kenneth Branagh – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MAYDAY – Review by Susan Granger

September 18, 2026September 20, 2026 Susan Granger Apple TV+, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, kenneth Branagh, Marien Dorocinski, Mayday, Ryan Reynolds

Mayday premiered on Apple TV earlier this month and has already become one of the ‘most watched’ action/buddy comedies of the season. Set in 1987, Ryan Reynolds stars as cocky U.S. Navy pilot Troy ‘Assassin’ Kelly who is forced to eject from his top-secret Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane to avoid a deadly collision over the Siberian forest during the last days of the Cold War. Wounded and stranded behind the Iron Curtain, he’s befriended by Kenneth Branagh, playing Nikolai ‘Nik’ Ustinov, an eccentric ex-KGB officer who is obsessed with American pop culture and dreams of defecting with his estranged daughter Anna (Maria Bakalova).

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THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 – Review by Susan Kamyab

April 29, 2026 Susan Kamyab Anne Hathaway, David Frankel, emily blunt, Justin Theroux, kenneth Branagh, lady gaga, lucy liu, Mackenzie Scott, meryl streep, Miranda Priestley, stanley tucci, TDWP2, The Devil Wears Prada 2

Twenty years later Andy is an awarding winning journalist, who has just been let go from her publication, along with her fellow journalism colleges. She receives a life-changing phone call to return to Runway and become the magazine’s features editor in hopes of saving the company from financial struggles and the decline of print journalism. Things have changed since the last time Andy was here. These days, the things Miranda used to say to her employees are not appropriate anymore and she even has to hang her own coat. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a luxurious theatrical joy.

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THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 – Review by Leslie Combemale

April 29, 2026April 29, 2026 Leslie Combemale Anne Hathaway, David Frankel, emily blunt, Justin Theroux, kenneth Branagh, lady gaga, lucy liu, Mackenzie Scott, meryl streep, Miranda Priestley, stanley tucci, TDWP2, The Devil Wears Prada 2

The budget for The Devil Wears Prada 2 was significantly higher than the original 2006 film. Meryl Streep, beloved for her love-to-hate character Miranda Priestly, is quoted as saying, “on this one honey, they spent the money”. She’s right. Every dime shows up onscreen. From the opulent, sophisticated locations and sets to the gorgeous costumes and haut couture designs worn by a parade of star cameos, TDWP2 is serving SERVINGGG LEWKS. The eye candy is everywhere. Fans of the original will love this film for that alone, but they’ll also get a long awaited reintroduction to Miranda Priestly (La Streep), her ever-under appreciated right hand man Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) and her erstwhile nemeses Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt).

Reviews

A HAUNTING IN VENICE – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

September 25, 2023September 26, 2023 Valerie Kalfrin A Haunting in Venice, agatha christie, Hercule Poirot, Kelly Reilly, kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, tina fey

Famous detective Hercule Poirot is a haunted man, even when not in a haunted house. A Haunting in Venice, director and star Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as Agatha Christie’s brilliant and persnickety detective, is his most satisfying turn yet. Full of Gothic touches that enhance the mysterious mood, the film also is rich in theme: that we all live with ghosts, to paraphrase one character, whether real or not. A Haunting in Venice is briskly entertaining Agatha Christie comfort food with a larger theme about the secrets we carry. Should Branagh and company continue putting Poirot on the case, here’s hoping they also dip into Christie’s more obscure catalogue to offer audiences more surprises.

Reviews

A HAUNTING IN VENICE – Review by Susan Granger

September 22, 2023September 22, 2023 Susan Granger A Haunting in Venice, agatha christie, Hercule Poirot, Kelly Reilly, kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, tina fey

Released on September 15, Dame Agatha Christie’s 133rd birthday, Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice is adapted from her novel Halloween Party. In post-World War II Venice, ostensibly retired Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is urged to attend a séance by mystery writer Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), who has used him as a character in her crime-riddled novels. Taking considerable liberties with Agatha Christie’s original 1969 whodunit, screenwriter Michael Green and actor/director Branagh have transplanted the murder mystery to picturesque Venice, where gothic ghosts seemingly waft among the rain-shrouded canals.

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A HAUNTING IN VENICE – Review by Maitland McDonagh

September 9, 2023September 10, 2023 Maitland McDonagh A Haunting in Venice, agatha christie, Hercule Poirot, Kelly Reilly, kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, tina fey

Hercule Poirot is attuned to the finer points of human psychology, allowing Agatha Christie room to explore emotions alongside clues and Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice is just as invested in the way its characters feel as in what they do. Branagh never lets Poirot’s quirks take precedence over the fact that he’s a character with real depth, a man whose dedication to uncovering the truth is rooted in a past darkened by tragedy and dislocation. For all his mannered affect, injustice and cruelty offend Poirot’s sense of the way things ought to be but all-too often aren’t, and that any victory over life’s fundamental unfairness is worth the fight. When everything has been unraveled and explained, that’s a solid and satisfying takeaway.

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OPPENHEIMER – Review by Rachel West

July 20, 2023September 12, 2023 Rachel West alden ehrenreich, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Benny Safdie, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, David Krumholtz, emily blunt, florence pugh, kenneth Branagh, matt damon, Oppenheimer, robert downey jr

Nolan pieces the film together out of chronological order, sometimes whipping between pre- and post-bomb at a clip, switching from colour to black-and-white. It doesn’t make the narrative hard to follow, but the frequent cutting doesn’t give scenes enough time to breathe, lessening their impact on the audience. The climax of the film is undoubtedly the desert Trinity test of the bomb capabilities. Arriving at around the two-hour mark, what makes this whole sequence of events stand out is that Nolan gives it time to build tension and unfold in front of the audience instead of time-hopping to the next scene.

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DEATH ON THE NILE – Review by Susan Granger

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 Susan Granger agatha christie, armie hammer, death on the nile, Gal Gadot, kenneth Branagh

Working with screenwriter Michael Green, actor/director Branagh condenses so much that he never fully explores the subtle nuances of his rich cast of characters in what seems like a foregone conclusion to the whodunit, particularly when compared with screenwriter Anthony Shaffer’s 1978 version in which Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis and Maggie Smith exchanged barbs.

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DEATH ON THE NILE – Review by Martha K Baker

March 28, 2022April 3, 2022 Martha K. Baker (Archived Contributor) agatha christie, armie hammer, death on the nile, Gal Gadot, kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh does Agatha Christie. Again. After a Pandemic Pause, Death on the Nile returns, a follow-up to Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express. Again, Branagh is behind the camera, directing. When he’s in front of the camera, he’s behind a mustache that looks like a pergola covered in wisteria. Death on the Nile is good for a little nap midway before everyone gathers for Poirot’s little grey cells to expose the murderer. Maybe it’s time for another story — say, a continuation of the World War chapter, or more about the singer, or with Russell Brand as the ex-fiancé. There’s no mystery left in Death on the Nile, and that affects the film.

Reviews

DEATH ON THE NILE – Review by Sarah Knight Adamson

February 9, 2022February 11, 2022 Sarah Knight Adamson agatha christie, armie hammer, death on the nile, Gal Gadot, kenneth Branagh

If you viewed Kenneth Branagh’s 2017 film, Murder on the Orient Express, you’ll have a good idea of the premise of Death on the Nile. The mystery thriller is based on the 1937 Agatha Christie novel, with Branagh returning as director and star. Branagh is on a roll with his ever-popular film Belfast and his follow-up film Death on the Nile, does not disappoint.

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