MOVIE REVIEW: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY

 

Detective Benoit Blanc sifts through a series of suspects when a monsignor turns up dead.

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church.

Release Date: November 26, 2025

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, strong language, some crude sexual material, and smoking.

Runtime: 2h 24m

Review:

The third entry in the Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man, is a slightly darker mystery that has some headier concepts on its mind than the first two films still sporting its wry scripting and big characters led by Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig.  Rian Johnson borrows plenty of inspiration from classic Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie locked room mystery among others as his launching pad.  He takes a slightly different approach in the first half by using Josh O'Connor’s Rev. Jud Duplenticy as his primary point of view before bringing Craig’s Benoit Blanc into the fold.  It’s a bold move to keep the main character of the series offscreen for nearly an hour in order to let O’Connor establish the character and introduce the cast of characters at play.  Thankfully, O’Connor is thoroughly engaging as the pragmatic, well-meaning boxer turned priest who serves as the linchpin of the story.  His emotional baggage that led him to the priesthood adds layers of complexity to his role which makes the character’s story arch all the more interesting by the time it’s all said and done.  The supporting players led by Glenn Close, Josh Brolin and Jeremy Renner are all clearly having a blast with the outsized characters they are playing.  Close and Brolin both chew up every bit of scenery they get with impressive enthusiasm with the latter looking like a cult leader version of Kris Kristofferson on more than a few occasions.  Renner plays against type here as a nebbish loser, drinking his life away after his wife left him, becoming more and more bitter as the days go along.  Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny and Daryl McCormack round out the primary cast, but their characters are noticeably underwritten as caricatures more than three-dimensional people.  They serve more as types of people that fall under the spell of Brolin’s charismatic extremist Monsignor Wicks.  Those relationships offer up a variety of tantalizing tidbits of thematic morsels that you’ll be left chewing on long after the film’s runtime comes to end.  The concepts of faith, storytelling and fanaticism are thrown about as the central mystery unfurls onscreen with Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc getting a hell of an introductory monologue once he appears onscreen.  Craig is given more to work with here as Blanc isn’t as self-confident and sure of himself as we’ve seen in previous entries.  It allows Johnson and Craig plenty of fertile ground to explore with Blanc and what makes his tick.  Wake Up Dead Man is a thoroughly fascinating direction to take the character although there are more than a few spots where some trimming down would have made for a fluid, effective experience.  

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: DJANGO UNCHAINED

DJANGO UNCHAINED



A former slave and a German bounty hunter become unlikely allies in the battle against a tyrannical plantation owner in this western from visionary director Quentin Tarantino. Two years before the Civil War pits brother-against-brother, German-born fugitive hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz) arrives in America determined to capture the outlaw Brittle brothers dead or alive. In the midst of his search, Dr. Schultz crosses paths with Django (Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx), a freed slave and skilled tracker who seeks to rescue his beloved wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie (Academy Award-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio). Django and Dr. Schultz will have to come out with pistols blazing if they ever hope to free Broomhilda from Candyland and the clutches of its vile proprietor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins

Release Date: Dec 25, 2012

Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity.

Runtime: 2 hr. 21 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama

Review:

Django Unchained is an uneven if effective entry into the Quentin Tarantino catalogue. Tarantino’s trademark mix of stark violence, even more potent here, and humor is on full display. The violence here seems much more grounded than usual, it’s brutal and harsher than some of the more cartoonish violence we’ve seen from him before. Like all of his films, you can tell Tarantino loves the genre he’s selected, Django is no different. He adjusts his shooting style to mimic many of the classic Western films something he did in Kill Bill Volume 2. Needless to say Django is a visually impressive film full of genre vibrancy throughout. Story-wise Tarantino delivers another revenge story with a, dare I say, more romantic slant. It’s straightforward for the most part and while the film didn’t lag at any point, there is plenty that could have been cut to make it a more efficient story. Regardless, Tarantino makes it all work pulling out some impressive performances from a strong cast. Jamie Foxx is stoic yet fiery and determined as the titular Django. It’s easy to forget how impressive of an actor Foxx is when he’s as focused as he is here. In full cowboy get up he’s quite the sight as well, filling out his character’s hero status with ease. Christoph Waltz returns to work with Tarantino with strong results, playing a mentorship role similar to his Basterd character but less sinister and more humane. Their chemistry together works well, creating a believable bond between the two men. Leonardo DiCaprio fills the villain’s role with a gleeful energy that’s palpable. DiCaprio brings the necessary threatening energy needed for the role. Sam Jackson also turns in his finest work in years. Like Foxx, you tend to forget how much talent these actors have because they don’t use it in all their roles. Jackson’s role feels like a caricature at first but as the film moves on he reveals more layers to the character. Both pairs of character work as a fascinating dichotomy to each other with actors on both sides putting in awards worthy performances. The situation and tension builds leading to a dizzyingly violent gunfight, close to the scale of Kill Bill Vol. 1 finale, leaves you with a firm impression of what a human shield is. After that point the film does feel a tad bit aimless, needing to close the final story threads which it does in less operatic fashion robbing it a bit of it’s power. Regardless, if you are a Tarantino fan, you’ll find so much to love here.

B