A Haunting in Venice
Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
In theaters
In his third outing as director and star of this popular mystery franchise, Kenneth Branagh’s take on Agatha Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party” which finds Hercule Poirot as a retired detective living in splendid opulence in Venice, trying to stay away from work in his own form of seclusion. But when an old friend shows up to convince him to attend a seance, he finds himself forced to investigate again after a grisly murder takes place. Just as in the other films, a great cast of characters comes together for a nice murder mystery. In this case, it is a bit scarier due to the very nature of the film and its exploration of ghosts, but its frights are more in the Scooby Doo model rather than what you might find in typical horror films. Also, while the cast is strong, with Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Dornan in the mix, the names are considerably less known compared to the previous casts he has assembled. But the acting is still good enough to tell the story well. While the movie is fairly enjoyable, I did find it a bit predictable as I was able to easily predict the killer halfway through the picture. Perhaps this is because I’ve seen too many of these types of films, or perhaps because they were a bit too obvious as they tried to dole out clues as to why each individual could be guilty. Either way, my guessing game didn’t stop me from liking the well-made film and appreciating the finer aspects of its creation. B-
Elemental
Rated PG for some peril, brief language and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74%
Streaming on Disney+
One of the biggest box office disappointments of the year is the newest Pixar animated movie which takes place in the world of elements, i.e. fire, water, vapor. I must admit that I missed this one in theaters, but was finally able to catch it on Disney+, where I was thankful that I missed out on the theatrical experience. The story revolves around a young immigrant who works in her father’s fire business. When a young water inspector comes calling, he begins to fall in love, but he also has a job to do. If you are having trouble following my synopsis, that’s because none of it makes sense. Pixar seems to have lost their way with this romance and honestly, I couldn’t wait to get through it where I could start to forget its existence. Sure, it’s beautiful to look at and the music is quite nice, but the story is so nonsensical that it was almost painful to go along for the ride. I get what they are trying make an analogy to race relations and especially interracial relationships, but their message seems almost irrelevant if they are trying to get a point across, and the whole concept actually hurt my brain. Pixar desperately needs to get back to telling great stories rather than making social points that are relatively unnecessary. Unfortunately, this kind of film damages their brand. C-
Danny Minton may be reached at danny@dannyminton.com.
