The Clocks (2011)

Thanks for the memories!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

"The Clocks" will not go down as one of the classic Poirot mysteries: it does not reach either the emotional or the cerebral heights of other entries in the series. It might also have benefited from the inclusion of Ariadne Oliver - after all, Poirot attends one of her plays near the beginning and a part of it helps him get to the bottom of the case he's investigating. But it's still enjoyable, well-produced, and sometimes delightfully cryptic ("It's not important WHO he is, but who he IS!"), although if you are one of those people who like to pick out the guilty party (or parties) in a whodunit you have a better than usual chance of getting it right this time, since about half-a-dozen of the characters are guilty of....something! One very funny moment: Poirot's allergic reaction to cats. *** out of 4.

Adapted by Stewart Harcourt from a late Poirot novel (and not one of Christie's best) 'The Clocks' turned out to be unexpectedly good. Harcourt gives the whole thing a 'pre war spy thriller' twist and the whole thing moves at a brisk but never confusing pace. The seaside setting of Dover made a nice change and the casting was generally very good indeed.Tom Burke is engaging as Poirot's sidekick Lt Race and I very much enjoyed Phil Daniels as Insp Hardcastle - a perfect counterpoint to Poirot. Anna Massey and Jaime Winstone are excellent in the largest supporting roles but I also loved Lesley Sharp as a glacial, ne'er do well Miss Martindale, Frances Barber (always terrific) as the strident Merlina Rival and (probably best of all) Beatie Edney as the eccentric 'catwoman' Mrs Hemmings.I really enjoyed this production and hats off to Harcourt and his team for turning one of Christie's weaker plots into something really good!

*** This review may contain spoilers ***The adaptation is well done, the acting is excellent, but the solution to the murder is laughable. Without giving too much away, Christie would have us believe in the most absurd series of coincidences in history. The show does a good job of building up the suspense but the last half an hour is a massive let-down if you haven't read or do not remember the novel.It's worth a watch if you enjoy the series as well as to see Anna Massey's last performance, but you will roll your eyes at the conclusion.

Some nice shots of Dover as Poirot investigates the case of a dead man found in a blind woman's home. A young lady enters the empty house, having been called for some temporary secretarial business, sees the legs of the corpse behind the setee, and rushes out hysterically into the arms of a handsome passing stranger who happens to be the son of the now-retired Colonel Race. Young Race acts as Poirot's sidekick in this episode and he also falls for the young secretary whose love in return is pure, though she herself has a slightly shady past.I kept thinking I'd like to know more about that shady past. This dark young woman is attractive enough but has been "working" for one of her agency's clients twice a week for some months. It develops that she is no virgo intacta. I, frankly, don't think she's pristine enough for the son of the devoted and dull and respectable Colonel Race, although it might have been entertaining if the old Colonel himself had a fling with her.There isn't too much to say about the plot, or rather plots. Christie often threw in some other subplot involving people who are particeps criminis. In this case, they don't simply divert the investigators, they confuse the viewers too. One of the plots is about the equal in importance of the other and they have nothing to do with one another. An opening scene, in which two women chase one another and are both run down and killed, hangs irrelevantly in the air until the final few minutes.I won't give away too much, I don't think, if I say that it all has to do with the approaching war with Hitler's Germany and with the inheritance of a great deal of money.