Tag: Mystery

REVIEW: ‘Missing’ manages to keep audiences glued to the (fictional) screen

It can be hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Yet “Missing,” while not as strong as its predecessor “Searching,” manages to be another fun screen-based mystery.

The movie is connected to the previous installment by only a small reference at the start. In this picture, the focus is on June (Storm Reid), a young woman who lives with her mother Grace (Nia Long). The movie picks up with Grace about to leave on a vacation with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung) while June stays home.

Left alone while her mom is away, June does some partying before Grace is set to get back. However, on the date Grace’s plane is to arrive, she’s nowhere to be found and there’s not much information as to why. Sensing something is wrong, June begins researching what happened to her mother on her computer, and begins unraveling dangerous secrets.

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REVIEW: Jumbled second half damages derivative ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

After helming the teen comedy “Booksmart” in her directorial debut, Olivia Wilde took a leap to the thriller genre in her sophomore effort.

While some of “Don’t Worry Darling” is effective, though, Wilde’s latest film doesn’t stick the landing very well.

Florence Pugh stars as Alice, a 1950s housewife who lives with her husband Jack (Harry Styles) in a small town in the southwestern United States. The town has been set up for workers who seem to work at a secretive government facility, and their families.

Alice and Jack have a comfortable life, with plenty of amenities and luxury to enjoy. Everything seems great, but Alice begins to notice some strange happenings and struggles with the restrictions around town, leading to a mystery unraveling.

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REVIEW: ‘See How They Run’ succeeds on strong humor

More Saoirse Ronan mystery movies, please.

In director Tom George’s feature film debut, Ronan portrays Constable Stalker, a young officer on the force, who is assisting Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockewell) on a murder case. The victim in the case is Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody), a film director who was set to helm the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”

As it just so happens, there are plenty of suspects who had a dislike for Leo, and the investigators’ case soon becomes an Agatha Christie-like whodunit. The two protagonists have to work quickly, too, as the murderer remains a danger to others involved in the production.

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REVIEW: ‘Vengeance’ is an impressive look at true crime podcasting

Being a fan of true crime podcasts isn’t a necessity to enjoy this film, but it doesn’t hurt.

B.J. Novak, who wrote and directed “Vengeance,” stars as Ben, a writer at the New Yorker and an aspiring podcaster. One night after a failed pitch for a new podcast, he finds out a woman he had a short fling with died in Texas.

The woman’s brother convinces Ben to come to the Lone Star State not only for the funeral, but to look into her death, as it seemed suspicious. Ben decides to use this as a chance to create a podcast based on the woman’s death, and the concept of vengeance, as the brother is seeking it.

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REVIEW: ‘Death on the Nile’ isn’t a fit for the big screen

Trains are out and boats are in for this latest installment in the, um, Agatha Christie Cinematic Universe.

A follow-up to the 2017 film “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Death on the Nile” once again features the detective character Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). After a brief opening showing Poirot’s experiences in World War I, the film picks up with the detective enjoying a vacation in Egypt. It’s there where he meets up with Bouc (Tom Bateman), a friend of Poirot’s who was also on the Orient Express.

After the two cross paths, Bouc introduces the detective to the newly married couple of Linnet (Gal Gadot) an Simon (Armie Hammer). Poirot is then invited to the honeymoon, which is taking place on a river cruise with several other characters. As the name suggests, a person dies onboard and it sets off another mystery for Poirot to solve.

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REVIEW: ‘Last Night in Soho’ sadly falters after strong start

Soho looks like a pretty fun place to visit in London, but if the main character in this movie is around, things might get a little to intense.

This film, directed and co-written by Edgar Wright, stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise. The young woman has recently moved from the country-side to a section of London to earn a degree in fashion. Immediately, Eloise finds herself fed up with her partying dorm roommate and decides to move into an apartment at an older building.

While it seems perfect at first, Eloise soon finds herself having visions of another young woman, named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), who lived in the same apartment and wanted to be a lounge singer during the 1960s. While the visions start off fascinating, they soon unveil a dark mystery from the past.

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REVIEW: Maniacal third act makes ‘Malignant’ worth watching

“Malignant” may not be the scariest movie of the year, or of the past few years, but what it leads up to certainly makes it a memorable horror experience.

The flick follows the story of Madison (Annabelle Walis), a woman with an unclear past who lives in Seattle with her Husband. It’s clear from the get-go that their marriage is strained and the film opens with them having a fight.

That night, Madison’s husband is murdered and she has a vision of it happening. From that day on, more murders begin taking place and each time Madison has horrible visions of it taking place. As this happens, Madison begins to dig more into her past to see what the connection is.

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REVIEW: ‘The Little Things’ has little to offer the detective genre

Denzel Washington is once again doing detective work in California but this time, it’s not a training day.

Washington plays Joe Deacon, who casually goes by Deke. A former detective, Deke now works as a sheriff deputy with a normal beat. He mostly stays in his own lane, but at the movie’s start, he’s brought in to give some experienced advice on a new murder case.

The case is being primarily helmed by Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), a young detective who’s already making a name for himself as a talented inspector. While the two are at first not thrilled about working together, they eventually decide they can figure this puzzle out better by working side-by-side. The film explores them doing so and also begins revealing why Deke made a career change.

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REVIEW: ‘Enola Holmes’ fails to entertain

Sherlock seems to always gets the spotlight in the Holmes family. This time, though, it’s shared with his siblings.

The result? It’s mixed.

The titular character in this film, played by Millie Bobby Brown, is the younger sister of the famous detective Sherlock (Henry Cavill). Enola, a teenager, has grown up in the countryside with her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter). However, one morning Enola wakes up and her mother is missing.

In response, Enola’s brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) are called in to investigate the situation and look after her. Deciding she can manage on her own, though, Enola decides to go to London and figure out the situation by herself. During her trip to London, Enola meets Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who’s dealing with his own family troubles.

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REVIEW: ‘You Should Have Left’ squanders potential

There are interesting concepts at play in “You Should Have Left,” but sadly, it doesn’t result in a great film.

Directed and written by David Koepp, “You Should Have Left” stars Kevin Bacon as Theo, a man who is planning to go on vacation with his wife Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) and her daughter Ella (Avery Essex). The vacation home they choose is a rather modern looking one in a rural area of Wales.

At first, it seems like the perfect spot to get away, with the house being spacious and the beautiful countryside out the window. However, as time goes on, details about Theo’s past and current relationship issues cause strain. On top of that, strange things start occurring in the seemingly perfect house.

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