Knives Out (2019), directed by Rian Johnson

Wealthy and successful crime novelist Harlan Thrombey dies after his eventful 85th birthday party. Was it suicide or murder and who among his extended family stands to gain from his death? Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Chris Evans and Daniel Craig are just the start of the stellar cast list for this stylish whodunit spoof. So what could go wrong? It starts slowly, with a few too many yeah, right moments of plot convenience. But momentum gradually builds as the twists and turns keep coming and the audience is kept guessing to the end. Craig’s southern gentleman accent as detective Benoit Blanc is ludicrous, but he just about gets away with it because of the send-up elements of the film. Chris Evans is good in the unusual role for him of the wayward grandson, while Ana de Armas impresses as the seemingly naïve and innocent nurse Marta. There are laughs as well as shocks, with some lovely visual humour in the accoutrements of the grand house and its gardens and a running joke about the family’s ignorance of Marta’s origins. It’s not as good as its cracked up to be, but Agatha Christie would probably approve.