Rian Johnson

News, Reviews & Features

Review: Knives Out is a modern-age murder mystery that absolutely kills it

Movie Review | Matt Looker | 4th December 2019

Traditional murder mysteries must be the hardest stories to write, because audiences are always second-guessing everything, desperate to work out the twist before the genius detective. Writers have to seed important details among their pool of suspects without giving the game away, whilst also offering red herrings that have to feel like they could still be relevant. Meanwhile their audience is constantly reading too much into everything, determined not to be outsmarted. So a film like this one is already at make-or-break point for each viewer. If they don’t guess the killer and the motive, and the reveal still makes sense, then they can be satisfied with the thrill of being outplayed. But if they solve the mystery before the end, it’s "Nah, that’s rubbish, mate. I saw it coming a mile off". And audiences are actively rooting for the latter. They’re the ones with the knives out.

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Movie Review | Matt Looker | 12th December 2017

If I could have had a small, green, wise mentor teach me the ways of online film criticism, he probably would have instilled in me a respect for the balance between objectivity and subjectivity. He would have told me that uninformed criticism is what binds the entire internet and that I should always try to be mindful of hype. But, halfway through my training, I would have still no doubt run off unprepared to face what is easily my greatest weakness: Star Wars.

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What they should have done with the Looper DVD packaging

Movie Feature | Matt | 28th January 2013

Why yes, marketing companies - I AM available for creative consultancy work at a reasonable price. Also, Looper is out on DVD and Blu-ray today.

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What if other actors had younger versions of themselves?

Movie Feature | Luke | 2nd October 2012

With Rian Johnson's Looper currently doing the rounds (our review is here), we consider one of the many thought-provoking questions raised by the time-tunnelling actioner: what would the prosthetically-enhanced younger versions of other movie stars look like?

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Looper

Movie Review | Ali | 10th September 2012

I saw Looper on Friday last week, and rather than frantically post a knee-jerk reaction review as soon as possible, I thought I'd attempt something a bit different. I loved it and immediately wanted to froth about how it was the best sci-fi of the year and a genre classic in the making, but these sort of labels can only be correctly applied with time. Thus, I'm posting this feature with a blank space, in which my future self – 30 years into the future, as in the film – can write his considered opinion, discussing the longevity of Looper and whether it stood the test of time. Hopefully by 2042 time travel will have been invented and the Ali Gray in 30 years will be able to send back his review, giving us a unique insight into how Rian Johnson's film held up. Fingers crossed it works!

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Well played, Looper press release

Movie News | Ali | 13th August 2012

I see what you did there.

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Looper looks super-duper

Movie Trailer | Ali | 27th June 2012

Film of the year? Film of the year. (Courtesy of MSN).

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Loop loop, it's the sound of da police

Movie News | Ali | 13th May 2011

Get your first look at Rian Johnson's time-travel hitman head-fuck Looper, complete with Bruce Willis climaxing while firing a rifle.

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The Brothers Bloom

Movie Review | Chris | 7th June 2010

With The Brothers Bloom, writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick) firmly cements his reputation as one of the most original and daring cinematic voices of his generation.

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Brick

Movie Review | Ali | 11th July 2006

A classic film noir detective story, performed by American high school kids - you'd be forgiven for thinking that Brick sounds terrible, because it does. In the wrong hands, Rian Johnson's teen crime thriller could have been a Freddie Prinze Jr. vehicle complete with thirty year-olds masquerading as high school kids, spouting a...

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