A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice; Creepy use of classic Venice setting plus a game cast makes for a great mix of sleuth and spooks. Dutch angles aplenty and some wicked lenses add to the atmosphere while highlighting the haunting history and beauty of the surroundings. A touch of humour rounds it out nicely; B

Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile; Exquisite production design and spectacularly filmed gorgeous locations and people can’t rescue the time it takes for this mystery to start to intrigue. Sure, a novel can take its time to unravel but the way this story is told makes it DOA despite it all; C
 

Tenet

Tenet; A film that seems to demand a second viewing, yet without enough to entice us to actually want to do so. Some scenes certainly look cool, and Washington is as cool an actor as there ever was. The time muddled plot works if we care to follow along, and that’s a big “if”; B-

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl; Oddly omits best parts of book from the screenplay. Changes detract from what makes book a fun, engaging read. Offers less action and more imagery and is overall disappointing. Casting is pretty good despite the alterations. Not sure what they were going for; C-

Cinderella

Cinderella; So earnest & extravagant, the fairy tale's whimsy is lost on me. Rather see $$ spent on making real girls' dreams come true; B-

The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man; It embarrasses me to see such talent being used to create the visions of a hack writer like John Grisham. And now that he's got this film accomplished, his first original screenplay, there may actually be many more. The only thing worth watching here are the actors, and the scenery Altman surrounds them in. Downey is especially entertaining, as he seems to breathe his roles. Branagh is amazing, in a role that hardly seems like the Shakespearean trained actor that he is. His accent totally disappears into a Southern states lawyer. Yes, lawyer, as Grisham rehashes the same plot and characters through the mud, adding Duval as the unreachable crazy. Rent this if you haven't seen a Grisham, otherwise you'll be experiencing deja-vu for two full hours; C+