Michelle Yeoh

Review of “A Haunting in Venice”

Death comes for us all. If we’re lucky, we live a long and happy life and die peacefully in our sleep. Sadly, that isn’t the destiny of everyone. Some struggle with disease, physical and/or mental. Some die by their choices, either living a life filled with unhealthy food and lack of exercise, or by the substances they choose to use to dull the pain of their existence. Others have no choice in the matter and their lives are snuffed out by the decisions of those known or unknown to them. There are car crashes, building collapses, natural disasters, crime, war and countless other ways to be removed from this mortal coil. All this is a serious bummer, I know, but in movies, TV shows and books, watching a detective piece together and facts of a death, either mundane or diabolical, expose the cause and those responsible can be entertaining and thrilling. My wife and I recently rewatched all the episodes of “Columbo” that aired back in the 1960’s and 1970’s and was revived from 1989 until 2003. The character of Columbo made a show of his bumbling manner and disheveled appearance, leading the killer to believe the police detective was easily deceived. This would lead the killer, whom Columbo had suspected from their first meeting, to make mistakes and lead to their eventual capture. A detective who never wants anyone to question his intelligence is the creation of writer Agatha Christie, the Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. If the question is ever asked, Poirot is quick to proclaim himself the greatest detective in the world. All his skill at deduction is required as he faces a killer in an alleged haunted house in “A Haunting in Venice.”

Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is living in Venice, Italy, after retiring from detecting. Despite his refusal to take a new case, people line up at the entrance to his home begging for his help. He is protected from these desperate people by a retired policeman turned bodyguard Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio). While at his home, Poirot is approached by Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), a friend and writer of crime novels. Her fictional detective is based on Poirot after following him around on a case where the pair develop an uneasy friendship. Oliver wants Poirot to accompany her to a séance at the palazzo of Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), an opera singer that retired following the death by suicide of her teenage daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson) following a period of mental illness. The séance will be conducted by psychic medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) who has recently been released from prison on a charge of witchcraft. Oliver cannot figure out how Reynolds is able to make her fake seances look so real and wants Poirot to expose her. Aside from Poirot, Oliver, Mrs. Drake and Vitale, others in attendance are Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen), Alicia’s former fiancé, Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin), Dr. Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan) who cared for Alicia in her last days, Leopold Ferrier (Jude Hill) the doctor’s child, and Desdemona Holland (Emma Laird) an assistant to Reynolds. During the séance, Poirot reveals Nicholas Holland (Ali Khan) one of Reynolds’ assistants and Desdemona’s brother, hiding in a fireplace and using a device to create some of the odd happenings. Despite this, Reynolds speaks in an altered voice and, speaking as Alicia, says she was murdered without identifying who is responsible. After the séance, one of the participants is murdered, their body impaled on the raised arm of a statue outside the palazzo. Due to a heavy storm the police are unable to come to the scene and no boats can transport the survivors away. Despite this, Poirot locks all the exits and announces no one can leave until he has captured the killer.

Star and director Kenneth Branagh has carved out a special place in the world of Agatha Christie adaptations with his take on Hercule Poirot. His three films, “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Death on the Nile” and now “A Haunting in Venice,” have given a bit of perspective on the idiosyncrasies of the detective. We learn in the first film of his need for order and consistency. In the second film, the specific reason for his ornate mustache is revealed, but I don’t know if this is from Christie’s books or a creation of the scriptwriters. In this film, we see an older, more cynical Poirot that has seen too much death, causing him to question the existence of God and an afterlife. These insights also give us a glimpse into the reason Poirot is such a good detective.

The massive cast of “A Haunting in Venice” causes the juicy story beats to be spread a bit too thin. Each person is a suspect mostly because of their proximity to those in the house. Even the young son of Dr. Ferrier is suspected at one point. We only learn later why some have more reason to be the killer than others. That’s good. Otherwise, the movie would only be about a half hour long. Still given the size of the cast and the sprawling multi-floor palazzo, the important moments tend to be spread about almost randomly.

The important clue of the case, much like in “Death on the Nile,” is revealed in a ham-fisted way that is impossible to miss. But just to make sure it registers; the script repeats the clue a couple of times like it’s banging a gong. You’ll know the item in question is important whether you wanted to or not. You may not understand why it’s important, but you can’t miss that it is.

The mixture of a murder mystery with the unknown of a possibly haunted house makes “A Haunting in Venice” the most interesting of the Branagh Poirot movies. While there is no chance the detective won’t put all the pieces together and expose the very living villain of the piece, there is some room for doubt as the story has Poirot questioning his own senses. He’s seeing people that aren’t there and hearing voices no one else hears. Is this the paranormal? Are there ghosts and spirits haunting the palazzo? Will Poirot be forced to admit there is more than his formidable mind can comprehend? One will need to watch the film to get all these answers and it is well worth the trip to the theater and the time to find out.

“A Haunting in Venice” is rated PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images and thematic elements. Poirot is attacked and nearly drowned. We see a flashback of Alicia Drake falling into the canal and sinking under the water several times. We see the first murder victim impaled on the statue, first in shadow and then lit. There is a fistfight between two men in the house. People’s skeletons are discovered in the home. A character discusses liberating a Nazi death camp at the end of World War II and some of the things he and other soldiers did. Foul language is limited to the use of one word.

I wasn’t a huge fan of “Murder on the Orient Express” nor “Death on the Nile.” I thought the first film did nothing new with the story and the second was particularly heavy-handed with revealing the clue that breaks the case. While “A Haunting in Venice” commits a similar sin to “Nile,” the overall feel of the film, the creepy location, the haunting backstory of the house and a murder after a séance, combine with a stellar cast and some interesting camera choices by director Branagh and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos to make this haunted house worth a visit, even if it is only September.

“A Haunting in Venice” gets four stars out of five.

Follow, rate, review and download the podcast Comedy Tragedy Marriage. Each week my wife and I take turns picking a movie to watch, watch it together, then discuss why we love it, like it or loath it. Find it wherever you get podcasts.

Follow me on Twitter (or if you prefer, X) @moviemanstan. I’m also on Threads and Spoutible @stanthemovieman.

Review of “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) and her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) are immigrants running a failing laundromat and facing an IRS audit performed by the very picky Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) while also coming to grips with their daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) dating a woman named Becky (Tallie Medel). Adding to the pressure, Evelyn’s father, referred to by the Chinese word for “grandfather”, Gong Gong (James Hong), is visiting. On the elevator ride to the audit, Waymond begins acting odd. He writes down instructions for Evelyn to follow that make no sense and tells her he’s not her husband but a person from another reality and she’s the only person that can save the multiverse from a growing threat called Jobu Tupaki. Evelyn thinks Waymond has gone insane, but a series of events leads her to believe his crazy story and she begins fighting to preserve all realities across the multiverse.

It makes even less sense when you see “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The film requires a great deal of patience on the part of the viewer, but you will be rewarded with a witty, imaginative, entertaining thrill ride…up to a point.

Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu all turn in amazing performances, making the insanity of hopping from one reality to another, with a new set of skills depending on the need at the time, into a coherent story with relatable characters, complicated relationships, and understandable situations. It would be like putting three distinct kinds of cake into a blender, mixing them up, then picking out only the bits from one of the cakes. It is at times a mess and not always worth the effort, but it leads to something delicious if you have the time.

The film makers don’t seem to know how to bring all the chaos to an end. There is an actual fake ending that looks like credits are rolling, but the actors names are their character names. We are seeing a different reality where Evelyn is a famous actor in martial arts films. Characters die, but only in one reality, so we aren’t sure if this is a real ending or not. The film runs out of steam and begins crafting endings for the various realities we’ve visited. There are dozens of realities visited in the movie and soon it’s difficult to keep track of one from another.

When we finally, FINALLY reach a conclusion after two-plus hours of mayhem, it feels as if the writers/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, billed as Daniels, aren’t sure what to do. We get a squishy, feel-good, kumbaya ending that feels wrong. If Jobu Tupaki is this malevolent evil looking to annihilate all reality, it seems like a firm hug and an “I love you” shouldn’t be enough to solve the problem. Maybe I’m too cynical and want all my finales to feel earned and justified. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” takes the easy way to a happy conclusion, not a satisfying one.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is rated R for some violence, sexual material and language. There is numerous fights throughout the film. There is very little gore. The sexual material is the use of two cylindrical items in a bizarre way. Foul language is scattered, but the “F-word” is used a couple of times.

I really wanted to love “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as it has an unusual premise and features Michelle Yeoh, an actor deserving of much more fame and recognition than she has received over her long career. Real critics universally love it, and we all suggest you see it. However, I think it could be tightened up by about 20 minutes and the ultimate ending could be better. It deserves your money and eyeballs but be prepared to leave the theater wondering if it couldn’t be improved.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” gets 3.5 stars out of five.

Follow, rate, review and download the podcast Comedy Tragedy Marriage. Each week my wife and I take turns picking a movie to watch, watch it together, then discuss why we love it, like it or loath it. Find it wherever you get podcasts.

Follow me on Twitter @moviemanstan.

Review of “Morgan”

Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) is a corporate troubleshooter sent to evaluate a unique program. Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) is the project. While being only five years old, Morgan is the size of a teenage girl. Her DNA is a mixture of human and synthetic and her brain contains nano-sized robots that have altered its development. She has precognitive abilities and is extremely strong and fast. A team of scientists has been working in secret on the project that led to Morgan for seven years in a house located deep inside a forest. Morgan used to be allowed outside but a behavioral scientist named Dr. Amy Menser (Rose Leslie) took Morgan beyond the boundary of the compound and lead researcher Dr. Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh) put an end to her field trips. Morgan is kept in an isolation cell and monitored by a rotating group of researchers. One of those researchers, Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh), brought Morgan her lunch and decided to eat with her inside the isolation cell but Morgan attacked her, stabbing her several times in the eye. This has led the corporation that is funding the research to send Weathers to oversee an evaluation of the project, including a psychological examination of Morgan by Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti), and determine if it should be terminated.

There’s a good movie to be made out of the ideas in “Morgan.” Sadly, the movie I saw wasn’t it. It’s not terrible and there are good performances from Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy but there are some odd choices made by some of the characters as the story progresses and there were a great deal of unanswered questions that nagged at me while I was watching the film.

“Morgan” takes a familiar concept and explores it fairly well. All the scientists see Morgan as a child trying to figure out her place in the world while Weathers sees Morgan as an “it” and something that can be discarded like a defective piece of plastic. That conflict is central to the plot and kicks off the carnage that makes up the last 30 minutes of the movie. My main problem with this part of the film is the willingness of the scientists to ignore all of Morgan’s past deeds and refuse to do what is necessary. One of the team even has a high-powered rifle pointed at her chest and still delays shooting long enough for Morgan to disarm him.

This is the same problem I have with most horror/thriller movies where characters make decisions that clearly go against their own best interests and what they know to be true. This logical misstep wasn’t in evidence during “Don’t Breathe” as even when the characters made a decision that kept them in peril it made sense and they didn’t hesitate to take action against their enemy although it wasn’t always as effective as they would have wanted.

“Morgan” is a victim of lazy storytelling. We’ve seen many of the ideas in the film in other better movies but here the script seems to be taking a “cafeteria” approach by picking certain elements and ignoring others. The script is trying to make a point about man’s arrogant belief that he can control nature but that gets lost in all the stupidity and carnage.

The movie also isn’t shy about telegraphing a twist that is revealed late in the film. Again, this is lazy storytelling since, in order for it to be a true twist it shouldn’t be painfully obvious early on. One particular shot in the film gives the surprise away with all the subtlety of a high rise building being imploded. It screams, “Hey! Look at this! You think this implies anything important about what’s coming later?!” While the specifics of the twist aren’t given away, the basic idea of what’s going to happen is clear.

There are things to like in “Morgan.” Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy give intense and uncompromising performances. Taylor-Joy is given a particular icy look with her makeup and hair that give her character an otherworldly appearance. She is different on the inside and that is reflected on the outside. Mara is a no-nonsense business woman with a penchant for cutting through the niceties of everyday conversation and not worrying about hurting people’s feelings.

There are, perhaps surprisingly, some very good fight scenes exclusively between female characters. While it is never directly stated, Morgan appears to have been created as a living weapon as she is well versed in hand-to-hand combat and very good at turning everyday items into weapons. She has increased strength and endurance and is usually coldblooded in dealing with an enemy. Weathers is also good with her fists and with a weapon as well. These two duke it out on at least three occasions in the film and each one is intense. The research team’s physician is also good at fisticuffs. This comes from out of nowhere and feels again like lazy storytelling and a way to keep the plot moving forward.

“Morgan” is rated R for some language and brutal violence. When there is violence in the film it is usually bloody, sometimes very bloody. The movie starts with Morgan’s attack on Dr. Grieff and, while not bloody on film, the sound effects used are rather suggestive of gore. Foul language is scattered.

“Morgan” has some very interesting ideas that get bogged down in thriller clichés. It wants to be a creepy look at Man playing God but eventually turns into a predictable and nothing more than average monster movie. It isn’t the worst way to spend 90 minutes in a darkened, air-conditioned theatre with some good performances and fight scenes but it could have been a great deal better.

“Morgan” gets three stars out of five.

There’s a wide variety of movies opening this week. I’ll see and review at least one of the following:

The Disappointments Room—

Sully—

When the Bough Breaks—

The Wild Life—

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