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Staging is Murder
Staging is Murder
Grace Topping | 2019 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Starting a New Business is Murder
Laura Bishop is just getting her home staging business off the ground, and she is thrilled to land Victoria Denton as her first client. Victoria can make her reputation in their small Pennsylvania town. Unfortunately, Victoria also has a reputation for being hard to work with, and Laura is finding that all too true. Working late one night, Laura is shocked to find Victoria’s dead body. When the police arrest Laura’s assistant, she decides she needs to look into the crime to find out what really happened. But can she do it?

Since this is the first in a new series, we get to meet quite a few new characters here. I enjoyed Laura and her friends, although they do have a little room to grow as the series progresses. The plot starts off strong, but bogs down a bit as Laura struggles to figure out how to start her investigation. Not that I can say much since I identify with her struggle. Once she gets moving, thanks in part to some blunt questions from her friends (again, too much like me), the story picks up and I was fully on board. The climax was creative and answered all our questions. Laura is a mystery fan herself, and I enjoyed her comparing herself to the main characters in the books she’s read. Each chapter starts with tips on staging your home, and they made me very thankful that I am not planning on selling my condo any time soon due to all the work involved. I’ll just enjoy reading about Laura’s efforts to stage houses and solve mysteries.
  
Uncut Gems (2019)
Uncut Gems (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Erm..... nothing? (0 more)
Everything! (0 more)
Loud but D-U-L-L
Slightly bemused by the high ratings this films seems to have attracted.

Unlikable, unsympathetic jeweller is a complete ar*e to pretty much everyone (screwing over business associates, cheating on his wife, completely self-absorbed). Do I care if he is assaulted by some unhappy 'business associates', well not really. There's nothing to make me feel anything towards any of the characters - they are flatter than pancakes. So much for plot and characterisation.

They have also saved enormously on the budget without bothering to have anyone write dialogue. What do you need with proper dialogue when the cardboard characters can spend the whole film shouting "f*ck you" at top volume at each other all the way through? I like to think I'm not particularly prudish about swearing, but when that's all there seems to be and it's delivered at top volume it all gets a little tedious. Well, quite a lot tedious actually.

Maybe this film has a fantastic ending and I completely missed the point, but I will never know and frankly I don't much care! I got bored to tears pretty early on and luckily my husband had had more than enough about an hour in. Since we'd already seen at least one other party leave, we decided to follow suit.... and then met someone else leaving in the cinema foyer. I don't think I've ever had to walk out of a film before. I wasn't interested at all and the volume and inanity just did my head in.

There are some great films out at the moment. This isn't one of them. Avoid like the Coronavirus.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated The Mule (2018) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Mule (2018)
The Mule (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
With the internet flower business putting him into foreclosure, Earl Stone (Eastwood) must find alternative ways to make money. A man who was more dedicated to things growing in the ground than the family he neglected until it was too late he turns up at his granddaughter’s birthday party and doesn’t get a warm welcome.

Leaving with a business card and the offer to drive and deliver goods – no questions asked. Initially reluctant, Earl accepts the offer unbeknown to him the type of cargo he would be carrying.

Grizzled and back to doing what he does best, Clint Eastwood commands a screen presence like no other.

Eastwood’s grizzled charisma is not lost and he strikes up a friendly bond with some members of the cartel as his popularity rises. This puts him on the radar of DEA agents Bates (Bradley Cooper) and Treviño (Michael Peña) who piece together clues as to the identity of the mysterious driver known to the cartel as ‘El Tata’.

While there is a sufficient amount of tension, the film focuses on Earl desperately trying to reconnect with his family and make amends for all the times he wasn’t there – including his daughter’s wedding.

When we’re not in the passenger seat we’re following the DEA as they close in on ‘El Tata’. Changes in hierarchy within the cartel threaten to turn everything on its head and Earl is forced to make a number of decisions that will ultimately save him and his family.

The Mule has some heart-warming moments and is blessed with a strong cast. It’s not as gritty as Gran Torino but it worked for me.