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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery - Popcorn Junkies Movie Review (Spoilers)

·17 min·1 clip

Josh Brolin’s priest is killed by a knife blade in a side room, and only Josh O'Connor is near enough to matter.

1. Popcorn Junkies Movie Reviews covers Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Story, the third film in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out trilogy. 2. Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast, and Steven, his co-host on Fantasy Fan Fellas, are the names introduced at the top of the episode. 3. The review asks whether this Knives Out film belongs near the end-of-year top 10 or the bottom 10. 4. Hayden says the first Knives Out film came out in 2019 and the second was Glass Onion, both led by Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. 5. He says he has been outspoken about not finding the first two films as funny as Rian Johnson seemed to intend. 6. Hayden argues that whodunits work because each new character invites suspicion, which is why the format can be refreshed. 7. He says Wake Up Dead Man is set in a church and uses faith, belief, and congregation dynamics as part of the mystery. 8. Josh O'Connor plays Judd, a former boxer who has done time in prison and is trying to build a faith-based life. 9. Josh Brolin plays Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a priest whose sermon, personality, and presence shape the story’s central conflict. 10. Hayden says the congregation includes Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Kaylee Spenny, Daryl McCormack, and Mila Kunis. 11. He calls Josh O'Connor “absolutely sensational” and says his performance gives Judd depth, believability, and authenticity. 12. Hayden says Josh Brolin gives one of his best performances in years, with a manipulative, egotistical priest role and several funny scenes. 13. He cites a confession-style exchange in which Brolin admits he “wanks furiously almost all the time and everywhere.” 14. Hayden says Jeremy Renner is believable as a town doctor struggling with alcoholism, even though he wanted more character detail. 15. He says Kerry Washington is fantastic as a lawyer and Andrew Scott is strong even in a small role as a bestselling author whose career is on the rocks. 16. Hayden highlights Daryl McCormack as a right-wing content creator filming constantly, and Mila Kunis as the local sheriff. 17. He says the film stays less camp than the earlier Knives Out movies and relies more on atmosphere, faith, and trust. 18. Hayden describes Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc as a skeptical outsider with an accent he finds “diabolical,” who arrives to reason through the case. 19. Viewers who like church-set whodunits and ensemble performances should enjoy this. 20. Viewers who want strict realism or low-key humor may skip it.

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