Movie Review - Missing

Director: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick
Genre: Crime/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Storm Reid, Nia Long, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Tim Griffin, Daniel Henney
 
Description: After her mother (Nia Long) goes missing, June (Storm Reid) tries to find her from home, using tools available to her online.

Review: In 2018, the thriller “Searching” was released in which a father used modern (social) media and apps to search for his missing daughter. The viewer was only shown his online activities and the format was original and the story had some surprising twists. Four and a half years later, the same creators release “Missing”. Same format, new characters, different story. And again, lots of surprises and just as entertaining.

This time it revolves around teenager June, who maintains a troubled relationship with her overprotective mother Grace after the death of her father. When Grace undertakes a romantic trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend, June is happy to have a moment of total abandonment. But when she wakes up on the day she has to pick her mother up from the airport, Grace and her boyfriend never show up.

We get right into the mystery, just little introduction, but that’s not needed. It’s very clear that Grace and June have a rocky relationship. When June realizes her mother is missing, she starts her own investigation.

Directors Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick do not take a moment to slow down with their screenplay and make you increasingly curious about the true circumstances of the disappearance. The screens, apps, chats, cameras, searches, facetime calls and messages all pass by, but the filmmakers manage to convey the information to the audience in an orderly fashion.

The story constantly leads us in certain directions, eventually taking a different path and ending with a twist that you could not see coming. Even when the clues were there, at the time of seeing them, you don’t know how to place them in the story yet.

“Missing” is, just like “Searching”, a well-crafted thriller with some strong plot twists and a really solid Storm Reid as the lead.  If you enjoyed “Searching” you will feel the same about “Missing”.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Book Review - Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Title:  Daisy Darker
Series: -
Author: Alice Feeney
 
Description: After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80^th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the time comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.
 
The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows…
 
Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.
 
Review: When you read a thriller by Alice Feeney, you know you can expect a surprising reveal or plot twist. Although this is different from previous books I read by her, that final reveal is again one that I did not see coming.
 
Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Literally. But after years of avoiding each other, her family comes together for the 80^th birthday of her grandmother, Nana. The venue is Seaglass, Nana’s gothic mansion on an island that can only be reached at a low tide.
 
When the family arrives, secrets surface one by one. And things get worse when they are cut off from the mainland for eight hours during the tide. Add to that a severe storm and the party is complete. Especially when at midnight, Nana is found dead. An hour later, so is the next family member. They are being murdered one by one. To find the culprit, they will have to face their secrets.
 
“Daisy Darker” was obviously inspired by “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, which involves a group of strangers invited to a mansion by a mystery guest on a remote island and are also killed one by one. Here it’s a dysfunctional family. “Daisy Darker” is not as much of a page turner as “And Then There Were None” or Alice Feeney’s other books “His & Hers” and “Rock Paper Scissors”. And I felt kind of meh throughout the book. It was just fine, enjoyable, but nothing special. But then there is that reveal and the plot twists. And that’s what made this book so much better. It even makes you want to read it a second time, to see if you can spot the clues. Maybe the culprit could be predicted, but the shocking ending is way more complex and original. That bumped up my eventual rating of the book by a point.  
 
If I would recommend you an Alice Feeney book, I would probably not go with this one, but it’s still a book worth reading.
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Director: James Gunn
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure/ Comedy
Runtime: 150 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Uwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki
 
Description: Still reeling from the loss of Gamora (Zoek Saldana), Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own, a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.  

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 19: A SEQUEL
 
Review: The first film from 2014 was considered by Marvel to be a risk, with a small change of success. Who knew that an ensemble film about a group of misfits, including a foul-mouthed CGI raccoon and a verbally limited tree could lead to such success. It has been visible from the start that director and writer James Gunn believed in this team of misfits and has heart for them, because, in my opinion, this is the best series within the MCU. And he ends this trilogy with a bang. Just to be clear, I loved this movie and the review might not be subjective.   

The Guardians have settled on Knowhere, trying to give their lives shape after the loss of Gamora. That is going relatively well, until priestess Ayesha (whom we met in volume 2) comes for revenge and sends her perfect fighting machine Adam Warlock. In a fight, Rocket is seriously injured and to save his life, the Guardians must find out how the genetically engineered raccoon was ‘created’. To do so, they must delve into his past. And I’m telling you, it’s the saddest story you will ever see in a Marvel film.
Rocket, or experiment 89P13, turns out to be a creation of the High Evolutionary; a scientist who has set himself the goal of creating the perfect race and the perfect society. In the process, the self-appointed Messiah makes a lot of victims, lots of innocent victims. And with that he is by far the most evil Marvel villain yet. And I will add him to my list of most hated movie characters ever. The antagonist, strongly portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuju, holds the key to Rocket’s recovery.

The film clearly takes a darker path than its predecessors. The opening tune illustrates this perfectly. No upbeat song as usual, but an acoustic version of Radiohead’s melancholy “Creep”. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is definitely still a funny sci-fi action comedy, but the emotional depth and somewhat heavier subject matter make it a more mature film. The caption on the poster says it all: “once more with feeling”. And I felt all the feels.

The plot consists of two storylines that converge at the end in a blistering finale. In the main story, which has all the action and humor, we follow the Guardians on their crazy and beautifully designed space adventure, in which, among other things, they take on a copy of Earth and a completely organic space station against the genetically engineered misfits of the high Evolutionary. The subplot serves as an emotional counterpoint, telling the equally wry and touching, but also sad story of Rocket’s genesis. Rocket has always been my favorite of the Guardians, but he most definitely is my favorite Marvel character of all-time as well. This one hit me hard.

James Gunn shifts incredibly cleverly between the two well-written storylines, alternating dramatic seriousness with humor, and CGI action spectacle with story and character development. With a well-balanced phasing, he keeps attention firmly from beginning to end, and with his once again phenomenally compiled playlist, he adds an awful lot of color to the film.

The highlight of the film are the perfectly cast, imperfect characters. All Guardians have their flaws and this is precisely what makes them so interesting. Their noble actions are partly motivated by a desire for redemption from an often dark past. This provides the team of misfits with an approachable humanity.

Nebula, meanwhile, is a full-fledged fun-loving Guardian and finally begins to thaw out, while Gamora, returned from the past and remembering nothing, takes her place as the pessimist of the group. It is a stroke of genius to have the sisters switch roles because with the new group dynamic, Gunn avoids a repetition of moves. Peter Quill’s character steps a bit to the background this time, Groot is in the prime of his life and the ever-dry Drax along with Mantis, provide the film’s comedic highlights. But Rocket is everything to me in this film.

I’m giving “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” a perfect rating, purely out of emotion, because to me this trilogy is the perfect one and it’s very near and dear to my heart. The series had a perfect conclusion with this emotional rollercoaster. I literally cannot fault it.

Rating: 5/ 5

Book Review - The Quiet People by Paul Cleave

Title: The Quiet People
Series: -
Author: Paul Cleave
 
Description: Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are succesful crime writers. They have been on the promotional circuit, joking that no one knoew how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living.
 
So when their seven-year-old son Zach goes missing, the police and the public naturally wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been sayin all this time…. Are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?
 
Review: We meet Cameron and Lisa Murdoch, a married couple and a successful crime writers duo. Together with their son Zach, they live the good life. Zach is not you typical child, he requires special care and sometimes has raging outbursts. Cameron and Lisa have it under control, but there are still moments were it’s difficult.
 
The book starts with Cameron who is spending the day with his son, where certain things happen which will affect both Zach and Cameron. Later, Zach goes missing. Cameron and Lisa are the first suspects, since they have joked about the fact that they can commit the perfect crime because of their work as crime authors. Consequently, public opinion is quick to judge and point the finger at them as well, and a veritable media circus erupts.
The fact that Zach is somewhat difficult to deal with, Cameron’s unfortunate actions, the fact that Lisa and Cameron are crime writers and public opinion is quickly formed, are the main plot points of the book. Author Paul Cleave manages to intertwine this with the police investigation and a number of possible scenarios about the disappearance.
 
As a reader you are thrown back and forth and you don’t know who you can believe or not. The book has a medium pace, but constant tension. The writing style is smooth and it holds your attention. Cleave’s way of explaining things is sometimes a bit too elaborate, but not to the point it gets annoying.
 
The story is told from two different perspectives, Cameron and Detective Kent, and you only know that due to the narration. The chapters itself don’t tell you whose perspective you are following, until you start the chapter. But two storylines really help in a story like this.
 
Besides finding Zach, there is much more going on. Human prejudice, resentment, mistakes that are made, events that can be interpreted in multiple ways make it very difficult to get an overview of what really happened. While reading you have no idea which direction the story will be going in. The type of reveal/ twist has been done before, but it’s still surprising and well-done. Even though this is not a story where you can think along and then try to solve the mystery yourself, it’s a compelling and tense story that will keep your attention almost the entire time.
 
Rating: 3, 5/ 5

00s Movie Review - The Spiderwick Chronicles

Director: Mark Waters
Genre: Adventure/ Fantasy/ Family/ Drama/ Action
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Nick Nolte, Seth Rogen, Martin Short, Sarah Bolger, Andrew McCarthy, Ron Perlman

Description: Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker), twin brothers Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore), along with their sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

Review: There are countless magical beings living in our world, of which we know nothing because we cannot see them. We humans only see them, if they want us to. Arthur Spiderwick discovered that and started writing a book about all the secrets these creatures. He indexes his findings in a scientific way, until he found out that with all this knowledge, evil forces could wipe out all other fantastic creatures and then be powerful enough to take on humans. He hid the book in his house and put a protective magic circle around it so that the evil creatures could not reach it.

Of course, such a secret does not stay hidden forever. Eighty years later, distant reltives of Arthur Spiderwick movie into his old house. Helen and her three children Mallory, Jared and Simon have decided to move there after the divorce. Jared is the one that finds the book and he releases the evil creatures.

The story of “The Spiderwick Chronicles” might not be the most original family fantasy films, but it sure as hell is one hell of a great time. The idea of children suddenly discovering a fantastical world full of magic has been done so many times, but you can do it in so many ways. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” has enough concept of its own to stand out.

The excellent acting of young Freddie Highmore in a dual role contributes to that. The two kids he plays are clearly two different boys with their own body language and personalities. Great voice performances also by Seth Rogen, Martin Short and Nick Nolte.

“The Spiderwick Chronicles” is not an earth-shattering or innovative film, but it is an entertaining family film with suspense, humor and fun design (some parts might be a little too scary for the littlest viewers).The film has a nice pace and fortunately follows its own internal logic.  

Rating: 3,5/ 5

20s Movie Review - The Bob's Burgers Movie

Director: Loren Bouchard, Bernard Derriman
Genre: Animation/ Comedy/ Adventure
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: H. Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Eugene Mirman, David Wain, Zack Galifianakis, Kevin Kline, Larry Murphy, Gary Cole, Nick Kroll

Description: When a sinkhole in front of Bob’s Burgers threatens the Belchers’ plans for a successful summer, Bob and Linda try to keep their business going, while the kids attempt to save the restaurant by solving a mystery.

Review: The biggest challenge in making a feature film from a television series is making sure to strike the right balance between offering the regular viewers what they are used to and getting the new audience into a world unfamiliar to them. The makers of “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” took a successful approach: launching into a story without any explanation that both parties will have a great time with.

Bob and Linda are keeping themselves and their three children afloat by running a struggling burger joint. They are tight on money and it is getting tense, whether they will be able to make the monthly lone payment. The obstacle that can’t be solved in twenty minutes this time: a giant sink hole appears in front of their restaurant and a dead body is found in is. With no one able to access their restaurant, Bob and Linda have to find a way to make money and Tina, Gene and Louise are trying to solve the mystery of the dead body.

“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is not a movie that goes for depth, but I never expected that or want that. It’s a fun, entertaining, hilarious film, that will be a joy to watch for both fans of the series and those just introduced to it. Personally, the mystery that the kids are trying to solve, was my favorite part of the film.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - 8 Mile

Director: Curtis Hanson
Genre: Drama/ Music
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Taryn Manning, Omar Benson Miller, Anthony Mackie, Michael Shannon

Description: Follows a young rapper (Eminem) in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of life, wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 18: A MOVIE ABOUT MUSIC
 
Review: “8 Mile” tells part of the life story of Marshall Mathers, made famous as Eminem, and more or less plays himself in his film debut. It is the story of a white boy in Detroit, who hangs out mostly in black circles, within a community defined by rap culture and neighborhood rivalries. B-Rabbit, the character Eminem plays, belongs to this community because he is actually just as disenfranchised as the black youth: he lives in a trailer, barely educated, poor, with an alcoholic mother and an estranged father.

The few bright spots in his life are his little sister, his loyal group of friends and his remarkable rap talent. Encouraged by his best friend Future, Rabbit ventures into the exclusively black rap battles, rap duels in which opponents must verbally beat each other up. And the audience decides who the winner is.

It’s pretty straight-forward how the story will largely unfold, no surprises here. Eminem does do a fine job and has enough conviction to keep us interested. And these rap battles are the highlight of the film. It’s a solid film with an equally solid story, but nothing spectacular.

Rating: 3/ 5