Well, I have no idea what this movie was supposed to be. A Hallmark Mysteries pilot? A Netflix original? Whatever the original intent it's not a bit of an orphan, available as a DVD or streaming on Amazon/Youtube/GooglePlay but with no sequel announced.
But it's a delight of a movie with luscious scenery and amazing wardrobe choices (except for some unfortunate peach eyeshadow). Think Midsummer Murders with a bigger budget and American accents. Check out the trailer below:
This movie was a bit of a hit or miss. The acting was amazing and the period details were spot on. Adam Driver and Lady Gaga did fantastic jobs (even if Gaga's accent seemed MIA in a couple of scenes) and the 80s came alive in this movie in all their gloriously tacky splendor. This Youtuber compared the real outfits worn by Patricia and Maurizio with the ones featured on the show). Jared Leto was unrecognizable and his performance was incredible. He had the best lines, imo, and real chemistry with Al Pacino. Their scenes were the best part of the movie.
The movie started strong, setting up Patrizia as an enterprising villain/heroine and portraying the Guccis as a dysfunctional family ready for plucking. Then Adam Driver's Maurizio finds his spine and you expect the movie to start rushing to its climax...but it doesn't. Patrizia's plot moves along but it has almost no emotional energy as the movie does not explain why she felt so betrayed and wounded by the divorce. I feel a little montage of the European/NY Jet Set culture of the 80s they belonged to and the kind of status the name gave her would have gone a long way towards explaining that. As it is, all we see is Maurizio's glam St. Moritz set (probably the best scene in the movie with the best costumes),which Patrizia doesn't seem to be part of. If you want a good breakdown of Patrizia's motivations, check out the Amanda Halley's take here.
And as Patrizia's emotional arc flounders, so does the movie. The assassination plot and trial end up are overshadowed by corporate/family shenanigans as the Guccis fight over the company and Mauricio finally loses it to a conglomerate. The movie should be a crime drama but it turns into an awkward documentary about the evolution of intellectual property portfolio investments in the late twentieth century, and murderous Patrizia becomes just one more Gucci who lost the family name. Frankly, that's a lot less compelling than a juicy marital murder.
Still, it's an entertaining movie with great costumes (no high fashion moments, just glorious 80s tacky junk which seemed to disappoint some people) and fantastic acting. Worth seeing.
What can I say? I loved it. This move was an ambitious undertaking because of the iconic status of the 70s version. From the cast to the costumes that movie was incredible (if you want a deep dissection of the costume choices, check out Amanda Halley's breakdown here.)
This movie is not as faithful to the book or the fashion of the period as the 70s version, but it's still fantastic. The visuals are otherworldly and the Nile looks far more impressive than in any of the prior versions. The Karnak is photographed beautifully and the sets are sumptuous, just like the ones in Branagh's Orient Express. Branagh manages to make the ship appear both enormous and claustrophobic, which is a neat trick.
There were several surprising but successful plot adaptations. Poirot gets a prologue backstory, which was very effective. The bookend epilogue, however, was a bit of a shock and not as effective as the prologue. I don't think it fits character, frankly but you can draw your own conclusions.
The fashion is not bad, but they could have done more with it, particularly with Gal Gadot's wardrobe. The movie is supposed to be set in the 1930s, but the style is Generic Vintage, lovely but with not much meaning or characterization. This was apparently on purpose, according to the costume designer. The movie does look lovely, but it also feels very unmoored. Linnet Ridgeway's clothes, in particular, seem a little too simple for an heiress. Emma Mackey's lack of wealth is a big plot point, but her outfits are more glamorous than Linnett's clothes.
The acting is just okay, nothing wildly impressive, except for Branagh and a glorious Sophie Okonoye. Emma Mackey steals the show, but the plot adaptions were not kind to her role.
That's mostly because Poirot actually has an emotional arc in this adaptation. It's not a bad arc, but it does shift the emotional center of the story from the murder to the detective, which is, imo, a big no-no in the genre. Branagh's Orient Express also had a more emotional Poirot, but the emoting wasn't quite an arc and it couldn't compete with Michelle Pfeiffer's epic Mrs. Hubbarb. The emotional center remained with the murder in that movie. Sadly, Emma Mackey (fantastic though she is in the movie) is no Michelle Pfeiffer and Poirot's arc undermines Linnet Ridgeway's murder in Death on the Nile. This wouldn't usually be a problem in a movie because a character arc is a character arc, but this is a murder mystery. Mysteries are most successful when the solution to the murder is both logically and emotionally satisfying. That's the difference between an iconic work (Orient Express, Roger Ackroyd, etc...) and a run-of-the-mill one.
But these are just quibbles. The movie is gorgeous and engrossing and worth seeing in the theaters. Go see it!
Well, this movie was amazing. No disrespect to the 2016 reboot, which I also loved (Kevin!). That, however, was a completely different kind of movie. The 2016 Ghostbusters movie was an action-packed comedy trying to update the franchise with gags and a new cast. Afterlife, on the other hand, is an epic nostalgia trip. One that works beautifully.
The movie is a homage to the 80s--not just the original Ghostbusters movie, but also classics like The Goonies, IT, Watcher in The Woods, Tremors, even Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It also piles on the supernatural tropes. The town of Summerville is a ghost town stuck in a perpetual time warp with a drive-in restaurant, gull-wing cars, push-button phones, etc... Casa de Spengler is a classic haunted-house set-up with moving chess pieces, secret rooms/compartments, and family secrets. That was my favorite part of the movie (of course!). Paul Rudd plays a classic Spielberg conspiracist/scientist and the kids are a trademark Spielbergian Scooby gang.
The performances are fantastic and McKenna Grace is amazing at the geeky, autistic heiress to the Spengler mold and fungus collection. There's a few plot holes and a few details that don't really make sense, but the movie's fun-filled momentum barrels straight through those. The adult romance is awkward but believable (and one of the weakest subplots, imo). The finale is a true tear-jerker, there are plenty of Easter eggs for the true fans, and the after-credit scenes hint to sequels to come.
A fantastic movie and one I'll be rewatching soon.
I'm doing a blog tour to celebrate the release of Dead Man's Hex. You can follow the tour (and find some really cool book blogs) here.
It's the story of a ghost hotel where souls stay while they resolve unfinished business on earth before moving on to their next life. It has ghosts, humor, romance, and a compelling mythological framework, so you know it is, as the drama's protagonist would say, my cup of tea.
I really can't say enough good things about the show. Every single character is vivid and convincing and they all have character arcs that come to satisfying conclusions. You guys know I love quirky supporting casts. Well, this show had probably the quirkiest, most lovable supporting cast you will ever see. The mythology of the show is also beautifully written, with gods, grim reapers, deities, etc... It's a masterpiece of world building.
And the visuals are breathtaking. The hotel is spooky, but also glamorous and contemporary which is a very hard trick to pull off. The color scheme is not the usual purple-and-green haunted house palette, but it feels appropriate moody and spooky. In addition, the mix of antique and contemporary furniture and design is very effective. It really makes you feel like you've entered another world, a parallel universe that resembles our own but is also eerily different. Also, the main protagonist's wardrobe is a character-appropriate mix of contemporary, Victorian, and historical Korean garb that looks amazing and reflects her personality and origin story beautifully.
And the protagonist, Jang Man-Wol, deserves it all. She is a hardened killer cursed to run a hotel for lost souls, but she slowly (okay, veeeeeeery slowly) grows to care for all (well, most....okay, at least a few) of the tortured souls under her care. Her road to redemption is excruciating, but immensely satisfying. She is funny and greedy and mean and sweet, all at the same time. Most important, she is entirely believable as a cursed immortal. The actress portraying her, IU, is amazing.
Seriously, how can you not love this woman? Her fashion is insane. Every single outfit screams, "yes, I am a paranormal badass." Check out this ensemble:
Hotel del Luna is a fantastic streaming choice for Halloween, and I urge you all to check it out on Netflix before it disappears from the platform. The only caveat I have is that the romance may be a little unsatisfying and some may feel there is no HEA (I guess technically there isn't). IMO, the bittersweet ending makes perfect sense given who Man-Wol is and what she has done, but it's definitely not your typical romantic resolution.
Wow, I haven't updated the blog in a while. I should fix that. Here are some things I've been reading and watching lately. This is the kind of content you get from my newsletter (as well as publishing updates and book sales!) so sign up!
Ann Aguirre has a new small town paranormal romantic comedy series. The first book is called Witch Please! and it's $7.39 on Kindle, but sadly not on KU. You'll probably be able to find it in your local library though.
Erin Stevens' The Ex-Hex is quite good. Sadly, it's also $10.99 and not available on KU. I apologize for putting such expensive books on the list but paranormal rom coms seem to be having a (sadly quite expensive) trad publishing renaissance and I figure you can likely find them at the library or through online library services like Hoopla.
Sabrina Doria has a witchy charter school series (Encantado Charter Academy Cozy Mysteries), perfect for those of us facing a new school year! The first book is called Too Ghoul for School and it's FREE on KU and $3.99 to buy.
Gena Showalter has a cozy mystery out, Romancing the Stones. The sleuth owns a cemetery which I find very intriguing. It's $5.99 and, sadly, not in KU. A lot of trad pub authors seem to be jumping on the para rom com and para cozy bandwagons. Interesting.
Willow Mason has a pixie cozy mystery, Pixie Me Up. It's $.99 and FREE on KU.
Autumn is also cabin season and Teagan Maher has a cabin-themed witchy book in her Witches of Keyhole Lake series. It's called Murder in the Mountains and it's FREE on KU and $4.99 to buy.
Amanda M. Lee has a new series with the most fantastic name ever. The series is called Two Broomsticks Gas & Grill and the first book is Sinfully Delicious.
Morgana Best has a Meno-paws Cozy Mystery series and the concept alone makes me giggle. The first book is called A Midlife CatAstrophe and it's $3.99 on Kindle. Sadly, it's on on KU. I love the "mid-life paranormal trend" and am plotting out a series for Yolanda.
If you can't get enough of fluffy familiars, Molly Fitz has Merlin the Magical Fluff. It's $.99 on Kindle and, sadly, not on KU.
GBBO was my comfort watch during the pandemic and the show's witchy baker, Helena Garcia, has a new book on witchy crafts out! It's called The Witch-Crafting Handbook and it's around $8 on Kindle and $20 hardcover. She also has a cookbook called The Wicked Baker.
A new GBBO season just started on Netflix and I'm very excited about it. No Helena or Kim Joy to bring the crazy, sadly, but lots of fun new bakers. I'm also watching Only Murders In The Building on Hulu and I love it! Classic murder mystery with great acting (even Selena Gomez who is fantastic!). I should blog some recaps because I have loooooots of thoughts about that series.
This is not book-related, but I couldn't resist. Modcloth has an amazing line of cute and witchy cardigans for Halloween. I could picture Holly, the Banshee Creek librarian, buying any of these! They also have the unofficial Banshee Creek t-shirt!
