Mushy Mushrooms, Mini Macaroons & 5 Whodunnit Murder Mysteries to Watch on My Breakfast Plate

As the mother of a fourth-grade student, my mornings start at 5:30 a.m. daily. Making breakfast and setting up lunchboxes keep me occupied during those hours and since I like to keep it simple for breakfasts, they generally get quite boring, with either bread toasts or chapattis. (common story of a lot of moms). Sometimes our wishes can go to an extravaganza and the longing for a due break with a lavish breakfast consisting of some creamy- buttery mushy mushrooms sprinkled with roasted garlic, some berry-flavoured mini macaroons and to top it all a thrilling, chilling old-fashioned Whodunnit Murder Mystery Movie playing on TV just makes things perfect. Sounds like quite a plateful right? Since we have already made a grand plan of how my breakfast plate is going to look, let's narrow down the list of Murder Mystery movies that can be included in my watchlist.

1. Knives Out (2019): Imagine digging your fork into a plateful of yummy creamy mushrooms, tuning into Daniel Craig's impeccable Southern accent and his meaningful one-liners, as he roams about the Thrombey's mansion, to find the killer of Harlan Thrombey, a famous murder mystery writer. The film is an example of the finest Whodunnit murder mystery with an eerie atmosphere, a grand party, a twisted family of faux accomplishments and false pride and a huge Victorian-style mansion with strange artefacts. (The strangest being a huge magnetic wheel covered with hundreds of daggers and knives.) The case seems very straight-forward in the beginning and despite ruling out any foul play, however, the arrival of Benoit Blanc (Craig), the anonymously appointed famous Private Investigator, turns it to an extremely twisted tale of revenge, betrayal and mind-games. This movie, without any doubt, is going to be my no.1 choice when it comes to watching over my breakfast plate.

2. Murder on the Orient Express (2017): Hercule Poirot- the Belgian detective with a hawk eye for perfection, balance and details boards the Orient Express from Istanbul. A rugged millionaire with a dark past gets murdered inside the train, and to make things worse, the train is derailed and gets stuck amidst snowcapped rocky hills. We get to see some powerful performances from an ensemble cast including Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, Judie Dench, Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp. I had watched a 2006 movie about Hercule Poirot before, but believe me, the kind of mystery that this film could build, is rare these days. Branagh as Poirot puts forth a very endearing performance, not to mention his signature moustache.

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ( 2011): We see Daniel Craig, in a completely different type of character in this movie, ably supported by Rooney Mara in the titular role. This film takes the viewers 40 years back when a girl went missing. As with most Whodunnit Murder Mysteries, we get to see a lot of suspects, a family with many interesting characters and their individual stories that finally zero down to the actual happenings. Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth Salander, a genius hacker with a history of drug abuse is outstanding. I get why the other sequels from "The Girl" series could not surpass this one, it's simply because no other actor could match up to the intensity and depth of the character that Mara had solidified and quite ably had made into her own. 

4. The Oxford Murders (2008): Maths and murder- well, that's how fascinating this thriller is. Elijah Wood stars as an American student who comes to Oxford to follow the work of a noted philosopher. But things take a quick turn when a murder is committed and both get into the number game to crack the mystery. This is an intense film, that may appear to be quite slow if you are in for an adrenaline rush, but a little focus on it perfectly summarizes the actual intention of the story. I have not read the actual novel and heard that it is way better than the film, but somehow I found the film interesting. 

5. Glass Onion (2022): A sequel of Knives Out- this film looked quite promising when the trailer came out. A perfect premise for a murder mystery- the story is set on a beautiful Greek island owned by a tech billionaire who invites a bunch of his friends to spend a week with him. Along with the friends arrives Benoit Blanc, the famous detective who is out of work due to the global pandemic. A murder takes place and everyone is a suspect. Well, as much as it looks like a perfect sequel to Knives Out, one can clearly miss the eerie atmosphere that the first film could create. I am curious about the 3rd film of the franchise that releases next year. No matter how the film is, Detective Blanc's one-liners are unmissable. 

So, here's a detailed description of my deliciously assorted breakfast plate. Please let me know if I can enrich the menu with some more Murder Mysteries to choose from. I am eager to know your thoughts and recommendations.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop 

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla 
in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.