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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2593 KP) rated Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket in Books

Jul 11, 2024 (Updated Jul 11, 2024)  
Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket
Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket
Laura Levine | 2024 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Your One-Way Ticket to Fun
Freelance writer Jaine Austen’s latest client is gym owner Chip Miller. Chip has hired Jaine to ghost write a book on exercise, and she’s been invited to join Chip’s family on a train trip to Santa Barbara and back. While on the train, Jaine learns what a bully Chip is, so it is hardly a surprise when someone kills him. Meanwhile, Lance is trying to join a club in West Hollywood, and enlists Jaine. And her father has decided he’s related to Elvis, and is planning an appearance at a costume party to honor his cousin. Where will it all lead?

Fans of the series (and there are plenty after twenty books) will know what to expect here. And they’ll love Jaine’s latest adventures. I did figure out a key part of the mystery early, but there were other things I wanted to see filled in, and I enjoyed the journey. The characters are more caricature, but they fit the story. That’s because this is an over-the-top comedic mystery. I laughed plenty along the way. When you want a light mystery, this is a series to pick up.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2593 KP) rated Yule Log Murder in Books

Dec 1, 2022  
Yule Log Murder
Yule Log Murder
Leslie Meier | 2022 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Christmas Murder on a Film Set
News has broken that a major Hollywood movie is going to be filmed just outside of town, and many of the townspeople are going to be used as extras. Lucy manages to snag one of those spots, but her joy turns to sorrow when a young woman dies on the set. The police seem quick to settle on a killer, but Lucy suspects that something else is going on. Can she figure things out?

I must admit that I haven't read many of Lucy's adventures, sticking mainly to the novellas featuring this character and her family. As a result, I don't have the history with Lucy's family that long time series readers do. That may be why I found them annoying. The mystery itself was very strong, however, with a solution I didn't see coming.

NOTE: This story is a novella, roughly 100 pages, and was originally part of the novella collection Yule Log Murder. If you have that book, there is no need to buy this ebook. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to sit back and enjoy this Christmas mystery.
  
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) in Movies

Jul 31, 2019  
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
9
7.4 (64 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
The film Tarantino was born to make
ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD is the film that Quentin Tarantino was born to make and it is his Masterpiece.

Your enjoyment of this film will be in direct correlation with how you reacted to the previous statement.

Lovingly set in Hollywood of the late 1960's, OUATIH tells the tale of 3 performers in LaLa Land who's stories are undercut by - and eventually intersect with - the growing dread of the Hippie CounterCulture of the time and, specifically, the Charles Manson cult that would erupt in violence.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as fading Cowboy star Rick Dalton who has been relegated to guest starring villain roles on TV and is contemplating a move to Italian "Spaghetti" Westerns. This is DiCaprio's strongest acting job in (perhaps) his career and one that showcases his range as a performer - and he nails it. His Rick Dalton is a real human being. Sometimes confident, often times at odds with himself, and filled with self doubt. It is a bravura performance, one that I am confident we will be hearing a lot more of come Awards season.

Ably counterbalancing him - and providing the strong core to this film - is Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth, Rick Dalton's stunt double, who is just trying to live day to day. He is the quintessential Hollywood/California "whatever" dude who blows with wherever the wind blows him - including into questionable places. This is Pitt's strongest performance in (perhaps) his career as well - and if Pitt wasn't there to provide the strength and core to this film than DiCaprio's performance would be seen as cartoonish and over-the-top, but this counterbalance is there, which strengthens both performances. I'm afraid that DiCaprio will win all the Acting Awards accolades (his part is much more flashy/flamboyant), but I think Pitt is every bit as good and I would LOVE to see his name called during Awards season.

There are many, many actors making extended cameos in this film, from members of the Tarantino "stock company" like Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell and Zoe Bell to newcomers Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Dakota Fanning and Al Pacino - all have a scene (or 2) that (I'm sure) each actor saw as "delicious" and their willingness to go along with whatever Tarantino wanted them to do is apparent on the screen.

Faring less well is Margot Robbie in the underwritten role of real-life actress Sharon Tate who met her death at the hands of the Manson cult (this isn't a spoiler, it's a footnote in history). Her role is tangential to the main story of the DiCaprio/Pitt characters and it feels...tangential. Robbie does what she can with the role, but she is under-served by the script and direction of Tarantino.

So let's talk about writer/director Quentin Tarantino. A self-described "movie buff", Tarantino spares no detail in showing the audience the sights and sounds of a bygone era - Hollywood in the days of transition from the studio system to a more "television-centric" system. His visuals are wonderful and you spend the first 2 1/2 hours of this 2 hour, 45 minute film meandering through scenes/scenarios/people that are filled with mood and atmosphere and REALLY, REALLY GREAT music, but don't really seem to go anywhere. I was (pleasantly) surprised by how little violence/blood is involved in this and I give Tarantino - the director - credit. For he plays with audiences expectations of him, this movie and the actual, real-life events of this time. While this film is an homage to specific time, it is undercut by an impending sense of doom that keeps you on edge. It is the journey, not the destination that is the joy of this part of the film.

But, when all these disparate storylines/scenerios/characters and events eventually collide, the final 15-20 minutes of this film is quintessential Tarantino - exploding in violence that is horrific, bloody - and damned funny. It is an auteur in full control of his faculties and he controls the items in his "play-set" superbly to bring this film to a very satisfying climax for me.

But...this film is not for everyone. Some will LOVE the first 2 1/2 hours and HATE the last 15-20 minutes while others will LOVE the last 15-20 minutes, but wonder why they had to suffer through the first 2 1/2 hours. For me, I LOVED IT ALL. It is one of the very best Writer/Directors of our time operating at the top of his game - driving some "A-List" actors to career-best performances.

And that's good enough for me.

Letter Grade: A

9 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)