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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Everybody Knows (Todos Lo Saben) (2018) in Movies
Mar 13, 2019 (Updated Mar 13, 2019)
Excellent acting from Bardem and (especially) Cruz
I have always liked, but not loved, the English language movies that Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have been a part of. Part of the issue, I think, is that even though they are dynamic, charismatica and GOOD LOOKING screen presences that embody the very definitioni of the term "MOVIE STAR", they are working in a language that is not their native language, so something, I think, gets lost in translation. So, it was with some excitement that I checked out the Spanish language thriller EVERYBODY KNOWS (Spanish Title: TODOS LO SOBEN).
And...I wasn't disappointed. Both Bardem and (especially) Cruz shine in this familial thriller. Cruz stars as Laura, a native of Spain now living in Argentina. She (and her 2 children) come back to her small village outside of Madrid for the wedding of her younger sister. When a bad thing happens on this trip, Laura must find a way out while dealing with lingering family matters and pressures that come to the fore due to the stress of the situation.
Without putting too much of a fine point on this, Cruz is stunning. Not only is she a beautiful woman who commands the screen whenever she is on, but as her character becomes more and more physically and emotionally torn with "the situation" her raw emotions come out and you see a very real portrayal of a mother who will do anything for her children. This performance is (was?) Academy Award worthy - it is that good. This is a strong actress at the top of her game.
She is more than matched on screen by the less showey, nuanced - yet fun, at times - performance of her real life husband, Javier Bardem, who plays a person from Lara's past that is drawn into the events. Bardem won an Oscar for playing the mysterious, scary hitman, Anton Chigurh in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MAN. This was a a character who barely spoke. In this film, he plays a lively, extroverted fun-loving person who's whole personae is called into question, quite the contrast to the English language characters I have, heretofore, known him for.
Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi (best known for THE SEPARATION) does a good job driving the story - once it gets started - he is sure handed in handling both the suspense/action moments of this movie as well as the family drama during the "many people talking around a table" scenes. This film led off the Cannes Film Festival last year and was greatly lauded.
It's not a perfect film. My friend who saw the movie with me stated (correctly) that he had never seen a movie that "started so poorly but corrected itself and finished as an excellent film" like this one did. The first 1/2 hour to 45 minutes of this 2 hour and 15 minute film is filled with introducing the myriad of characters associated with this family (and the mystery that enfolds), but it is a scattershot approach to film making and character introduction and Farhadi misses the mark more than he hits the mark during this period.
But once the mystery unfolds - and Cruz and Bardem's characters (and acting) kicks into high gear - things get quite good, quite tense and quite engrossing. Well worth the time to check it out.
Letter Grade B+: (C for the first 45 minutes, A for the last hour and a half)
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And...I wasn't disappointed. Both Bardem and (especially) Cruz shine in this familial thriller. Cruz stars as Laura, a native of Spain now living in Argentina. She (and her 2 children) come back to her small village outside of Madrid for the wedding of her younger sister. When a bad thing happens on this trip, Laura must find a way out while dealing with lingering family matters and pressures that come to the fore due to the stress of the situation.
Without putting too much of a fine point on this, Cruz is stunning. Not only is she a beautiful woman who commands the screen whenever she is on, but as her character becomes more and more physically and emotionally torn with "the situation" her raw emotions come out and you see a very real portrayal of a mother who will do anything for her children. This performance is (was?) Academy Award worthy - it is that good. This is a strong actress at the top of her game.
She is more than matched on screen by the less showey, nuanced - yet fun, at times - performance of her real life husband, Javier Bardem, who plays a person from Lara's past that is drawn into the events. Bardem won an Oscar for playing the mysterious, scary hitman, Anton Chigurh in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MAN. This was a a character who barely spoke. In this film, he plays a lively, extroverted fun-loving person who's whole personae is called into question, quite the contrast to the English language characters I have, heretofore, known him for.
Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi (best known for THE SEPARATION) does a good job driving the story - once it gets started - he is sure handed in handling both the suspense/action moments of this movie as well as the family drama during the "many people talking around a table" scenes. This film led off the Cannes Film Festival last year and was greatly lauded.
It's not a perfect film. My friend who saw the movie with me stated (correctly) that he had never seen a movie that "started so poorly but corrected itself and finished as an excellent film" like this one did. The first 1/2 hour to 45 minutes of this 2 hour and 15 minute film is filled with introducing the myriad of characters associated with this family (and the mystery that enfolds), but it is a scattershot approach to film making and character introduction and Farhadi misses the mark more than he hits the mark during this period.
But once the mystery unfolds - and Cruz and Bardem's characters (and acting) kicks into high gear - things get quite good, quite tense and quite engrossing. Well worth the time to check it out.
Letter Grade B+: (C for the first 45 minutes, A for the last hour and a half)
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Knock at the cabin (2023) in Movies
Feb 28, 2023
When M. Night Shyamalan's name comes up on something, my brow furrows and I purse my lips... I'm never quite sure how to feel.
Eric, Andrew and Wen, take an idyllic trip to a peaceful cabin. But that peace is shattered when the knock-off Guardians of the Galaxy show up.
First thing I want to say, despite it being an M.NS film, it doesn't have the usual dubious tangent in it. I suspect we can put this down to the fact it's based on source material, namely The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Trembley.
I wanted to see what I could talk about without spoiling the film at all. The synopsis is fairly vague, but intriguing. Then I rewatched the trailer, and from that, I could probably talk about the majority of this hour and forty minute film. The latter basically telling everything makes me wonder how it wasn't spoiled for me going in.
Knock at the Cabin boils down to a look at personal faith in the face of terror, for those on both sides of the incident.
While the majority of the story is set in the isolated cabin, we're shown flashbacks to Eric and Andrew's life. Heartbreak, trauma, joy, vengeance, it has been filled with so much, and that being peppered into the main story really helps to shape how we see their separate personalities and reactions.
The acting is an interesting one. The nature of the situation means that everyone is feeling a massive cycle of emotions... and somehow that works.
The group dynamic of Eric, Andrew and Wen was incredible, with Jonathan Groff and Kristen Cui being the standouts. I don't know that I would have been on board with Ben Aldridge as Andrew if it hadn't been for the pairing with Groff.
Opposite them, we get an interesting mix of characters who are led by Leonard... I am so proud of Dave Bautista right now, this was an amazing performance. I love him doing comedy (My Spy is still probably my favourite), but this was a great change of pace, he channels the character's profession into the situation so well... 5 stars for Bautista, no notes.
The other three bring up the rear with some chaotic energy. I just cannot unsee Ron Weasley though. I know he's been in other things since then, but I haven't happened across any of them, and as such, he was entirely distracting. It wasn't a bad turn, but it did overwhelm Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn's roles for me.
M. Night Shymalan does his cameo and throws in his usual colour references for the regular viewers. I won't go into that, as it definitely constitutes spoilers, but it might not be something that's common knowledge, so absolutely worth a Google afterwards.
IMDb lists Knock at the Cabin as horror, mystery and thriller. Thriller, check. Mystery, a stretch. Horror, in my opinion, completely inaccurate. Having "horror" over everything about this film put people off watching it, and that's a great shame.
I was left with one big thought after seeing this, and that's that somewhere, in a remote cabin, a group of people have been playing this game for the last 3 years.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2023/02/knock-at-cabin-movie-review.html
Eric, Andrew and Wen, take an idyllic trip to a peaceful cabin. But that peace is shattered when the knock-off Guardians of the Galaxy show up.
First thing I want to say, despite it being an M.NS film, it doesn't have the usual dubious tangent in it. I suspect we can put this down to the fact it's based on source material, namely The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Trembley.
I wanted to see what I could talk about without spoiling the film at all. The synopsis is fairly vague, but intriguing. Then I rewatched the trailer, and from that, I could probably talk about the majority of this hour and forty minute film. The latter basically telling everything makes me wonder how it wasn't spoiled for me going in.
Knock at the Cabin boils down to a look at personal faith in the face of terror, for those on both sides of the incident.
While the majority of the story is set in the isolated cabin, we're shown flashbacks to Eric and Andrew's life. Heartbreak, trauma, joy, vengeance, it has been filled with so much, and that being peppered into the main story really helps to shape how we see their separate personalities and reactions.
The acting is an interesting one. The nature of the situation means that everyone is feeling a massive cycle of emotions... and somehow that works.
The group dynamic of Eric, Andrew and Wen was incredible, with Jonathan Groff and Kristen Cui being the standouts. I don't know that I would have been on board with Ben Aldridge as Andrew if it hadn't been for the pairing with Groff.
Opposite them, we get an interesting mix of characters who are led by Leonard... I am so proud of Dave Bautista right now, this was an amazing performance. I love him doing comedy (My Spy is still probably my favourite), but this was a great change of pace, he channels the character's profession into the situation so well... 5 stars for Bautista, no notes.
The other three bring up the rear with some chaotic energy. I just cannot unsee Ron Weasley though. I know he's been in other things since then, but I haven't happened across any of them, and as such, he was entirely distracting. It wasn't a bad turn, but it did overwhelm Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn's roles for me.
M. Night Shymalan does his cameo and throws in his usual colour references for the regular viewers. I won't go into that, as it definitely constitutes spoilers, but it might not be something that's common knowledge, so absolutely worth a Google afterwards.
IMDb lists Knock at the Cabin as horror, mystery and thriller. Thriller, check. Mystery, a stretch. Horror, in my opinion, completely inaccurate. Having "horror" over everything about this film put people off watching it, and that's a great shame.
I was left with one big thought after seeing this, and that's that somewhere, in a remote cabin, a group of people have been playing this game for the last 3 years.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2023/02/knock-at-cabin-movie-review.html
Jennifer Roup (9 KP) rated The Wife Between Us in Books
Dec 27, 2017
#GritLit Domestic Thriller Must Read
The premise of this book is captivating.
At first I think it's clear: A man left his wife for his assistant and the ex-wife is left devastated. The new bride is carried away in the new lavish lifestyle her husband-to-be is creating for her and she barely notices the subtle clues that someone is stalking her, watching her every move.
Nellie is cute, bubbly and everything that Vanessa used to be. The ex wife, Vanessa, is a recovering alcoholic living with her aunt, wondering how Richard could leave her. So she sets up on a mission to find out what Nellie has that she doesn't and to find a way to seek revenge.
If the book would have wrapped up after the first major twist in the middle of the book, I would have been impressed but the hits and twists just kept coming so it was impossible to put down.
I think the twists and turns, plus the creepy narration from an unreliable character who is clearly losing her mind were all great. I was really hooked at first. But by the end, there was just too much going on.
It's fast-paced, creepy and so vivid that you may start to think you're even being stalked too...
It's very much like The Couple Next Door, My Husband's Wife and Lie to Me and and similar thrillers. Twisted, interesting and really great characters but just a little too drag towards the end. Still recommend it though!
At first I think it's clear: A man left his wife for his assistant and the ex-wife is left devastated. The new bride is carried away in the new lavish lifestyle her husband-to-be is creating for her and she barely notices the subtle clues that someone is stalking her, watching her every move.
Nellie is cute, bubbly and everything that Vanessa used to be. The ex wife, Vanessa, is a recovering alcoholic living with her aunt, wondering how Richard could leave her. So she sets up on a mission to find out what Nellie has that she doesn't and to find a way to seek revenge.
If the book would have wrapped up after the first major twist in the middle of the book, I would have been impressed but the hits and twists just kept coming so it was impossible to put down.
I think the twists and turns, plus the creepy narration from an unreliable character who is clearly losing her mind were all great. I was really hooked at first. But by the end, there was just too much going on.
It's fast-paced, creepy and so vivid that you may start to think you're even being stalked too...
It's very much like The Couple Next Door, My Husband's Wife and Lie to Me and and similar thrillers. Twisted, interesting and really great characters but just a little too drag towards the end. Still recommend it though!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
First off, I want to thank the authors for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review; please be reassured that receiving this book for free in no way influenced my review in any way.
What a fantastic read that was!
Excellent characters, brilliant and unique story line, gripping and full of suspense what more can you ask for? Well, throw in a serial killer and a deadly flu virus and you have Silent Fear! But thats not all the Morcans write in a way that immerses you into the story so that you become absorbed into the lives of the characters and the dire situation they have found themselves in through no fault of their own.
I have to admit that it was quite daunting to find my Kindle copy was 708 pages long!! Thats one heck of a beast, however, you quickly forget that as you are swept along from chapter to chapter with ease picking up the subtle clues dropped along the way that you dont initially recognise as being clues until the excellent twist at the end when all is revealed.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good whodunnit or mystery or thriller or serial killer story or actually, anyone who loves reading a great book and I would urge you to check out the Morcans other works some of which I have been lucky enough to have also read- see my blog for the links - <a href="https://readingstuffnthings.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/silent-fear-by-lance-james-morcan.html">Reading Stuff 'n' Things</a>.
What a fantastic read that was!
Excellent characters, brilliant and unique story line, gripping and full of suspense what more can you ask for? Well, throw in a serial killer and a deadly flu virus and you have Silent Fear! But thats not all the Morcans write in a way that immerses you into the story so that you become absorbed into the lives of the characters and the dire situation they have found themselves in through no fault of their own.
I have to admit that it was quite daunting to find my Kindle copy was 708 pages long!! Thats one heck of a beast, however, you quickly forget that as you are swept along from chapter to chapter with ease picking up the subtle clues dropped along the way that you dont initially recognise as being clues until the excellent twist at the end when all is revealed.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good whodunnit or mystery or thriller or serial killer story or actually, anyone who loves reading a great book and I would urge you to check out the Morcans other works some of which I have been lucky enough to have also read- see my blog for the links - <a href="https://readingstuffnthings.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/silent-fear-by-lance-james-morcan.html">Reading Stuff 'n' Things</a>.
Kristin (149 KP) rated Learn To Love Me in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is an exciting mystery/crime thriller/suspense/sort-of-romance all wrapped together with a tight little bow. Emily is a journalist trying to break into the exciting world of news instead of just writing a column. She gets her wish, but only after a girl she interviewed for her column goes missing. While trying to cope with the tragedy, her marriage is starting to falter, she's not so sure her husband is still the man she fell in love with, and to beat it all, she's getting harassing phone calls at work and home. When the detective assigned to her case turns out to be an old flame, things get really interesting, and Emily's whole life seems to spiral out of control.
This story has everything: journalists, cops, quarreling spouses, old boyfriends, haunted pasts, kidnapping, etc. etc. Once I started reading, I only put it down because my husband yelled at me to go to bed. I kept trying to guess who the bad guy was throughout the story, and I just couldn't settle on one person for too long. The author definitely keeps you guessing until the reveal at the end, and then the explanation is just as crazy as those we hear on the news. I can say, I totally didn't see the Epilogue coming, but it's just fantastic!!
I would definitely recommend this to fans of mysteries, suspense thrillers, crime thrillers, and anybody who just wants to read an awesome story that'll keep you guessing. =)
5 stars (wish I could give more)
This is an exciting mystery/crime thriller/suspense/sort-of-romance all wrapped together with a tight little bow. Emily is a journalist trying to break into the exciting world of news instead of just writing a column. She gets her wish, but only after a girl she interviewed for her column goes missing. While trying to cope with the tragedy, her marriage is starting to falter, she's not so sure her husband is still the man she fell in love with, and to beat it all, she's getting harassing phone calls at work and home. When the detective assigned to her case turns out to be an old flame, things get really interesting, and Emily's whole life seems to spiral out of control.
This story has everything: journalists, cops, quarreling spouses, old boyfriends, haunted pasts, kidnapping, etc. etc. Once I started reading, I only put it down because my husband yelled at me to go to bed. I kept trying to guess who the bad guy was throughout the story, and I just couldn't settle on one person for too long. The author definitely keeps you guessing until the reveal at the end, and then the explanation is just as crazy as those we hear on the news. I can say, I totally didn't see the Epilogue coming, but it's just fantastic!!
I would definitely recommend this to fans of mysteries, suspense thrillers, crime thrillers, and anybody who just wants to read an awesome story that'll keep you guessing. =)
5 stars (wish I could give more)
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Day Of The Accident in Books
Dec 6, 2018
Full review can be found on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com
When Maggie wakes up from a coma, her whole life has changed. The nurse tells her that she has been in an accident, her little daughter is dead, and her husband sold the house and left her.
Maggie doesn’t remember a thing.
With no home, no family, and no memory, she has to find a way and discover what happened that day.
A thriller that will uncover the greatest of secrets everyone could have. A nail-biter, this one, I tell you.
The character of Maggie was so well formed, that love between a mother and her little daughter is expressed in such a lovely and caring way. A book that will be definitely hard to read for all the parents out there, but a very good one.
I especially loved the part with the letters – it was such a unique way to present …
… present what?
I am not telling you. Go and read it, duhh!
The scenes are so vivid and realistic and the little Virginia Woolf Easter eggs thrown across the pages of this book were so precious. Thrilling story and plot that keeps you on your toes. I haven’t read anything this good in a while!
If you are looking for a book to keep you up at night – this is the one.
If you are looking for the great plot twist – there isn’t only one plot twist…
I highly recommend it to all of the mystery lovers that are reading my review.
A masterpiece.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK, for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
When Maggie wakes up from a coma, her whole life has changed. The nurse tells her that she has been in an accident, her little daughter is dead, and her husband sold the house and left her.
Maggie doesn’t remember a thing.
With no home, no family, and no memory, she has to find a way and discover what happened that day.
A thriller that will uncover the greatest of secrets everyone could have. A nail-biter, this one, I tell you.
The character of Maggie was so well formed, that love between a mother and her little daughter is expressed in such a lovely and caring way. A book that will be definitely hard to read for all the parents out there, but a very good one.
I especially loved the part with the letters – it was such a unique way to present …
… present what?
I am not telling you. Go and read it, duhh!
The scenes are so vivid and realistic and the little Virginia Woolf Easter eggs thrown across the pages of this book were so precious. Thrilling story and plot that keeps you on your toes. I haven’t read anything this good in a while!
If you are looking for a book to keep you up at night – this is the one.
If you are looking for the great plot twist – there isn’t only one plot twist…
I highly recommend it to all of the mystery lovers that are reading my review.
A masterpiece.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK, for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Other People in Books
Feb 9, 2020 (Updated Feb 11, 2020)
This is the first book I’ve read by C J Tudor, and if I’d known that she could write such a disturbing, haunting thriller that would follow me around all day, I would have wised up and read her previous books!
Gabe drives up and down a motorway for three years, looking for his daughter. His supposedly dead daughter. Except on the day that she died, he saw her in the back of a car on the motorway. When he got home, it was to find out that his wife and daughter had been murdered in a botched burglary. But Gabe saw his daughter in the back of that car...
Two other stories become intertwined with Gabe’s: Katie, a woman who works in a coffee shop on the motorway, a single mother struggling to support her two children. She sees Gabe regularly and knows his story. She knows something of how he feels, because her father was murdered in another, unconnected, botched burglary nine years before. And then there’s Fran and Alice. A mother and her child, permanently on the run, knowing that if the people who are chasing them actually catch them, they will be dead. Quite how these people are connected is at first a mystery.
And then there’s the girl that Alice sees in the mirror, and the Other People...
Boy this was creepy. I LOVED how creepy it was. And there’s an underlying menace throughout the book. This is precisely my kind of book - and it’s well worth a read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for my copy of this book to read and review.
Gabe drives up and down a motorway for three years, looking for his daughter. His supposedly dead daughter. Except on the day that she died, he saw her in the back of a car on the motorway. When he got home, it was to find out that his wife and daughter had been murdered in a botched burglary. But Gabe saw his daughter in the back of that car...
Two other stories become intertwined with Gabe’s: Katie, a woman who works in a coffee shop on the motorway, a single mother struggling to support her two children. She sees Gabe regularly and knows his story. She knows something of how he feels, because her father was murdered in another, unconnected, botched burglary nine years before. And then there’s Fran and Alice. A mother and her child, permanently on the run, knowing that if the people who are chasing them actually catch them, they will be dead. Quite how these people are connected is at first a mystery.
And then there’s the girl that Alice sees in the mirror, and the Other People...
Boy this was creepy. I LOVED how creepy it was. And there’s an underlying menace throughout the book. This is precisely my kind of book - and it’s well worth a read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for my copy of this book to read and review.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Summer of 84 (2018) in Movies
Sep 26, 2020 (Updated Sep 26, 2020)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have mixed feelings about Summer of 84, another 80s love letter following in the wake of the cataclysmic popularity of Stranger Things. Probably easier to break this one down into bullet points.
- The four main characters are pretty hit and miss. The actors are all fine, but some of the dialogue and pop culture references seem very forced. They provide the movie with some funny moments for sure, but their characters are fairly cliché and the chemistry goes through some flat moments.
- The story is pretty straightforward and decent, and provides an entertaining mystery, but some of the plot points are odd and a lot of the characters are just insufferably stupid.
- The ending is conflicting as well. Considering the majority of the film is quite comedic and seems intended towards a family audience, the ending is pretty bleak. My initial thoughts were "fair enough, quite ballsy" but now I can't decide whether it was in fact just plain mean spirited. Either way, it left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
- A couple of positives - I really enjoyed the music score, and the cinematography. The film has a lovely aesthetic to it.
- Not sure how the babysitter character was supposed to be portrayed, but she seemed a bit too old for a love interest to the 15 year old protagonist. Made me feel uncomfortable...
Summer of 84 is an entertaining enough psuedo-slasher thriller, but it suffers from pacing issues amongst other things that stops it being as good is it could have been.
- The four main characters are pretty hit and miss. The actors are all fine, but some of the dialogue and pop culture references seem very forced. They provide the movie with some funny moments for sure, but their characters are fairly cliché and the chemistry goes through some flat moments.
- The story is pretty straightforward and decent, and provides an entertaining mystery, but some of the plot points are odd and a lot of the characters are just insufferably stupid.
- The ending is conflicting as well. Considering the majority of the film is quite comedic and seems intended towards a family audience, the ending is pretty bleak. My initial thoughts were "fair enough, quite ballsy" but now I can't decide whether it was in fact just plain mean spirited. Either way, it left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
- A couple of positives - I really enjoyed the music score, and the cinematography. The film has a lovely aesthetic to it.
- Not sure how the babysitter character was supposed to be portrayed, but she seemed a bit too old for a love interest to the 15 year old protagonist. Made me feel uncomfortable...
Summer of 84 is an entertaining enough psuedo-slasher thriller, but it suffers from pacing issues amongst other things that stops it being as good is it could have been.
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