Tag: AgathaChristie

A Haunting In Venice

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Now retired in Venice, our detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is invited to a seance on Halloween night by author and friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey). What starts off as innocent fun turns deadly when one of the guests is murdered.

I’ve heard some say that this is the best Agatha Christie adaption to date and while I see the appeal, I have to disagree. In some ways, I actually preferred Death On The Nile. The pacing this time around just seemed really off to me. It took ages to get to the nitty gritty of the story and as a result threw me off indefinitely.

Another gripe I had is that some characters didn’t feel entirely necessary. Jamie Dornan as Dr. Leslie Ferrier was extremely underused and kind of annoying whenever he was on screen and I didn’t see the point of Desdemona (Emma Laird) and Nicholas’s (Ali Khan) characters. I also would have appreciated more backstory on Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen) and his relationship with Alicia Drake (Rowan Robinson).

That being said, Branagh once again brings it as our favorite detective. He’s got some great moments and the moustache is more on point than ever before. Though I was at first hesitant about Fey’s casting, I thought she did a fine job and was a great match for Branagh. And of course, who can forget about Michelle Yeoh as medium Joyce Reynolds who is just an all around powerhouse? A special shoutout also goes to Jude Hill as Leopold who was delightful and stole every single one of his scenes.

With enough jump scares that had me watching from behind my hands and the beautiful backdrop, A Haunting In Venice is a fun enough romp perfect to kick off spooky season. Even if the film didn’t quite do it for me this time around, I would happily sit through another Poirot caper in the future.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

See How They Run

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run, see how they run…

This is the story of a whodunit. Usually, when you’ve seen a whodunit, you think you’ve seen them all. The surprises are gone and you can pretty much guarantee you know how they’re going to end. At least, that’s what narrator and American movie director Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody) claims in the opening of See How They Run. But on the night of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap celebrating one hundred shows, he is murdered. With threats towards the rest of the cast and crew in London’s West End production, Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) and Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) are brought in to solve the case.

Unlike the types of movies that come out these days boasting plenty of CGI, over the top storylines and crazy stunts, See How They Run pulls in the reigns and gives us an intimate and charming murder mystery. Only taking place in a few particular locations, it gives off the feeling that the audience is watching a play within a play.

Each player is given their chance to shine, though some could have had a little more fleshing out. Not only are the theatre company ensemble consisting of Richard Attenboroug (Harris Dickinson), Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda), Mrs. Boyle (Maggie McCarthy), Dennis Corrigan (Charlie Cooper), Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson), John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith) and Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) perfectly casted, it is the two leads that really make the film shine.

While an interesting choice to have Rockwell as an English inspector, he took on the role with everything he had and delivered. Ronan, on the other hand, stole the entire show. Not only was her onscreen chemistry with Rockwell so entertaining to watch, she has proven herself to be such a dynamic actor over the years. This more comedic turn was a stroke of genius and it is a performance that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

The best part about See How They Run is in its simplicity. Some might find this boring, but I thought it was such a breath of fresh air and I truly enjoyed every moment.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Death on the Nile

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

When the wealthy Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) meets Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer), there’s no denying the sparks between them. Ending his engagement with Jackie Bellefort (Emma Mackey) so he and Linnet can tie the knot, they think they will go on to live happily ever after. Together with their friends, Linnet and Simon embark on their honeymoon where Jackie seems to be following them every step of the way. Feeling unsafe, they enlist the help of detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) to keep an eye out on things. But when the event turns deadly, everyone is a suspect.

After being delayed multiple times due to the pandemic (and the allegations made to a certain actor), Death on the Nile finally debuted in cinema this weekend. Boasting a stacked cast with the likes of Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Rose Leslie and Sophie Okonedo, this was a must see on the big screen.

While I haven’t read the Agatha Christie novel and therefore cannot compare between the two, I have to say that I enjoyed the movie. The Egyptian backdrop was absolutely stunning and gave me major wanderlust. The storyline was intricate and kept me guessing throughout. The only downfall was the great amount of characters, some of which didn’t get nearly enough screen time or backstory as I would have liked. Additionally, I felt like the mystery took too long to get going and the runtime could have been cut down a bit.

Overall, Death on the Nile was well worth the wait. For two hours I was able to forget the outside world and become enveloped in what was unfolding around me. I can only hope that there is another Poirot story to come in the near future.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5