🍿 'Poker Face' is Rian Johnson’s 'Columbo' for the superhero era

Jan. 26, 2023

Rian Johnson has perfected the murder mystery formula. First he took us to the razor's edge of the Agatha Christie whodunit with Knives Out and Glass Onion, and now he's teamed up with the coolest girl in Hollywood, Natasha Lyonne, for the Columbo-inspired detective series Poker Face.

Lyonne is the ace up Johnson's sleeve in Poker Face, a stylish, hysterical new series that follows the world's worst cocktail waitress as she uses her unique lie-detecting abilities to solve murder mysteries on the road. Don't ask her why she happens to encounter so many elaborate murders while she drives across America — she doesn't know either. Read our review of Poker Face and more in today’s edition of Inverse Daily.

What’s New
THE INVERSE REVIEW
'Poker Face' is Rian Johnson’s 'Columbo' for the superhero era

It’s the prevailing sentiment when we take stock of our glut of superhero movies, sequels, and reboots: they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

That’s especially true of old-fashioned throwbacks like the murder mystery. They’re too creaky, or too slow, or too predictable, so Hollywood has to throw in a gritty backstory or a grotesque gothic spin to ensure they can compete alongside the caped crusaders. But as Rian Johnson has proven with his Agatha Christie-inspired Knives Out movies, you can still make ‘em like they used to — if you add a few fresh tweaks.

Poker Face, Johnson’s new Peacock mystery series starring Natasha Lyonne, is the final form of the formula he perfected in Knives Out and Glass Onion. Except instead of the Christie-style whodunit, Johnson, who created the series and directed the first two episodes, takes his particular brand of hyperrealism to the Columbo “howcatchem” mystery.

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ENTERTAINMENT
'Rick and Morty' can survive without Justin Roiland

Rick and Morty has always been a joint endeavor between Community co-creator Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, but now that partnership is at an end. Ahead of Season 7, Adult Swim released a statement on Twitter announcing that it had severed all ties with Justin Roiland, and that his roles in multiple shows will be recast.

This follows Roiland being charged with felony domestic violence, multiple allegations of misconduct being raised, and the leaking of inappropriate DMs Roiland sent to minors. Adult Swim, to its credit, did not hesitate to make the obvious and correct decision.

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CLIMATE CRISIS
Elephants could be key to saving the planet — here’s why

Millions of years ago, countless massive plant-eating creatures known as megaherbivores roamed the planet’s rainforests during the Pleistocene era.

Today, elephants are among the last surviving megaherbivores in rainforests. According to new research, these tropical forest elephants likely have “profound” effects on forest ecosystems — and may be an overlooked climate change solution. The findings were published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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GOTTA GO FAST
NASA and DARPA want to build a nuclear-powered spaceship

The first astronauts who venture to Mars may make at least one leg of the trip on nuclear power, if NASA and DARPA succeed in their most recent joint venture.

DARPA wants a rocket that will let it maneuver its hypothetical spacecraft freely and quickly in space around Earth. NASA wants a rocket that can get astronauts to and from Mars faster and with less fuel. They’ve found a common solution: nuclear thermal propulsion.

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SUNDANCE
'Infinity Pool' is a hedonistic head-trip

The third feature by Brandon Cronenberg, whose past films Antiviral and Possessor delivered cold-to-the-touch body horror with a viciously satirical edge, Infinity Pool makes no secret of its venom for the rich and privileged, but The White Lotus this is not.

More inspired by the later works of J.G. Ballard, with their brute collisions of eros and thanatos, the film fully earns the NC-17 rating it screened with at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, plunging audiences into intense, acid-washed montages of violent murders, mind-expanding orgies, and drug-fueled mayhem.

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