Category Archives: Gal Gadot

2022 Films, Agatha Christie, Annette Bening, Armie Hammer, Drama, Gal Gadot, Kenneth Branagh, Ridley Scott, Russell Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Thriller, Tom Bateman

Death on the Nile-2022

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Death on the Nile-2022

Director Kenneth Branagh

Starring Armie Hammer, Tom Bateman, Gal Gadot

Scott’s Review #1,245

Reviewed April 15, 2022

Grade: B+

Death on the Nile (2022) is a modern remake of the 1978 thriller of the same name, which in turn is based on Agatha Christie’s famous 1937 novel, one of many stories the author wrote.

I love a good whodunit, and the fact that I already knew the outcome from seeing the original film did not lessen the entertainment and suspense that befell me.

It only made me salivate with anticipation about how the new incarnation would handle the inevitable big reveal during the film’s final chapter.

As the suspects are locked in a boat, bar one character boldly announces that the murderer is in this room and will be unmasked.

Death on the Nile is a meat-and-potatoes offering peppered with glamour.

Similar to the remake of Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is once again enshrouded by mysterious folks with money to burn and secrets to hide. One of them has murdered a wealthy young heiress with her own set of secrets, and Poirot must quiz and entrap the perpetrators aboard a sailing vessel.

Or could there be more than one murderer?

The setting of mystical Egypt and the luminous Nile River in northern Africa puts the players amid gorgeous locales. This only enhances the juiciness and the appetite for a good, solid murder mystery.

Our hero’s lush Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamboat turns into a deadly search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by the killing of one of them.

It turns out that almost everyone aboard has a reason to want her dead. Naturally.

Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, Poirot peels back the onion of the lives of his fellow vacationers. He discovers jealousy and deceit as he gets to know the wealthy cosmopolitan travelers.

The trip includes the honeymooners, Simon and Linnet, played by Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot, Bouc (Tom Bateman), a long-time friend of Poirot’s, Euphemia (Anette Bening), a renowned painter and Bouc’s mother, Salome (Sophie Okonedo), a black jazz singer, and her niece Rosie (Letitia Wright), Linnet’s maid, Linnet’s godmother, and her companion, and a doctor who used to date Linnet.

It would seem as if all roads lead to Linnet, which it does since she is the character who suffers her fateful demise. What is key is that every character has a connection to her, making the puzzle all the more intriguing and interesting to figure out.

Branagh, coming directly from his Oscar-winning film Belfast (2022), deserves the most credit because he not only stars in but directs the movie as he did with Murder on the Orient Express.

Michael Green once again creates the screenplay. The consistency is crucial and satisfying to the overall product, and the two films can be watched back-to-back with ease.

There is trust that the anticipated enjoyment will be fulfilled, and for me, it was.

Death on the Nile is not high art but merely slick entertainment done quite well. There is considerable manipulation for the audience to endure, and the setup of the potential suspects and the victim’s background is presented directly to the viewer.

This was welcomed.

I didn’t mind the implausibility of every character having reason to kill the heiress, nor did I mind a mystery character racing around the ship, causing mayhem, then changing into formal evening wear in less than thirty seconds flat.

The numerous plot devices are to be expected from a film like Death on the Nile, and I happily and willingly fell for them hook, line, and sinker. The wealth of most of the characters is a splendid intrigue and only adds to the enjoyment.

Considering the time is the 1930s, a same-sex relationship and a brewing romance between the caucasian Poirot and the black Salome are fabulous additions.

Rumor has it that there will be another production of an Agatha Christie novel adaptation directed by and starring Branagh, and I can’t wait for this. He has dusted off the old whodunit storyline and updated it with a spectacle about crimes of passion that feels fresh.

The result is a modernized Death on the Nile (2022) brimming with fun and pleasure while never taking itself too seriously.

2017 Films, Adventure, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Gal Gadot, Patty Jenkins, Robin Wright, Super Hero, Zack Snyder

Wonder Woman-2017

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Wonder Woman-2017

Director Patty Jenkins

Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine

Scott’s Review #696

Reviewed November 20, 2017

Grade: B

Wonder Woman is a 2017 summer offering (and a mega success) firmly nestled in the comfort of the superhero adventure genre. It is unique because it is directed by a woman in a male-dominated field.

This must be championed, and the film has a palpable, female-empowering quality that I adore since it is still lacking in most mainstream movies.

However, at times, the film teeters too much around predictability and possesses many traditional superhero elements, such as good versus evil, climactic fight scenes, and stock villains.

But liberties must be taken, and overall, I saw the film as a female-driven work.

The fact that the masses celebrated Wonder Woman is terrific news.

Director Patty Jenkins, notable for having previously tackled weighty subject matter in films such as 2003’s Monster, is at the helm of this project and embodies her lead character with a good blend of earnestness, pizzazz, and heart.

“Wonder Woman” is a likable character, and newcomer Gal Gadot, who is unknown to me, is interesting casting. There are a myriad of young Hollywood “names” who could have championed the part—Scarlett Johansson or Jennifer Lawrence may have been palpable in the role.

Seemingly brave, Gadot takes command of the character and fills her with substance.

We meet “Princess Diana” as a young girl living on the protected Amazon island of Themyscira, inhabited only by females. It is around 1918, amid the harsh reality of World War I, though the members of the tribe know nothing about the war or any other current events—nor do any males live on the island.

Most women are trained warriors, presumably to protect the island from potential dangers. It is soon revealed that Diana has special powers, and after meeting a lost American soldier, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), she embarks on a mission to save the world from the ravages of war.

Mixed in with the main story is a briefly mentioned ancient legend of Zeus’s son Ares plotting to return and destroy the Amazons, whom Zeus created.

My only issue with Wonder Woman as a whole is with the story.  The plot is not weak, but simply put- it is nestled in Hollywood predictability rather than containing surprises.

Despite deserved kudos for the characterization of Diana, the story ultimately turns ho-hum like many superhero films—peppered with the inevitable battle scenes.

The genre-specific “save the world” is played to the hilt as Diana takes it upon herself to stop the war, believing that people are not entirely bad. With this thought, Diana finally learns a valuable lesson about the complexities of human beings.

Wonder Woman contains a moralistic tale, but then there are more battle scenes.

The villains are mainly cartoon-like, which is what one might expect for a film of this kind.  Chemist Isabel Maru/Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) dons a mask to hide a disfigured face (intentionally to test the poison gas), and General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) plans to destroy all of humanity.

These characters are straight out of comic books and contain no redeeming qualities.

Contrary to where the main story may be a tad lacking, the romantic element is nicely done. The scenes involving Diana and Steve are sweet and romantic, making them fun to watch and a good balance against the action sequences.

Gadot and Pine have great chemistry, adding humor, so the scenes are not forced. As Diana sees Steve naked for the first time, a clever sexual flirtation develops, and a sly lesbian backstory is briefly hinted at.

Diana remarks with a smirk that men are only needed for procreation and that the women on the island “can satisfy themselves.” The duo also has a play of words about his “manhood.”

Due to Wonder Woman’s success, a sequel, again directed by Jenkins, is in the works. My hope is that because of the box office performance, the talented director can take many more liberties and push the envelope further, as she did with Monster.

Wonder Woman (2017) is a good film, so we hope the next installment will be great.

2010 Films, Ari Graynor, Comedy, Common, Gal Gadot, James Franco, Jon Bernthal, Kristen Wiig, Lowest Rated Films, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Nick Kroll, Ray Liotta, Romantic Comedy, Samantha Bee, Shawn Levy, Steve Carell, Taraji P. Henson, Tina Fey, William Fichtner

Date Night-2010

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Date Night-2010

Director Shawn Levy

Starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg

Scott’s Review #481

70121501

Reviewed September 17, 2016

Grade: D+

Date Night is a perfect example of mediocrity in modern filmmaking.

We have two current comedic actors here- Steve Carrell and Tina Fey- circa 2010- at the top of their game.

The filmmaker’s idea is to pair these two and make an appealing romantic comedy appealing to the masses.

The main issue with this film is that the result is generic and quite an average offering.

And the entire film is incredibly plot-driven with no character development to speak of. If I am being too harsh, admittedly there is rather nice chemistry between the two leads, but it is wasted because of sloppy writing.

A couple from the New Jersey burbs, Carrell and Fey portray husband and wife, Phil and Claire Foster. Saddled with two kids and their romance reaching dullsville, Phil decides to take Claire to a ritzy Manhattan restaurant.

When they arrive, they cannot get a table but pretend to be another couple (the Tripplehorns) to obtain their table after the other couple’s no-shows. This leads to a tale of mistaken identity as the Tripplehorns possess a flash drive that a mobster (Ray Liotta) wants.

This then leads to a chase throughout Manhattan to outrun and outwit their pursuers. Wahlberg plays a hunky client of Claire’s, always shirtless, who is meant to threaten Phil and Claire’s marriage.

Several others of the current Hollywood elite- Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Mark Ruffalo, make small and somewhat pointless appearances. Specifically, Franco and Kunis as a stoner-type bickering couple are silly and unnecessary to the story.

Carrell and Fey are quite funny as individuals and as a duo- Date Night, though, does not capitalize on nor showcase their respective talents. The film tries too hard to come up with scenario after scenario of the two on the run and encountering one problematic situation after another.

As the plot of Date Night wears on, I find myself noticing that each situation that occurs is a measure of convenience.

Conveniently, Claire has a client in town (Wahlberg), who is a security expert. They go to him for help and, predictably, his hunkiness bothers Phil and piques Claire’s interest- though of course, we know full well Phil and Claire will end up together- that is how these mainstream films go.

In another scene. Phil and Claire can break into an office building unnoticed, trigger the alarms, conveniently find a needed file, and escape, miraculously all before the police arrive minutes later.

Very plot-driven.

The lead actors in Date Night are appealing and even charming together, but the silly, inane plot makes it unappealing to watch and the slew of stars that somebody decided would be a great addition to a lukewarm film is odd.

The roles written have little bearing on the central plot so it was apparent why they were added.

Date Night (2010) is a film we have seen time and time again with other actors in similar roles.