MOVIE REVIEW: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot probes the mystery of a murdered American tycoon aboard the legendary Orient Express as 20th Century Fox and producers Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg, and Mark Gordon bring Agatha Christie's classic whodunit back to the big screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Kenneth Branagh, Mark Gordon

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp

Release Date: Nov 10, 2017

Genres: Detective Film, Drama, Mystery

Rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements

Review:

Murder on the Orient Express is a solid and lavishly directed throwback murder mystery.  Kenneth Branagh, lover of all things classical, directs his film with a steady hand, keeping everything visually stimulating even during some of the slower portions.  Branagh does fine work pulling double duty as Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved characters.  It’s an interesting iteration of the character that captures his quirks and mannerisms while infusing him with a tinge of sadness.  Branagh is front and center for the majority of the film but the impressive ensemble is given plenty of time to shine with Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley leaving the biggest impression.  The central mystery, which is over 80 years old, isn’t terribly complex and fairly common knowledge so there is a lack of urgency to the whole thing. Kenneth Branagh clearly loves the material and it comes through on screen but I’m not sure if people will be rushing to revisit it after the initial viewing.

B

Cindy Prascik's Review of Murder on the Orient Express

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the much-anticipated remake of Murder on the Orient Express.

Spoiler level here will be mild, on the off chance there's a living soul who doesn't know how this one plays out.

A murder on a derailed train leaves a carload of suspects stranded with the world's greatest detective.

2017's Murder on the Orient Express isn't likely to match its 1974 counterpart in the hearts of critics and fans, and is even less likely to match Thor: Ragnarok at the box office. It seems to exist in a weird little comfort zone of middling expectations, but a much-loved story combined with an extraordinary cast made it a must-see for me, and it did not disappoint.

I simply love the way this movie was filmed. At every turn there is a gorgeous panoramic view or a perfect angle on a face or a table setting or a train car that reminds me how great a movie can be just for being a movie. Much like The Revenant, I could have gazed upon its beauty for hours even if I despised the rest of it, which I most certainly did not. The film sets a light tone to start, earning some laughs while familiarizing viewers with the great Poirot's talents and idiosyncrasies, then things go progressively darker as the unfortunate events play out. Kenneth Branagh's moustache game is as on point as his portrayal of the iconic detective. I am faithfully married to David Suchet's Poirot, and was quite surprised to find I wasn't making unfavorable comparisons in my head over the course of the movie. As a die-hard Depp-a-Holic, I am delighted to see Johnny in a decent film where he doesn't play the weird guy with the funny hat. Neither the story nor the size of the ensemble allows him as much screen time as I'd like, but this role is a friendly reminder of those details to which Depp tends better than anyone else: accents and small mannerisms that really make a character. May his career swing ever further back in this direction towards a long-deserved Oscar. The supporting cast is solid, with no one outside of Branagh really getting enough face time to delight or offend. Lovely costumes and a luscious score by Patrick Doyle are the perfect accents to this old-school mystery. Orient Express is a tale that doesn't keep its secrets especially well, but it moves at a good clip and doesn't suffer much for the fact that you'll probably guess the outcome, even in the unlikely event you didn't already know it. A ghastly musical number called "Never Forget," showcasing the dubious vocal talents of Michelle Pfeiffer, nearly made me forget how much I liked the movie when it crashed the end-credits, but fortunately I recovered before I had to start writing this review.

Murder on the Orient Express clocks in at an efficient 114 minutes and is rated PG13 for "violence and thematic elements."

It may not match the brilliance of the 1974 classic, but 2017's Murder on the Orient Express mixes an iconic tale with an extraordinary cast to create an enjoyable bit of cinema. 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Murder on the Orient Express gets seven and a half.

Fangirl points: Don’t suppose anyone else looked over this cast and thought, “Hey, that’s the dude from Magnificent Seven??” Also... Olivia Colman! Hadley Fraser! Leslie Odom, Jr.!

Until next time... 

April Sokol's Reviews of Murder on the Orient Express & Daddy's Home 2

Another weekend, another double feature at the local theater! First I was off to see Murder on the Orient Express followed by Daddy's Home 2.

Murder on the Orient Express, my review:

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

starring: Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Justin Gad, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz and Willem Dafoe

Murder on the Orient Express is a straight forward retelling of the Agatha Christie classic. Branagh takes the reins both in front of and behind the camera as he both stars and directs. Murder on the Orient Express clocks in at 1 hour and 54 minutes. That was at least 20 minutes too long. I found myself checking my clock several times as this murder mystery lumbered on toward it's conclusion.

There are some great things to see here. Branagh seems to be incapable of putting in a bad performance. His portrayal here of the titular Poirot is the best use of facial hair since the 1st Hunger Games movie. Poirot is the world famous detective who lands squarely in the middle of a who dun it on the world's most posh passenger train.

The cast is all putting in solid work here.  Michelle Pfeiffer is a national treasure and I remain her biggest fan. However, the movie as a whole left me....wanting more. There is not one specific thing, other than maybe needing a trim time wise, that I can point to as a reason to not enjoy this. However, I also can't really point to any real reason to go out of your way to make time for this either.

There is nothing new here. No Earth shattering performances. No breath taking scenery. As much as I wanted to fall in love...I just never managed it. I would skip this one in theaters and wait for the rental. A very “meh” 2 out of 5 stars is my rating, I'm afraid.


Trying to dust off my disappointment..I head into Daddy's Home 2. Full disclosure here...I did not see the 1st Daddy's Home movie but I wanted to give this one a try anyway.

Daddy's Home 2, my review:

Directed by Sean Anders

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell, Mel Gibson, John Lithgow, Linda Cardellini, Alessandra Ambrosio and John Cena

Daddy's Home 2 picks up the continuing story of a blended family consisting of biological Dad Dusty (Wahlberg) and stepdad Brad (Farrell) and Mom Sara (Cardellini). It's time for the holidays and that means they're respective Dads are coming to town to visit. We have a super simple, extremely affectionate Don (Lithgow) playing Brad's Dad and brass, unapologetic, absentee Dad to Dusty, Kurt (Gibson) thrown into the mix. Kurt is inexplicably dismayed by the healthy coparenting that is happening to his grandchildren and decides to try to make things far more toxic by attempting to break the relationship between Dusty and Brad. Setting aside the incredibly toxic masculinity, we find that the straight man/physical comedy combo of Wahlberg and Farrell really seem to work here. Wahlberg's Dusty has a familiar every man feeling to him. And even this self professed Farrell hater found herself laughing along with Brad's antics.

This is a fun, competent flick that doesn't take itself too seriously at all. I enjoyed it FAR more than I expected I would. Daddy's Home 2 clocks in at a pretty enjoyable 1 hour and 40 minutes. I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.