Meurtre à la carte

Classic films should be left alone, especially if the attempt at a remake is this bad. Really bad acting, forced and wooden characters , who were not even convinced themselves about this drawn out , painful plot.

The director here was trying hard to portray an air of mystery and suspense, but failed on both counts unfortunately.

It was just too predictable and bland.

In a suburban California community, red-headed law student Brigid Brannagh (as Molly) meets cool blonde Allison Lange (as Sophie) on a bus. The attractive women talk over problems. Riding the bus because her rich daddy took the T-Bird away, Ms. Lange doesn't seem entirely sane; as it turns out, she's fresh out of a "Rolling Hills" mental institution. Seeming to be more even more distraught, Ms. Brannagh is troubled by her husband's first wife Rosa Blasi (as Heather), a crazed drug addict who causes embarrassing scenes for Brannagh, brawny hubby Brian Krause (as Jeff), and their cute 'n' cuddly daughter Charlie Stewart (as Gracie)...

If you've seen Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" (1951), you can get off at the next stop. But, if you want to go along for the ride, it's "Next Stop Murder" as Lange decides she should kill the ex-wife troubling Brannagh in exchange for the latter killing daddy Joe Regalbuto (as Warren). Lange tells Brannagh, "We can help each other out of our nightmares." Naturally, things don't go according to plan…

This is an average made-to-run-on-TV production. It's nice to see Lin Shaye turn up as the detective, and the scenes between Brannagh and little Miss Stewart are nicely done; the story does not take advantage of the fact that they look like mother and daughter (they could have made them aunt and niece). Unfortunately, this is a blatantly inferior version of Patricia Highsmith's original story, expertly filmed by Alfred Hitchcock (as the aforementioned "Strangers on a Train"). Although the leading characters have been changed to women, the same sex subtext (attraction) is missing; neither Highsmith nor Hitchcock would approve.

**** Next Stop Murder (2010) John Murlowski ~ Brigid Brannagh, Allison Lange, Brian Krause, Joe Regalbuto

This almost tops the list as the worst film of the year. Story is just plain stupid. The acting is just as bad on every one's part, except the little girl and the father who managed to make a decent performance out of a trite and idiotic story line. The two leading ladies, won't mention their names as I'd sooner forget their work. One goes around looking like a vampire as the daughter who wants her daddy dead. The other goes around with this weird look on her face. She looks crazier than the crazy one. Backed by over the hill acting. And the guy playing the husband is just as bad. The acting on all parts is so bad, I laughed.

Writing, directing not so good either. Wow, sure would like the money they spent in producing this loser. It might have backed a more worthy work of art. Too bad.

I didn't even bother finishing this movie!! I feel that credit should have been given to Patricia Highsmith who already WROTE this premise a long time ago in Strangers on a Train!! Very poor, sorry to say. Nothing else was on TV so I tried this one but I didn't even give it 40 minutes. Are you trying to tell me that ANYONE would charge up thousands and then dump it in a trash pail? Even if they were crazy, this would not happen, I really believe THAT, not what happened in the film. I really hate to see Lifetime waste our time with such c r a p. There's little talent involved in the making of this horrible movie. Sorry to say, but true.

I disagree with many of the reviews. This was well acted by the principals, well shot and well paced. The comparisons with Hitchcock are not comparing like with like. There is room for both these movies on Highsmith's theme. I speak as a 'noir' groupie, having seen most of them I'm quite grateful to have a few new refreshing takes. If the're good and this one is certainly entertainingly watchable, they stand on there own merits; if the're less good they refresh our appreciation of the original or earlier versions. Hitchcock deserves his high reputation but he was not infallible e.g. His, to my taste, mistaken belief that interpolations of humour counterpointed suspense, whereas they disrupt the tone.

E.