Popcorn Perspectives by Danny Minton
Week of November 13, 2017
Murder on the Orient Express
Rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 58%
In Theaters
Kenneth Branagh stars and directs this film based on the famous Agatha Christie novel about the world’s greatest detective who just happens to be on a train where a murder has taken place, and who must piece together the clues in order to find out who did it. While the film has some absolutely stunning production, what will prove to be most valuable is the all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Judy Dench, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Leslie Odom, Jr., Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad and Michelle Pfeiffer. It really is an exceptional cast and it is mind-blowing that all of these talents would come together for such a mediocre film. The story itself is fantastic. In the third act when you learn the details of the murder, you can’t help but be drawn in and surprised. It’s an incredible story turn that you don’t get to fully absorb because everything is seen and moved by Kenneth Branagh as detective Hercule Poirot. Everything is viewed and judged by his morality, his ethics and his sense of justice. While I’m sure this monstrous ego is written into the stories he stars in, it is less than welcome here as it gets in the way of the juicy plot. This ego also slows things down too much when it can hardly afford it, creating pacing problems throughout the movie. So while the movie is impressive in many regards, it is overall a disappointment. C
Wind River
Rated R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%
On Blu-ray and DVD
From Taylor Sheridan, the writer of Sicario and Hell or High Water (the best film of last year in my opinion) comes this terrifying and terrific thriller about tracker with the Fish and Wildlife Service (Jeremy Renner) and a young FBI agent (Elizebeth Olsen) who investigate the death of a young Native American woman on a secluded Indian Reservation in Wyoming. While there are many detective movies out there, when one comes along that is so unique and yet authentic, its hard to take your eyes of off it, even for a second. This is certainly the case here. While Sheridan is fairly new to the director gig, you wouldn’t know from this as it is masterful in both its scripting and directing, giving the audience a remarkable piece of fiction that feels more like a gut-wrenching window to a part of the world that most of us know very little about. Sure its a tough one to absorb and some of the scenes will knock the breath of out of you, but by the end you will understand that you just witnessed something great. A
Atomic Blonde
Rated R for sequences of strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%
On Blu-ray and DVD
Going for a sort of female Jason Bourne flick that takes place during the cold war, Charlize Theron takes on the role of the butt-kicking MI6 super spy who must take down an espionage ring in Berlin, right as the wall is about to fall. So I’m the one guy who didn’t really like the Jason Bourne films that much, but I had a giddy time here. I credit that to the superb fight choreography which is some of the best I’ve seen outside of Asian cinema. And when you throw in a cool plot and the user-sexy Theron who even looks great with bruises and cuts all over her, well – you end up with a fun and exciting movie diversion. B
Cars 3
Rated G
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
On Blu-ray and DVD
After the last Cars movie drew in the worst critical ire of any Pixar film, its surprising that they can back for more. This time out they went away from the spy genre of the second pic and back to racing. As technology increases, the newer cars have an advantage on the track and Lightning McQueen is starting to think that his sheer skill might not be able to overcome this change to racing. It’s definitely the right direction for the franchise to move to and the artistry is top-notch. But even the vastly improved reviews didn’t make much of a difference at the box office as it pulled in a relatively low haul compared to its other Pixar counterparts. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. B-