‘Presumed Innocent’ a slick spin on the classic book/film
TV review: David E. Kelley’s melodrama and big personalities blend well with the compelling legal issues at the core of the Scott Turow potboiler.
Mystery
‘Presumed Innocent’ a slick spin on the classic book/film
Return to Britain serves up ‘Frenzy’ (1972) of great plotting
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Writer Anthony Shaffer collaborates on Hitchcock’s greatest British film – more than three decades after he moved to Hollywood.
Lansbury takes crack at Marple in ‘The Mirror Crack’d’ (1980)
Sleuthing Sunday (Movie review): While the actress isn’t my idea of Christie’s sleuth, the plotting and acting are strong in this adaptation.
Ricci’s ‘The Gathering’ (2003) is well-meaning, cliched church horror
Frightening Friday (Movie review): Writer Anthony Horowitz (“Poirot”) teases out an original theme from a too-familiar package.
‘The Third Man’ (1949) doesn’t even need a third man to be great
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Starring Cotten and Welles, this is one of the definitive film noirs, elevated by great dialog and fascinating oddities.
‘The Trouble with Harry’ (1955) is that it’s so different
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Still, this light-dark comedy-drama is worth a watch, and it features perhaps the best scenery in a Hitch film.
‘Marnie’ (1964) is pitch-black and gray and red all over
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): Late in his career, Hitch delivers an interesting film despite a dearth of likeable characters.
‘Number Seventeen’ (1932) shows Hitch’s skill at action
On a Hitchcock kick (Movie review): But oddly, the director’s sixth sound film is too confusing to rank as a masterful exercise in suspense.
‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ takes step backward in Season 5 (1993)
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): The writers adapt the final eight Poirot short stories, and take wild swings, before shifting focus to the novels.
‘Poirot’ skillfully adapts three novels in Season 4 (1992)
Sleuthing Sunday (TV review): The show momentarily sets aside short stories to tackle “The ABC Murders,” “Death in the Clouds” and “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.”