I am a great fan of Agatha Christie in general and Hercule Poirot in particular. When yet another remake of Murder on the Orient express came out I was somewhat hesitant. After all, the one with David Suchet was perfect. I guess I was right to be hesitant. This is another one of those remakes where you just wonder…why? As a movie it is not too bad but as a Hercule Poirot movie, the classical Murder on the Orient…

I have always loved this story and was looking forward to seeing this adaptation but afraid it was going to be Branagh'd, especially when finding out he was playing Poirot himself and cast Johnny Depp as Ratchett. When a director wants to put their own stamp on something, they usually screw it up. Branagh dipped both of his shoes in poop (symmetrical, yes?) before stamping Christie's work. Let the story take the…

Beginning with Kenneth Branagh's second decade as a filmmaker, I suggest he became an industry workhorse. He acted in many films and directed several, all with varying results in quality. Most pointedly, few felt like they were personal projects for 15 years. For example, his direction of **THOR** is at the pleasure of Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Films. I argue that **MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is personal**.…

**An effort worthy of merit, but which did not result in a really good work.** Kenneth Branagh is one of those actors/directors who doesn't seem to be afraid of a challenge, and I respect him for that, even if his choices aren't always the wisest. Bringing the greatest book of Agatha Christie's work to the cinema is a considerable challenge, not only given the richness of the material and characters, but also…