A Haunting in Venice (2023)

A Haunting in Venice is an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel of the same name.

Directing and starring Kenneth Branagh, the film tries to be both scary and a mystery. I didn't have any glaring issues with the direction other than the film was boring. You're not invested in the characters and the film was a reason for Branagh to play a Sherlock Holmes-type investigator.

Both Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh phone it in and just walk through the motions of the film which really disappoints me as I know Yeoh's range with Everything Everywhere All at Once. Fey on the other hand, I'm a complete fan of but she didn't really do much in the film despite having a lot of lines.

Jamie Dornan is one step in the acting grave. It seems that he can't shake that Fifty Shades of Grey stink. Heart of Stone didn't help his career either earlier this year. I'm honestly getting tired of seeing him try to act.

The film doesn't know what it is. If it's a mystery it needs to lean hard into the mystery aspect and not try to promote the film as a horror. Result: C-

Comments

Cinderella (2021)

Cinderella is a modern take on the classic tale. This time everything is politically upside down. Written and Directed by Kay Cannon, Cinderella takes any chance it can to push an agenda. It's nauseating in the forcefulness of the propaganda. It's hard to take any scene that isn't singing seriously. It lives in a dystopian world where anyone who doesn't think progressively like-minded is a fool and shouldn't have joy. The direction is okay, but that's to be expected as she probably picked up some being the producer of the Pitch Perfect trillogy. Camila Cabello plays Cinderella and her first major film. She can sing and performs well next to her stepmother played by Idina Menzel, who needs no introduction. Surely, she will be in future musicals and I can only hope for one with a better writer. Pierce Brosnan plays King Rowan and is forceful in his performance but given the point of his character, it's sad to see. Someone had to be the punching bag, and ...

White Men Can't Jump (2023)

White Men Can't Jump is a remake of the 1992 film, this time with a more modern story. There are two screenplay writers on this film, Kenya Barris and Doug Hall . Barris and Hall are known for Black-ish so take that for what you will. Barris also did Coming 2 America and is much more prolific . Ron Shelton was brought on to help keep the bones of the original there. The writing isn't horrible but it isn't anything special. The director is Calmatic who isn't really known for movies as he's a music video director having done that Old Town Road song. There were some scenes I would have reshot but overall decent job. After seeing The Blackening earlier this year I was going to compare Sinqua Walls then and now. He's much better in this film as Kamal. He is also given a lot more to work with in this film with the beautiful Teyana Taylor playing his wife. She's great and believable. Jack Harlow is dating Laura Harrier, and playing the titula...

Red Sparrow (2018)

Red Sparrow is about a Russian ballerina who must work for her government. Her mission: to get information out of an American who has a mole in the Russian administration. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the same man who brought you The Hunger Games and I am Legend, Lawrence does a great job with the flow of the film. For films that are thrillers and mysteries, the problem is having the audience figure out the ending before the climax. The way the film is edited and used allows a smart audience member to be tricked into thinking it is one person when it was someone else the entire time. Great direction. This, other than Mother! is the hardest role I believe that Jennifer Lawrence has ever done. She has a pretty trying and rather quick transition from ballerina to Jason Bourne , Black Widow , completely-awesome heroine. She is smart and willing to go the distance to make sure that she and her mother are happy. I can't really go into more details without spoiling her chara...

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog