What a fantastic surprise! I had heard they were going to remake it, but as I do with all news of remakes, reboots, and re-imaginings, I sighed and rolled my eyes. Remakes are almost always terrible. Everybody knows that. Whyyyyy would you try to redo something that was so well done in the first place? What would be the point? But...then I saw that Don Cheadle was involved, and they were focusing on that same time period from a Black perspective, and I thought, ok...now I'm interested... could be worth watching. So glad I did! The original was good, but I didn't consider it appointment television. I never miss an episode of this charming, funny reboot. And not just because I became a Dulé Hill fan after Psych. I sincerely hope this gets picked up for a second season. It really deserves to be seen by more people.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Queenpins
(2021)
Surprisingly good!
30 September 2021
I went in thinking it was going to be one of those annoyingly bad movies (like Bad Moms) I wish I hadn't wasted two hours of my life on, but what a pleasant surprise! A genuinely (low-key) funny script that didn't pander, a cast filled with actors I adore (Kristen Bell, Stephen Root, Vince Vaughn, and a bunch of others, many from The Good Place), great direction and editing that kept it moving...and all of it based on a crime that made me LOL when I read I about it a few years ago. I'm not saying it's gonna win awards, but it was very entertaining, and even a little heartwarming. You could do worse.
Blind
(I) (2016)
It has something for the right viewer
12 October 2020
Go in with no preconceptions, and it's a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. Is it a great movie? Well, no. But there were definitely some moments where I thought just a nip here, and a tuck there, and it could've been a contender, you know? The script (judging by what I saw on the screen, anyway) could've used a firmer hand. It got so close, but just didn't quite clear the bar. The acting was good. It was nice to see Demi do her thing. I don't think I've seen her in anything in ten years. On an unrelated side note...wow...either she has the most skilled and restrained surgeon/aesthetician on the planet, or this woman just doesn't age! Amazing. And it was nice to see Alec Baldwin doing something other than Trump. I usually feel like he's always just playing himself in every role (which isn't necessarily bad), but I felt a little differently about this one. They both did the best they could with the material, and they had some genuine moments. It was sweet. That was my overall feeling, in fact...the movie was sweet. The music really helped with that, too. Beautiful music! I got something out of it, and I didn't feel like it was a waste of time, so I'm happy.
Murder on the Orient Express
(2017)
Ignore the naysayers...it was delightful!
14 August 2018
Wow...kind of unusual that I would be so at odds with most of the reviews, here. But I LOVED this remake! I do have to admit...I wasn't the biggest fan of the 1974 version, so maybe that's why. And it's not that I just reject older Agatha Christie movies. I loved Death on the Nile (1978), and Evil Under the Sun (1982). But this remake was beautifully shot, well written, and DIDN'T move at a seemingly glacial pace, which is something that occasionally annoys me about a lot of early 70's films. I love film from every time period, but seriously...I think the popularity of quaaludes had an obviously quantifiable effect on the films of the 70's. Everything was soooooooo drawn out and kind of boring. And washed out, color-wise. Yes, yes, I know I'm going to catch a ton of s**t about this. Anyway, I thought the actors did a fine job, and I especially have to single out Branagh for his take on Hercule Poirot (and his directing!). I would never have believed anyone could replace Peter Ustinov in my heart as Poirot, but he made the character his own. He went with a more serious, more complex and tortured, more inward-looking Poirot, instead of the quippy, sassy, amused and amusing Poirot that Ustinov gave us...which is not to say Branagh's Poirot was humorless..."Forgive me, I am Belgian" had me laughing out loud. It was an interesting choice, and a smart one, in my humble opinion. I absolutely cannot wait to see him in Death on the Nile (if the hint of a sequel at the end of this film is portentous)!!!
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