BOOK REVIEW: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY:  A twisted page-turner that's a perfect fit for the "Well that escalated quickly!" meme. Engrossing, disturbing, well-paced, well-written: while the plot isn't exactly mind-blowing, still, the theme, the characters, and the narrative efficiently reels you in and deliciously messes with your mind that makes you forgive the occasional Wisteria Lane-ish domestic drama. 

Author:  Gillian Flynn
Genre:  Thriller
Year published:  2012
Country:  U.S.
# of pages:  555 (mmpb)

SPOILERS:  It's not like it hasn't been done before - this "surprise plot twist" (which is fast becoming the "expected plot twist" nowadays) that is supposed to make a book (or a movie) look cool. No, that wasn't surprising at all. But I think Gillian Flynn didn't expect us to fall for that particular plot twist halfway through the book. It's too obvious, the way she painted the scenes and words pointing to Nick's part in the "crime", so my mind keeps on telling me not to believe any of it because I'm sure it'll all turn around 360 degrees. And so it did. What actually shocked me was the ending. Now that's the real plot twist.

What makes Gone Girl different is the obviously unreliable narration that readers are supposed to digest while being well aware that the two central characters are both manipulative psychos (I know I'm being too harsh. Demented, maybe? lol) with a penchant for lying and selfishness, yet we still (or at least I am) root for one character or the other. You hate Nick for being a spineless, cheating bastard - you enjoy seeing him get punished for his infidelity. Then you hate Amy for being the ultimate evil bitch - you wanna see her get slammed face-first against a pit of burning charcoal. You can't wait how this story ends. Who gets their well-deserved punishment? Then that ending. It's like a resounding bitchslap to my face when I read that part up to the final sentence. I was like WTF? Then I smile. And I mumble something like "I like this girl. (pertaining to Flynn). Because I realize that, yes, they do belong to each other. They're both twisted and dark to the highest degree and that kind of twistedness couldn't be complemented by a normal human being. So yes they deserve each other. And for that ending I give Gillian Flynn a 4/5.

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QUICKIES: Some 2013 movies

A group of retired crazy ass killers. Giant monsters and robots. And two movies with basically the same plot, same illogical twists & turns, and a "Jack Bauer/John McClane"-cloned protagonist to save the day.

Either I'm too lazy at the moment, or the movie does not deserve a full review. Here are my straight-to-the-point reviews, QUICKIES if you will, of RED 2, PACIFIC RIM, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, and WHITE HOUSE DOWN.

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What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)

A truly intense sibling-rivalry thriller that's made more interesting because of the real-life rivalry between Davis & Crawford.

"I didn't bring your breakfast, because you didn't eat your din-din!"  No actress has ever gotten me to hate a character so much and pity her at the same time. No one but Bette Davis. I mean my god that woman is a fascinating actress! To switch from spiteful madness to regression in a blink of an eye - a hateful countenance to child-like mischievousness flowing smoothly like a river of emotions in her grotesque face - is nothing short of brilliant. At some point she made me wish I could go inside the screen just so I can push her down the stairs, and yet in another scene, she had me bawling like a milk-deprived baby, just wanting to hug and comfort poor Baby Jane. She should have won the Oscars for Best Actress that year. Dammit, she should have!

This scene! ugh -_-

Here's a short info about the movie. :)

"A former child star torments her crippled sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion."

Directed by:  Robert Aldrich (Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte)
Screenplay by:  Lukas Heller
Cinematography by:  Ernest Haller (Rebel Without A Cause)
Editing by:  Michael Luciano
Music by:  Frank De Vol (Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte)
Starring:  Bette Davis, Joan Crawford
Running Time:  133 mins
Budget: a little over a million dollars
Box Office:  $9 million

QUICKIES: A Home Security Salesman, A Rape Victim's Revenge, A Drug Dealer, and An Innovative Jerk

Either I'm too lazy at the moment... or the movie does not deserve a full review. Here are my straight-to-the-point reviews, QUICKIES if you will, of The Purge, I Spit On Your Grave (2010), We're The Millers, and Jobs.

THE PURGE (2013) 

Written & Directed by:  James DeMonaco
Cinematography:  Jacques Jouffret
Starring:  Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Rhys Wakefield
Running Time:  85 mins
Budget: $ 3 million
Box Office: almost $ 90 million (which is why they're making a 2014 sequel)

The idea is fascinating, the potential is huge, but this film is ultimately nothing but a missed opportunity. Murderous yuppies in freaky masks, wielding machetes & all that government-approved crap, wreak havoc in search of a homeless black guy who they deem to be purge-material. The ideas explored are thought-provoking and interesting, but instead, it just became another generic home invasion thriller that may have a few good moments, but that's about it. Overall, it's just another cliched thriller filled with gaping plotholes and eye-rolling scenes or plot devices. Eugenics The Movie. Uh huh. 

And those masks! Ugh. It may have worked in The Strangers, but in here, it just makes me want to suckerpunch the smirk off of their arrogant faces. And what's up with that ugly RC baby doll camera? Surely there's something less conspicuous (and prettier) than that?

I'm curious though, who are the New Founding Fathers of America? ;)

My Rating: 1.5/5 - A movie deserving to be watched for its intelligent ideas, but also deserving of the low ratings because of its failure to express & explore.

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Why THE SADIST is the best torture you can experience

Don't mind the fact that this is a low-budget film made in 1963. Or that Arch Hall Jr. has a cheesy filmography to boast (or not) about. The Sadist is one of those B-movies that stands the test of time and deserves every bit of recognition it could get. The only thing that's dated in this film, aside from the clothes, is the Coca-Cola bottle. 

It's seriously one of the most tension-filled movie I've seen from start to finish - especially that climax! Modern film makers could learn a thing or two from this little black & white exploitation movie that's unfortunately, undeservingly buried in obscurity - unbeknownst to most people. I haven't even heard about this film before. Thank god for Timeless Classic Movies in Youtube!

So what makes this under-appreciated gem a timeless classic? Before I start my nonsense, here's a short info about the movie.

The Sadist is loosely based from the murder spree of serial killer, Charles Starkweather, and his 14-year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, which other movies such as Badlands (1973), Kalifornia (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Starkweather (2004) were also based from.

"Three people driving into Los Angeles for a Dodgers game have car trouble and pull off into an old wrecking yard where they are held at bay by a bloodthirsty psycho and his crazy girlfriend."

Also known as Profile of Terror, and Sweet Baby Charlie
Written & Directed by:  James Landis
Cinematography by: William Zsigmond
Starring:  Arch Hall Jr., Richard Alden,
Marilyn Manning, Don Russell, Helen Hovey
Running Time:  95 mins.
Watch it on YT here

Side Effects (2013)

A young woman's world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects.

Directed by:  Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Contagion)

Written by:  Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion)

Music by:  Thomas Newman

Running Time:  106 mins

Starring: Jude Law (Dr. Banks), Rooney Mara (Emily), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Dr. Siebert), Channing Tatum (Martin)

"One Pill Can Change Your Life"

Previously titled The Bitter Pill & reported (at the time) to be Steven Soderbergh's final film as a director,  is Side Effects the right film to be his swan song? Well, as it turned out this is not his last hurrah, and thank god for that because I still would love to see him for a long time. 

Labeled as a psychological thriller, viewers may bring their popcorn expecting an edge-of-your-seat movie oversaturated with your typical thrill rides & scare tactics, but this is not that kind. More of a thriller of the mind rather than of the senses, they say it's a movie of the Hitchcock mold and while the camera movements, characterization, and such, are reminiscent of the master's works, I wouldn't dare box Soderbergh with that because he has his unique style and he owns it. 

Trance (2013)

Directed by:  Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later)

Written by: Joe Ahearne, John Hodge

Country: UK
Genre:  Crime, Thriller
Running Time:  101 mins

Starring:  James McAvoy (Simon), Vincent Cassel (Franck), Rosario Dawson (Elizabeth)


"An art auctioneer who has become mixed up with a group of criminals partners with a hypnotherapist in order to recover a lost painting." - IMDb

"The choice is yours. Do you want to remember or do you want to forget?"

The first 40 minutes, I was excited & impressed. I like James McAvoy, I think he's a really good & charismatic actor. And Vincent Cassel, in my opinion, always delivers. The movie pumps you up with an intriguing storyline, flashy & artsy camera shots & angles, thrilling scenes backed up with a really good musical score. Then enter Rosario Dawson. It has been a steady downward spiral from that point on. No, it's not because of her, although I thought she looked a bit tired 90 % of the film. It's the plot and the shameful use of hypnotherapy as the driving force of the whole movie. Hypnotherapy as the structure of the movie? That makes the plot shaky at best. The moment Rosario inserted herself in the scheme I found myself shaking my head more and more. 

BOOK REVIEW: Digital Fortress

Author:  Dan Brown

Genre:  Techno-thriller

Country:  U.S.

Year:  1998

Pages:  430 (Paperback)

"She was still struggling to comprehend its existence. She's spent her life breaking codes, firmly denying the existence of the ultimate code. Every code is breakable - the Bergofsky Principle! She felt like an atheist coming face to face with God." - Digital Fortress


After reading five books by Dan Brown, it seems that there's no hope left. I've read and liked The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons back when I still thoroughly enjoyed badly-written books with equally badly-structured plots and 2D characters AND sugar-coated with a whirlwind of mystery & thrill rides, but seriously Mr. Brown, THIS HAS GOT TO STOP. Book after book, it's the same pattern, same twists, same underdeveloped characters that after a few pages I already know what's going to happen. It's the same thing over and over.

The dialogues range from bad to cringe-worthy. The twists are so very predictable. The main characters, who are supposedly "academes" & "geniuses", seem to be so dense & do stupid things most of the time. And that climax where a group of "NSA-elite" tries to figure out the clues left for them & they stand there totally baffled and useless, like lumps of warm crap.. I almost wanted to shout the answer, but I know they won't hear me, not because it's a book but because they're a bunch of dimwits created by the master dimwit himself - Dan Brown.

On a slightly positive note,

BOOK REVIEW: The Lost Symbol

Author:  Dan Brown

Pages:  671 (Paperback)

Country:  United States

Year:  2009

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

This is Brown's third novel that features Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon.

I don't wanna hate, but Dan Brown's formula really is becoming annoying. It may have worked in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons (I really liked both), but this one is bordering on painful, laughable, & unbelievably predictable.

QUICKIES: Orphan, Rosemary's Baby, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Bad Teacher

My quick reviews of these four films.

MOVIE REVIEW: Jack Reacher (2012)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher), Rosamund Pike (Helen Rodin), Richard Jenkins (Alex Rodin), David Oyelowo (Emerson), Werner Herzog (The Zec), Robert Duvall (Cash)

Tagline:   "The law has limits. He does not."

Plot: In an innocent heartland city, five are shot dead by an expert sniper. The police quickly identify and arrest the culprit, and build a slam-dunk case. But the accused man claims he's innocent and says "Get Jack Reacher." - - - - - - - - 

I'll probably gonna rant, because this movie is a huge disappointment.

Storyline - slightly above average at best. At least better than that nightmare of a movie called Alex Cross. Still, it's nothing to gush about. Plot and characterization are not that polished. Few surprises/twists, no complicated mind-boggling awesome storyline to follow so for the duration of the film please be warned that your brain might go into "sleep mode" once in a while.