Over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019, Knives Out became a sleeper hit, delivering a perfectly fun and witty whodunnit perfect for all generations. The Netflix sequel, Glass Onion, ups the ante in every way possible. The set is bigger, the cast is starrier, the cameos are plentiful. Despite the excess on screen, none of the magic of the original is lost. In fact, Glass Onion improves on the original, taking a character we know and love and thrusting him into a funnier and more zany mystery. The heart is still there so sign me up for plenty more chapters of Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) solving elaborate mysteries.
For those concerned, never fear. No major spoilers are ahead. The latest Benoit Blanc tale, which just opened in cinemas, deserves to be seen with as fresh of eyes as possible...
Kate Hudson is the standout in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
The day had finally come. My most anticipated film of the whole festival. The one we’ve all been waiting for. A veteran star on the comeback trail. A critical darling steering the ship. There’s talk of awards but will the public and pundits be on board? I for one couldn't wait to find out, but The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlisle was in the evening. I had other movies to see first.
And it started early. To my horror the screening of Glass Onion started at 9am. NINE AM!!! What was I thinking? It was worth the effort, though...
I wasn’t a big fan of the first Knives Out. Too convoluted by far. Too pleased with its own cleverness. Having been totally confused on first watch I saw it again earlier this year and still came away just as befuddled. Glass Onion, though,is a meticulously plotted and a huge improvement. The all-star cast are uniformly great. The relentless Elon Musk/Joe Rogan ribbing is a bonus delight. Great start to the day. It certainly woke me up.
Brian Tyree Henry & Jennifer Lawrence in "Causeway"
Next up was Causeway, JLaw’s return to serious acting after three years off and some dud of a comedy from last year I’ve done my best to forget (did you?). She’s pretty great in this small-scale character study but ironically it may be that her star power unbalances the tiny, understated indie. Very smart career move even if it seems unlikely to garner her another Oscar nod. Then again she got in for Joy so anything’s possible.
From there I went straight into Living a very subtle, quiet period drama with the great Bill Nighy making a serious bid for awards. To be honest I nodded off for a while in the middle and think I may have missed some crucial plot points. This is no reflection on the film, I was just tired (9am remember!). I suspect Academy voters may be taking more notice than I.
Now we come to the main event. As a Black man from London, I don’t think I’m her usual audience, but I adore Tanya Tucker. Although she’s barely known in the UK for soe reason I’ve been obsessed with her for decades. Many years ago, when Iived with my twin brother Jompy and best friend Kitty Supreme we played her songs to death. We loved every tale of revenge and heartbreak all being sung by a teenager who sounded like she smoked 40 a day.
In 2019 I flew straight from Toronto to NYC to see her in concert and then crashed the Meet and Greet (There was no way I was leaving without getting a photo with my heroine). Kitty Supreme was well jel. I can’t be objective about this doc. I loved every minute of it. My face hurt from smiling. It’s a behind the scenes look at her triumphant comeback after 17 years away from the recording studio. Shepherded by current Country superstar it’s beautiful to watch her coaxing a clearly nervous Tucker back to doing what she does best, with sensational results.
A notorious 70’s wild child who acquired drink and drug problems to go along with her forty Top 10 country hits. A pioneer who’s never received the respect she deserves is finally getting her due.
A lot of people are talking abou The Whale but I'm waiting to see it at the London Film Festival in a few weeks. The last time I saw a Darren Aronofsky film at TIFF it gave the man sitting next to me a nosebleed.
Film of The Day: My girl Tanya wins this one to go along with her 2 overdue Grammys!
Oscar Buzz: Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in the very quiet film that is Living? Glass Onion could definitely repeat its predecessor and score a Screenplay nomination. It would be wonderful to see the stand-out Kate Hudson back in the Supporting Actress race after 22 years away from that party. Meanwhile Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in a very quiet film?
Star Spot: The entire cast of Glass Onion was in attendance this morning with Daniel Craig’s horrendous hangover causing much hilarity. I also randomly saw Jordan Peele getting out of a car and most importantly I was able to apologise to Tanya for crashing her Meet & Greet three years back. I offered to pay the $50 she was owed but she graciously declined.
• AV ClubDon't Worry Darling has released its first promo still (above). The film stars Harry Styles and Florence Pugh is said to be inspired by alternate reality mind-benders like Inception and The Truman Show • Vanity Fair Olivia Wilde was served with custody papers from Jason Sudeikis onstage at CinemaCon of all pages while previewing it. Wild.
After the jump Dorothy Gale's dress, Penelope Cruz's best films, Bad Bunny's foray into movies, Kate Hudson's foray into music and more...
Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Each month we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode goes back to the turn of the millenium, when Almost Famous, Pollock, Billy Elliot, and Chocolat were new in theaters and the following actresses were having a moment...
THE NOMINEES2000 provided a bevy of possibilities in the supporting actress category but Oscar ignored the gifted comediennes (Parker Posey in Best in Show andElaine May in Smalltime Crooks), the foreign divas (Catherine Deneuve in Dancer in the Dark and Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger), indie darlings (Lupe Ontiveros in Chuck & Buck) and even women in Best Picture contenders (Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic, Connie Nielsen in Gladiator). What they came up with instead was an almost eerily archetypical shortlist which included five different kinds of traditional Oscar-friendly roles: long-suffering wife, feisty grandmother, manic pixie dream girl, mama bear, and the tough mentor. The mix of actors was also super traditional: Oscar voters invited back two recent previous winners (Judi Dench and Frances McDormand), one returning nominee (Julie Walters), and welcomed to the club one rising character actress (Marcia Gay Harden) and a golden child of Hollywood (Kate Hudson).
THE PANELISTSHere to talk about their performances and films are (from left to right) actor Nicholas D'Agosto (Trial & Error,Masters of Sex), journalist Kyle Buchanan (New York Times), actress Vella Lovell (Mr Mayor,Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and from The Film Experience, Eric Blume and your host Nathaniel R. Let's begin...
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or byvisiting the iTunes page...
In preparation for the next Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.
This photo is an instant serotonin hit.
By: Christopher James
Almost Famous is a love story. That’s not as a reference to teenage journalist wunderkind William (Patrick Fugit) and his love for legendary “band-aide” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). It’s also not a reference to William’s adoration for the band Stillwater, which sets off the chain of events. Writer-director Cameron Crowe made Almost Famous as a love letter to professional passion. William loves music and just wants outlets to profess his feelings on the subject. Can a journalist be a fan? This is a question asked multiple times throughout the movie. In the end, the answer is yes and no. You have to love something enough to devote your life to it, but not so much that you get swallowed up by it...
Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 11:38AM 
