The Movie Guy

Kenneth Branagh returns as Agatha Christie’s super sleuth Hercule Poirot in “Death on the Nile” and it’s a far smoother ride than he provided with the Orient Express.

With the myriad of reboots and sequels we’ve been subjected to over the last few months, it only makes sense that 2022’s “Scream” keeps the original film’s tradition of spelling out the rules while creating terms for what it is: a ‘requel’ with returning cast members serving as ‘legacies’ to endorse the endeavor. However, by adhering to the rules without making the characters more interesting, it just traps this “Scream” into standard slasher fare.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” is a beautifully dark, atmospheric take on the 1947 original film noir starring Tyrone Power. Unfortunately, the new version’s tone is so dark that it makes its characters stiff and wooden in the process. As remakes go, “Nightmare Alley” pales in comparison to the first one’s fun in revealing the story’s twists and turns.

More saga than soap opera, “House of Gucci” makes its true crime story its star. At a staggered  2 ½ hour run time, the film’s saved from sinking by an A-list array of actors providing interest in the intrigue and director Ridley Scott’s knack for creating a cinematic world in which to escape.

Evidenced by his films “Arrival” and “Blade Runner 2049,” director Denis Villeneuve is serious about science fiction. “Dune” is no exception- it’s a visually stunning sci-fi epic that may be this generation’s “Star Wars.”

Just in time for Halloween is “Antlers”- an impressively efficient monster movie that earns its scares through skillful storytelling and an eerie atmosphere of awakening evil.

For those who remember televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” provides a nostalgic look back to the ‘80s toppling of their PTL network through sex scandals and financial fraud. Thanks to dead-on portrayals by Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain, even those unfamiliar with the Bakkers will be riveted by the actors playing the religious duo.

On this 20^th anniversary of 9/11, one movie stands to assure that I will never forget.

Growing up, I spent the majority of my formative years glued to a television gorging myself on a steady diet of B-horror movies. In 1976, while America celebrated its bicentennial, I was a 7 year-old celebrating an early Christmas with the release of Dino De Laurentiis’ remake of “King Kong.”

With an obvious love for the original film, writer/producer Jordan Peele’s (“Get Out”) “Candyman” is a credible continuation and makes the hook-handed boogeyman timely for the 21^st century (which is exactly what you want a sequel/reboot to do). Do you have to see the original “Candyman” to enjoy the new one? No, but you’ll appreciate it more if you do.

Writer/director Lisa Joy (HBO’s “Westworld” co-creator) uses her sci-fi savvy to fashion “Reminiscence,” a standard detective drama that’s overshadowed by its futuristic setting and sketchy logic. Add underdeveloped characters, clunky hard-boiled dialogue and technological leaps-of-faith and you’ve got a film too glossy to be the gritty gumshoe movie it wants to be.