A Haunting in Venice

 

I’ve been an Agatha Christie fan since my elementary school librarian turned me on to her novels.  I’ve been thrilled that Kenneth Branagh has been bringing the stories to the big screen as both actor and director since 2017. However, I’ve also felt the last two films results were a bit of a mixed bag for various reasons.  Still, with this new original adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Halloween Party I went into A Haunting in Venice with high hopes that the third time would be the charm and Branagh would’ve successfully cracked the code on delivering a great Agatha Christie movie.

Point of fact. A Haunting in Venice is again a mixed bag for me.

The pros. 

Good cast. Strong acting by Branagh (easily his best turn as Poirot to date) and Jude Hill (Belfast). Wonderful cinematography. Terrific set design. Location, location, location! Top notch atmospherics capture the supernatural, brooding darkness perfectly.

The cons.  

Much like the last two films, A Haunting in Venice is a slow burner that’s an absolute slough to get through at least the first third if not half of the film. From the beginning I was barely engaged and really struggled to not only be interested but stay awake.  Like Death on the Nile, it took ages for the first body to drop and the movie to get going.

For such a good cast, the bulk of them are underused and feel wasted.  Then there’s Tina Fey.  Love her, but feel she was miscast in her role of Ariadne Oliver. Her performance came across as more of a SNL skit version of the character.

The overuse of jump scares becomes silly and undercuts the overall eerie disquiet the film creates.  There’s also an overall lack of energy to this one that pulls the entire production down. 

The mystery and the clues to solve it are fairly obvious this go round so the “whodunit” aspect is fairly weak.  What's the fun in that?

At the end of the day, A Haunting in Venice is a good effort and mildly entertaining but isn’t a film you need to get to the theater to see.  It should be available for home viewing before long, check it out then.

A Haunting in Venice gets a 5 from me. 

#AHauntingInVenice

The Equalizer 3

 

This week Denzel Washington re-teams with director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Magnificent Seven) purportedly for the 3 and final time, in the role of Robert McCall. There’s not a lot to say about this one, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

The Equalizer 3 is the movie you want and expect going in, only with a different approach than the other two.  This time around McCall’s completely international. We’re also left in the dark as to what’s going on and why until the very end of the film which delivers a different flavor to the storyline.  E3 overall is a slower burner as a film as well in terms of the pacing.  But it actually benefits the film in the process.  Washington is almost 70-year-old now so having more exposition and character development as opposed to non-stop action makes sense, keeps the film grounded, and makes the action sequences pack and even harder punch.

In regard to the action, yes. 

Yes. 

YES. 

It’s intense, no holds barred, gory, and shockingly brutal in its violence.  In short, everything I wanted and expected.  Juxtaposed against the calm and quiet of the majority of the film it really stands out and makes these moments even more satisfying.  Robert McCall takes to peace and quiet and retirement about as well as John Wick and you don’t want to be on the wrong side of this character as a result. 

The settings are gorgeous, the cinematography beautiful.  The good guys are good and the bad guys deliciously wicked so the brutal force in which they are dispatched is a pure delight.  If anything, there are couple I wished suffered a bit more before their demise, but that’s just me.  

The international cast all deliver strong and engaging performances.  Having Dakota Fanning re-teaming with Washington 19 years after their last film together (Man on Fire) is a bonus treat.

The third time is certainly a charm for The Equalizer 3.  It’s fun, entertaining, and you get what you came for in a satisfactory experience.   I had the pleasure of seeing this film with a great crowd and the interaction made it even more enjoyable. It was one big watch party in the best sense.

It’s a solid 8 from me.

 #TheEqualizer3