For those of you who haven’t seen director Rian Johnson’s comical murder mystery Knives Out as yet, you might want to catch it for an enjoyable time at the theater. The film was nominated for an Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay as written by Johnson. It’s in good company along with Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Parasite. With the Academy Awards ® to be shown on television February 6, 2020, we shall see which will be chosen the winner.

As with all murder mysteries, we can’t divulge much of the plot or who dunnit! But we can mention that the diverse cast is delicious, each in their own way. Each actor brings us their own special talents and personality to amuse and confuse us. That’s all in a good way, of course.

Christopher Plummer plays millionaire writer Harlan Thrombey. He has devised a plan to cut his relatives out of his will by planning his own demise. But the trick is nobody knows who may have killed him, if that’s the way he went to the beyond. Plummer, now 90, became a heart-throb with his role as Captain von Trapp in the smash musical The Sound of Music (1965) with Julie Andrews. He won the Oscar® as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Beginners (2010) at age 82, the oldest actor to win the golden statuette.

Arriving on the scene to solve the mystery is Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. Craig sports the craziest accent ever heard on film. It’s a mix of a sort of Texas twang-drawl and a pot of Louisiana jambalaya. He’s hilarious in a part that departs completely from his macho roles as James Bond. What we don’t know is who in the family hired him or which outsider might be the culprit.

New to the film industry is Ana de Armas, who plays Plummer’s caretaker/nurse/ assistant. She is charming and funny and a welcome addition to the film scene. Does she have the key to what really happened to old man Thrombey?

Various family members who are anxious to pick up a few bucks from the old man are played by Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and classic horror star Jamie Lee Curtis. It’s a great opportunity for the cast to excel and to see these veteran stars shining once again in a good film that is fit for their talents. Chris Evans portrays a playboy who may or may not be cut out of the will. Sorry we can’t really tell you much about the plot as it would spoil the movie for you. Suffice it to say, go see this movie, have great fun, be intrigued by the twists, and enjoy the performances of all the stars. You will love it.

(Released by Lionsgate and rated “PG-13” for thematic elements including brief violence, some strong language, sexual references, and drug material.)