Writer/director Rian Johnson breathed fresh, sharply-written life into the mystery genre with 2019’s ‘Knives Out.’ And if ‘Glass Onion’ in 2022 was a seemingly lesser (if still entertaining) follow-up, it’s relief to report that third outing ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ has much more in common –– especially in terms of quality character work and central crime –– with the first movie.
Johnson had always intended to make more movies featuring quirky, charismatic sleuth Benoit Blanc and a healthy deal from Netflix means we now have the third.
‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is a considerable step up from the second film, rivalling the original for how it weaves and then unravels its mystery. Part of the advantage is keeping Craig’s Blanc out of the story initially to give the other characters time to breathe. He still gets plenty of superb moments, but the ensemble as a whole has the space it needs to work.
Johnson has also made a beautiful-looking film, using the gloomy upstate New York setting (albeit filmed in the UK) to really enhance the storytelling.
Craig is a natural as Blanc at this point, and the faith-wrangling storyline really gives him something to chew on. But praise also to Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Thomas Haden Church and Glenn Close in particular, who are all fantastic.
‘Wake Up Dead Man’ is certainly one of the best mystery movies to be released in the last couple of years, and happily stands alongside the first movie while nodding to its inspirations.
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ receives 87 out of 100.
What’s the story of ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’?
When young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), it’s clear that all is not well in the pews.
After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.
Who is in the cast of ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’?
The actor, who played Flint Marko/The Sandman, has appeared in two Spider-man films – 2007’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ and 2021’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.” When asked which Spider-Man he’d go toe-to-toe with during an interview with Comicbook.com for the Peacock series ‘Twisted Metal,’ Church named Maguire as that was the Spider-man [movie] he started out with and expressed his interest in appearing in a possible ‘Spider-Man 4’ movie.
“There’s always been some kind of…I’ve heard rumors…that Sam Raimi was going to do another [Spider-Man movie] with Tobey [Maguire] and if that happens, I would probably campaign to maybe at least do a cameo,” Church said.
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Sam Raimi’s History With Spider-Man
Director Sam Raimi at San Diego Comic-Con
Sam Raimi directed the ‘Spider-man’ trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the web-slinging superhero. The 2002 film also starred Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane and Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin. ‘Spider-man’ earned over $825 million worldwide and became the third highest grossing movie of 2002. Raimi continued to work with Maguire for the next two ‘Spider-man’ movies.
“I’ve come to realize after making ‘Doctor Strange’ that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe, any team-ups,” Raimi said. “I love Tobey. I love Kirsten Dunst. I think all things are possible. I don’t really have a story or a plan. I don’t know if Marvel would be interested in that right now. I don’t know what their thoughts are about that. I haven’t really pursued that. But it sounds beautiful. Even if it wasn’t a Spider-Man movie, I’d love to work with Tobey again, in a different role.”
(L to R) Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire from ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ Photo Courtesy of Marvel Entertainment’s Instagram.
Currently, Sony Pictures owns the right to make and distribute the current Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland. Disney shares the right, allowing the character to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In 2021’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ fans finally got to see all three iterations of Spider-Man on the same screen. The film opens up the possibility for the trio to meet once again, as well as appear in other Marvel films or a standalone film. Marvel is diving fast into the realm of the multiverse, and we saw a cameo of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in Sony’s latest hit ‘Spider-man: Across The Spider-Verse,’ which means the probability of seeing Maguire’s Spider-man on-screen again is quite likely.
(L to R) Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Opening in theaters and On Demand March 31st is the new sci-fi drama ‘Acidman’ from writer and director Alex Lehmann.
What is the plot of ‘Acidman?’
‘Acidman’ follows Lloyd (Thomas Haden Church), a reclusive man who lives in a home in the middle of nowhere searching for UFOs. He is estranged from his daughter Maggie (Dianna Agron) and has been given the nickname “Acidman” by the locals. One day his daughter Maggie arrives, having painstakingly tracked him down in order to visit with him and pass along some important news. It’s when Maggie travels with Lloyd to search for UFOs at night that she realizes how much his mental health has deteriorated.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Haden Church about his work on ‘Acidman,’ juggling rehearsal time with his ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ schedule, collaborating with director Alex Lehmann, and working with actress Dianna Agron.
Thomas Haden Church as Lloyd in director Alex Lehmann’s ‘Acidman.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Church and Dianna Agron.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your experience like making this movie and did you have a lot of rehearsal time before you began shooting?
Thomas Haden Church: One of the crazy things about it is that I was sent the script in the summer of ’20 when we were all taking a big bite out of the COVID sandwich. But Alex Lehmann really felt like, “This is so small, we can do it during the pandemic. We can do it. We’ll all just get in a bubble and stay in our bubble.” But then it just kept getting push backed. Then I had this other huge project that I was also having to work on in a very fragmentary way, which was ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ So logistically, it was like, “Can we do it?” I couldn’t take that much time away from working on ‘No Way Home,’ but as things kept getting pushed back on ‘Acidman,’ Dianna didn’t have anything and Alex didn’t have anything. So the beauty is that we spent nine months talking on the phone, getting on Zoom calls, seriously rehearsing, doing scene work, and doing script work.
(L to R) Thomas Haden Church as Lloyd and Dianna Agron as Maggie in director Alex Lehmann’s ‘Acidman.’
MF: Can you talk about collaborating with director Alex Lehmann on set?
THC: Alex would talk about how he wanted to shoot a sequence and we would give our input. But we had so much time to work on it, literally nine months of rehearsal. So by the time everything came together, Alex said, “I just want to get there and I want to capture the performances as fast as we can. We’re there, we’re ready. Both you and Dianna are absolutely peaking right at the exact time you need to be.”
Dianna Agron as Maggie in director Alex Lehmann’s ‘Acidman.’
MF: Finally, what was your experience like acting opposite Dianna Agron?
THC: She was perfect. She brought me into it. Dianna was lovely, professional, prepared. And given her life story with her father, but then also listening to my story with mine, Alex, with his dad, the three of us, we could take from each other’s real paternal stories, paternal child, adult stories and use it all and just weave it into the tapestry of Lloyd and Maggie’s relationship.
(L to R) Dianna Agron as Maggie and Thomas Haden Church as Lloyd in director Alex Lehmann’s ‘Acidman.’
Tom Holland and Zendaya in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
The wait is finally over as the most anticipated film of 2021, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ is now in theaters. Much has been said about this film, who will be in it and who will not, but now audiences will be able to see for themselves, and they will not be disappointed. The film marks the third solo outing for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, as the hero finds his secret identity exposed in public and asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. But when Strange’s spell goes wrong, and Spider-Man villains from other universes begin to invade our Earth, Peter Parker and his friends must find a way to stop them before they destroy our world.
In addition to Holland and Cumberbatch, the movie also stars several other MCU actors including Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, and Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei as May Parker. The film also features actors from other Spider-Man movies reprising their roles like Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin from ‘Spider-Man,’ Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus from ‘Spider-Man 2,’ Thomas Haden Church as Sandman from ‘Spider-Man 3,’ Rhys Ifans as Lizard from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man,’ and Jamie Foxx as Electro from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ The result is a well-crafted and extremely entertaining love letter to Spider-Man fans that completely lives up to all of its outrageous expectations and is one of the best Spider-Man movies of all-time.
The film begins almost exactly where “Spider-Man: Far from Home’ left off, with Peter Parker (Holland) being outed publicly by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) as both Spider-Man and a murderer. The news completely changes Peter, his family and his friends’ lives, and in order to “fix it,” he asks Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) to cast a spell so the world forgets he is Spider-Man. But while casting the spell, Peter tries to change it so his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), his Aunt May (Tomei), and best friend Ned (Batalon) don’t forget, and creates a chain of events that sees Spider-Man villains from the multiverse ascending on our Earth. To right their wrongs, and stop the multiverse from being destroyed, Strange tasks Peter, MJ, and Ned with collecting the villains and sending them back to their own world, where they will ultimately die. Peter can’t stand the idea of essentially sending these villains to their death, and after encouragement from Aunt May, he defies Strange’s wishes and vows to find a way to save the multiverse without killing his enemies.
If you have been following the production of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ for the last year or so, then you know there have been dozens of rumors about which former Spider-Man movie actors and actresses might appear in the film, and I will neither confirm nor deny any of them. But since Sony wisely revealed the five former Spider-Man movie villains that appear in the movie before its release, I feel it’s safe to talk about them. Obviously, Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina get the most screen time as they are clearly the most beloved of the five villains included, and both actors returned to their roles exceedingly well. They both have the opportunity to play with elements of their characters that were not developed as much in their previous incarnations, especially Dafoe, whose “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” complex is better explained this time around. While Molina has a chance to play with the “Am I a villain or not?” aspect of his character that was only touched upon in the final moments of “Spider-Man 2.”
The remaining three villains, Electro, Lizard and Sandman, are all somewhat polarizing characters from former Spider-Man movies that didn’t quite work in their previous incarnations. But in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ they are redeemed and allowed to be closer representations of their comic book counterparts. Jamie Foxx’s Electro is probably the best example, as fans hated his unusual blue form in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ While it is referenced in this film, the character quickly becomes something new, which is closer to the Electro from the source material, and you can tell Foxx is enjoying his second chance at getting the role right.
Oscar-nominee Thomas Hayden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman was not the problem with ‘Spider-Man 3,’ an over-bloated script with too many characters was, so it was nice to see him return as well. The filmmakers chose to keep Marko in his Sandman form through most of the film, which really works, and the CGI is fairly flawless. Unfortunately, Rhys Ifans’ Lizard gets the least amount of screen time, and while it is difficult to relate to a character that is basically a monster, the actor is given a few moments to shine. That being said, the returning villains all get better treatment this time around, and while technically they are the “Sinister Five” and not the comic book team known as the “Sinister Six,” this is certainly the closest we’ve ever gotten to seeing the infamous group of Spider-Man villains all on screen together in live-action fighting Spidey at the same time.
At the risk of giving away spoilers, I will just say that there are some very cool “unexpected” appearances in the film, and with the exception of only one, they are much more than just cameos. The actors or actresses in question are allowed to really develop their characters and are integral to the plot and are not just in the movie as fan-service. I’m not denying that the film utilizes a lot of fan-service, but it is always in line with the story they are telling, and never feels forced or cheap. Yes, there is a mid-credit scene, while I won’t tell you what it is, I will say that it ties up loose ends from another popular mid-credit scene. There is also an end-credit tag, which is more than just a scene, and sets up a future MCU movie. Think the ‘Avengers’ trailer that ran at the end of ‘Captain America: The First Avenger.’
But for all the multiverse shenanigans and other franchise actor appearances, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ works best as a coming-of-age love story between Peter Parker and MJ. Building on their previous MCU outings, the relationship between Peter and MJ, and to a lesser degree Peter and Ned, is really at the heart of the movie. Even though the plot is somewhat outlandish, it is always grounded by those simple relationships in Peter’s life, including his bond with Aunt May. As MJ, Zendaya embodies the modern-day superhero girlfriend, not a woman who stands on the sidelines waiting to be saved, but a heroine in her own right, in the thick of the battle with her hero boyfriend. She also happens to have some of the best lines in the film. But it’s Tom Holland who has really brought Peter Parker and Spider-Man back to his roots, playing the character as a young man trying to find his way through the world, even with amazing powers. Holland is charming, loveable, and sympathetic all at the same time and will be the one true Spider-Man for generations to come.
Fans who have been waiting for the MCU to adapt certain elements of the Spider-Man mythos that have yet to be utilized will be very happy with this film, as the “With great power comes great responsibility” speech and other iconic moments from the source material are captured in the movie. For obvious reasons, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ feels like a live-action ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ but is so much more than just that one gimmick and in many ways feels like the most authentic Spider-Man movie yet. The film really sticks to the ideals that comic book legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created in the comic books all those decades ago. In the end, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is an entertaining and exhilarating movie that delivers on all its outrageous promises and expectations while building on the MCU’s Spider-Man by paying homage to all that has come before it. Not only is ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ the best of the solo Tom Holland movies, it is one of the best MCU films, and possibly even the best live-action Spider-Man movie ever made.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home” receives 5 out of 5 stars.
Spider-Man fans already had a lot of expectations for the upcoming ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ and thanks to the first official poster for the movie, which earlier this week, they now expect to see the Green Goblin return as well!
The new movie will deal with the aftermath of Peter’s secret identity going public at the end of ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home,’ thanks to Mysterio, and having Doctor Strange cast a spell so the world forgets who Spider-Man really is. However, we know from the recent trailer that things will go terribly wrong and tear a rift in the multiverse, allowing villains from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb movies to also appear.
Conformation of this was given at the beginning of production when it was announced that Jamie Foxx would be reprising his role as Electro from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ Then, earlier this year, actor Alfred Molina himself confirmed in an interview with Variety that he would also be reprising his role as Doctor Octopus from ‘Spider-Man 2.’ This led to countless rumors about the film, including that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield may also return, playing their respective versions of Peter Parker.
Then, just last week, news hit that Empire Magazine was running an article on the film in their December issue that confirmed Rhys Ifans and Thomas Haden Church returning in ‘No Way Home’ as the Lizard and the Sandman, their characters from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ and ‘Spider-Man 3,’ respectively. Not to mention, and Spoiler Alert for ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage,’ but Tom Hardy’s title character is also now running around in the MCU. Which leaves the Green Goblin, whose pumpkin bombs could be seen in the trailer, but who’s image has been kept secret until now.
If you zoom into the background of the new poster, you can see a small image that looks to be the Willem Dafoe version of the character from Spider-Man. While the Green Goblin’s voice can be heard in the trailer, it is difficult to know if it is really Dafoe or not. Although the new poster would indicate that this version of Norman Osborne will appear in the movie, there still has been no official confirmation from Sony or Marvel that the Oscar-nominated actor will be reprising his role. Fans will also notice that the new poster teases the other three previously announced returning franchise villains, with Doc Ock’s metal tentacles, yellow lightning to represent Electro, and a sandstorm for the Sandman featuring prominent in the poster.
But like a mirage, many online fans think that they have spotted other potential villains hidden in the poster. If you look at the Green Goblin image, there are two pieces of debris on either side of him, and some fans think that those tiny images are of James Franco and Dane DeHaan’s Green Goblins from ‘Spider-Man 3’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2,’ respectively. When I zoomed in on the poster, it just looked like debris to me, and there is absolutely nothing indicating that Franco or DeHaan will be reprising their previous roles in the upcoming film.
But the online guessing game doesn’t stop there, as some people think that the debris in the background near the edge of Spider-Man’s right hand is the Vulture flying in the background. Some online have even said that the Lizard is hidden in the bottom right hand corner, and that Rhino’s horn can be seen just below Spider-Man’s knee, but I don’t buy that one as it just looks like a metal spike poking out of concrete. But the wildest online theory is that the metallic tentacle we see on the right hand side of the poster is not Alfred Molina’s character, but instead Kathryn Hahn’s Doctor Olivia Octavius from ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ which seems completely made-up if you ask me.
The poster was dropped on the film’s official Twitter account, which even encouraged fans to use their “Spidey Senses” to look for “details,” so they clearly want fans guessing. But I think with many fans trying to find out everything they can about the upcoming movie, they are beginning to see things that are just not there, which may be exactly what Disney wants. I can’t remember a time in the past when a simple poster for a movie has caused so much excitement and online debate. I only fear that fans now expect far too much from ‘No Way Home,’ and anything short of all three cinematic Spider-Man fighting off a multiverse version of the Sinister Six will leave hardcore viewers disappointed.
Now, assuming that Venom is not one of the Sinister Six, as he wasn’t in the comics, and also assuming that the Sinister Six is featured in the new movie at all, that still leaves one-member unknown. It likely won’t be Jared Leto’s Morbius, as his solo film is not set to release until January, but it could be Michael Keaton’s Vulture, who is also set to appear in Morbius. And let’s not forget Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio, although he apparently died in ‘Far From Home,’ the character is best known for his illusions, so anything is possible.
Vulture, or possibly Mysterio, would make the most sense to me to actually be the sixth member of the Sinister Six, if they do in fact appear. But if Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro are in the movie, that would represent one villain from every non-MCU Spider-Man movie, and I would think that Marvel Studios would want at least one of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man villains from the MCU to appear as well.
With Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong already confirmed to reprise their Doctor Strange roles in ‘No Way Home,’ as well as Oscar winner J.K. Simmons returning as J. Jonah Jameson, the cast is already packed with other MCU characters. So, with the exception of Molina’s Doc Ock, and maybe the Green Goblin, I wouldn’t expect any of the villains from previous Spider-Man movies to have terribly large roles, as they will most likely appear as cameos towards the end of the movie, which is rumored to run well over two and a half hours.
Check out the new poster below, and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is set to open in theaters on December 17th.
Season 3 of the HBO series will be the final one, Deadline reports. There are only six episodes, and the first will air Monday, July 1. The comedy-drama will continue to follow the journey of exes Frances and Robert, who are played by Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church.
Parker, one of the show’s producers told Deadline that she was “satisfied and pleased” with Season 3. She also explained that they made just six episodes because of “a confluence of things,” including “scheduling and complicated lives and actors.” Although it makes the third season the shortest yet, she indicated they were confident that six episodes would be enough to do the story justice.
“Divorce” may be ending, but the relationship Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, and HBO is certainly not. They have a longstanding first-look deal, and HBO’s executive vice president of programming, Amy Gravitt, said she and the network “look forward to [their] next endeavor” with Parker and Pretty Matches.
The final season of “Divorce” kicks off at Monday, July 1.
