Book Review - If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Title: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L. Rio
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Fiction
Published: 2017
 
Description: Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day of his release, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know that really happened a decade ago.
 
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
 
Review: Oliver Marks has served ten years in prison. When he is released, Detective Colborne wants to know what really happened all those years ago. Because the question is still, is Oliver guilty or not.
 
“If We Were Villains” is an extraordinary novel, set at a prestigious art school. Oliver Marks and six fellow students and friends are entering their fourth and final year, which means they finally get to perform a tragedy by Shakespeare. The fourth year is intense, compelling and, above all, vital to their future in the theater world. But none of them could have imaged how intense this final year would be.
 
For four years, the friends have been playing the same roles on stage and off. Those of hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue and extra. But the roles suddenly change, the play seems to slowly seep into the students’ real life. When one of the students is found dead, the rest of the group faces their biggest acting challenge: convincing the police and themselves their innocent. Slowly, the lives of Olive and his classmates; James, Richard, Alexander, Wren, Filippa and Meredith change into a tragedy in ways they could never have anticipated.
 
Oliver is the narrator od the story, our main character, however, in real life he is always in the background. The story is sections into acts and scenes. Slowly, you are been given more information about Oliver and his friends. And about the tragic death of one of them.
 
“If We Were Villains” is an intriguing story about friendship, love and ambition. The writing is stunning and the story interesting. I really loved reading about these characters and the mystery. It’s a very clever and complex book. There are a lot of Shakespeare references and use of quotes from his plays. I’ve never really delved into Shakespeare’s plays, but I know about them. My knowledge of Shakespeare is very superficial, so I think that worked in my disadvantage while reading “If We Were Villains”. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment though. But I think that, if you have read Shakespeare before, you can fully immerse yourself in this story.
  
Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

Title: None of This is True
Author: Lisa Jewell
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2023
 
Description: Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fac, birthday twins.
 
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
 
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life – and into her home.
 
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.
 
Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
 
Review: I have read two other Lisa Jewell books and I didn’t like either of them. “None of This is True” is Jewell’s latest psychological thriller that came out in 2023. And I decided to give her another shot, since this book is claimed to be one of her best (if not THE best).
 
Poscaast creator Alix Summer celebrates her 45^th birthday and meets her birthday twin Josie Fair by chance. After meeting each other a second time, Alix decides to make a podcast series around Josie. But Josie has a lot of secrets I her life and Alix keeps finding out new things.
 
I loved the premise and the fact that the book has a podcast element. The book is told from the perspectives of Josie and Alix, but we also get chapters where a Netflix series is presented, based on the podcast Alix has made about Josie. I thought that part was especially very original. The secrecy around the character of Josie was interesting as well. But somehow, I still the story never full grabbed me.
 
I feel like, after finishing this book, I still didn’t get the full story. There are many questions that I have that were left unanswered. I don’t mind having an ending or certain plot points being left up to interpretation. But for “None of This is True” I just needed all the answers. The story doesn’t feel finished. 
 
I did enjoy this book more than the other two I have read, but I’m still not a fan of Lisa Jewell. I’m not sure if I will try out any other books by her, because if this is considered her best, I’m not really that interested.
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Oldies Movie Review - The Sword in the Stone

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand
Genre: Family/ Animation/ Adventure
Runtime: 79 minutes
Year: 1963
Starring: Rickie Sorenson, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews, Ginny Tyler, Martha Wentworth, Norman Alden, Alan Napier

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 18: A MOVIE FROM THE 1960S
           
Description: A poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.

Review: The young squire Wart leads a happy unremarkable life. He meets the wizard Merlin, wo teaches him valuable lessons. He puts these to good use when he accidentally pulls a sword out of a tone and is promptly crowned King of Britain.  

It’s a fun, classic tale. Lovely animations and great characters. Not one of the best Disney animations ever made, but definitely one you have to check out.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Fall Guy

Director: David Leitch
Genre: Action/ Comedy
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Teresa Palmer
 
Description: A down-and-out stuntman (Ryan Gosling) must find the missing star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) of his ex-girlfriend’s (Emily Blunt) blockbuster film.  

Review: The profession of stuntman is often undervalued in Hollywood. It’s a pretty thankless role, because no one knows who you are and the actors take all the credit. So, it’s high time the stuntman is put in the spotlight.

Director David Leitch pays an homage to the many anonymous stunt people. We meet stuntman Colt Seavers. For years, he has been working as the regular stuntman for movie star Tom Ryder. Colt understands his craft and has a romance with camerawoman Jody Moreno. When Colt performs a new stunt on set in which he has to fall of a tall building, things go wrong. He breaks his back and realizes he has to retire from the stunt business. He also stops talking to Jody. When a year and a half later, he is contacted by producer Gail, Colt hesitates. But when he finds out that it’s Jody who is directing the movie, he decides to make a comeback.

“The Fall Guy” is an entertaining and visually stunning action flick. It’s pretty obvious that director David Leitch previously made “Deadpool 2” and “Bullet Train”. The same type of humor. Which I enjoyed. The film is, sadly, fairly predictable. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt is really strong and I loved both actors in this film.

“The Fall Guy” is a great time, but it’s also a bit forgettable in the end.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 27

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.
 

89/ 100: A League of Their Own (1992)
We follow American women who stood their ground in the All American Girls Baseball League during World War II. This film will always hold a special place in my heart for some reason. Me and my family watched it a lot when I was younger and it makes me smile every single time. I think this is the movie that made me love Tom Hanks as much as I do now. Please check my full review HERE.
 

89/ 100: Signs (2002)
Former pastor Graham Hess has lost his faith after a tragedy. One day he encounters immense crop circles in his corn fields. On TV, he sees that these circles have also appeared elsewhere in the world. This thrillers always excited me and I believe director M. Night Shyamalan made his best film after “The Sixth Sense” with this one. And can we talk about the creepy soundtrack, it’s so good. Click HERE for my full review.
 

90/ 100: The World’s End (2013)
Five childhood friends decided to embark on a pub crawl, that they didn’t finish twenty years ago. But something’s up in their hometown. I knew it, even before seeing it for the first time, that this was going to be a favorite for life. An unconventional mix of nostalgia, tragicomedy and Sci-fi and I love every minute of it. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright are a trio that work perfectly together. HERE is my full review.

 
Still to watch: 10

00s Movie Review - Signs

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones

Description: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Review: When director M. Night Shyamalan found a book about crop circles, he also found the theme for his next film. The fact that there have been crop circles for so long and no one can explain them, it a mysterious, fascinating yet scary phenomenon. Off course there have been plenty of alien films, with them attacking our planet. But “Signs” is different. More than a leg in the crops, shadows, sounds and a video shot with a shaky cam we don’t get to see of the aliens. But that’s exactly what makes “Signs” so scary. Shyamalan manages to give you goosebumps, on the moments you don’t see anything but know something is there.

The cast is great, all of them. “Signs” is one of my favorite films and it always scares me. No matter how many times I see it. It’s movies like this that make Shyamalan a great director. Which he is!

Rating: 5/ 5

 

 

Book Review - Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Title: Any Man
Author: Amber Tamblyn
Genre: Horror/ Fiction/ Thriller
Published: 2018
 
Description: A violent serial rapist is on the loose, who goes by the name Maude. She hunts for men at bars, online, a home – the place doesn’t matter, neither does the man. Her victims them must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame alienation from their friends and family and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack.
 
Review: In “Any Man”, a female rapist is at work. She’s hunting men like prey. Amber Tamblyn is known as an actor, but she had published books before she wrote “Any Man”.
 
Tamblyn choose to make the rapist in her book a woman and write from the point of view of the six male victims. This was unpalatable to some people. Tamblyn herself stated that this is because people think she had just reversed gender roles and she took away women’s experiences and giving it to men. But it’s not about gender roles, but about having more difficult conversations about what sexual violence looks like.
 
“Any Man” is nothing like any other book I have ever read. It’s original, brutal, has gorgeous writing, a literal gut punch. Be aware of trigger warnings for sexual assault and rape in the worse forms. This book grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until I finished it.
 
The book focuses on male victims, instead of women, and it will impact each reader differently. It’s very thought-provoking and extremely difficult to read because of the heavy subject matter. It’s brutal, poetic and raw. A book that I will most likely never forget, it really got under my skin. If you think you can stomach these themes, I think you should definitely pick it up. The audio book for this is highly recommended as well, the narration is amazing. If you are sensitive about the themes of rape and sexual assault, you should not read this. This book will stick with me for some time.
 
Rating: 5/ 5