'THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS'.......THE NEW QUAD SQUAD BRING BACK THE FUN TO MARVEL......

 The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

     Like millions of others, we'd grown weary of Marvel superhero movies.....with their convoluted multi-verses,  repetitious smackdowns and tiresome end credit teasers that made us realize the 150 minute movie we just sat through was really just an elaborate trailer for the next 150 minute movie we're supposed to salivate for in anticipation. 

        Audiences let out a collective yawn, all of us suffering from SES....Superhero Exhaustion Syndrome.   (Probably also brought on by those crappy Warner Brothers DC comics movies and Disney's never ending parade of mediocre Marvel series on their Disney Plus streaming site.)

        So we approached this newest Disney-Marvel version of 'The Fantastic Four' with more than little dread......and found ourselves, dare we say it. surprised, engaged.....and yep, entertained. 

         Holy Spandex, the damn thing's actually kinda fun to watch. There's a whole tongue-in-cheeky 1960's vibe to it that coats the movie with a sheen of playful innocence.

          The new bunch of actors brought in to play the Quad Godz bring some much needed humanity and humor to the usual smash 'em-bash 'em razz-ma-tazz. There's the inevitable but reliable Pedro Pascal as rubber limbed Science Guy Reed Richards. Vanessa Kirby adding some mature sexuality to Reed's wife, the invisible, multi-powered Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as her younger brother, the impulsive flying fireball Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (of "The Bear") as the massive, clobberin' orange rock Ben Grimm. 

       Together, the gang's up against super-gigantic outer space planet eater Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his equally lethal Silver Surfin' minion Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner). Earth is next on their demolition schedule but the Galacinator's willing to give us a pass if Sue gives up her and Reed's newborn son, Franklin. Galactus, tired to exploding and gobbling planets, thinks little Frankie has some awesome superpower he needs that the Four haven't figured out yet. 

       And what a problem facing Sue, who as a new fierce mama bear, won't sacrifice her baby boy. At first, that doesn't sit well with everybody on Earth, viewing as just a tad selfish on Sue's part. (Now there's a problem never discussed in books for new parents.....)

        But never fear, when Galactus, who makes Godzilla seem like a baby salamander, comes a stompin' into NYC, the four mix it up with him in a titanic battle that, for a refreshing change, doesn't overstay its welcome like most Marvel destructive derbies.

        We fully admit to having a jolly good time with this Fantastic Four - it reminded us of why we all became bedazzled and amused by comic book movies to begin with......before they took a slide into bloated self-importance and same-old-same-old. And we didn't even mind the usual end-credits teaser, which of course promises the next villain stepping up to the plate. 

         The Four next appear in the upcoming Avengers movie and since they're included in the mix, we're willing to give it a try.

          4 stars (****). 

          

"WUTHERING HEIGHTS"........50 SHADES OF HEATHCLIFF.......

 "Wuthering Heights" (2026)

      We assume the intentional quotation marks around the title is this film's way of letting us know that, to put it mildly, this ain't your Grandma's Wuthering Heights.

       Not that we ever expected it would look or sound like director William Wyler's movie-palace-popcorn 1939 version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. 

        Or for that matter, any other subsequent version of the Emily Bronte gothic heavy-breather that's come along through the years......(usually there's one or more for every generation....)

         Every filmmaker and screenwriter treats the Bronte book like a literary buffet, picking and choosing what they like, discarding what doesn't appeal to them and spicing up what's left with their very own creative and cultural condiments. 

       And so indeed did director-writer Emerald Fennell, who made her reputation with that provocative, strikingly visual thriller "Saltburn", sort of Fennell's dream/nightmare warped funhouse mirror version of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'.....(featuring a lower class snake who slithers into an uppercrust Garden of Eden....)

         Here Fennell, plunders the bare bones of Bronte's tale (just the parts that stick in our heads from all the other versions) and concocts an over-the-top sexual Grand Opera, dripping with assorted bodily fluids, including semen, vomit, shit and egg yolks.  So beware, this is one movie that defiantly declares......screw 'em if they can't take a yolk. 

         Truth be told, we've always held a soft spot in our heart for visualist directors who turn every camera shot into a wildly exaggerated eye-candy feast.....artists like Sergio Leone, David Lean and Fellini come to mind....(even our favorite British madman, Ken Russell). 

         Emerald Fennell's foggy forbidding Yorkshire Moors look designed for Edgar Allen Poe. The crumbling Earnshaw estate, Wuthering Heights is a maze of dark cavernous spaces, while you could fly helicopters in and out of the Edgar Linton's dazzling, sprawling estate. 

        And more than matching the grandiosity of the settings are the bubbling up passions of those overheated crazy kids, Heathcliff and Cathy, played respectively with simmering passion by that tall, tall drink of gloom Jacob Elordi and eye bulging Margot Robbie, going through the whole movie as she's just been tased, an 18th century horny Barbie.

        Our mighty (and mighty moist) lovers, whom cruel fate and hot tempers have conspired to separate, finally fall into marathon humping until Heathy's inherent cruel streak overtakes him.....and then the film starts to resemble 'Wuthering Heights' fan fiction as written by '50 Shades' readers....and to be fair, incel Pornhub boys too.  When the soundtrack isn't rumbling with ominous portent, Charlie XCX pop songs take over, adding to the overall sense of overcooked excess.

     As wacky and frenzied as it all is, we embraced the movie and...yes, damn well enjoyed all of its stunning imagery and melodrama brought to a full boil. Whether you love it or loathe it, Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' represents a singular vision that stands out in sea of big budget, play-it-safe mediocre filmmaking.

        At BQ, we support any director who's got guts enough to swing for the fences even at the risk of colossal failure and/or ridicule, and we don't mind saying we'll be first in line for whatever Emerald Fennell cooks up next.  

     3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2).

          

'WHEN I KILL YOU'.....HER PAST AND PRESENT......EQUALLY FILLED WITH DREAD, DANGER AND DEATHS....

 When I Kill You by B.A. Paris (2026)

     The dual timeline plot construction comes close to borderline annoying, the lead heroine is pretty much a whiny mess and the killer's repetitive musing about their stalking and stabbing might prompt a reader to yell out, "Oh, shut up already will ya?"

     But I must say, leave it to B.A. Paris to overcome all those clumsy stumbles and still deliver a twisty, fun read, packed with mysterious deaths and no shortage of suspects and startling moments.

     Elle Nugent had to fashion a whole new life and identity for herself after her amateur pursuit of a man she believed to be a murderer ended with incredible tragedy - with herself facing jail time and branded as a public pariah. Now living as Nell Masters, she has a new French-American boyfriend, Alex, a host of close new friends and a wonderful inherited house in London.

     But Elle's two lives, unfolding in alternating past and present chapters, are both filled with anxiety, danger and a constant sense of oncoming dread. In the past, her relentless stalking and harassment of the man she's sure she saw abducting a murdered girl goes horribly off the rails. In the present, she's convinced she's now the one being followed and worried that her tortured past and terrible mistakes have come back to do more than just haunt her and aggravate her guilt.

     As expected in a B. A. Paris thriller, I couldn't stop turning the pages and of course stayed up a little later than I wanted, just to find out what happens next. And that just sounded like a 4 star recommendation, so I don't think I need blather on any further. Fine read from an author who never disappoints.

     4 stars (****) and a thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the advance read in exchange for an honest review. 

'MURDER WILL OUT'....WHO KILLED WHO ON THE SPOOKY MAINE ISLAND.....THE STILL BREATHING OR THE DEAD?

  Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove (2026)

     This one's jam packed with stuff I usually love. Remote little islands off the New England coast. Spooky mansions. Family secrets stretching back decades. And.......ghosts.

     'Murder Will Out' is filled to the brim with all of that but the real task at hand for an author is to find a way to smoothly blend them all together. And that where I'm afraid this book didn't quite get it done for me.

     I was taken with the idea that Little North Island and its notorious Cameron House are populated with more ghosts than the passenger list of the 'Titanic'. And that keeping track of the Cameron family genealogy is like sifting through the March Madness basketball brackets.

     But our lead character suddenly thrust into all of this murderous paranormal mish-mash, Willow Stone isn't particularly relatable or likable, nor are much of the supporting cast either. (Though I did get a real kick out of the nasty, crotchety, crumbling old geezer who's one of the still living possible heirs hoping to inherit the creepy house with more ghosts than dust bunnies. Willow's late Godmother was a devoted companion to the late owner of the mansion......and yes, there seems to be a bunch of people who've gone 'late' one way or another.. And they all had something to do with that house. Hmmm.....

     Every so often there are bursts of genuine humor in this book and it desperately could've used a whole lot more of them. And the setting for the melodramatic, cinematic Grand Finale is telegraphed way way ahead of time. (But for all I know, that might be intentional on the author's part, promising us a Hitchcockian fight-to-the-the-finish if we'll just hang around long enough for it.)

     Well I did hang round long enough and found 'Murder Will Out', with all its flaws, a mildly entertaining read. Not the worst choice for a rainy night or a suitable kinder, gentler pick for Halloween.

     3 stars (***). (And I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance read in exchange for an honest review.)

WEEKEND MADNESS WRAP-UP......SPECIAL 'BUT THE DOW IS UP 50,000 POINTS!!!' EDITION.....

 

Stress free (and Trump free) weekend to all weary BQ visitors and all Americans and Europeans shaking their heads in disbelief at this weekly lava flow of madness......

BQ will be helping a family member celebrate a birthday this Monday, so see you Tuesday with hot-off-the-presses reviews of two fascinating book thrillers!....and more movies too!

'MATERIALISTS'....THE.RICH AND THE POOR ROMANCING IN NYC.....OVERWRITTEN AND UNDERPERFORMED.....

 Materialists (2025)

      This slight, negligible romantic drama, tailored for film festival culture vultures, came and went within a few weeks.

       Nobody missed anything.......of that we can assure you, having seen it. 

        Written and directed by Celine Song ("Past Lives"), it's a static, verbose slog tracking the romantic ups and downs of professional matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson). She's the star employee of Adore, a posh outfit that prizes itself on its number of perfected calibrated pairings that end up in marriages. 

        But clouds form on Lucy's sunny, well paid life. She's unable to find a suitable match for herself;  she's happily comfortable with her expensive New York lifestyle, leading to her breakup with John (Chris Evans) who's still a struggling impoverished actor eking out a living as a caterer's waiter  (As a former actress Lucy and John used to struggle together.....)

       At the wedding of one of her clients, she runs into John who's there as a server,  but also encounters the smoothly charming and wealthy brother of the groom Harry (Pedro Pascal).....and sparks are struck with Harry and maybe re-ignited with John.

        And hence, Lucy's dilemma :  What's girl to do when faced with this singularly different choice of men agog for her?  Harry's her perfect match-up, given his station and her own attraction to material things. But then there's earnest, heart-on-his-sleeve John, who can offer her little but his eternal love and affection.

         Old school Hollywood used to tell this story countless times with sparkling dialogue and live wire performances from their leading man and ladies. Celine Song chooses to overthink and overwrite every single scene in the film, slowing the story down to a muddled crawl. After awhile, film's three characters sound like they're providing DVD commentary on what they're doing instead of acting out the story. 

        It's bad enough that Song slows her movie down to a crawl, but what really puts the nail in the coffin is the monotone performance of Dakota Johnson.

         Pascal and Evans have charm and charisma to spare, while Johnson's very limited range is painful to behold and she sucks the life out of the film playing a role clearly constructed for someone with acting chops.....like a Florence Pugh or Alicia Vikander. (An actual skilled performance might have at least given this stillborn movie something close to pulse.....)

         We'll admit Celine Song has serious essential points to make here.....about how the pursuit of moneyed success fuels today's modern relationships, as opposed to the simple primal quest for pure love. But she makes her film a lifeless, dry academic lecture.....more likely to put us to sleep than engage us with the story. 

         A waste of time nothingburger whose aspirations to high art fall flat. And Johnson's in desperate need of an acting coach.

         Zero stars (0).

         

       

'MURDER BIMBO'......A VILE POLITICIAN MEETS HIS MOST UNLIKELY ASSASSIN.....

 Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack (2026)

     Who could possibly resist that title and the whole premise? A sex worker recruited to assassinate a rising right-wing politician? Visions of a wild, crazy reading thrill ride danced in my head.......promising a tasty mashup of feminist rage and power colliding with all our turbulent current events.

     Not quite what I ever expected though......

     What we got in reality came across as 90 percent verbose, at times impenetrable literary fiction. All of it's narrated by the unidentified Murder Bimbo herself who over the course of the book's three acts, proves herself to be the world's most dedicated Unreliable Narrator. In a few sparse, occasional sections, the book crawls out of our Murder Bimbo's' morass of yakety-yak to entertain us with scenes of her recruitment and preparation by a small collection of men who may or may not be government agents, neo-Nazis or both. One thing remains certain - that the death of the loathsome politico (only referred to as Meat Neck) with his dangerous views, rampant misogyny and history of sexual assault, would make the world a better, safer place without him in it. . Especially in light of Ms. Bimbo's previous, ugly encounter with him.

     To be fair to author Rebecca Novack, there are more than a few passages when her prose truly takes flight, Our conflicted narrator, Murder Bimbo, sometimes takes us right into the very essence of her multi-faceted personality and how she sees the world at large (and vice versa) And we can hardly blame her for her tenuous grasp of the truth, existing amid the divisive, combative world she's trying to survive in. There's some undeniably brilliant, quotable writing that erupts on these pages from time to time, which explains why I felt I couldn't rate the book anything above or below 3 stars.

     An adventurous, iconoclastic read, that's for sure. But demanding patience to experience and appreciate. And nobody should let that title and description seduce them into thinking they're in for some kind of suspenseful, thrill-a-minute whoop-dee-doo. Not that kind of a book

     3 stars (***)..