Mystery Movie Review - Dead Again

 Some call this a neo-noir romantic thriller and others call it a psychological thriller. I classify it as a gothic mystery/thriller in the vein of Hitchcock. It was released August 23, 1991, in the United States, and October 25, 1991, in the United Kingdom. It was entered into the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 1992.

Movie Blurb: "When a mute woman suffering from amnesia (Emma Thompson) arrives at the gates of an old orphanage, private investigator Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) is asked to find out who she is. With the help of a hypnotist (Derek Jacobi), the woman regains her voice and recalls vivid past memories of a couple from the 1940s torn apart by murder. Church begins to develop feelings for the woman, who he calls Grace, and then discovers he has a connection to the tragic couple from the 40s."

What's It About?:  In the late 1940s, after the Second World War, composer Roman Strauss and pianist Margaret Strauss have a whirlwind romance and marry.  Something goes horribly wrong and one night Margaret is murder with a pair of scissors and Roman is convicted for the murder.  In modern day, a woman looking exactly like Margaret Strauss appears at an orphanage unable to speak and without her memory.  Private investigator Mike Church, who looks like Roman Strauss, is enlisted to find out who she is.  After some hypnotherapy, the woman finds her voice and relates the story of Margaret and Roman as if it were a memory.  She becomes convinced the modern day Mike with kill her like Roman had Margaret.  But there are twists and turns and more to the problem than just that. 

Written by Scott Frank

Directed by Kenneth Branagh 

Starring:

Kenneth Branagh playing dual role of Mike Church and Roman Strauss (1949)

Emma Thompson playing dual roles of Grace and Margaret Strauss (1949)

Derek Jacobi

Andy García 

Wayne Knight 

Robin Williams 

Hanna Schygulla 

The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson and Robin Williams; and two Oscar nominees: Andy Garcia and Patrick Doyle.

Awards:

Jacobi was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Patrick Doyle, who composed the film's music, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.

Rotten Tomatoes: 81% 

Reviews:

"[W]hile this film may not make literal sense in the harsh light of day, in the twilight, shadowy world of classic Hollywood this slyly inventive thriller is bravura bit of old fashion entertainment, done up with modern flair."  Sean Axmaker, Stream on Demand

"Be grateful for the genuine amusement Dead Again supplies. It may be cotton candy, but it's well spun." David Ansen, Newsweek

"His film is both a good mystery movie and a good movie-movie; its sheer "movieness" is what gives the picture its kick. As his career progressed, Branagh may very well have made better films than 'Dead Again.' But he never made another one this fun."  Jason Bailey, DVDTalk.com

"As the twists come thick and fast and the plot gets progressively more and more baroque, Branagh shows himself to be at least as intelligent as Brian De Palma in delivering over-the-top stylistic filigree." Jonathan Rosenbaum

Trivia (mostly IMDB): 

• Dame Emma Thompson and Sir Kenneth Branagh were married when this movie was filmed and premiered. They divorced in 1995.
• It was while making this movie that producer Lindsay Doran discovered that she shared a great love of Jane Austen with her leading lady, Dame Emma Thompson. She then asked Thompson to adapt one of Austen's novels for her next project, Sense and Sensibility (1995).
• This was Branagh's first real go at a sustained American accent, and he would go out in Los Angeles to practice it with strangers. No one seemed to notice or care.
• The home used as the Roman Stauss' mansion-turned-Christian orphanage is located in Pasadena, CA. They added the front gate and extra towers to maximize the gothic nature.
• This movie was shot entirely in color. It was decided during editing, however, that the movement between past and present could be made clearer by printing the Roman and Margaret scenes in black-and-white. 
• A lacquer box containing an antique pair of scissors, seen late in the movie, has Japanese characters on it that translate into "These are for you," a recurring line of dialogue in the movie.
• The convent is the same building that was used for exteriors of Bruce Wayne's house in Batman (1966).
• Two additional double roles (besides Mike/Roman and Grace/Margaret) are in this movie: the nun at the orphanage turns up as a snooty starlet at a party in the 1940s, and the cop at the mental hospital is seen again as an obnoxious party guest.
• When we first meet Mike Church, he's parked on the wrong side of the street. Most people thought this was a nod to director Sir Kenneth Branagh's British heritage. The real reason is because Branagh wanted some Los Angeles skyscrapers visible in the background.
• Being one of his few horror/thriller movies, Robin Williams didn't want his name to appear in the opening credits, as it might have misled audiences into thinking that this movie was a comedy.
• The scene with Grace and Mike walking along the lake at night was shot at Echo Park in Los Angeles three months after the rest of the movie. It was felt that the scene was needed to show the characters growing closer together.

My Thoughts:

I was completely invested in this movie and on the-edge-of-my-seat.  The few twists added to it and the noir feel with the black-and-white past shots and dramatic music propelled it along.  IMHO, this is a stylish take on a murder mystery that turns the genre on its head by introducing reincarnation to add to the suspense.  It's not perfect, but it was entertaining and I'll be going back to this one again.

The camera work is spot on and both Branaugh and Thompson give stellar performances, but Derek Jacobi (a personal favorite) and the three scenes with Robin Williams are fantastic.  I heard about this movie on a Facebook classic movie fan page and I'm happy I followed up and watched it.  

I heartily recommend.

Movie Trailer

Mystery Movie Review - Enola Holmes 2

I reviewed the first movie in this Netflix movie franchise (click here).  While Sherlock pureists won't like this for the few liberties taken to fit a younger sister into the Holmes canon, this is still a great Sherlock-adjacent mystery/adventure.  Originally based on the books by author Nancy Springer with 6 books in the series thus far at this writing.

What it's about:

"Fresh off the triumph of solving her first case, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) follows in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), and opens her own agency -- only to find that life as a female detective-for-hire isn't as easy as it seems. Resigned to accepting the cold realities of adulthood, she is about to close shop when a penniless matchstick girl offers Enola her first official job: to find her missing sister. But this case proves to be far more puzzling than expected, as Enola is thrown into a dangerous new world -- from London's sinister factories and colorful music halls, to the highest echelons of society and 221B Baker Street itself. As the sparks of a deadly conspiracy ignite, Enola must call upon the help of friends -- and Sherlock himself -- to unravel her mystery. The game, it seems, has found its feet again!" IMDB

Cast:

Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes

Henry Cavill (Superman) as Sherlock Holmes

Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown as Princess Margaret, The King's Speach, Harry Potter as Bellatrix Lestrange) as Eudoria Holmes -Enola's mother

Louis Partridge as Tewkesbury

David Thewlis (Prof Lupin in Harry Potter, Wonder Woman)

Susan Wokoma

Rotten Tomatoes and critics reviews:

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

"These Enola Holmes films are just great, striking an excellent balance of action, witty humor and a dark edge." Tim Cogshell, FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

"The plot hitches up its skirts and races along from the very first scene and the style and tone very much echo the original with Enola’s occasional cheeky fourth wall breaking..."  Paul Mount, Starburst

"Enola Holmes 2 triumphantly builds on the first film with added layers of charm, action, empowerment, and even a bit of romance." Kristen Maldonado, Pop Culture Planet

"While much of writer Jack Thorne’s screenplay copies tropes from the previous film, the additional Sherlock Holmes lore that is expanded in this film, and the return of the characters we love, make this adventure well worth taking." 

Josh Flanders, Chicago Reader

"Even though it’s a sequel, set in a familiar world with characters who have appeared on screen in countless iterations, Enola Holmes 2 still manages to feel fresh."  Kimber Myers, Crooked Marquee

My Thoughts:

Pure entertainment and a fresh character in Enola. Millie Bobby Brown provides us with a determined, smart, and capable young woman with just enough comedic touches and vulnerable moments to make her endearing. This second outing is a challenge for a movie to try to replicate the magic of the successful first movie.  But, this second Enola may be even better than the first with so many twists and non-stop action (you might need a nap after watching it!)  I love this second movie, I recommend for a fun movie with plenty of action.

Movie Trailor:

https://youtu.be/KKXNmYoPkx0

Mystery Movie Review - Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte

I am reviewing this 1965 psychological thriller as a warm-up for Halloween.  Although this was directed by Robert Aldrich, you might think it was a Hitchcock flick with it's build up to edge-of-your-seat tension.

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 

• 7 academy award nominations (best supporting actress [Moorehead], B&W cinematography, score, song, art direction, costume design, and editing).
• Adapted from the unpublished short story "What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?" by Henry Farrell 

Movie Blurb:  

An aging, reclusive Southern belle (Bette Davis) is plagued by a horrifying murder of her lover forty years prior when she was young.  The arrival of a relative (Olivia de Havilland as Miriam Deering) plunges Charlotte into madness - or is she being helped along?  And who killed lover John Mayhew all those years ago?

What's It About?:

Rotten Tomatoes: "Forty years ago, on the night they were meant to elope, Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) found her [married] lover decapitated during a party, the blood on her dress leading everyone to suspect she was the murderer. Now, in 1964, Charlotte is an old recluse and must fight to keep her home. She enlists the help of her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), who was there at the time of the murder. However, soon after Miriam's arrival, Charlotte's mind becomes unstable, and she starts thinking he is alive."  As for the mystery part, nobody was ever arrested for the murder. Did Charlotte kill him, or her father? Is she going insane now from guilt?  

Starring:

Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland [Melanie from Gone with the Wind], and Joseph Cotton, Mary Astor, with appearances from  Agnes Moorehead (Known for playing Endora in Bewitched), Bruce Dern, and George Kennedy.

My Thoughts:

The murder mystery isn't at the forefront. But the murder becomes the impetus for what happens in the rest of the movie.  Bette Davis, Agnes Moorehead, and Olivia de Havilland gave powerhouse performances. The cinematography, although black and white, was atmospheric, providing an ominous feeling with plenty of gothic touches. Sadly, the special effects aren't very good.  It does show the privilege of wealthy white in the south and the struggles of facing a changing status quo in the sixties.  It also has a haunting theme song that gets stuck in your head:

“Hush hush, sweet Charlotte,

He’ll love you till he dies... 

And every night after he shall die

Yes every night when he’s gone

The wind will sing you this lullaby

Sweet Charlotte was loved by John.”

 It's dated and comes across a little melodramatic for modern audiences, causing some to call it "campy".  I saw it for the first time on television at around twelve years old and I was riveted. I have re-watched it many times over the years and love the build-up of tension.  Bette Davis gave a great performance of a woman with a tragic past fighting to save her world and fearing she is loosing her grip on reality. She made you feel sorry for her in one scene and hate her in the next.  There are red herrings regarding who actually killed philandering John Mayhew, but the murderer from forty years prior is finally and formally identified.

Everybody seems to want to compare this film to "What Happened to Baby Jane", but this was a better written screen play and the acting was better - in my opinion. I can't stand Joan Crawford, but de Havilland was superlative as cousin Miriam.  It isn't perfect, but it is wicked good. Make a tub of popcorn, some root beer floats, and watch this early psychological thriller to get in the Halloween mood.

Movie Review - Enola Holmes

Movie Blurb: "When Enola Holmes—Sherlock’s teen sister—discovers her mother missing, she sets off to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right as she outwits her famous brother Sherlock and unravels a dangerous conspiracy around a mysterious young Lord. Starring Millie Bobby Brown,  Henry Cavill (Superman), and Helena Bonham-Carter (Harry Potter and  King's Speech)."

What's it About?:  Enola Homes is based on the first book in the young-adult fiction series by Nancy Springer. The story is about the teenage sister of the already-famous Sherlock Holmes, who travels to London to find her missing mother but ends up on a thrilling adventure, pairing up with a runaway lord as they attempt to solve a mystery that threatens the entire country.  

Enola's mother, and therefore Sherlock's mother, raised her in seclusion to be smart and capable of defending herself.  It becomes clear that the Holmes matriarch had something planned or was hiding from somebody.  This adds to the overall mystery.

A Change Of Plans:  The movie was originally planned to be release by Warner Bros. Pictures in movie theaters, but then Covid hit.  The distribution rights for the film were then picked up by Netflix and the release was solely on the paid subscription site on September 23, 2020. 

Reviews:  It received overall positive reviews from critics (91% Rotten Tomatoes and praised Brown's performance). It was one of the most-watched original Netflix films with an estimated 76 million households watching the film in the first four weeks of release.  

Peter Debruge of Variety called the film an "entertaining franchise starter" and praised Brown's performance and found the film "more tasteful in its high-energy storytelling than Guy Ritchie's recent Sherlock Holmes.

Legal Troubles: However, the Conan Doyle Estate filed a lawsuit against Netflix over the film.  The estate claims the movie violates copyright by depicting Sherlock Holmes as having emotions.  It seems that the few stories in the Sherlock canon that were written with Sherlock displaying any emotions (in 1923 and 1927) haven't reached the 100 year copywrite expiration.  Henry Cavill said that his portrayal of Sherlock was "a lot more emotional to begin with, so we pared it back, and we said, 'alright, let's not make it too emotional'."  My thoughts on the lawsuit is that an actor does have some artistic license to portray a character and make it his.  That is what acting is all about.

My thoughts:

I love the idea of Sherlock having a sister and Enola seems perfect.  She is unexpected, smart but is still honing her deductive skills, impetuous, wily, and yet still a touch naïve and trusting.  I adore Henry Cavill's portrayal of Sherlock and how he would feel towards a younger sister.  I grant you the movie is more of an intrigue tale than a sleuthing story, but I also think it needed to wow audiences to ensure a follow up movie.  The good news is that there will be a second movie and it should start filming this fall.

Overall, it is an entertaining movie with excellent acting and the story keeps moving.  I enjoyed this far more than the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock franchise - by far!  I loved it and highly recommend.  If you haven't seen it yet, treat yourself.

Movie trailer: https://youtu.be/y0f2xmjjUyI

Movie Review - Wait Until Dark

Wait Until Dark, a psychological thriller, started as a play before becoming a movie.  The original 1966 play starred Lee Remick and Robert Duvall.  Lee Remick was nominated for a Tony award for Best Actress in a play for her performance.  In 1998 the play had a successful revival with Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino in the cast.

The Movie

In 1967, just one year after the play debuted, it was made into a movie starring the legendary Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, and Efram Zimbalist Jr.  Rotten Tomatoes rated it a rare 96% with the consensus saying "Nail-bitingly tense and brilliantly acted, Wait Until Dark is a compact thriller that makes the most of its fiendishly clever premise."  Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 saying it had universal acclaim.  Bravo included the movie in their 100 Scariest Movie Moments based on its climax (which was the only time I have ever screamed in a movie). The American Film Institute ranked it #55 in its top one hundred thriller movies.

Description

Recently blind urban wife Susy is adapting to life without sight when her photographer husband, Sam, unwittingly becomes a drug mule.  A woman in the airport convinces Sam to take her antique doll until she can collect it from him.  She had stolen Heroin and hid it in the doll.  She is later killed by the men she stole from.  Sam takes the doll home and waits for the woman to return and collect the doll. Sam is contacted for another photography job and must travel, leaving Susy alone with the cheated drug dealers after the doll.  Realizing she is blind, they try to trick and con her out of the doll. 

My Thoughts

This movie is certainly a nail biting thriller that ratchets up the suspense like Hitchcock.  The climax truly was the only time in my entire life I screamed - not from any gore but the wound-tight tension and surprise in the scene.  It is clearly dated with its mild drug traffickers when today's audiences are used to more violence and gore, but the masterful building of tension is timeless.  It reflects a more trusting time as well for Sam to take the doll in the first place.

I contend that this was Audrey Hepburn's absolute greatest acting, hands down.  This is more than a "woman in jeopardy" thriller.  It is a cat and mouse game in the plot.  But at its core it's about a blind, fearful woman learning she is stronger than she ever imagined and that her "disability" can be her strength.  If you haven't seen this movie at all, or recently, treat yourself to this well directed and acted thriller.  Let me know if you have a reaction to the climax, even a little!

Here is a short movie trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNWNJYRVKsk

Movie Review - Crypt of Tears, Change of mail service

First came the Australia-based historical mystery novels by Kerry Greenwood, then the television series, finally the movie.  The popular series about the personal and professional life of Phryne Fisher (played by Essie Davis), a glamorous private detective in 1920s Melbourne, was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012.  The television series quickly garnered a strong fan base and has been aired in over 100 countries and territories.  

Going from television to the big screen: 

A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise funds for a film version of the popular television series (with the promise by Essie Davis that she was on board) on September 2017.  The Kickstarter campaign met its goal of $250,000 in less than 48 hours with excited fans donating what they could afford. Then, an additional ongoing crowdfunding campaign was begun through IndieGoGo in December 2017 to allow fans to continue supporting the effort.  Filming officially started in October 2018 and was wrapped by 27 November 2018.

Many donors got to have cameo appearances in the movie, mostly in the party scene as well as the author Kerry Greenwood who is sitting at a table with a bearded man getting their photo taken.

Movie description

After rescuing a young girl (Shirin) from her unjust imprisonment in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher begins to unravel a mystery concerning priceless emeralds, ancient curses and the truth behind the suspicious disappearance of Shirin's forgotten tribe and two murders.  The adventure takes Phryne and Jack to Jerusalem, London, and the Palestinian dessert.

My thoughts:

The movie successfully makes the transition from a television mystery series to a dramatic movie mystery adventure.  Phryne Fisher is still flaunting 1920's notions of a woman's place in her stylish fashion and free-spirited attitude.  The relationship between Phryne and Inspector Jack Robinson picks up several months after the last television episode, which is a big bonus for fans of the show.  The film removes Phryne from Melbourne Australia and puts her on more of a global backdrop.  There is more action and more danger in the film.  This Phryne is a smidgeon of Indiana Jones adventure mixed into her television persona for a bigger and bolder production.  There are two murders to solve and a curse to end.  This is a fun movie to indulge in for the sheer fun of Phryne and Jack on a grand adventure.  A "must" for fans and for those wanting a fast paced mystery adventure.

The official movie trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ1JC9ue8Y8

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