on home
104
Daniel Craig and Ana de
Armas also appear together
in the next Bond film.W
iththeexceptionof
Kenneth Branagh’s
star-studded adaptation
of Murder On The Orient
Express in 2017, the
old-school whodunnit has all but
disappeared from the big screen. That’s
why Rian Johnson’s invigorating revival
of the classic murder mystery comes
as such a welcome surprise.
The Poirot of the piece is Daniel
Craig’s Benoit Blanc, a southern
gentleman detective hired to investigate
the grisly death of famous mystery
writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher
Plummer). The seemingly open-and-shut
case of suicide is complicated by the
fact Thrombey’s unscrupulous family all
have their reasons for wanting him dead.
But the main character isn’t Blanc.
Rather, it’s Marta (Ana de Armas),
Thrombey’s immigrant care worker.
Slowly revealing itself to be an insightful
and subversive piece of sociopolitical
storytelling, Knives Out is as much
about modern America as it is theintellectualthrillsofits
twisty-turny script.
The joy of Johnson’s
clockwork-precise
plotting should not be
underestimated. Knives
Out satisfies as both a
classical whodunnit –
complete with a colourful
cast of characters, clues
sitting in plain sight and
twists you (probably)
won’t see coming – and
as a thrilling reworking
of a well-worn formula.
Let’s just say you won’t
be asking ‘whodunnit?’
much earlier than you
might think. Also
featuring a bonkers
ensemble cast, including
Captain America’s Chris
Evans and Halloween
legend Jamie Lee Curtis,
Knives Out is a killer
night in. Jordan Farleyblu-rays
comingsoon
PREACHERS4
Fourth and final seasonof
the un-PC comic bookseries
about a Preacher with a
divine power hunting down
God. Also available to stream
on Amazon Prime.FROZENII
Be warned: the
sequel to Disney’ssmash-hit
winter animation features
songs that will refuse to
leave your brain before the
heat death of the universe.LEMANS’66
Gearheads and/
or dads will love thistrue
story of the Ford motor
company’s 1966 attempt to
dethrone Ferrari at the Le
Mans 24-hour race.SUPERMAN:
RED SON
Animated adaptationofthe
Mark Millar comic with an
ingenious premise: what if
Superman crash-landed in
theSovietUnionasa baby?21 BRIDGES
Black Panther’s
Chadwick Bosemanstars
in this rote action thriller
about a manhunt for a pair
of cop killers on the island
of Manhattan.ATTACKON
TITAN S3
The third seasonofthe
phenomenally popular anime
about a world overrun by
people-eating giants is as
bleak and shockingasever.ANATOMYOF
A MURDER
Classic drama starring
James Stewart as a lawyer
defending a man accused of
murder. A perfect double bill
with Knives Out.THE GOOD LIAR
Double-, triple- and
quadruple-crossesarethe
order of the day here, as
Ian McKellen’s career con
artist targets Helen Mirren’s
wealthy widow.LONG DAY’S
JOURNEY INTO
NIGHT
The centrepiece of this
Chinese romance is a
59-minute sequence shot in
a single unbrokentake.WWE ROYAL
RUMBLE 2020
The latest WWE PPVevent
featured a so-so card, but
the 30-man Royal Rumble
did not disappoint, with the
return of a WWEsuperstar.16 MAR16 MAR16 MAR16 MAR23 MAR23 MAR23 MAR30 MAR30 MAR6 APRKnives Out
Sharp modern-day murder mystery