Invitation to a Murder

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First things first, I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, but did Mr O Donnell ever hear anyone actually speak in the english language? As for Misha Barton, IMDB says she's had a career spanning more than 20 years, but I have never actually seen her in anything, and I have to say, I thought she was probably Canadian, especially with the cut glass English Accent she affected! This film is set in the 1930's, a shop girl, even a florist, would not have the accent Ms Barton adopts, she is so posh our own Queen, God Bless her, never sounded as posh, and frankly with the accent and Miranda's dreadful and laughable dialogue I so much wanted the reason she didn't have her return ticket was because she would be bumped off in minutes of arriving on the island. As for the rest of the plot, there are so many holes to be plugged, I don't have time or the inclination to go through them, I will point out one glaringly obvious hole, this occurred during the first (alleged) murder. As anyone knows, in the case of a murder or even an injury, the Doctor at the scene is the first into action, Armstrong didn't bother to check for sign of life. In fact, he was the one who ran off to get help! Totally implausible! Obviously he would have known Kane wasn't dead, so why have him at the scene, the writers could have had him taking a very long cold shower, as he so wanted to sleep with Ms Blanco... I leave you the viewer to draw your own conclusions, just be prepared for the grating accent and acting of Ms Barton.

source: Invitation to a Murder

I don't understand the bad reviews on this one. I watch and read a ton of murder mysteries and I thought this was really well done. It held my attention and the actors were all very good. Loved the heart warming message at the end of found family. The length was perfect too and it was a fun watch. Seamus Dever especially was underutilized in Castle and it was fun to get to see him show off a different side of his acting skills. If you're looking for an entertaining and fast paced mystery for movie night this is the one for you! Personally I would love to see Mischa Barton's character solving some other mysteries in a sequel!

The scenery in the movie is pretty entertaining (some of it is CGI) . I like how the characters promote diversity and different races. The actress who played the waitress from Spain is really bad at acting ; like her facial expressions need some working. The butler being Louis Finley was a surprise (but interesting and entertaining) and the lawyer being Louis Finleys' son was also a surprise (but when he told the story after being caught was entertaining). Now the lawyer does a lot of drinking and smoking ; THAT WAS NOT COOL. A drug addict and alcoholic would never be able to be a lawyer. The lawyer normalizes the use of drugs and alcohol but does not show the consequences other than the fact that he became more dumb/ insensible and more criminal like. The movie misrepresents detectives and how the lady ( Mrs. Green, who is a florist) is super smart but is called "deranged"; which was just simply an expression of how incompetent the other characters are in comparison to Mrs. Green. Mrs. Green is not a psycho for being too smart but the other characters are deranged for calling someone deranged who makes them feel insecure/ also look more dumb than they already are. The murder mystery was pretty interesting/entertaining (there were some surprises but there were some parts where I could tell what would happen next). This was a ok movie but there were some flaws.

I think this movie is a fun watch. It has a quick pace with great atmosphere. For those who like cozy mysteries this movie is ideal. This movie reminded me of "Then There Were None". Not so much so that you think it is a rip off of the original film but more as a homage. I look forward to more movies with the character Miranda Green. My only criticism of her character is she is a bit of a know it all and could be made more likeable. I like the idea that she is a fan of Agatha Christie and loves mysteries. She is easy to identify with. I think if future movies are to be made with this character it would be nice if she had a sidekick. I enjoyed this movie. I would definitely recommend it to others.

So the acting in this flick is absolutely terrible but it certainly did not get any help from the writing. I am a life long fan of Agatha Christie and other mystery authors, as well as some film noir and I'm a little crazy about giallos. I also love a good mystery-comedy like the 1985 classic, Clue: The Movie with Tim Curry and Madeline Kahn. I would go as far as to say that Clue is one of my top five favorite films of all time. I thought more recent films like Knives Out and See How They Run were both fun and entertaining, while not being up to my highest standards. BUT THIS....did a teenager write this screenplay as fan fiction or what? Casting a middle aged woman as the obnoxious but lovable, brilliant Hercule Poirot in a skirt could have worked. Could have. An older, curvier Mischa Barton can't plod through movies on her youthful glamorous looks anymore - she's borderline unrecognizable as an average, curvy blonde of about 40 - but that's not the problem: she can't act. At bottom it is the writing that is terrible, though, that much is clear by the multiple caricatures which should be delightful and funny but just end up coming across as wooden and ridiculous. There is a enormous dark house with chandeliers, and I do love a nice pair of vintage curtains.

How many times will they make a movie where strangers are invited to a mansion or deserted island only to be killed off? Gerald Miller has "original plot" as a byline but that is far from true. The first murder is straight out of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" which has been duplicated in several other movies since then. But then it was atmosoheric, the mansion splendid, the characters varied and interesting, and it was fun to waste 2 hours on while recovering from the flu. I did wonder why he had to have only ONE heir since they all were his bastards. Why not give all of them a piece of the pie? But then there would be no movie. And since the boat never left the island, why didn't they decide to get the heck out of there? Ah well. Can always wait for the next rendition of "Knives Out" which is much more fun.