With the success of “Knives Out,” it was a matter of time before Hollywood began spawning more ensemble whodunits. So why not return to a master – Agatha Christie? The 2022 remake of “Death on the Nile” has diversity to please modern audiences, but the ending is more like a Shakespearean tragedy (plus there’s a couple of head-scratching plot holes). Tortured genius Detective Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is trying to complete an investigation, but bodies keep piling up. Whodunit? Who’s left? Gal Gadot is a shimmering light of a co-star, but there’s too much brooding darkness in this classy but somber production.
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There are some who enjoy the cinematic combination of scriptwriter John Hughes and actor John Candy. I am not one of them. I believe Hughes’ most forgettable films star Candy. The absolute worst might be “The Great Outdoors” (1988). Family-man Candy takes brood on vacation, sleazy brother-in-law Dan Aykroyd barges in, hijinks ensue. Meh. Actually, it’s worse than meh, because the hijinks are compounded by a plot twist you could see coming from a mile away and subplots involving puppy love and kids in danger that seem like leftovers from “The Brady Bunch” It’s Aykroyd and Hughes at their laziest.
If you know an a-hole lawyer, shoot them in the head and they’ll become a good person. That’s my takeaway from “Regarding Henry” (1991). Harrison Ford is the a-hole. He suffers brain damage from a shooting and, although he loses some motor skills, he finds a conscience. Hijinks do not ensue. (In fact, I think the stuff that does ensue is the exact opposite of hijinks. I don’t know if there’s a word for it. Perhaps I suffered brain damage from watching this movie.) The climax is, well, anticlimactic. The only smoking gun was the one Henry got shot with.
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