95***

Yes... Yes... Definitively more of THAT!!!

When I was a child, my favorite scene was the madcap slapstick exposition dump/"library scene" in Clue. We are dragged around the house by Curry's Wadsworth who recaps the events of the film with pinpoint accuracy and hilarious pantomime. I still really love that scene. However, Knives Out is a different affair. It tops Clue and Gosford Park as my favorite "whodunit" flick. This is a mystery with not only whimsical characters, snappy dialogue, and a killer (why?) setting, and it does have all in spades. But it is a film with a mystery at its core that also has something to say.

Easily my favorite Rian Johnson flick, and, of course, it is since it's a "murder mystery"! Some people are gonna hate this right out of the gate for this reason or that, but when I tell you this was one of the funniest films of the year... I am not lying. Craig and de Armas lead the show, but everyone is pitch perfect in this film. From the one scene cameos from some old favorites to the beautiful and endlessly talented de Armas in the leading role. I won't say much about the why, the how, the who, or the what; but this beat it! Rian did it!

My minor nitpicks stem from I wish we got more from the house and a tampering of expectations on my part thinking that this was more an ensemble showcase than it actually turned out to be.

I LOVE this film, and I need to see it again, but first, can somebody get me a goddamn doughnut already?