Death on the Nile

Year:  2022

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Michael Green, based on the novel by Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, Letitia Wright, 

Running Time:  127 minutes

Genre:  Mystery

1937:  Wealthy heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gadot) and her new husband Simon Doyle (Hammer) are celebrating their honeymoon in Egypt, during which they invite a large number of family and friends to join them on a luxury cruise down the Nile.  When one of the passengers turns up dead, famed detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) finds that he has no shortage of suspects.

I have never read the Agatha Christie novel, Death on the Nile, nor have I read any of her many other books, however I have seen a lot of the film and television adaptations, and this enjoyable, old-fashioned murder mystery, a sequel to the 2017 film Murder on the Orient Express, fits in with them comfortably.  The film opens with a prologue set in 1914, which explains Hercule Poirot's impressive moustache, by suggesting that he grew the moustache to cover facial scars he suffered during his time in the First World War.  As with most Agatha Christie adaptations, there is a large number of familiar faces to provide victims and/or suspects.  The films starts leisurely, building up it's cast of characters and providing motivation as to why any of them could be the murderer.  The cast is eclectic and everyone seems to relish their roles, and it is fun to see popular British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as a wealthy American Communist and her devoted nurse.  It is quite odd however to see famously outrageous and flamboyant comedian Russell Brand as a quiet, strait-laced doctor.  The film was made in 2019 and was due to be released in 2020, but it was delayed several times, and in that time some of the cast have fallen out of favour, notably Armie Hammer.  Kenneth Branagh is good as the Belgian detective, and directs with impressive visual style.  While the film does drag at times, it is an enjoyably star-studded, old fashioned and largely bloodless mystery.  It may not be unmissable, and is unlikely to feature on many "Best of the Year" lists come December, but it is a fun, glitzy entertainment.

 Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey and Armie Hammer in Death on the Nile

Belfast

Year: 2001

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Kenneth Branagh

Starring:  Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill

Running Time:  97 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Belfast, 1969:  Nine year old Buddy (Hill) lives with his family in a close knit working-class Protestant neighbourhood.  One day rioters violently attack the homes of the few Catholic families that live on the street.  Buddy's father (Dornan) who works in England, and is only able to see his family once every two weeks, believes that Belfast is becoming too dangerous and wants the family to emigrate, however Buddy's mother (Balfe) doesn't want to leave her home and also doesn't believe they have the means, due to the family being under severe financial pressure.  As tensions escalate, both at home and on the street, Buddy is also preoccupied with the business of being a nine year old boy, playing football on the streets, reading comics, going to the beloved local cinema, and trying to get the seat next to the prettiest girl in class.

The film opens with colour images of present-day Belfast before moving back in time to a monochrome 1969, telling the story of growing up as The Troubles escalate.  The Troubles have featured in numerous films and television series, from The Crying Game (1992) and In the Name of the Father (1993) to Derry Girls (2018- ).  After the riot at the beginning of the film, the streets are barricaded and soldiers guard the area, also sinister local criminal Billy Clanton (played by Colin Morgan) demands that local residents join in the fighting, either actively or with money.  Buddy's father adamantly refuses to join, and Billy becomes increasingly threatening and violent.  However, the focus of the film is not really the Troubles, but Buddy and his family, in amongst all of the tension they live their lives, argue over money, share jokes, go to the cinema, and the children play in the streets.  The film is very funny, and often extremely moving.  There are fantastic performances from Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan as Buddy's parents, and warm performances from Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds as Buddy's loving grandparents.  Special mention however has to be given to newcomer Jude Hill who plays Buddy, and gives a wonderful performance.  The film is mostly in crisp black-and-white, however when Buddy goes to the cinema everything bursts into colour, which is a wonderful way of depicting the magic of film.  Kenneth Branagh, who wrote the script based on his own childhood experiences growing up in Belfast, is a prolific, if uneven, director, but he has made some excellent films and this is among his very best.

Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie in Belfast

Tenet

Year of Release:  2020
Director:  Christopher Nolan
Screenplay:  Christopher Nolan
Starring:  John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Running Time:  150 minutes
Genre:  Thriller, science-fiction, spy

The Protagonist (Washington) is a secret agent who finds himself embroiled in a bizarre adventure involving weapons that are "chronologically inverted" meaning that they move backwards in time, and the effect comes before the cause.  These weapons have the potential to destroy the world due to entropy.

This film has had a difficult road to the screen, despite being one of 2020's most anticipated films, having been delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Is it worth the wait?  Yes and no.  Tenet is almost textbook Nolan, for better and worse.  It features some incredible action set pieces, and much of it is really exciting, it also has some great performances, with John David Washington, in particular, impressive as the suave super-spy.  However the plot is extremely confusing and it is often hard to follow.  You really need to keep your wits about you the entire time, there is not much humour, and the dialogue is full of complex exposition.  It also has an air of coldness and detachment about the whole thing, which makes it hard to engage with the characters.  It is still worth seeing, though,  because when it is good, it is very very good, and there are times when it is an extremely exciting, complex thriller.

Robert Pattinson and John David Washington in Tenet 

All Is True

Year of Release:  2018

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Ben Elton

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellan

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Genre:  Biography, drama

In 1613, the Globe Theatre burns down due to an accident during a performance of William Shakespeare's play Henry VIII (also known as All Is True).  Retiring from writing, Shakespeare returns home to Stratford-upon-Avon, and his wife Anne (Dench) and daughters Susanna (Wilson) and Judith (Wilder), as well as the memory of his deceased son, Hamnet.

This low-key, melancholy film takes place over the last three years of Shakespeare's life.  It's written by Ben Elton, who is best known for comedy such as the Blackadder series (1986-1989) and Upstart Crow (2016-current), which is also about Shakespeare and covers some of the same territory as All Is True.  However this is completely different in tone, and is definitely not a comedy.  The film deals with the difficulty of being close to a genius, it seems to be that Shakespeare is so used to putting words in characters mouths, he can't really deal with real people who don't always do what he would like them to do.  The acting is great, particularly from Branagh, and there is a short but memorable appearance by Ian McKellan as Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare dedicated several sonnets and other poems.  Powerful, and at times deeply moving, this is certainly worth more attention that it has received.

Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Lydia Wilson and Kathryn Wilder in All Is True

         

Dunkirk

Year of Release:  2017
Director:  Christopher Nolan
Screenplay:  Christopher Nolan
Starring:  Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Running Time:  106 minutes
Genre:  War

This Second World War film deals with the Dunkirk evacuation where 400,000 Allied soldiers were rescued from the beaches of France in 1940.  It deals with three narratives set over three different time frames.  British soldier, Tommy (Whitehead) is one of those waiting for rescue, constantly under threat from bombs and torpedoes. Civilian sailor Dawson( Rylance), his son and employee make the dangerous crossing across the English channel to help with the evacuation.  Two Spitfire pilots try to fend off enemy bombers.

This is a gritty, visceral, intense experience.  It's more like an experimental film with very little dialogue or even story.  It's all about the viewing experience, and this is a film that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.  The cast, which include pop singer Harry Styles in his first major acting role, are impressive with very little to work with.  Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance provide the noble stiff-upper-lip speeches. This is an unusual war film in that the enemy is barely glimpsed, aside from a fighter plane you never see a German soldier, or catch a glimpse of Nazi imagery.  The characters are under threat from an unseen enemy, with attacks coming out of nowhere.  Also the soldiers are not selfless heroes.  In fact, they are often decidedly unheroic and often unlikable.  I couldn't say I enjoyed this film, but I admired it a great deal.            

Thor

Year: 2011
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne, based on the comic-book series Thor created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins
Running Time: 114 minutes
Genre: Superhero, action, fantasy

Summary: Thor (Hemsworth), God of Thunder, is banished from Asgard to Earth by his father Odin (Hopkins), King of the Gods, for attacking the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, long standing enemies of the Gods.
Arriving in present-day New Mexico, Thor is discovered by scientist Jane Foster (Portman), her assistant Darcy Lewis (Dennings) and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Skarsgard). Stripped of his powers and ability to use his magical hammer Mjolnir, Thor has to come to terms with his new mortal existence, as well as a sinister agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. who are taking a strong interest in him.
Meanwhile, in Asgard, the plotting of Thor's treacherous brother Loki (Hiddelston) threatens more than one world with complete destruction.

Opinions: This movie is based on the popular Marvel comic-book series and differs from a lot of the more recent superhero movies by throwing in some sword-and-sorcery action into the mix.
Thor was the God of Thunder in Norse mythology, whose name is referenced in, among other things, the day of the week Thursday ("Thor's Day"). Needless to say, the film has very little connection to Norse legend.
Kenneth Branagh is best known as a director for his Shakesperean adaptations, and is certainly not a name that springs to mind in connection with a massive multi million dollar special effects 3-D superhero movie, but he does very well. A fan of the comic, Branagh obviously has a lot of understanding of the material. He balances the drama and humour very well and also handles the special effects and action scenes brilliantly, making the action scenes tight and effective so that they are exciting and comprehensible rather than being an explosion of confusing pyrotechnics that just ends up being dull. The film is released in 3-D, and I personally am not a fan of 3-D in general (although there are exceptions), but it is done well here and it helps to invest both the golden city of Asgard and the frozen wastes of Jotunheim with a genuine sense of wonder. The special effects are really spectacular throughout.
The cast do well with their roles. In the lead Chris Hemsworth is charismatic, if too clean-cut to be a Norse warrior-god. Natalie Portman provides the film with it's emotional heart. Stellan Skarsgard is also very impressive as the skeptical scientist. The comic's co-creator Stan Lee has his customary cameo as a truck driver.
Blending culture-clash comedy, family drama and intrigue and comic-book superheroics this is a pretty packed film. In contrast with many recent superhero movies, such as The Dark Knight (2008), this doesn't try to make the material dark or gritty, it is unashamedly action-packed, fantasy adventure, and none the worse for that.
By the way, keep watching until the end of the closing credits for an additional scene.



Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins in Thor