20s Movie Review - Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food

Director: Stephanie Soechting
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 83 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: -

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 44: A FILM WITH A STRONG ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE
 
Description: A call to action for the officials who have the power to mitigate the danger caused by foodborne pathogens that kill thousands of people in the U.S. every year.

Review: Stephanie Soechting’s documentary is focused entirely on the food industry of the United States, where there seems to be separate inspectorate for each food group, and they work nicely alongside each other. For however safe and controlled our food chain may seem: the danger lurks in every supermarket.

In 1992, customers of the fast-food chain Jack in the Box  could be hospitalized after taking a bite out of their burgers. For some, it even turned into a tragic death. The E. coli bacteria found in the meat sickened hundreds of people as the bacteria poisoned their own bodies. Four children died.

The cause lay in the restaurant chain’s policy of not heating their burgers properly, something the CEO vehemently denied. Unfortunately, it did not stop there, because after eating contaminated meat, children in particular were found to be able to take the bacteria from each other as well. In fact, the E. coli contamination was only the beginning, because after burgers, lettuce turned out to be a pathogen because it was heated. This was followed by salmonella poisoning at a peanut butter manufacturer.

Scientist, victims, relatives, doctors, lawyers and journalists speak up about all this. There is too little awareness among food producers that their products are actually consumed and can therefore pose public health hazards.

Its clear that Soechting is on the side of the scientists and the food industry is the ‘bad guy’. The documentary lacks nuance and the prospect of improvement is also largely abandoned. It does have an important message to proclaim and it is powerful, due to the people who experienced it and who did the research are the focus.   

Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - We Spread by Iain Reid

Title: We Spread
Author: Iain Redi
Genre: Horror/ Fiction
Published: 2022
 
Description: Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents”
 
Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny – with a growing sense of unrest and distrust – starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?
 
Review: I already couldn’t fault Iain Reid’s “Foe”, which I believe to be a masterful piece of literature. I kept reading that “We Spread” was his best book or at least it was the favorite of Reid’s book for many readers. And I now know why. What an amazing book! And it’s a possibility it will be my favorite of the year.
 
Penny lives alone after her long-term partner has passed. She is content with her life as is, but after a fall she is being placed in a care facility her partner had arranged for, right before his passing. Soon after settling in, Penny starts to lose her grip on time and reality.
 
“We Spread” is an incredibly tense story. It’s horror how I like it: psychological, fear of everyday things, not knowing whether you can trust your own observations. Penny has difficulties with aging, loneliness and forgetfulness, but she still feels sane enough to trust her own instincts. But when moving to Six Cedars, even that becomes un uncertainty. You feel her fear and because we follow the story through her perspective we never know what is real and what’s not.
 
Iain Reid keeps ups guessing until the end. I could not put this book down. I loved everything about this and, like “Foe”, I can’t fault this book. It’s perfection.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

Book Review - The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White

Title: The Maid’s Diary
Author: Loreth Anne White
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Published: 2023
 
Description: Kit Darling is a maid with a snooping problem. She’s the “invisible girl”, compelled to poke into her wealthy client’s closely guarded lives. It’s a harmless hobby until Kit sees something she can’t unsee of her brand-new clients: a secret so dark it could destroy the priveliged couple expecting their first child. This makes Kit dangerous to the couple. In turn, it makes the couple – who might kill to keep their secret – dangerous to Kit.
 
When homicide cop Mallory van Alst is called to a scene at a luxury waterfront home known as the Glass House, she’s confronted with evidence of a violent attack so bloody it’s improbably the victim is alive. But there’s no body. The homeowners are gone. And their maid is missing. The only witness is the elderly woman next door, who woke to screams in the night. The neighbor was also the last person to see Kit Darling alive.
 
As mal begins to uncover the secret that has sent the lives of everyone involved on a devious and inescapable collision course, she realizes that nothing is quite as it seems. And no one escapes their past.
 
Review: I had no expectations going in this book. It came in last in the GoodReads choice Awards 2024, for the mystery/ thriller category and I didn’t hear any Booktubers or Bookstagrammers talk about this book. This book was a pleasant surprise.
 
We follow this book through multiple perspectives. First, Kit, the maid. She is writing in her diary and we are witnessing this. We also follow the perspectives of a Daisy, who is pregnant, her husband John, detective Mallory van Last, the neighbor of a murdered couple and a photographer. At first, you have no clue what the links between all these characters is. Slowly everything unfolds and the pieces fall into place.
 
I had the same experience with this book as when I read “The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson. The book is filled with plot twist and even more twisted characters. You’re constantly on the edge of your seat.
 
At one point in the book, I felt they should have ended it. The book drags on a bit too long at then end. This is the reason I’m not giving this book a perfect score. But overall, “The Maid’s Diary” is a very underrated and overlooked thriller, that more people should read.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - 1984

Director: Michael Radford
Genre: Science Fiction/ Drama
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 1984
Starring: William Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 43: A FILM WITH A STRONG PHILOSOPHICAL OR EXISTENTIAL THEME
 
Description: In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith (William Hurt), whose work is re-writing history, tries to rebel. He meets a kindred spirit named Julia and they fall into a love affair.

Review: Based on George Orwell’s classic novel “1984”, in which civil servant Winston Smith fall in love with dissident Julia completely against the law of the totalitarian state. Smith expresses his doubt to a member of the party, but a nightmare awaits.

Willaim Hurt is strong in his role as Winston, and Richard Burton is brilliant as the party man. The film pictures the vibe of the book well, with its grim and dark décor. It’s a depressing dystopian story, much better than the 1956 version.  

Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Bunny by Mona Awad

Title: Bunny
Author: Mona Awas
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Contemporary
Published: 2019
 
Description: We call them Bunnies because that is what they call each other. Seriously. Bunny.

Samantha Heather Mackey is an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at Warren University. In fact, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort – a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other 'Bunny'.

But then the Bunnies issue her with an invitation and Samantha finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door, across the threshold, and down their rabbit hole.

Review: “Bunny” is a dark comedy with rabbits and a cult of girls. It sounds like a weird story and it is. This book is not for everyone.
 
Samantha Heather Mackey goes to Warren University in new England. She hates this girl clique in her school that call themselves “Bunny”. They call each other that too. Samantha is all of a sudden invited to one of their gatherings and eventually feels drawn to their dark and mysterious world.
 
If you think you know what to expect, think again. Because there is no way you can predict what happens in this book. The book is very unique and original and the writing is amazing. But it’s a little bit too weird for my liking. I was really mesmerized at first, couldn’t put it down. But when we got into the world of the bunnies deeper and deeper, I start liking it less and less. Think of “Mean Girls” meets “Heathers”, but much darker.
 
I would for sure recommend this book, to the right people. It’s a very particular group of readers that absolutely love this book, and I understand it. But again, it’s just a bit too weird for my liking.
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - The Coworkers by Freida McFadden

Title: The Coworker
Author: Freida McFadden
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Published: 2023
 
Description: Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back.

Dawn Schiff is strange. At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn't show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell—beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running—is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…

It turns out Dawn wasn't just an awkward outsider—she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who's the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.

Review: When Nathalie goes to work one day and sees the cubicle next to her empty, she immediately thinks something is wrong. Her coworker Dawn is punctual and has a very strict schedule. She has never been late, but all her other coworkers think she is overreacting. But as Nathalie tries to find Dawn, something more dark and mysterious is going on.

Freida McFadden knocks out two to three books a year. And is shows. Her books are very easy to read and mostly follow the same pattern. That made this book a bit predictable and I didn’t get any shocking twists. If it is someone’s first McFadden, it probably will be more surprising.
 
I was never invested in the mystery and I hated the main female character. McFadden wrote her to be the one you root for, but I never felt any empathy with her, whatsoever. I felt more sympathy for Dawn, in a way, because people have been so mean to her and making fun of her behind her back. Especially making fun of her obsession with turtles. It’s clear that Dawn is on the autism spectrum and it’s just not okay to treat people like that. So, the fact that we are supposed the be on Nathalie’s side feels wrong.
 
I did not like this book and won’t recommend it to anyone.
 
Rating: 1,5/ 5

Book Review - I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Title: I Have Some Questions for You
Author: Rebecca Makkai
Genre: Mystery/ Fiction
Published: 2023
 
Description: A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content wo forget her past – the family tragedy that married her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers -needs- to let sleeping dogs lie.
 
But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn’t as much of an outsider at Granby as she’s thought – if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.
 
Review: Thalia Keith was 17 years old when she was found dead in the swimming pool of the exclusive Granby boarding school in 1995. Gym teacher Omar Evans was convicted, but Thalia’s roommate Bodie Kane always thought they caught the wrong guy. In 2018, Bodie returns to Granby, to teach a class. When her students choose to study Thalia’s case, Bodie has no choice to stir up old memories and doubts.
 
Many questions are being raised, like the title predicts. Did racial prejudice play a big part in Evans’ conviction? Was Thalia’s manipulative boyfriend a more plausible culprit? Did music teacher Denny Bloch have any involvement, since Thalia supposedly had an affair with him?
 
“I Have Some Questions for You” sounds like an interesting whodunit. A cross between “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson and the crime series “How to Get Away with Murder”. But it’s anything but interesting. The book is pretty dull, it’s way too long and I never felt invested in either the mystery nor the characters. And it was lacking a satisfying resolution.
 
I have read this type of mystery thriller before, but they all did it better.
 
Rating: 2/ 5