Monday Media Musings: 01/12/26

[owlmoose]

Joyride : A buddy road movie focused on Chinese-American women taking a personal journey across China, testing the boundaries of their relationships and coming back stronger. We were looking for a lightweight way to pass an evening, and I'd say this fit the bill, although a little raunchy for my taste (explicit drug use, over-the-top sex). Top-notch cast, particularly Sabrina Wu as the awkward and too-relatable Deadeye.

The Knives Out films: This was a rewatch -- I've seen Knives Out and Glass Onion several times, and I insisted we watch Wake Up Dead Man the day it was released on Netflix -- and I'm happy to say that the series holds up, both as individual movies and overall. I think Knives Out is still my favorite, although a Chris Evans fangirl would say that, but I appreciate them all for their different strengths. Before the rewatch, I would have put Wake Up Dead Man a clear notch below the other two, but now I'm not so sure -- Father Jud is easily the best protagonist in the series, and I appreciate the depiction of a priest who represents the best aspects of Christianity drawn in contrast to some of its very worst. I also found the mystery quite satisfying, maybe even the best of the lot. The major downside was the supporting cast, which was fine (I will never argue with yet another showstopper from Glenn Close), but they didn't quite have the chemistry or interest of the ensembles in the other two films.

Comments

[renay]

I bought Knives Out on DVD because it wasn't on Netflix (why????? how are things WORSE than cable now?) so soon Z and I are going to do a movie week and watch all of them!

Have y'all watched Plur1bus yet?

[princessofgeeks]

Glenn Close really got to chew the scenery!

[heavenscalyx]

I have the Knives Out films on the Netflix list to watch, so maybe I'll do that some evening soon.

[owlmoose]

We are slowly working on Plur1bus! We're watching it with a group of friends and are only up to Episode 3. Really good so far, although we also have many questions.

[owlmoose]

She is capable of being a brilliant subtle actress, but I confess to enjoying her much more in scenery-chewing mode. :)

[owlmoose]

They're a fun time, highly recommended. But for some stupid reason, Knives Out isn't currently on Netflix, even though the other two films are Netflix originals. Why on earth they don't have the rights to the first is beyond me. I think it's currently on Prime (I own a digital download version, which is what I watched).