official: dune remains the best modern franchise

this should be obvious if you’re planning on seeing this movie, but don’t read any further if you know you’re going to see this. no hard spoilers below, but it’s a murder mystery and you don’t want your experience tainted whatsoever





much like glass onion, we see incredibly modern caricatures in an interesting setting as suspects in a high profile murder. the fringes of the rural american catholic church is an awesome setting for a knives out mystery. in that respect, you get what you signed up for — a murder mystery in a cool place featuring mr southern suave and some cute commentary on modern society. great

pretty much no humor, a forgettable soundtrack, and a surprisingly mid visual setting (think of how great this setting has the potential to look), so we’re in for a movie that hinges entirely on the quality of its mystery. this thing is riding or dying on the writing

and i respect the hell out of the franchise for trying to continually evolve, i really do. but they opened too many threads and tried to tie them all together too late in the game here. it’s a big miss for me

the core of the mystery genre rests on maintaining tension through genuinely inching towards some kind of resolution. the term i have used for this in the past is “information release”. you keep suspense high by carefully dripping the pieces towards the viewer

the peak example for this for me is probably the prestige, a movie which puts all of the pieces so plainly in front of you but which manages tone so masterfully that you refuse to believe the truth until the end

but this iteration of the knives out franchise clearly fails here, for me. there is simply too much withheld for the first 2 hours, then so much rearranged / thrown at you in the last 20 minutes that the climax ceases to feel rewarding, and makes the lack of information in the “buildup” (air quotes because it never feels like it’s going anywhere) feel empty and cheap in retrospect

there are so many open threads toseed at you that it’s unclear exactly what the mystery is, for most of the film

then, once the problem is finally made clear, the solution is thrown at you very quickly and unsatisfyingly, and not in a way that makes you go “a-ha!”

it made me go “really bro”

scroll further for a more specific critique which contains hard spoilers





for me, the reason why one would want to open grandaddy wicks’ tomb is nonsensical until far too late into the movie. i could see this movie as having a more satisfying resolution if, when you learn that young wicks orders the opening of old wicks’ tomb, you can intuit that he might be doing so to obtain the fortune

instead, you wouldn’t think he would do that, because you have zero reason to believe that the entire fortune is a gem, and very little reason to believe that old wicks ingested said fortune into his literal corpse

you of course could think all of this was happening because martha confessed something to wicks that caused him to want to open the tomb (without knowing what it was but somehow suspecting it wasn’t for some “im gonna kill and resurrect myself on easter” plot), but that chain in reasoning was loose as fuck, imo. they really did not push that line of reasoning on you at all, instead opting to leave that “josh brolin walks aghast out of the confessional” moment as one of maybe ten unresolved little clips in the movie, in a franchise known for red herring details exactly like that. i actually think it’s pretty clear the filmmakers want the viewer to believe young wicks is planning some a classic easter ressurection, rather than stealing a fortune

anyhow, i think the movie maybe works if you solidly believe that he opens the tomb to get the fortune. you can then concieve of who would want to prevent such a thing, and how a plot to prevent it could have been set into motion. the “who” is pretty clear, and the “how” is actually not so bad either, even if at first glance it seems ridiculous (becuase reasoning through this as the viewer involves you hard ignoring the possibility of resurrection, which is no easy feat for a movie that could genuinely ask you to suspend your disbelief in that way). so the “why” is really the only egregiously missing piece here

which to me, is answered by having a faster timeline on the info drip for the “martha tells wicks about the fortune which causes him to clearly be about to dip” plotline. barring the fact that martha probably knows the most about the fortune, this plotline is ENTIRELY revealed in the last 20 minutes the movie, and for how mission critical it is for the overall mystery to work at all, i find that to be an Egregiously Bad Writing Decision


AGHHH just think of how unique and TIGHT knives out and glass onion are!!! this shit isn’t even in the same category

official: dune remains the best modern franchise

this should be obvious if you’re planning on seeing this movie, but don’t read any further if you know you’re going to see this. no hard spoilers below, but it’s a murder mystery and you don’t want your experience tainted whatsoever





much like glass onion, we see incredibly modern caricatures in an interesting setting as suspects in a high profile murder. the fringes of the rural american catholic church is an awesome setting for a knives out mystery. in that respect, you get what you signed up for — a murder mystery in a cool place featuring mr southern suave and some cute commentary on modern society. great

pretty much no humor, a forgettable soundtrack, and a surprisingly mid visual setting (think of how great this setting has the potential to look), so we’re in for a movie that hinges entirely on the quality of its mystery. this thing is riding or dying on the writing

and i respect the hell out of the franchise for trying to continually evolve, i really do. but they opened too many threads and tried to tie them all together too late in the game here. it’s a big miss for me

the core of the mystery genre rests on maintaining tension through genuinely inching towards some kind of resolution. the term i have used for this in the past is “information release”. you keep suspense high by carefully dripping the pieces towards the viewer

the peak example for this for me is probably the prestige, a movie which puts all of the pieces so plainly in front of you but which manages tone so masterfully that you refuse to believe the truth until the end

but this iteration of the knives out franchise clearly fails here, for me. there is simply too much withheld for the first 2 hours, then so much rearranged / thrown at you in the last 20 minutes that the climax ceases to feel rewarding, and makes the lack of information in the “buildup” (air quotes because it never feels like it’s going anywhere) feel empty and cheap in retrospect

there are so many open threads toseed at you that it’s unclear exactly what the mystery is, for most of the film

then, once the problem is finally made clear, the solution is thrown at you very quickly and unsatisfyingly, and not in a way that makes you go “a-ha!”

it made me go “really bro”

scroll further for a more specific critique which contains hard spoilers





for me, the reason why one would want to open grandaddy wicks’ tomb is nonsensical until far too late into the movie. i could see this movie as having a more satisfying resolution if, when you learn that young wicks orders the opening of old wicks’ tomb, you can intuit that he might be doing so to obtain the fortune

instead, you wouldn’t think he would do that, because you have zero reason to believe that the entire fortune is a gem, and very little reason to believe that old wicks ingested said fortune into his literal corpse

you of course could think all of this was happening because martha confessed something to wicks that caused him to want to open the tomb (without knowing what it was but somehow suspecting it wasn’t for some “im gonna kill and resurrect myself on easter” plot), but that chain in reasoning was loose as fuck, imo. they really did not push that line of reasoning on you at all, instead opting to leave that “josh brolin walks aghast out of the confessional” moment as one of maybe ten unresolved little clips in the movie, in a franchise known for red herring details exactly like that. i actually think it’s pretty clear the filmmakers want the viewer to believe young wicks is planning some a classic easter ressurection, rather than stealing a fortune

anyhow, i think the movie maybe works if you solidly believe that he opens the tomb to get the fortune. you can then concieve of who would want to prevent such a thing, and how a plot to prevent it could have been set into motion. the “who” is pretty clear, and the “how” is actually not so bad either, even if at first glance it seems ridiculous (becuase reasoning through this as the viewer involves you hard ignoring the possibility of resurrection, which is no easy feat for a movie that could genuinely ask you to suspend your disbelief in that way). so the “why” is really the only egregiously missing piece here

which to me, is answered by having a faster timeline on the info drip for the “martha tells wicks about the fortune which causes him to clearly be about to dip” plotline. barring the fact that martha probably knows the most about the fortune, this plotline is ENTIRELY revealed in the last 20 minutes the movie, and for how mission critical it is for the overall mystery to work at all, i find that to be an Egregiously Bad Writing Decision


AGHHH just think of how unique and TIGHT knives out and glass onion are!!! this shit isn’t even in the same category

Josh O’Connor is good for the brand

Josh O’Connor is good for the brand

A priest, a detective, and a filmmaker all walk into a bar. The bartender tells them, “Drinks are on-the-house if you can all agree on one thing: What’s more important - the truth, or a good story?” 


As much as I align with Rian Johnson in so many ways, I get nervous when he makes American politics visible in his films. “Visible” would be an understatement, and I’m sure he would agree. However, it’s reassuring when he’s cranking homers like the title of a fake YouTube video being “There’s G-O-D in DOGE”. Incredible. 

Yet, I think Wake Up Dead Man is at its strongest when Johnson strong-arms all of that to the side in a moment of haltingly beautiful clarity. At this moment in the film, the climax is approaching, the story is barreling forward with great momentum, and then in an instant, Johnson slams on the brakes. The adrenaline evaporates, and everything that the movie has distracted you with for the last hour and a half falls away, leaving only what really matters as a small, delicate but penetrating remainder. 

It’s the type of narrative move that I adore, one that reminds you of storytelling’s power not merely in its content, but in its form. I’m proud and grateful to never be ashamed of being a good story’s mark. Fool me freely in the name of satisfaction and catharsis. 

What, then, separates me from a religious person? 

I’ll let a movie sweep me away for the sake of wisdom, but call it religion and out comes my detective hat to suss out the truth from a good story. Make no mistake, there are pretty meaningful reasons for that, but Johnson has made me take inventory of my guiding principles with this latest Knives Out sequel, of all things. 

One principle I’ve learned from stories, though, is that an atheist like Johnson will always be able to tell a story about faith better than any religious person. Wake Up Dead Man might be a masterpiece. 

A priest, a detective, and a filmmaker all walk into a bar. The bartender tells them, “Drinks are on-the-house if you can all agree on one thing: What’s more important - the truth, or a good story?” 


As much as I align with Rian Johnson in so many ways, I get nervous when he makes American politics visible in his films. “Visible” would be an understatement, and I’m sure he would agree. However, it’s reassuring when he’s cranking homers like the title of a fake YouTube video being “There’s G-O-D in DOGE”. Incredible. 

Yet, I think Wake Up Dead Man is at its strongest when Johnson strong-arms all of that to the side in a moment of haltingly beautiful clarity. At this moment in the film, the climax is approaching, the story is barreling forward with great momentum, and then in an instant, Johnson slams on the brakes. The adrenaline evaporates, and everything that the movie has distracted you with for the last hour and a half falls away, leaving only what really matters as a small, delicate but penetrating remainder. 

It’s the type of narrative move that I adore, one that reminds you of storytelling’s power not merely in its content, but in its form. I’m proud and grateful to never be ashamed of being a good story’s mark. Fool me freely in the name of satisfaction and catharsis. 

What, then, separates me from a religious person? 

I’ll let a movie sweep me away for the sake of wisdom, but call it religion and out comes my detective hat to suss out the truth from a good story. Make no mistake, there are pretty meaningful reasons for that, but Johnson has made me take inventory of my guiding principles with this latest Knives Out sequel, of all things. 

One principle I’ve learned from stories, though, is that an atheist like Johnson will always be able to tell a story about faith better than any religious person. Wake Up Dead Man might be a masterpiece. 

Are you KIDDING me I wasn’t expecting this theological commentary from knives out and I am so here for it. Pretty sure that’s why I liked it so much. But I’m also always a sucker for a mystery even if I kiiiind of see it coming early on.

Watched with @ben @olivia @auntliz @unclejack @luke and Kathy

Are you KIDDING me I wasn’t expecting this theological commentary from knives out and I am so here for it. Pretty sure that’s why I liked it so much. But I’m also always a sucker for a mystery even if I kiiiind of see it coming early on.

Watched with @ben @olivia @auntliz @unclejack @luke and Kathy

Daniel Craig behind a pulpit, spouting his southern soliloquies about the least interesting murder out the franchise. There was enough comedy for me to keep interested, I do enjoy religious centered films though. It’s probably why I give this movie grace. Definition of grace is unmerited favor in this case. May god have mercy on our souls.

Daniel Craig behind a pulpit, spouting his southern soliloquies about the least interesting murder out the franchise. There was enough comedy for me to keep interested, I do enjoy religious centered films though. It’s probably why I give this movie grace. Definition of grace is unmerited favor in this case. May god have mercy on our souls.