Knives Out

2019 Lionsgate Films

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 10min

Comedy ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Thriller ~ Whodunnit

Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer, Frank Oz, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, K Callan, Noah Segan, M. Emmet Walsh, Marlene Forte and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Nothing Brings A Family Together Like Murder

Knives Out follows the wealthy Thrombey family in the aftermath of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey’s (Christopher Plummer) mysterious death at his sprawling estate. Detectives led by gentleman-sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) arrive to question the relatives, all of whom seem more interested in Harlan’s money than in mourning him. As Blanc listens in, it becomes clear that each family member is hiding something, and that the “suicide” might not be as straightforward as it looks.

At the heart of the story is Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s kind, soft-spoken nurse, who had a close, genuine bond with him that his own children (Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette) seem to lack. Marta throws up when she tries to lie, which turns her into both an unlikely ally and a walking truth-detector for Blanc. When the will is read and Marta unexpectedly becomes the main heir to Harlan’s fortune and mansion, the once-smug Thrombeys quickly turn on her, exposing their entitlement and desperation in very down-to-earth, almost darkly comic ways.

As pressure mounts, Marta finds herself scrambling to keep her own involvement with Harlan’s final hours hidden while also trying to do the right thing. Harlan’s black-sheep grandson Ransom (Chris Evans) steps in, acting like the only family member willing to help her, but his smug charm and sudden interest raise questions about his true motives. The investigation spirals into car chases, secret notes, and late-night meetings, all while Blanc patiently pieces together a timeline that keeps shifting as new details emerge.

Ana de Armas shines as Marta Cabrera, the immigrant nurse who’s equal parts heart and hidden steel in a house full of schemers. She plays her as genuinely kind and awkward, constantly fidgeting or throwing up when she tries to lie, which makes her the moral center everyone else orbits around. It’s a breakout role that lets her mix vulnerability with quiet smarts, turning what could be a side character into the emotional engine of the whole mystery. Her chemistry with Harlan (Christopher Plummer) feels real and earned, like the one authentic relationship in a family built on fakeness, which sets her up perfectly for the chaos when the will drops its bombshell. De Armas nails the outsider vibe too, soft-spoken accent, wide-eyed politeness that masks a fierce sense of right and wrong, making every scene she’s in crackle with tension and sympathy

A couple of minutes in watching Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, I forgot that it was Daniel Craig. Instead of just playing Daniel Craig with an accent, he disappears into Benoit Blanc completely. He leans hard into Benoit’s slow, drawling Southern charm, with a slightly goofy, theatrical edge, and it strips away all the cool, steely James Bond baggage we’re used to seeing almost immediately. The physicality helps too, looser posture, more expressive hands and face, and a kind of amused curiosity, so he feels like a quirky gentleman detective rather than an action star slumming it. The softness in his voice, the patience in his pacing, and the way he lets other characters fill the space all help you forget the actor and just track Blanc’s brain at work. It feels like watching a character from a classic mystery novel who has somehow wandered into a very modern, messy family drama, and Craig commits to that blend so completely that the star persona fades into the background.

Knives Out doesn’t just copy the old-school whodunnit formula, it updates it by blending classic mystery motifs with today’s social and political tensions. Rian Johnson builds the story around familiar elements, a big eccentric family, a sprawling mansion, and a quirky detective, but uses them to explore themes like privilege, immigration, and class conflict in a way that feels current rather than nostalgic. By flipping when and how key information is revealed, the film shifts the focus from simply guessing the killer to questioning motives, power dynamics, and who gets to claim the moral high ground, turning a cozy genre staple into something sharper and more reflective of the world viewers recognize now.

Knives Out is highly recommended for anyone who loves clever mysteries with bite. It nails the whodunit formula while delivering fresh laughs, stellar acting, and social commentary that doesn’t preach. You know what Bobby says:

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and

Stream This Movie!

Eden

2025 Vertical

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 9min

Adventure ~ Drama ~ Survival ~Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Ron Howard

Starring: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, and Richard Roxburgh.

Inspired by the accounts of those who survived.

If you go to google maps, wherever you are at, zoom way out until you see the continents. Then locate South America and on the northern left side you’ll see Ecuador and the equator line running through it headed west over the ocean. Slowly zoom in on Ecuador, follow the equator to the left, and they will start to appear, the first name you see will be Puerto Ayora, a city on the Island of Santa Cruz. Followed by the city of Seymour on Santa Cruz, Isla Isabela and then the thirteen main islands of The Galapagos Islands. At the bottom of the Galapagos in the center you will find the small island of Floreana, Isla Floreana. It was here in 1929 that a disillusioned Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his patient turned companion, Dore Strauch came all the way from Germany to escape the rising tide of Fascism, Adolf Hitler and The Nazi Party.

It was here in 2015 that Ron Howard came to vacation with his family and became fascinated with the story of the first eight settlers on Floreana Island and the drama, intrigue and unsolved mystery of what transpired between 1929 and 1934. The Wittmers, Heinz, Margaret and their son Henry arrived in Floreana in August 1932, also from Germany, and Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet and her two lovers, Rudolf Lorenz & Robert Phillipson arrived in October 1932. At the end of 1934 only Heinz, Margaret and their son Henry remained, Baroness Eloise and Robert Phillipson had vanished without a trace, Rudolf Lorenz’s mummified body was found on the northern island of San Cristobal, Friedrich Ritter had died mysteriously of food poisoning and Dore Strauch had fled back to Germany.

It is a mystery to this day what transpired on the island between the seven adults that ended with two dead and two missing. Dore Strauch wrote a book published in 1936 titled Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor’s Account of the “Galapagos Affair”, and Margaret Wittmer wrote a book published in 1959 titled Floreana: A Woman’s Pilgrimage to The Galapagos. Both books have different accounts as to what actually transpired on the island. There is a 2013 Documentary titled The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden that features photos and film footage of the inhabitants of the island. It also includes a 4 minute Silent short film filmed on the island featuring Baroness Von Wagner and Robert Phillipson, titled The Empress of Floreana.

The title alone is a clue to the drama that transpired on the island after the Baroness’ arrival. Dr. Ritter and Dore had come to the island to escape humanity, and did so living like Robison Crusoe, surviving off the island completely isolated from any other human beings. The Wittmer family changed that but Dr. Ritter, Dore and the Wittmer’s managed to keep their distance and co-inhabit the small island. It was the Baroness’s arrival with her two lovers, along with the intention of building a huge luxury hotel for the millionaires in their yachts who frequently passed by the island, that completely changed the dynamic and tore apart Friedrich and Dore’s quiet, isolated Eden.

It is this mystery and dynamic between seven adults isolated on Floreana that Ron Howard has captured in Eden. Well portrayed by Jude Law (Dr. Friedrich Ritter), Vanessa Kirby (Dore Strauch), Daniel Brühl (Heinz Wittmer), Sydney Sweeney (Margaret Wittmer), Ana de Armas (Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet), Toby Wallace (Robert Phillipson) and Felix Kammerer (Rudolph Lorenz), it is a fascinating look at what happened when Satan came to Eden. I think that Ron Howard and the crew did an excellent job bringing this mystery to life. It is a tantalizing, mesmerizing study of man’s desire to be alone, and the temptation and evil inherently bred into man that cannot be constrained, even on a remote island with only eight inhabitants.

Well worth a watch, as is the documentary The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden.

The Gray Man

2022 Netflix

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hrs 2min

Action ~ Thriller

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Julia Butters, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton.

“My Name is Donald Fitzroy and I’m here to commute your sentence. Provided you work for us as part of an elite CIA unit called Sierra. You’d exist in the gray killing bad guys.”

Courtland Gentry(Ryan Gosling) is a convict in Florida State Prison when he is visited by Donald Fitzroy,(Billy Bob Thornton) a senior CIA official. Fitzroy offers him his freedom in exchange for becoming an operative in the CIA’s new Black ops program SIERRA. Fast forward several years and Courtland, now known as Sierra 6, is working with fellow Sierra Agent Dani Miranda(Ana de Armas) to assassinate a target named DINING CAR. Things don’t go as planned and under the threat of collateral damage, Sierra 6 changes the plan and kills the target face to face.

As DINING CAR is dying, he reveals to Sierra 6 that he is one of them, a member of the Sierra program named Sierra 4. He hands Sierra 6 an encrypted drive holding evidence of corruption by Lead CIA agent Denny Carmichael. 6 decides to hide the drive by mailing it to his ex Cia handler Margaret Cahill(Alfre Woodard) and goes awol. Carmichael, desperate to get back the evidence at any cost, puts out a hit on Sierra 6. He hires Lloyd Hanson(Chris Evans), a sociopathic ex-CIA agent to track and kill 6. Hanson starts by hitting close to home and kidnapping Fitzroy and his niece Claire(Julia Butters) who 6 both regards as family.

The ensuing chase and race to keep the drive from implicating Carmichael is non-stop action and drama. Assasins after an assassin most regard as the best in the game. Ryan Gosling is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and Ana de Armas is just as ruthless as she helps 6 find the truth. Chris Evans does a good job of portraying the heartless mercenary who derives pleasure from torturing his targets before he kills them.

It’s another one of those movies where I find myself rooting for the underdog. Ryan goes thru hell to rescue Claire and get the drive to the right hands. Edge of your seat kind of stuff!

That was a fast two hours. Great watch! Excellent!

Two Thumbs Up!

UPDATE 9/26/2025:

I watched this last night again and I really like this movie. Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Julia Butters, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton are all really really good in this. The action, shootout and chase scene in the middle is one of the best action sequences I have seen. I think this is one of Ryan’s best and most under-rated movies. If you haven’t seen it and are looking for a good action thriller, give it a go. Definitely worth a watch!