Ty Watches "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Last weekend my wife and I watched "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery". Let’s discuss.

I enjoyed the first two movies in the series. I think the first movie is incredible and I don't get the hate that the second movie got after it was released. I thought the second movie was very funny in fact. I have always enjoyed the murder mystery genre, and when the powers that be make it a little funny, that is right in my wheelhouse. My son saw a few minutes of this most recent one and he asked my wife and I if it was like "Clue". I feel like that was a very apt comparison. I thought he hit it on the nose. And "Clue" is a classic. I feel like the "Knives Out" series has brought the essence of "Clue" into the 21st century. These are funny and fun murder mystery movies. I know that they have said that Agatha Christie stories are the inspiration, and while that may be true, these are much funnier than any Agatha Christie novel. That is what appeals to me.

And this new one starts with comedy at the very top. We see this newish priest, played by Josh O'Connor, and he is pleading with the board to keep him on hand. Apparently he has punched a church goer in the face for something they have said that rubbed him the wrong way. We never learn what this person said, but this new priest is passionately pleading his case. Josh O'Connor is so great in this role. I don't know much about him, but in this movie he was so good. He portrayed this new priest as what I imagine someone in his generation would be like. He was passionate and opinionated, but he also knew his purpose in life and was going to fulfil that no matter what. I thought he was funny and compassionate and I was there for it. Jeffrey Wright, in a small role, plays O'Connor's mentor of sorts and he was perfect. He has such a commanding and powerful voice and you buy every word out of his mouth. When O'Connor gets put into his new church, this is where the movie truly starts to roll. He is placed in a small church in small town New York, and the characters that this church has are second to none, Josh Brolin is the main guy and he is a piece of work. He plays a version of this new wannabe alpha male who just happens to have an audience. He is mean and spiteful. He goes after what he wants with blinders on. Brolin, who seems to be in every good movie lately, does a fine job playing this butthead of a character. He goes for it and lands the jump. The community is made up of some wonderful actors. Kerry Washington has a "kid", played by Daryl McCormack, and he is a piece of work. He's entitled and a prick. He is a prototypical new age republican. This actor is great. Washington is phenomenal as the put upon lady in her family. They push her aside and make her do all the dirty work and she does it until she cannot take it anymore. And when she exposes information, that is a powerful performance, Cailee Spaeny is very good as the former cellist who has turned to the church to try and help her get over a serious injury. She is the joker who got sukered into thinking money and faith could help her heal. Jeremy Renner is very good in a very different role for him. He is a drunk whose wife left him. He will do anything to get her back, but he goes about it the wrong way. He is a pushover and a follower. Andrew Scott is a sci-fi writer who, much like Renner, will fall in line with the group. He has some of the best comedy readings in the movie and his fate at the end was hilarious and fitting. Thomas Haden Church plays a hard working guy who just wants what is best for his partner. Church continues to prove he is a capable actor. His partner is played by Glenn Close and she has the best performance by anyone in this movie, and it is not even close. She is wonderful as the keeper of the church and her arc is such a joy to watch in this role. Mila Kunis plays a cop and she is so understated and does a wonderful job using cop jargon and going about her business. And then we have Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. This is such a fun role for him and he seems to be having a grand old time playing this detective. He chews scenery in the best way possible and I really love seeing Blanc on screen.

This third installment is fun, funny and a well done movie. I thoroughly enjoyed all two and a half hours, and it flew by. I cannot recommend this movie enough, especially if you have seen both, or even one of the previous movies. I believe you will find it as enjoyable as the others.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late Than Never on "Arrival"

For a good long time now RD has told me about his distaste for the movie "Arrival". He really does not seem to like this movie at all. He has told me what he dislikes and likes about the movie, but the dislikes definitely outweigh the likes. I had planned on seeing it awhile back, but after talking with my brother about it, I put it off, until last week. I have been in a movie watching kick lately, and I have been trying to catch up on what some consider to be modern classics. "Arrival" kept popping up on a bunch of those lists, so I decided it was time for me to make my own decision on this movie.

And, right off the bat, sorry RD, but I really liked this movie. I did not love it like I love other Denis Villenuve movies, but I still found "Arrival" to be compelling and very interesting. I liked the whole idea behind the movie. By the way, spoilers ahead if you haven't seen this movie that is almost ten years old now. I really liked the beginning of the movie because it pops off with the alien ships already on Earth. Sure, we see the backstory of Amy Adams and her daughter, and her daughter's untimely death, which was brutal to see, but that is about three to four minutes of screen time. We are then thrust right into the world created by these writers, which just happens to have alien ships docked at twelve different places spread out all over the world. Amy Adams plays a linguist professor who happens to be the best linguist in the country. She is paired up with Jeremy Renner, who I think is some kind of math/science genius, but I couldn't put my finger on it all the way. Forest Whitaker is the colonel who brings them together and the movie goes from there as soon as they get to the alien sight in Montana.

I will say, to RD's point, Renner isn't great in this movie. I like his acting and I think he does an okay enough job in his role, but this is Amy Adams' movie and she is great. More on her in a second. I did really like Whitaker in this movie, but he is one of the best actors ever and I was a fan of his going in. And even though he has little screen time, Michael Stuhlberg shows why he is so reliable as an actor. But, like I said a second ago, Adams shines in this movie. I don't know what it is about her, but Adams' movies are hit and miss for me. I am not the biggest fan of "Nightbitch" or "American Hustle". But, I love what she brings to "Ricky Bobby" and her one episode of "The Office". But this movie proved to me, not that she needed it, her true stardom. I was enrapt when she was onscreen, and that was the whole movie. I felt for her. I rooted for her. I wanted her to figure it all out. And when she did figure it out, I agreed with her decision in the end. Here comes the big spoiler. When Adams figures out the alien's language, and how they track time, she realizes that she has seen into her future. She and Renner get married. The child in the beginning was her child. But the biggest twist, none of that happened yet. She has memories of it all, but the stuff with Renner and their daughter hasn't actually happened yet. I thought this was a great choice by Villenuve and the writers of the movie. I love the whole idea of, if you know what your future holds, would you change it or just let it roll. And I agreed with Adams' character's decision to let it play out. I will say that the movie does go deep into scientific terms and territories, and I did find that confusing. But, after reading more about the movie online after watching it, I appreciate how true to the real world they tried to make this sci-fi movie.

So, sorry RD, but I am one of the many people who think "Arrival" is a very good, very intriguing movie. And at this point, there's no reason for me to doubt Villenuve's work. The dude knows how to make a movie. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late Than Never on "The House"

I was looking for a movie to watch the other day since I had some free time while my kids were in school. I went to a few different streaming services and ended up going with HBO Max. There I saw a movie called "The House" which featured Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell. I vaguely remember hearing about this movie other than it got bad reviews. But, I enjoy Poehler and Ferrell, and the 95 or so minute runtime was perfect, so I decided to watch.

Now, right off the bat, this is not a very good movie. The story is thin, the young actors don't get much to do and for its short runtime, certain moments felt like they went on forever. That being said, this movie did make me laugh, and isn't that the whole point of a comedy? For those that may not know, "The House" is about a family that needs to make money to get their only child into college. They team up with a neighbor and open a casino in his basement. Pretty simple outline. Here's the problem, here's the solution and some wacky stuff will happen along the way. But Ferrell and Poehler made for a dynamite comedy duo, and I found myself laughing more times than not. Those two know how to sell a joke, they know how far to take it and they both seemed to be having a good time while making the movie. Jason Mantzoukas, who I adore, was the neighbor and it was nice to see him play a bigger role in a movie. He always seems to be a side character that comes into a show or movie and steals every scene he is in. He also seems to always play someone gross. Here he does do some gross stuff, but he is the comic relief for the most part. Poehler and Ferrell are still hilarious, but Mantzoukas was right there with them with the comedy the whole way through the movie. I also appreciated that the casting director cast funny people to play bit parts in this movie. Andrea Savage and Lennon Parham play neighbors that hate one another and they are both hilarious. Their fight scene was pretty great. Rory Scovel plays a yokel that just wants to have fun. Nick Kroll and Allison Tolman play scummy local political people, and they had a ton of unexpected laughs from me. Rob Heubel plays a bumbling police officer. Cedric Yarbrough plays a dad in town who doesn't pay back all his loans. Kyle Kinane is a local drunk. Michela Watkins plays Mantzoukas' ex, and she has some of the best line deliveries in the whole movie. Steve Zissis and Jeremy Renner play local thugs who want to take down the casino. And actors like Sam Richardson, Andy Buckley, Wayne Federman, Ian Roberts and Jessica St Clair are peppered throughout the cast and they all do some funny stuff while on screen.

Again, this is by no means a good movie. It does have slow parts and some jokes don't land. But I was never bored when watching. I laughed quite a bit. I found the movie to be a perfect background for if I am writing or doing some housework. Do I recommend it? If you like the people I mentioned, yeah. But if you are looking for something to move you or see epic cinema, skip it. My final thoughts, this movie had funny parts, is not a great story and it kept my attention for most of it. I guess it is a soft recommend from me, but only if you know and like the people involved. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.