TV Binge: The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

Creators: Mike Flanagan & Leah Fong

Cast: Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, William Chris Sumpter, Adia, Aya Furukawa, Sauriyan Sapkota, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Heather Langenkamp

The Midnight Club follows an octet of terminally-ill teenage patients at Brightcliffe Hospice as they gather at midnight to share scary stories. – IMDB

Based primarily on the 1994 novel of the same name by Christopher Pike as well as adapting some of his short stories of various other books, The Midnight Club is a horror mystery thriller directed by Mike Flanagan which takes place in a hospice and the eight terminally-ill young adults who form The Midnight Club, following a long line of patients who are part of this club that get together at midnight to share scary stories and have a pact that whoever dies first will find a way to reach out if they can. The admission of their latest member, Ilonka (Iman Benson) stirs up the group as she tries to find the truth behind a story about a past patient who disappeared from the hospice and came back completely healed.

While I haven’t read the source material, The Midnight Club has an appealing execution and series structure. There’s a sense of watching an anthology as each episode focuses around a story told by one of the young adults which seemingly reveals a part of their own story with a twist. At the same time, the main storyline also strings through their conflicts and realities that they need to face with family that struggles to accept their illness or simply their own personal issues. This structure does have similar anthology genre issues where some stories are stronger than others and the scary element varies from some that push the outwardly unnerving but others are more subtle psychological horror. While it might have a little of something for everyone, it might not hit everyone the same. The central storyline follows each of them but Ilonka is a central focus as she starts to encounter odd things in the establishment itself as well as discovering more about the area that the hospice resides as well, which gives character to the location as well (something that I’m personally a big fan of).

Running at ten episodes, The Midnight Club manages to its rhythm well. While the scares aren’t like its previous shows and its set as a limited series instead of a mini-series, the series sets up the foundation for its characters and creates a mysteriously sinister location with Brightcliffe Hospice as it explores both the supernatural, cultist and historical elements. The characters also have their own uniqueness whether its their terminal illness or their personality, which creates a good balance between the harmony and friction to better understand these characters.

Mike Flanagan’s creations usually bring back familiar faces from previous projects that fit into this one. In this case, a good portion of his previous project Midnight Mass is here while adding in some new faces from its main leads like Ilonka played by Iman Benson or Anya played by Ruth Codd in her debut role to veteran cast like Heather Langenkamp who takes on the role as the doctor who runs the hospice. The Midnight Club truly shines in its characters because its them who tells the different stories and also shines the light on their struggles with their respective terminal illnesses as they experience loss, friendship and acceptance as well as all the unknown creepy things happening around them. While Ilonka’s character feels the most fleshed out in the group and she even has her own little mission, investigation and even romance along the way, Ruth Codd in her debut role here as Anya truly does steal the show. Despite its young cast being the focal point, most of the characters are well-written and believably portrayed.

Overall, The Midnight Club isn’t exactly what Mike Flanagan has done before on Netflix but at the same time, it still sticks a lot to the atmospheric execution that he is very good at. While it might not be as strong as its previous Netflix offerings from Mike Flanagan (which is pretty high bar that he set for himself), The Midnight Club still offered a lot of fun moments and the concept itself is unique as it explores so much more than just death. With a slated limited run of two seasons, it feels like a silly thing to just cancel it with just one more season to do especially since the first season set up the foundation of the series and its character incredibly well and had quite a few mysteries left to explore. Pity that we won’t get to see what happens.

Marry My Dead Body (關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事, 2023)

Marry My Dead Body (關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事, 2023)

Director (and co-writer): Wei-Hao Cheng

Cast: Greg Hsu, Austin Lin, Gingle Wang, Chen-Nan Tsai, Man-Chiao Wang, Tsung-Hua Tou, Nien-Hsien Ma, Tsai-Hsing Chang

One day a police officer finds a red wedding envelope, only to find out that the owner is in fact a ghost asking for the officer’s hand in marriage before reincarnation. What will happen when a human and a ghost form a special bond? – IMDB

Marrying a ghost is not exactly a novel concept but its a type of tradition more related to the olden days in Asia to make sure that a ghost would have somewhere to belong in ancient times. Its not the first time Netflix has picked up something relating to this style since the first time was 2020’s historical drama The Ghost Bride. Marry My Dead Body takes an action mystery comedy angle with a buddy cop film style similar to that of Look Out Officer where the attachment of a ghost to your life is fate and you must help fulfill their unfinished business before they can move on to reincarnation except this adds in the LGBT angle where the homophobic police officer Ming-Han that accidentally finds the envelope ends up having to marry a deceased gay man Mao Mao and after learning more, tries to uncover the truth behind the hit and run that caused his death which his department had formerly closed the case due to lack of evidence. The story runs on a parallel between the special bond between Mao Mao and Ming-Han and Ming-Han and the case that the police department is investigating to capture a big criminal.

The cast for Marry My Dead Body is top of the line with a lot of familiar faces especially if you have been following some of the Taiwanese Netflix offerings. Greg Hsu is a big name when he broke out in 2019’s drama Someday or One Day (which isn’t streaming on Netflix but seems to be part of the Disney+ catalogue) and also the first time, I’ve seen him in a big role since he was part of the Light the Night cast as a supporting character, much like Austin Lin who also had a supporting role in Light the Night but had a main role in Mom, Don’t Do That. The two male leads of Marry My Dead Body carries the film for the most part since it mostly surrounds their interaction and eventual bond. They both capture their roles dynamically.

While Ming-Han’s character has a much bigger development arc, Austin Lin’s Mao Mao stands out a little more simply because his ghost character has a lot more to do and him as an actor has really proved that he is able to capture a lot of different roles whether its a person with OCD in iWeirDo or a lazy cheating boyfriend in Mom Don’t Do That and now, this spans again into another direction as he takes on being a dead gay man who fights for his romance while being incredibly kind-hearted and eventually having a positive influence on Ming-Han by the end. Mao Mao is a character whose back story is what sheds light on the LGBT social issues within the general and Taiwanese society. Its not to say that Greg Hsu isn’t very good also because they bounce off of each other very well and that probably has to do with a great script as well as direction to help them rebound each other’s lines very smoothly and also have the special bond believable by the end.

Other than the main leads, the film’s supporting cast is also pretty decent. The main familiar face on Netflix would be the female “lead” Gingle Wang who was previously in TV series Detention. In this one, she plays a similar sort of role contextually where her character is rather multi-faceted and has a couple of layers to uncover as the film progresses and becomes both a possible love interest for Ming-Han but also a worthy opponent and superior in the police department. The actual police team leader actually brings in a few of the comedic moments as well both in his appearance and his dialogue. A lot of characters, despite the more serious situations whether on a personal or police investigation side, has its share of silliness and it sets the right mood from the start when Ming-Han gets chosen to be the person that his grandmother insists on having this ghost marriage.

Comedies are truly different for everyone. Marry My Dead Body actually feels fairly in line with the tone of what to expect from a Taiwanese comedy. There’s a few themes here but for the most part, the fun elements is to give a more relaxed angle on a more serious issue of the LGBT society in Taiwan (especially in a more traditional family unit). For a supernatural film, this one has one or two “horror” elements but for the most part, its meant to be a good time and it definitely is, even if there are a few tropey and predictable elements.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Director (and co-writer): Harry Bradbeer

Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry  Cavill, David Thewlis, Louis Partridge, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Helena Bonham Carter, Himesh Patel, Hannah Dodd

Now a detective-for-hire, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl as the sparks of a dangerous conspiracy ignite a mystery that requires the help of friends – and Sherlock himself – to unravel – IMDB

Enola Holmes is probably one of the better Netflix offerings of the last few months. The first film (review) gave us the introduction to Sherlock’s baby sister and her capabilities, drawing out a picture of the people that is a part of her life and using breaking the 4th wall in a very natural way. The sequel has much more depth this time as there is no more foundation building and can jump start into investigating. This keeps the film at a good pacing however, the use of the 4th wall is not quite as natural and clever as it was in the first film, with only a few instances that work well for the scenario. Being a sequel, it still manages to be relatively standalone while giving small nods to the first film here and there.

Enola Holmes 2 is a charming and fun film with very much the same witty vibes as the first film. This time, the case is much bigger and gives a more prominent role to her own family with her mother played by Helena Bonham Carter and her brother Sherlock Holmes, played by Henry Cavill being a more important part to this mystery adventure. Sherlock becomes key as they start off separate and Enola trying to prove herself independently but soon realizes that their cases may be connected and that her brother is the one to protect her when the time comes. At the same time also being able to exchange with each other a fresh pair of eyes to their respective cases. The film length does also give space for her little crush with Lord Tewkesbury for some growth and include him in a part of her adventures in time for the big finale.

Enola Holmes 2 is a pretty decent sequel. Sure, one focal element isn’t done as well as the first but Millie Bobby Brown makes Enola Holmes so fun to watch as she moves through the cases. Its a vivid character that is growing as a detective but still has the mistakes in judgment every once in a while that makes for some well-timed comedy. At the same time, this film did give Henry Cavill a bigger role and with that, Sherlock Holmes also has more depth and starts to open up a little more to Enola and value company. Much like their mother that has a bombastic entrance literally and Helena Bonham Carter somehow fits that role incredibly well and adds a nice dimension to the film with the one segment that she’s part of.

Enola Holmes leans into the 2 hour length but manages to keep it well-paced. This time the villain is multifold and from different angles with a menacing crooked character but also a more subtle villain and a familiar face in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. While I haven’t checked out the source material yet for Enola Holmes and my knowledge for Sherlock Holmes is more the many film and TV adaptations than the classic novels, its a lot of fun to see the two siblings’ world be pulled together to cross paths. This one ends with a nice little end credit scene hinting at a new character entering his series that makes it all more fun.

As an ending note, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of these Enola Holmes films. Its a ton of fun and tends to be one of the better Netflix offerings so far. Hopefully we will see another sequel eventually.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Director (and writer): Rian Johnson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Janelle Monae, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Noah Segan

Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece for his latest case. – IMDB

Glass Onion is something of a sequel to Knives Out and takes place in May 2020 in the midst of the pandemic when a tech billionaire Miles Bron issues puzzle box invitations to his best friends for a little weekend of murder mystery game on a Greek Island. Surprisingly, Southern detective Benoit Blanc who is spending excessive time in the bathtub trying to understand Among Us receives one as well. Like him, the former partner Andi also shows up at the party despite the fallout. As Blanc explores the island, he soon learns that he wasn’t invited by Miles and soon learns that this murder mystery game might not be a game after all when every single guest seems to have their own motive to kill Miles and this search is solidified when a death does happen.

Knives Out is hands-down the best first watch I had in this year so its sequel is one that’s been very high on the anticipated films list (as my main source of new releases are all on Netflix and they have some slim pickings). Knives Out and Glass Onion, while both captivating that Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mystery style, they are both different foundations of cleverness. Knives Out was all about the moment where the rug is pulled from under its audience and how to get away from it but Glass Onion places its cards all on the table and its about catching those details and then creating doubt in those pieces and bringing it all in to make sense. Its purposefully silly but its intended to be that way, which is what gives it that dark comedy element. Comedy, of course, is subjective however it worked for myself incredibly well especially in the final act.

The setting for Glass Onion is also twofold as physically they are heading to an island in Greece which holds the Glass Onion structure, which is also a central piece of its setting but the structural elements of this architecture plays greatly into the mystery and this group of friends on the island. Its setting is used effectively to add more depth to it scene to scene from its smokeless gardens to its actual interior. There is just one detail that feels incohesive and inexplicable in the endgame which involves the setting. The physical element is great but the actual time setting is 2020 during the first few months of the pandemic when everyone was on lockdown which makes some of these characters and moments feel like theres a deeper message behind the whole plot and its characters especially the owner of the Glass Onion who made the murder mystery game.

The cast this time is still pretty incredible as well. Not quite the collection of acting veterans like the first film but still holds quite a few. Rian Johnson also is currently directed four final appearances through his two Knives film with Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury playing as themselves in a cameo as Benoit Blanc’s good friends who are playing Among Us with each other. At one moment in the film, it actually feels like they are reenacting Among Us on the island and its actually pretty neat even though I’m not quite sure whether that was intentional or not. Packed with a rather clueless celebrity Kate Hudson has Birdie and her assistant Peg played by Jessica Henwick, Edward Norton as Miles Bron, Janelle Monae as Andi with some cameos of Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke, Yo-yo Ma, Serena Williams, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s voice and of course mentioned before, Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury. Edward Norton as the billionaire is truly such a suitable role and his small expressions to the whole feeling of this character really links closely to some billionaires in real life (almost feeling like there’s a hidden statement there). Janelle Monae is a personal favorite of mine as she might not always be in great films but she’s always great in those films and this one is no exception. As for Benoit Blanc, this more comedic version of him actually works really well for Daniel Craig and that Southern air with exclamations of “fiddlesticks” and “shitballs” truly is so much fun.

Overall, Glass Onion is a real treat. In terms of mystery complexity, Knives Out actually pulls ahead on that one with a plot twist that created more shock value. Glass Onion is a different beast but still manages to be incredibly entertaining. The final act is probably one of the best pay-offs that I’ve watched in a long time which teases its audience a little with a lot of “dumb” (as Benoit Blanc calls it). Great casting, beautiful use of the setting, approachable mystery: I’m always one to gripe about those over 2 hour films but Glass Onion just flew by. There is one scene that I feel hasn’t been explained yet and seems like a plot hole perhaps but the whole set-up and twist is so clever that this is one of those cases where a great pay-off can offset those little flaws.

Double Feature: Desperado (1995) & Rebecca (2020)

Desperado (1995)

Director (and writer): Robert Rodriguez

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Carlos Gomez, Tito Larriva, Danny Trejo, Quentin Tarantino

Former musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang. – IMDB

Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, Desperado is an action Western film and is the second part of his Mexico trilogy. While I can’t say how much you need to have seen the first part since I went into this pretty clueless about the existence of the trilogy and not quite a fan of Westerns in general, Desperado is a fairly fun romp despite its storyline revolving around a revenge plan, mostly because the film felt a little cheesy at times especially with the romantic interactions between the characters portrayed by Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, both of them oozing with sex appeal from their chemistry to their appearance. Plus, Desperado does keep a relatively light-hearted tone with a lot of scenes going over the top and the tone is set right from its first scene at the bar with the whole story-telling moment describing the gunslinger.

Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek are two actor and actress that I don’t watch too much of in general. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen them in anything other than voicing Puss in Boots for both of them. While I can’t say that Desperado is the film to showcase the acting talents they possess, their roles are done pretty well as El Mariachi and Carolina respectively. El Mariachi has a pretty epic type of gunslinger action sequence for his introduction and keeps up with building up on his story as the film moves along of why he is exacting this revenge and such. His plan and course of action takes shape throughout the film but perhaps one of the best moments are when he is spending time with the young guitar player and trying to set him on the right path. It adds a lot of depth to his character overall. In contrast, Carolina’s character is a little more shallow as she does save him and has a tough edge when needed but still plays more of a love interest. Of course, the film also includes some fun cameos with Quentin Tarantino and a side character which adds to the whole bad guys plot with Danny Trejo, who doesn’t have any dialogue but because partially a threat.

Desperado isn’t exactly a film to be dissected in depth since it is mostly a fun time with a lot of action. However, that isn’t saying that the execution isn’t good. There are some weird moments like how El Mariachi and Carolina really do move very quickly through their attachment or this one escape scene where this obviously a physics issue that doesn’t seem to make sense which gives the more flair but maybe not quite so much context. There is a lot of building up a moment especially for the El Mariachi’s entrance to the big action scenes where there’s a lot of gun action going on between the two sides and everyone wondering who this El Mariachi fellow is and what his deal is overall. It does put together some stylistic action for him.

While I’m not exactly a fan of Westerns, Desperado does have its fun moments. The story itself especially for El Mariachi might not feel very deep for the film overall but surprisingly does have some pretty good moments. There are some odd transitions for the plot points but still manages to keep it rather fun and focuses enough on the action to make it even more entertaining. I’m pretty late to the party (as my husband constantly reminds me) and didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did so I think this one is winner overall.

Rebecca (2020)

Director: Ben Wheatley

Cast: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Keeley Hawes, Ann Dowd

A young newlywed arrives at her husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast and finds herself battling the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, whose legacy lives on in the house long after her death. – IMDB

Rebecca is one of those memorable book discoveries born out of complete spontaneity for a school project decades ago and yet remains one that I have been meaning to own and re-read at one point. Having watched none of the adaptations, Netflix’s Rebecca fell under the radar for myself also sparked the discovery of the Armie Hammer issues that came to light, making this a rather conflicting watch and whether to review it. However, the film itself regardless of everything, is rather disappointing overall.

Looking at the best parts of Rebecca, it has to go to the costume design, style and the setting itself. The beauty of wherever they were gave life to the scene itself especially with the color palette that it chose. Of course, the manor itself also is a big highlight as it adds the suspense with all its corridors and mystery behind doors and hidden secrets. It usually does come with the whole big manor setting especially when the point of view is through the eyes of the new and young Mrs. de Winter (Lily James) who is only learning about her husband’s first wife and getting an incredible amount of resistance from the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas).

The casting is actually not too bad. The main focus of the film from the point of the view of the new Mrs. de Winter portrayed by Lily James. This is probably one of the more complex roles that I’ve seen her in and she does do a pretty decent job. Especially faced across the housekeeper played by Kristin Scott Thomas who is a rather underrated actress overall but seems to pop up nowadays in films here and there. This role sees her being a housekeeper who has ulterior motives and trying to do many plans against the new Mrs. de Winter through manipulation and such. The strength of these two characters brings so much to the film that the Mr. de Winter character actually falls behind into this annoying and useless sort of character by the end, making the value of his role being the gentleman who sweeps his new bride off her feet and ends up sinking back into a mysterious front when he returns back to his mansion.

Overall, Rebecca is a pretty average film. It brings a bit of the suspense and mystery and visually from setting and costume design, it is quite a bit of eye candy but the film itself overall doesn’t seem to pull together a well-executed plot especially for the outstanding source material that they were working with.

TV Binge: Archive 81 (Season 1, 2022)

Archive 81 (Season 1, 2022)

Creator: Rebecca Sonnenshine

Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry, Martin Donovan, Kate Eastman, Charlie Hudson III, Kristin Griffith, Eden Marryshow, Georgina Haig

An archivist hired to restore a collection of tapes finds himself reconstructing the work of a filmmaker and her investigation into a dangerous cult. – IMDB

Based on the podcast of the same name, Archive 81 follows an archivist Dan (Mamoudou Athie) hired to a secluded building to restore a collection of tapes left behind by a college filmmaker Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) who moves into the Visser building hoping to capture the lives of the residents but also look for her biological mother but ends up realizing that that the building’s history is a lot more sinister and starts to investigate leading her to discover a cult.

Due to the nature of the show which dives from the present day with Dan and the past via the tape restoration and his process of watching it, the film story unfolds on a parallel. The writing is what truly shines in this series as it crafts both sides very effectively both in terms of the primary mystery element but also having the ability to craft a tense and sinister vibe throughout as it captures the isolation of Dan as he discovers his own side of the mystery as odd occurrences take place and the help of his friend (Matt McGorry) as an outside resource. Much like Melody Pendras who starts to gradually feel more and more of the cult that surrounds her through the strange residents that live there. The sense of danger and insecurity within the building is constructed incredibly well. The use of the VHS grainy element reminding that it is still an image that is being watched does a good job of pulling in and out of this parallel worlds of the past and present especially when it feels like its just watching two sides of a story and forgetting the time element.

While there aren’t any big name actors in the cast, probably the most familiar being Matt McGorry for his role in Orange is the New Black way back in Season 1 (I think) and he has gone on to do some other roles over the years, the main cast revolves around Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi playing as Dan and Melody respectively. They both do a pretty decent job for what their role needs to deliver. Perhaps the supporting characters and their odd personalities delivers more although some of it does go a little overboard at times. Luckily, the show does only focus on a few main characters of the Visser building while Dan’s side focuses mostly around a few characters as well. The events craft a lot more of the atmosphere than the characters involved since the sounds and eerie and bizarre situations and the fear of being caught is what brings out most of the effective tense atmosphere. The characters’ interactions and encounters do bring up a lot of mystery and questions that slowly get revealed in the final episodes.

Overall, Archive 81 is pretty good. Its gripping and tense and the mystery is done really well. The angle and the twist also works pretty effectively. The tone and sound design and setting all add to the mystery much like the characters themselves. Unfortunately, the show does end on something of a cliffhanger and wasn’t renewed for a second season. A pity really since it would be interesting to see where it would have headed if it had the opportunity.

Double Feature: The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) & Knives Out (2020)

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines (2021)

Directors (and co-writers): Michael Rianda & Jeff Rowe

Voice Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Eric André, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Charlyne Yi

A quirky, dysfunctional family’s road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s unlikeliest last hope. – IMDB

*Originally written for Friday Film Club*

Most known for his work on Gravity Falls as creative director and writer, Mike Rianda’s debut directorial feature film is one that combines his personal family experiences with his childhood love for robots. The Mitchells vs. The Machines, which was once titled Connected but retitled back to its original name upon its shift to a Netflix distribution due to the pandemic, tells the story of the dysfunctional family The Mitchells who are all a bit odd in their own ways who embrace their quirky daughter Katie’s departure to university by going on a family road trip to take her there however, they collide with a robot takeover as the leading tech company PAL Labs loses control over his virtual assistant who ends up exacting revenge by using the newly designed robots to capture all humans. The Mitchells try to escape together and with their odd ideas and surprisingly lucky twists and turns try to save the world together.

The Mitchells vs the Machines is pretty balanced in all its elements. Its comedy is one of the standouts especially since it features a dysfunctional family on a road trip during a robot apocalypse especially when it includes their silly dog Monchi. Driving in an old car and each of them wielding their gifted tool, the Mitchells bond together in the oddest way and yet embraces their oddities while learning about each other a little more. The story never rests on the drama too long and remembers constantly that its a dangerous robot takeover and that they are on the run. The constant moving keeps the film quick-paced and entertaining as it throws in different obstacles, solutions and things going wrong constantly which adds to the entertainment level.

That’s not to mention that the voice cast also is pretty decent. Maya Rudolph voices Linda, the mother character who is a wild ride while Danny McBride voices Rick, the father character. Katie is the main character and the focus of the show as her relationship with her family is the biggest element here along with her knowledge of technology and social media along with her imagination and creativity. She is voiced by Abbi Jacobson. Her younger brother Aaron is voiced by director Mike Rianda himself. The villain is a virtual assistant voiced by Olivia Colman who also captures a nice villain for an animated film which is has this comedic villain sort of feeling, still a little threatening but very entertaining as the whole thing unfolds. The voice cast also includes these cameo characters of a perfect family that Linda envies secretly The Poseys where the parents are voiced by Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.

The Mitchells vs the Machine is a fun little animated film which plays well with its premise. While the story layout itself isn’t completely unique as most comedic family adventures, animated or not, usually include some type of dysfunctional family but the whole film is constructed really well from the voice cast, comedy and pacing while tackling the themes pretty well.

Knives Out (2019)

Director (and writer): Rian Johnson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson

A detective investigates the death of the patriarch of an eccentric, combative family. – IMDB

Inspired by the early murder mystery from Agatha Christie and feeling like bringing to life another character similar to Hercule Poirot, Rian Johnson directs and writes Knives Out, a film that sets itself in a modern world but has the little twist and turns of the classic murder mystery style. Packed with a star-studded cast of great actors and actresses and a wonderful set piece for its main location along with some great cinematography and screenplay, there’s a lot to love about Knives Out. Plus, its a great time to catch up to it seeing as there are two sequels scheduled for Netflix with the first one expected to show up some time in 2022.

While I am personally unfamiliar with Rian Johnson’s work, Knives Out is a brilliant murder mystery. He structures his story in a few acts which moves through the initial setting of what happened which leads to the interrogation which introduces each of the characters and their own statements along with their own truth and lies as they each recount the situation. Everyone is included from the dysfunctional family members who all seem suspicious as they each have their own reasons and conflict. At the same time, it introduces the sleuth hired by an unknown party, Benoit Blanc. The second act focuses a lot around him trying to get more out of those unrelated to the family like the caretaker to get a good idea of what is actually going on. Until the big will announcement turns the tables and the story unfolds further as the schemes, misdirection and twist reveal comes alight. The execution of these events from one to the next is well-measured and keeps it engaging to watch.

Looking at the cast, its quite a packed one: Christopher Plummer as the deceased father and famous mystery author, Jamie Lee Curtis as the eldest daughter and Rian Johnson as her husband and Chris Evans as their son followed by Michael Shannon as the son with his family, his son played by Jaeden Martell (known for his role in IT) and finally, the daughter in law of the second son played by Toni Collette. While all these stars together would seem like quite the crowd, they actually all do their part, no matter how big or small and the spotlight is mostly cast on Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc packed with a Southern accent and the caretaker played by Ana de Armas. There’s also LaKeith Stanfield who is one of the main detectives.

Its hard to talk about these types of murder mysteries without giving away the whodunnit element so lets say that, for a 2+ hours film, this has very good pacing and execution and a lot of it has to be credited to Rian Johnson’s writing. His directing also can’t be dismissed as he starts and ends the film with a very basic item: a quirky mug, giving it a full circle sort of feeling whole also making use of the space especially bringing in the Knives element with the Game of Thrones-esque throne of knives. There’s so much to appreciate and have fun with with this film as a whole.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl On The Train
By: Paula Hawkins

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train… – Goodreads

Having reached a decent popularity after its release, The Girl On The Train is compared with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (review), which happens to be one of my favorite books. While its not quite the same level as Gone Girl, the novel embraces the culture of people watching to its full potential and structures its point of view between three main female characters as they each experience different sides of the spectrum. The first being Rachel, the girl on the train who lives a routine life and envies the life of this home and couple that the train she commutes on at the same time everyday, making her reminisce her own marriage before it was broken and when she used to live a few houses down from this couple. As she fantasizes about this couple, the second point of view turns to the woman of the house that she looks at, Megan who ends up missing and the police investigation opens for her which leads Rachel to share what she’s seen that could be suspicious and also approach Megan’s husband, Scott which opens up another can of worms as she ends up peaking the attention of her ex-husband’s current wife, Anna who takes up the third point of view. Through these three, the mystery unfolds as to what happens to Megan and who is involved.

The Girl On The Train is a good premise. Mystery thrillers have been rather plentiful to say the least however this one does build up a pretty decent reveal. The novel is well-written and the structure is good as well as the first person view from three characters helps piece together the novel but still with a good amount of unknowns from both their own characters and the people around them. It helps construct these three very different sort of female characters with their own pasts and different values that end up setting up their relationships around them as well. Alternating between characters and point of views is probably one of my own favorite novel structures and this story fits in it really well. This in turn builds up these three characters so that they each can also have their own interpretation. In this case, Rachel takes a center stage since she is “the girl on the train” which is the book is titled after and her character is by far the one with the most depth which crafts her into a rather realistic sort of character who has plummeted into alcohol after her divorce, making most of her life rather blurry and spiraling downwards with this mystery giving her something new to focus on.

The mystery element of the novel is the highlight of the story as a whole. It builds up and is crafted rather well. The thriller element is definitely there mostly because these characters all are rather imperfect in their own ways, making them feel hard to truly erase them from suspicion for one reason or another. However, the thrill is mostly with all the characters, not just the main three female characters but also the other ones who all feel like its one big cycle of waiting for their stories to unfold to rid them of suspicion. It throws a few twists here and there, some land more unexpectedly than others. The big reveal of who is responsible does end up being rather surprising and a decently executed twist.

Overall, The Girl On The Train is pretty good overall. There are some little bits here and there that feel like it could be polished a little better in execution. Sometimes, reading a slew of characters which was completely imperfect also feels a little hard to completely bond into the book and its events as is the situation here which at times feels a bit tiring as it cycles around some events a little too much. However, the mystery is decently crafted, the structure keeps things moving from one side of the story to the next, even if some of it jumps back and forth in the timeline and the thrilling parts are mostly from character development and a believable yet unpredictable reveal.

Goodreads score: 4/5

Halloween Marathon 2021: Escape the Undertaker (2021)

Escape the Undertaker (2021)

Director: Ben Simms

Cast: Mark Calaway, Ettore Ewen, Kofi Kingston, Austin Watson

Can The New Day survive the surprises at The Undertaker’s spooky mansion? It’s up to you to decide their fate in this interactive WWE-themed special. – Netflix

Escape the Undertaker is a mystery comedy Halloween interactive film which runs about 30 minutes to get to the end. The goal is to escape the spooky mansion alive and destroy the Undertaker’s urn. First things first, wrestling is a blind spot for myself. The only wrestlers I have heard of are the mega famous or turns to actor ones and all I know about wrestling world are the basics, mostly from the documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette (review).

However, this special has nothing to do with it other than the wrestling figures here, The New Day and The Undertaker as the leading roles as The New Day goes to The Undertaker’s mansion to borrow his urn which takes them for a ride when one of them ends up almost losing their soul and needs to save it before the ritual is complete, sending them on their separate paths. Of course, in the heart of choose your adventure, you only get to choose one of the three to follow, meaning you can always go back to see what the other paths are like, depending how much time you want to toss into this film. For myself, I at least went through until I could get the intended ending where they escaped and destroyed the urn. Its pretty straightforward so it was achievable on the second run where it also gave the chance to explore some other options to see a little bit more of this mansion. Its not particularly hard to find the right path that they want but I’m sure there are many other outcomes if you wanted to test out other paths to expand the experience.

The New Day has a pretty positive vibe overall and they seem fun enough to watch without anything too cringe-y in terms of dialogue or acting so its decent entertainment. Much like The Undertaker that has this somewhat campy villain sort of feeling as well. The two sides of the spectrum from the good and bad have a decent contrast taken from their wrestling personas. I mean, I’m just basing it on what I saw in this film so you can let me know if I’m completely wrong or this film was playing it up on any element.

With that said, Escape the Undertaker is somewhat of a silly idea and feels a little random overall as its all a little too straightforward perhaps. However, its a fun enough time. You are going into a film featuring a cast of wrestling figures in this interactive movie, so I’m not exactly sure how high the expectations should be. For myself, its not exactly anything too special but it was a good time. As a simple Halloween themed choose your adventure, I think its ticks the box well enough with some silly, fun and not so spooky escape adventure.

Book Review: The Visitor by Terry Tyler

The Visitor
By: Terry Tyler

Genre: Mystery/Post-Apocalyptic

In 2024, a mystery virus ravages the entire world. ‘Bat Fever’ is highly contagious and a hundred per cent lethal.

A cottage tucked away in an isolated Norfolk village seems like the ideal place to sit out a catastrophic pandemic, but some residents of Hincham resent the arrival of Jack, Sarah and their friends, while others want to know too much about them.What the villagers don’t know is that beneath Sarah’s cottage is a fully-stocked, luxury survival bunker. A post-apocalyptic ‘des res’.

Hincham isolates itself from the rest of the country, but the deaths continue―and not from the virus. There’s a killer on the loose, but is it a member of the much-depleted community, or someone from outside? As the body count rises, paranoia sets in; friend suspects friend, and everyone suspects the newcomers.

Most terrifying of all is that no one knows who’s next on the list… – Goodreads

Having read two books before by Terry Tyler, The Visitor continues on being able to showcase her ability to craft engaging murder mystery thrillers. The Visitor’s plot benefits from our current pandemic situation as it sets itself in the future after another pandemic has struck the world which is 100% lethal and much more brutal but sets it in a little village where another threat has hit them simultaneously in the form of a murderer which causes the fear to grow in its inhabitants. The backdrop is one that feels almost like it could happen in our current landscape with variants popping up in our current landscape, making it hit home a little more.

There’s a lot to love about The Visitor other than its familiar backdrop. One of them is a familiar form in Terry Tyler’s books which focuses around the point of view from a few of its core characters. In this one, its from the view of the few inhabitants living in the cottage and bunker who ends up there through some connection whether it is the leftover family and companions of friends that had gotten the invitation. As they gather in the bunker and keep it secret, they observe the people around them and get to know the different members of the village. As they each struggle with their own loss and current situation, they each have their own speculations. The benefit of jumping between characters is that it leaves some blind spots and blank spaces giving the unknown to spark. At the same time, who actually knows the depths of someone’s mind although the killer’s perspective usually does draw certain clues from one chapter to the next and slowly does give an idea of who is behind it by the end.

The Visitor also crafts really good characters. The group in the bunker themselves having their own differences and backgrounds and how they get there is one that definitely sets their own character as much as what they do after the settle into the village and each having their own pursuits and responsibilities. Two of them being best friends but also old flames, one of them being a survivalist (but also could be viewed as selfish), one dealing with her massive loss but navigating through being more of a loner: add in their own sort of purpose and personality that grows throughout the story as they get more involved into the village’s affairs and the villagers themselves, human nature is a tricky thing to say the very least.

The great part is how the focus of the novel smoothly shifts from its beginning of the big threat with this mystery virus which takes the front seat and determines their own means to survive and the desperation of the whole situation due to its lethal nature. However, subtly the story shifts to the murder and slowly the routine of surviving through this “post -apocalyptical” world becomes secondary as the murders become more frequent. It almost blends the two together so well that the story and character plot shift is done incredibly well.

Overall, The Visitor is a fantastic murder mystery. Not only does it have well-developed characters but it also builds a great post-apocalyptic world that is not only relatable in the current age but also pushes it further. Perhaps at times it feels a little bit too soon to be already diving into it but it also adds to the unsettling and uneasiness. Smooth plot transition and executed well, The Visitor is a well-paced and engaging thriller to dive into.