Mystery

Wake Up Dead Man (Netflix, 2025)

We got to this one fairly quickly as we’ve enjoyed the two previous “Knives Out” stories. As usual this one’s got a great cast (I didn’t even recognize Thomas Haden Church).

This one carves up a twisty plot as the others did. Strange to see Mila Kunis in the main position of authority but I liked her performance. Daniel Craig’s accent doesn’t seem over-the-top this time around.

It’s a bit long. It doesn’t exactly -plod- but it does take its time. My wife says she had most of it figured out, but I had only figured out a couple of points before the reveal. She gave it bonus points for some Netflix meta-referencing, too.

Still, it was a good watch and use of our Netflix money this month.

Only Murders in the Building (S5, 2025, Hulu)

Note: this is commentary on all of Season 5, so there are Spoilers!

This is my wife’s favorite show on television, and we’ve been watching since we tried Hulu at season one mainly to see the show. I was unsure how the gimmick was going to hold up, but here we are with a season six announced and no real downgrade in the quality of the show. But do I have things to say? Yes!

They tried to give Steve Martin’s character some kind of “b” story for growth but the testosterone thing was very hit-or-miss. Martin Short is a loveable cringe to watch but I wonder if things are on the horizon for his marriage to Meryl Streep to be dissolved. There just seemed to be notes of unhappiness there for him. Selena Gomez did a fine job this season but I worried about her health as she really slimmed down. I read she’s recently married so I hope it was from a good place as she is beautiful either way.

Guest stars this year were a mixed bag. Dianne Wiest seemed out of place even given the character. Tea Leone was given a scattered character and gave a scattered performance. (Her character’s adult sons were one of the bright spots of the season.) The billionaires were funny impressions, most of all Renee Zellweger’s not-Martha. Keegan-Michael Key was another without a lot to do, but he did prove important to the season.

They seem locked into a ten-episode format which is just long enough to develop a good murder mystery with some twists, but not so long that it needs padded episodes. The standout of the season for me was episode two, “After You.” It really gave Lester a showcase episode while moving the plot significantly along.

The main thing that bothered me at the end of the season was showing Dianne Wiest’s character as having achieved the dream of living in the Arconia, but it looked to me like Mabel’s squatter apartment. Does this mean that Mabel has a new place? I hope this is quickly addressed. The biggest bright spot was one of the sons dating Howard–I hope there’s a fun way to keep seeing this develop.

It’s always a tricky thing when a hit show travels, so we will see what happens to the gang in London (and how long they are there) for season six.

The Thursday Murder Club (2025, Netflix)

My wife and I recently watched this enjoyable cozy mystery set at a posh retirement community in the UK. (At least it looked posh to me!)

I thought it was wonderfully cast. Helen Mirren chews up any scene with just two actors in it. Pierce Brosnan isn’t 100% convincing as a labour organizer but close enough. Celia Imrie has the skills the Murder Club needs and provides all the cozy with tantalizing cakes. Ben Kingsley is fine, but out of all of the leads seems to have the least to do.

The biggest shock to me is the great 1970s music that is used in this movie and that it is entirely appropriate for these retirees. The seventies were just twenty years ago, weren’t they?

Don’t think too hard about the twists and turns and how things turn out, just enjoy the ride on this one. There’s a five-book series this is based on (so far,) and as long as the numbers are good I bet we see a sequel in short order. Can’t wait to see the cakes!