Ep 74 - Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wake up, deadman 2025. When Benoit Blanc is invited to investigate the murder of a priest, he ends up questioning the faith in his own abilities when the case proves to be unsolvable. [00:00:22] Speaker B: Hello, everybody, and welcome back to our rating the show where I get together with two of my friends, we take a movie franchise, break it down by movie, give it an individual score, and then throw it back on the board where so we can see where it compares to the other mov movie franchises. This week, I'm joined, as always, by Brian and Will. Brian, how you doing this week? [00:00:37] Speaker C: I'm pumped, Dan. I'm ready to do this. [00:00:39] Speaker B: Excellent. I love to hear it. How about you, Will? [00:00:41] Speaker A: I'm a little chilly right now, but I am warming up to this movie review. [00:00:46] Speaker B: Fantastic. Fantastic. Now, this movie is brand new. We just did the other two movies, so this week is. Is a first for all three of us. Correct. Nobody's seen this one before. Now it's correct. [00:00:56] Speaker A: Correct. [00:00:57] Speaker B: Perfect. I watched this one. We didn't get to do a watch party on this one. We've all been very busy the past week, unfortunately. But I watched this one with my wife a couple of days ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And then last night, I was kind of trying to put my review in my head and put things together and realized I wasn't 100 on the timeline. Started watching it again. Don't yell at me. On my drive to work and whatnot, like, just kind of headed on in the background, and I. I got. I got really invested into it for the second time in, like, three days. And I'm, like, kind of dying to finish it. And, like, there's a good chance when we're done this review, I'm gonna go to bed and just watch the rest of it. In bed. [00:01:32] Speaker A: Nice. [00:01:32] Speaker B: I. I really enjoyed this movie when I was playing cards a little bit early on that one. But for the third part in a franchise, I'm really, really happy about this one and very excited to talk to you guys about it. How did you guys feel about this on your first watch? [00:01:46] Speaker C: I. I had two issues with this one. I had the ending pegged or really close to it right from the jump. And I thought for sure, this has got to be a head fake. Sure enough, it was what I thought it was or really close to it anyways, like, the gist of it. I kind of got the big twist, and I was a little disappointed because it was like. It seemed so obvious to me that it. That it had to be something else. No, there was more to it. And it was still great story and great to unfold and everything. The second part was that I had a little bit of trouble following, like, what was going on in the meantime. Like some of the back and forth, like, oh, they, they did it, they're guilty. No, it's back and forth. It was a little bit confusing. So I will have a few questions specifically about Jeremy Renner's character, Dr. Nat Sharp, whom I may have missed a few things because I was wondering, well, why are they including them in this and that and the other. So a little bit more convoluted on this one or maybe I just missed something that had me kind of reeling. But I like. So it was challenging to follow and at the same time I already knew the ending. [00:02:53] Speaker B: Okay, interesting, interesting, whatever you will. [00:02:55] Speaker A: I do think this movie presented itself as the most straightforward, like, typical who done it? Plot line, whereas the other ones are very much more. Here's the big twist and here's how the movie is actually gonna go. Whereas this one felt like, oh, this is a, a more standardized whodunit, comparatively speaking. And I didn't hate that. I like that he's switching it up. Otherwise, you know, it's kind of like, oh, and here's where the big twist is. And don't get me wrong, there's still lots of twists and turns and like evidence coming to light later in the movie. So it is good that way. And there is still lots of little details planted early in the movie. And I think maybe that's where Brian was headed where like, he kind of pegged the who done it at the beginning of the movie because they. Brian Johnson has a. He's got a pattern of telling you who done it right at the beginning. Whether you're paying enough attention to hang on to that information or not is another thing. [00:03:58] Speaker B: So. [00:03:58] Speaker A: But overall I, I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. I also found it was a little more somber, a little less laugh out loud funny than the others. But again, I, I enjoyed that change of pace or environment just to keep things a little fresh and keep you on your toes in these, in these franchise. [00:04:18] Speaker B: I'll agree with that. It not only did I think that. I agree with you that this one felt the most linear possibly, it felt the most real world as well, which I thought was a little bit refreshing. Like the, the Clue Mansion in the first one is a little ridiculous, but it's kind of a trope of the genre. But then like the whole island, the Glass Onion island was just really over the top. [00:04:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:38] Speaker B: Whereas like this perish in a small town felt pretty real. I mean, there's a couple of, like, silly elements to it, for sure, but for the most part, this is anywhere America. [00:04:51] Speaker C: And you know what? Like, the other three. Our lead protagonist character, not Benoit Blanc, but the other protagonist of the film was another showstopper, Josh o' Connor playing Father Judd Duplit. Plenty. I can't really pronounce his name. Stellar performance. I really loved his character. He was witty, he was real. He cared. I felt his passion. Did an excellent job in this role. And I. I was okay with the fact that this movie was his story for, like, the first half. We didn't really get Benoit Blanc until the second half of the film, but I already know Benoit Blanc, and I already know what's going to come there. So getting to know this character and being able to invest in him like we didn't see in the. [00:05:36] Speaker A: In the. [00:05:36] Speaker C: The second movie in the series so much, you know, we had trouble latching on to that protagonist. This one was easy to. To latch on to. You cared about him. You were invested in him. [00:05:47] Speaker B: I agree. I actually think this is my favorite of the main protagonists. I thoroughly like this character, and I'm not gonna lie, I was really nervous at the beginning. We've talked about this in the past. I grew up in a very religious household. Not Catholic, but Christian, you know, Catholic adjacent. So, like, I don't have all the same traditions and what they have, but when it first started off and it was like, okay, here's a priest who's punching somebody, and he's gonna go live with this other priest who's yelling at his flock and doing all, like, masturbating furiously and all these other things. I was really just like, I just don't have it in me for another. Religion is bad movie. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Right. [00:06:19] Speaker B: And they really turn it around in the point where, like, you watch Father Judd be a legitimately decent priest, most of the time he struggles. Sure, he's human, but, like, there are those moments where he's connecting with his flock and he's, like, revitalized. Like, he has a moment where he's crying with Benoit Blanc. Like, I just. I felt like I was being a priest again. Or the phone call he has with the heavy. Louise. Thank you. Heavy. I want to say heavy weapons. Heavy equipment manager. And she's just, like. She just needed somebody to talk to. And he realizes, like, I've been playing detective, but this is who I am. Yeah, I really liked those moments. They really humanized him and. And made him a much more fleshed out character than just somebody trying to either get away with murder or prove they're not the murderer. Which I was a little bit nervous for at the beginning. I was definitely nervous for this being Benoit Blanc is too smart for the church and look how stupid the church is thing. And they, they handled the church with a lot of grace and reverence without being like, they're right and Benoit is wrong or Benoit is right and the church is wrong. I, I thought it was really masterfully done. [00:07:24] Speaker A: I agree. I agree. Kudos to Ryan Johnson for, like, really walking that line of, you know, science versus religion. Benoit Blanc's, you know, all about the facts and the hard truths, but still is a compassionate human being who understands what others need for themselves and how they live their lives is different than how he lives his. And that really all comes together at the end of the movie where, which makes this the unsolvable case in the end. And I thought it was, it was very, very well scripted and played out in front of you. It was, it was almost perfection in, in then, in that way. Yeah, couldn't, couldn't say enough good things about the walking the line of religion and non religion. And it's not like it was afraid to point out the follies of religion and the corruption and all of those things. [00:08:22] Speaker C: The conversation between Blanc and, and Father Jude at, at the beginning when they first meet in, in there. And Father Jude just lets him talk and kind of vent his frustrations with the idiocracy of the, the, the, the, the, the structure of religion, as it were, and, and he listens to him and he doesn't correct him or say he's wrong or challenge his ideas or anything. He allows him to, to vent his frustrations and everything and then kind of agrees with him and just says, yes, it's great storytelling. And isn't that what's so good about it that we can be enthralled and it inspires things and he just rolls with it. And it was such a good little piece right there. I really like that a lot. And then that same thing is kind of played again at the end when Benoit Blanc says, and that's why this is an unsolvable case, why I can't solve it because of some of the things that they spoke about earlier. So it was good speaking about things that came earlier and then were alluded to earlier and then came about later. This had more of the first movie, less of the just let's throw in some fun Easter eggs that the second movie had. This Had a lot of important dialogue that were. You thought maybe were throwaway lines, but actually weren't. It still had some fun stuff, but I think it hit that, like, that happy medium it was. I kind of felt like the first movie was just so, like, everything meant something. And the second movie, almost nothing meant anything. And then we get to this one and it was. It was just right. You know, it was the Goldilocks of the dialogue in it, not to mention some of those monologues or dialogues between two people were so fantastic. You know, we can get into some of the other characters. Josh Brolin's character with his. His dialogues, his confessions and whatnot, which were hilarious. So just really enjoyed a lot of the dialogue and the lines that were important. [00:10:20] Speaker B: I actually hated his confessions until you get the reveal right. 100. Messing with him because, like, you know that he is to a certain extent. But then when he. He catches on, like, no, no. Like, none of this is real. This is pure fiction. So re. Watching this one, those were seen where I was like, okay, that's kind of fun. But the first time I was watching, I was just like, I just hate this trope in movies where it's like, oh, look how evil the church is. Yeah, yeah. No, I think for me, personally, I don't know about you guys. I think the cast in this one really. Sean shined. Sean, whatever. Because I actually didn't recognize a good chunk of them. Like, looking at the IMDb after the fact, I was like, oh, holy crap. That was that person. That was like, this is this person. A couple of them I actually don't know. Whereas, like, I knew almost everybody in the last two or at least had seen them in something else before. So you're constantly looking at, like, Chris Evans being like, well, that's Chris Evans. Right? Like, of course it is. Whereas, like, I don't know Josh o' Connor from anything. I. I don't. I didn't recognize Martha as Glenn Close. I'm looking back and I'm kind of surprised I didn't. Carrie Washington. I don't really. I'm not that familiar with. I don't know anything about Lisa Andrew Scott. Like, there's a big chunk of this cast where I'm just able to watch the movie as them and not seeing Batista in a cloth. You know what I mean? So that really helped me get engaged with the storyline quite a bit as well. However, I do have to say it's funny because last week we talked about [00:11:42] Speaker A: how I wanted to ask you so [00:11:44] Speaker B: many characters or Actors that they had were like, oh, now they can't have this person back. Like, they even name dro Jeremy Renner. So they obviously can't have him in a future movie because of Jeremy Renner's hot sauce. And then the next movie, they prove me wrong and have Jeremy Renner, and I'm like, oh, well, that was silly of me. I guess I should have looked at the future cast. [00:12:00] Speaker A: And I wanted. I wanted to ask you specifically, how did you feel about that? [00:12:05] Speaker B: I had a hard time not seeing Hawkeye in this movie. [00:12:07] Speaker A: Okay, well, sure. But compared to be like, oh, it's Jeremy Renner's hot sauce to now he's in a movie, like, a character that [00:12:15] Speaker B: didn't really bother me all that much. Okay, I like Jeremy Renner. I've seen him in other movies where I like him quite a bit, but for whatever reason, in this movie, all I could think of was his. His recent accident that he's recovering from, thankfully, and Hawkeye. And there was even, like, a line in there where, thankfully, they didn't go for it. But when the. The father is talking about, like, oh, when. When it's revealed that the father actually has a son, and they're like, oh, it's okay. We'll stand beside you. And one guy's like, you have my. My sword or something, right? And then Jeremy Renner's the next up, and he's like, and my. Well, we don't really know who this woman is. Right. I so expect him to say, and my bow. Like, do the Lord of the Rings thing, but also make a joke. The Hawkeye. I was like, don't do that. Don't. Don't do that. And then he went a totally different direction and made a joke of something else. Just like, okay, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. You subverted my expectation. Well done. But it did just. Still, I. I just saw Hawkeye the entire time. I just couldn't get into his character. Whereas all the other characters I really enjoyed. [00:13:13] Speaker C: I kind of thought Jeremy Renner's character was the weakest in the movie, to be honest. Dr. Net Sharp, because he was kind of. He's kind of a dumb character, you know, he was kind of dumb, and he didn't really do much. He was. He felt like he was more of. There to progress the plot, you know, rather than have any real importance. And he did play a role in the plot and. And the story, but it. I just didn't. It could have been anybody. It could have been anything. And it was Jeremy Renner. And it was. Whatever. That was probably the weakest part of the movie for me. [00:13:45] Speaker B: Yeah, in all the movies, it feels like everybody has a potential reason why they could be the killer, but this one felt the most forced for putting characters in there just for the sake of having red herring characters. Yeah, there's a couple of characters where I'm like, do they really do anything for this actual plot? Like. [00:14:04] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:05] Speaker C: I don't know, because there were some big reviews that ix nade a lot of like. Like you didn't even see some of these reveals coming at all. Kai's or size character, the. The kid who was always recording everything, being Monster's son. I didn't really see that happening. I mean, I knew something was going on and there were some twists and turns, but, yeah, some of these characters just felt like they were kind of inserted and they were hoping that there would be a little bit more of a head fake with them, but not so much. [00:14:35] Speaker A: I think maybe another issue with that is like, these are just like the congregation members. And yes, Wicks is kind of like keeping tabs on them and keeping them close for his own benefit, but we just don't get that immediate sense of urgency of why they could have done it or how they could have done it. Whereas in the first movie, of course, I'm just going to compare it to, you know, every family member had their reason and, you know, you can understand family members having their reasons of, you know, disagreement and, you know, ugliness amongst money issues and things like that. And I think that's just a harder thing to do in this setting. So I don't feel like that those connections were as strong for, like, oh, maybe they did it, but is there reasoning that strong to do it? Maybe not. Like the woman who was. Had the. The nerve damage and. And couldn't play her music anymore. Yeah, she was getting duped into spending all of her money, but I never at. At all thought she was going to be the one to do it for any reason. She just didn't come across that way at all. [00:15:45] Speaker B: Yeah, I completely agree. She was one of the characters where I'm just like, what do you add to this movie? [00:15:50] Speaker A: Exactly. And what I. I mean, what they did add is, you know, people get duped into spending great amounts of money on religion all the time. And I think that is an important note to put up. But that's a much different thing than her character wanting, you know, revenge or whatever, being pushed to unsightly action. [00:16:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it definitely opens a conversation about how the church can Potentially manipulate people. But it doesn't necessarily add a ton to the actual who done itness of this movie. Because you're right, I also like never once had her on my little pegboard. [00:16:27] Speaker C: What I don't really understand is why was everybody kissing Wick's ass? Why did they care? What, what did he hold over them? I didn't understand, like, I missed that. I get that the girl in the wheelchair was trying to be healed. I mean, I get that there were a few things going on, but these people were zealots in the non religious sense for Wicks. Like they were there to support him no matter what. They didn't want to cross him. What was in it for them? I didn't quite ever understand that. Did I miss something? See, like, like they were his core group at the church. What drew them to him in the first place? Why did they keep showing up at church like he was an ass? Why not just not go to that parish anymore? Why did they keep going? I don't get it. I don't get why they were there, why they wanted to take that abuse [00:17:21] Speaker B: of personality many, many times. [00:17:23] Speaker A: But yeah, yeah, the cult, the cultish type mentality. And I'll. I'll just put this out here. I could ask that about anybody who goes to organized religion, Brian. Why do they keep going? I have no idea. But they do. And so there's got to be something to it. And I think Wick specifically had all of these people as like, these are my people and would purposely drive others away to like, strengthen just the core and say, you know, you guys are worthy, nobody else is worthy. And I think that is a powerful thing in a community. But yes, from what we see of Wicks and how unlikable he is, it's hard to be in the mindset of like, why would I, why would I fall into this? But you never know. [00:18:09] Speaker C: So then that, that whole sequence where he would. He would drive the new people out and everybody else would sit there and they talked about that feeling that you stayed in the seat and you watched that other person leave and that made you feel like you were part of the group and you weren't the one being sent away, that was it is that he just cultivated this fear, this cultish mentality that that was what kept him there. Because in every other movie there was tons of money on the line. And that I understand, but sitting there and listening to this guy spout nonsense and abuse constantly, I would have got up and walked out myself. But I guess that's just me. [00:18:46] Speaker B: I think there's. [00:18:46] Speaker C: I did. I did get up and walk out of religion, so [00:18:52] Speaker B: same there's. Every character in this movie is a little bit broken. Right? Martha seems the only, like, true, honest believer that is there for the church, and so be it. So she is a true believer. I'll give her that. You've got Dr. Nat and Lee Ross, who are both kind of just broken and looking for a place to belong, for lack of a better term. You've got Simone Vivane, I think is the cellist who is looking for a miracle and feels like maybe, you know, somebody this passionate is the one that can give it to him. Psy is the only one that sees him as an actual, like, force. Like, he's trying to get into politics and he can't do it because he's just not personable, despite trying everything [00:19:38] Speaker C: you can do as a politician. [00:19:39] Speaker B: I tried all these things and nothing worked. Why did nothing work? People are just numb. I don't understand why anymore. I really. I thought his character was actually very funny. So he. He recognizes what Monsignor has, like, has that ability to draw a crowd and bring them in. The only one I don't really have an explanation for is Vera is the lawyer. She's already got power. She's already got some standing in the community. Like, I don't. I don't know exactly. I. I don't personally understand what she's getting from this, but I think because [00:20:11] Speaker C: her father was a follower and she wanted to make her father happy so she fall into his business, that's all I got out of it. [00:20:16] Speaker B: Point. She's trying to make her father proud. She's still looking after her. [00:20:19] Speaker C: She did have the least. So when she found out that all she's been doing was to cover his lie, that's why she blew him up, right? And so that. That kind of made sense to me. And then Monsignor is like, that's it. I'm gonna tear you all down. I've got all your confessions. I've got all your. All the dirt on you. I'm gonna just burn you all to the ground. Which then gives any one of them reason to murder him other than the girl who wants to be healed, which she could just be pissed off and want to murder him. But like, that. That finally gave us a reason for each person to want to murder him. But that wasn't until, like, the. The fourth quarter of the film that we got to that point, really. So that was a little weird. [00:20:57] Speaker B: He's dead much earlier than that. [00:20:58] Speaker C: I Mean, we know that he's dead much earlier, but we don't know why any of them would have a good reason to kill him until that moment. Then they all had a pretty decent reason. Oh, we need to off this guy, or he's going to destroy our careers and whatnot. [00:21:10] Speaker B: Notice the one person he didn't tear down, though, was Martha. Was the true believer. He's the one that, like, he didn't have anything on her or say anything against her, just, you know, tears everybody else down and then just moves on. [00:21:22] Speaker C: So then why did Martha want him dead? Like, why did her and. And Dr. Net Sharp put him down? Like, I didn't get that. Because he was gonna burn down the church. Like, and just. [00:21:35] Speaker B: He's gonna close the church, which was her whole belief system, but somebody else would come and open it, so I don't know if that's great. [00:21:40] Speaker C: So she was trying to resurrect him and make him more popular and keep him in line, I guess, write the ship somehow. I don't understand. [00:21:49] Speaker A: She wanted. She wanted to perform the miracle to draw more people to the church. Right? [00:21:53] Speaker B: Right. [00:21:53] Speaker C: Okay. [00:21:54] Speaker B: You get a new pastor. You get a new influx of people into the church. The church stays alive. Her life continues to have purpose and importance. [00:22:03] Speaker A: And I think, not to mention the diamond would go a long way into. [00:22:07] Speaker C: Oh, for sure. [00:22:09] Speaker B: Something about one second. Wasn't there also something. Oh, shoot. Like, when she was finally pushed to confess and she did confess to him, she also, like, kind of turned on him then, where she's like, oh, that's right. Like, this is what it's supposed to be like, and this is not what it's actually been like for a long time. Like, there's something. Something along those lines of messing up the wording. But I feel like when she realized [00:22:34] Speaker C: he wasn't the person she wanted him to be. [00:22:38] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:22:38] Speaker C: He was false. Yeah. Okay. Why did she include Nat Sharp in her escapades? How did he get drawn into that? I missed that part. I didn't understand. [00:22:47] Speaker B: I think she's just not. [00:22:49] Speaker C: She just needed his help. [00:22:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:51] Speaker C: Oh, that's right. He had access to the drugs. He had access to the drugs. That was it. Okay, I forgot about. Okay, so. All right. Some loose connections in there for me. I really did love following the story and the acting and dialogue and the storytelling was so great. I can overlook some of those loose connections. However, the moment they said this tomb could be opened by a single person pushing from the inside, I was like, treasures inside the tomb. Like, instantly knew it. Like, that was it, right? Like, they gave it away so easy there. [00:23:23] Speaker B: But. So is that what you figured out, or did you actually put together, like, the remote blade and the. Like, the whole. [00:23:29] Speaker C: No, I did not. I did not figure out the remote blade. But I figured that either Monsignor was faking his death to get the treasure, or somebody else murdered him and was faking being in the coffin to get in, but somebody wanted in that tomb to get the treasure. That's what I had figured out. [00:23:46] Speaker B: Sure. [00:23:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:48] Speaker B: Well, I. I was kicking myself. Sorry. My apologies. Well, I was kicking myself because even a couple of times before we got there, I was like, man, Thomas Hayden Church with the white hair looks like Monsignor. I. I thought it, like, three times. Like, but these guys look a lot alike. And then when you actually see him get out of the coffin, no recollection. No. Like, oh, that's clearly that guy. Like, I just went along with him. Like, oh, how did they make this work? Clearly, he faked his own death. It's a Romeo and Juliet thing where they have that, like, the potion that, like, fakes death. But then they did the pancake flipping scene. I'm like, yeah, exactly. [00:24:20] Speaker A: I was like, they purposely flip him, like, a pancake, and they're just slapping them, being like, this is a dead body. There's no way. This guy's rising from the dead. And then he rises from the dead, and you're like. Everybody's like, wait, is he dead? I think that's pretty funny. Yeah, pretty funny. [00:24:37] Speaker C: I was wondering what that whole body reviewing scene was about, but then I was like, oh, we needed to absolutely know for certain he was dead. [00:24:47] Speaker A: We needed that. [00:24:48] Speaker C: And that's what that was about. And I. And it was so. The way they flipped the pancake was just so funny. [00:24:53] Speaker B: My wife and I both laughed. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Super good. Super good. Yeah. Now. And so you mentioned that you. You were on to where the money was, and that's good. I was more on to who done it right off the get. Because Rian Johnson says at the beginning, Martha takes care of everything and knows where all the dead bodies are buried. And she just, like, jumps out at everybody at every moment. It's just, like, so funny to me, this little Glenn Close character, just so. And she's brilliant in the movie, but I found, like, it was the most likely suspect from the get. And when they introduce all the other congregation, you're like, they just don't have the gumption. She does. They just don't. So that's how I felt in in this one being a little more predictable. But again then, you know, she gets the help from the doctor and there's still the twists and how it's done because it is this little room where nothing could have happened. And then the bit with the drinking I thought was really, really cool, where Priest Judd hides the bottle on purpose. And if you're listening close, you can hear him clanging it up against the door. Like you hear all of these little clues as to where the bottle goes. But the reason he did it is because he's a good priest and he didn't want Sam to relapse. And I thought that was just like so, yeah, caring and, and so just, just really laid out what his character was and made him that much more lovable. And, and you wanted to root for him all the more because of that. Because even through all of this, a man dying in front of him and him going to get blamed for it, him being like, how did this happen? This is the wolfhead I threw through the window. He still took the time to save somebody else from their addiction. And that, that was just like poetic. [00:26:50] Speaker B: Yeah, he always had somebody else on his mind, not himself. [00:26:53] Speaker C: Yeah. I too, I too thought Martha was the obvious choice right from the get go. And so that's why I thought this has got to be a head fake. They're, they're making this too obvious that it's Martha. And so when it was Martha, I was a little bit like, what? [00:27:08] Speaker A: Really? [00:27:08] Speaker C: Okay, I guess that's what we're going with. But still interesting, like you said, to see how it's done, who they included. Because the mystery of how he was murdered in the, in the room, the impossible, the locked, what they call that a locked door murder was, was very good. And I've never read Hollow man, but somewhere along the line I knew the four different ways to make that happen. And so I did know the fourth one. And so there was a part of me that was thinking, okay, maybe Jude did do this and he's trying to throw it off. I thought maybe that was like the, the, that was the big fake or something. I didn't know. So I kept holding on to that. And of course it, that wasn't it. He was, he was a good man the whole way through. So lots of twists and turns, lots of interesting things in this. [00:27:57] Speaker B: You also mentioned it a little bit earlier, but it didn't really play into this. But his last name, which you had trouble pronouncing, I'm going to as well. Duplentasy. When it's written down. I was kind of like, oh. Like, kind of looks like duplicity. Like it might have, like, meeting or something. So I thought, yeah, like, he's this really nice pastor. He's got this passion for it right up. We do know these. The boxer. We do know that he's killed somebody before. Who knows? That being said, for a boxer, he's got pretty slow reaction times. Like, he got hit a couple of times in different ways. And even when he's, like, got his dukes up to, like, fight Josh Brolin, it's like, I don't. This doesn't look a lot like a boxer stance to me, but. Okay, you do you. So I thought they were gonna. [00:28:37] Speaker C: Maybe a 1920s Irish boxer. [00:28:39] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. No, I. I really liked Martha, her Glenn Close's performance. She only really does the, like, sneak out and jump thing twice. I think I thought that was gonna be more of a thing that she would do. Like, after the first time, she really scares the past. I was like, yeah, I could have [00:28:56] Speaker C: used the third one of those somewhere. That would have been funny. I think there was room for one more. And they didn't. They didn't take advantage of it. [00:29:01] Speaker B: What do you guys think about the fact that all three of the murderers. Sl Aggressors have been Avengers? Yeah, we got the Hulk. We've got Captain America. We got Hawkeye a little. [00:29:17] Speaker C: I didn't even think about that. Wow. [00:29:19] Speaker A: Evil Avengers. I think you watch too many comic book movies is what I think. [00:29:24] Speaker C: You're not wrong. [00:29:25] Speaker B: Almost all of them. [00:29:27] Speaker C: That never occurred to me. [00:29:29] Speaker A: No, I mean, I. I think it's. Whatever it is what it is. I like when I get to see those characters or those actors kind of portraying much different roles. So that. That's. That's nice to see how well they can pull it off and. And let you forget that they were the Hulk and America's ass is another thing. Right. But no, I always enjoy watching actors who have been so concrete into something try to branch out and see if they can really pull that off, because it's a. It's a great, you know, a great talent that's able to do that. And I think, for the most part, all the actors did pretty good throughout the franchise in that. In that case, yeah. [00:30:12] Speaker C: I think on the other side of that coin is Kerry Washington. She tends to play the same character in everything she does, but she does such a phenomenal job of that character. That woman who's on the brink, under a lot of stress. She's under tons of pressure. Maybe Wants to do the right thing, maybe did the wrong thing. Maybe she's covering something up. I think she was in Scandal, was a TV show that she. I watched her in a lot and does a phenomenal job. I. I would like to see her do different roles and see what she can do because she does such a good job in this type of character. But she was playing the usual things she does, but props to her for doing a stellar job. So her character was. Was really good for me to watch. Mila Kunis was in this too. Right? [00:31:03] Speaker B: That's the best way to word that. Like, yes, she did this as well. [00:31:06] Speaker C: I did not even notice. That was her for, like, the first 10 minutes until we got her, like, inside a room, and she took her hat off and was talking for a while. I was like, oh, my goodness. She was from that 70s show. Yeah. That would kind of caught me off a little bit of a different role for her, being the sheriff, the lead, you know, official in the town. Trying to be a little bit more serious and everything. I like seeing her in this. I kind of wish we had a bit more because I think she's pretty talented, so. And I haven't seen her in for a while, so it's kind of nice to see her in this. [00:31:38] Speaker B: I had a similar reaction to you. Not maybe 10 minutes, but definitely not insane. My wife, I think, got it right away because she definitely, like, popped when she showed up on screen. I was like, I don't see what you're seeing. And then literally, like, oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. No, I get it. I get it. Yeah. I've enjoyed her in other movies. I didn't feel like she was given almost anything to do in this movie. [00:31:56] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:31:57] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:57] Speaker B: And I don't fall through, but it was just one of those, like, you're just a side character, and that's unfortunate. [00:32:01] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And makes me wonder, because, you know, Ryan Johnson's a pretty talented guy. [00:32:07] Speaker C: Is. [00:32:07] Speaker A: It's like, hey, I would love to be in your movie. If you had a role for me, let me know. And that was the role that was available, and she jumped on it. Right. Just have a chance to play, which is what it is. But, yeah, it does. Is it a character or a performance that is a shining gem? Not so much. But it's nice to see the face. [00:32:27] Speaker C: You know, honestly, it felt a little bit demeaning to her because she calls LeBlanc, like, he's the reason that. Sorry, not LeBlanc. It's Blanc. She calls Blanc to come in there, and it almost like, they don't say this or infer this, but it almost feels like she called Blanc because she didn't have the chops to solve this. And he even says a few lines along the way that kind of reiterate that theme. And it just kind of put a bad shine on her character who then doesn't do anything in the film whatsoever. So it was. This was way out of her league. So, I mean, that's accurate, but I would have. [00:33:03] Speaker B: Like, this is way out of most police officers league. Like in any cop show, Father John is going to jail instantly. Oh, you were the first person in the room. Nobody else saw what happened. You have blood on your hands. This is open and shut. [00:33:17] Speaker C: Right. [00:33:17] Speaker A: The prince, you put on the knife. Like, it's got. It's done. [00:33:21] Speaker B: Yeah. There's a doctor on the scene, Produ, saying that he's dead. Like, you're. You're screwed. [00:33:26] Speaker A: One. [00:33:26] Speaker C: One other theory I actually had, though, when. Because he grabbed the knife, you mentioned that, it clicked for me was that he knew somebody else had killed Wicks and he wanted to cover for that. And so then he stabbed Wicks with this fox head thing, wolf's head thing. I thought that might have been something along those lines. Of course, that wasn't it. But there were the fact that my mind was going in so many different directions while watching this. Even though I suspected Martha and the treasure was in the tomb. Right. Like, those were my big ones and I was dead on with those. Even though I had those dead on, my mind was still reeling in every direction because of the writing of this story. Making you think, making you wonder, making you question yourself. Making a great film. [00:34:14] Speaker B: Yeah. I wonder if it's training to some extent, because we do mention how Rian Johnson, like almost every live dialogue has a purpose. And as you mentioned, like, they talked about the Lazarus Pit on the door. We talked about Martha knows where the bodies are buried. Like, specifically that wording. Not just like, oh, Martha knows everybody's secret. No, like, Martha knows where the bodies are buried. It's like, okay, she's probably involved in some level. Yeah, yeah. There's definitely a couple of things. I didn't see it coming. We were guessing in a different couple of different directions. Obviously, Martha was top of our list. We had Dr. Nat on there, but I don't remember exactly my logic. The first time around. I was still back and forth. We paused once or twice, just be like going over our theories together. Like, who do you think? Why this? [00:34:57] Speaker A: What's that? [00:34:57] Speaker B: Okay. It was fun. It was a very fun watch viewing experience for me. So I. I don't really have any complaints about it. Even though, yeah, it might not have had the massive twist in the middle that the other ones did. I actually did kind of like the pacing on this one. Like, you see Benoit Blanc at the very beginning sitting down, reading the pastor's letter. I like voiceovers. I know there's people who don't like voiceovers in movies. I. I do. So having half the movie from the father's perspective was fine with me. And then when you finally are ready to like, take the reins and like, get caught up with the present, you're off and running. Like, it. It didn't feel as jarring to me as Glass Onion did, where, like the middle half of the movie was a flashback. [00:35:36] Speaker C: Right, right. [00:35:36] Speaker B: Like, because you are just. You're introduced in a flashback and then you catch up to the movie and just keep going naturally. And it. It felt more natural. Maybe less stylistic than. Than Knives out, but more natural. [00:35:50] Speaker C: Speaking of that narrative, how did you guys like. The mechanic of Mila Kunis is the person who hires or calls Blanc to the scene. However, we have the narration coming from Father Jude the whole time, and you're wondering why. And then later Blanc has him write out everything to try and get any loose bits. What did you guys think about that mechanic? [00:36:13] Speaker A: I really, I really enjoyed it too, because. No, no, we're on the same page. I think it's like, lots of movies have narration for no reason or it's ambiguous, whereas this one starts that way, but you find out why there's the narration. Specifically because he was asked to write this letter. It is his storytelling throughout, so it really gave it purpose for the narration. And so I really liked how that all connected together in this case. Whereas a lot of movies just kind of throw it in willy nilly and doesn't quite grab you the same. Same way. [00:36:47] Speaker B: I agree, but for a different reason. I. I really do like the voiceover. As I mentioned, that's just a trope in movies that I do enjoy. I do like it when this one where it had a purpose, but I also, like, I think I'm going to enjoy these movies more. So when we get more of the Knives out movies when it is another character story and Benoit Blanc is there to flesh it out as opposed to. It is Benoit Blanc. Like, it felt like Glass Onion was a Blenois Blanc story that had other characters in it. This is a Father Judd story and Benoit Blanc is helping him. And I like that aspect better. I really enjoyed connecting with Father Judd, hearing what's going on inside of his head, seeing how he got to where he is. Like, that worked out really well for me. And then you even do get a bit of a red herring or a twist, whatever you want to call it when he finishes the letter. And Blockinson is like, why'd you do it? He's like, I just. I didn't know why I thought I could lie to you. Like, for a second, you're like, wait, what? Like, right, yeah, Father did it. What? It's not. They're talking about something else. And they do that very much on purpose. But there was definitely, like, that two minutes. We're like, what? [00:37:46] Speaker C: No, I like this guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:37:48] Speaker B: I thought that was very clever. [00:37:49] Speaker A: I think that's him calling him out about the bottle, right? Like hiding the bottle. [00:37:53] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what they're talking about. But they do not make that clear. And on the second viewing, I was looking for it. No, it is very, very obviously them trying to red herring you. [00:38:01] Speaker C: And I'm. And that played into some of my side theories so well that I. I believed in hook, line, and sinker when he said that, because I wasn't thinking the bottle. I was thinking, oh, maybe I was right. Maybe the father did do it, you know? And so, again, great writing. Just. Just makes this a very enjoyable story. So both the first and second movie, I had no clue who done it. This one, I knew full well who done it almost how and why. And yet I still so thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie. So I. I think that's just a sign that you can have it either way and you can still make it great. [00:38:44] Speaker A: I'd be remiss. I know Dan gave his favorite line in. I think it was the second movie. [00:38:51] Speaker B: Yes. [00:38:52] Speaker A: It was about telling the truth. My favorite line in this movie was from Martha, who said, it makes me sick. These kids painting all these rocket ships. It was just delivered so well. And then the looks. The other is just so funny. [00:39:12] Speaker B: Yeah, that was great. [00:39:14] Speaker A: You know, there is a lot of, you know, fire and brimstone in this. It is more of a somber movie, but there was, like, these very beautifully placed, laughable moments that really just like, lighten the mood in this movie. And that was one of them. It was just so funny. This clueless old lady talking about rocket ships was just so funny to me. [00:39:32] Speaker B: So I think Slides Raven had some. Or Daryl McCormick's character side driven had some great lines about just how clueless he was. And one of them was where he's like, you know, if with his cult's personality and the money and this, like, the two of us, like, I could have made him president. We could have ruled the world or whatever. Like his father, his son. He's like. Like Star Wars. And he's like, yeah, exactly like the Rebels. And it's like, no, not what he meant. [00:39:59] Speaker A: Yeah, so funny. So funny. [00:40:02] Speaker C: Yeah. Quick question. When Martha went in to confess with Wicks and they both exited and looked a little shocked, did you think she told him where the jewel was sitting, or did you think something else happened in that booth? [00:40:17] Speaker B: I didn't know that she knew. Well, we didn't know it was a jewel at that point. It was a fortune. But either way, I just thought it was funny, him coming out with it like, you can't confess. And then she comes out of the confession very proud of herself, and he comes out like, whoa, I didn't think that we'd find out. I thought it was just the gag. [00:40:34] Speaker A: Right? But that's the thing, is it worked it as a gag, and then it also. And that's the beauty of. Of Rian Johnson, right? So many times the. The actors have to play things to have the double meaning, and I think they pull it off really well in these movies where, you know, WIX comes out being like, wow, that was maybe a stupendous bj or, wow, now I know where the fortune is, I can turn my life around as I always wanted. So being able to play it both ways, I think is like a. A challenge. And I think they do a really good job of. Of capturing both angles, which, again, is why these movies can become rewatchable. [00:41:17] Speaker C: It's like one of those pictures where they introduce it as an old woman and you see the old woman and then they say, but do you see the young woman in there? And suddenly you see the other picture in the picture. And so this is what that movie is. You're presented one thing, and you completely miss what it really is until the cards turn. [00:41:37] Speaker B: If you like what you do and you want to help support us, consider joining our Patreon. There's a link down below. Thank you very much to our producers as well as our executive producers, Real Bubba, Hotep and Dino, and our head writers, Elder JM990 and Ms. Hillary. This month they've chosen for us to do Romeo and Juliet, the 1996 version. So we'll be getting into that next week here on our rating. [00:42:00] Speaker C: I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. I think That I like this. I like the first movie the best and this movie the second best and the second movie the third best, if that makes any sense. So this one came in the middle for me. I think it rebounded beyond the problems I had with the second movie. It came back and hit that Goldilocks sweet spot for me. I was also a little more prepared for anything that might come my way and was more accepting of what Rian Johnson had in store for us this time around. Again, stellar acting. Maybe the cast, not as plush as the previous two films, but still star studded and very, very well done. So enjoyed every minute of the film. It's a great watch and a fantastic addition to the franchise. I'm coming in with an 82 on this one. [00:42:51] Speaker B: I actually feel like I've got a ton to say about this movie, but I'm going to keep this brief regardless. I think this movie is incredibly gorgeous for being set in a more real world setting as opposed to the other two, which felt a little bit more not fantastical, like magical, but just like silly. This one felt like it could be taken anywhere but still looked absolutely gorgeous. The church is really, really well done. Even the bar they go to, the El Diablo, looked really nice. The set pieces, I thought this movie looked great. The acting in this movie is phenomenal to the point where I actually didn't recognize some of the actors. Even Glenn Close is an actress who I know relatively well. I didn't picture her in this role like Martha. I just got lost in the character of Martha as well as some other ones. I think even I talked so highly about Chris Evans in the first movie, but even then you knew you were watching Chris Evans. I don't know who Josh o' Connor is. I don't recognize him from anything. And I think he is by far my favorite character of any of these three movies. I loved watching it from his perspective, hearing his voiceover, like he just felt the most real. And I really, really enjoyed his portrayal of this struggling father. The mystery itself is the first one that really got me and my wife actually like discussing what was happening. The other two we kind of watched and just kind of watched and let them wash over us. This one we were actually like invested a little bit more. I don't know if that was because it was a little bit more linear or what was going on there, but I felt engaged in this movie in a way that I wasn't with the first two. I think the first one could be a better film because of like stylistic choices. But as Far as re. Watchability, as far as my enjoyment level, I enjoyed this one significantly more than I liked the previous two. I'm giving this one a 79. [00:44:29] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a good franchise. I. We ruined the movie. If you haven't seen it, why are you watching this? Go watch the movie. It's still worth it. This one's great. I like again how I said it walks the line on whether religion is good or bad for you and. And kind of lands on if it's right for you, it's right for you. And that's. That's awesome. Now I love that in the second movie we get a little Big Lebowski call out and in the third movie we get a little Big Lebowski call out where people are literally dressed from like a character from the Big Lebowski in the. In the novelist's lineup. And I thought that was great. If Ryan Johnson loves the Big Lebowski, he's obviously good people. So this movie, again, like the Ryan comes kind of in the middle for me. It's an 84 out of 100 knives out. Just has a little bit of a sharper edge for me, but this one is damn fine. [00:45:25] Speaker B: And with that, we have Knives out cementing its place in second place with 81. Brian Scores did the same. Will score actually came down, but mine came up a couple of points, so it went to 81, just barely beating out the dollars trilogy at 80. What do you guys think about this in our second place category? [00:45:46] Speaker A: I'm thrilled by it. Three original works, three hard earned movies, very well composed, executed. Everything is just firing on all cylinders and the quality is remaining. [00:46:04] Speaker C: And. [00:46:04] Speaker A: And that's such a rarity to see. So I'm. I'm stoked. I'm stoked by this. And given not being even one of Dan's go to genres, he, you know, it's. It's hard not to like these movies. [00:46:18] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's hard not to at very least appreciate the quality of them. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. [00:46:23] Speaker C: Yeah. A lot of respect for the way this movie was built, how it plays out, this franchise in general. Just, you know, I said this with the first film, but I think it's. With the whole franchise. I do think that this is a widely underappreciated franchise. These movies are just so well done and there's so much depth to them and so much to be had. And I think it's maybe, maybe there's a discussion for some other podcast, but it feels like it could be a symptom of Today's viewers going in for cheap thrills. And this one. These are intelligent films that get you thinking and want you to pay attention to them and have lots going on and lots of depth to them. And. And maybe this is waters that are just too deep for the average viewer, but this is right where I like to swim. So I think it was fantastic. [00:47:12] Speaker B: I think there's a different factor in play here. I wonder if this is because they're Netflix releases and not theatrical releases. That's because the first Knives out was in theaters. And I remember a lot of different podcasts talking about it and bringing it up and like, this is so exciting. And then these ones drop on Netflix. You kind of watch it on Friday, forget about it by Monday. So it's not even a water cooler television show. Which is why I kind of hate, like, how Stranger Things, not so much the last season, but generally like, oh, it comes out on a Friday. You binge it over the weekend, you Monday and be like, that show was cool. Did you like it? I liked that was awesome. And then you never talked about it again. Whereas if something comes out weekly, that's your discussion. Every Monday it's like, oh, did you see this? Did you see? [00:47:51] Speaker A: I can't. [00:47:51] Speaker B: What do you think's gonna happen next week? It's kind of the same thing with a movie where, like, it comes out, everybody has access to it on day one. So you're either interested and watch it or not interested and pass. And it's just in and out of the zeitgeist so quickly. [00:48:06] Speaker C: Theater, you've got to schedule it into yours. Yours fit your schedule. And so you'll be going to a different. Have you gone and seen it yet? No, I'm going on Tuesday, you know, and people can get. [00:48:15] Speaker B: Should I go see it? [00:48:16] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:48:16] Speaker B: Is it worth my time, money, babysitter, all these things to go watch this movie? Yes, it's absolutely worth your time. Go check it out. Okay, I'm gonna go see it. Hey, I saw that movie. I really liked it. Thanks for recommending that versus just, oh, this is on now. Let's watch Friends again. Oh, okay. It's just a different way we consume [00:48:32] Speaker A: these days and it's hard also to know, as you've mentioned, Dan, what kind of revenue this movie has made because it's Netflix release. But I. I worry that if it's not making enough money, they won't be able to do more. If that's the case, I hope they just cut the budget and get a whole bunch of no named Actors who are talented but don't require a big paycheck, and we can still get these great stories. I. I hope they don't let it die. I think I've heard that Benoit Blanc, what's his name, is all in. Yeah, Daniel Craig is all in, as long as Ryan Johnson's attached to it. So, yeah, I'm sure he'd take a pay cut no problem, just because he obviously loves playing the character. [00:49:16] Speaker B: I mean, we don't know because Netflix will never release these things, but, like, I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of these people are working for less than their normal rate anyways. Like, it seems like he has the pick of the litter when it comes to people wanting to be in these films with them. Like, they're doing so well. They're so fun. It's just like an actor's paradise. Like, how many movies have given Chris Evans the point to play that kind of a character or Dave Bautista to just be that ridiculous? Like, it's kind of fun. Like, yeah, it's probably fun for them as much as it's fun for us. [00:49:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I hope so. I hope. I hope more come along because it's a. It's a rarity to see the quality sustained in a franchise. I mean, it's only three, so I'll be a lot less than some of the other franchises we've covered. But the quality is. Is. Is through and through in these movies. [00:50:03] Speaker C: What was the time difference between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3? The releases. What were the release dates? Because he had tons of time to work on number one. [00:50:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:50:13] Speaker C: Kind of rushed out number two. Number three felt a bit more polished for me. [00:50:18] Speaker A: 2019 was Knives Out. Then Netflix purchased two movies. So 2022 was Glass Onion, which may have been delayed because of COVID Who knows? And then 2025 was wake up, dead man. [00:50:33] Speaker C: Okay, so about three. Three years between each one, though. He could have had six years, technically, to nail out some things on Wake Up, Dead man if they, you know, wanted to have two scripts in mind right from the jump. Either way, you know, I. I say differences between 1, 2, and 3. We're talking about little blips, not dips and valleys or anything. This. This was, you know, quality all the way through. So I may have one that I, you know, I can play some first, second, third, but they're all stellar films. [00:51:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, the franchise is an 84, 76, and 82. Like, there's no bombs there. Like, that is pretty good all the way along. All right, so that's our rating of Wake Up Dead man. But what's yours? Leave a comment down below. I'd love to hear from you. We record this live over Twitch TV themongoolie show. So if you want to come hang out with us live, you can head over there and hit the follow button. Or if you're here on YouTube and you're enjoying this video, make sure you hit like and subscribe so we see you in the next one.