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naly202
Reviews
Columbo: Dagger of the Mind (1972)
Nice London trip
I love Columbo since I was little, I also love British movies. This episode is a nice mix of the two.
I particularly like the location, we get the chance to see dear old London before the horrible skyscrapers were built... Still it's 1972, I noticed the pavements were cracked and the people didn't look very jolly, I guess Britain was going through pretty rough times, strikes and all.
Still Columbo is his sweet self, running excitedly from one landmark to another. Totally understandable, I did that too on my first visit to London. He's so adorable, and his sightseeing is the best part of the episode.
It was fun seeing some well known British actors, especially Wilfred Hyde White. The murdering theatre stars were charming too, but I have a grudge against them. I don't like how they played their parts in Macbeth looked very fake and hammy. They seem to send up those roles most dreadfully. I doubt they would have got good notices in real life.
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Poirot in the Shining /Ring
Just do me a favour for this one: forget it's Agatha Christie!
Do not attempt to find any similarities to her books. They say it's based on "A Hallowe'en Party" , but the only thing they have in common is that it takes place at Halloween and some names from the books are used. But THIS is a completely different story.
Strangely enough, I loved it!
It's beautifully done. I love the setting, music, camera angles, everything.
There is one shot where we see Poirot from above then, as he walks, the image turns slowly upside down as we follow him. I had to pause and rewatch that, it was brilliant! So many more interesting angles, creating an atmospheric horror/thriller movie.
As I said in the title, some scenes do remind me of The Shining or the Ring.
Don't worry, Poirot doesn't go insane, he's only about to.
At this point, we are forced to admit Kenneth Branagh has created an original detective, that only goes by the name of Poirot, maybe to cash in on the AC legacy, but surprisingly, this detective stands quite nicely on his own.
Feels strange to say this, but I'm looking forward to a new movie. Maybe one where he meets Miss Marple? Just a suggestion.
Since Mr. Branagh has already made mince meat out of the source material, why not take it a step further.
Anyway! Well done!
Worth watching!
Death on the Nile (2022)
Mixed feelings about this one.
I watched this movie hoping for a stellar cast. I mean why not? Most of Branagh's movies have two redeamable qualities : grand settings and a congregation of legendary actors. He managed that for Orient Express, so why not now?
Also it had such a great precedent: Peter Ustinov's version had Bette Davies, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, to name but a few.
This version does have a handful of stars, but not on the legendary level.
On the other hand, this movie goes out of its way to be inclusive: lesbians, all sorts of skin colours, and nationalities, as if it wanted to tick some points on an agenda.
All this at the cost of vital plot elements, characters are changed or smushed together... I guess Ken thought he'd improve on an already perfect mystery. Pretty infuriating.
Lol, here we get an explanation for the ridiculous moustache. Nice touch, but it defies logic. As far as I know, hair doesn't grow on a scar.
And why is an intelligent, soft spoken detective threatening people with a gun? Is he taking hostages now?
Btw, it seems that everyone despises the detective in this one. I say "detective" , because this is NOT the Hercule Poirot I know. Sorry.
Sometimes I wonder if K B even read the source material, or watched the previous versions. If you make an Agatha Christie movie, you should be aware that her fans are obsessed with historical accuracy, glamour, plot and details. And above all, they LOVE Poirot, and know him intimately : background, excentricities, faults and virtues. (there was no Catherine in his life. I do remember a Countess Rosakoff, though)
Still, if you take out all the minuses, Kenneth Branagh's "Death on the Nile" is an enjoyable movie, the actors are good and act their parts well, even Ken does his best. The scenery is spectacular and the music intense.
Well worth watching! Just one thing: you need to forget it's a Poirot film.
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Give it a chance!
For a long time I refused to watch this movie because I'm not a huge fan of Kenneth Branagh as a lead. He'll nevet replace David Suchet as Poirot for me!
BUT... today I gave the movie a try and I LOVED It.
The visuals are gorgeous, and he summoned an amazing cast for this production: Hollywood meets Shakespeare! Some of my favourite actors of all time!
This is smth I like about his movies: they are larger than life productions that are sure to entertain you visually, I also like the respect he shows to the older members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, e.g Sir Derek Jacobi. He always seems to find parts for him.
This movie is well worth a try for the visuals and the cast.
And Ken plays his part well too. No Suchet or Ustinov, but a believable Poirot.
Wish (2023)
Nice, but has 2 major problems.
I watched "Wish" with very low expectations, but actually enjoyed it.
The animation is beautiful, there are many likeable characters with amazing facial expressions, I particularly loved the cute talking animals and the adorable star (your kids will love them too).
The villain has great character design and a charming voice. So refreshing to have a proper villain again! (He's no match for FROLLO, though.... Sigh).
The landscapes are gorgeous, there are loads of references to the Disney legacy. All fine.
The idea of a utopian town built on wishes is also cool.
In short, this movie has so much potential.
There are only two weak points:
1 songs (+lyrics) are garbage (don't watch the villain song on youtube! It will discourage you from watching the movie. Pls skip and give the movie a chance!)
2 plot is rushed and rather weak...
Just like Encanto, I feel this movie needed another half hour of plot development.
Encanto needed a longer ending.
Wish needs a longer exposition. We should be introduced to this magic town where everyone is happy, but things start to go wrong gradually. Asha observes them and puts 2 and 2 together. While working for the king. He should have kept thing hidden from her for longer. The story should have unfolded like a detective story for 20 minutes. Only then should have Asha discovered the King's plans.
Won't say anything else. Watch the movie and see if you agree with me or not!
Redbad (2018)
Sci-fi?
The evil Christians killing the innocent peace loving vikings... That's not what I've learned in school...
Nice visuals, interesting music, but that's about it.
Carjacked (2011)
What have I just watched?
I only turned on the TV set, when the movie was halfway. I seemed really interesting at that point. Great main characters, very well played. But then, the end was simply botched.
ATTENTION! Sopilers ahead!
How on earth does she get away with stealing and destroying a car, threatening the lives of a woman and her kid and killing s man? It was not self defence- she was taking the law in her own hands. Supposedly all of us did it.
Yet the judge finds no difficulty in handing her the custody of the child and preaching some feminist stuff. I thought judges were supposed to be impartial.
Madhouse (1974)
One of my favourite VP movies.
In spite of what others say, this is trully a beautiful movie. I never cared much about Dr. Phibes or Witchfinder. In my opinion The Madhuse is so much better. The questions it raises, the study of human fears and slow decay into madness, the beautiful music (one piece sung by Price himself), the atmosphere, beautiful sets, and yes, the goth makeup of Dr. Death create a deep, scary, but also enjoyable and poetic eperience.
The movie references are a delight for any Price and Cushing fan.
This movie is a serious contender for 1st place on my list of VP movies.
I find it difficult to decide between this one and The Theatre of Blood.
Cats (2019)
The true winner of the Oscars 2020
In my view the Oscars should be won by movies that leave a definite mark on the public, movies everybody talks about. While I doubt many remember who won the Oscars this year, literally EVERYBODY speaks about Cats. Just the way people were talking about Titanic, years ago. Well, that's something...
Mark my words, this movie will become a cult movie and will be seen as a horribly underrated movie in a few years time.
I watched it yesterday online with very low expectations and I was surprised to find it entertaining, witty and quite emotional.
The characters look creepy, indeed but so so the ones from the sage version. OK, there's very little logic in the plot, but people seem to forget this show is about CATS.
The musical and dance numbers are beautiful. I absolutely loved Victoria, the Magical Cat, and the Theatre Cat (Sir Ian). Dame Judy Dench was adequate in her role too.
It is heartbreaking to see how people enjoy hitting somebody who is already down. Maybe the movie doesn't deserve 10 stars, but it most DEFINITELY does not deserve 2.7 stars.
This is an outrage.
I advice everyone reading this to watch the movie and THINK for themselves.
House of the Long Shadows (1983)
LONG (before smth happens) SHADOWS (everything is dark and you can't see)
Do yourselves a favour and, after you've watched the beginning, skip to the minute 34. That's when Peter Cushing is introduced, Vincent Price follows shortly after, then to 45 when Christopher Lee appears. Then it's not before 55 that ANYTHING happens. I mean this is insane! Dear old Vincent ( or Peter or Chris ) would have normally murdered half the cast by then- all in vivid colours and recited Shakespeare, Poe and Wilde while doing it. Here we just follow around a terribly irritating young American writer and a not so attractive blonde. Honestly, why???? The last 40 minutes are worth watching though. This could have been a very pleasant 50 minute little film, but they waste a whole hour of my patience... Upsetting. I only kept on watching for the glorious cast.
Theatre of Blood (1973)
Why some people call this "comedy" baffles me...
I've never had more nightmares than after watching this brilliant movie. I'll never know what frightened me most : the gorry murders, the cheerful grin on Vincent's face... or the fact that I almost totally agreed with him...
If you like Shakespeare, this is a film for you: the movie looks like an intricate puzzle of Shakespearean quotes that tests your literary knowledge and lets you predict the events to follow just enough to give you a tingle of excitement and anticipation ("who's next? how will he carry it out?"
This movie contains the most convincing and charming rendition of "To be or not to be" I've ever seen, btw.
Spoiler:
I'm only sorry for the end. a) because the most arrogant and annoying critic survived and had the last word.
b) intense as it was, the Lear- Cordelia final scene didn't move me to tears because, Lionheart and his daughter had lost my sympathy previously due to the fate of the poor innocent doggies. ...
Crooked House (2017)
Enjoyable movie.
I read the book about two years ago and found it rather odd and not particularly appealing, unlike some other of Christie's books. Apart from the poem about the crooked man and the identity of the murderer there's little i could remember about the plot.
On the other hand, the movie was really enjoyable and well acted. I liked the atmosphere, the actors, the music, the interiors, etc. Glen Close's acting was superb. Having the lady detective from X Files appear in this crooked story was a nice touch. i also enjoyed recognizing other actors from my beloved series Poirot.
The movie is definitely worth watching, pls give it a try.
I enjoyed it even if i knew the murderer all along.
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Why not? It is creative and intresting. Stop listening to snobs!
It's easy to understand: those who love Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, (especially the awfully snobbish critics) simply hammered this into the ground.
I, on the other hand, watched this movie before reading the book. And LOVED it. Maybe it's not my favourite movie of all times, but at least I became a fan of Gary Oldman watching it.
It is a very imaginative interpretation of Hester's story, we get to see how she arrived, fell in love, etc. Let's face it, the book plot is rotten - endless descriptions and moralizing sermons. The story of a woman who sinned and is subdued by the 'pure' society.
The movie's Hester is strong and defiant. We learn the back story, and understand her love.
She is not just a Fate's puppet. She is able to fight for her life and love, in spite of a hostile and narrow-minded society.
The depiction of colonial America is enjoyable and informative, and the rev. Is just too cute.
Gambit (2012)
Enjoyable movie, very stupid trailer.
The purpose of a trailer is to make you wanna watch the movie. This trailer for me did the opposite. i said to myself: NO, i don't wanna see that much of Alan Rickman ('s body), NO Cameron Diaz's accent is much too fake for my taste, NO i don't care why Colin Firth has no trousers, he's probably playing a filthy idiot, that's why he's punched by everybody. Conclusion: no, i don't wanna see two of my favourite British actors embarrassing themselves in a rubbishy film.
It took a LOT of persuasion for me to agree to WATCH the whole movie.
But guess what: when i did watch it, i actually LIKED it. (I still can't forgive her for that annoying accent, though) .
The movie is funny, the interiors are gorgeous and the characters are likeable:
- I simply felt like hugging Colin's character for always seeing his masterplans shatter. He always has a very sorry look on his face. And a bandage. (To say nothing about his vivid imagination).
- Cameron's character is kinda cute in a rough country girl way.
-As for Lionel - Alan's character: 1. I love his little"roar" 2. He is shown from two different perspectives (a TRULY CLEVER idea- reminds me of modernist literature- stream of consciousness and all that jazz) 3. Luckily, he's starkers just for about 10 seconds during the whole movie.
In conclusion: don't get fooled by the trailer: the movie isn't some cheap rubbish - a collection of cheap laughs. It IS funny, has some... ermm scenes, but also some lovely art pieces, clever dialogue and yes- lovable characters. Arrrrrrr.
Dark Harbor (1998)
.... ermm. What have i just watched?
The trailer advertised it as a thriller, a lot of struggle scenes, nightmares, trying to escape, etc.
Then you decide to watch the movie... patiently waiting for something to happen. When something does happen... ah well.... the movie ends and you are left with the question in this review's title.
I adore Alan Rickman and LOVE movies with few characters because you have the chance to study them in depth, they develop making you either love or hate them. Here the characters go nowhere. The movie is rather hard to follow because the actors mumble their lines as if they were completely bored or drunk while filming. Maybe they were both, just struggling to finish the damn movie.
Although Alan is on screen most of the time, he has the most bored expression you've ever seen.
The only character i really felt sorry for was Alex's mother at the end. "Show me your eyes"...
A Promise (2013)
A promise you it's good.
This is a truly superb movie: interiors, costumes, eerie music and a sense of loss and grief. I watched it mostly because of Alan Rickman and he doesn't disappoint. This is one of his final performances and it seems to me almost a testament of his career- a sort of reminder of Truly madly deeply.
Rebecca hall is gorgeous and refined as Frau Hoffmeister. a true joy to watch: meditative, gentle, loyal respectful and true.
I didn't much care for the young lad. a lot of people here commented about the very little chemistry between the two- i think SHE did beautifully, but HE was just either distant or creepy.
In my opinion the movie should have ended a few scenes earlier- as she was talking on the phone. it would have been a beautiful open ending. Pls, do try this experiment: stop the movie when you see her on the phone, then... if you feel like, watch the ending.
Avatar (2009)
Master of controversy
To me it's appalling that there are people who dislike this movie. My only explanation is that people react at impulse against the huge publicity surrounding the movie's release. I refuse to think it's because of emptiness of heart.
This movie is one of the greatest masterpieces ever created, not only visually stunning, but the message is universal and the rendering intense. You are not only drawn into this fantastic universe, but you are also infused with a sense of guilt when you realize the movie is about you . Well the movie is a metaphor .
Still the Academy decided to give the award to a movie that praised war and destruction. Rather cynical, I think.
The Boxer (2009)
come on, give it a chance!
i've just finished watching the movie and wanted to see how it was rated on IMDb. it seems people didn't like it very much, well, i did... i'm not terribly interested in boxing/ fighting movies as a rule. i don't usually watch them. still, this one caught my eye. the scenario has some clichés,the theme of becoming someone from no one has been used in hundreds of films, from Cinderella to Karate Kid.
but maybe the director didn't care very much about the scenario itself. it's not just another boxing movie, it's not about fighting in the ring, it's about fighting in life. i liked the atmosphere (smoky light, beautiful classic music), which is rather poetic and meditative, as if someone had tried to make a nice painting of a fighting scene.
Till We Meet Again (1989)
one of my childhood's dreams.
i watched this series when i was little (8 or 9) and it had quite an impression on me. my uncle somehow managed to tape it and so i re watched it several times. what i liked best was not the story itself but its historical and geographical background, i mean, Gosh! the movie spans from the beginning of the 20th century to the early 50s, and covers 3 countries France, England, USA. i was greatly impressed by the WWII episode, the "Resistance" and all, fer me it was an excellent prelude to Schindler's list, though the drama is much stronger in the latter. it had beautiful soundtracks and a whole lot of interesting characters. i liked them all but there was one that i loathed!!! Poor Hugh Grand it was the first movie i've seen him in... i can't remember hating a character as much as i hated Bruno. it was yeeeeaaars after when i watched other movies of his and realized that "Hey! That was just a role, you don't have to hate the actor too! lool!"
The Astonished Heart (1950)
I liked it !
i've just seen the movie and i enjoyed it. one shouldn't expect the shooting and love scenes that are so common in today's movies, the film has a certain classical perfume. although the action lacks violent events and all the characters behave calmly, the tension is present always, especially through music and landscape, a constant feeling that something bad is about to happen. there are some beautiful moments of interior struggle which are not expressed through words but through the glowing eyes or shadows on NC's or Celia Johnson's face. the lines are poetical in the well-known NC style and the music is beautiful. the movie is intense and personal.