The Polish Officer
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It is the late summer of 1938, Europe is about to explode, the Hollywood film star Fredric Stahl is...
Mission to Paris
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It is the late summer of 1938, Europe is about to explode, and the Hollywood film star Fredric Stahl...
The Room on Rue Amélie
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For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, this powerful...
David McK (3377 KP) rated Death on the Nile (2022) in Movies
Apr 10, 2022
I've never seen that movie.
I have read the book on which it (Murder on Orient Express) is based, though.
As I'm not that big a fan of murder mysteries, I hadn't, however, read the story on which this is based.
Why does that matter?
Simply because it meant I was going into this with no preconceptions; no real idea of what would happen (other than there would be a murder which Poirot has to solve)!
I'm not sure whether the rest of Agatha Christie's Poirot novels are all like this or not - I've only read Murder on Orient Express and Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but I did find heavy similarities between the plots, with both Orient Express and is film largely taking place in a confined location, where there is a limited pool of suspects and where Poirot has to sit down and methodically think his way through.
This movie takes a while to get going, with the first hour or so in particular - I found - dragging quite a bit. I've also heard that there was extensive use of Green screen throughout, which might also explain why some of the Nile scenes just didn't sit quite right.
On the other hand, there is a veritable list of who's who acting talent on the screen: aside from Branagh himself, we have Gal Gadot (as the key victim), Emma Mackey, Arnie Hammer, Russel Brand (surprisingly understated), Annette Benning, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders (yes, that French and Saunders!), Letitia Wright and Sophie Okonedo - nearly all of whom would have their own motives for the murder.
ClareR (5686 KP) rated The Kingdoms in Books
Mar 6, 2022
Basically (and I warn you: there’s nothing basic about this storyline!), Joe Tournier finds himself at a London train station, and realises that he doesn’t know how he got there, or who he is. A kind stranger takes him to the hospital where he’s diagnosed with amnesia. After a week at an asylum, his owner and his wife come to claim him. His French owner. He is a slave in Londres, which is occupied by the French after they won the Napoleonic Wars. But none of this feels right to him.
A month or so later, he receives a postcard written in illegal English, from a lighthouse in rebel Scotland - written 100 years ago. After gaining his freedom as a slave, Joe becomes an engineer, and is sent to the same lighthouse to make repairs. And that’s all I’ll say, because I really don’t want to spoil the story. I will say that there’s some jumping around in time, and it shows that if you change a small thing in the past, there can be huge ramifications in the future.
I loved the characters, the plot, the setting - just everything about it really appealed to me. I can’t say as I’ve read many books set mainly on boats, naval or otherwise. The rules and the running of the ships were really interesting, and the sea battles were gripping.
It’s a fabulous book, and I’d most definitely recommend it. Thanks to The Pigeonhole for the serialisation!
Merissa (11967 KP) created a post
Jun 1, 2022
Milleen (47 KP) rated Birdcage Walk in Books
Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)
The Way I See It: Rants, Revelations And Rules For Life
Book
Everyone knows that Lord Sugar has strong opinions and is not afraid to share them - no matter how...
The Damiens Affair and the Unraveling of the Ancien Regime, 1750-1770
Book
This book examines an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Louis XV of France and the trial of...