Murder on the Orient Express 2017 7 out of 10

Murder on the Orient Express 2017 7 out of 10

Murder on the Orient Express is based on the classic novel by Agatha Christie and features the famous detective Hercule Poirot.  Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in this remake that also includes the likes of William Dafoe,  Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Daisy Ridley and Johnny Depp to name a few of this films all star cast.  

The story follows the famous detective aboard the Orient Express when the train runs into an avalanche.   One character is killed during the night and the detective must solve the case before the train track is cleared up.  The film is excellent in many ways. Kenneth Branagh does a great job as Agatha Christie's famous detective as he interrogates the passengers trying to solve the murder.  The cast as mentioned above it stellar.  All the actors do a great job.  The movie is beautifully shot and does a great job of capturing the look of the 1930's look and style.  The scenes of train making its way through the countryside are eye catching.  The train itself is gorgeous work of art.

Somehow despite everything that I loved about the film it somehow still feel a little flat.  Part of my problem may be a subconscious knowledge of the story (I'm sure I've seen a previous version of the story before or something that was inspired by it).  As a result of my knowledge of the basic story --the twist in this murder mystery wasn't a surprise and therefore that portion of the mystery.  Not that a murder mystery can't be incredible without a twist (See any Columbo as an example where you know the murder at the beginning of the story).   Maybe the fact that there have been so many good murder mysteries that you can see on a weekly basis on TV throughout the years that make a big screen adaptation of an old story less intriguing.   Especially when shows like BBC's Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch can seem as good a films.   Maybe the old school Murder Mysteries are more suited to TV these days.  I'm currently watching a bunch of old Murder Mysteries I recorded awhile back from the 1940's and I'm enjoying these old films --yet somehow these series feel like watching a TV show.

I would definitely say this is worth a rental.  It may be more fun for someone that hasn't heard of seen this tale before.

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The Lone Ranger 2013 9 out of 10

Pictures I took from the DCA  before the Premiere in the parks.

The Lone Ranger 2013  9 out of 10

It is a shame that the Lone Ranger isn't doing that great at the box office, when compared to it's budget.   The film was a fun and exciting adventure of a movie.  Johnny Depp once again nailed it with his performance as Tonto making the movie really enjoyable.  It was basically a Pirates of the Caribbean version of The Lone Ranger, which isn't surprising since it was made by the same group of people.  I'm not sure if it's lackluster box office is a result of a modern audience just not connecting with the character of the Lone Ranger?   Maybe the modern audience doesn't even know who the Lone Ranger is or maybe they just don't care to see this character from old radio dramas on the big screen?  Maybe the Hollywood western is truly dead?  But pirate movies were dead before Pirates of the Caribbean took over and dominated at the box office so who really knows.   The trailers for the movie made it one of the must see summer movies for me, so I don't know why so many other people weren't lining up to see it.   Despicable Me 2 (the first of which was just alright in my opinion)--killed it at the box office.  

The movie itself was a fun ride that included a heavy dose of humor (kind of like the tone set in the Mummy Franchise).   

The plot was good and the over the top crazy action sequences were a blast (literally at times).  The finale  in particular was incredibly fun.  The train scene played out to the classic Lone Ranger music and reminded me of the mine cart scene from Temple of Doom taken to the next level.  Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp had  great on screen chemistry as Tonto and the Lone Ranger and I would have been up for a sequel had the movie performed well at the box office.    

My advice ignore the box office results and go see this fun, entertaining, roller coaster ride of a summer movie.

Animated Movies: # 4 Rango 2011 8 out of 10

Rango is not your typical Animated movie. I couldn't really place how I felt about it half way through the movie. The characters are all quite ugly. Normally animated movies try to make their characters visually appealing (It sells more toys). I don't see many kids falling in love with an ugly lizard with bent neck like the Sloth out of the Ice Age movies.....I can't really say if I think all kids will love this movie as it is a departure from what you normally expect in a kids movie. I personally liked it. Despite the off putting looking characters the film itself was quite solid.

Johhny Depp as Rango was great as were much of the voice acting. This movie is basically an ode to Spaghetti Westerns. A little bit Clint Eastwood a little bit Bug's Life (The circus bugs as Warriors) A little bit Three Amigos where as Rango claims to be something he isn't -but steps up to the plate when push comes to shove. Being a spaghetti western ode it has some great music by Hans Zimmer.

So in summary it was an odd and interesting animated treat. I can't say whether your kids will like it--but if you love Spaghetti Westerns and can get used to the look of the characters it is a really fun ride. Some of the action sequences were stunning (after all it was directed by Gore Verbinski of the first 3 Pirates films). And the look and style of the film really grew on me by the end of the flick