Four residents at a lovely retirement home enjoy solving cold case murders: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celie Imrie. Their hobby turns serious when real dead bodies turn up. With such a stellar cast, you can expect top notch performances and they all do fine without being exceptional or stepping far outside their regular style. The only exception is Mirren, who hilariously stands out as the officious, efficient leader (at least for the first hour, before she becomes empathic and loses her edge). The fine supporting actors also include other well-known Brits like David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce and Richard E. Grant. Despite the predictable story and somewhat lackluster situations, director Chris Columbus has kept things moving briskly. There is a health issues that add an element of sadness and warmth, bit the movie is mostly a sweet, upbeat little confection that could have used a bit more quirk to offset the continual blandness. 
(3 / 5)
