The Girl on a Train 2016 8+ out of 10

The Girl on a Train 2016  8+ out of 10

The Girl on a Train is slow to get going, but makes it's way down the track to a satisfying end.  It reminded me a little bit of Presume Innocent with Harrison Ford.  The story follows Rachel Watson (played by Emily Blunt) as she takes her daily train ride into New York.  She is obsessed with the life of a what appears to be a happy couple that she sees from the train everyday until one day when she sees the girls kissing someone else on the balcony.  The girl whose life she dreams about turns up missing that same night and Rachel suffers from missing time from her drinking problem. Is she responsible or is it someone else.  Without giving away the rest of the story an interesting mystery unfolds following the girl's disappearance.   

Like I mentioned above this film felt in tone very much like Presumed Innocent which I loved. The film does a decent of job of keeping you guessing throughout. I thought the mystery was satisfying and the acting was solid.  Definitely worth a watch if you like murder mysteries.

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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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Jack Reacher 2012 8 out of 10

Jack Reacher 2012 8 out of 10

A sniper takes out what appears to be five random people.  When interrogated the sniper simply writes the word " Get Jack Reacher". 

Jack Reacher is played by Tom Cruise who is an ex military investigator with a grudge against the man in custody and shows up hoping to see him put away.  But when he begins to look into the case some things don't add up.  And then someone pays some thugs to have him beat up to discourage his investigation.   Bad idea....Jack kicks some ass and gets deeper into uncovering the mystery behind what is really going on.  The cast includes the beautiful Rosamund Pike as the defense attorney that helps him investigate the shooting.  Robert Duvall is great in a supporting role.

Tom Cruise --may be a crazy Scientologist in real life,  but he is definitely a movie star.  He has that "IT" factor on screen.  This movie could have been a TV episode on some cool action mystery series like Castle.  The story is fairly simple.  The action isn't Mission Impossible over the top on the side of a building and feels more realistic.  Tom Cruise elevates what could be a standard film with his portrayal of Jack Reacher.  The character he plays which is based on a book series --is like a cool investigator version of Jason Bourne.    I really liked this film and now look forward to seeing the sequel.

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The Girl in Black Stocking 1957 6 out of 10

The Girl in Black Stockings   1957   6 out of 10

The description for this movie on IMDB reads " A Party girl is murdered, and everyone at a Utah motel is a suspect."   This murder mystery is plodding in its pacing, but has a good pay off at the end that makes the journey worthwhile.  The suspects include  a weird guy in a wheelchair that owns the motel that can't move his arms or legs,  a creepy dim wit drunk, a man that just arrived in town and several other mysterious characters.  As the mystery unravels several more people die including the always gorgeous Mamie Van Doren.  The story slowly unravels with several red herrings leading you down possible paths.   The problem with many old mystery stories is that you can get stories just as good if not better in many of the detective or crime TV shows that have come since.

Satan met a Lady 1936 5 out of 10

Satan Met a Lady   1936   5 out of 10

This was basically a silly, light detective movie.  A remake of The Maltese Falcon with the character names changed and the horn in place of the bird statue.   It was still an effective story although the light and silly tone of the film made what would normally be tense and gritty moments have less weight.   Five years after this remake the film would be remade yet again this time with Humphrey Bogart in the lead role which was a classic.   This version was okay --but especially compare to the much better Bogart version it palls in comparison.  

Crime by Night 1944 7+ out of 10

Crime by Night   1944   7+ out of 10

Detective Sam Campbell ( Jerome Cowan) and his secretary (Jane Wyman)  find themselves in the middle of a murder case.   They must prove that an ex concert pianist is innocent of killing his ex father in law during a custody case.  The pacing of the story is quick with some twists and turns in the case that eventually lead them to uncover that the real killer is actually a spy.  It has the feel of  a subtler version of a  Fletch movie set in the 1940's. The dialogue was crisp and the acting was good which makes for a good watch.

10 Little Indians 1965 7 out of 10

Tne Little Indians 1965........7 out of 10

10 strangers invited to an isolated place by a mysterious individual... each one lured there by a different promise.  Each one supposedly guilty of some form of murder....Each lured there to their doom.    This is a solid murder mystery that is based on an Agatha Christie book (that has been brought to the screen 4 times)  I've seen quite a few movies with this plotline before....many of which have been horror movies including the  recent bad shark movie Shark week  (seen below)

http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2012/09/shark-week-2012-3-out-of-10-another.html

The characters in the movie  are  trapped in this chateau in the mountains  and are killed off one by one following the poem 10 Little Indians.   The cast is a solid group of actors that I've seen in other films . There are twists and turns and a final reveal to who the killer is .  A solid mystery.