Kenneth Branagh – This Had Oscar Buzz

225 – Murder on the Orient Express

All aboard, listeners! This week, we’re looking at Kenneth Branagh’s recent attempts to take on Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot with 2017′s Murder on the Orient Express. Directed by and starring Branagh as the French investigator, the film assembled a gobsmacking assemblage of stars (from Michelle Pfeiffer to Judi Dench to Penelope Cruz to Johnny Depp) for one of Christie’s most iconic whodunits that looked to be a splashy blockbuster. Though the film was a box office success enough to launch a new franchise, the film received a ho-hum critical response and never got close to achieving the Oscar embrace received by Sidney Lumet’s 1974 version of the material.

This episode, we talk about Branagh’s underwhelming approach to the material and how the film doesn’t give us movie stars acting opposite movie stars in the way that we want. We also discuss how Death on the Nile compares to this film’s lacking sense of fun, Michelle Pfeiffer’s acting nominations, and the 2017 Saturn Awards.

Topics also include Ingrid Bergman’s Orient Express Oscar win, the film’s odd trailer punctuated by Imagine Dragons, and the mustache.

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174 – All is True

In 2018, perhaps the only audience that noticed All Is True were our belove AARP Movies for Grownups awards. The film is directed by and stars Kenneth Branagh as William Shakespeare returning home to his underappreciated wife and daughters after his Globe Theatre burned to the ground mid-production, reopening wounds of unspoken family tragedy. The period drama was given an extremely quiet qualifying release that earned Judi Dench (playing Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway) a Supporting Actress win from M4GS before a May release the following year received scarsely more attention than the previous season’s.

This episode, we discuss the surprisingly compelling film, and Branagh’s career as a director of spotty and often forgotten films and his chances this season with his autobiographical film Belfast. We also take a deep look at the history of the Movies for Grownups (including their wildest, but most correct call for Supporting Actress), Ian McKellen as a possible victim of a closed Oscar window, and the growing understanding of qualifying releases.

Topics also include frontrunners for this year’s M4Gs, abandoned M4Gs categories, and what if Dench played the other Anne Hathaway.

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111 – Much Ado About Nothing

We’re tackling our first Shakespeare adaptation this week with Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. After launching immediately into Oscar’s good graces with his directorial debut Henry V, Branagh returned to the Bard with this lighter and more star-studded adaptation – but couldn’t match that previous film’s favor. With a cast featuring Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton, this film instead remains as a delightful and sexy good time.

This week, we look at Branagh’s long and category spanning history with Oscar and his evolution towards a studio director of franchise films. We also dive into his affair with Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson’s double nominations in 1993, and the 1993 Golden Globe Musical/Comedy nominees.

Topics also include the recent film history of Shakespeare adaptations, Thompson’s “reveal” on the Ellen sitcom, and Imelda Staunton as beer wench.

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