'HEIST ROYALE'.....THOSE TEEN THIEVES ARE BACK IN ACTION....AND BACK IN SERIOUS TROUBLE

  Heist Royale by Kayvion Lewis (2024)

     The Junior Varsity 'Ocean's 11' crew are back in action and for everyone who loved the impossible heists in their first book, 'Thieves Gambit' here come even more.....with a heaping dose of the ever-so-slow burning romance between dedicated, dire enemies Ross and Devroe.

     As you can see from the above description, this is the second book in a series and as far from a stand-alone as you can get. I'd highly recommend 'Heist Royale' as a terrific escapist romp but only after you've read the first one. Otherwise, you'll spend a frustrating time playing catch-up with the various rivalries, blood feuds, backstories and character clashes.

     Our severely star-crossed couple, expert teen thieves Rosalyn 'Ross' Quest and Devroe Kenzie live to out-heist each other, with Ross's deep hatred and fear of the Kenzie family fueled by the events of the previous book....(which I couldn't even begin to describe in any detail, which brings me back to what I said about this not being a stand-alone)

     Once again they're pitted against each other, along with their internationally diverse collection of fellow teen heist-meisters. And once again, the all powerful 'Organization' is running another 'Gambit' an anything-goes 'Hunger Gamer'-like thieving Olympics for adolescent felons.

     As a prize, the Organization offers an all encompassing 'wish', and by that I don't just mean a trip to Disneyland or a new washer-dryer. As for losers, given the amount of danger they expose themselves to, they've a good chance of ....well....not making it into the next book.

     This particular Gambit, set off by a deadly power struggle within the upper echelons of the Organization, makes the heists even more spectacularly insurmountable, which means a whole lot more suspense, danger and fun for us readers. The primary set piece has our competing crews of heist-inators ripping off a luxurious but shady casino......and coming up against an adversary they didn't bargain for.

I loved all the characters, the sharp byplay and the many twists and turns, but again I'd warn against trying to read this without first immersing yourself in 'Thieves Gambit' .A great reading double feature.

         4 stars (****).....(and if you meet anyone like the crew in this book and shake their hands.....remember to count your fingers....)

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'OUT IN THE COLD'....ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SUPER AGENTS NEEDS TO SAVE THE WORLD FOR US AGAIN....

 Out In The Cold by Steve Urszenyi (2024)

      She's back.......and we can all sleep safer knowing that very Special Agent Alexandra Martel is ferreting out global villainy and sending terrorists of all varieties to their well deserved doom.

     Author Steve Urszenyi has put together another breathless, action packed mission for Alex to unleash her skills as a fearless warrior and expert sniper. This time she's up against another hive of Machiavellian mischief designed to bring the world to the brink of Def-Con Bye Bye Bye.

     Alex and her former Interpol chief (and mentor) barely survive an all out assault by unknown mercenaries and that's just the beginning. Somehow, Alex's tangle with these bad buys relates to more damaging attacks on Finland, newly initiated into NATO. Naturally, the one and only usual suspect is Russia......or is somebody else out to stir the pot of boiling world turmoil?

      Now attached to a CIA unit, who better than Alex Martel to hunt down and battle the perpetrators, even if her rogue independence confounds and frustrates her CIA bosses....(not to mention her fellow CIA compadre Caleb, who's carrying a flaming torch for Alex.).

      This book's a pure, adrenalin-pumped thrill ride, loaded with explosive violent action and populated with a full contingent of Washington D.C. power players, none of whom can possibly contain Alex when she's out to bring down whoever's up to no good. Author Urszenyi works in much of today's international anxieties into the story which only makes us hope that Alex never decides to retire.

     A must for all thriller fans and everyone waiting for the next James Bond movie.....here's a 5 star world-saving agent whose exhilarating adventures you can plunge into right now.

      5 stars (*****).....long may Alex shoot, kick and punch....

  

'THE SUNFLOWER HOUSE'.... HEARTBREAK, ROMANCE AND PERIL IN NAZI GERMANY.....

  The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri (2024)

        This may be the first book I've read this year what I wish I could rate higher than 5 stars.

        With this amount of heartbreaking drama, heart-aching romance and constant suspense and dread, , I couldn't race through the pages fast enough. This fact-and-fiction mash-up places its characters in the most harrowing, dangerous time and place in world history - 1939 Germany, where Hitler and Nazi-ism are spreading like a fast moving cancer.

       Caught in the maelstrom - orphaned teenager Alina Strauss, whose aunt and uncle have struggled keep the secret she's half-Jewish (or a "Mischling"). An SS raid leaves her remaining family slaughtered and Alina brutalized in every way possible. She finds herself consigned to work in one of the Third Reich's notorious 'baby factories' , hellish facilities designed to nurse and breed more Aryan babies to increase the 'Master Race' population.

        Traumatized, Alina still survives as a nurse-caregiver to babies and toddlers bred to worship Adolf Hitler. Then she's stunned to be befriended by a young SS officer, who's hiding some life-threatening secrets of his own. And from this point on, their lives become enveloped in mounting peril, and such powerful emotional moments, they're guaranteed to bring readers close to tears and/or on the edge of their seats.

        I'll give no more details other than to say 'The Sunflower House' kept me in a non-stop iron grip until I reached the final page. The lead characters may be fictitious but the all too true horrifying history surrounding them makes this one of most compelling reads I've come across this year.. Highest recommendation.

       5 stars (*****)for one the year's best so far.

POST ELECTION MADNESS WRAP-UP.....SPECIAL TRUMPOCALYPSE EDITION.....

 

To our beloved BQ visitors who drop in from all around the world.....

          We know what you want to ask us.....

        How could we, in the United States, let something so catastrophic happen......

         How could a majority of us choose one of the most depraved despicable human beings to ever walk the planet as a leader of our country and the Free World?

         We're now faced with the daunting, near impossible task of trying to answer that question.

         And guess what?  No matter what we theorize, at the end of the day........we don't have a clue. Not yet anyway. 

         One horrifying fact does stare everyone in the face:  We don't know America like we thought we did. 

          Not this America. Not an America that closed their eyes to Democracy, decency, empathy, morality, respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Not this America that has once again put themselves in the hands of a psychotic criminal. 

          Our only shred of hope?  Perhaps buyer's remorse will kick in when the less-than-rabid Trump voters realize what they've unleashed upon themselves. 

           And the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for" will hit them like a nuclear detonation. 

           Maybe even a real nuclear detonation.

           We're probably going to give up posting these 'Weekend Madness Wrap-ups' and completely lose ourselves in books and movies....

           What's the point, after all?  

           The United States embraced madness........and madness is what they're going to get....and fully deserve. 

           To paraphrase their Dear Leader, madness the likes of which they've never seen.

            God help us all.  

           

'PEEPING TOM' & 'TWISTED NERVE'.......BRITISH PSYCHOS ON THE PROWL.......

 Peeping Tom (1960) & Twisted Nerve (1968)   Eight years separate these two films, each with their own fascinating behind-the-scenes backstories......

            Both shared the same screenwriter, Leo Marks and both took a deep dive into the warped, murderous psychosis of their lead characters. 

             While Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' became a box-office and cultural sensation, across the Pond, director Micheal Powell's "Peeping Tom" sickened and outraged British movie critics and audiences. 

             Powell, the brilliant director of "The Red Shoes" and "Black Narcissus" saw his reputation destroyed and his career severely damaged.

             So what the hell upset everybody to much about 'Tom'?

            While Hitchcock constructed a tightly wound thrill ride 'Psycho' had minimal interest in the details of Norman Bates' split personality madness.....(it's tossed off at the end with that chatty psychiatrist's explanation.)

        'Peeping Tom', on the other hand, took you on a more-than-you-wanted-to-know through the sickness of Mark Lewis,(Carl Boehm) a film crew member and would-be documentarian.  From the first minute onward, you know Mark's a sick puppy, seen from the point-of-view of the 16mm camera he uses to stalk his women victims. 

           A childhood victim of disturbing physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his own father, Mark now works out his inner demons by fatally stabbing the women he films........essentially making 'snuff' movies for real........

            (To add to the overall horror, Mark runs amateur films of his childhood tortures made by his father......and enacted by director Powell and his own young son.....)

            Filmed in ripe, garish color by Otto Heller ("The Ipcress File"), the film also benefited from a top-of-the-line supporting cast (Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Miles Malleson) For an audience, it was nerve wracking and relentless in its depiction of a dark, damaged soul....(and applause to Boehm for the feat of making Mark both pathetic and scary all at the same time...)

            But the 1960 critics judged it an abomination, until decades later, when the film found an enthusiastic champion in Martin Scorsese. Now, it's heralded as a classic by audiences and critics alike......(keep in mind, American film critics didn't much care for 'Vertigo' or 'It's a Wonderful Life' either......)

            Now let's jump ahead 8 years to "Twisted Nerve", a psycho-on-the-loose thriller co-written by Leo Marks and its director Roy Boulting. 

             Unlike 'Peeping Tom', there's precious little filmmaking skill on display here. Overall, it's visually unimaginative and borderline tedious in its plotting. Roy Boulting is most assuredly not Micheal Powell....

           But before slipping into total (and mostly deserved) obscurity, the film absorbed controversial heat for its offensive premise, based on some dubious genetic theory that Leo Marks must have stumbled on while researching the script. 

           What the story implies in its opening scene earned it an immediate disclaimer tacked on to prints of the film when it hit theaters - that the gene causing a child's ' 'Mongolism' (the crude antiquated term for Down Syndrome) could also render the child's sibling a sociopath, devoid of empathy, humanity and morals. 

           Yeah, sure. Right, guys.....whatever you say......

           The movie wastes no time laying out this specious idea.......we see normal young handsome guy Martin (Hywell Bennet) visiting his Down Syndrome brother at a children's care facility. After the personable young Martin confers with this brother's doctor, the doc silently ponders whether Marty's afflicted brother has made Marty nuttier than a fruitcake. 

             Oh yeah, he is. We know this right away as the film launches into the one and only thing it's still remembered for - Bernard Herrmann's creepy catchy whistling theme.....(later borrowed by Quentin Tarentino for "Kill Bill Vol.1)

            Spoiled psychopath that he is, Martin worms his way into the sympathy and good graces of ultra-sweet Susan (Hayley Mills). This he accomplishes by pretending he's a mentally challenged young adult whose mind stop developing around 10 years old. 

             More weirdness occurs when Susan convinces her disapproving mother (Billie Whitelaw) to allow Martin to stay at their large home that they've rented out to a few other boarders. 

             We wish we could tell you that at this point the move kicks into suspenseful high gear and that it proceeds to shred your nerves (twisted or otherwise) and makes you shiver 'n shake.

           Nope. Not gonna happen. 

           Director Boulting knows nothing about how to direct an effective thriller and it shows in every flat, slowly paced scene. With his constant use of slow fades to black, the film feels like it's already dead and buried and he's hammering the last nails in the coffin. 

           A few plus marks here and there......Hayley Mills, then 22, never looked more adorably lovely, and the always live wire Barry Foster is around to liven things up as one of the boarders....(and whom Hitchcock later chose to play the mad strangler in "Frenzy").

             And don't forget Herrmann's wonderful, ominous whistling, which helps to give the film the sense of dread its director couldn't supply. 

             For Peeping Tom, 5 stars (*****) an essential for all cinema lovers.

              For Twisted Nerve, 2 stars (**)....and that's primarily for Hayley Mills and Bernard Herrmann.

             

           

           

       

             

'THANKSKILLING' .....SERVED UP UNWELL DONE.....

 

ThanksKilling (2008).......Even for a rock-bottom, bottom-the-barrel movie like this one, we try mightily to come up with at least one positive thing to say......

            Here's the positive:  It's only 70 minutes long.

            Here's the negative:  Everything else. 

            Don't get us wrong here. We're not objecting to the idea of a mutated, wisecracking killer turkey going on a Thanksgiving rampage. 

            Why not?  As of today, more than half the U.S. electorate signed on for another four years of Donald Trump.....turning over the entire country to a wisecracking demented dope who may very well end us all........

            So why not throw in a foul-mouthed fowl to add to the fun, raping and slashing for the pure unbridled fun of it?

            We're even willing to overlook the Roger Corman-sized budget these fillmmakers worked with......considering their meager funds and the one-take-let's-move-on shooting schedule, they did the best they could, given their limitations. 

            But speaking of limitations......the cast. Give them a pass? No, our generosity only goes so far. 

            As a favor to them, we'll not mention the names of these woeful non-entities or any of their few skimpy credits (entirely in films that sound as equally dire as 'ThanksKilling')

            We can't decide who's absorbing the most pain here......us, as we watch these stiffs make futile attempts to deliver emotions and dialogue in front of a camera......or the stiffs themselves, if they actually did realize how humiliated and foolish they appear.

           Let us move now on to the real star of the film, the homicidal gobbler-puppet.....

           Resembling one of those creatures from Jim Henson's "The Dark Crystal", he doesn't move well but looks suitably threatening. The filmmakers thought having him mutter 'motherf****r' was screamingly funny. But every so often the bird comes up with a few bravura moves - screeching 'Gobble Gobble!' as he claws his way out of some poor guy's stomach. (Don't even ask how he got there.)

          Of course theTurk-inator can also drive a car......and rape a girl from behind with orgiastic abandon. Because....well, because he can. ("You've been stuffed!" the bird shrieks with to his already dead victim......)

           He also puts on a slight disguise and convinces the 'final girl' lead actress that he's her father. Given the catatonic performance of the actress, you could really believe she couldn't tell the difference between her father and a cackling demonic turkey. 

           As much as we're tempted to give this movie the lowest rating possible (or maybe delve into minus numbers), we realized this one makes perfect viewing for those hosting a beer soaked bash to ridicule a movie just like Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

            If that's your pleasure, feel free to carve up 'ThanksKilling'. For that purpose we'll give it 1/4 of 1 star.  But maybe, after you and your guests are done hurling popcorn at the screen, follow it up with a good movie........

           

           

          

'THE GARDENER'S PLOT'.....WHO PLANTED THE GUY WHO'S PUSHING UP DAISIES?

 The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit (2024)

     Overall, a pleasant soothing read. But fans of quirky cozies might find this one bland and a little too connect-the-dots generic. Very skimpy on character development, which I'm assuming the author will continue to flesh out if this is the start of a series.

     Here's what I did like. Deborah J. Benoit's love of the art and craft of gardening comes through in almost every page. Her descriptions make the hard work and joy involved in developing a 'green thumb' accessible to readers like me - who think of gardening as unattainable to comprehend, as geometry, chemistry and quantum physics.

     I also loved the darkly humorous discovery of the body buried in the community garden, with one foot sticking out.....like something you'd see in one of the more mischievous Alfred Hitchcock TV series episodes. That scene led me to believe that maybe I was in for some kind of oddball black comedy, but the book left me sadly disappointed in that area. There's not a shred of humor in sight anywhere.

     The rest of "The Gardener's Plot" was simply okay at best, with amateur gardening sleuth Maggie and best friend Sally deciding to go about Miss Marple-ing the small down in search of the killer. Their constant detecting naturally doesn't sit well with police detective Quinn, leading to countless repetitious warnings for them to knock it off.

     There is, however, a well done harrowing showdown with the murderer, but with characters this thinly drawn, it's hard to work up any genuine excitement about it.

     I suspect cozy lovers won't want to miss this, but if Maggie and Sally's mystery-solving careers continue, there's some huge room for improvements here.

     3 stars (***). Not the sharpest tool in the cozy shed......

PRE-ELECTION MADNESS WRAP-UP.....THE EVE OF VOTE-A-GEDDON.....KEEP THE U.S.A.? OR FLUSH IT AWAY?

 As we type this, we stand one day away from possibly the most momentous day in history for this country and the world. 

    Do we hold on to the United States Of America the way it was conceived 248 years ago? Do we affirm our beliefs in decency, morality, the rule of law.....and Democracy.

     Or do we flush it all down the toilet and reduce ourselves to Medieval serfs forced to live under the thumb of a deranged would-be King and his fawning minions?

       Hold your breath. Stay tuned. Pray. 

       

'THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL'.....OLD SCHOOL VHS HORROR....FOR BETTER OR WORSE....

The House Of The Devil (2009)....has a lot of fans among horror pundits, purists and even casual popcorn gobblers who wouldn't know Ti West from Ty-rannosaurus.

        West, the creator of the 'XXX'-'Pearl'-'Maxxxine' trilogy, wrote directed and edited this unique, deliberate throwback to 1980's horror films.....(for you young 'uns' who weren't around in that era, these were videocassettes you settled for when the video store clerk told you all the copies of "Ghostbusters" were rented out for the night.....)

      With even more ambitious intent, West mixed in the '80's teen slasher genre with the '70's Satan-run-amuck movies touched off by "The Exorcist" and "The Omen". (Believe us when we tell you that during that decade, the Devil became as big an A-Lister as Burt Reynolds, Barbra Streisand and Steve McQueen)

      West's gimicky stunt here wasn't much different than Peter Bogdanovich copying 1940's films ("What's Up Doc", "The Last Picture Show") or Quentin Tarantino channeling all the grindhouse junk he absorbed while working in a video store.

      "The House Of The Devil" is shot in 16 millimeter, reducing the visuals to the grainy, soft focus of a worn out VSH tape. And that minimalism also applies to the story.....

        Cash strapped college cutie Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) unwisely accepts a babysitting gig in a Creepy Old House in that well know location, the Middle Of ****in' Nowhere. She's driven there by her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig, in her Indie Ingenue career phase). 

        In the Creepy Old House, she meets Creepy Couple the Ullmans (Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, both familiar from playing Creepy People in '80's films) They just need her to watch over Mrs. U's barely seen or heard invalid old mother. 

         From this point, the film tests an audience's patience to the max, eating up almost an hour of running time devoted to Samantha's wandering about the house. Little by little she (and we) discover there's something seriously twisted and evil going on in Creepy House......(which was already predicted by a previous shock surprise thrown at us earlier....)

          As the Guru Of All Horror Wisdom Stephen King once remarked, ' Sooner or later, you gotta go Booga Booga'....and finally Ti West unleashes unholy hell upon poor Samantha......which of course leads to the Ironic Twist Epilogue designed to leave you slightly queasy. 

         While we duly admired the meticulous recreation of fundamental suspense filmmaking techniques, the draggy first hour soured us and the Ironic Twist is stupid on multiple levels......(but we couldn't tell you why without a jumbo Spoiler Alert. )

         For horror completists, we suppose this one counts as an essential......but count us out from the crowd who judge it as clever and terrific.

         Nope.  2 stars at best. (**).

PRE-ELECTION MADNESS WRAP-UP....SPECIAL EDITION: 5 DAYS TO VOTE-A-GEDDON - NEW DAY OR DOOMSDAY?

 

Trump unleashes his most unhinged behavior ever as election day looms......assuring his supporters that no traces of sanity, morality or decency will interrupt his campaign......

Trump and his minions seize upon Joe Biden's senile gaffe that made him sound like he called Trump supporters 'garbage...conveniently forgetting that Trump himself called all of America a garbage can.....on purpose. 

Trumpanzee Oligarchs who own the L.A.Times and Washington Post muzzle their editors from endorsing Kamala Harris.....and Jeff Bezos fails to win back over 200,000 Washington Post readers who cancelled their subscriptions by offering them free next day delivery on any air fryer of their choice.....

Thousands of women voters cast their votes early, most likely paying Trump back for ripping away their right to reproductive health care......Trump claims that women can't wait him to protect them and promises to personally squeeze the crotch of any women who takes a selfie of herself voting for Trump.....

Sean Hannity describes Trump's win will be like a Daddy who's come home to spank all of us naughty children.....and claims Trump promised him he'd autograph Hannity's dog-eared, stained copy of "Lolita".....

Trump's 'Garbage Man' stunt goes somewhat awry when he's barely able to reach out to the truck's door handle...."I went carefully since I was afraid the enormous power in my hands would tear the door right off...."

As his parting pre-election shot to women, Trump promises to protect them "Whether they like it or not".....to which millions of women in America remark..."Hard pass".