#spoiler review

[ilovetomdaya]

🚨This is going to be my spoiler Dune Part Two review. It's going to be long so please bare with me. I loved Dune Part two and I would definitely watch it again.🚨

So let's start off with Chani. She's a total bada** and Zendaya did an amazing job playing her. She really seems to understand Chani and who Chani is. Her performance of Chani really blew me away. Chani is obviously a very strong believer in Fremen. She doesn't believe in what the other Fremen do. I love that she makes that very clear and she never let's anyone change her mind. Then she falls in love with Paul. He makes her all of these promises and says all of these things about fighting for Fremen. Chani is definitely a strong independent woman who gets sh** done, fights for her people but also seems to love hard. She has conflict with herself because she loves Paul but disagrees with him on some things. Over all Zendaya knocked it out of the park with Chani. I feel so bad for Chani because she sacrificed so much for Paul and got other Fremen to believe in him and treat him like family only for him to stab her in the back. Asking Irulan to marry him right in front of her. Just mere minutes after telling Chani "i will love you as long as I breathe." I'm glad she walked away from him but my heart hurts for her. She deserves better. I wonder what she'll do next? I'm so proud of Zendaya. Timmy did a great job playing Paul. He really dug into the deep dark part of Paul and brought that out. Paul felt and seemed so much more darker this movie and was power hungry. He became a character that I don't like. I'm glad that Chani slapped him. He deserved it. His hunger for power definitely came out when he went to the South for sure. He had a little bit more of a softer side in the North side. He doesn't truly love Chani the way he's suppose to. He wants power and will do anything to get it. Even if it means hurting Chani and people that he supposedly loves. Over all Timmy did a great job playing Paul. Okay so let's talk about Paulchani. One of the problems I had with this movie is how fast paced Paul and Chanis relationship was. They go from just meeting to all of the sudden telling each other I love you and being in love. It makes no sense. I also personally think that Zendaya and Timmy don't have the best on screen chemistry with each other. They obviously have okay onscreen chemistry but it's not the best. I found myself struggling to connect to their relationship/ love story. Their relationship just didn't make me feel anything really. I honestly think that's due to how fast paced it is/ was though. Another issue with the movie that I had (like others did) is the pacing. It started out slow but then it got really fast and it seemed like they were trying to fit in a lot of material in a short amount of time. Austin absolutely blew me away with his acting. Couldn't even tell it was Austin. All I saw and heard was Feyd. He portrayed the physcotic person Feyd is/ was amazingly. There were times where Feyd genuinely had me scared. Like other people have stated the accent he did for Feyd was cringy but the acting was great. Rebecca straight up bodied the role of Lady Jessica. She was terrifying. She had me scared asf sometimes. Especially when she became a Reverend Mother. The fact that she betrayed her own kid... has me saying "damn." That woman is ruthless and a bada**. You couldn't tell it was Rebecca. All you could see was Lady Jessica. Javier did an amazing job too. I loved that you could see how strongly Stillgar believed in what he did. Zendaya, Rebecca, Austin, and Timmy were the stand outs for me though. I definitely want to watch the movie again. So glad I got to experience it in theaters.

[miribooksies]

Jack and the Cockoo Clock Heart (2013)- Movie, Spoilers

HEHEHEHEHHEHHEHEHE

I watched this movie when I was a kid, tiny me, and I found it again because its songs kept worming around my head, and I'm so glad I did.

It starts with a our protagonist, Jack, being born in the coldest day on earth, his heart is frozen, so it is then replaced with a clock. It all starts from this, his heart. This movie is, in my opinion, a tragedy, but I think it's very debatable and interpretation-oriented.

The art style is very captivating, making everyone look like some sort of pristine doll. The backgrounds are very thought out and a highlight with how imaginative it is and how much it aids the story, especially regarding time-skips and travel. THE MUSIC IS AWESOME, I enjoyed this the MOST, it's very rhythmic, very thematic, and it explores multiple genres and atmospheres depending on what part of the story they're currently on. The MUSIC WAS MY FAVORITE, if nothing else just watch it for the melodies.

That being said the story is very captivating too, it's very motive driven, so it's very fast paced (including the dialogue, but I think it's because of the translation from French and not a choice to cut time) and every moment is key to the storytelling. Despite this quick pace, it is a slow burn, but they do a very good job of keeping it dynamic while keeping the tension of the main plot.

It is, however, a very sexual story, despite nothing being very explicit. The sister-figures of Jack are sex workers, when Jack meets his love interest (IMO most important part of the story, and best chorus, and very stunning atmosphere) he references tearing her dress to confetti with his teeth which ???? he's a kid in this moment so that was very confusing and weird, relationship between George Meliès and the two headed woman, and other instances of sexual innuendo achieved in many, many angles. I feel this is very notable, since Jack never is involved with anything. Being so enamored with Miss Acacia and his heart situation, we can probably assume he's a virgin, yet it doesn't stop the main and side romances from being very suggestive.

From what I hear the book is much more sexual, and the presence of it in his childhood in both book and movie is commonly tied to the sister-like sex workers, who are very open about their work and do share work stories in front of Jack.

Miss Acacia's powers are also never noted, which is strange because it isn't like every stranger walking the street suddenly sprouts thorns around their body or purple cones in their tits, it might've been very intentional though? I like the fact it was never a center of attention, and I think it really aids characterizing Acacia, pushing forward a fairly well-rounded character for the short amount of time. It helps us visually see her feelings, emotions, and intentions, kind of like wearing her heart on her sleeve.

On that same locomotive of thought, Joe has the same birthday as Jack, which is such a random piece of lore to drop, but giving it a bit of thought forms a solid idea. Jack was born on the coldest day on Earth, this is what caused for his heart to be mechanical, meaning that Joe was also born in that same coldness, but we don't see him walking around with his own pendulum, so why is that? Probably because, following the film's very direct and literal nature, his heart is simply cold, which pushes him to be as cruel as he is to Jack.

It might've been because it was 1 AM and because the beat might've scared me, but I really felt the final kiss in my chest, and I think the building up of the whole narrative really makes this such a good ending. If it's a good ending is probably debatable, but me personally I appreciated the direction in which it was taken, and that the tragedy was taken to the end, without letting go of the romantic plot for a second. It feels very complete, I guess. Even as he climbs the snowflakes, it feels very true to the story, that's probably why I like it so much.

Props to the whole team honestly they REALLY know how to make atmosphere, and the way they used those tools to convey storytelling is PHENOMENAL!!

I also see where and why the movie could be strongly disliked, if you end up hating it, but I thought it was fire.

I watched it here!

[lilmackiereads]

Winter Solstice (2000) by Rosamunde Pilcher -- Spoiler-Filled Review

My Score Chart:

0 Stars = Hate it/ Regret reading it

1 Star = Meh, not for me

2 Stars = Ok/ neutral

3 Stars = I liked it

4 Stars = I loved it

5 Stars = One of my favorite books ever!

Overall Rating and Basic Summary: 2.5 Stars

If you don't want a spoiler version, click here!

I found this novel in the Little Free Library and took it for a spin. From the cover and title, I thought it was going to be a story about witches celebrating Yuletide, however, it ended up being a bittersweet drama taking place during Christmas in Scotland where a group of five people with tragic backstories bunk together. I finished it in three days while I was sick with a cold, but if I hadn't been home sick it probably would have taken me longer since there were a lot of redundant bits of repeating plot and dialogue every time a new character was introduced (which was often!) This book would have been better at about 300 pages total since the inciting incident of Oscar's family dying in a car crash is nearly 100 pages in. There seems like there is a lot of dead air between plot points as the characters are brought into each other's lives through very loose family relations and persnickety. I kept waiting for something to happen and would have to speed read at parts since it was going so slow.

Even though this had nothing to do with witches, I did appreciate that they explained the difference between Yule, Christmas, and Winter Solstice especially since this is a very Christian-coded book! I also agree that Jesus (if you believe in him) was born in the spring and that the original Christians and Catholics stole a lot of Yuletide practices (decorating a tree indoors, gift exchange, mistletoe, caroling, bonfire/ Yule log, worshiping the moon and change of seasons, etc.) since they were trying to eradicate pagan beliefs. ANYWAYS, I digress...

Something I did like was that there are a lot of character foils with different emotional and socioeconomic backgrounds. While all of the characters are ethnically Caucasian and from the U.K. and/ or the United States, there was a diverse range of different character ages and marital statuses. Singles, divorcees, widows, widowers, mistresses, and the like were all mixed together in this abode. It was very PG as not much happened between characters other than kissing or "making love" instead of using more graphic terms or smutty scenes.

My favorite characters were Carrie, her niece Lucy, and friend Rory. I couldn't stand Nicola and Gran! Carrie was my favorite character until I found out she was a mistress. If she had been unaware that she was a mistress and was tricked into dating a married man, that would have been one thing, BUT SHE ADMITS TO KNOWING THAT HE WAS MARRIED WITH KIDS. UGH. I understand that Pilcher was trying to make her more well-rounded and make her imperfect, but I feel that there were other ways to show her flaws. When she kept dreaming about her ex-lover, Andreas, I thought maybe he had died in a skiing accident because she works at the lodge in Austria. I was so disappointed when this cheating part was added in, ESPECIALLY when Pilcher tries to set her up with Sam, A MAN WHO IS GETTING DIVORCED BECAUSE HIS WIFE CHEATED ON HIM. So annoying. The whole thing just felt cheap and stupid. She was the most amazing aunt to Lucy and sticking up to Gran and Nicola (Lucy's mom), and I would have rather that she been a spinster or figuring out her sexuality -- a LGBTQIA storyline would have been way more interesting and progressive, especially in 2000 -- than this crappy storyline.

Lucy and Rory were sweetie-pies, and I have no complaints about either of them. At first I thought that Pilcher was trying to set them up romantically, but I think Rory sees her more as a little sister. It was hard to tell though because in Lucy's diary she talks about Rory as a "best friend," and "older brother," but then she will contradict herself and gush about him. Someone has a little crush. Ooooohhoooo.

The rest of the characters, including, but not limited to, Elfrida, Oscar, Sam, Major Billicliffe, Arthur, Mrs. Snead, Peter, Tabitha (and more) were ok. I didn't dislike them, but I wouldn't go out of my way to hang out with them, either.

My main issue with the relationship between Elfrida and Oscar wasn't that they met when he was married and that they had a spark. I feel like that is very reflective of real life, especially for people who have loved and lost, as they are both in their 60s. My issue was that they got together like A WEEK OR TWO after his 12-year-old daughter and wife and dogs died in a drunk driving accident! That's insane and gross. Yeah yeah, I know some people would say "you can't choose who (or when) you fall in love." I DON'T GIVE A FUCK. That's NOT ok. Pilcher should have had the accident occur in the spring and then had them get together in the winter to give them like a six month lead up so he's not hopping into bed with another woman so fast while he's still actively grieving. I do like both Oscar and Elfrida, since they are spunky, snarky and fun, but I just hated their romantic timeline. Even their engagement at the end bothered me. It was too quick. Not even two months after their deaths. That's some bullshit.

Sam was ok. I thought he was kind of stuck up with Carrie at times and it bothered me that he fell for a woman that literally did what his wife just did to him. Like huh??? I'm so confused. Go be single you moron. Both of you! I did like that he bought her a painting at the end, since I think it's more romantic and thoughtful than the average gift, but it was a bit expensive and felt flashy like he was showing some sort of dominance or something. Idk maybe it's just me.

I would put my liking of Horace the dog in-between the two groups as he was a bit of a dummy, but I liked him more than most of the human characters. At least he wasn't problematic!

The end was a bit predictable, but full circle and a mostly "happy" ending with Osar and Elfrida getting to take care of Lucy and living in Major Billicliffe's house after his passing. I would have liked it to end after Christmas since there are still some unanswered questions. I think if it continued it probably would have ended with Sam and Carrie officially together (lame) and Elfrida and Oscar's wedding (cute, but too fast). I'm not sure if Rory and Lucy would end up together due to their age gap, but this would have been fun to explore.

Would I read this book again?

No, but it did help pass the time on a weekend at home! I would give one of Pilcher's other books a chance if one sounded interesting. On the bright side, I learned over 100 new words while reading this 500+ page book, most of them U.K. slang or phrases. Since I don't plan on rereading it, I will put it back into the Little Free Library for someone else to read.

Would I recommend it to others?

You may like this if you like Hallmark-y dramas (especially ones with lots of solemn backstory). I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who are depressed around the winter holidays (even though most of the characters are also depressed, this is a story of how they "get over it" since it could send some people into a deeper depression.) Specifically, if you have trauma regarding drunk driving, marital infidelity, or fatal diseases.

[truessences]

TV Show: The Umbrella Academy S4 (2024) Spoiler Talk

I wanted to do a spoiler review because my regular review which you can read here, is so basic because I wanted to be as spoiler free as possible. But I’m about to let loose in this one with everything I wanted to talk about. Continuity Errors – People have been pointing this out in a few places but because I haven’t rewatched I can’t point them out here but I do want to acknowledge that they…

[jonberry555]

Star Wars - The Acolyte: Day Review | Episode 4

"A Hundred years before the rise of the Empire, the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic have prospered for centuries without war. During this time, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past." "A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes but" "as more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…" Join me for my Full Spoiler Review Star Wars - The Acolyte Season 1 Episode 4: Day.

[magic-belodie]

My Candy Love New Gen Episode 2 Is Online.

[dragoninwinterfell]

Or the one where I drone on and on about characters and relationship development in The Frugal Wizard's Handbook For Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson.

[dprdonuts]

Nevertheless, Ep 3: Woman Takes Brief Break from being an ethical non monogamist to enjoy a tv show

Sol continues to be the hottest one in the show, and she is so wasted on Ji wan, 

Ok so next episode, Jae-Eon picks up some girl at an airport. And NaBi is angsting bc she doesn’t hear from him all day. “Does he not like me or is he teasing me?”

So. Him just…you know…having shit to do. Isn’t an option?

Ok. noted. =.=

NaBi wanders off to get food, and runs into her boy working on his project. He doesn’t see her, he answers his phone, she follows him creepily and sees the other girl.. Cue angst. “She’s the one his heart belongs to.”

Because it can only be one. 

Now it’s JaeEon’s turn to see her leaving a convenience store and giving her number to another dude, another student. 

He’s sort of watching from a distance with the other girl. He neutrally mentions he knows them, and girl gets jealous. Turns out they had matching engraved zippos, but she lost hers.  Very much giving gf vibes. He talks about Na Bi and she’s all “you’re into her, it’s fate” and he's’ all “you’re my fate”

Convenience Store Guy acts more like she would expect from a dude pursuing her, and she seems comfortable, and considers him.

And he’s an absolute Cinnamon Roll, I love him. He brings her snacks and is just…nice.

Ope, now my boy’s being dumb. Walks in on Ol girl talking to Cinnamon Roll and gets jealous, and tries to like. Put lil man in his place, and gets put in his instead. She’s got a spine!

Sort of. She kind of…half ass calls him out on being a jealous dick. He doesn’t really admit to it.

Like,  she hasn’t heard from him for a couple days, and now he jumps in being possessive and trying to draw attention to him. That’s douchey and fucked up.

So she goes on a date with cinnamon roll and it’s adorable. Very sweet, direct, little chatterbox of a man

And now I’m mad again.

Nabi goes to a school festival to see Cinnamon Roll, and there’s another girl there. Apparently his HS Crush who rejected him reached out. So NaBi gets awkwardly rejected, Jae Eon sees the whole thing. Home girl goes home, and she’s laying in bed, appears to be coming down with a cold…and FuckBoy Jae Eon totally calls her like “hey can I come over?”  No apology, no acknowledgement he acted like a possessive asshole, just “i’m by your house, wanna hang out?”

I apparently completely missed this bit before. Ope.  This is also where he finds out she had deleted his number from her phone. This is important later.

 Her phone dies, so she goes to the convenience store to get medicine, when she gets home, there’s an ambulance at her house.

FuckBoy called a got damn ambulance cus he thought she’d passed out or something. Remember what I said before about losing their tiny minds over a papercut? Yeah.

In a cute way now tho.

So she sends him packing..and this mf comes back with a care package of meds and snacks for her, and I have feelings about this.

I’m super annoyed they didn’t address him being a possessive douche. Like, it’s one thing to make his interest known, and to be nonmono, but it’s absolutely not ok to act like dog at a fire hydrant when she’s around other dudes. 

So. Perfect was def too strong of a word.

…so she’s like “i don’t like this bag of stuff take it back” and he’s all like “i’m hungry” and she tells him to eat the food while hanging out together.

And this turns into him spending the night holding her hand, hunched over next to the bed, like a hospital scene, so he can earn her trust back.

He addresses his jealousy-doesn’t outright say he was a douche, but does admit to being jealous. She assumes that he liked seeing her get rejected. Which is reasonable, I think, because of how he called her basically immediately after, acting like they’d never argued. 

But that’s not what happened. He admitted to being jealous, and that it bothered him to find out that she’d deleted him from the phone. 

And this is why the fuckboy allegations are so confusing to me. Because he’s not treating her like a hook up, or a casual relationship. He’s treating her like a partner. Literally the only thing that is different between how he pursues her, and how any other dude would, is that there’s no assumption of monogamy. I would argue that the way he goes about it is questionable, but that’s mostly because the culture of enm in the US is of transparency and enthusiastic consent.

…and he is very much working to sell her on nonmonogamy. Thaaats why it makes my brain itch.

Jae Eon is solo nonmonogamous. He has partners, but non exclusively, he does not have a nesting partner, nor seem to want one, and he isn’t invested in the relationship escalator. He also does not have the language or a supportive enm community around him. So, he performs enm, and persuades people thru open practice, rather than naming it.

So, in episode two, there was an interaction that I ignored, because I found it uninteresting and maybe a little fatphobic. When they were all hanging out at the bar, there was a dude-one of the only fat people i’ve ever seen in a kdrama- who was doing the “ambiguously creepy” guy thing. If he was an american, he’d prob be wearing a fedora. Like he specifically asks NaBi to sit next to him, and when she does he gets all fixated on the fact that she’s single now, and asks her why she hasn’t taken her jacket off and…a few other just. Weird fucking things. At one point, NaBi, Jae Eon and Bit Na are outside having a smoke, and Fedora Dude comes out is being really obnoxious and pushy about finding out what Nabi and jae eon’s relationship is, and Jae Eon tells him “nah, we’re just friends.” Nabi walks away and Fauxdora starts the “she’s not pretty enough to be this stuck up” and Jae Eon puts him in his place and everyone gets on with their life.  

NaBi was bothered by Jae Eon not “claiming her” ig. For me tho, the way to handle Fedora Dudes is to straight tell them to get to fuck, it’s none of their business. And that seems like what Jae Eon did. In my mind, he was showing her the same respect he would any of his other friends/partners, in not “staking a claim” so to speak, and also shutting down the ass hat. 

So when he engaged in jealous twattery around Cinnamon Roll, it was extra surprising. Ofc, the reason is that Cinnamon Rolls was a threat, and Fedoradouche was not. Jae eon was shielding her from Fedoradouche, and competing with Cinnamon Roll. Valid. 

So on the one hand, the narrative is showing that NaBi is “special” (gags) by him being possessive of her in ways he isn’t possessive of others. He’s also…gently aggressive with her, after she finally consents to kissing him. He just…keeps pursuing. It’s a behavior that irritates tf out of me, ignoring soft nos, and pushing for a hard no. Then when he gets a hard no, in the form of her deleting his number, and sending him packing after the ambulance leaves, he still keeps pursuing her. 

So he essentially tells her that he’s going to keep being nice to her until he earns her trust and gives him a chance. Which…irl would stalkery and annoying af. But because we’re inside her head, and we know she’s completely obsessed with him, and also because of my own biases against monogamy, and my general annoyance that enm is not even discussed as an option, it gets a pass, both narratively, and in my head. 

And then they bang, because that’s exactly what they both need when she has a cold. Fuckin tv, man

[enixamyram]

Guardians Of The Galaxy Spoiler Review

I just wanted to babble and go into greater detail about just everything I loved so much about this film!

First off, I was actually really worried about this film. For multiple reasons.

I was worried they were going to kill off Rocket. I'm pretty sure at some point someone online said something along the lines of; "what if they kill off someone" and it just kind of became an assumption among myself and others that it was a fact that someone was going to die in this film. However, I figured pretty early it wouldn't actually be Rocket. There are not many films that dedicate the whole 2 hours to saving someone only for them to die in the end anyway. Still, I was pretty worried this might be one of those films and I was SO incredibly relieved when Rocket made it through!

I was worried they were going to have Quill and Gamora get together again. I was never crazy about this ship in the first two films, to be honest. But I accepted it enough. However, I was really worried they were going to push them together again despite the fact that this Gamora is not the same person as the old one. So, again, I was SO relieved when they actually pushed that point as well and had Peter grieve without giving in and letting him win the girl again.

I was worried Rocket was going to be out of the entire film. I love films where a friend is in danger and they have to save him but I also want to see that friend as part of the group as well. So I was so happy when Rocket came back for the last third. I especially loved him confronting the High Evolutionary. It was what I was desperate to see most of all after everything he put him through but it was made even better when the rest all showed up and took turns beating the crap out of him. I nearly jumped up and cheered in the middle of the cinema when that happened!

I was worried it would focus too much on one character. The problem with big cast films is they tend to end up focusing on a single character a lot and the others get forgotten about or pushed aside. It's one of my biggest problems with GOTG 2 (not saying it's a bad film, just that since I don't care for Quill's character, I didn't much care for his story either). But this film gives everyone a story without overshadowing the main villain and we get to see all of them develop and have a bit of attention in a perfect blend.

It makes for a brilliant finale where they all go their separate ways. One of my biggest issues with Endgame was it felt they rushed too many characters out of the Avengers at once. Tony and Natasha's deaths made sense but Steve's leaving felt very forced in terms of timing. For the Guardians, however, it makes perfect sense how and why they each depart. It's actually very sweet to see them each go their own way and have their own new adventure.

But as amazing as the film is. My God. DID I CRY! I sobbed! All out sobbed in the middle of the cinema. Any scene with Rocket and his friends. I still hear Floor shouting constantly in my head; "Rocket, Floor, Teefs go now!" and it's so painful! I was really hoping they would survive but the scene where he reunites in the afterlife was still pretty wonderful.

Even Rocket seeing and freeing the animals at the end had me in tears. When he was scooping out the baby racoons, I was mentally screaming for him not to leave the others and was getting so worked up. So when Rocket then said they had to save them as well, I was so happy!

If I had to criticize, there's two moments I wasn't big on. - The joke about Nebula trying to open the passenger door is so old! I don't know why people are still pushing this joke like it's a hilarious bit. Is it just me? Do other people really find this so funny? It must have some audience if it keeps coming back but I genuinely don't see why. - Peter's fake out death was really cheap. At this point I still had it in my head that someone said it was a fact someone was gonna die so I almost believed it could be genuine thought I was doubtful at this point. But either way, whether you believed it was a real threat or not, we had just had a fake out death with Rocket, so having another one for Peter not that long after was really weak and weird to me. It felt very extra and unnecessary. We could have still had Adam save him just without the drawn out, oh my God, Peter's dying scene added onto it.

But those are two minor issues. The rest of it was funny! It was sad! It was exciting! It had me tense! It had me crying, it had me laughing, it was just genuinely a GREAT film. My FAVOURITE of the Guardian films and easily in my top 3 favourite MCU films of all time! Can't wait to get it on DVD/Disney + so I can rewatch it all over again!

[el-ffej]

One of those rare reviews that, I think, gets it. (Mostly; of course I have quibbles.). Absolutely chock-full of spoilers.

[lilmackiereads]

A Kinda-Sorta Live Review of “The Girl on the Train” (2015) by Paula Hawkins Pt 1

SO, the version of this novel that I have is 323 pages, and nearly a third of the way through I thought to myself I should really be live-reacting to this. Alas, I don’t want to stream myself reading this book out loud in my leopard-print snuggie, but I can type my thoughts on the chapters as I go since I love to write. 

I have been taking notes on my phone full of my hypotheses and reactions toward plot points, character development, and sassy dialogue/ inner-monologue. If you are a fan of the book or film and want to see if I can solve the mystery as I go, cool! There will be plenty of spoilers below. 

I found this novel a month or two back in a Little Free Library in Boise, Idaho and I remember seeing the trailer for the film. I haven’t watched the movie, but I remember thinking that the trailer seemed like a rip-off of Rear Window (1954) so I thought I would pass. However, the fact that the gorgeous and talented Emily Blunt is the lead is urging me to give it a shot if I like the book. When reading the synopsis and spoiler-free reviews, I saw that the book was compared to Gone Girl which is one of my favorite mystery-thriller novels and films. 

Blog Live React Part 1 is separated into the following 4 parts (pages 00 to 27)

Paragraph One - Narrator Not Revealed -- pg 00

Paragraph Two - Narrator Not Revealed -- pg 0 

Rachel - Friday July 5th, 2013 to Thursday July 11th, 2013 -- pgs 1-15

Megan -- One Year Earlier -- Wednesday May 16th, 2012 to Tuesday September 25, 2012 -- pgs 16-27

----

Paragraph One - Narrator Not Yet Revealed (pg 00)

Beginning with the sentence “She’s buried beneath a silver birch tree, down towards the old train tracks, her grave marked with a cairn.” I was immediately sucked in! Since the Narrator for this passage has still not been revealed 100 pages in, my guess is that it is probably Rachel because she is “the girl on the train” and the first Narrator we meet. I like that you can’t tell the Narrator’s sex or background relation to the victim from the paragraph; it makes it much more mysterious.

Paragraph Two - Narrator Not Yet Revealed (pg 0)

Even before the Narrator finished the rhyme, I knew they were talking about magpies. They are usually considered a symbol of melancholy which is really nailing in the spooky and sad undertone of the story before we’ve even committed to page one. There is a chapter early on in the book that is narrated by Megan that mentions magpies, which made me think this was her narrating. But on second thought I’m wondering if it’s Rachel or Drunk Rachel since she is wrapped up in the idea of motherhood. “Now look what you made me do.” The italics is a nice touch. Is this the killer doing a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing?

-----

Rachel - Friday July 5th, 2013 to Thursday July 11th, 2013

--- From this point on I will write just based on the text presented at the time without reference to future chapters. These notes are based on the notes I took on my phone while reading the book. ---

* Friday July 5th, 2013 (pgs 1-3)

A couple things I notice right out of the gate are that this is summertime and it’s on a Friday. A lot of people who work Monday to Friday are, in my opinion, less aware of their mundane surroundings on Fridays and Mondays because they are thinking about starting the work week or their weekend plans. The fact that Rachel is very attuned to detail tells me that she is very sensitive to change, is really nosy, or is very bored (or a combination of all three.)

I connected with Rachel very quickly when she mentioned her “overactive imagination” when trying to give a backstory to the abandoned clothes. I tend to personify or imagine scenarios due to my interest in true-crime and overly-anxious personality. 

Rachel mentions her Mother and Tom right away. Is he her husband/ boyfriend? Ex? Brother? Can’t be a parent or grandparent because she would call them “Dad” or “Grandpa Tom.” Also, she uses past tense “said.” Is she estranged from them both? Or maybe they’re dead? DID SHE KILL THEM? No murder victims have been found yet, but I’m just waiting for it to happen.

Rachel keeps personifying the loneliness of the clothes. Can you say “projecting my problems instead of acknowledging them?” She also personifies the houses by saying “their backs turned squarely to the track” (2). Who left this woman so broken? Part of me wants to give her a hug and the other part wants to take her to therapy.

Oof... she’s drinking a lot to forget Tom. What did he do, sis? At least she’s not drinking before work...

*Monday July 8th, 2013 (pgs 3-6)

Man, she is living for work and routine. Very few people that I know who think that it’s a “relief” (3) to be back on their M-F schedule. Now that she’s introducing “Jess and Jason” I find it kind of endearing... and creepy. I have favorite houses that I pass by and I like to people watch, too. However, projecting onto them as “perfect, golden couple” (4) is only going to bring her pain when they move away or she actually meets them and find that they have human flaws like everyone else. 

Ah, there’s the mention of Tom. Definitely a romantic partner then. 

OOOH, she is drinking again. And on a Monday night? How does she get on the train at 8am every day without a hangover? Does she just have a major tolerance? If alcoholism is her baseline how much can I trust her narrative?

Ok, imagining Jason’s hands on her shoulders is not just spooky, but also a bit sad. Girl needs to move on from Tom. I’d feel bad though if Tom died and that’s why she’s drinking. 

*Tuesday July 9th, 2013 (pgs 6-9)

Aw, it’s sad that she lost her home. Especially her first true place on her own.

Who is this Anna chick? I already don’t like her.

I feel like I know too many Controlling Cathys and I HATE that feeling like a guest in your own house (whether you own it or pay rent). I’ve been there too many times throughout college. At the same time though, is Cathy actually controlling or is Rachel just projecting this controlling personality onto Cathy because she feels like her own life is out of control? 

“I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head” (9). I have only known Rachel for ten minutes and I need to adopt her and tell her it’s going to be ok. 

*Wednesday July 10, 2013 (pgs 9-11)

How would she know that Jason is a doctor? He could be working retail for all she knows (not a diss; I work retail). She really has a thing for the strong-male-savior-types, doesn’t she?

She’s describing Jess and her “bold prints and her Converse trainers” (9) and how edgy and quirky she is. It’s making me not like Jess as much because she’s projecting the Amy Elliot Dunne’s “Cool-Girl” philosophy onto her. I used to want to be Cool-Girl for so long as a teen and now it makes me wanna gag. Thanks, Amy for showing me the light of how lame and over-idolized the “Cool-Girl” concept is (like Manic-Pixie-Dreamgirl, just for the male gaze...)

I feel bad for Rachel on her way home sitting across from the well-dressed man. Her self-esteem is shot and she really projects these feelings of self-loathing onto anyone who even looks at her when they probably don’t really have an opinion of her. It’s sad, too, that her roommate doesn’t stand up for her and just lets her boyfriend poke fun at her. She’s clearly depressed.

*Thursday July 11, 2013 (pgs 11-15)

It took me a while to realize that “plaster” is British for “bandage.” 

I feel a little embarrassed because like Rachel, I literally cut myself a couple days ago while cooking and had to lay down cuz I got woozy. I probably would have fallen asleep, too, if my boyfriend wasn’t there to clean my finger and bandage me. I’m a little wimpy. What a waste of steak. :(

Girl, don’t drink on an empty stomach. Alcohol is not your friend!

Ok... don’t drink on an empty stomach and call your ex!!!!

She called him FOUR times and left TWO messages? Kill me now.

Wow, it’s almost like these very specific instances of getting drunk and humiliating herself in front of her husband, strangers, friends, and her boss are real. Oh wait, they are. Her denial is so strong that I had to read the section twice to realize they were memories and not made up. Girl needs anger management sessions if she went after her husband with a golf club. I wonder if he provoked it in any way? Not saying that makes it ok, but it makes me think HE HAD IT COMIN from Chicago (2002).

She’s thinking all these strong, supportive thoughts about Jess. But get this: what if she’s just as depressed as she is? What if she’s a MURDERER? I don’t think that’s likely cuz of the synopsis that the girl she sees goes missing. What if she fakes her own death/ disappearance? Or like, what if Jess is actually the worst? Like when you think someone is really cool and then you meet them and they kinda suck...

Oop, her ex is calling her back. I mean, he’s right, she does need AA big time.

(Squishing her scab on her bandaged finger open) Ooh she’s one of those who when she feels emotional pain she has to redirect it to physical pain to distract herself. Is this gonna escalate toward others? Dun dun dun. *TV Voice* Tune in next week to see if she does!

Megan -  One Year Earlier - Wednesday May 16th, 2012 to Tuesday September 25, 2012

*Wednesday, May 16, 2012 (pgs 16-18)

Ooh new Narrator. I love books like this. Multiple first-person chapters are so much more interesting to me than a whole book in third person.

Already it seems like she would rather be anywhere else but here. Is she going to run away and fake her murder like in Gone Girl? 

What the heck was going on with those two ladies and the baby? Was one of them kidnapping the child or just playing too rough? I hope we get to see more of this later on in a flashback.

*Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 (pgs 18-20)

She definitely does not like kids. If she was an artist why is she nannying? Wouldn’t it be better to use the off time to make more art? I guess maybe she’s in a major depression slump, but doing something she doesn’t like probably won’t get her out of it. Unless she’s hoping that doing something that she doesn’t like inspires new art...

Also, their names are Scott and Megan. This is going to be weird to try and keep characters straight with two names.

Oof, she doesn’t like Anna either. Three of us in this boat now. (Me, Megan, and Rachel.)

*Thursday, August 16, 2012 (pgs 20-21)

Damn, girl, quitting after 48 hours? At least this is inspiring new art projects.

*Thursday, September 20th, 2012 (pgs 21-24)

Reading snippets of her life and then jumping a month ahead is a bit jarring. Is she really not doing much in this time? It’s making it hard for me to get to know her. I feel like I know Rachel quite a bit more despite the fact that I’ve seen five days into her life and a few months into Megan’s.

Oh wow. Poor Megan! That’s a terrible and traumatic way to lose someone. I wonder how long ago her brother passed away. It definitely makes her depression make more sense. I think therapy would be good for her so I’m glad that Scott is pushing her to go instead of sitting around at home all day. 

Girl is horny af crushing on her therapist. I mean, he does sound a bit dreamy, but she is a married woman. She needs to calm tf down. 

*Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 (pgs 24-27)

“The only places I seem to go these days are to the shops, my Pilates classes, and my therapist” (24). --> That is literally me when I am not at work, haha. I am such a homebody and the only exercise I get is Pilates. I get really restless, too, if I’m not creating so I have to scrapbook, paint, write, or read to feel better.

She imagines really morbid things, too! Maybe she and Rachel should start a true crime club. 

OK WHO IS THE SMILING MAN? Is he a stranger? Is she imagining her dead brother? A lover? Her therapist? Tom the neighbor? I feel like if it was someone she knew she would just use their name instead of “he” and “his.” Ugh and now we have to wait until her next section. How ruuuudeeee.

----

This is the end of my part 1 reaction! Part 2 will consist of pages 28 to 62!

[nerbviews]

My summary and spoiler review of 1990’s TMNT.

My next review will be shorter.

[bookhouseboy1980-blog]

The Terminator (1984) - Spoiler Review/Discussion

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@theterminatort1000-blog @sulietsexual @scifi-fantasy-horror @action @horrorfixxx @1984jp

[jonberry555]

Star Wars: Ahsoka Part 8 - The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord REVIEW

Star Wars: Ahsoka has premiered and its now time to talk about it. This video will my full spoiler review of Part Eight: "The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord" written by Dave Filoni and directed by Rick Famuyiwa in which "The heroes race to prevent Grand Admiral Thrawn's Escape."

[magic-belodie]

When MCL Meets MCL NewGen! Event 2024 Spoiler Review Is Online!

[cinematicnomad]

obsessed with this letterboxd review for CHALLENGERS (2024) by rocky/WAYSTIAR