Inexplicable hype for a mediocre film

Rating: 4/10 (5 December 2019)

Knives out uses a really old idea, the "whodunit". Unfortunately, contrary to what many claim, there is not much here that makes it particular different or modern, except some hipster dialogue and humor (including a lot of throwing up by a specific character) and some commentary on current social issues, like the immigrant crisis, and pointing fingers at the ultra-rich, which is ironic because the writer/director of this movie is by now a multimillionaire and one of the highest paid directors in Hollywood. The writing is full of supposedly smart dialogue and ideas. In reality there not much cleverness here, while it constantly feels like the movie is trying too hard, and comes across as very pretentious and smugish. Most of the humor falls completely flat, it is overlong (130 minutes), twists are not surprising and don't really make sense. Only bright spots, Daniel Craig's amusing performance and the very talented Ana de Armas. Other than that, a semi-entertaining, mediocre and ultimate forgettable film. A perfect example of an uninspired writer/director, with a complete lack of originality, who uses a boring overused premise and accomplishes nothing new or interesting in the least.
Personally I don't know much about Star Wars as I don't really follow pop-corn franchises, so I don't know what's going on with this director and Star Wars. However, it is very puzzling seeing this mediocre film which basically takes place in a house, getting so much marketing hype and buzz, while Hollywood seems to be in love with this movie and its' director. Looking around the internet for reviews and ratings one would think this is a serious Oscar contender for multiple awards, while some people are calling it the best movie of the year and calling out trolls (?) etc. I'm confused.