Movie Review - Meg 2: The Trench

Director: Ben Wheatly
Genre: Adventure/ Action/ Horror
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis, Jing Wu, Page Kennedy, Sophia Cai
 
Description: A research team encounters multiple threats while exploring the depths of the ocean including a malevolent mining operation.

Review: In “The Meg”, Jason Statham’s Jonah and a research team discovers a hidden underwater cave full of prehistoric sea creatures, including the colossal megalodon shark. And like a good popcorn action movie should do, Jonah killed the megalodon. In “Meg 2: The Trench”, three more megalodons escape and that’s not all.

“Meg 2: The Trench” can best be described as a B-movie with the budget of a big Hollywood movie. Where the first film was not good, it was entertaining, fun and very sefl-aware. I highly enjoyed it. “Meg 2: The Trench” is none of that. Okay, it’s still entertaining. But it has a more serious tone, is way too over the top for my liking and the story is messy. With that, the shark-action is not the main focus. At least not for two-thirds of the film. This starts in the last part of the movie. And I know this is not a movie you watch for the characters, but you’re supposed to care a little bit about them or at least remember their names.

“Meg 2: The Trench” is a bad shark movie. And not the good kind of bad, because that would make it more fun. It’s just one messy, chaotic pile of crap.  Mainly because the sharks are not the focus and there are too many things going in this movie that aren’t about sharks. Well, sharks are kind of essential in a shark movie.

Rating: 2/ 5

Book Review - How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Title: How to Sell a Haunted House
Series: -
Author: Grady Hendrix
 
Description: When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best.
 
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market. But some houses don’t want to be sold, home has other plans for both of them…
 
Review: I got to know Grady Hendrix’ books this year and this is his newest release. Hendrix is known for his quirky, strange horror stories and “How to Sell a Haunted House” is not any different. It’s not your typical haunted house story, it involves puppets and dolls. And it’s super creepy.
 
The book is, besides having regular chapters, divided in sections. Each represents one of the stages of grief. Because that is its main theme. This doesn’t fully come into its own, but I really love this idea. What I loved most about this book was the brother and sister relationship. I haven’t read books often where this was such a big part of the story. I’ve read many stories about sister bonds and brotherly relationships, but not the brother-sister sibling relationship. And the characters are well fleshed out, we get to know them very well. At first you like Louise and hate Mark, you switch sides at one point. And there is also a moment where you hate them both. But eventually, because you know them and their history better, you get to understand them more.
 
The one problem I had was the pace. It took a long time to really get into it, before it got interesting and something started happening. I understand if people would DNF it because of it. I don’t do that very often, so I’m glad I continued reading. Because once the spooky bit starts, you can’t stop reading.
 
I’ve never given Grady Hendrix a 5-star rating, but always a high score. He’s a very solid writer who became an auto-buy author for me.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Director: Joaquim dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Genre: Adventure/ Action/ Animation
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Laura Velez, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac, Mahershala Ali, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Andy Samberg, Rachel Dratch, Jack Quaid, Jharrel Jerome
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 39: A ANIMATED MOVIE THAT IS NOT DISNEY
 
Description: Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounter a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.

Review: It’s hard to top predecessor “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, but the sequel is another innovative experience that I loved just a much.

I guess people are still not sick of Spider-Man stories. And I’m so glad they aren’t, because then this amazing animation would maybe not even exist. Every superhero movie is directly or remotely based on a comic book. The makers of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” don’t just sprinkle in source references, they go further. The film’s eclectic look is a downright homage to Marvel Comics’ comic book artists, each of whom have their own style, with their own choice of mediums to work with. Some work with old-fashioned pencils or pen, others create airbrush art or use digital programs. And this is exactly what makes this film so unique and fresh. The clever thins is that the film brings all these styles together into a whole, completely original yet recognizable. And following such a great first film with an equally amazing sequel is very rare.

I loved everything about “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”: its unique mix of styles, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the whole experience was fantastic!

Rating: 5/ 5

Book Review - Death on Windmill Way by Carrie Doyle

Title: Death on Windmill Way
Series: Hampton Murder Mysteries # 1
Author: Carrie Doyle
 
Description: The Hamptons may be a summer playground for the rich and famous, but for the other nine months of the year they are a collection of small towns with small town problems. This scenic stretch of Long Island’s East End is renowened for beautiful beaches, quaint villages, spectacular houses… and murder? Gourmet chef and innkeeper Antonia Bingham is running the Windmill In and tries to find out more about the suspicious death of the previous owner.
 
Review: Death on Windmill Way” is a fun, cozy murder mystery, with a small, coastal setting. The Hamptons are know for the beaches, luxurious houses and now… murder. Antonia Bingham is the owner of the Windmill Inn, she fled to the Hamptons to leave her past behind her. But when Antonia finds out that the previous owner of the inn has died under mysterious circumstances, she feels the need to investigate it.
 
I always enjoy a good cozy mystery. They are hardly very good, but they are always highly enjoyable. And so is this one. I love the setting of the small town where everyone knows each other and the newbie sticking their nose into other people’s business, to investigate a murder.
 
Antonia is a likeable character, but she’s not very layered for a main character. We don’t get to know her that well. She is pretty standard. Antonia also has the habit to describe each character in detail, focusing on how they look and what they are wearing. I don’t really care about that. One character, Larry, was just too annoying. He is sexist, intrusive and he feels more like a caricature then an actual person. I hated him.  
 
Even though the murder mystery was fun to solve and I loved the setting, the characters were very one-dimensional and I didn’t feel invested in them. It’s not a very surprising story, yet easy to read and fun to pick up when you need something light.
 
Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movi Review - To Catch a Killer

Director: Damian Szifron
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama/ Action
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo, Ralph Ineson
 
Description: Baltimore. New Year’s Eve. A talented but troubled police officer (Shailene Woodley) is recruited by the FBI’s chief investigator (Ben Mendelsohn) to help profile and track down a disturbed individual terrorizing the city.

Review: A good cop thriller needs an interesting detective duo with chemistry. A recognizable and atmospherically portrayed setting, be it a small town or the big city. And, of course, an enigmatic killer whose motive and identity are unraveled in the course of the film through good detective work. Precisely on this last point, notwithstanding the title, things go wrong in “To Catch a Killer”.

While this atmospherically shot film does begin promising. On New Year’s Eve, twenty-nine people are shot dead in Baltimore by a sniper. There seems to be no connection between the victims. The FBI is flown in an the case comes under the direction of agent Geoffrey Lammark, exactly the kind of hardboiled detective we know from this type of movie. During the investigation, he scouts local police office Eleanor Falco as his assistant.

Even though Ben Mendelsohn and Shailene Woodley are both amazing performers, together they do not work. They have no chemistry whatsoever and for some reason I never buy Woodley as a cop. At least not the chosen cop to be assisting the FBI on such a huge case.

The film has some boring moments. If the characters were more interesting, the more quiet scenes would have been much more engaging.  The plot suffers from too much randomness and implausible twists and turns. This becomes especially evident in the finale where we learn who the killer is and what motivates him. It turns out to be downright disappointing. I understand why this film never reached Dutch cinemas.

Rating: 2/ 5

Book Review - Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: Daisy Jones & the Six
Series: -
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
 
Description: Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whiskey a Go GO. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ‘n roll she loves the most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting notices, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.
 
Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.
 
Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realized that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next is the stuff of legend.
 
Review: Late 1960s. Los Angeles. Daisy Jones, a gorgeous woman, dreams of becoming a famous singer. She meets Billy Dunne, the front man of the up-and-coming rock band The Six. Sparks fly and their first song together becomes a big hit. In “Daisy Jones & the Six”, Taylor Jenkins Reid provides a behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of a band. Not only drugs, alcohol and rock ‘n roll play an important role in this story. “Daisy Jones & the Six” is all the more about heroic women in the music industry, holding their own in a man’s world.
 
“Daisy Jones & the Six” features three strong female characters: Daisy, Karen and Camila. How do they hold their own in the music industry, a real man’s world? All three of them were great characters. Camila loves Billy wholeheartedly and is willing to forgive him his imperfections and his mistakes. Karen, on the other hand, chooses herself. Playing the keyboard in the band is her joy and her life. And finally, of course, Daisy. She apologizes for nothing or no one. No man is her boss. She is no one’s muse, but her own person.
 
Daisy and Billy are the main characters and they steal the show. But for me Karen and Graham were the ones that stole my heart. Daisy was sometimes insufferable, but she and Billy are both very interesting and complex characters. Great characters to read about.
 
Taylor Jenkins Reid chose to write the book in the form of an interview. All the band members (and other people involved with them) give their side of the story. I constantly felt like I was reading a biography of a band. This particular method of narration gives the book a completely unique atmosphere. More than once it felt like the band had really existed.
 
I loved the theme of the book, it’s incredibly interesting. An inside look in the creation of a band, as well as their shows, recording an album and life in the spotlight. And eventually their downfall. But there is more. In addition to music, drugs, sex, love, cheating, addiction and death take center stage.
 
I loved “Daisy Jones & the Six” from start to finish. An interesting theme, great characters and a unique narration all turn this story into a must-read for fans of historical fiction. Cannot fault it, I found a new forever favorite.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Little Mermaid

Director: Rob Marshall
Genre: Adventure/ Family/ Musical/ Fantasy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Noma Dumezwemi, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs
 
Description: A young mermaid (Halle Bailey) makes a deal with a sea witch (Melissa McCarthy) to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince (Jonah Hauer-King)

Review: Disney know how to create a successful animation. Turning these same animated movies into live-action flicks has not been as successful. There have been a few hits, but I can say that “The Little Mermaid” is not really one of them.

Even though the choice of Halle Bailey as Ariel was unacceptable according to many fans, she does a good job. She has a beautiful singing voice and manages to give Ariel more character than the animated version. Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the sea witch also deserves some kudos, she was chosen perfectly. Javier Bardem on the other hand, playing Ariel’s father, really has no idea what to do with his character.
It's a live-action film, with of course use of a lot of CGI, but it still feels too animated for my liking. And it’s the underwater scenes. They could have made it more realistic.

I really do like the fact that they gave Prince Eric more substance and a background. But the fact that Ariel is in love with him after only seeing him once is still strange.

I do think there are worse Disney live-action films, but “The Little Mermaid” is just okay for me.

Rating: 3/ 5

90s Movie Review - Practical magic

Director: Griffin Dunne
Genre: Drama/ Fantasy/ Comedy
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 1998
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Goran Visnjic, Aidan Quinn

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 38: A MOVIE SET IN FALL
 
Description: Two witch sisters (Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman), raised by their eccentric aunts (Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest) in a small town, face closed-minded prejudice and a curse which threatens to prevent them even finding lasting love.

Review: Two sisters from a witch’s family carry a curse with them: they can never finding lasting love. Gillian doesn’t care, Sally dies. Then fate strikes.

“Practical Magic” is a very popular film, especially during the fall time. And it’s a fun watch,  just not very memorable. I liked Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, and Dianne Wiest has a fun supporting role. This makes it worth watching. Otherwise, this would be a film nobody would even care for.

Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

Title: The Quiet Tenant
Series: -
Author: Clémence Michallon
 
Description: Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always ends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life.
 
When Aidan’s wife dies, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter Cecilia are forced to move. Aidan has no choice but to bring Rachel along, introducing her to Cecilia as a “family friend” who needs a place to stay. Aidan is betting on Rachel, after five years of captivity, being too brainwashed and fearful to attempt to escape. But Rachel is a fighter and survivor, and recognizes Cecilia might just be the lifeline she has waited for all these years. As Rachel tests the boundaries of her new living situation, she begins to form a renuous connection with Cecilia. And when Emily, a local restaurant owner, develops a crush on the handsome widower, she finds herself drawn into Rachel and Ceceilia’s orbit, coming dangerously close to discovering Aidan’s secret.
 
Review: “The Quiet Tenant” took the reading community by storm. I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and I was super intrigued. I gets raving reviews and I had very high expectations. Dangerous, always. But fortunately it did not disappoint.
 
While story itself is not super original, the way it is told is. The trapped woman is no longer herself. To survive, she has to leave her own identity behind and sort of stepped outside of herself. This is why we read the story from the you-perspective. She is talking to herself because she is no longer herself: she is Rachel.
 
The start of the story is also very well done. Thrillers regularly have a set structure, but author Clémence Michallon does something different here. We step into the middle of a situation that has been going on for some time. We get very little clarity and the situation remains a mystery for a long time. Only small bits of information are given, just as Rachel remains in the dark for a long time. The tension she feels is unavoidable as a reader. She must survive. We are sucked into the brainwashing that has taken place and experience, to the point of frustration, how this man was able to destroy a woman. This manipulative man playing a psychological game while managing to disguise himself as the perfect father, husband and citizen.
 
“The Quiet Tenant” is intense and hard to put down. A hyped thriller that really lives up to the expectations I had. Would recommend.
 
Rating: 4, 5/ 5

Book Review - The Deep by Nick Cutter

Title: The Deep
Series: -
Author: Nick Cutter
 
Description: A strange plague called the ‘Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget, small things at first, like where they left their keys. Then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered. A universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths… and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.
 
Review: “The Deep”, part horror, part psychological nightmare, is a novel that fans of Stephen King and Clive Barker don’t wan to miss. This book will definitely freak you out of you either have a fear of the dark or the deep.
 
The story is reminiscent of movies like “The Abyss” and “Alien”. And these were definitely influences for this story. Just like author Nick Cutter is influenced by the aforementioned King and Barker.
 
Luke is the main character, through him we follow the story. His brother Clayton is a scientist, on board of the Trieste. Clayton might have found a cure for the global plague. Luke is sent down to talk to him, since all communication with this deep sea lab has been lost.
 
“The Troop” was my introduction with author Nick Cutter. It blew my mind, left me speechless and really messed me up. I loved it. A lot of the elements that shocked me and kept my attention for that book, were also present in “The Deep”. Cutter knows how to build a chilling atmosphere and writes the most gruesome scenes. Again, not very kind to animals. So I had to put it down several times because of this.
 
Where “The Troop” became a favorite of mine, “The Deep” never reached that level. It focuses a lot on the past of the main character, which makes it a bit more of a character study as well. “The Troop” also had this, but these characters and their lives were more interesting. “The Deep” had some uninteresting moments. Some even a bit dull. The book is a lot creepier then “The Troop” though, especially if you have thalassophobia.
 
Overall I enjoyed the reading experience, but “The Deep” didn’t capture me from start to finish.
 
Rating: 3, 5/ 5

Book Review - The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson

Title: The Kind Worth Saving
Series: Henry Kimball/ Lily Kintner # 2
Author: Peter Swanson
 
Description: There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: he knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.
 
Now Joan needs his help in proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home with a “for sale” sign out front. Suddenly it feels like the past is repeating itself, and Henry must go back to one of the worst days of his life to uncover the truth.
 
Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in his hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.
 
Review: When private detective and former teacher henry Kimball is hired by a former student to investigate her husband on infidelity, nothing is what is seems. When the supposedly simple case takes a weird turn, Kimball turns to the one person he can trust: Lily Kintner. “The Kind Worth Saving” is the sequel to the very loved “The Kind Worth Killing”.
 
“The Kind Worth Killing” is what introduced me to author Peter Swanson. This thriller instantly became a new favorite and might be the best book I’ve read in 2023. I think you could read this book if you didn’t read the first, because this is a sequel. But I recommend to read “The Kind Worth Killing” first, because otherwise you miss the shared history between the returning characters. And that is pretty important to understand them.
 
Like in the first book, “The Kind Worth Saving” has some great twists and reveals, but not as good and surprising. Again, the plot takes many unexpected turns and nothing is what it seems. I was hooked from page one and it was a page-turned. But it never lives up to the first book.
 
Rating: 3, 5/ 5

Oldies Movie Review - Barefoot in the Park

Director: Gene Saks
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1967
Starring: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda
 
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 37: A MOVIE from the 60s
           
Description: Paul (Robert Redford), a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie (Jane Fonda). Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment.

Review: Paul and Corie settle into a shabby little apartment in Greenwich Village after a luxurious honeymoon. Their apartment is a bit smaller than expected and has some defects, but they both try to make the best of it.

Enjoyable screenplay by Neil Simon, who adapted his play for film. It is mainly the fresh, casual acting by Robert Redford and Jane Fonda that holds the attention throughout the film, since the most scenes are set in their tiny apartment.

I loved this film, it was funny and heartwarming.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - Dracula Untold

Director: Gary Shore
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Fantasy
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 36: A PREQUEL
 
Description: As his kingdom is being threatened by the Turks, young prince Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) must become a monster feared by his own people in order to obtain the power needed to protect his own family, and the families of his kingdom.

Review: “Dracula Untold” is an origin-story about the most famous vampire: Dracula. Set in fifteenth-century Transylvania, Vlad the Impaler keeps the Turkies armies at bay by adopting the superhuman powers of a primordial vampire, but naturally pays a price.

I expected the origin story of Dracula would be way bloodier. This was not even a horror film. It was just fine. I didn’t think it was terrible, but it wasn’t good either. I liked Charles Dance in it, I like him in everything to be honest. But a vampire movie with barely a drop of blood, isn’t really a successful vampire movie.

Rating: 2/ 5

Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 23

I decided to rewatch my 100 favorite movies of all-time. What those are, you can check HERE. I watch them in random order, there is no rhyme or reason there, just watching those movies I love so much.
 

76/ 100: Dances with Wolves (1990)
In his directorial debut, Kevins Costner portrays America’s natives differently than has long been common in Hollywood. Costner plays a nineteenth-century U.S. army lieutenant who, at a forward post in the Black Hills, pours his heart out to the noble natives, and to the first white woman he meets there. It was a breath of fresh air that for one the Native Americans were portrayed as real people. Check out my full review HERE
 

77/ 100: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
In “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back. In “The Terminator” from 1984, Schwarzenegger played a terminator who was sent to the past to kill Sarah Connor, to make sure John Connor will never be born. In the sequel, he returns with the task to protect John Connor from another terminator. At the time of release, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” has groundbreaking effects. It’s a rock-solid action/ sci-fi film. My brother’s favorite movie of all-time, and also one of mine. HERE is my full review.
 

Still to watch: 23

Movie Review - The Flood

Director: Brandon Slagle
Genre: Action/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Casper van Dien, Nikcy Whelan , Louis Mandylor, Ryan Francis, Eoin O’Brien, Bear Williams, Randall J. Bacon, Alexander Winters, Alex Farnham
 
Description: A daring jail break during a dangerous Louisiana hurricane is interrupted by a horde of large hungry alligators.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 35: A MONSTER MOVIE
 
Review: During a dangerous storm in Louisiana, a group a crooks are planning a jail break. When everything is flooding, a horde of alligators is terrorizing them.

You know when getting into this movie, that it’s not good. And it’s really bad, but I’ve seen worse monster movies. Way worse!

The story is not very complicated, has plot holes and is very illogic. What you would expect. It follows a familiar formula and has terrible CGI, the acting is weak and it’s really predictable. I would not recommend, but again, there are worse movies out there.  

Rating: 1,5/ 5