Fidelity to text: 3 stranglers The usual condensing of characters, revising the location, plus a sex-change and new occupations to ramp up the show biz aspects. But it’s all in service to the story. Quality of movie on its own: 4 stranglers although Bill wouldn’t agree This was a terrific bitch-fest; sharp, witty, caustic. Everyone […]
Fidelity to text: 2 1/2 poison bottles The story isn’t much: Poirot talks and John Harrison listens and a murder is prevented. Quality of movie on its own: 3 poison bottles Too many missed opportunities and there’s the distinct feeling throughout of the Precrime Department in Minority Report. Will they get it right? Do you […]
Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 poison bottles It’s very close, other than John Gielgud coming across as far more intelligent than Lord Caterham is supposed to be. Quality of movie on its own: 4 poison bottles Only if you’re in on the genre joke. If you don’t, you won’t enjoy the movie. Read more of […]
Fidelity to text: 3 knives It took lots of changes to turn this slight story into an episode-length Poirot. Most importantly, the victim Flossie Carrington is alive at the beginning of the story and that radically alters the tone of the ending. Quality of movie on its own: 5 knives Sad, moving, emotionally dark, and […]
Fidelity to text: 4 guns It’s very close despite choosing different parts of the novel to keep as opposed to the 1978 version. Quality of movie on its own: 3 1/2 guns Very good, fast-moving, keeps one important character analysis scene which should have been kept in the 1978 version, but there were errors. Read […]
Fidelity to text: 4 thieves An eight-page story needs embellishment. Each addition deepened and enlarged the scope while remaining true to the text. Quality of movie on its own: 5 thieves Beautiful fusing of vintage newsreel footage, a locked-room mystery, and some classic misdirection Agatha would have approved of. Read more of Teresa’s Agatha Christie […]
Teresa reviews “Death on the Nile” (1978) and found it a delightful, if murderous, way to enjoy the ancient monuments of Egypt. Fidelity to text: 4 guns. It’s very close, allowing a complex novel to be simplified into a coherent movie. All the important people remain, plus an added cobra, although how the murderer found […]
Teresa reviews “How Does Your Garden Grow” (1991) and thought it blossomed thanks to the help of Miss Lemon. Fidelity to text: 4 poison bottles. Extras, surprises, and enhancements galore, all in the service of both Miss Lemon and the story. Quality of movie on its own: 5 poison bottles. A flower-laden episode from Miss […]
Fidelity to text: 2 weapons (for the novel); 2 1/2 weapons (for the stage play) Changes galore and all of them either bad, or badly handled. Quality of movie on its own: 2 weapons. This should have been good. Look at that international “A” cast and that gorgeous setting. But it dragged, it was blah, […]
Fidelity to text: 3 jewel thieves The movie star changes nationality and a suspicious diamond buyer shows up, as do Japp and Miss Lemon. There are other changes and enhancements, not all of which work. Quality of movie on its own: 2 1/2 jewel thieves They can’t all be gems. Murky, overly convoluted, and motivations […]