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Murders from A-Z: A Book Review of Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders"

Original 1936 cover

Imagine that an insane man begins a trek to commit 26 murders. The victim's last name begins with a certain letter, as does the name of the city they live in, such as "Betty Barnard in Bexhill." Detectives hurry to apprehend this man before he commits more murders. This actually happens in Agatha Chrisite's mystery fiction The ABC Murders.
 The main characters are Hercule Poirot (a famous character in Agatha Christie's books) and his friend Capt. Hastings (who narrates much of the novel). The end left me surprised and astonished, as Agatha Christie has a knack for doing that.

SUMMARY

   Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (that's "air-kewl pwa-ro") receives a letter from the mysterious ABC. It warns of an impending murder in Andover. He tells the authorities, but none of them quite take it seriously.

   When a Mrs. Ascher is murdered in Andover, then they certainly get serious about the whole thing! Poirot and a friend, Captain Hastings, investigate the murder scene. All they find of much value is an ABC Railway guide which has no fingerprints.

   Poirot gets another letter, this time signaling a murder to occur in Bexhill-on-Sea. It appears that the mysterious murderer has a crazed mania with the organization of the alphabet. Poirot, Hastings, the police, and a psychologist work together, but they can't seem to nab the crook.

   Finally, after a third murder in Churston, the relatives and friends of the victims join forces with Poirot to unravel the mystery.

   Let me tell you that the end will leave you utterly, amazingly, and in all other senses, surprised!

CONTENT

   The ABC Murders is, as the title implies, a murder mystery. This has a substantial amount of violence. The murders include hitting the head, strangling, and stabbing. There are also a few scenes in the book where blood is either mentioned or described. As in other Agatha Christie murder mysteries, she does not hold back details such as the look on the victim’s face. 

   One of the victims had a boyfriend, but as she is dead, there are no sensual moments there. Also, one of the victims clearly was fond of his secretary and his wife was fatally ill (as well as "out of it" most of the time), but he is loyal to his wife. He treats his secretary more like a daughter than anything. Once or twice, Poirot teases Hastings about admiring a beautiful girl or wanting to stay with a girl (this is a minor part of the book).

   There is some language in the novel, including a few uses G**, d***, and h***.

   While the mystery itself is enough to draw a reader into the story, there are also insights into human character (specifically that of an insane person). While I think there are both good and bad sides to psychology, The ABC Murders provided some interesting ideas, whether I agreed with them or not.

   This mystery book is certainly not appropriate for children. Teens will likely be able to handle it, but any younger and you might want an adult to pre-read the book. I personally very much enjoyed it, and it is always fun to try to figure out the mystery as you read the novel.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Number of pages: 256 (first edition)

Author of book: Agatha Christie

Published in: 1936

Primary audience: Teens, adults

I Scream, You Scream, the Kids Scream for Energy: A Movie Review of Pete Docter's "Monsters, Inc."

Original 2001 poster

2013 3D release poster

Most young children are scared of what things when they go to bed? Dark, scary noises and...monsters! Those monsters are waiting in the closets, always ready to come out growling. In Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. the monsters "scare because they care." It is their job to scare because human screams provide clean energy for their world.
If you have seen the recent film Monsters University, then you will see that Monsters, Inc. is a continuation of the storyline. It was, however, made first. It did well at the U.S. box office the first week, though it steadily dropped for its second and third weeks. The movie stars the voices of John Goodman as James P. "Sulley" Sullivan, Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski, and Steve Buscemi as Randall Boggs.

SUMMARY

   Mike and Sulley are two average monsters, working at the mega-corporation Monsters, Incorporated. Sulley is the top scarer at work, with his best friend Mike as his assistant. Their lives are quite normal: Sulley works hard at his job, Mike has a good relationship with his girlfriend, and they have no unexpected surprises in their lives.

   Oh, wait...one evening after work, Sulley sees a lone door on the "Scare Floor." He enters the human room, but finds nothing. Then he turns around to find a little human girl playing with his tail. The big, strong, and scary monster becomes timid and afraid of this girl getting near him. You see, the monsters believe that human children are toxic. "A single touch could kill you!" as the CEO of Monsters, Inc. says.

   The "Child Detection Agency" (CDA) is in a state of panic when reports of a human girl are received. Mike and Sulley hide the girl in their apartment after a close call at a sushi restaurant. While Mike is intent on figuring out a plan to get rid of the little girl, Sulley begins to grow close to her. Then Sulley has an idea: they disguise her as a monster, take her to work, and plan to send her back through her door.

   This proves harder than they thought. Because Mike did not turn in paperwork, he is denied access to the right door card. 

   Eventually, Mike tries to return "Boo" (as Sulley affectionately names her), but Sulley wants to keep her with them. The three of them soon uncover an evil plot right inside their factory!

   The movie ends with a touching scene, but I won't go into detail so as not to spoil the ending.

CONTENT

   The film is, of course, centered around monsters scaring children. On several occasions we get scenes of this, which could possibly frighten young kids. Also, towards the end of the movie, there is some mild slapping, choking, and a chase scene. I doubt this would get it a PG rating, but parents will want to watch the film with children who are easily scared.

Mike has a girlfriend named Celia and there is a scene or two with kissing.

   There is no swearing in the film.

   Monsters, Inc. is a family-favorite of ours. It is a classic Disney/Pixar film, and any family is sure to enjoy this!

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 92 minutes

Rating: G

Director: Pete Docter

Producer: Darla K. Anderson

Music: Randy Newman

Year of release: 2001

Primary audience: Children, family

Update to Blog: Translation Feature

   As our foreign audience has been growing recently, there has been a new feature added. Those who do not read English may now translate our site into another language. The feature includes over fifty languages from which you may choose. The Translate feature is found on the right hand column at the bottom of the other features (under the Blog Archive).

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Return to Earth: A Movie Review of Andrew Stanton's "Wall-E"

Scientists and our government are promoting all sorts of ideas about how the world will come to an end. Global warming, meteorites, burning up because of the sun, or being covered in garbage. Disney/Pixar's film Wall-E presents one of those events as actually occurring. In the year 2105, earth is evacuated into space by a company called BnL (Buy 'n' Large). Robots called "Wall-E"s are left to clean up the garbage in hopes of making earth a better place for returning humans.

I have read that the director of Wall-E was a Christian, and there are elements of this film that may confirm that. Wall-E won the Global Award and Academy Award for Best Animated Picture. The movie starred the voices of Ben Burtt as Wall-E, Elissa Knight as EVE (the female robot whose duty is to find life on earth), and Jeff Garlin as B. McCrea, Captain of the Axiom spaceship.

SUMMARY

   Humans have evacuated earth, at least for a time, due to increasing garbage. The company BnL has built Wall-E robots to clean up the garbage. But when the film starts, the year is 2805 and there is only one Wall-E robot left living. He has been doing his garbage clean-up job for 700 years!

   One day, though, a sleek, white spaceship appears quite dramatically. A high-tech robot named EVE exits the ship and begins scanning everything around. Wall-E quickly discovers first-hand that she is armed with a dangerous gun, but he continues to try to make contact.

   He eventually befriends EVE and takes her back to his small home and shows her his favorite "treasures" that he has collected over the years. Then he shows her his latest find: a plant in a boot. EVE scans the object, hides it inside her metal body, and then shuts down. Wall-E watches over her until one day when a spaceship comes and picks her up...but he stows away.

   After travelling through space, Wall-E and EVE arrive at the giant ship called the Axiom. He soon finds out that the humans have their every need cared for by robots, computers, and machines. Plus, since they have been in space for their entire lives, they are all very overweight. 

   The movie continues with Wall-E and EVE trying to get the plant to the Captain, working against evil and controlling robots in the meantime.

CONTENT

   There is some violence throughout the movie, but this is a Disney film and it is made for families. EVE fires her gun a few times, but no one is harmed. Also, the Auto-Pilot robot uses his electric needle to fry a robot. Humans are never really injured throughout the film, but robots definitely are.

   The movie is not inappropriate. Wall-E has a kind of romantic relationship with the female robot EVE (this is kind of strange, but that wears off by the end of the film). Also, two of the human passengers (John and Mary) seem to have a romantic relationship, but there is not really much that comes from this. One other thing, at the beginning of the movie, is when Wall-E is searching through garbage and finds underwear and covers his eyes with it.

   There is, thankfully, not any foul language in this film.

   Wall-E presents somewhat apocalyptic events which may possibly offend some parents. With the government pushing so many apocalyptic views of the future, Christians can toss off conservation as unimportant. It is very important, though not for the reason the government and scientists say; Christians are called by God to care for the earth as our home. 

   As stated earlier, I have read that the director of Wall-E was a Christian. While there are Christian themes that come up in the film, there is no mention of God at all. So this is a good movie, but don't expect to get a great spiritual message. 

   In conclusion, Wall-E has an extremely slow beginning. In the first fifteen, twenty minutes, there are few spoken words (and those come only from Wall-E and EVE). Once the two robots reach the Axiom, things start to move at a fast pace, and that is when the main comedy starts.

   I think this is a good family movie and will entertain everybody (though parents might enjoy the first little while more than the kids). It is a fun, rather light-hearted adventure!

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 98 minutes

Rating: G

Director: Andrew Stanton

Producer: Jim Morris

Music: Thomas Newman

Year of release: 2008

Primary audience: Kids, family

(For more on the Christian themes in Wall-E, here is an article from Christianity Today, which can be found at the following link: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/juneweb-only/andrewstanton.html)

Fall of a Republic: A Movie Review of George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"

A deceitful mastermind plots to overthrow a government and become the dictator. He must first find an easily-corruptible person to aid him in his task. He chooses a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker and pushes him to become an evil Sith warrior. The final installment of the Star Wars "prequel" trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, follows this storyline, ending the tale of Anakin Skywalker and beginning the saga of the evil Darth Vader.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith received the best reviews of the three prequel movies, yet it had fewer Academy Award nominations as the previous two films. It was the only Star Wars film not to receive a nomination for Best Visual Effects, which is hard to believe. The movie starred Hayden Christiansen as Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker, Ewan McGregor as Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine.

SUMMARY

   The Clone War, which begun in Attack of the Clones, has been raging for three long years. The Jedi have heroically led clone troopers in battles both on planets and in space. The film opens with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi chasing the evil Separatist leader General Grievous, who has captured Chancellor Palpatine. 

   After making their way through a battle in space, the two Jedi manage to land inside the giant flagship of General Grievous. They finally reach the Chancellor, but must face Count Dooku, Sith leader of the Separatists. Once they have defeated the Count, Anakin must rescue Palpatine while carrying an unconscious Obi-Wan. 

   While trying to escape, the three are captured by battle droids and are taken to General Grievous. The Jedi are able to retrieve their lightsabers, but Grievous escapes to fight another day. Anakin, though, is faced with having to land a crashing battle ship.

   The movie continues, and Obi-Wan is sent to track down Grievous, who is hiding on the sinkhole planet Utapau. Meanwhile, Palpatine subtly begins to bring Anakin to the "dark side" by shaking his trust in the Jedi Council. 

   During the last battles of the Clone War, Palpatine turns Anakin to the dark side and orders the clone troopers to murder their Jedi leaders. As the Republic is turned into a tyrannical empire, Obi-Wan and Jedi Master Yoda must face the evil they unwittingly helped protect. But, by the end of the movie, there is still a hope...

CONTENT

   Revenge of the Sith is the only one of the six Star Wars films to be rated PG-13. Most of the violence is about the same as Attack of the Clones, though there are some parts that deserve the rating. Four Jedi go to confront the newly discovered Sith lord (who is really Palpatine). During the fight, three Jedi are cut with lightsabers and the last is shot with "Sith lightning." While using the lightning, Palpatine's appearance changes hideously. Also, one scene shows a Sith being burned (we see mostly his face) and later the audience sees his burned flesh being torn off. Towards the end of the film, Padmé gives birth to children. She cries out multiple times, though we only see her face during this. And during an attack on the Jedi Temple, it is implied (not shown) that children Jedi are killed, though we see many other Jedi being shot. 

   I don't recall anything too inappropriate. I believe there are one or two kissing scenes between Anakin and Padmé. Also, in another scene, she wears clothing that shows the very top of her chest (though there isn't really anything immodest).

   I don't recall any language at all in this film.

   The use of the Force is ever-present, though it is slightly darker in Revenge of the Sith. In a scene where Anakin speaks with the Chancellor, he is told of a Sith master who could influence the "midhi-chlorians" to create life and stop people from dying. 

   So this is not a movie for children. Some pre-teens may be able to handle the more violent parts, but that is up to their parents. Revenge of the Sith has many tense moments, not all of them necessarily violent. The last twenty, thirty minutes are the most graphic, containing Anakin's fall to the dark side.

   While a good film for teens and adults, parents will definitely want to find another movie if they want to find something for the entire family.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 140 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: George Lucas

Producer: Rick McCallum

Music: John Williams

Year of release: 2005

Primary audience: Teens, adults

The Trick That Reunited a Family: A Movie Review of "Jurassic Park III"

A boy is lost on an island, separated from his parents. If that isn't bad enough, the island is literally infested with dinosaurs! The boy's divorced parents sneakily enlist the help of paleontologist Alan Grant, a survivor of Jurassic Park. The Kirbys (the parents), Alan Grant, and his friend must survive long enough to find a way to escape the island.
There you have the plot of Jurassic Park III in a nutshell. The third installment of the Jurassic Park Trilogy received mixed reviews, many of them criticizing the "been there, done that" plot.
The film stars Sam Neill as Alan Grant, William H. Macy as Paul Kirby, and Téa Leoni as Amanda Kirby.

SUMMARY

   Young Eric Kirby is parasailing with his mom's friend over an exotic island. It seems fun at first, but things take a turn for the worse when their boat is attacked...by what? 

   Some time later, Alan Grant gives a speech on recent dinosaur findings. He runs into questions concerning Jurassic Park and is annoyed. Afterwards, he tells intern Billy Brennan that he might want to find a new career. The two are soon approached by a man named Paul Kirby.

   The three men and Paul's wife Amanda go to dinner. The couple explains that they are wealthy and enjoy taking adventure tours (Mount Everest, to name one). They convince Dr. Grant to take them on an airplane tour of the dinosaur island. Grant declines, but Paul eventually coaxes him with a checkbook.

   On the airplane, Dr. Grant begins talking about the dinosaurs, but the Kirbys (along with their other "friends") seem to be occupied on something else...

   The airplane is then landed (to Grant and Billy's utter horror), and Amanda begins calling for "Eric." Unfortunately, this attracts the attention of a massive dinosaur: Spinosaurus. What ensues is an intense dinosaur attack, complete with a broken airplane and dino lunch.

   The Kirbys eventually come clean and tell Grant and Billy that they are looking for their lost son. The rest of the film shows running from dinosaurs and looking for Eric.

CONTENT

   Jurassic Park III definitely earns its PG-13 rating through violence (and, yes, language). There are multiple scenes of dinosaur attacks, each of them featuring at least some amount of blood. In one scene, we see a man being eaten by a dinosaur and some of his blood drops on Amanda. In another scene, a man's neck is snapped by velociraptor dinosaurs. This is just as violent as the previous two Jurassic Park movies, if not even more gory.

   The movie is rather clean in the area of sensuality. There is one brief scene when Amanda's back is turned to the screen, but you can tell she is in her underclothes (we see from her back up). This is for a split second and we don't see anything specifically, but it is not really necessary for the film. Also, Paul and Amanda Kirby are divorced.

   Language is moderately heavy in the third Jurassic Park movie. There are several uses of d***, G**, among some others. 

   The matter of evolution is present, but it is thankfully not pressed as hard as in Jurassic Park, the first movie. I did like one scene, in an abandoned breeding room; Amanda asks what it is and Grant responds, "This is what happens when you try to play God." That, I think, is a very important lesson for today's scientific age when cloning is a growing issue.

   In conclusion, viewers will want to watch Jurassic Park III with caution. Today violence, gore, and blood in films can sometimes (and sadly) be a source of enjoyment. We need to be careful not to get joy out of death and violence.

   The third Jurassic Park sadly does not quite have the great moments that the others did (although, it was nice to see a divorced couple reunited). There is a lot of action and chasing, action and chasing, action and...well, you get the idea. It is a decent adventure film, but it has several flaws to keep an eye on.  

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 92 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sci-fi terror and violence)

Director: Joe Johnston

Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Larry J. Franco

Music: Don Davis (Original scores by John Williams)

Year of release: 2001

Primary audience: Teens, adults

Earth's 'Fightiest' Heroes: A Movie Review of Joss Whedon's " Marvel's The Avengers"

What will happen when six superheroes team together? They will save humanity, right? Wrong! First, they need to clear their differences and stop fighting each other before they can start fighting evil alien soldiers.
The Avengers was, by far, one of the highest-anticipated superhero films ever. In fact, several individual superhero films were made in building up to it (i.e. Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Iron Man). It received countless good reviews, as well as becoming the third highest-grossing film worldwide. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson (as secret agency director Nick Fury) and Tom Hiddleston (as villain Loki). The main superheroes are played by Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Capt. America), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk/Dr. Banner), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor).

SUMMARY

   In a top secret facility, scientists in the agency S.H.I.E.L.D. work on an extra-terrestrial cube. It has the power to open portals into other worlds...and that is just what it does. The evil villain Loki of Asgard comes into our world, bent on domination and destruction.

   He takes control of the minds of many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, then escapes with the "cosmic cube." Meanwhile, the rest of the agents must escape before the area blows up. Already has a fast-paced start, huh?

   We find out that S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury has been trying to assemble a team of superheroes to defend the world from extra-terrestrial threats. His candidates are of a wide-variety: the scientific Tony Stark (Iron Man), the super soldier Steve Rogers (Captain America), the brilliant Bruce Banner (The Hulk), and the "god" Thor. 

   While he does finally get them all together, they all begin bickering and arguing. They are fighting each other, not Loki. But they are forced into action when Loki makes his strike in Germany, where he is captured.

   The remainder of the film holds many surprises, but I will not spoil them. Let's just say it includes a portal into space that transports an army of alien soldiers, led by Loki. The Avengers must learn to work with each other's differences to protect their world.

CONTENT

   The violence is rather intense. People are shot, stabbed, and more (the creators of the movie have no fear of displaying at least some amounts of blood). There is one scene where Loki uses a weapon to "carve" a man's eye out, so as to gain entrance into a secure area (this is bloodless, but creepy and gruesome). With explosions, goblin-like aliens, and more, this is not a movie for young children.

    Earlier in the movie, the agent "Black Widow" is tied to a chair and is being interrogated. She is wearing a tank-top, and she performs acrobatic stunts. While this scene is not the worst that could have been shown, Black Widow is not very modest. Also she and agent "Hawkeye" have some sort of relationship, but there is absolutely nothing sexual (I don't even recall a single kiss between them). On the other hand, Tony Stark/Iron Man has at least two kisses with his girlfriend Pepper Potts, and it is implied that they are living together. 

   The language, while not completely overbearing, is certainly an issue to consider. At least a few uses of d***, G**, and h***. There is also one use of SOB. 

   In one scene, Tony Stark drinks some sort of alcohol, though it is not clearly stated. 

   There are good lessons in The Avengers concerning working together and defending America's freedom. There is one excellent scene where Loki orders a large crowd to bow to him. Everyone does, but an elderly man stands out of a wheel-chair. He says, "I don't bow to men like you." Loki smiles and replies, "There are no men like me." The man angers Loki by saying, "There are always men like you." This film is strong in showing that humans will fight for freedom and should never willingly come under the dominion of a tyrant.

   This is no film for young elementary-aged children. Some pre-teens might be able to handle the violence, though this is, of course, up to the parents. The Avengers is a wonderful superhero movie, complete with action, humor, and some romance (a little something for all tastes); teens and adults will likely enjoy this movie the most. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 142 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference)

Director: Joss Whedon

Producer: Kevin Feige

Music: Alan Silvestri

Year of release: 2012

Primary audience: Teens, adults

(The Avengers are nick-named "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Thus, the title of this review includes "Fightiest" to signify their bickering before they work together.)

A Day in the Life of Charlie Brown: A Movie Review of Sam Jaimes' "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"

Did you ever read any of the Peanuts Gang comic strips? Whether or not you have, just about everyone can recognize Charlie Brown and Snoopy. In 1967, the Broadway musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, showed for the first time. In 1985, a cartoon adaption premiered with the same name.

The movie starred the voices of Brad Kesten as Charlie Brown, Jessica Lee Smith as Lucy van Pelt, and Robert Towers as Snoopy.

SUMMARY

   The entire film basically takes you through a day of Charlie Brown's life. It has many adaptations from the original comic strips; Lucy's fondness of Schroeder, Charlie Brown's Valentine’s Day troubles, Snoopy's wild imagination, and a baseball game.

   The movie ends with the gang all meeting at the Brown family’s front porch and singing their friendly song "Happiness."

CONTENT

   As this is a kids/family cartoon, the most violent it gets is Charlie Brown getting bumped into and Snoopy pretending he is a wild animal.

    In one of the earlier scenes, Lucy sings a song about her and Schroeder getting married (the song "Schroeder"), obviously showing her love for him. In another scene, Charlie Brown debates about whether he should go talk to the "little red-haired girl" or not and ends up ruining his lunchtime.

   There is no foul language.

   During one song, Happiness, the children list the things that make them happy (i.e. “Happiness is finding a pencil, pizza with sausage, telling the time / Happiness is learning to whistle, tying your shoe for the very first time"). Christians know that true happiness can only by found in God, but this particular song is innocent, I believe.

   You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown has upbeat, jumpy music. While not a musical epic like Les Mierables or The Phantom of the Opera, it is a nice, family-friendly musical. It is kind of like a Peanuts version of The Music Man. Unfortunately, the cartoon version of the musical does not include the song My New Philosophy, which is a fun one, but it did include the nice song Happiness. 

   This was definitely geared for children, but the entire family can enjoy it. The songs are catchy, much like (as I said earlier) those in The Music Man. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a great family movie.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 50 minutes

Rating: NOT RATED

Director: Sam Jaimes

Music: Clark Gesner (music, lyrics, & composer), Ed Bogas (composer), Desiree Goyette (composer)

Year of release: 1967 (original Broadway musical), 1985 (cartoon adaption)

Primary audience: Kids, family