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A Haunting in Venice – Review
A Haunting in Venice – Budget of $60 million – 1 hour and 43 minutes
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Hercule Poirot retires in Venice and avoids new cases with the help of his bodyguard, Vitale Portfoglio. Vitale runs to Hercule’s rooftop with a message from a friend. Hercule corrects Vitale and states he doesn’t have friends. Then, Vitale shows Hercule an apple, and Hercule knows that author Ariadne Oliver is there. An actress, Rowena Drake, hired a medium, Joyce Reynolds, to communicate with her deceased daughter, Alicia, in a séance. Alicia committed suicide after her fiancé, Maxime, left her and six months later became engaged to another woman. With Joyce’s help, Rowena prays to talk to Alicia again. Ariadne was able to uncover fakes before but believes Joyce is the real deal. Ariadne is writing a book about Joyce, and proving Joyce wrong will make the book a best-seller.
Hercule, Ariadne, and Vitale arrive at Rowena’s home and hear it’s haunted history. Rowena opens her doors to let the children play on Halloween, but Leopold wants to read his book instead. Leopold doesn’t want to participate in the activities because his father, Dr. Ferrier, suffers from trauma from his service in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Rowen hired Dr. Ferrier to care for Alicia after she started having delusions. Rowena allows Dr. Ferrier and Leopold to attend the séance. Joyce arrives with her assistant, Desdemona Holland, wearing a cloak and mask. Before everyone walks into the salon, Rowena’s housekeeper, Olga Semioff, screams at the front door. Maxime received an invitation to the séance and demands to attend.
Joyce puts a typewriter in the corner of the room, and Desdemona stands next to it. Joyce considers herself a dictator of the spirit world. Joyce has Olga, Ariadne, Dr. Ferrier, Leopold, and Rowena surround her as she calls Alicia to speak from beyond the grave. Alicia connects to Joyce and says someone murdered her through the typewriter. Hercule stops the séance and exposes Joyce’s fraud. Desdemona’s half-brother, Nicholas, hid in the fireplace and signaled the typewriter. As Hercule readies to put the case to bed, windows fly open, and Joyce spends around uncontrollably speaking with Alicia’s voice. She comes out of the trance and offers more information about Alicia’s killer in the morning.
Privately, Hercule confronts Joyce for using Rowena’s desperation for financial gain. Joyce doesn’t think a little white lie will hurt anyone. But she puts her mask and cloak on Hercule and tells him to do better than her. Hercule indulges in a children’s game of bobbing apples, and someone pushes his face into the water. Hercule slips out of consciousness before seeing the perpetrator. He wakes up to Vitale standing over him. Then, they all hear a scream and find Joyce impaled after someone threw her off a balcony. Rowena believes that ghosts killed Joyce, but Hercule knows better. He locks everyone inside the house and plans to investigate. Hercule doesn’t believe in ghosts or God but starts to see and hear things around the house. Can Hercule uncover the killer before losing his mind?
Based on Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, this movie starts with Hercule happily leaving the mystery world behind (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer). Ariadne sparks his interest with a Halloween séance. The house has a horrid history with a plague, causing doctors and nurses to leave children to die. This tale leaves the plot open to ghosts with targets in their crosshairs. This film has plot points from Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. There is more than one victim, hidden connections, and several mysteries. Hercule fans know to keep their eyes and ears open for every clue. And this time, you may spot the nugget of truth hidden in a brief exchange. Don’t worry because every question will have an answer. This movie isn’t the best, but you will leave the theater satisfied.
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars
I don’t have any friends – Hercule
That’s for the orphans – Leopold
This one will be very sad – Joyce
If I am trapped here, so are you – Olga
You can’t trap us here – Maxime
I should be taking care of you – Dr. Ferrier
That is happiness, not satisfaction – Ariadne
What do we do? She was our ticket – Nicholas
In Venice, we say every home is haunted or cursed – Vitale
Bobo the Rabbit – Rowena
Missouri – Desdemona
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Outlaw Johnny Black – Review
Outlaw Johnny Black – Budget Unknown – 2 hours and 15 minutes
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Outlaw Johnny Black rides into Cheyanne because Brett Clayton and the Ruff Riders will rob the bank. Over two decades ago, Brett killed Johnny’s father, Reverend Bullseye Black. So, Johnny sits and waits. Then, Johnny sees a group of men harassing an indigenous couple, and Johnny runs to their rescue. During the melee, the sheriff runs out, and Johnny shoots off his hat, causing the sheriff to have a heart attack. They blame Johnny for the sheriff’s death and compare Johnny to his wanted poster. They decide Johnny’s punishment will be hanging, but the indigenous couple helps Johnny escape.
Johnny wanders the desert until he collapses, and Reverend Percy saves him. Percy will travel to Hope Springs and take over for the town’s recently deceased Reverend. However, Percy has more waiting for him. Percy and Betsy correspond via letters for two years, and Percy is ready to marry her. Johnny warns Percy about marrying a woman without seeing her, and Percy pulls a photo out of his wallet. Betsy is beautiful, but Percy admits that Betsy has never seen an image of him.
Johnny prepares Percy’s horse and buggy to travel to Hope Springs, and someone shoots Percy with an arrow to the heart. Johnny gets in the buggy and runs away to a madame’s house. Marshall Cove doesn’t trust Johnny and questions him. Johnny says his name is Reverend Percy as Betsy vouches for him. The congregation burst with pride and gushed about the new Reverend’s sermon on Sunday. They bring Johnny to the Reverend’s quarters but sadly say that Johnny can’t move into the Reverend’s home because Tom Sheally took it. Tom negotiates with Jessie Lee to buy the town, but she won’t budge. Tom isn’t a patient or fair man. So, he will kill for the town.
After everyone leaves Johnny’s room, he tries to jump out of the window to escape. Deacon Fry enters and gives Johnny the church’s security box key. Fry tells Johnny the box has $5,000 inside. Johnny wants the money, but the bank won’t open until Monday. So Johnny has to stay in town and preach a sermon before he can get the money and leave. This fateful decision will put Johnny on a path of love, God, and Brett.
This film is a parody of old-fashioned westerns and blaxploitation. It covers a lot of issues while staying light-hearted and fun. Be prepared for fancy shooting, gun-slinging, and karate. They poke fun at Westerns by jokingly using caucasian actors to play indigenous people. The script stayed within the period with costumes and technology but constantly broke the fourth wall to include the audience in the joke. While the movie was entertaining, it ran too long.
I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars
I’m not asking. I’m telling – Johnny
Now, I got to waste nine bullets – Brett
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Categories: A Haunting in Venice, Ali Khan, Anika Noni Rose, Barry Bostwick, Byron Keith Minns, Camille Cottin, Chris Browning, Emma Laird, Erica Ash, In The Theater, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill, Kelly Reilly, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Chapman, Kyle Allen, Michael Jai White, Michelle Yeoh, movie, Outlaw Johnny Black, Randy Couture, review, Riccardo Scamarcio, tina fey
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