Henry speaks to the dead in Kenneth Branagh's A Haunting in Venice (currently available via Hulu).
[00:00:00] What if you could have a career where the opportunities are as vast as our nation?
[00:00:05] Where it's not about mission statements, but a shared mission.
[00:00:08] At U.S. Customs and Border Protection, we go beyond to protect more than borders.
[00:00:13] From ship to shore, air to ground, cities to local communities, CBP agents and officers are keeping people safe.
[00:00:21] Join U.S. Customs and Border Protection and go beyond for something far greater than yourself.
[00:00:26] Learn more at cbp.gov slash careers
[00:00:30] Robert Half research indicates 9 out of 10 hiring managers are having difficulty hiring.
[00:00:36] If you have open roles, chances are you're feeling this too.
[00:00:40] That's why you need Robert Half.
[00:00:42] They're specialized recruiting professionals engaged with their proprietary AI
[00:00:46] to connect businesses of all sizes with highly skilled talent in finance and accounting,
[00:00:52] technology, marketing and creative, legal, and administrative and customer support.
[00:00:57] At Robert Half, they know talent.
[00:01:00] Visit roberthalf.com today.
[00:01:03] Hey everybody, it's Henry with the Film Buds podcast.
[00:01:05] Please make sure to rate, review and subscribe to the show.
[00:01:08] And if you're listening to this on YouTube, please let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[00:01:13] Thanks.
[00:01:14] 89.
[00:01:16] Let's get to A Haunting in Venice, which came out late last year and it's on Hulu currently
[00:01:22] and maybe some other sites, but on Hulu now.
[00:01:25] It's directed by Kenneth Brunat based off the Agatha Christie stories.
[00:01:31] Stars Kenneth Brunat, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Dylan Corbett Bader,
[00:01:38] and a few others, Kelly Riley.
[00:01:41] And the synopsis is,
[00:01:43] In post-World War II Venice, Faro, now retired and living in his own exile,
[00:01:48] reluctantly attends a seance.
[00:01:51] But when one of the guests is murdered, it's up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.
[00:01:57] So this is the third entry in Kenneth Brunat's Poirot series, universe, whatever you want to call it.
[00:02:05] Because he did Murder on the Orient Express and then he did Death on the Nile
[00:02:10] and this is now his third one.
[00:02:11] I'm guessing they're going to continue on to do more.
[00:02:14] I like that this series exists, as I said on Letterboxd.
[00:02:19] I don't love any of these movies.
[00:02:21] I wish that they were better.
[00:02:22] I think they could be a lot better than they are.
[00:02:25] But I'm still glad that a very traditional, classical, not super flashy, mystery,
[00:02:33] you know, murder mystery, thriller series exists.
[00:02:37] Because we don't really get that that often.
[00:02:39] Made with this budget, with this sort of cast, this production value.
[00:02:42] So I will always go and watch these movies.
[00:02:45] I hope that they get better over time.
[00:02:48] But I will still be someone who am very curious about them, no matter what.
[00:02:53] And I had been meaning to get around to this one for a while.
[00:02:56] The overall concept intrigued me.
[00:02:59] I liked the Venice setting.
[00:03:00] I liked it taking place over, I think all in just one night.
[00:03:04] And I was curious, you know, to see what they would do with it.
[00:03:09] I don't know. It's hard to say.
[00:03:11] Because I don't want to be too mean because, again, there are a lot of things I appreciate about this franchise.
[00:03:17] I think this is my least favorite.
[00:03:19] I know some people are the opposite.
[00:03:21] Some people have said they think this is the best one of the three.
[00:03:24] I would disagree.
[00:03:25] I think Death on the Nile is the best.
[00:03:28] I don't think it's a masterpiece, but I think it's the best of the three.
[00:03:31] This would be about on par with Murder on the Orient Express.
[00:03:35] Probably a little bit worse.
[00:03:37] So I think the only really good one is Death on the Nile.
[00:03:41] I think the critics and even audiences were favorable to this for the most part.
[00:03:46] And I don't think the movie is terrible, but I think when it first started, I was in.
[00:03:52] I was like, alright, cool.
[00:03:53] All the things I mentioned earlier, that's what engaged me.
[00:03:56] I was intrigued.
[00:03:57] And then I feel like after about the first act, I found it to be such a bore.
[00:04:03] I don't mind it taking place in dark, shadowy rooms and it being very dialogue driven.
[00:04:10] I'm all for that kind of movie.
[00:04:12] But whether it's the direction, the script, I don't know.
[00:04:16] But I found it to be such a slog to get through.
[00:04:19] Maybe because the cast wasn't as charismatic as the first two are.
[00:04:24] I think this has the least impressive cast, in my opinion.
[00:04:28] And so maybe that had something to do with it.
[00:04:30] But I feel like once the real crime and murder mystery started, I was losing track.
[00:04:35] I was losing interest.
[00:04:37] I think even by the end, I was like, alright, cool.
[00:04:40] That's the killer or killers.
[00:04:41] I won't spoil it any more than that.
[00:04:43] But I was like, alright, cool.
[00:04:45] That's how it wrapped up.
[00:04:46] Let's end it.
[00:04:47] Which I think that's the first time of the three where I felt that way.
[00:04:51] So overall, I was not a fan of it.
[00:04:54] Maybe it'll go up over time.
[00:04:55] Maybe knowing the style of film, re-watching it, it'll improve.
[00:05:00] But I think as a first viewing, really disengaged.
[00:05:04] Kenneth Branagh, like I like him a lot across the board.
[00:05:07] I'll never be upset seeing him in a movie.
[00:05:10] Direction wise, he's decent.
[00:05:12] I think he does some cool Dutch angles and the lighting is very good.
[00:05:15] Cinematography overall very strong.
[00:05:18] And he definitely has some big hits in his career.
[00:05:21] I think Cinderella, his directed Cinderella film is probably one of,
[00:05:25] if not the best, recent Disney live action remake.
[00:05:28] I don't know if that's a hot take.
[00:05:30] And so I'm not against him directing these movies.
[00:05:33] But I think even as Poirot, I don't love him.
[00:05:37] And actually first off, little back story.
[00:05:40] I grew up watching a lot of Poirot mysteries, murder mysteries,
[00:05:45] masterpiece mystery, that sort of thing.
[00:05:47] Because my mom loved all that stuff and still does.
[00:05:50] And so I just grew up watching each day, at least weekly,
[00:05:53] a few different mystery shows like this that were the originals.
[00:05:57] And so I was very aware of this character going in.
[00:06:01] And you know, the mustache and the accent is very heavy.
[00:06:04] Like that's not really an issue for me.
[00:06:06] But I think maybe knowing that it's Kenneth Branagh
[00:06:08] and how exaggerated the mustache is,
[00:06:12] it feels too fake at times.
[00:06:15] And I think, oh also actually,
[00:06:17] almost completely forgotten about this, Tina Fey.
[00:06:20] I love Tina Fey.
[00:06:22] I think she's hysterical.
[00:06:23] I love 30 Rock.
[00:06:24] I think she's a fantastic writer.
[00:06:26] I like Kimmy Schmidt, Mean Girls.
[00:06:28] Like I think she is a A-list talent.
[00:06:31] But I think she was very miscast in this.
[00:06:33] She, like along with Kenneth Branagh's
[00:06:36] very over the top performance,
[00:06:39] her playing this like traditional,
[00:06:42] very exaggerated way of speaking, like mystery writer,
[00:06:46] it just felt so phony.
[00:06:48] And I think that combination really took me out of it.
[00:06:52] I was never believing that these were real people.
[00:06:55] Whereas I think in the first two,
[00:06:57] maybe it's because of the cast again, I don't know.
[00:06:59] But I feel like I was way more engaged
[00:07:01] with those performances, with those characters.
[00:07:04] And I feel like Branagh and Fey being the leads,
[00:07:07] I was like, this feels so silly.
[00:07:10] And I think some of the seance stuff,
[00:07:12] like I don't really mind that.
[00:07:13] I think it's decently well done.
[00:07:15] Sometimes it's hard to take seriously,
[00:07:17] but I think they did a decent job with that.
[00:07:19] The final reveals, like I said earlier,
[00:07:23] I wasn't really wowed by it.
[00:07:24] I was like, all right, cool.
[00:07:25] But I still liked that final sequence
[00:07:27] and how it was revealed.
[00:07:29] I liked the rainstorm and all that.
[00:07:31] So the conclusion, that worked to a degree,
[00:07:34] but it was a little too little too late.
[00:07:36] So not one I would write home about,
[00:07:40] like I wouldn't rush out and watch it.
[00:07:42] If you haven't seen any of them,
[00:07:43] probably start with Orient Express
[00:07:45] just to get yourself oriented.
[00:07:47] One there, actually, sorry.
[00:07:49] And then I would check out Death on the Nile.
[00:07:52] And then if you still like those,
[00:07:53] I would see this one.
[00:07:54] Because I do want to go back and rewatch Orient,
[00:07:56] but this one sort of made me a little less excited
[00:08:00] to revisit things or maybe a little less excited
[00:08:04] for the next one.
[00:08:05] But I'm a pro-rowhead, I suppose.
[00:08:08] So let me know what you think in the comments
[00:08:11] if you're on a YouTube video
[00:08:13] or anywhere else you can comment.
[00:08:14] Let me know what your thoughts on this
[00:08:15] or on the whole series.
[00:08:16] Would love to know what you think.
[00:08:18] So that one is a light two and a half out of five.
[00:08:24] What if you could have a career
[00:08:25] where the opportunities are as vast as our nation?
[00:08:28] Where it's not about mission statements,
[00:08:30] but a shared mission.
[00:08:32] At U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
[00:08:34] we go beyond to protect more than borders,
[00:08:37] from ship to shore, air to ground,
[00:08:39] cities to local communities.
[00:08:41] CBP agents and officers are keeping people safe.
[00:08:44] Join U.S. Customs and Border Protection
[00:08:47] and go beyond for something far greater than yourself.
[00:08:50] Learn more at cbp.gov slash careers.
[00:09:09] At an award-winning top workplace,
[00:09:11] we are hiring clear technical and intelligence professionals.
[00:09:14] If you are driven by a vision of a better
[00:09:16] and more secure future,
[00:09:18] join us and apply now at gdit.com slash careers.