Creating a whodunit tale is probably one of the hardest things one can decide to do. It's one that typically follows a strict formula and the hook is to keep audiences guessing who the actual culprit is. "Knives Out" finds a way to break that typical formula and make a compelling and refreshing take that completely caught us off guard with its wit, humor, quirkiness, and surprises.

Wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead with his throat slashed the day after his 85th birthday. Originally, his death was deemed a suicide by the police but when an anonymous sender hires private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to look into it, Blanc believes otherwise. Blanc decides to call in Thrombey's immediate family and his caretaker Marta (Ana de Armas) to do a second round of interviews and find out who the mastermind is behind Thrombey's untimely demise.

"Knives Out" is one heck of a fun film to watch and it is the rare exception that had us honestly surprised most of its run time. If you're into the whodunit genre then "Knives Out" will blow you away. It easily breaks the formula of those stories revealing its truth not even midway through the film. What ensues is a cat and mouse game that had us thrilled and laughing at the same time. What really makes the film work is how well-paced it is and even with an ensemble cast, each minor character was given enough context and back story to fell fleshed out. The stand out for the film is easily Daniel Craig and easily one of his best performances we've seen. His Southern drawl is both silly and effective and completely out of his comfort zone but he found to make his character Blanc feel compelling and vulnerable at the same time. The only minor grievance we have on the film was eventually, it all became a little too obvious who the actual culprit is. But even with that, "Knives Out" was an extremely entertaining experience. It's definitely one of the films we will remember in a pretty long time.

Rating: 4 and a half reelsWhy you should watch it:- it's a very different take on the whodunit formula- Daniel Craig gives a performance of a lifetimeWhy you shouldn't watch it:- by the end, it's pretty obvious who the real mastermind is