{"id":2288157,"date":"2026-02-18T22:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2288157"},"modified":"2026-02-18T22:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:12:16","slug":"glen-powells-murder-comedy-is-funny-as-a-corpse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/glen-powells-murder-comedy-is-funny-as-a-corpse\/","title":{"rendered":"Glen Powell&#8217;s murder comedy is funny as a corpse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F02%2Fnewspress-collage-sblkomb7e-1771446630976.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261771428723\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tmovie review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tHOW TO MAKE A KILLING\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 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stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R (language and some violence\/bloody images). In theaters Feb. 20.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are eight deaths in \u201cHow to Make a Killing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Seven are people and one is done-dirty source material. The blood. So much blood.<\/p>\n<p>Writer-director John Patton Ford has misguidedly modernized \u201cKind Hearts and Coronets,\u201d the classic Alec Guinness screen comedy that\u2019s based on a 1907 British novel about an average Joe who discovers he\u2019s part of an uber-rich family.<\/p>\n<p>In the revamp, Mr. Everywhere Glen Powell plays conniving Becket Redfellow, a middle-class New Jersey tailor who hatches a plan of ruthless opportunism: Murder all his Manhattan kin and inherit their fortune.<\/p>\n<p>Updates are fine for some stories. Not this one, though. Moving the action to a contemporary urban setting is akin to fitting a fairy with cement boots.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In Edwardian England, a jolly killing spree was a sublime canvas for wit, dark playfulness, class commentary and, most essentially, plausibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt <em>could<\/em> happen,\u201d you think. DNA evidence and ubiquitous security cameras were practically witchcraft then. And the crime scenes were vast green estates away from prying eyes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However in 2026 New York City, where \u201cKind Hearts\u201d has been unkindly schlepped, you don\u2019t believe a second of the scheme of Beckett Redfellow, starting with his silly name that Powell can barely say with a straight face.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Glen Powell stars in \u201cHow To Make a Killing.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That the obvious methodical culling of a clan of <em>billionaires<\/em> (there are only some 3,000 billionaires on Earth) would be afforded just two preposterously casual FBI agents is, frankly, insulting to the viewer\u2019s intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>So is the absurd notion that the Bureau couldn\u2019t make a case against an out-of-the-woodwork cousin who\u2019s suddenly popping up all over the place and is extremely un-careful in his machinations. I\u2019m sure the filmmakers figured Al Capone was finally put away for tax evasion, but that was nearly 100 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Key to us suspending\u00a0our disbelief is making a movie so fully enjoyable that reality is rendered inconsequential. That \u201cHow to Make a Killing\u201d is merely fine in the first half and then unappetizingly somber and sluggish toward the end has us doubting every step of the way.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Topher Grace plays the head of a Hillsong-like church, and a cousin of scheming Beckett. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll notice I have not yet mentioned Powell. Haven\u2019t felt the need, to be honest. Perhaps he\u2019s giving a perfect performance because he is so unassuming you barely notice he\u2019s there. But I credit it more to the lack of mischief behind the eyes \u2014 or, really, the lack of anything behind the eyes. He could use a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/05\/12\/top-gun-maverick-review-the-perfect-summer-movie\/\">cockpit<\/a> or a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/07\/16\/entertainment\/twisters-review-surprisingly-good-reboot-is-a-bona-fide-summer-blockbuster\/\">twister<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Becket\u2019s journey to vast wealth involves offing a septet of mostly colorful characters: a brainless playboy who jumps out of helicopters into swimming pools, a talentless Brooklyn artist, a Hillsong-like church leader (Topher Grace) and more milquetoast older relatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Powell is barely noticeable. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As the Redfellow patriarch, Ed Harris plays the gun-toting man as if he resides in a shack in rural Oklahoma.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m always wary of any movie that involves a countdown. Because if it\u2019s a drag, you start thinking in terms of \u201conly four more to go,\u201d like staring at the clock as the school bell is about to ring. \u201cHow to Make a Killing\u201d is very much a \u201cchecks watch\u201d experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Margaret Qualley plays Julia, Beckett\u2019s childhood friend. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The only other character of note is Julia (Margaret Qualley), Becket\u2019s childhood friend who\u2019s known about his secret psycho plot since they were children. She\u2019s cold and calculating, though not in a titillating way \u2014 more like a TI-85. I wish Qualley would back off of these alien, quirky roles she keeps ending up in. She was such a heartbreaker in last year\u2019s \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/10\/17\/entertainment\/blue-moon-review-ethan-hawke-is-unrecognizable-and-transfixing-in-sad-witty-broadway-tale\/\">Blue Moon<\/a>\u201d with Ethan Hawke.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A much better adaptation of \u201cKind Hearts\u201d is the Tony Award-winning musical \u201cA Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Love and Murder,\u201d which made clever deaths into sprightly patter songs.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing fleet-footed about \u201cHow to Make a Killing.\u201d Get rich quick? Get rich slooooow.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>movie review HOW TO MAKE A KILLING Running time: 105 minutes. Rated R (language and some violence\/bloody images). In theaters Feb. 20. There are eight deaths in \u201cHow to Make a Killing.\u201d\u00a0 Seven are people and one is done-dirty source material. The blood. So much blood. Writer-director John Patton Ford has misguidedly modernized \u201cKind Hearts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2288158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,310317,304995,21912],"class_list":["post-2288157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-glen-powell","tag-movie-reviews","tag-movies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Glen-Powells-murder-comedy-is-funny-as-a-corpse.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2288157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2288159,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288157\/revisions\/2288159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2288157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2288157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2288157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}