DEATH ON THE NILE : Tuesday 8th February 2022.

I saw the Australian Premier screening of the PG Rated 'DEATH ON THE NILE' at the Open Air Cinema at Mrs. Macquarie's Point in Sydney earlier this week. This mystery thriller is Directed, Co-Produced and stars Kenneth Branagh and is based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, is the follow up to Branagh's 2017 film 'Murder on the Orient Express', and is the third screen adaptation of the novel after the 1978 feature film and an episode on the TV series 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' aired in 2004. The film was originally set to be released on 20th December 2019, before being rescheduled to 9th October 2020. It was then pushed back two weeks to 23rd October and again to 18th December in response to the domestic box office during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the film was removed from its upcoming release schedule until further notice. The next month, the film was rescheduled to 17th September 2021 and in March 2021, it was then moved to this week. Costing US$90M to produce, the film has so far generated mixed or average Reviews. 

The film opens up with black and white footage of the trenches during WWI where French and Belgian troops have just taken orders to advance on the German line in three hours time when the wind changes direction in their favour, so supposedly allowing them to make the advance undercover of a canopy of gas. The commanding officer of the French and Belgian company (sporting an impressive moustache) gives his final orders to his men saying that many of them will surely die. Then turning around is a young soldier, Poirot (a clean shaven and de-aged Kenneth Branagh) who says that the birds circling overhead change the direction of their flight when the wind changes and that he has been observing them for months, and if they are to succeed in breaching the German line they must go within the next seven or eight minutes. And so they go, and undercover of a canopy of gas they surprise and storm the German line with minimal casualties on their side, their mission a great success against all odds. Until that commanding officer steps on a trip wire which triggers a huge explosion killing him instantly and sending many of his company straight to the nearest field hospital. Sometime later a nurse Katherine (Susannah Fielding) walks up to Poirot's bedside. His head is turned away from her and as she speaks there is clearly a connection between the two. Poirot then turns his head to face her revealing deep shrapnel scars to his lower left face, upper lip and chin, and he says how can you love a man who looks like this? She cradles his hands in hers, kisses his hand, and says, 'you'll just have to grow a moustache'. 

We then fast forward to London, 1937, and as Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh now sporting a full moustache) enters a music club we are greeted by Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo) a jazz singer and guitarist who is belting out a tune on stage with her band, with her niece and business manager Rosalie Otterbourne (Letitia Wright) handling her fee for the evening's entertainment. On the dance floor going all in are Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) and his bride to be Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey). Arriving at the door amongst a flash of photographers cameras and making a grand entrance is very wealthy business woman Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot), who is a long term school friend of Jacqueline's. Jacqueline can hardly contain herself as she tells Linnet of her new found love, and then introduces her to Simon, saying that they should dance. And they do, and there is clearly a chemistry between them, that Jacqueline can see instantly. All the while Poirot is observing this. 

Six weeks later we find ourselves in a lavish hotel on the banks of the River Nile in Egypt to celebrate the wedding of Simon Doyle . . . . . and Linnet Ridgeway. Among the invited guests are Bouc (Tom Bateman) and his renowned painter mother Euphemia (Annette Bening), Linus Windlesham (Russell Brand) an aristocratic doctor and former fiance to Linnet, Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders) Linnet's Godmother and communist convert who has given all her money away, Mrs. Bowers (Dawn French) Marie's nurse, companion and former wealthy business woman who has fallen upon very hard times, Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie) Linnet's maid, and Andrew Katchadourian (Ali Fazal) Linnet's cousin and lawyer. And of course Poirot who was coincidentally holidaying nearby and in a chance meeting with his old friend Bouc at the pyramids, is invited along to join in the celebrations. And who else should rock up just to add insult to injury, but Jacquleine. Also in the gathered line up of guests is Salome and Rosalie, as the latter is an old classmate of Linnet's.

And so after some heated discussions between Simon and Linnet about whether they should abandon their honeymoon because of the unwanted presence of Jacqueline, and Poirot intervening to have a discreet word with Jacqueline too, they all agree that the show must go on. And so Simon arranges, at his wife's expense, to hire out the paddle steamer, the S.S. Karnak, exclusively for their honeymoon and their invited guests to enjoy a leisurely cruise down the Nile taking in the sights, drinking Champagne, enjoying each others company and generally having a good ol' time. The first afternoon and evening go reasonably well as the happy couple and gathered guests all settle in and we get to know them all. 

The S.S. Karnak cruises up to the Temple of Abu Simbel and all passengers alight to view the temple of King Ramesses II and his wife Nefertari from both the outside and within. While the passengers are on shore, Jacqueline boards the Karnak and surprises Simon and Linnet (and not in a good way) upon their return, with her presence.  

Later that evening Simon and Linnet reveal to Poirot that they have made the decision to return home the next day (as was Poirot's earlier suggestion) to get away from Jacqueline and to get on with the lives peacefully, quietly and in private. However, tomorrow never comes, as later that night after most of the guests, including Linnet, have retired for the night, Jacqueline shoots Simon in the knee with a .22 hand gun, after the pair got into a fierce argument. Poirot is busy sleeping through all this commotion - the effects of being on a moving boat and a glass of Champagne knocking him out. Linus Windlesham attends to Simon, while Mrs. Bower attends to Jacqueline and sedates her. The next morning Louise Bourget is delivering breakfast to Linnet, only to find her stone cold dead in her bed with a single bullet wound to the temple. Poirot is woken by the screaming of Louise and goes off to investigate.

What follows over the next 24 hours or so is Poirot's murder investigation into the death of Linnet. Everyone is a suspect and everyone had a motive it seems. Poirot methodically interviews each of the guests in turn and either rules them out or keeps them on his list of prime suspects. In the meantime it is revealed that Bouc and Rosalie are in love, much to his mothers chagrin and disapproval. But it turns out that Poirot was hired by Euphemia to get the full low down on Rosalie and to establish her character and suitability to be the wife of her son. Poirot comes clean in front of Euphemia, Bouc, Rosalie and Salome that his findings of Rosalie are that she is honest, forthright, responsible and trustworthy and should be considered a keeper, but still Euphemia will have none of it, and Rosalie is so angered by Poirot that she calls him all the names under the sun. She storms off and Poirot gives chase. Catching up on the deck, Rosalie notices a body caught up in the paddle of the steamer. Stopping the boat, and retrieving the corpse it is revealed to be that of Louise, who had her throat slit before being thrown overboard, using a very sharp blade - like a surgeon's scalpel, like those belonging to Windlesham. 

With the body count rising, Poirot continues with his interviews, coming down to the final one, that of Bouc, which he conducts in the presence of Simon. Poirot and Bouc go back a long way and are trusted friends, but Poirot has his suspicions about Bouc. In their discussions, just as Bouc is about to reveal a potentially important piece of evidence, he is shot by a single bullet through the throat from behind and up high. He dies instantly where he sat. Poirot gives chase to the unknown assailant and manages to dodge several gun shots aimed directly at him, but is unable to catch the shooter. 

Later that evening with the remaining guests becoming increasingly agitated that Poirot has as yet drawn a blank and with a seemingly ever increasing body count, Poirot locks them all inside the bar saying that that murderer is in the room and he will now reveal who the murderer, or murderers, are. And in a shocking twist, he does, and nails it, leaving five corpses to be stretchered off the boat at the end!

In the closing scene, we fast forward six weeks, and we are back in London at the music club where Poirot first saw Salome play. She is singing, but there are no guests dancing, there is no party atmosphere, and in fact the host passes by Poirot, who is facing away from the camera looking toward the stage, saying that the place is about to close. Poirot turns around revealing his clean shaven face, with the old scars to his upper lip, his chin and his lower left face clearly evident. 

For me 'Death on the Nile' was a bit of a let down. It's certainly lacks the air of mystery and suspense that Branagh's 'Murder on the Orient Express' delivered, despite Branagh's return as the super sleuth detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot and his once again assembling of an all star cast, however, this film is a notch above the 1978 film in which Peter Ustinov portrayed Poirot, but without much sense of the location in which the story is set. Branagh is clearly having a lot of fun playing Poirot for the second time around, and giving us a glimpse of his own backstory and how his famous moustache came to be. Who knows where he'll take the character if a third film ever gets made. As for the rest of the ensemble crew they are all mostly one dimensional cardboard cut outs most of whom have the motive for seeing off Linnet, but who tread water while flailing around in the Nile like their lives depended on it. The film certainly looks the part, with the Director not scrimping on the production design, CGI wizardry or the sense of place that it offers up, but this film is a film of two distinct halves. The first set on dry land where we are introduced, albeit briefly, to the main characters, and the second on the Nile, leading up to the murders, the hurried suspect interviews and then the rush to the finish line in explaining his suspicions and the ultimate big reveal, which offers up a real surprise. As a final comment I would like to know what happened between 'Murder on the Orient Express' and this film, as Poirot's closing remarks at the end of Orient Express as he is called to his next case he says 'it seems there has been a death on the Nile', yet in between time he has ventured to London, taken on a case for Euphemia and holidayed in Egypt? Continuity be damned!

'Death on the Nile' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 4th August 2016.

With the release of the latest DC Extended Universe 'Suicide Squad' this week, that marks the third film in the DCEU canon after 2013's 'Man of Steel' and this years 'Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice', I did some research to bring you a quick snapshot of DC films down through the years. The first full length feature film appeared in 1951 with 'Superman and the Mole Men' with legendary George Reeves playing Superman. 'Batman' came next in 1966 based on the television series with Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin respectively. 'Superman', 'Superman II', 'Superman III', and 'Superman IV' with Christopher Reeve playing our hero played out in 1978, 1980, 1983 and 1987 with a 'Supergirl' spin off in 1984. 'Swamp Thing' and 'The Return of Swamp Thing' came along in 1982 and 1989, with the Tim Burton Directed 'Batman' bursting on to our screens in 1989 with various sequels 'Batman Returns' in 1992, 'Batman Forever' in 1995 and 'Batman and Robin' in 1997. 'Steel' also appeared in 1997, with 'The Road to Perdition' in 2002, 'Catwoman' in 2004 and 'A History of Violence' in 2005 before Christopher Nolan's trilogy kicked off with 'Batman Begins' also in 2005, with 'The Dark Knight' in 2008 and 'The Dark Knight Rises' in 2012 with Christian Bale in the title role. In between time there was 'Constantine' in 2005, 'V for Vendetta' and 'Superman Returns' in 2006, 'Watchmen' in 2009, 'The Losers', 'Jonah Hex' and 'RED' in 2010, 'Green Lantern' in 2011, and 'RED 2' in 2013. Added to these there have been thirty-three short films since 1941, thirty-seven animated features since 1993, seven LEGO films since 2013 and a raft of television films, serial films, television series and unofficial fan films. Excluding 'Suicide Squad' released this week and Previewed below, there are a further eight live action feature length films slated in the DC Extended Universe for release in the next five years with 'Wonder Woman' and 'Justice League : Part One' due in 2017. How's that for longevity and a prolific track record?

And so to the coming week. There are five new movies coming your way that merit your attention and viewing consideration. Starting off with an eagerly awaited comic book adaptation that assembles a mad, bad bunch of incarcerated career crims to save the world by any means necessary. Then two loveable but hapless PR girls make the transition from successful small screen series to the big screen in this film that sees them dodging the police and debunking off to the south of France to lay low amidst a media frenzy, and getting to like it. Then, taking a hair cut is the fourth instalment in a semi-successful comedy franchise that combines a blow dry and highlights with taking the law into your own hands to protect those around you; followed by a doco of the female form, body image, real inner beauty and how women are perceived outwardly in todays photoshopped world. And then we wrap up with a Swedish foreign language film that is the sequel to a hugely successful and popular film of 2004, that sees a small community brought together by the power of song.

With comedy, documentary, drama and action there is another mixed bag of cinematic content to ponder over this week. When you have done so, and seen your movie of choice, feel free to share your filmic thoughts and observations with your like minded readers here at Odeon Online, by leaving a Comment or two below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you. Enjoy your film.

'SUICIDE SQUAD' (Rated M) - after much hype and eager anticipation the long awaited third instalment in the DC Extended Universe is upon us with the assembled mad, bad, disparate 'Suicide Squad' antiheroes bursting on to our screens the world over during the coming week. Made for a cool US$250M, Directed by David Ayer and Co-Produced by Zack Snyder this film stars an ensemble cast of Actors and Supervillains, poised at the ready to wreek havoc and bloody mayhem on an unsuspecting Gotham City. These titular characters first appeared in 1959 published by DC Comics but received a make over and a modern touch in 1987 by John Ostrander, upon which this film is based, and having been written for the screen by David Ayer too. This latest version sees our anti-hero strike force of imprisoned death row supervillains operating covertly under the jurisdiction of the US Government on high-risk black-ops missions in exchange for leniency of their prison sentences . . . assuming they survive their missions of course.

And so here we have a secret government intelligence agency headed up by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) who creates a task force of our deadly, dangerous, despicable super villains, affectionately known as 'The Suicide Squad' for a top secret mission to thwart an unknown but powerful enemy. With nothing to lose, Waller assembles a team of incarcerated criminal low lifes all with a particular set of skills that consist Deadshot/Floyd Lawton (Will Smith) an expert marksman and assassin; The Joker (Jared Leto) who needs no introduction; Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie) a former psychiatrist who used to treat the inmates at Arkham Asylum until she turned as mad as those she was treating. She is also madly in love with The Joker. Then there is Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) the field leader of The Squad applying the wishes of Waller although not always agreeing with them; Boomerang/Digger Harkness (Jai Courtney) an assassin who uses deadly boomerangs to dispense with his prey; El Diablo/Chato Santana (Jay Hernandez) who can command flame at will; Killer Croc/Waylon Jones (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) with a reptilian skin condition and an animalistic criminal with a tendency to eat his enemies; Enchantress/June Moone (Cara Delevingne) an archeologist possessed by an evil ancient force that transformed here in to a powerful sorceress; Katana/Tatsu Yamashiro (Karen Fukuhara) expert in martial arts and sword play wielding the mystical 'Soultaker' blade; and Slipknot/Christopher Weiss (Adam Beach) an expert with ropes. You can be sure that with these cats on the prowl, there will be death, destruction and diabolical goings on writ large. Watch out too for Ben Affleck starring in a cameo as The Batman - it just had to be of course!

'ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS : THE MOVIE' (Rated M) - based on the much loved BBC Television sitcom series originally devised by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French the highly acclaimed show ran for five successful seasons and 39 episodes starting off in 1992 for three seasons until 1996 and then a further two seasons from 2001 through to 2004. In between there were several hour long specials, and three marking the 20th anniversary of the series leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Now in 2016, we have the first full length feature film that reunites Edina 'Eddy' Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) with Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) with regular stablemates Saffron 'Saffy' Monsoon (Julia Sawalha) and Mother (June Whitfield). Directed by Mandy Fisher, this film sees our hapless besties clubbing, drinking and shopping their way around all the top spots in London town whilst Eddy's PR Agency is in a state of rapid decline with little interest and little funds to support their lifestyle. Something drastic needs to occur in the form of a miracle! Whilst enjoying an elite party Eddy inadvertently knocks Supermodel Kate Moss off a balcony and into the River Thames where she is presumed dead. Needless to say the paparazzi whirlwind created as a result sees the girls flee to southern France to lie low on the Riveria where they soon get accustomed to the lifestyle there with intentions of remaining permanently. What can possibly go wrong? The film stars a whole host of cameo talent including Rebel Wilson, Barry Humphries, Lulu, Emma Bunton, Joan Collins, Cara Delevingne, Jerry Hall, Sadie Frost, John Hamm, Dawn French, Graham Norton, Stella McCartney, La Roux and Jean Paul Gaultier amongst others. The film has so far grossed US$46M.

'BARBERSHOP : THE NEXT CUT' (Rated M) - I have not seen any of the previous three films in this franchise that kick started in 2002 with 'Barbershop', that returned in 2004 for 'Barbershop 2 : Back in Business' with a spin off in 2005 with 'Beauty Shop'. After an absence of over ten years, Calvin Palmer Jnr. (Ice Cube) who owns the southside Chicago Barbershop in question is back with its regular cutting crew, but on the block and in Da Hood not all is what is once was. For starters the once male dominated Barber Shop now allows the fairer sex in for various hair and beauty treatments much to the chagrin of the male customers. But all the banter between the boys and the girls is all taken in good humour, but out in the community things have become worse as a bunch of gun totting no good gang members roam the streets. It's time for Calvin and his scissor wielding, clipper bearing Posse to bring about some much needed change in Da Hood. Cedric the Entertainer, Common, Nicki Minaj star in this instalment as Directed by Malcolm D. Lee for US$20M, and so far returning US$55M since its release Stateside in mid-April.

'EMBRACE' (Rated MA15+) - Adelaide Director and world renowned body image activist Taryn Brumfitt is the founder of the 'Body Image Movement', which sets out to recognise the importance of body diversity and to redefine beauty ideals. Acknowledging her own struggle with crippling body image issues, the Writer/Director appears naked in the poster for her film 'Embrace'. Furthermore, she is horrified that the Australian Board of Film Classification warrants to give her film an MA15+ rating stating that "From test screenings, the number one piece of feedback we have had is: ‘I want my daughter to see this’" Banning audiences under the age of 15, she believes, is a terrible mistake, especially considering that "seventy per cent of girls are dissatisfied by their own body. Fifty per cent of 5-12-year-old girls want to lose weight". The film features up close and personal images of naked women of all shapes and sizes, but this has to be taken in the context of the film and what Brumfitt is trying to achieve from it. Filmed from her own perspective as she travels the globe armed with a camera and microphone interviewing experts, women in the street and known personalities about the ever increasing rates of body image issues that we are bombarded with everyday at the cinema, on television, in the press, magazines, social media and advertising bill boards, as she seeks to determine answers and find solutions.

'AS IT IS IN HEAVEN 2 : HEAVEN ON EARTH' (Rated M) - the original 2004 Swedish film 'As It Is In Heaven' to which this is the follow-up was highly acclaimed the world over, was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, won two awards and was nominated for another eleven. It was Directed by Kay Pollack and starred Michael Nyqvist and Frida Hallgren. For this sequel, Kay Pollack is once again on Directing duty trying to reignite the success of the first instalment, without Nyqvist but with Hallgren once again playing Lena. Here Lena is expecting Nyqvist's baby and he is recently deceased. Heavily pregnant, her waters break whilst she is singing to a gathered audience and what follows is a comedy of errors that sets the tone for the remaining film as Lena sets about transforming a rag tag bunch of would-be singers into a troupe capable of pulling off Handel's 'Messiah'. Of course along the way there will be added complications, further challenges culminating in a celebration of life, love, music, dance and the power of determination.

Five new films to tease you out Mid-Winter to your local multiplex. Share your views when you have done so here at this Blog, and in the meantime, I'll see you at the Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-