For the Weekend: A Little Mystery

There's nothing like a good puzzle so I have a few mystery suggestions for you this weekend.

First off is "Murder, She Said" (1961) starring Margaret Rutherford as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in this adaptation of the author's book 4.50 from Paddington.  As you might notice, this movie inspired the title for the television show "Murder, She Wrote."  Also, you get to enjoy watching an earlier version of Angela Landsbury's character on that show, Jessica Fletcher, who was supposedly based on Miss Marple and Agatha Christie herself.  Though Christie wasn't happy with this movie's interpretation of her book and character, she still dedicated her book The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side to Rutherford, who played Miss Marple in 3 more movies after this.  You can catch "Murder, She Said" on TCM, Saturday, 1/16 at 8:30 am EST.

For something more modern, try "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.  In the style of Raymond Chandler, this romping mystery was a critical darling in 2005.  It was also the directorial debut of Shane Black, writer of "Lethal Weapon 1 & 2".  This is on AMC, Sunday, 1/17 at 3:00 am E/P.  Though it will most likely be edited for content, it's still a great jump-around mystery to watch, as well as Downey Jr. at the start of his "comeback."

Finally, if you just want to watch something simple and retro, check out "Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear" starring the king of 90s slapstick Leslie Nielson on hulu.com.  You'll definitely have flashbacks of days gone by as you watch this very 90s-style comedy, including watching OJ Simpson act.

So, I hope this adds a little fun and suspense to your weekend. And as the tagline to "Naked Gun" says, "If you only see one movie this year...you ought to get out more."

(Post-tidbit:  Before playing Jessica Fletcher, Angela Landsbury played Miss Marple herself once in the movie "The Mirror Crack'd", based on the book dedicated to Rutherford.)