murder on the orient express

Beard Blog Movie Review 2017 Roundup

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Beard Blog movie rankings for 2017

Ranking the movies I’ve seen in 2017 from best to worst. Some I have reviewed and some I have not. Click on the link to read the full review for each applicable movie.

  1. Lady Bird – 9 / 10
  2. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – 9 / 10
  3. Star Wars – The Last Jedi – 8.5 / 10
  4. Get Out – 8.5 / 10
  5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – 8 / 10
  6. The Big Sick – 8 / 10
  7. The Disaster Artist – 8 / 10
  8. Baby Driver – 8 / 10
  9. Thor: Ragnarok – 8 / 10
  10. It – 8 / 10
  11. Jigsaw – 7.5 / 10
  12. Mother! – 7.5 / 10
  13. Stronger – 7.5 / 10
  14. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – 7.5 / 10
  15. Kong: Skull Island – 7.5 / 10
  16. Murder on the Orient Express – 7.5 / 10
  17. Battle of the Sexes – 7 / 10
  18. Logan – 7 / 10
  19. Life – 7 / 10
  20. John Wick: Chapter 2 – 7 / 10
  21. Logan Lucky – 6.5 / 10
  22. Alien: Covenant – 6.5 / 10
  23. Dunkirk – 6.5 / 10
  24. The Hitman’s Bodyguard – 6 / 10
  25. The Fate of the Furious – 6 / 10
  26. The Wizard of Lies – 6 / 10
  27. The Circle – 6 / 10
  28. American Made – 5.5 / 10
  29. Baywatch – 5 / 10
  30. The House – 5 / 10
  31. CHiPS – 5 / 10
  32. All Eyez On Me – 4.5 / 10
  33. XxX: Return of Xander Cage – 4 / 10
  34. Suburbicon – 3 / 10

 

More reviews to come in 2018!

Beard Blog Movie Review: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

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It’s more than murder on a train.

Murder on the Orient Express is a remake of the 1974 classic of the same name. Both movies were adapted from the 1934 Agatha Christie novel also of the same name. If you’ve seen the original movie this story won’t be new for you, but the directing, acting, and sets are (obviously) different.

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Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot

The cast of Murder on the Orient Express has a lot of heavy hitters like Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judy Dench, Willem Dafoe, and of course Johnny Depp. We also get to see some unknown and up-and-comers such as Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, and Lucy Boynton.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Murder on the Orient Express had me questioning the entire plot about halfway through.”[/perfectpullquote]

Branagh is great as Hercule (not Hercules) Poirot throughout the whole film. I would love to see him play the character again in another story. His performance reminded me of Christoph Waltz’s portrayall of Col. Hand Landa in The Inglorious Basterds.

The one thing that disappointed me with Murder on the Orient Express is how the audience was given information over the course of the story. My opinion is based off the 2017 adaptation only, the novel may have it differently. Without spoiling anything (scroll to the bottom for spoilers) the audience is given way too much information too soon. Murder mysteries have this great tendency to sway the viewers opinions and then twist their minds at the end with the real outcome. Murder on the Orient Express had me questioning the entire plot about halfway through.

Who should see this movie? People who like murder mysteries, fans of Agatha Christie, and fans of the 1974 adaptation.

Who shouldn’t see this movie? Viewers who don’t like murder mysteries, hate French accents, or don’t have time to waste.

Score

6/ 10 – Not bad, not good, and probably not better than the original.

See more of my movie reviews here

Spoilers

Caution: Spoilers below:

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