Not even bad in a good way

Let's be realistic.

Absolutely amazing

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I really enjoyed this version of "A Caribbean Mystery," with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. I know I saw the Helen Hayes version, but I don't remember if I saw the Joan HIckson one.It's a neat story. Miss Marple is visiting St. Honore, a tropical island, to recover from some health problems. She stays at a resort, the Golden Palms, owned by a married couple, Tim and Molly Kendall.The place is heavily booked, with the Hillingdons and their American friends, the Dysons, a businessman, Jason Rafiel, his assistants, and the gossipy Major Palgrave.Major Palgrave loves a good scandal, and one night goes into one of his stories. He actually has a photo of a serial killer, he says, and pulls it out. Suddenly, he decides not to show it. The next day, he's dead, supposedly of a heart attack. Too coincidental for Miss Marple, who wants to see that photo, which has disappeared. Before she can solve the case, there are other murders, mistaken identity, and secrets uncovered.Very good story and well done, with beautiful scenery and production values. Julia McKenzie is a good Miss Marple and close to what I pictured while reading the books: charming, lively, with a keen mind and good powers of observation, based on watching the behavior of people in St. Mary Mead.There was probably more emphasis on voodoo here than in other adaptations. My favorite here was the gruff Rafiel (Antony Sher) who becomes a real admirer of Miss Marple's intelligence. They have a very genuine and nice relationship. The ending is lovely.Very good.

It wasn't too long ago that I watched the Joan Hickson version of this same tale and, while I enjoyed the color of it, I did feel that that version dawdled a bit too much and lacked forward motion, lingering in the characters and losing momentum the more it went on. So with the new ITV version I was pleased to find that the thing I usually dislike about them actually worked in its favor – the color, the liveliness and the pace. The mystery kicks in very quickly indeed and apart from a few sidesteps it more or less keeps things coming so that I felt engaged with the story. As is normal for me, I wasn't right there with the characters when the resolution was revealed, but I did feel like I was at least going with it.The one exception is an odd moment where James Bond and Ian Fleming make it into the story; it is amusing perhaps but it served no purpose other than, if you're cynical, getting the writer a trip to the location for the sake of a few minutes of screen time. Higson probably deserved it though as he has done a good job as writer, making the story flow and having the material match the heat and color of the setting. The cast mostly get this too. McKenzie is still not really someone I like as Marple, but she is good here and in particular works very well with Antony Sher. The rest of the cast isn't quite that famous but has good turns from Webb, Brown, Wakefield and others.Overall an enjoyable and lively piece of Sunday night mystery; it has color and energy and comes together pretty well.

This movie was different than the one with Joan Hickson.Julia McKenzie is good in this. The similarities were that every couple seemed to be cheating on their mates. It was hard to figure out who was doing the killing and why. The movie was a good mystery with a lot of twist and turns.The story concentrated on voodoo and it's affects on believers. I do not recall that in the one with Joan Hickson. It had crazy dancing, masks for voodoo rituals and cheesy voodoo costumes. Baloney.I did not the like the clothes on the women. Some of the bathing suits revealed to much of the female breast. I was enjoying the movie until about 20 minutes toward the end. One of the men in this drama who was a alcoholic and womanizer used the swearing for "god damn" he said it twice. The first part "god" was not very clear but I do believe that is what he said. I find this offensive toward a loving God.It seems producers do this and put it at the end of the movies like "The Cheap Detective" The same thing happened. That movie was funny and then at the end it swore the same phrase. Just a bunch of creeps making movies and figure if they put this in the beginning a person just won't watch it. They are right.

A really excellent episode opens this new Mackenzie season!The tropical atmosphere ,with hurricanes,voodoo and a very stuffy jungle is used perfectly for the creation of a compelling story,very faithful and with some clever new tricks added to the original.I liked particularly the accident about the murdered maid and her own zombie,used by Higson in a very clever way for giving an alibi to the murderer.I think it's the first time that zombies are used in a whodunit as a part of the murdering plot,and they have done it in a very subtle way,simple and particular in its own way.The directing is wonderful,the research of the murdered maid,the death of poor major Palgrave,the final discovery of the guilty party are particularly effective,as Bethany Cox has pointed out.Personally,I liked very much Webb as a caring husband,overwhelmed by his wife's madness.Charles Mesure was an excellent Dyson(I would have preferred it to Barnes-Worrell for Etienne De Sousa ,in Dead Man's Folly),and I liked too the smitten canon played by Rigby with a surprising romantic part at the very happy end.Of course Sher is the best of the lot, gruff,amusing and endearing,and he has a wonderful chemistry with Great Julia (the only reproach I could made to the Hickson version was the absolute lack of chemistry among Great Joan and Great Pleasence,two wonderful actors but in some way having in the movie no mutual empathy at all,I don't know why!) .Ford Davies is a sympathetic major and Norris a wife so strong,determined and highly dramatic that in some way wipes away completely her husband,poor Alastair Mackenzie,a good actor but in this case singularly bland and opaque.Higson is really a good new entry for the series.I hope he will pens other scripts with the same cleverness.Marple must not let us orphans too after Poirot's untimely death.We can't lose them both,someone must remain alive for carrying the holy torch of Agatha on ITV channel!New Marple seasons,please,it's mandatory!We want to see Julia in the Idol House of Astarte and in the Crooked House,under the Postern of Fate ,chasing N or M in a flashback prequel and tasting a swig of Sparkling Cyanide!