The A-Listers Talk About Blink Twice (2024)

From the couple who see a lot of movies because they have AMC A-List.

tPatrick: Taylor, this was one of your most anticipated movies of the year!

Taylor: Yes, it was! For many reasons, but chief among them being I absolutely ADORE Zoë Kravitz and particularly adore her relationship with Channing Tatum. To me, they're Hollywood's hottest couple, literally! And I'll always have a particular soft spot for him because She's The Man is my favorite rom-com of all time.

Patrick: Blink Twice tells the story of cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) as she gets swept off her feet (and onto a private island) by tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). The beginning of the film is chock full of commentary and parody of our world's richest people. Did that part work for you?

Taylor: It did! Honestly, pretty much the entire film worked for me. There were a few parody moments that felt a bit easy and obvious, but there was nothing unwarranted. Something that I think about a lot is your review of Civil War, in which you said something to the effect of, "If it's obvious, maybe it's because people still aren't getting it," and that's how I felt about this. We can understand the dangers of power and how people abuse it...yet it continues to run rampant. What will make them get it? Maybe Blink Twice!

Patrick: This does feel obvious from time to time, but billionaires are easy targets because they're so ridiculously cartoonish. The jokes write themselves. It's been done a lot lately, and it's worked for me sometimes (The Menu) and hasn't worked as well other times (Glass Onion). It can be exhausting because our world is already full of their stupid mugs. I was reminded of the Titanic submarine implosion recently and all it did was piss me off, Elon Musk has ruined Twitter, the list goes on. Luckily, she has a very funny cast game for every bit of the joke!

Taylor: The cast really does shine here. There isn't a bad performance in the bunch! And they are all so clever and funny. That said, the comedy standout has to be Simon Rex. I love him in absolutely everything and this is no different. He just gets it like no other actor I can think of. Distinctively him, he adds so much to every project despite giving more or less the same performance. Will it ever get old? I hope not!

Patrick: I hear they call him Simon "One Take" Rex. I've never actually heard that, but if I did it wouldn't surprise me. If there's one thing I can give Zoë Kravitz (I can give her many things, it's a very strong debut), it's that she knew how to cast this movie. There's a party scene where everyone is introduced and I was pumping my fist for five minutes straight. Simon Rex! Geena Davis! Kyle MacLachlan! The one person I'm not yet convinced of is, believe it or not, Channing Tatum.

Taylor: Oh, I believe it. He is just NOT your guy. I feel like I really grew up with him, though. I have to throw out, once again, that She's The Man is truly one of my favorite movies of all time. I have probably seen it well over 100 times and can quote it from start to finish. But on top of that, I grew up with him in things like Step Up, The Vow, and Dear John, and have continued to be delighted by him in everything from Bullet Train to The Lost City. I just find him so funny and charming. His performances are always...imperfect, but that's why I like him! And why I think he's great for roles like this one. He's basically in on the joke just by being himself because one glance at him screams "tool."

Patrick: I get that! And I've liked him in many movies (My list would include Logan Lucky, Foxcatcher, and The Hateful Eight), but I just don't see him in this the same way that Zoë did. But she's got a vision and this movie is very clearly her vision, from the commentary to the cast to the mystery to the music. The music!

Taylor: The music ATE DOWNNNNN. I mean, let's be honest, I'd expect nothing less from Lenny Kravitz's daughter! I need this soundtrack on vinyl STAT!

Patrick: Writes that down in the Notes app. I see a lot of directorial debuts and think, "Alright, I'll see their second movie and judge from there." Because debuts are hard! And although I can nitpick this (and I will in a minute), it's much stronger and much more clear and much more a cinephile's film than many debuts I see. After this, I thought, "Her next movie might be a masterpiece!" This has all the makings.

Taylor: I totally agree. I'm also happy that I went in essentially blind. I was saying before we went into the theatre that part of what ruined Don't Worry Darling for me was the overwhelming amount of buzz. Literally everyone had a polarizing opinion and it made it hard to just feel like it was pretty good, which I think it probably was without listening to all of the trolls. While I'm not comparing the two films, I did have the thought that with a stacked cast and an actor making a directorial debut (I know DWD wasn't a debut, but bear with me), it could have just as easily been in everyone's mouth months out. But it wasn't, and I appreciated it all the more for that. Between this debut and Dev Patel's Monkey Man, I feel spoiled rotten!

Patrick: Here is my pickiest of nits. Very heavy, movie-ruining spoilers in the next two paragraphs. If these billionaire (or billionaire buddy) guys want nightly, drug-euphoria-clouded sex with commonfolk on a nightly basis, they would not need to create this entire elaborate setup. Right? So I'm assuming there's a certain element of violence that gets them off. That violence is reciprocated at the end when it becomes a straight-up '70s exploitation rape-revenge flick, but I don't feel like that mirroring is explored enough to make the connection. But also, whatever! It didn't bother me that much, it just stood out as something that felt under-explained when her script otherwise is so tight and full over payoff after payoff.

Taylor: I get that. Follow-up spoilers. The subtext isn't there quite enough. They're just portrayed as sick in the head with no real explanation. But...who's to say that these people aren't just sick in the head and that's that? In real life and in the film. That said, I was really impressed with this film and can't wait to see more from everyone involved, but especially Zoë Kravitz. Someone write her a check for another film!

Patrick: I'm looking forward to the next one. The world needs more Geena Davis movies!

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