Despite making striking and subversive indies, trippy star-driven science-fiction, and a massive franchise blockbuster, writer-director Rian Johnson has found his comfort zone in the cinematic world of whodunits. His 2019 film “Knives Out” was a surprise hit, as was his 2022 sequel, “Glass Onion”. Now he’s back with a third mystery, “Wake Up Dead Man”, and it just might be the best of the bunch.

Written and directed by Johnson, “Wake Up Dead Man” follows the same basic blueprint as its predecessors. There’s a murder, an unsolvable mystery, an all-star lineup of suspects, and the return of the charismatic super sleuth, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). His latest case takes him to the sleepy little town of Chimney Rock in upstate New York where a controversial priest has been murdered in the middle of his church’s Good Friday service. It thrusts us and our famed detective into a religious setting that Johnson explores with earnest curiosity.

Josh O’Connor continues his remarkable year playing Rev. Jud Duplenticy, a young priest who is reassigned to a new parish after punching out one of his deacons. He’s sent to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude in Chimney Rock to assist the polarizing Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Rev. Jud has went from a boxer from the streets to a faithful and driven young priest. But the vain and domineering Monsignor Wicks sees Rev. Jud as a threat to his authority, setting up some early tension with lasting effects.

Making the noble Rev. Jud’s new position even more challenging is the church’s congregation – a small group of regulars who are notably bitter, self-absorbed, and fiercely loyal to Wicks. There’s the town doctor (Jeremy Renner) whose wife recently left him; a smart yet resentful attorney (Kerry Washington); a failed politician turned wannabe YouTuber (Daryl McCormack); a former cellist (Cailee Spaeny) now struggling with a crippling illness; and a once popular sci-fi writer (Andrew Scott) whose book sales have tanked.

Other significant players include Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), Wicks’ right-hand church lady who handles the bookkeeping, plays the organ, launders the vestments, and so on. And then there is Samson Holt (Thomas Haddon Church), the church’s longtime groundskeeper who has a thing for Martha. All languish in their own personal states of misery which is only made worse by the fear-wielding Wicks.

As he’s done before, Johnson does a fine job defining his characters. While some could use a tad more depth, Johnson sets them up nicely for the story’s key event – the murder of Monsignor Wicks. It happens during the church’s Good Friday service with all of the above players in attendance. With so many suspects and no plausible explanation, the case proves to be more than the town’s police chief, Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) can handle.

Enter private detective Benoit Blanc, with his exaggerated Southern drawl, blaring panache, and a haughty cynicism towards religion that he quickly makes known. He waltzes in with a blasé air of case-solving self-assurance. But he’s brought down to earth with a murder that instantly leaves him stumped. Blanc’s rationalism and Rev. Jud’s spirituality leads to an amusing partnership. Johnson’s script turns the skeptic and the disciple into a Holmes and Watson of sorts, at least until the mystery takes a ‘miraculous’ turn.

As it all unfolds, Johnson keeps us routinely off balance with a steady wave of new clues, shaky alibis, and surprising revelations. There’s a mischievousness in Johnson’s storytelling which leads to some of the film’s funniest moments. But he also offers an even-handed assessment of fanaticism versus faith from a perspective that neither proselytizes nor condemns. And all through another cadre of colorful characters who feel right at home in Johnson’s latest and possible best Knives Out to date.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

With “Wicked: For Good”, the deconstruction of L. Frank Baum’s classic 1900 children’s novel (“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”) and its 1939 film adaptation mercifully comes to an end. Beginning with 2024’s smash-hit “Wicked”, this big-budgeted two-parter from director Jon M. Chu is based on Stephen Schwartz’s 2003 stage musical, which itself was loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel. The first film had its moments before falling off in the second half. “Wicked: For Good” never gets on its feet, becoming a grueling test of your patience and endurance.

“Wicked: For Good” has a plethora of problems that become more pronounced over the course of its endless 137 minutes. In their defense, screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox had a lot to wrangle together. But their bloated story crumbles under the weight of the source material’s revisionism and reverence for the beloved 1939 film. Chu tries to make something of it, but what he delivers lacks the humor and charm of its predecessor. Even worse, there is no cohesive vision, either narratively or visually.

Following the events of the first movie, the emerald-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) retreats into hiding while the formerly plucky but now drably inert Glinda (Ariana Grande) obliviously does the bidding of the tyrannical Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and his ambitious ally, Madame Morrible (a terribly miscast Michelle Yeoh). But Elphaba’s goal of exposing the Wizard brings her and Glinda back together, although in ways neither were anticipating.

In the world of “Wicked”, Oz is a land oppressed by the blandest authoritarian regime. Far removed from the benevolent leader in the original story, this Oz is ran by a weakly defined dictator with a special knack for animal cruelty. As for the citizens, they’re mostly gullible cattle who eat up every bit of propaganda they’re fed. It makes for an Oz that’s more draconian than fantastical. Even the iconic Yellow Brick Road is portrayed as the product of destroyed ecosystems and forced animal labor.

These changes all work to portray Elphaba as a product of the system, which eventually leads her to become the Wicked Witch of the West. The film is relentless in stressing her victimhood in order to make her a sympathetic crusader against the Wizard’s tyranny. But it becomes such a driving focus that Chu forgets more essential things such as coherent storytelling and necessary character development.

As for Grande, her character takes a big hit in the second film. It’s hard to know how the movie wants us to feel about Glinda. She spends much of the film turning a blind eye to the nefarious deeds happening around her. And she gets off with no real sense of reckoning with her own complicity. So we’re left with two conclusions – she’s either dumb as a post or she’s lacks moral courage. Either way, Grande is left to do what she can with an underserved character. And this naturally affects her scenes with Erivo, leaving both actresses struggling to reignite their chemistry from part one.

Even worse is the shortchanging of certain side characters. Take Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), the captain of the Wizard’s guard and the half-baked love interest of both Glinda and Elphaba. And Nessarose (Marissa Bode), Elphaba’s half-sister who now governs Munchkinland. Both are meant to play significant roles in Elphaba’s story yet huge chunks of their own stories are missing. Both are trapped within horrible storylines, but it’s Bailey who’s dealt the worst hand, including a hysterically bad love scene that plays like a cheap music video.

And if all of that wasn’t enough, there is the shoehorning of Dorothy Gale into the story. This is where the retconning and honoring collide the most. Without question, there’s the tug of nostalgia with the glimpses we get of Dorothy, despite her face always being obscured. But her presence muddies the already mangled script. And it gets even worse with the absurdly contrived and shockingly shallow attempts at origin stories for the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

Hampered by one aggravating problem after another, “Wicked: For Good” is a scattershot sequel that never gets on track. Its story erratically bounces all over the place while throwing in bizarre twists with practically no build-up. And nothing in this world feels fleshed out, especially the characters, whose actions often feel arbitrary rather than purposeful. The clumsiness leads to convolution, making it a difficult movie to sit through.

There are some occasionally attractive compositions where the emerald greens collide with the pastel pinks. But the funky cinematography too often makes the ‘Wonderful World of Oz’ look surprisingly fake. And I haven’t even mentioned the music, mainly because there’s not a memorable song in the entire film. So Erivo and Grande are left showing their spectacular range with songs that leave no lasting impression whatsoever. Thats emblematic of “Wicked: For Good” as a whole. It’s a dull and forgettable experience that’s much more messy than magical.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS