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esonetwork · 8 months ago

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'The Scorpion's Tail' Book Review By Ron Fortier

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-scorpions-tail-book-review-by-ron-fortier/

'The Scorpion's Tail' Book Review By Ron Fortier

THE SCORPION’S TAIL By Preston & Child Grand Central Publishing 401 pgs

This is the second thriller in the Special Agent Pendergast spin-off series starring two of his best supporting characters. The first being Archeologist Nora Kelly who was around from the first Pendergast adventure teaming up with his young protégé, newly minted FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. Though why the publisher opts to label this the “Nora Kelly” series is beyond my logic. It really should be the “Kelly – Swanson” series. Oh well, the eccentricities of publishers.

Like the first, this one also focuses on historical mysteries with these set in the western state of New Mexico. A young, extremely likeable town Sheriff named Homer Watts encounters a would-be looter at work in a high mountain ghost town. When he confronts the fellow, the perp tries to shoot him. Much to his dismay as Watts is a fast draw crack shot and wounds the varmint. But that isn’t what sets alarms off. Rather it is the fact that the two-bit artifact thief was in process of uncovering a dead body; a dead body buried on government land. Enter the FBI and Agent Corrine Swanson.

Realizing the excavation of a body is beyond her considerable expertise, Corrie recruits Nora Kelly to assist her and pretty soon the trained archeologist finds herself pulled into the mystery. Not only is the corpse weirdly mummified, but in his possession is an ornate, bejeweled cross that dates back to the days of the Spanish conquistadores. Could the dead man have been hunting lost Spanish gold mines rumored to be hidden in those mountains? And what connection does the dead man have to the White Plains Desert Military base; home to the first atom bomb test?

Once again, Preston and Child weave an intricate, pretzel-twisty plot that mushrooms multiple new questions whenever one is answered. Enough to keep both Nora and Corrie hopping back and forth from one end of the state to the other looking to solve not one, but several historical puzzles all seemingly intertwined. Along the way, they encounter some truly colorful Western characters ala Sheriff Watts and a descendant of Geronimo. In the end, “The Scorpion’s Tale” is another grand Preston & Child outing and one we heartily recommend. Kelly and Swanson may not be Pendergast, but they sure are the next best thing

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unwrappingromance · 10 months ago

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Review of the upcoming psychological thriller, THE WIDOW BRIDE by Carey Baldwin:

As I look down to the beautiful arch set up on the beach for our wedding, I have to stop myself running into Blake’s arms. It’s so soon after my first husband passed away—but Blake and I are meant to be… aren’t we? There are no family or friends beaming at me this time, but everything is perfect… isn’t it? Since I lost my first husband, Blake has been there for me, showering me with gifts and…

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#Amazon #audiobook #Barnes & Noble #Carey Baldwin #digital #mystery #pre-order #print #psychological thriller #suspense #The Widow Bride

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bookdivareads · 1 year ago

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Book Showcase: HOW DOES SHE KNOW by Diane M. Sylvester and Andrea Rubinowitz

Read an #excerpt from HOW DOES SHE KNOW by #DianeMSylvester and #AndreaRubinowitz featuring a psychic and more in today's book showcase. #fiction #mystery #thriller #paranormal #bookexcerpt #GatekeeperPress #AuthorMarketingExperts

How Does She Know by Diane M. Sylvester and Andrea RubinowitzISBN: 9781662936760 (Paperback)ISBN: 9781662936777 (eBook)ASIN: B0CN4ZX4YQ (Kindle edition)Page Count: 372Publisher: Gatekeeper PressPublication Date: December 11, 2023Genre: Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Mystery & Suspense Thrillers The ability to foretell events and connect with people in the afterlife is a unique gift-but can…

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#Andrea Rubinowitz #Author Marketing Experts #Book Excerpt #Book Showcase #Diane M. Sylvester #fiction #Gatekeeper Press #HOW DOES SHE KNOW #Mystery & Suspense Thriller #Paranormal Fantasy #Science Fiction & Fantasy

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mostlysignssomeportents · 9 months ago

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Rebecca Roque’s “Till Human Voices Wake Us”

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

"Till Human Voices Wake Us" is Rebecca Roque's debut novel: it's a superb teen thriller, intricately plotted and brilliantly executed, packed with imaginative technological turns that amp up the tension and suspense:

https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/till-human-voices-wake-us-gn3a.html#541=2790108

Modern technology presents a serious problem for a thriller writer. Once characters can call or text one another, a whole portfolio of suspense-building gimmicks – like the high-speed race across town – just stop working. For years, thriller writers contrived implausible – but narratively convenient – ways to go on using these tropes. Think of the shopworn "damn, my phone is out of battery/range just when I need it the most":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIZVcRccCx0

When that fails, often writers just lean into the "idiot plot" – a plot that only works because the characters are acting like idiots:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_plot

But even as technology was sawing a hole in the suspense writer's bag of tricks, shrewd suspense writers were cooking up a whole new menu of clever ways to build suspense in ways that turn on the limitations and capabilities of technology. One pioneer of this was Iain M Banks (RIP), whose 2003 novel Dead Air was jammed with wildly ingenious ways to use cellphones to raise the stakes and heighten the tension:

https://web.archive.org/web/20030302073539/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/play.html?pg=8

This is "techno-realism" at its best. It's my favorite mode of storytelling, the thing I lean into with my Little Brother and Martin Hench books – stories that treat the things that technology can and can't do as features, not bugs. Rather than having the hacker "crack the mainframe's cryptography in 20 minutes when everyone swears it can't be done in less than 25," the techno-realist introduces something gnarlier, like a supply-chain attack that inserts a back-door, or a hardware keylogger, or a Remote Access Trojan.

Back to Roque's debut novel: it's a teen murder mystery told in the most technorealist way. Cia's best friend Alice has been trying to find her missing boyfriend for months, and in her investigation, she's discovered their small town's dark secret – a string of disappearances, deaths and fires that are the hidden backdrop to the town's out-of-control addiction problem.

Alice has something to tell Cia, something about the fire that orphaned her and cost her one leg when she was only five years old, but Cia refuses to hear it. Instead, they have a blazing fight, and part ways. It's the last time Cia and Alice ever see each other: that night, Alice kills herself.

Or does she? Cia is convinced that Alice has been murdered, and that her murder is connected to the drug- and death-epidemic that's ravaging their town. As Cia and her friends seek to discover the town's secret – and the identity of Alice's killer – we're dragged into an intense, gripping murder mystery/conspiracy story that is full of surprises and reversals, each more fiendishly clever than the last.

But as good as the storytelling, the characterization and the mystery are, Roque's clever technological gambits are even better. This book is a master-class in how a murder mystery can work in the age of social media and ubiquitous mobile devices. It's the first volume in a trilogy and it ends on a hell of a cliff-hanger, too.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/16/dead-air/#technorealism

#pluralistic #books #reviews #novels #mysteries #thrillers #technorealism #gift guide #rebecca roque

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douqi7s · 1 year ago

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Baihe novels I read in 2023, in order of when I read them:

Miss Forensics by Jiu Nuan Chun Shen. Contemporary thriller featuring a push-pull romance between a forensic pathologist and a police detective. Big action scenes, big emotional set-pieces, big emotions.

Distance by Mi Nao Nao. Contemporary romance billed as 'woman who has broken a thousand hearts vs woman who has never lost her heart'. I found it underwritten and lacking in structure, but lots of people seem to like it.

The Collapsing Palace by Ming Ye. Historical palace harem novel. A wilful noblewoman marries her cousin, the crown prince, so she can get close to his mother/her aunt the empress, whom she's been crushing on since forever. And she's not even the most toxic / messed up main character in this novel.

Life is Like a Dream by Qing Xiang. A short novel set in the Yue opera scene during the Republican Era. Small-scale, elegantly understated, makes highly effective of use of the author's detailed knowledge of opera and the opera scene.

Suffocation by Hua Qiong Ran. One of those 'toxic lesbians' contemporary thrillers, featuring the protagonist being repeatedly stalked and imprisoned by her own wife. Amped up the depravity too quickly to be wholly effective.

Zebra Crossing by Yi Bai Shou. Early baihe novel featuring a romance between a CEO and police detective, a mixture of thriller and romance. Strong beginning with appealing characters, somewhat let down by meandering middle and end and odd approach to extras.

She Belongs to Me by Da Ying. An uncomplicated contemporary romance between two femme professional women who are excellent communicators. Does make effective use of several k-drama style romantic set-pieces.

Bo Zhou by Ruo Hua Ci Shu. Time loop contemporary romance in which the protagonist tries to safe her girlfriend's life again and again. Overall competently plotted, well-paced and genuinely suspenseful.

The Tribulation of the Peach Runaway Blossom by Ning Yuan. A solid xianxia/xuanhuan novel with a big cast of complex female characters, competent world-building and assured prose. Somewhat falls down on the main romance (though the secondary romances make up for that a little), which was at once the lynchpin of the plot and not particularly present on the page.

The Abandoned by Mu Feng Qing Nian. Three words: sapphic xianxia shizunfuckery. Horny unhinged lesbians, plot twists on top of plot twists, and much violence.

Her Mountain, Her Sea by Fu Hua. A contemporary high school romance. Very solid, competent slice-of-life for the most part. The leads are well-characterised and their growing relationship is deftly handled, especially in the early stages.

The Creator's Grace by Ning Yuan. A near future sci-fi thriller. 12/10, no notes (though the sci-fi element is subordinate to the romance and thriller elements).

Minister Xie by Ruo Hua Ci Shu. This historical novel is The Goblin Emperor meets Sha Po Lang. Teenage emperor Liu Zao does her best to turn her prime minister Xie Yi (who is 14 years older) into her wife.

Snow on Her Pillow by Liu Yuan Chang Ning. Historical fiction featuring a romance between Princess Jieyou and her devoted attendant Feng Liao (described as the first official female diplomat in Chinese history). Competently and compellingly written; manages the Feat of treating Central Asian characters (of which there are many) as regular, undemonised people.

Spring on the River by Da Ying. This xuanhuan novel features supernatural women behaving very very badly, weird structure and pacing, and a rather hapless main character who frequently reminded me of a protagonist in a shoujo reverse harem novel.

Listen, God by Xian Yu Bu Chi Cai. A contemporary time loop thriller featuring a romance between a scriptwriter and an up-and-coming actress. Mostly carefully and cleverly plotted (though starts to unravel in the last 20%), though the relationship development between the leads left me cold.

A Taste of You by Si Bai Ba Shi Si. A contemporary romance between a talented chef and a CEO. A grounded, realist novel told through a charmingly wry first-person POV (bar a sharp swerve into melodrama in the last 10%), deeply embedded in the local lesbian scene.

Snow in the Spring Courtyard by Liu Yuan Chang Ning. This wuxia novel had good relationship development, a compelling love interest, and excellent pacing, and is likely to appeal to readers for those reasons. For me personally, it was let down by an extraordinarily bleak view of the jianghu which I don't think the author was fully aware of.

I Think About You Day and Night by Yu Shuang. In this contemporary romance, a CEO rescues a penniless girl from an abusive household, and k-drama-style shenanigans ensue. There's terminal illness, birth secrets, an incest scare (dw they're not actually related), and corporate machinations. The author's commitment to these tropes and their emotional stakes makes this an enjoyably dramatic read.

Cover Her Face by Qing Tang Shuan Xiang Cai. A mostly breezy, mostly fluffy, and unexpectedly sexy historical romance plus a dash of wuxia, with likable main characters.

Waiting for You by Min Ran. A contemporary showbiz romance, basically an exes-to-reunited-lovers story courtesy of a handy rebirth and time rewind. Another one for the 'attractive femme couple resolves their relationship problems through Better Communication' folder.

Climbing High by Po Po Po. In this historical court intrigue novel, aspiring scholar Fang Jian sells herself into indentured servitude to court official Gao Yunqu in exchange for the latter's promise to help her free her parents from unjust imprisonment. Published on PO18, so allowed to be sexually explicit in ways JJWXC and Changpei novels can't be, and the author makes full use of this (though I found the sex scenes between the tertiary couples stronger than those between the main couple, for the most part). Very strong political writing, a great cast of complex female characters.

#baihe #chinese gl #wlw

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yourbustedkneecaps · 3 months ago

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something i dont think people — esp new writers — understand is how to actually write basic horror/thriller. like normally i see shit thats just straight up murder, gore/blood, and (not great) “psycho” antagonists or whatever and it never really hits the way its meant to.

first, lets define the horror vs thriller genres.

Thriller: generally relies on feelings of suspense, surprise, anxiety, and fear, and treats the audience as an accomplice. they normally make use of red herrings, plot twists, and unreliable narrators (think detective or crime fiction)

Horror: often relies more on blood and gore to disturb, scare, disgust, or repulse the audience, and treats the audience as victims. (think psychological/medical/lovecraftian horror as an interpretation of a metaphor on society)

makes sense? obviously these genres can have a ton of overlap depending on the direction of the story. either way, i personally try to follow these general rules to set the groundwork for my project of one or both genres:

go easy on the blood and gore — i get it, every popular entertainment medium has blood pretty much everywhere. it’s a horror staple! unfortunately, it also is easy to desensitise your audience to The Goop (blood/gore) before you’ve even introduced the main plot. keep it light to start and amp it up every so often to add some ambience to the setting! if its everywhere all the time, it will become expected wallpaper instead of a real scare. remember! blood and gore are tools to create something horrifying, not the horror genre itself!

“why is this here?” — to shape the start of your project, use the environment to unnerve your audience and set the stage. put things in uncommon places to intrigue your audience as you introduce your characters and story. the weirder, the better! for example, stab a kitchen knife in the wall of a random hallway, or an old tree. put a doll where a child may have had to work hard to place it there, like a top shelf, or hang it from a staircase bannister or light fixture. add small touches of blood, gore, or general bodily fluid/parts sprinkled around the area where it may not be all that visible, like fingerprints on a light switch, door handle, the edge of a bookcase or half-cleaned stains along the floor. there’s a reason developers often put little notes throughout their game alongside corpses, weapons, and key items!

define your plot, audience included — who cares how things are happening? give me a “why” first! all characters, background, main, minor, etc. should have a reason for doing what they are doing where they are doing it. if you want to spook or disturb your audience you need to define where they stand with the characters! are they the detective’s accomplice in revealing the mystery, or are they running from certain doom with the main character?

*note: reasons dont have to be complex! humans are odd in that sometimes they do things “just because”, “why not?”, or “because of a feeling”. dont stress it!

develop rules for your story — a good character can save a bad plot, so make up some general rules to follow when putting them together! why cant someone or something happen, even if it’s easier? why is someone or something the way they are, and what steps did it take to get to this point? everything should lead to your climax(es), judgements of the characters included. its because of the characters and environment that unreliable narration, red herrings, and plot twists occur. what information is missing that pushes the story along?

the bang — this steers more towards horror than thriller, but “the bang” or the general climax should feel bigger than what has happened before. this is where you can go ham with The Goop and any extra disturbing imagery or info to give your audience! if there’s more than one climax, make sure there’s always something up your sleeve that either A) repulses or scares the characters/audience again or B) makes the situation 5% Worse within each new climax.

the end — your characters are not going to come out of this unscathed!! that is the entire point of horror and thriller! as much as you may want a character to girlboss their way through the plot (regardless of if they die in the end or not), it should always end with your character’s mental/physical stability being somehow worse than when they started. demonic possession or run-of-the-mill PTSD, it doesn’t matter. the story should change/impact your characters and audience after experiencing it.

*please note that i am not advocating for traumatising people willy-nilly just because thats how these genres “work”. always put a TW of some kind so those who dont want to experience it have a choice not to!

using these general steps/tips, i’ve been able to create some spooky stuff myself! i lean more toward body horror, psychological horror, and crime thriller genres-wise, and they’re never perfect, but the skeleton of many projects has been enough to surprise, disgust, or generally scare me and my friends when keeping these things in mind.

#ive been sitting on a peter parker/spider man wip with some body horror #thinking about posting a blurb here or on ao3 #writeblr #author #writing tips #horror #thriller #new writers on tumblr #horror and thriller genre breakdown

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 months ago

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The Chamber by Will Dean

Happy publication day Will Dean. The Chamber is out right now and it's one heck of a suspenseful and tense read. @willrdean @hodderbooks @mandie163.mg #books #bookreview #thechamber #publicationday #bookstagram #booksofinstagram

Today I am delighted to be sharing my thoughts on the brand new thriller from Will Dean, The Chamber which just happens to be out today. Happy publication day Mr Dean. And because it’s a special day, Mandie is joining in too with her review. Our thanks to publisher Hodder & Stoughton for the advance copy via Netgalley. Here’s what it’s about: Source: NetgalleyRelease Date: 06 June 2024Publisher:…

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#Deep Sea Thriller #Hodder & Stoughton #Locked Room Mystery #Murder #Suspense #Thriller #Will Dean

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bookliteratibookreviews · 7 months ago

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The Theatre of Glass and Shadows by Anne Corlett

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black & White Publishing (23 May 2024)Language ‏ : ‎ EnglishHardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pagesISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1785305522ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785305528 Book Blurb In an alternate London, the city’s Theatre District is a walled area south of the river where an immersive production – the Show – has been running for centuries, growing ever bigger, more sprawling and lavish. The Show is open to…

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#blogtour #Anne Corlette #Black & White Publishing #Book Blogger #Book Recommendation #Book review #Bookliterati #Fantasy #Fiction #Folklore #Magic #Murder #Mystery #Secrets #Suspense #The Theatre of Glass and Shadow #thriller

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 months ago

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Michael in the Mainstream: Top 100 Movies #75 - #51

Here is part 2, a follow up to the previous part! Let's not waste any time here, no need for a big ass intro for the second quarter:

75. Blue Velvet

This is weirdly one of David Lynch’s most straightforward works and yet is still one of his best ever. It’s a dark, seedy thriller that has the single best Dennis Hopper performance of all time—and this is a man with no shortage of great performances.

74. Wet Hot American Summer

I love comedies that are just a random collection of the funniest possible people you can think of doing gags, and that's exactly what this cult classic is. It’s hard for me to decide what’s funnier between Paul Rudd tossing children out of moving vehicles or H. Jon Benjamin portraying a talking can of mixed vegetables.

73. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Easily one of the darkest films in Disney’s entire filmography, something that helps it stand out and shine. Yes, it isn’t a perfect film—the gargoyles can be extremely grating as I’m sure you know, though I’m a lot more forgiving than most because I just love hearing Jason Alexander’s voice—but I think the rest of the movie is so exceptional it makes the bad bits easier to swallow. Tony Jay’s performance as Frollo helps solidify him as one of the greatest and most depraved Disney villains ever. The dude is both horny and genocidal, a feat only matched by Thanos.

72. Jaws

The original summer blockbuster, and one of my favorite thrill rides since I was a teen. The sparing use of the shark really helps build the suspense like nothing else, and that opening is still utterly terrifying due to how chillingly plausible such a thing could be. This is an adaptation that is leagues better than what it’s adapting; muchlike the shark at the end, the movie blows Benchley’s novel out of the water.

71. Glass Onion

I think I may be a lunatic, because I genuinely prefer Glass Onion to Knives Out. Yes, the mystery is far less clever here mainly because the murders are caused by an egotistical idiot with no common sense. And yes, the comedy is amped up in this one. But these are all things that make me love it more. You’ve got Edward Norton playing a self-righteous pastiche of Elon Musk, which makes it so satisfying to see him flounder, and then you have the rest of the core cast portrayed by heavy hitters like Kathryn Hahn and Dave Bautista as well as a shockingly impressive turn as the co-lead alongside Daniel Craig from singer Jenelle Monae. In a world where obnoxious billionaires and other rich assholes are constantly getting away with crimes they’re flagrantly flaunting, it’s nice to see a character who resembles the worst of that group get what’s coming to him.

70. Holes

It is genuinely astonishing just how faithful to the book this movie is. Stanley being skinny is the most notable change, with everything else being just as it was in the novel. The Kissing Kate Barlow backstory segments are easily the best part, but the whole movie is a fun hunt movie with a delicious villain performance courtesy of Sigourney Weaver. This movie is as sweet as a peach and as savory as an onion.

69. Unbreakable

Forget The Sixth Sense (or don’t because that’s still a classic), this is M. Night’s magnum opus. The man completely deconstructed the superhero movie genre before it was even a thing, and he got Bruce Willis to give a performance second only to his role as John McClane in my humble opinion. Plus that final twist… Hoo boy. It’s honestly impressive that it hasn’t been as spoiled to Hell and back as The Sixth Sense’s twist, but that’s just a sign that this movie needs to be experienced for yourself.

68. Candyman

An epic meditation on the nature of urban myth with amazing atmosphere and a haunting score, all from the mind of horror master Clive Barker. Tony Todd plays horror’s sexiest supernatural slasher, which is all the more impressive when he is covered with thousands of live bees and yet still somehow oozes seductiveness.

67. The Goonies

80s kid adventure movies never got better than this one. There’s such a sweet, cheesy earnestness to the proceedings here; this is such an unbelievably goofy premise, but it’s played so straight that I can’t help but love it. All of the child actors here feel fun and natural, with Jeff Cohen’s Chunk easily stealing the show with his antics, but I’d also like to highlight Anne Ramsey as Ma Fratelli. She’s such a delightfully nasty villain, and she plays it with such conviction.

66. The Truman Show

Jim Carrey is a fantastic comedic actor. Everyone knew that back in the day. What many didn’t realize was that the man could deliver one of the most heartfelt and powerful dramatic performances you’ll ever see, all with a light comedic touch to pull it all together. I will say that if he deserved an Oscar for anything, it would be Eternal Sunshine, but this movie is far more enjoyable in my opinion. The movie was also scarily prescient in its vision of a future where every moment of a person’s life is recorded for the entertainment of others, to the point where this can almost be considered a horror film.

65. The Crow

A Gothic supernatural superhero story about revenge, a film that is sadly trapped in the shadow of the tragic on-set accident that claimed the life of its star Brandon Lee. It really is sad watching this, imagining the career his immense talent and charisma would have so easily given him, but it’s also awesome because this film kicks so much ass that it’s unreal. Considering I’m literally writing an urban Gothic horror fantasy series as we speak, it should come as no surprise that this movie is one of my favorites (as well as a minor inspiration).

64. The Lego Movie

When you put actual effort into your toy commercial, people will actually forget it’s supposed to be a toy commercial. And boy, did they go the extra mile with this one! This is animated so brilliantly it really emulates stop-motion, just with more polish. And where the sudden transition to he real world in the third act could have easily derailed the movie, it leads to a really powerful, heartfelt emotional reconciliation that ties the whole film together. The plot may be your standard family film adventure, but it just goes to show with enough skill (and Batman) you can do any plot really well.

63. Whiplash

I’ve called this one of the scariest horror movies in recent memory, and I stand by it. This is a movie where an abusive man in a position of power slowly erodes the willpower and self-esteem of a young man and drives him more and more insane in his never-ending chase of perfection. It’s far more chilling than any masked lunatic butchering girls for sick thrills.

62. Halloween

Ok, well, almost more chilling. John Carpenter is just that damn good at it… Though, to be fair, this movie basically invented the tropes the genre would later run into the ground. As far as slashers go, this is still one of the few that genuinely feels like more than just a showcase of gore and sex, and it’s also the last time for several decades that Michael Meyers truly felt like the unknowable, evil Shape.

61. Deadpool

You can say whatever you want about Ryan Reynolds, but you can never convince me he is not passionate to the character of Deadpool to a degree most superstars aren’t these days. Think about how Craig hated being Bond (I do not blame him); it’s just nice there’s a guy who not only adores the role he plays to the point he practically lives the role, but also worked tirelessly to ensure the character was brought to life properly on the big screen. As far as a straight Deadpool film goes, this is easily my favorite.

60. Spider-Man

Sam Raimi came out the gate swinging with his first shot at Spidey. Equal parts heart and cheese, just like a classic comic, this is as good of a Spidey origin as we could see on the big screen. As much as I love Spidey though, it’s Dafoe’s Green Goblin and J.K. Simmons’ JJJ who really steal the show here.

59. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Forget Endgame. Forget Super Smash Bros. This right here is the single most ambitious crossover of all time. Bugs goddamn Bunny and Mickey motherfucking Mouse share a screen together; we are never gonna see something of this magnitude ever again. But let’s not pretend like the crossover part is the only reason I love this film; being a perfect blend of film noir and classic cartoon silliness is what really makes this the stone-cold classic that it is.

58. Army of Darkness

Ditching horror for comedic fantasy seems like a bad move for anyone else, but no one else is Sam Raimi. This is the movie that codified Ash Williams as one of my favorite heroes ever, solidifying his status as a snarky, quip-spouting badass who wields a boomstick and chainsaw with equal finesse.

57. The Shining

This is proof that sometimes being pragmatic when it comes to adapting novels. Maybe it isn’t the most faithful to King’s vision, but when you get one of the most atmospheric horror films ever made complete with an amazing soundtrack and career-defining performances from Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, it’s hard to be too mad that they left King at the wayside so Kubrick could do his thing.

56. Spider-Man 2

This movie has a reputation as one of the greatest action films ever made. And, well, have you seen that fucking train fight? I love Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy a lot, but it is undeniable that this is where everything came together. Peter’s struggles in this film are more relatable than ever, Molina’s Doc Ock is sinister and tragic in equal measure… As far as Spider-Man in live action goes, this is as amazing as it gets. Guess when Doc Ock and Spidey collide it always results in a superior Spider-Man, eh? Eh?

55. Avengers: Infinity War

I think the reason Endgame gets a lot of flak for feeling more like an event than an actual movie is because it is following up an actual movie that is also an event. This is The Empire Strikes Back of superhero films, an epic step forward for the story that ends in a crushing defeat. Thanos picks up the pace after almost a decade of slack and effortlessly cements himself as one of the superhero movie genre’s greatest villains, in no small part to Josh Brolin’s compelling performance. It’s fun, funny, exciting, sad… It was always gonna be an uphill battle for Endgame to live up to this one.

54. A Nightmare on Elm Street

I always go back and forth over which between the first and third one is my favorite, because both are excellent slashers in their own right. It really depends on what day you ask me, really. Still, if we’re talking about which of the movies is actually genuinely chilling, the one where Freddy’s at his scariest, it is hands down this one. This is before he became more of a quipster, so he’s just a nasty fucking freak with a dark sense of humor here. What really gives this movie an edge, though, is you get to see Johnny Depp brutally murdered in a giant geyser of blood.

53. House

Surreal, trippy, dream-like horror films are totally my jam, and this is one that stuck with me ever since I saw it. It’s so strange and inventive, so batshit insane, so fucking cool! It also has the scariest piano this side of Super Mario 64 (that thing has to be an homage to this film).

52. Freddy Got Fingered

This movie is not simply “so bad, it’s good;” no, this movie is so bad, it’s art. Only an absolute genius troll of the highest order could create something that defies every bit of logic and crosses every single boundary to such a degree as this film. Tom Green absolutely knew what he was doing, and by god did he succeed beyond his wildest dreams! I didn’t get this film the first time I saw it, but boy do I get it now.

51. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The middle film in a trilogy is always the hardest one to stick the landing on I feel. You make one misstep and no one’s coming back for the third one, you know? This movie does not have that problem at all. It starts with the full Gandalf vs. Balrog fight, it has Legolas deliver his world-famous line about where they’re taking the hobbits, it has Viggo Mortensen kicking that helmet (DID YOU KNOW HE BROKE HIS TOE FOR REAL? BET YOU NEVER HEARD THAT ONE), it has Treebeard, it has the epic battle of Helm’s Deep, it has dwarf tossing, it has it all! But most importantly, it has one of the best characters ever: Gollum. Andy Serkis as Middle Earth’s resident split personality crackhead is one of the most compelling characters in a movie that is genuinely stuffed with compelling characters. How he didn’t get an Oscar for this I’ll never know.

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