Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Debuts on NETFLIX Friday December 12, 2025

Benoit Blanc Is Back!

New mystery, new cast, same sleuth!

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits Netflix this Friday, December 12, 2025, bringing Benoit Blanc back for his darkest and twistiest case yet. Daniel Craig returns as the legendary Southern sleuth, drawn into a chilling new mystery tied to a small-town church, buried sins, and a death that refuses to stay in the past. With a moodier, more gothic tone than Knives Out and Glass Onion, this new chapter promises razor-sharp turns, rich atmosphere, and the kind of slow-burn suspense that’s perfect for a December movie night.

Joined by a stacked ensemble cast—including Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, and more—Blanc finds himself surrounded by liars, believers, and survivors, each hiding something worth killing for. As secrets rise to the surface and loyalties splinter, the question isn’t just who did it, but what waking the dead will cost everyone involved. Queue it up on Netflix this Friday and let the guessing game begin.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ Photo by John Wilson ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ PHOTO BY FRANK OCKENFELS ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ Movie Poster ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

Havoc

2025 Netflix

Rated: TV-MA

Length: 1 hr 47min

Action ~ Thriller

Directed by: Gareth Evans

Starring: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda Luis Guzmán, Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

NO LAW. ONLY DISORDER.

FROM NETFLIX:

Tom Hardy is no stranger to gritty roles, having taken on historical figures, criminals, and iconic supervillains. Now, the Oscar-nominated actor stars in action thriller HAVOC, currently streaming on Netflix.

The high-octane film follows Walker (Hardy), a bruised detective fighting his way through a criminal underworld that threatens to engulf his city. After a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with several factions on his tail, including a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, and his fellow cops.

While attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a web of corruption and conspiracy, Walker is forced to confront the demons of his past.

FROM BOBBY:

I watched this last night with some pretty high expectations. A new movie from Netflix starring Tom Hardy, Luis Guzmán, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker. I love Luis Guzman and Forest Whitaker. Tom Hardy as Forrest Bondurant in Lawless is one of my favorite roles of his. I love that movie, it is one of my favorites. So my expectations were pretty high. As Havoc started I was waiting anxiously for the same feelings that I get watching Tom Hardy in Lawless. They never came.

It was the same gruff exterior and voice we have come to expect from Hardy but the role and character seemed shallow, hollow. His estranged relationship with his wife and daughter was not really explained. Thinking about it the whole movie and all the characters felt hollow. Just a backdrop to all the extreme violence and massive gunfire. More gunfire than any human being should be able to escape from, and yet they did. And apparently there is a big Chinese crime syndicate in the city with tons of Kung Fu trained mercenaries with meat cleavers. Meat cleavers flying in a nightclub amidst the massive gunfire. Meat cleavers…..I shake my head in disbelief now.

It just seemed way over the top violence wise. The story was pretty shallow as well, no depth to it. Again just a framework of an excuse for massive firepower and violence. It wasn’t long, maybe thirty minutes or so, before I debated on whether to keep watching or not. I lost the debate on Streaming Movie Night’s behalf and watched the whole movie. I was disappointed. It was definitely a letdown. I wouldn’t recommend it nor would I watch it again.

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.

Nah….don’t watch it.

Inside Man: The Gemini Lounge

2023 Vertical Entertainment

Rated: 16+

Length: 1 hr 31min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Danny A. Abeckaser

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Jake Cannavale, Lucy Hale, Ashley Greene, Vincent Laresca, Kyle Stefanski, James Russo and Robert Davi.

Bobby Bones is a Freaking Cop!

Emile Hirsch stars as Bobby “Bones” Belucci, a disgraced New York City Police Detective who sees an opportunity for redemption. Bobby came home early from work one afternoon to find his wife with another man in their house. Being a little hot-headed, Bobby loses his mind on the guy and beats him to a pulp. His wife subsequently leaves him and he is demoted at work over the incident. Bobby is placed on desk duty and relieved of his service weapon. Completely miserable, one evening after work he decides to stop at a bar and tie one on.

Bobby gets pretty drunk and as he is relieving himself in the men’s room, two guys are doing a drug deal in a stall next to him. Suddenly they bust out of the stall and the customer pulls a knife on the drug dealer. Bobby snaps and jumps the knife yielding customer and takes out all his life’s frustrations on the guy. The Dealer, being very grateful to Bobby for saving his life, asks him for a ride. Bobby drives the dealer, Chris Rosenberg (Jake Cannavale) to The Gemini Lounge. Afterwards Bobby does some research on Chris and discovers that he is tied to The Demeo Crew and The Gemini Lounge is their hangout.

Bobby decides to go to the Gemini Lounge to hang out and get in good with his new friend Chris. It isn’t long before Chris introduces him to the rest of The Demeo Crew and finds himself fitting in with the gang. He approaches his Captain and convinces him to let him officially go undercover and get evidence against the group and their leader Roy Demeo. His boss agrees and assigns Bobby a budget and a partner. And that’s where the rest of the movie takes us, on the journey Bobby takes being undercover with a ruthless Mafia group with ties to the Notorious Gambino Family.

There are drugs, pimps, prostitutes, murders, dismemberments, and assorted mob violence portrayed in the film. It is a true story and there is nothing pretty about Mob activities. One scene in the bathtub reminded me of a scene from Scarface with Al Pacino. Emile Hirsch does a good job of portraying the tough Bobby Bones Belucci with a short fuse, not afraid to get dirty with the mob to bring them down. Reminded me of his role in Walden, somewhere in that mild-mannered actor lives a very violent man.

It is an independent film that Vertical Entertainment picked up and released. it was originally called Gemini Lounge and was re-titled Inside Man by Vertical. They should have kept the original name so it wouldn’t get confused with the 2006 Inside Man Movie with Denzel Washington. I thought it was pretty good for an independent film, well shot and the movie itself flowed pretty good. Not a lot of huge plot lines like some indies. It is a True Story and I thought they did a good job of portraying the story and The Demeo crew. If you are a fan of the Mob/Mafia/Gangster movies, you should like this…..just remember it is not a big budget production like The Irishman.

If you are not a fan of that genre or don’t like gangsters and violence, you’re not gonna like it.

So there you have Inside Man/Gemini Lounge not to be confused with Inside Man starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe and Jodie Foster or it’s sequel Inside Man: Most Wanted.

Inside Man starring Emile Hirsch is currently Streaming On Amazon Prime

Walden

Inside Man

Inside Man: Most Wanted

Above Suspicion

2021 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 44min

Action ~ Crime ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Austin Hébert, Karl Glusman, Chris Mulkey, Omar Miller, Kevin Dunn, Thora Birch and Johnny Knoxville.

“That’s the way the devil comes. He don’t come to you as evil. He don’t come to you on fire. He comes as everything you ever wanted. He comes to you as you.”

Emilia Clarke stars as Susan Smith, a divorced mother still living with her ex-husband in Harlan County, Kentucky. Her ex husband Cash (Johnny Knoxville) is a drug dealer and they are both addicted to drugs. Economically there are not many options in town and Susan and Cash survive on welfare checks and drug money. For the sake of their children and economic reasons they live in the same trailer just outside of town, where they also throw parties and sell drugs.

Jack Huston stars as FBI Agent Mark Putnam. Mark has just moved to town with his wife and new baby to investigate a series of bank robberies. The suspect Joe B is currently residing with Susan and Cash along with his girlfriend in the trailer. As Mark investigates the trail of Joe B, it leads him to Cash and Susan. He attempts to convince Cash to cooperate and become an informant but soon realizes that he has a better chance of getting Susan to co-operate.

Susan willingly becomes his informant, already infatuated with this new dark haired stranger in her life. She sees Mark as a way out of the dead end existence she is living and the two quickly become romantically involved. Their relationship becomes very entangled and dangerous for Mark who realizes he is putting his Marriage and career at great risk. He tries to break it off with Susan but she refuses to let go. Mark eventually puts in a transfer request for a different field office and moves his family to Florida.

The movie follows the story of Mark and Susan and their tumultuous affair and horrific ending. After returning to Pikesville, Kentucky to wrap up a case, Mark tries to talk to Susan one last time about letting go. They go for a ride out to the mountain and Susan becomes very agitated and violent at Mark’s insistence that the baby she says she’s carrying is not his. A violent fight ensues and Mark strangles Susan, drops her body in the woods and goes back to Florida.

Over the course of the following year Mark Putnam can’t escape his guilt and remorse and confesses to the crime of killing Susan Smith. Mark was sentenced to 16 years in prison, served ten, and is now re-married and living in Georgia. He was the first FBI Agent to ever be convicted of Murder.

I love the True Story movies and this is one hell of a story. Adultery, jealousy and a crime of passion. I am not familiar with Emilia Clarke but I love her in this. Jack Huston is also very good in this role. Johnny Knoxville does an outstanding job as the drug dealer Cash. I have watched this movie three times now and I would watch it again. It is a great story and movie, but I think that Emilia Clarke’s performance as Susan Smith is absolutely riveting and is what really keeps me coming back.

Highly Recommended!

Two Thumbs Up!