Death on the Nile – Matthew Liedke on Film

After two underwhelming films, the third time appears to have been the charm for the modern Hercule Poirot series.

Based on another one of Agatha Christie’s stories, “A Haunting in Venice” finds inspector Poirot retired from detective work. Played by Kenneth Branagh, who also directs, Poirot is now living in the titular city a few years removed from investigating. That is until he he meets up with friend and author Ariadne (Tina Fey).

A mystery author, Ariadne is planning to attend a séance to gather some inspiration for future works, and she invites Poirot to come along. The inspector is skeptical at first about the whole situation, but decides to tag along. During the event, a mysterious death takes place, and it forces Poirot to exit his retirement on a spooky Halloween night.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Spooky season setting boosts ‘A Haunting in Venice’”

Trains are out and boats are in for this latest installment in the, um, Agatha Christie Cinematic Universe.

A follow-up to the 2017 film “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Death on the Nile” once again features the detective character Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). After a brief opening showing Poirot’s experiences in World War I, the film picks up with the detective enjoying a vacation in Egypt. It’s there where he meets up with Bouc (Tom Bateman), a friend of Poirot’s who was also on the Orient Express.

After the two cross paths, Bouc introduces the detective to the newly married couple of Linnet (Gal Gadot) an Simon (Armie Hammer). Poirot is then invited to the honeymoon, which is taking place on a river cruise with several other characters. As the name suggests, a person dies onboard and it sets off another mystery for Poirot to solve.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Death on the Nile’ isn’t a fit for the big screen”