalan); a few gay openly directors; and not one single female director! Where was Kathryn Bigalow or Mira Nair? Talk about an "old boy club.! Granted some directors prefer (or more importantly are shut out by Hollywood when it comes to funding a film) to work outside of the Hollywood system (Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Kasi Lemmons, etc.) but that shouldn't exclude them from being interviewed! It's 2021 Hollywood: WAKE UP!

I don't know if this series has ended production for now, but if it should come back, hopefully they will open the door for a more diverse selection of filmmakers. Representation matters! Had I seen an interview with Lee Daniels when I was growing up maybe I would've pursued filmmaking earlier than I did. For the record I should say that I am Black, gay man and got my degree in filmmaking in my 40's.