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KNIVES OUT was an entertaining mystery seemingly inspired by the sort of tales routinely told by Agatha Christie. WAKE UP DEAD MAN returns to the mood and mystery that was lacking in THE GLASS ONION. This movie spins a solid mystery with entertaining characters and events. The performances are uniformly excellent, even in small roles like Bridget Everett's Louise. Audiences should have such a good time watching WAKE UP DEAD MAN, that they hopefully will not ponder why Benoit Blanc is present for these circumstances.

Arguably the best-known sings of the Broadway show are "Popular" and "Defying Gravity". Both of those songs are in Act I or the first film. While WICKED: FOR GOOD provides a moving resolution to its story and it adapts the familiar tale of Dorothy's first adventure in Oz, it is also slightly inferior to its predecessor. Audiences may feel the extended running time a little more. However, this is a spectacular, nearly-perfect adaptation of the Broadway show that should please almost all audiences.

Watching THE RUNNING MAN is a good time as the story is a solidly-constructed, almost perfectly-executed action thriller. While not as preposterous as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Glen Powell does not quite seem like the down-on-his luck everyman that his character is supposed to be, but he is an entertaining action star. As with its source material, the dystopia of THE RUNNING MAN feels like a commentary on modern times, but ultimately it is an empty excuse for its contrived plot. Some patronizing moments make evident that this sympathetic tale of a downtrodden working-class man struggling against an unfair system controlled by a few elites is actually the product of multimillionaires working for an entertainment conglomerate. If the premise were at all believable, the audience for this movie would be analogous to the audience for the fictional reality television show in which Powell's character is supposedly a contestant.