A Haunting in Venice

“A Haunting in Venice” is a 2023 mystery/thriller and the third installment of the Hercule Poirot detective movies based on the Agatha Christie novels. It follows “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile.” It has a star-studded cast starring Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express), Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey), Tina Fey (Date Night), Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick: Chapter 2), Jude Hill (Mandrake), and Kelly Reilly (Yellowstone).

Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is lured out of retirement by a longtime friend and author (Fey) to attend a seance to try and debunk a world renowned medium (Yeoh) on Halloween night. Everything is not as it seems as guests start turning up dead. Are people to blame or is it something more paranormal? Hercule Poirot is determined to get to the bottom of it before the night is over.

It’s like the other two as in it’s your basic who done it murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns thrown in to keep you guessing throughout who the murderer is. It’s darker and more gothic than the other two. It reminds me of a murder mystery mixed with “The Haunting in Connecticut.” It’s a little bit slower than the other two but still enjoyable as it does keep you guessing throughout what is really going on. If you’re a fan of the first two, you will enjoy this one as well. I give it a 7/10.

Soul

‘Soul’ is Disney and Pixar’s new movie that came to Disney + Christmas day. Now we all know Pixar movies are great, but just how great ‘Soul’ is, is the question. ‘Souls’ has a hard hitting cast starring Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Graham Norton (So Graham Norton), Rachel House (Moana), Richard Ayoade (The Boxtrolls), and Angela Bassett (Friday).

‘Soul’ is about Joe (Foxx) a struggling musician and part time music teacher. He’s been trying to get his big break his entire life, when he finally does, he falls into a man hole and dies. He desperately tries to escape the afterlife and ends up mentoring an unborn soul named 22(Fey). When they escape to earth, 22 gets trapped in Joe’s body, and Joe gets trapped in a cat’s body.

I don’t know where Pixar gets their ideas from, every movie they do always has the most original concept, and they won’t put it out unless it’s going to be a hit. Now we all know going in that a Pixar movie is going to hit hard in the feels, it’s what they do. I have to say ‘Soul’ isn’t as sad as the majority of their films. However, It still delivers a heartfelt message, and puts a smile on your face. It makes you want to go out and smell the roses, it’s a cute original movie that the whole family will enjoy. I give it a 8/10.