Murder


Kenneth Branagh makes a rather good Belgium detective in Murder on the Orient Express.
He has a certain twinkle in the eye and a steely kindness which was sadly lacking in Albert Finney's 1974 overblown creation . I liked him
The film is ok. It's not as good as the " original" but it passed muster with nice performances from Branagh and Michelle Pfeiffer as the wisecracking Mrs Hubbard. Unfortunately most of the cast don't have any time to flex their dramatic muscles and so the talents of Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Judi Dench and Olivia Coleman just stand around looking worried.
I found myself missing Ingrid Bergman and her " little brown babies!" 
Oh , and I hated that the closing credits featuring the magnificent train disappearing into the sunset was spoilt by the now obligatory modern day power ballad hoping it will win an oscar for best song.


20 comments:

  1. I recently re-watched Branagh's Frankenstein. It is so bad that it turns into good comedy.

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  2. I haven't seen this yet. I saw Albert Finney play Macbeth when I was doing o'levels. Dorothy Tutin played Lady Macbeth but I always wished I'd seen the Judi Dench production.

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  3. I preferred Albert Finney's portrayal by a long way. To me Branagh's felt more self-conscious whereas Finney's was acting from 'under the skin'.
    In the 1974 film each appearance and successive individual interview of the passengers was memorable both visually and verbally. Here a lot of them were thrown away as though needing to get through them all, and their lines weren't anything like as memorable.
    And I couldn't agree more with you about that infernal and needless final song.
    Despite my reservations (sorry!) this was in no way a bad film and ought to be better liked if there were not, to me, the largely unfavorable comparisons to be made with the earlier.

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  4. I have only seen the previews but all I could do is watch his mustache waiting for it to fall off his face.

    cheers, parsnip

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  5. I was in two minds about this film ... still am really. But Paddington 2 is well worth a watch, we both loved it 😊

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  6. My Shug and I were talking about going to this movie today. We rarely make it to the movies. I also want to see Victoria and Abdul...hmmm...which one to see....

    Cindy

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  7. I'm looking forward to seeing this. I never liked Albert Finney's Poirot either.

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  8. I’ve heard the less than favorable reviews but the cast!!! How could a director with that much talent at his disposal miss the mark? I’m still going

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  9. I am going to see this one in a few hours. I don’t have anything else to do.

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  10. I think I'll be going to see this despite the less than sensational reviews. Two last two films I've been to are Victoria and Abdul which I'd give 6.5 and Maudie which I'd give 8.

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    1. I would give Maudie a 10. And if Sally Hawkins doesn't get an Oscar for it or at least a nomination, I will use some profanity.

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    2. She must be a hot favourite after this wonderful performance.

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  11. 12/11/207 HEALTH ALERT: Yellow/white fatty substance found on several Anglesey beaches (north side of island) and on at least one other beach could be poisonous. Believed to contain palm oil, paraffin oil, and other oils. Advice to dog owners not to let their pets eat it. (Source: rsoe.edis)

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  12. I saw this one. I enjoyed it.

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  13. That’s the way I feel and I want to see it anyway.

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    1. lol my reply took too long to post so it doesn’t make a lot of sense but I don’t make a lot of sense sometimes anyway so there you have it.
      PS
      We used to know a couple of NYT critics and we never agreed with them:)

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  14. I just returned from seeing this movie. You were right, John. I am glad that I went to a theater that served wine.

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