Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man” is the darkest and funniest “Knives Out,” with Daniel Craig investigating an impossible murder at an upstate New York parish. When a tyrannical monsignor is stabbed during Good Friday mass, all suspects have alibis—particularly the young priest with the strongest motive and most to lose. The film takes aim at hypocritical strongmen abusing power and religious authority, continuing Johnson’s tradition of weaving contemporary social critique into entertaining mystery plots.
Amy Nicholson is the film critic of the Los Angeles Times. She is a current on-air voice at LAist and KCRW, and a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and the National Society of Film Critics. Her book “Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor” was printed by Cahiers du Cinema/Phaidon Press, and her second, “Extra Girls,” will be published by Simon & Schuster. Nicholson also co-hosts the movie podcast “Unspooled.”
Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.
