Knives Out is a new drama/mystery starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, LaKeith Stanfield and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Directed by Rian Jones of Star Wars – The Last Jedi (2017), a detective (Craig) investigates the death of the patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
The interesting cast list is the reason I want to see this. My fingers are crossed. Especially since in Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s recent Murder Mystery (2019) movie, it was the ‘murder mystery’ portion of the film that I found least engaging.
Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Katherine Langford, Riki Lindhome and Raúl Castillo also star.
Someone Great stars Gina Rodriguez as Jenny, a young woman who just went through a devastating break-up. She becomes determined to enjoy one last night in New York City with her friends, before moving to San Francisco for work.
After you watched the trailer for this movie, just in case, like me, you were thinking that half the film would be set in New York City and the other half in San Francisco, you’d better forget about it. Someone Great happens entirely in New York, and there are zero gorgeous images of the Golden Gate Bridge to be enjoyed here, sorry.
Now that I’ve delivered the bit of news that probably only I care about, I enjoyed writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s film more than I thought I would. In fact, I’ll even go as far as to say that this is my favourite of Rodriguez’s roles. She did a good job of selling the romantic connection, the devastation that followed when it all fell apart, as well as the bond between Jenny and her best friends, played by DeWanda Wise and Brittany Snow.
Nicely edited and paced, Someone Great captures well, though semi-briefly, the highs and lows of a passionate relationship in one’s twenties. I also enjoyed the sisterly, non-toxic female friendships, plus the music and dancing. The talented LaKeith Stanfield’s performance as the love interest and Rosario Dawson’s small role were also highlights.
The only thing that frustrated me during Someone Great is when the momentum slowed down a little and I found myself thinking, ‘OK, OK! You’ve already established the intimacy between the three friends. So please move the story along!’ I may or may not have said that out loud.
The part I liked most overall is actually the voice over towards the end because it’s so beautifully written.
Watch Someone Great for the writing… and all the other reasons mentioned above.
Someone Great is a new comedy/romance from writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. One that features a cast that includes Gina Rodriguez, LaKeith Stanfield, DeWanda Wise and Britanny Snow.
Rodriguez plays Jenny, who’s on a mission to enjoy one last New York City adventure with her two best friends and all, following a devastating breakup on the eve of her cross-country move to San Francisco.
I’m most interested in the chemistry between the three female leads and what is hopefully beautiful images of both New York City and San Francisco.
Faith Logan, Peter Vack, Ben Sidell, Kenneth De Abrew, Salvatore DiSanto, Thomas Kopache and David Granados also star.
Tessa Thompson, Armie Hammer and Lakeith Stanfield are the stars of Sorry To Bother You, a comedy/fantasy film set in an alternate present-day version of Oakland, USA.
Written/directed by Boots Riley, Stanfield plays a telemarketer who discovers a magical key to professional success; a key that propels him into…
I’ve been waiting for something crazy and fun; I think this is it! Having seenGet Out (2017), I do rather hope that Stanfield’s character gets out ‘alive’ this time.
This movie really looks as though it was plenty of fun to be part of; I’m smiling just thinking about the onset giggles.
Patton Oswalt, Terry Crews, David Cross, Omari Hardwick and Danny Glover also star.
The Incredible Jessica James (2017), Jessica Williams
The Incredible Jessica James is not a superhero movie as I first thought. It is, in fact, a comedy about an aspiring New York-based playwright played by Jessica Williams, an actor I first saw in the fun 2015 comedy, People Places Things.
The story, written and directed by Jim Strouse, who also wrote and directedPeople Places Things, centres around Miss James’s friendship with a guy called Boone (Chris O’Dowd). A friendship that begins while Miss Jones is on the rebound from a break-up.
There are one or two scenes at the beginning of this moviewhere I thought, ‘the camera is spending too long on this moment’. Luckily, for me, as the film progressed, I grew to like it more and more.
Williams did a good job of portraying all that is incredible about Miss James, and I enjoyed the writing, especially as I found that I identify with Miss James in several ways. To mention just one way (you may also relate to this), I also have a slightly less than ordinary dream that requires much dedication.
Noël Wells, an actor I first saw in Aziz Ansari’s rather good series Master of None 2015 – 2021), was a highlight.I also lovedO’Dowd, who was, as always, a delight to watch in comedy/drama roles.
By the end of The Incredible Jessica James, my thoughts had evolved from ‘the camera is spending too long on this moment’ to ‘Miss James may not wear a special suit or a cape, but she really is quite incredible’.
Not only did I want to be as cool as Jessica James, but I’d decided that I’d tune in, in the event this movie were turned into a series.
The Movie My Life 