Ed's Review Dot Com

Blumhouse Productions, Entertainment One, LStar Capital,

Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Kirk Acevedo, Bruce Davison, Spencer Locke, Caitlin Gerard, Ava Kolker, Hana Hayes, Josh Stewart, Javier Botet, Tessa Ferrer, Marcus Henderson

In the beginning of this fourth entry into the world of Insidious, we see Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) as a young girl (played by Ava Kolker) as she grows up with a monster of a father who is warden of a prison in a little town in New Mexico. Elise and her brother Christian (Bruce Davison) (child played by Pierce Pope) fear their ferocious father who particularly hates the fact that young Elise has the power to see dead people and talk to the dead. Finally, Elise has had enough and leaves Christian behind and heads out on her own. This prequel is shown us because in this film, Elise gets a call from a person who lives in her old home needing her help. She decides she must go back to the house, find the evil that she brought out decades ago. In the process she learns the truth about the things that happened in that house, reconnects with her estranged brother and his two daughters.

This is another entry into “The Further” with Elise. Elise has been the centerpiece of all the films, one of the best horror franchises ever, but in this film we really get to learn her back story. I found that particularly interesting. Most of the scary parts of this film are very similar to the rest of the franchise, but the story itself is what makes this so enjoyable, although I did get really scared a few times. The location is really creepy, and this house is a star. It’s really nice to fill in the story of Elise’s background, and this is a first rate horror film. It has some fierce competition in the box office, but this is a great horror film, and fans of the genre definitely ought to catch this one. I really enjoyed it.

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Crown Media Productions, Lighthouse Pictures, Storybox Entertainment,

Mira Sorvino, Cameron Mathison, Jesse Filkow, Bailey Skodje, Elle McKinnon, Brenda Crichlow, Steve Bacic, Kevin McNulty, Wendy Abbott, John Innes, Ona Grauer, Tanya Champoux

Jennifer Wade is a high strung TV personality chef, and she’s really in need of a break. Her friend offers her a cabin in the mountains for some skiing, but a blizzard and a car crash leave her wandering in a small town with no memory of who she is and where she came from. She meets John Blake (Cameron Mathison) who takes her in and tries to help, but even with the help of the whole town, they can’t seem to solve the mystery of who she is. John is a young widower raising small kids, and Jennifer just seems to fit in. But she can’t decide anything until she finds out who she is and where she came from.

This is a really nice little holiday film, and very well acted. The setting is really beautiful, and the acting of Mira Sorvino and Cameron Mathison is top notch, as are the children. The town is exactly where I’d like to wake up, and it’s a heartwarming story. Why is it mostly at Christmas we love to see the small town life in the movies.But this is a really warm and touching story and one of the best of this year’s class of holiday films. Be sure to watch this one.

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EMI Film Distributors, G.W. Films Limited,

Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Tom Bateman, Marwan Kenzari, Olivia Colman, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sergei Polunin, Miranda Raison

This remake of the 1974 classic film is based upon the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, a well known series of books about the notable investigator Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Barnagh). A number of passengers aboard the glorious Orient Express a train that crosses eastern Europe are stranded when an avalanche knocks the engine off the track and forces a team from the next station to send workers back to dig the train out. But during the night a passenger named Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp) is murdered in his cabin, and Inspector Poirot is put to work to solve the case before the train is freed to move along it’s way. Set in the 1930’s this is a classic mystery tale of murder and suspense.

This is a really well done film, and the style and feeling of the movie really takes us back to the great mystery films of old, but with the newer technology making it look old, but sharp and spotlessly clear. The scenery and the train itself are dazzling, and the list of stars is mind boggling, just as the 1974 version was. The only problem I have with this remake is that I already knew the ending, so the who-done-it that makes the story so exciting is gone for me. But since it’s been since 1974, there are new generations that probably have never heard of this story or who Agatha Christie even was. For those folks this is perfect film with an opportunity to see a classic mystery story of old from a whole new perspective. However, the problem is that these kinds of stories are not big on action and adventure, but a close look at how the mind of Hercule actually works and a strong tendency to try to solve the murder as he does. But as someone who has seen the 1974 version and remembers the story, it was a different experience to watch the formulation of the movie and to see the baby steps along the way to presenting the mystery and rolling out the clues. And of course the final solution of the murder and the collection of suspects where Poirot unveils the killer is really classic cinema. This is an excellent film, and whether or not you’re familiar with the story or not, you should give this film a try to enjoy the entire experience.

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