Book Review - Eight Setectives by Alex Pavesi

Title: Eight Detectives
Series: -
Author: Alex Pavesi
 
Description: There are rules for murder mysteries. There must be a victim. A suspect. A detective. The rest is just shuffling the sequence. Expanding the permutations. Grant McAllister, a professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked them all out – calculating the different orders and possibilities of a mystery into seven perfect detective stories he quietly published. But that was thirty years ago. Now Grant lives in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island, counting the rest of his days.

Until Julia Hart, a sharp, ambitious editor knocks on his door. Julia wishes to republish his book, and together they must revisit those old stories: an author hiding from his past, and an editor, keen to understand it.

But there are things in the stories that don’t add up. Inconsistencies left by Grant that a sharp-eyed editor begins to suspect are more than mistakes. They may be clues, and Julia finds herself with a mystery of her own to solve.
 
Review: Thirty years ago, Grant McAllister wrote seven stories that formed the thriller “Murder in White”. Since then, he has lives a secluded life. Young, ambitious editor Julia shows up at his door. She is handling the re-release of the book and want to interview Grant about it.
 
The book starts with a murder mystery story, one of the seven stories McAllister had written. It’s a really good start. But the start was the only thing I really liked about this book. The detectives stories are alternated by the conversations between Grant and Julia, talking about each story in depth. This is a book within a book situation. And when I mostly like this, I really didn’t like it here. Aside from the first story, they were just okay. They all had a different type of twist to them, but none were really groundbreaking.
 
This book is supposed to make the reader think about the murders that happened, trying to solve them themselves. I was not invested at all, an even less in the story of Grant and Julia. I wasn’t enjoying it at all and I didn’t look forward to continuing the book once I had put it down. I finished it merely because I was still waiting for that big WOW. But it never came.
 
I think the set-up of the book is original and it’s well-written, but the stories and the characters didn’t captivate me and I found it boring it times. Wouldn’t recommend.
 
Rating: 2/ 5
 

10s Movie Review - Book Club

Director: Bill Holderman
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Don Johnson, Richard Dreyfuss, Alicia Silverstone, Ed Begley Jr., Wallace Shaw

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 4: A MOVIE WITH A MAINLY FEMALE CAST
 
Description: Four lifelong friends have their lives forever changed after reading “50 Shades of Grey” in their monthly book club.

Review: The modern mature woman isn’t sitting home alone drinking tea surrounded by cats, but she’s active, worldly and has a healthy appetite for love and sex. The classic TV-series “The Golden Girls” already showed us this many years ago.

In “Book Club” we meet four long time friends, who started a book club when they were in college and are still standing strong. Amon them are Diane, who lost her husband a year ago and is now constantly checked on by her overprotective daughters, when she meets a charming pilote that sweeps her off of her feet. Vivian, a successful hotel owner who has never married and has no intention to, until she encounters an old flame. Sharon, a federal judge, who has no love life whatsoever, after her divorce many years ago, when she discovers online dating. And Carol, who has been married for many years and is missing the spark in her relationship. The four women decide to read “50 Shades of Grey” for their book club, which will forever change their lives.

I love stories about book clubs, people talking about books and learning from them in their real life. “50 Shades of Grey” is not the kind of book to read for a book club in my opinion, because it’s so bad. Especially for this group of book veterans. And it feels a bit outdated, they should have done this movie when the books weren’t turned into movies yet (which are equally terrible, probably even worse). That’s why I have always loved “The Jane Austen Book Club”, these people read actual good books and discuss them in depth. In “Book Club” they whole element of the book club is just a fraction of it all. And even though I did enjoy the characters and their individual story, I would have preferred there to be more book discussions between the women. They hardly talk about the book.

They missed the mark on this and it was released at the wrong moment.

Rating: 2 / 5

Rewatching My 100 Favorite Movies - Update 20

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.
 

67/ 100: Knives Out (2019)
That the Agatha Christie formula is still working, proves director and screenwriter Rian Johnson with this ingenious murder mystery that simultaneously honors, mocks and turns the rules of the genre inside out. A successful thriller author who celebrates his 85^th birthday at his mansion, surrounded by family, is found dead. Eccentric sleuth Benoit Blanc arrives to solve this crime. A cleverly written whodunnit that requires at least a second viewing, to see if you spotted the later unraveled clues. HERE is my full review.
 

68/ 100: The Princess Bride (1987)
A grandfather visits his sick grandson and wants to read to him a book. The boy doesn’t think much of it at first. Then a sparkling fairy tale unfolds about a young woman, Buttercup, who no longer believes in love after the man of her dreams goes missing at sea. When she is kidnapped, she meets numerous unusual characters. The film has much to offer: an original take on the genre, enthusiastic performances and a fun story for young and old. One of those romance movies that even men like. Read my full review HERE.
 

69/ 100: Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shaun is suffering greatly from his breakup with his girlfriend Liz. He doesn’t have much use for his roommate Ed, who is too busy gaming, drinking and hanging around Shaun’s house. Still, Ed proves convenient when residents of a London suburb turn out to be infected by a zombie virus. A brilliant comedy, with a touch of gore. The first in Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s  “Cornetto trilogy”, all directed by Edgar Wright. Check out my review HERE.
 
Still to watch: 31

20s Movie Review - The Good Nurse

Director: Tobias Lindholm
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne

Description: An infamous caregiver (Eddie Redmayne) is implicated in the deaths of hundreds of hospital patients.

Review: “The Good Nurse” paints a poignant portrait of the woman who stepped forward to expose a serial killer, despite the risk she took in doing so. This true story contains a surprising second villain: the hospital business.

The intention was to tell the story of serial killer Charles Cullen without exploiting his victims. The creators were very successful at that. By focusing on nurse Amy Loughren, who was friends with Cullen,  as special aspect of this history is highlighted and a worthy narrative is created for the victims of this killer who had his way for years.

Through a rock-solid performance, Eddie Redmayne confronts us with the uncomfortable reality that serial killers can be among us unseen. Jessica Chastain, who has been a favorite of mine for years, shows once again why she is on that list. She plays the titular good nurse, that stand up for her patients. But it’s more difficult then she thinks, because it becomes extra wrenching when it slowly becomes clear how much responsibility the various hospitals where Charlie worked had in the murders he committed. Very shocking because of the film’s basis in reality. As harrowing as it is, it makes “The Good Nurse” even more suspenseful and the importance of storytelling even clearer.

The tension is palpable until the very end, up to and including the long-awaited confrontation between Amy and Charlie. A very strong thriller, that is captivating from begin ‘till end.

Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstör
Series: -
Author: Grady hendrix
 
Description: Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
 
Review: Orsk is an Ikea-like store, where strange things seem to be happening overnight. Every morning, the employees find broken furniture and shattered ornaments. Three employees volunteer to a night shift, where they are trying to find out who is vandalizing the store.
 
I’ve been loving horror books more and more, especially when they have a comedic, dark edge to them. “Horrorstör” is very accessible for anyone who hasn’t dipped into the horror genre before.
 
I was able to submerge my mind’s eye into the employee’s environment with ease, since I worked in retail myself and because of the large resemblance to Ikea which most of us have been to once or twice. The book is unconventional in so many ways: the size of the book, spacing of words and sentences, and everything in between. But it read like a fiction should.
 
Because it’s not a very long book, it’s always more difficult to connect with the characters on a deeper level. I did enjoy reading about them. There are not a lot of characters in here, which is a good thing for a shorter novel. The ones that we are introduced to, do have some development, which is very well done in such a short amount of time. Because the story basically takes place over one night. Ruth Anne was probably my favorite character.
 
“Horrorstör” is very fast paces and I found myself racing through this book. And that’s perfect if you’re a slow reader like me. It takes some time for the books to really become eventful and action packed, but because of the ominous atmosphere that is constantly present, you just want to keep reading.
 
This was a highly enjoyable book, I so impressed by Grady Hendrix’ writing style and I’m ready to explore more of his work.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - The Hours

Director: Stephen Daldry
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Ed Harris, Stephen Dillane, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Miranda Richardson, Claire Danes, Margot Martindale, Jeff Daniels

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2023 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 3: AN ANTHOLOGY MOVIE
 
Description: The story of how the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have to deal with suicide in their lives.

Review: Three women. One writes, the other reads and the last lives. The words of Virginai Woolf’s famous book “Mrs. Dalloway” give shape and dimension to their tragic lives. Based on the Pullitzer Prize-winning nover “The Hours” by Michael Cunningham, the story was a valid attempt to illustrate how literature and true life can be connected. And how immortal stories are even when their writers and protagonists die.

The three women who sometimes effortlessly blur into one character in the book are pulled apart for the film in three powerful roles played by Nicole Kidman (as Virginia Woolf), Meryl Streep (as the contemporary New York Carissa Vaughan) and Julianne Moore (as a 1950s housewife. Their fates are shown as they wear the same kind of earrings, and, thanks to ingenious editing, relive or read the same scenes from “Mrs. Dalloway” at the same time.

It is a wondrous conclusion to have to see, almost a century after Mrs. Dalloway lived, that, in Daldry's view, personal freedom is more than ever bound by sexual and familial ties.

Rating: 4/ 5

TV Show Review - The White Lotus (Season 2)

Season: 2
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Number of episodes: 7
Year: 2022
Starring: Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza, Theo James, Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Megan Fahy, Will Sharpe, Haley Lu Richardson, Tom Hollander

Description: Set in a resort in Sicily, it follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.
 
Review: The first season of this mini-series was a huge success, so they decided to create a second season. Set in Sicily this time. Jennifer Coolidge is the only returning actress. Het character Tanya has ended up in Sicily with her new husband, and once again the tragicomic character seems to attract misfortune and calamity. Her husband does not appreciate her as the diva she is; she ends up needing a group of flamboyant gay men for that. Tanya’s assistant Portia, meanwhile, may be available on call, but must also make herself invisible.

We also mee three generations of American-Sicilian men who have a special relationship with female beauty. Another storyline revolves around Cameron and Ethan, two former college mates, who have found each other again and are constantly testing both each other and each other’s relationships. There are more characters involved, but these are the three main storylines.

“The White Lotus” again proves sublime at portraying interpersonal interactions, awkwardness, misunderstandings, suspicions and the volatility that almost all of his character harbor. The season begins with a corpse, but we have to wait until the final episode to see who ends up floating lifeless in the ocean.

Meanwhile, “The White Lotus” mercilessly fillets human nature, where, as in the first season, you have no idea where it’s all going or will end up. I only missed Murray Bartlett’s character from season one, but overall, I liked this season just as much as the first. And I’m totally in for another series of events at a different White Lotus hotel.