Touches You

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is last of the three made for TV movies with Hercules Poirot. The movie follows the plot of the novel quite faithfully. The novel is really good. Unfortunately , this movie isn't.The setting has been transferred to Acapulco and the character of Mr Satterthwaite was replaced by Poirot regular Hastings. The characters have been Americanized. I think it hurt the production. It doesn't feel like Agatha Cristie movie at all. The original story is set in England and on the Riviera. It doesn't feel right to put Poirot in Acapulco at all.The story is good , however the completely bland direction destroys it. It was rather easy to spot the murderer (not like in the book !) The suspects in "Murder In Three Acts" seem bland and undifferentiated .There are no really interesting characters. None of the supporting cast have characters worth remembering or caring about and that is the fatal flaw of this version The characters are very poorly defined. Poirot is reduced here to an old man, without any real elegance left. Charles Cartwright here is just an aging playboy instead of intelligent and noble actor.When it comes to acting only Ustinov deserves some praise, even if is hamming it up in certain scenes. The rest is mediocre with two exceptions : Jonathan Cecil as Hastings and Tony Curtis as Charles Cartwright. Cecil is annoying and unlikable. The bigger problem is with Curtis. His role is so important for the movie and Curtis is simply terrible. His character was so complex and likable in the book. Here ? It's a tragedy. REALLY , REALLY bad acting from Curtis.I can't find anything good in this movie. Better watch Poirot TV series or "Death on the Nile" or "Evil under the sun" with Ustinov if you want a good Agatha Christie movie. I give it 1/10.

Having read all of the Agatha Christie books, I have to say that David Suchet was the ultimate Hercule Poirot as written by Agatha Christie. But my favorite Poirot, having nothing whatsoever to do with either Poirot or what Ms. Christie wrote, is Peter Ustinov. It always reminds me of what someone once said about Zero Mostel in "Fiddler on the Roof" - "He's fabulous...but what he does has nothing to do with Fiddler." Ustinov is a sheer delight in every way - he's funny, he's charming, he's warm, he's relaxed - all things that, frankly, Agatha's Hercule just wasn't."Murder in Three Acts" is a slapped together TV movie without the usual star power except for Tony Curtis and several TV actors - the gorgeous Emma Samms, who was a big TV star in the '80s, Diana Muldaur, Concetta Tomei, Dana Elcar, Nicholas Pryor, and several others. The characters have been Americanized, and though set in Acapulco, aside from a few exterior shots, you don't get much atmosphere.Though the story is very interesting (it is, after all, based on an Agatha Christie novel), the production has a certain blandness to it. You know there's a problem when Diana Muldaur announces that she and the Tony Curtis character did "Private Lives" together. Now, I happen to be very fond of Tony Curtis - I did research for his autobiography, he's on the cover of a book I wrote, I found him a very charming man - but come on, PRIVATE LIVES? With that New York accent? I don't think so. He does, however, look really fabulous, and if you watch the scenes in his house carefully, you'll catch some fantastic photos of him on the wall.It's an okay way to pass the time, and the plot is intriguing, Tony's Tony, Emma's beautiful and sexy, Nicholas Pryor is funny, and Ustinov is - well, he's Poirot even if he's not what Dame Agatha had in mind.

I love Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Forget all those other phonies who've tried to fill his shoes! Including that ridiculous Murder on the Orient Express, or that laughable David Sachet! His sly, lovable demeanor rivals any of the great actors playing detectives- Peter Falk as Columbo, etc. He has a wonderful way of gaining the confidence and trust of each of his suspects, while probing them for information. You never really know who he suspects, and that's the fun of the mystery. He guides you through the maze like true detective. I have seen each of his delicious portrayals as the great, Belgian detective several times, and they just get better with age.

Watching a less-engaging Agatha Christie movie adaptation is like watching an extended episode of Murder, She Wrote. Like Hercule Poirot, Jessica Fletcher is a walking crime magnet, making you wonder if the world wouldn't be a safer place for the rest of us if people like them were put away for good.Agatha Christie movies often host a potpourri of stars to be the suspects. Sometimes they're a mix of renowned actors, like Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Ingrid Bergman et al, in 1974's Murder on the Orient Express; and sometimes, like in Murder in Three Acts, they're a mix of actors you vaguely recall seeing on some TV show or other, like Emma Samms from Dynasty and Diana Muldaur from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Though the former makes for a more attractive package, even when they're the latter, they usually still turn out to be decent viewing, as this movie is.