Watching: TOP 10 FILMS OF 2020!

Every year for thirteen years, as of 2020, I have been tracking my movie watching, making sure to see at LEAST 50 new (to me, at least) films every year. I missed in 2020, big-time, watching only 31 new films (thanks, COVID); there were lots of changes to my personal life in 2020, and I found myself falling more into the world of books, finding even sitting down to watch a film difficult as I would suddenly have all the attention span of a goldfish. This, combined with the fact I saw a fair share of middling/mediocre films this year, made it easier than the books to narrow down to a Top 10 - though I still managed to include a couple of re-watches on the list, just because they are such personal favorites of mine. 

Again, these are films I WATCHED in 2020 - not that were necessarily RELEASED in 2020 - and the list is, again, in NO particular order; my opinions my own. Hopefully you've seen all of these; if not, you should. Each, in its way, is pretty terrific!

#10 - Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020/PG-13, directed by Osmany Rodriguez). A teenage boy from the Bronx fights to save his neighborhood from gentrification when he and his friends discover their entire borough is quickly being bought up by nothing short of a pack of vampires. This low-budget gem is decent on story, terrific on performances, and is in places so funny I found myself laughing out loud at the awesome "Stranger Things"/Lost Boys mash-up. Loved it!

#9 - Jojo Rabbit (2019/PG-13, directed by Taika Waititi). Waititi, of What We Do in the Shadows fame, takes his place both behind and in front of the camera (playing Hitler, no less), giving heart and soul to this WWII drama about a young boy, recruited into Hitler's army, who finds his blind loyalty tested when he learns his own mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. What will Hitler, his imaginary friend, say? With equal doses of pathos and dark humor, this brilliant, moving film is one of those few that can make you shed both happy and sad tears in its 108-minute runtime. Oscar winner for Waititi's Best Adapted Screenplay; deservedly so.

#8 - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018/PG, directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman). Miles Morales is a street-savvy teen (and pretty awesome graffiti artist) in New York City who, like Peter Parker, is bitten by a spider that imbues him with super-spider-like abilities. This, however, is only the beginning of Miles's troubles, when a villain to end all villains makes it necessary for Miles to join forces with five other Spideys, each from a dfferent dimension, to stop a machine that could destroy all their realities at once. Great script, voice performances, action, story, and popping animation - it's all here, and it's all incredible to watch. Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film, and boy did Oscar get it right. 

#7 - Good Boys (2019/R, directed by Gene Stupnitsky). IMDb sums this one up best, I think: "Three 6th-grade boys ditch school and embark on an epic journey while carrying accidentally-stolen drugs, being hunted by teenage girls, and trying to make their way home in time for a long-awaited party." It's foul-mouthed and hilarious and probably not for everyone, but I laughed until I almost wet myself. 

#6 - Charlie Chan in Rio (1941/Not Rated, directed by Harry Lachman). REWATCH. I grew up enamored of the alternating Sherlock Holmes/Charlie Chan classic films that WGN would show on Sundays at noon, and while I know the Chan films aren't exactly politically correct (what was, in 1941, movie-wise?), to this day the nostalgia they bring and light, comedic mysteries most of them contain still keep me watching over and over. This is a personal favorite, largely due to the on-screen relationship/banter between Charlie and #2 son Jimmy, in a story where Chan goes to Rio de Janeiro to arrest nightclub chanteuse Lola Dean, who murdered a man in Honolulu ... only to find the beautiful singer stabbed to death in a houseful of suspects when he arrives with the local police in tow. One of the best in the series, and watching these always feels like going home again.

#5 - 1917 (2019/R, directed by Sam Mendes). It takes a lot for me to love a war film, and this one's a masterpiece of direction and acting, the camera following along in what Mendes was going for as a continuous-loop feel (as Hitchcock attempted in Rope), sucking viewers into the story as we watch a pair of young British soldiers at the western front on April 6, 1917, as they are tasked with the duty of taking an urgent message to another regiment - literally crossing through enemy territory at the height of the fighting - that will, if delivered, save 1600 soldiers from walking into a trap that will otherwise mean their deaths. And suck  you in the film will; not one frame is wasted as we follow the inexperienced, scared-out-of-their wits young men into the fray, feeling like we're right behind them getting a cinematic taste of the horrors of war through their eyes. Amazing, at times heartbreaking, film. Three-time Oscar winner for Best Achievement in Cinematograhy, Visual Effects, and Sound Mixing - and it shows in every minute on the screen.

#4 - Knives Out (2019/PG-13, directed by Rian Johnson). Possibly the most talked-about comedy of 2019, this comedy-mystery boasts an all-star cast of familiar faces, each of them deliciously chewing scenery as we follow what happens when the elderly head of a rich and super-eccentric family is found murdered ... and pretty much every member of his whack-job of a family wanted him dead. It's a big job for the pair of detectives sent to investigate the crime, and Knives Out - feeling like a bit of a throwback to something like, say, Neil Simon's Murder by Death - quickly becomes a Clue-like game of lies and deception and ulterior motives, the plot ultimately twisting and turning until you're not exactly sure what's going on - and then sort of gasp when the final twist reveals the solution. Genuinely funny and beautifully written, while I didn't quite gush about this film as much as many of its more rabid fans have, it was still a super-easy, no-brainer of a pick for my Top 10.

#3 - Forgotten (2017/TV-MA directed by Zhang Hang-jun). I love Korean cinema so much it makes my chest ache, and this film is a perfect example of why. Here we follow a young man, Jin-seok, who has just moved into a new home with his parents and older brother, when on one rainy night soon after he witnesses his brother being forced into a van and kidnapped. The police seem to be of no help, even when Jin-Seok can provide a license plate number, and no ransom demand comes ... but nineteen days later Jin-Seok's brother suddenly reappears, perfectly fine and with no memory at all of where he has been or what happened to him. Or maybe not so perfectly fine, as Jin-seok begins to notice small tells, little changes in his brother appearance and behavior, that eventually have him convinced the man who returned home is not really his brother at all. If you've watched any modern Korean thrillers, you know that just when you think you have what's going on figured out ... nope, the film veers onto a different, wholly confusing track, and you realize (more often than not) that what you thought and what's really going on are two entirely diffeernt things. Such twists happen a few times in Forgotten, it's a film you have to sit and watch - no bathroom breaks or trips for food (unless you pause the film) if you don't want to get lost - but man oh man, is it worth it all when the truth is finally revealed. Not the most upbeat film, but a mind-blower worth your attention.

#2 - The Little Foxes (1941/Not Rated, directed by William Wyler). REWATCH. Lillian Hellman's iconic play of a corrupt, money-hungry family in turn-of-the-century deep south has at its apex a career-defining role for none other than Bette Davis as Regina Giddens, formerly Regina Hubbard and proud member of the ridiculously rich Hubbard family, which has been doing their best for years to bleed the local community of whatever wealth they can use to line their own pockets. Regina has a block of ice where her heart should be, never more on display than when she tries to bully her invalid husband - recently returned home after a massive heart attack - into investing in her crooked brother's latest, and even more crooked, scheme. The film doesn't hit a single false note, and while a quiet drama on its surface, watching the story unfold as Regina tries wresting control of both her family and her husband to suit her own narcissistic needs is so brilliant, it's almost painful to watch. Powerful and magnetic, especially whenever Davis is on-screen; you hate her, but can't stop watching her.

#1 - Onward (2020/PG, directed by Dan Scanlon). Pixar's brilliant and beautiful fantasy about two young male elves from the suburbs - brothers - who go on an epic quest to bring back their deceased father for just one day, ranks up there with the studios best, as the brothers encounter dangerous traps, magic spells, and a confusing map on their journey, all the while not knowing that they're completely ticked-off mother is also coming after them the entire time. To say much more wold go into spoiler territory, but both from a writing and animation standpoint this film is nothing short of stunning; a heartwarming, funny, and action-packed film that adults and kids would equally enjoy. Keep a tissue or two handy, as always with Pixar.

Reading: TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2020!

I read 91 books in 2020 - the Year from Hell for most of us - and from children's books to incredible and complex novels, it was a great year in reading for me; so much so, once I finally jotted down twenty titles I'd place among my favorites, it felt nearly impossible to narrow them down to my Top 10. Disclaimer: these are books that weren't necessarily published in 2020, I just read them in 2020. They are also in no particular order ... with the exception of my #1, which became my favorite book of the year when I finished reading it on June 1st of 2020, and never got bumped from the top spot after that.

Again, the rest are in no particular order, and I could easily have made a top twenty list; that's how good a reading year 2020 was for me. Good to know 2020 was good for something!

#10 - Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks. Book three in the Jane Prescott mystery series, set in Gilded Age New York City, finds Jane coming to the rescue of her uncle when he comes under suspicion in the grisly death of a young woman, a former resident of his women's refuge. Great writing, great mystery, all set in my favorite city, and Fredericks doesn't spare readers the slightly more grisly details of the violence rooted in real evil here. 

#9 - Dover Two by Joyce Porter. Book two in the Dover series, originally published in the 1960's, finds the belligerent, narcissistic, lazy and self-serving pompous inspector dispatched (by bossess all too happy to be rid of him) to a small village in northern England, when a young woman - shot in the head by an unknown assilant eight years ago, and left in a coma - is smothered to death in her hospital bed. Are the murderer, and attempted murderer from eight year ago, the same person? And if so, why finish off a job eight years after it was first attempted? The imcompetent, overweight and inept detective has his work cut out for him, in one of the funniest - but also nicely-plotted - mysteries I've read in years.

#8 - The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers (Terry, Eric and Devin). Far beneath the busy, popular store Perfect Pets - where genetically-engineered "perfect" animals are created for children and their parent to buy and take home - sits a secret lab where the rejects, or not-so-perfect pets, live as "failures" and await their fate. One such "imperfect pet" is Barnabus - half mouse and half elephant - whose dreams of wanting, even deserving a life above-ground leads him to rally his imperfect friends together to plan an escape. The only kids/picture book to make my list (in a year when I read many, many good ones), this is a wondrous, touching story, made all the more joyous a read as it contains some of the most stunning, visually breathtaking artwork you will ever find between the covers of a book. 

#7 - Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany. The first in a new cozy mystery series finds Lily Roberts, new owner and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea tea shop after relocating from NYC to Cape Cod, in over her head when her take-no-prisoners grandmother Rose becomes the #1 suspect when a shady local real estate developer is murdered on her bed-and-breakfast property next door. I read some terrific cozies in 2020, but the marvelously rich characters and sharp, somewhat snarky humor of this veteran mystery writer's latest series debut felt a slight notch above the rest. 

#6 - The Survivors by Jane Harper. Due for release in the US in February, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Harper's latest after its release in Australia, and while not as good as The Lost Man (my favorite read of 2019), this is a compelling mystery about a youg man named Kieran Elliot who returns to his childhood home on the seaside coastal town of Evelyn Bay, on the Tasmanian island coast of Australia, where twelve years earlier a reckless mistake occurred that cost the life of Kieran's brother Finn and his best friend. Kieran, still battling the guilt that consumes him from his role in that fateful day, finds himself front and center when a young woman is found dead on the beach soon after his arrival; a death that stirs up a lot of old memories, anger, and suspicion that threatens to tear the town apart as Kieran himself begins to question the events of that day twelve years ago. Again, not as compelling a page-turner as its predecessor, but still a cracking read from Harper.

#5 - The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. Told in two timelines, this ghost story/mystery-thriller follows the sudden disappearance of a young woman - who worked and lived in the creepy Sun Down Motel in 1982 - and also that of her young niece, who arrives in the same small town of Fell in upstate New York in 2017, and takes the same overnight shift at the motel, determined to find out what happened to the aunt she never got to know. A creepy page-turner full of twists and turns I couldn't put down. So brilliant.

#4 - Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in 1950's Mexico, this chiller opens with beautiful, independent young socialite Noemi Taboada, who - after a frantic letter calling for help arrives from her recently-married cousin - finds herself traveling to a very remote area of the country to High Place, a crumbling, formerly-grand estate in the mountains where she finds herself unwelcomed by her cousin's husband and family, even as she immediately becomes convinced that something is very, very wrong here. This gothic thriller turns full-out horror about two-thirds of the way through, after which it becomes a rollercoaster ride that had me unable to put it down until I was done. Bizarre, genuinely unsettling, at times as creepy as a hand of rotting flesh touching your shoulder .. and wonderful. 

#3 - The Ickabog by J. K. Rowling. Like many, I became forever sworn off any new J. K. Rowling titles after her hateful and intolerant transphobic views came to light, but had for so long been curious about this originally-online project of hers - a fairy tale set in the kingdom of Cornucopia, in which greed and deception and a myth involving a great and murderous monster all theaten to topple the happy kingdom and its people - that this one became my swan song. Illustrated throughout via colorful drawings by children throughout the US and Canada who entered an online competition to be in the book, my initial frustration while reading this (the bad guys are so bad, after awhile it becomes a downer, as if nothing good happens to Cornucopia or the good peope who reside there for a long, long time) turned to fascination upon realizing that what Rowling has written here is more in keeping with the tone of a Grimm's fairy tale over the Disney-fied fairy tales many of us have grown to know today. Once I settled into that groove, I sat back and enjoyed the story like few others I have this year, especially after the "big reveal" toward the book's end. My last Rowling, but thankfully a good one; I'm just not so sure, with all the violence and death throughout, how appropriate this might be for younger kids.

#2 - I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee. The only debut author on this list, I rushed to finish this YA novel before midnight on New Year's Eve because I had known - from about page nine - that it was going to make my Top 10. Set in the world of K-Pop (Korean pop music, of which I have been a fan for ... well, ten years as of 2021), this follows Skye Shin, an overweight sixteen-year-old Korean-American girl in Orange County, California, who has spent her life being told what she can and can't do (even by her own mother, no less) because of her weight, who - after dancing and singing since childhood - sets her sights on entering (and winning) the L.A.- based TV competition show "You're My Shining Star", an "American Idol"- style show that sets up its winners (one for dance, one for singing) with the opportunity to train in South Korea to become the next K-Pop sensation. But getting in is only the start of a journey that finds the young, very self-confident teen butting head-to-head with an industry that is (to say the least) unkind in its fatphobia, as Skye also has to contend with a biased judge, nasty comments from her fellow contestants, a mother who shames her for her weight at every turn ... and the famous, exceptionally handsome Korean-American model, Henry Cho, who may be her strongest competition for the dance portion of the show, even as Skye starts to realize he might just not be the pompous, stuck-up jerk she assumed him to be. Growing up a bullied and weatherbeaten fat kid myself, who never felt the approval of one of his parents, Skye Shin absolutely burst into life for me from page one, and emotionally I could not have been more invested in all she goes through during the course of this endearing, funny, poignant, and heartwarming novel that head-on tackles fatphobia and all it entails while simultenously showcasing an inpiring, confident and lovable heroine who refuses to believe in the misconception that being more means you're actually less. Just one opinon, but to me every person who has ever been more than, say, twenty pounds overweight needs to read this book; you will find so much of yourself in it, and cheering for Skye all the way. Along with great "fat rep" there is also some terrific LGBTQ+ rep going on in this one, too.

#1 - The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. As much as I enjoyed - loved - American Gothic, Goodreads users got it sooo wrong (again) this year; Grady Hendrix's insane, aggressive and visceral novel should have won best of the year in the horror category. The "Steel Magnolias meets Dracula" mash-up attributed to this book is spot-on, as it tells the story of a group of wives in the south, who've formed a book club of sorts where they read true-crime thrillers their husbands would not be happy knowing about, and what happens when one of them comes across what appears to be a genuine vampire living right next door. While set in the 1990's, author Grady Hendrix has done a masterful job of making the book - and the women's group - come off situated in a very old-fashioned, "genteel" south, which of course makes the contrast of the nasty, violent and quite bloody shenanigans to come that much more a punch to the gut to read. Not for everyone - the violence/gore level gets quite off the charts toward the end - for me this was a near-masterpiece of dark humor, full-on horror, and social parody that feels set in a world long gone by. A book I still think about, certain scenes playing over and over in my head like a movie (truly, Hendrix is a gifted writer who lays cinematic images in your head like those slimy eggs in the Alien films) to this day. Oh, how I absolutely love this book. 

Reading: I'LL BE THE ONE - Lyla Lee

Prose (Story): Skye Shin is a sixteen-year-old Korean high school girl in southern California who has been singing and dancing since childhood ... with the full support of her father, who believes in her on a fanboy level, but - sadly - without the same level of support from her mother, who doesn't disapprove of Skye's skills so much as she does the attention they bring her. Because Skye has been a big girl all her life, and while her fatphobic mother spent her daughter's entire childhood trying to get Skye to lose weight and find either hobbies or a career less ... "public" ... Skye has instead now come to love and accept herself. So when the hottest new reality show on television comes to Los Angeles, searching for the next big K-pop star, Skye - much to her mother's horror and father's delight - is not only determined to enter, but win. It's an uphill battle from the auditions, with even one of the three judges blatantly telling the teenager there is no place in K-pop for a girl her size and to try and lose some weight first, but this only strengthens Skye's resolve. Acing both singing and dancing auditions, Skye finds herself in the middle of one cutthroat competition, where her talent, drive and energy are tested weekly as she makes new friends - faces increasing pressure, including from her own mother, to drop out - battles fatphobic comments and innuendos from all fronts - and even finds herself growing increasingly attracted to the hot celebrity contestant, Henry Cho, who is also one of her biggest competitors in dance ... all as the show brings her unexpected fame, some of it on the nasty side, that Skye is determined will not shake her resolve to become the first plus-sized K-pop sensation. 

Don's (Review): Oh, how I adore Skye Shin. It took her awhile to get to where she's not only accepted but embraced who she is as a person, and for that reason alone every teenager who's ever been labelled (or been made to feel) "fat" should read this book; in Skye, author Lyla Lee has created one of the bravest, strongest and most lovable characters in YA (or any) fiction, whose determination to win is only excelled by her determination to do it her way. Not only is the body positivity rep beautiful throughout, early on readers also learn that Skye is attracted to both boys and girls - though she's yet to date either - LGBT+ positivity becoming equally strong in the novel. The situation with Skye's father, who's currently living upstate for work and only comes home every other weekend, puts emphasis on just how strained her relationship is with her mother, whom Skye has to live with on a daily basis, and wow does that relationship come off 100% authentic - at times even uncomfortable, especially with my reading this having grown up a fat kid, as well. Even the rom-com aspect of the book, as Skye and Henry Cho get closer as friends, grows organically from the story and never feels fake or trope-y. But at its heart (and it's a big one), the book works so beautifully because of its heroine - a sixteen-year-old girl determined to make her dream come true without sacrificing who she is - and it's a joyful read. I finished reading it about 10pm on December 31st; just in time for it to easily become one of my Top 10 Books of 2020. Beautiful.  5/5 stars

Reading: DASHER: HOW A BRAVE LITTLE DOE CHANGED CHRISTMAS FOREVER - Matt Tavares

Prose (Story): Author/artist Matt Tavares revisits familiar territory with a fresh, colorful approach to tell the tale of a young, idealistic reindeer named Dasher, living day-by-day in a cramped traveling circus pen with her family, who longs to see a world her mother once told her about - where snow abounds as far as the eye can see, chill winds make the air crisp, and the North Star always shines overhead. When a timely accident seems to be telling Dasher its now or never, the young doe breaks free of the circus, vowing to return for her family soon as she finds this beautiful new, wintry home ... and after much searchng, it's only as she feels about to abandon this dream does Dasher come across a portly man in a red suit and full white beard in the forest, standing next to a beautiful sleigh, who will help her - and seek her help - to change Christmas for millions of kids around the world.

Don's (Review): Tavares not ony gives the bright-eyed Dasher a charming, wholly believable backstory in this wondrous picture book, he's also created a genuine work of art as you read through it, the wintry, yet warmth of the story both emanating off every page, giving you the old-fashioned feels of a re-watch of A Christmas Carol while reading. A must for any child's (or discerning adult's) library, and even worthy of owning two copies - ones to wear out over the years, via multiple holiday re-reads, the other to put up like your favorite keepsake ornament from childhood.  4.5/5 stars

Reading: STUDENT AMBASSADOR: THE MISSING DRAGON - Ryan Estrada (author), Axur Eneas (illustrator)

Prose (Story): When eight-year-old student ambassador Joseph Bazan wins a chance to meet the President of the United States, his positive energy and spirit so impress the leader of the free world, when Joseph solves a major trade issue, within minutes, the young boy finds himself further entrusted with a visit far overseas to a boy king his own age, Nang Nukatau III, who has just taken over his country after the death of his father - and now has his kingdom on the verge of war. Joseph arrives to find a bratty, insensitive and unyielding little dictator ... but when the palace is attacked the evening if their big "slumber party" both boys soon find themselves being chased across South Korea and then Japan, trying to escape some desperate bad guys wanting the young king, even as they also seek to learn the secret of the Missing Dragon, and why it's so important to the future of the world. 

Don's (Review): I absolutely LOVED this fun and funny graphic novel; Joseph is a cool, level-headed average kid caught up in an extremely odd situation, and while not the best student he is quite bright and courageous - and wholly patient, at least at first, with King Nang, who doesn't take too well to suddenly being thrust into a world where everyone around him isn't bowing and scraping to his orders (some of the funniest moments in the book). Good action, a good mystery, formidable bad guys, lots of humor (even of the sarcastic variety, thank goodness), and the bickering friendship that develops between the two boys - it all works, combining with great art by Axur Eneas that had me smiling and running through the pages, only to re-read the thing again anyway, once I'd finished. Hugely recommended for anyone - kid or adult - seeking a good action story mixed with humor and some terrific subtext about the importance of friendship. Hopefully this is the start of a series, as it seems; I am so in for the long haul!  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. 

Reading: THE WITCHES: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL - Roald Dahl (author), Pénélope Bagieu (illustrator)

Prose (Story): Roald Dahl's beloved bestseller gets the graphic novel treatment (the first time for any Dahl book) to tell the story of what happens when a boy and his grandmother - the boy turned into a mouse, no less - take on a hord of witches, led by the insatiably evil Grand High Witch herself, to try and foil her wicked plans to turn children into rodents thoughtout England ... and around the world.

Don's (Review): Having never read the original novel (though loving, with heart and soul, Anjelica Huston's terrific portrayal of the Grand High Witch in the film version), I was anxious to see how this story would translate to graphic novel form - and indeed, from early on when the chain-smoking granny and her grandson arrive for their seaside vacay, the close bond between the two is evident even as she fills him in on the fact that witches do exist - despise children - and therefore must teach how best to spot one (indeed, Bagieu's artwork very spot-on to the feel and tone of the book, feeling as "Roald Dahl" as the author himself). After accidentally sitting in on a conference room meeting of a whole gaggle of witches, gathered together at the same seaside hotel he and is grandmother are at as if on a convention, our hero is soon discovered and - along with a young girl - changed into a mouse by the cackling old broom-riders, the rest of the film devoted to the two mice-kids trying to get Granny to believe and help them, all while dodging extermination by hotel staff and trying to formulate a plan to stop the witches from making sure that children around the world share their fate. Colorful, charming, and a quick read, the graphic novel had me going strong about two-thirds of the way through, before - in its last act - it felt like the plot was rushed through and things were too-easily resolved, in order to quickly wrap up the book. Unsure if this is part of the original novel's plotting or changes made for the graphic novel version, but while I enjoyed this one a lot, in the end the story just felt tied up too quickly, and in too neat of a bow.  3/5 stars

Watching: ELLERY QUEEN'S PENTHOUSE MYSTERY (1941)

Director: James Hogan

69min/Not Rated

Prose (Story): Based on the radio play "The Three Scratches", this lighthearted whodunnit follows mystery writer/detective Ellery Queen (Ralph Bellamy) and his outspoken assistant/secretary Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay) when Nikki's friend tasks the duo with finding out what happened to her ventriloquist father ... and the large fortune in jewels he'd brought with him from China, as an emissary, when the man and his dummy and the jewels all vanish soon after arriving in New York.

Don's (Review): This so-so comedy-mystery with way too convoluted a plot benefits from the comedic touches provided by Margaret Lindsay as the earnest but fumbling secretary ... while at the same time suffers from a very lackluster Ellery Queen in Ralph Bellamy, who all but fades into the background via the other actors/characters, who have more presence (and even screen time, in some cases). Playing more on an espionage story than a straight-up whodunnit, viewers are let in early on as to who the bad guy behind it all is, and while the film doesnt hit too hard on Asian stereotypes as most films of its day did (the presence of Anna May Wong, though she's not given too much to do, is definitely a highlight), overall the film just comes off as fluff - without even a particularly engaging mystery - that's okay while you're watching it, but easily forgotten soon after.  2.5/5 stars  (NOTE: Link below is not just for the trailer, but the entire film.)

Watching: GIANT LITTLE ONES (2018)

Director: Keith Behrman

93min/Rated R

Prose (Story): Two good-looking, athletic, very popular high school boys - friends since childhood - find their lives and friendship changed forever one night when too much alcohol lets inhibitions slide into unfamiliar territory. 

Don's (Review): Writer/directr Keith Behrman takes a very well-known and overused trope - a pair of teenage boys, long-term friends, who finally give in to years of suppressed temptation one drunken night in the dark - and gives it a fresh spin on a couple of levels that elevate what might otherwise have been the same old story. Josh Wiggins stars as Franky Winter, a popular teen who's already seen his share of drama when his father recently left him and his mother after falling in love with another man and coming out. Franky's mother Carly (Maria Bello), the divorce still too fresh, is racked with anger and pain over what she feels like an entire marriage that was a lie, while Franky just feels like he doesn't know his father (Kyle McLachlan) anymore - and isn't sure he wants to do. It's something that goes undiscussed with Franky's best friend since childhood, Ballas Kohl (Darren Mann, who has amazing screen presence), even though the two boys' parents had all been friends for years; Ballas has his own at-home issues via his younger sister Tash (Taylor Hickson, in the film's breakout performance), who has become drawn and sullen - even self-destructive - having gone back to school after a traumatic incident left both her mind and reputation damaged. Franky and Ballas pursue girls, liquor, and high-rankings on the school's swim team ... until a little too much alcohol one night leads to some late fumbling in the dark - and soon a confused Franky is "outed" to his girlfriend and the school, causing a chain reaction of events that grow increasingly tense as the reaction to Franky's supposed "gayness" get ugly. I have to admit I was completely distracted, for like the first half of the film, by what was (to me) Josh Wiggins's startling similarity, in looks, to Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry. It made it difficult for me to remember that Franky's character was supposed to be straight, with a girlfriend, and while totally my fault it sort of kept me from sinking into the story completely for the longest. That said, one of the ways in which Behrman changed things up here, in his script, I hesitate to mention because it's a bit of a spoiler, but suffice to say that all hearts go out to Franky when he is "outed" ... even though he, let's just say, wasn't the one who deserved to be. As Franky finds himself shut more and more out of not just Ballas's life but also the swim team and even by his peers at school, he finds himself hanging out with Ballas's sister Tash, the two building a friendship that threatens Ballas's need to eradicate Franky from his life even more. Things get more and more tense, escalating, and here the film travels into more well-worn territory as far as what abuses and prejudice the newly-outed boy - who doesn't feel he's gay, nor wants to be (aye, there's the rub) - has to endure, while even trying to figure things out himself. The entire cast is great, Wiggins conveying Franky's pain yet also anger for being wronged by someone he thought he could trust - Darren Mann brilliant as a quiet pot about to boil over at all times, he's so unaccepting of it all (but especially of himself) - and Taylor Hickson as the broken Tash, trying to find where she belongs again, when she's not sure she even belongs at all, anymore. Well-done; not quite as emotional a viewing experience as I had thought it'd be, but still plenty of heart ... and wow do the three young leads in it - along with the couple out-of-the-box touches in Berhman's script - make it worth a watch.  3.5/5 stars

Watching: VAMPIRES VS. THE BRONX (2020)

Director: Oz Rodriguez

85 min/Rated PG-13

Prose (Story): A trio of kids, long-term friends from the Bronx, NY - Miguel (Jaden Michael), Bobby (Gerald W. Jones III) and Luis (Gregory Diaz IV) - find themselves in over their heads when Miguel's activism to save their neighborhood from being bought out/gentrified by a huge corporation unearths the fact that the so-called corporation is actually a front for a pack of vicious vampires ... and no adult will believe them.

Don's (Review): I'm not sure I could gush enough about how much I love - how much fun I had watching - writer-director Oz Rodriguez's horror-comedy hybrid (think "Stranger Things" meets The Lost Boys, set in modern-day Bronx). Jaden Michael is terrific as Miguel, passionate about saving his neighborhood by throwing fundraisers and block parties and rallying everyone together - while his friend Bobby (Jones, also excellent), already on the verge of being lured into a gang, is more cynical and disbelieving ... poor Luis (Gregory Diaz IV, probably my favorite of the trio; he is hilarious), the smallest and least brave of the group who at first just doesn't want to believe any of this is even real. But boy, can these three kids get bad-ass when they have to - even as the vampires do the same when the guy work to both figure out the location of their lair and (hopefully) get an adult to believe them, so they can have some help taking them down. The vamps are suitably bloodthirsty and evil, no glittery romance here, and though the film plays with much-used tropes and the characters are very "stock" to any horror film, it's the heart behind the actors' performances (especially the three leads) and the laugh-out-loud moments - and that rousing, wicked but funny final fight sequence for control of one of New York's proudest boroughs - that had me fist-pumping for not just the good guys on-screen but a city I myself love. If seeking a film that's nothing but pure, plain fun, with the right mix of horror and humor that will make you laugh and feel good, this one is kind of perfect.  4/5 stars

Watching: THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (2020)

Director: Jim Cummings

83 min/Rated R

Prose (Story): When a small, wintry mountain town seems to come under attack by a werewolf, mutilated bodies showing up after every full moon, it's up to John Marshall (writer/director/star Jim Cummings) - already under siege via raising a teenage daughter by himself and tackling alcoholism - to take over for his ailing sheriff father, to prove to his cop brethren and the town that the vicious killer is all too human.

Don's (Review): Just from reading the synopsis and viewing the trailer, I was SO stoked for this film; a werewolf stalking people under a full moon in the darkest nights of winter? And sure enough, the first "kill" kicks off some great, fairly grisly action (and chills), followed by some dark humor mixed in with the drama, as we see early on that (thankfully) the film doesn't take itself too seriously, either. Unfortunately, my hang-up right off was with the lead character, John Marshall, who comes off as a genuinely annoying, kind-of-pathetic loser who spends most of the first and second act of the film belly-aching or berating his team or playing victim. I think this was intentional on actor Jim Cummings' part (he also penned the script, and directed), but it rubbed me the wrong way and left me with little to no caring for the main character of the film - a big no-no. As the deaths ratchet up in suspense - and some really admirable special effects, for a low-budge production - I found myself warming a bit to the story and characters, and the film features from fine supporting performances by Robert Forster (in his last role) as John's dad, as well as the hugely-underrated Riki Lindhome as a fellow detective on the force. But while the film got better in its middle, as things developed a bit, for this viewer the ending - and truth behind the killings - while, an exciting finale, just felt like it came out of nowhere instead of organically growing from the script, and for me anyway felt a bit flat. All in all, some very nice parts that don't, unfortunately, add up to a satisfying whole.  2.5/5 stars

Reading: TEDDY SPENSER ISN'T LOOKING FOR LOVE - Kim Fielding

(BLOG TOUR SPOTLIGHT)

Prose (Story): Teddy Spenser wants to make good - more than good - at his new job as a designer and marketing guru for the up-and-coming Reddyflora, whose leap to the big time may well depend on an innovative new interactive vase the company hopes will be the latest "must-have" designer gadget in homes around the world. The obstacle? The tech necessary to give the vase it's uniquely appealing features is impossible to work into the design of the item itself - or so says the company software developer Romeo Blue, the only person in the company who managed to capture his own office instead of a cubicle, and seems to have the personality of an uptight nerd that dampens whatever attraction Teddy otherwise would have for his handsome African-American co-worker. When the two men are forced to work together to make the design and tech feasible as one, their results gain the attention of a fashion/lifestyle giant who just might back the vase and put Reddyflora into the big leagues - sending the guys on a mission to Seattle that will result in their eccentric client putting them to three challenges that test their ability to work together ... even as the two men learn more about each other and finding out that maybe they're not so unalike, after all.

Excerpt:

“Hey.”

Teddy hadn’t noticed anyone come up behind him, and he startled so violently that he almost knocked over his coffee. He spun the chair around and discovered Romeo Blue looking down at him, stone-faced.

“What?” Teddy knew he was scowling and didn’t care.

“Can we speak in my office, please?” As usual, Ro­meo’s voice was low, his words clipped. As if he refused to spare much energy to speak to Teddy.

“I’m busy right now.”

“As soon as you can then.” Romeo spun and marched back to his office, leaving its door slightly ajar.

Teddy could have followed him; Imani’s numbers weren’t so urgent that they couldn’t wait awhile. But he remained stubbornly at his desk even though he could no longer focus on the computer screen. Romeo Blue. Teddy had googled him once, just for the hell of it—not at all to dispel lingering notions that his coworker was a spy working under a really stupid alias. It turned out that Lenny Kravitz used Romeo Blue as a stage name back in the eighties, and that was more than a little weird since this Romeo resembled a young Lenny Kravitz, albeit with a darker complexion and a different clothing aesthetic. Kravitz probably didn’t wear suits from Zara. And to be honest, although Kravitz was gorgeous, Romeo was even more so, with perfect eyebrows, velvety eyes, and a mouth that—

“Nope!” Teddy stood abruptly and grabbed his coffee mug. He needed a refill.

He finished off that cup, visited the depressing bath­room he’d been fruitlessly begging Lauren to redecorate, and chatted briefly with the cute copy-machine repair­man before finally knocking on Romeo’s open door and stepping inside. And then, as always when he entered this room, Teddy glowered.

It was a fraction of the size of Lauren’s office, with barely enough room for a desk, two chairs, and a com­puter stand. Despite that, it was a real office instead of a cubicle. But what truly annoyed Teddy was that Romeo hadn’t even bothered to decorate the space. There wasn’t a single knickknack or picture, and the mismatched of­fice supplies—a black stapler and taupe tape dispenser—appeared to be from the discount bin at Staples. The only touches of personality were the three computer monitors—three of them, for God’s sake—and, of course, Romeo himself.

Maybe Romeo thought himself so decorative that his mere presence sufficed. Or he didn’t want any other objects to detract from his glory.

Also, he smelled like sandalwood, bergamot, and vanilla. Dammit.

Don's (Review): My history with contemporary romance novels - m/f or m/m - has not been a great one. Usually I have found the writing and characterizations uniformaly bad or stereotypical, and often questioned the appeal of the genre in general, as every book I picked up basically read the same - and, God knows, you knew where they were heading. Then along came Teddy Spenser and Romeo Blue, and yes the suspension of disbelief may have to be stretched a bit throughout, but for the first time it was a genuine pleasure to find a romance where the characters come off as believable as the development of the love story, all set around a bit of a crazy plot that author Fielding manages to make work for anyone who gets the kind of eccentric character Joyce Alexander - the fashion maven and potential financial backer the boys have to deal with - can be . Before writing this review I checked out some others online, and was startled by the amount of negative reviews, universally by women, who cite the unbelievability of some plot points or "insta-love" relationship between the two main characters - and couldn't disagree with them more. I was especially wary of reading an m/m romance by a female writer, but both Teddy and Romeo come off 100% real on the page as young members of the LGBTQ+ community; their relationship and how it develops, to me, a hundred times more convincing than any other single romance novel I have tried reading to this day. Further, I don't understand the "insta-love" complaints, as it's made very clear from the beginning that Teddy was attracted to Romeo from the start but thought him an uptight jerk, and from the moment a move is made to make their relationship more than frenemies, it's hardly an 'insta-love" situation when the emphasis is more on where things might go should they fail their tests or not, than coming off as any kind of HEA from the beginning. No, sorry naysayers who perhaps don't understand the community, but Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love is a charming, funny, romantic, and spot-on depiction (for a change) of real LGBTQ+ characters trying to hold onto their jobs, while discovering that "working together" has more than one meaning. It's also one of my favorite reads of 2020. (Available December 29)  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: COCOA'S CRANKY CHRISTMAS: CAN YOU CHEER HIM UP? - Beth Hughes

Prose (Story): Christmas is coming, and Cocoa is in no mood. This board book for little ones brings kids directly into the story, as on each page there is a suggestion on what they can do to help bring Cocoa out of his funk. But Christmas is close - will there be time? And what will it take to cheer Cocoa up at last?

Don's (Review): Cocoa, for real, is the Ebenezer Scrooge of irascible dogs here, the look on his face saying it all: he is so NOT in the mood for Christmas. In funny, full-page artwork, author Hughes has created a grumpy fur-baby seemingly determined to Bah Humbug his way through the holiday, but the terrific interactive feature of the story should have kids shouting, singing, jumping up and down, clapping - anythng it takes to bring a smile to Cocoa's cranky counetenance in time for Santa. In the meantime, the illustrations of Cocoa alone make it worth flippng the pages, even for adults; this dog is a hoot!  4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: LIFE LESSONS WITH URAMICHI ONIISAN VOL. 1 - Gaku Kuze

Prose (Story): The life and times (and life advice) of Uramichi Oniisan, 31-year-old children's TV show co-host whose everyday message - to the little kids surrounding him in the studio, as well as those watching from home - remains constant every day, whether he's leading them in exercises or performing a song or skit: "Enjoy your life now, because it all sucks from here."

Don's (Review): Picture the "Blues Clues" guy if he somehow lost his anti-depressant meds a couple weeks ago; there is so much going on in this dark - and darkly funny - manga, both on the page and in-between the lines. At 31, Uramichi couldn't be more jaded; he's given up, and doesn't care who knows it, whether that's a pair of animal-costumed co-workers whose mouths and mistakes often get the bad end of his temper, or the singing male and female duo who also act as co-hosts on the children's show with Uramichi, whose songs are mostly about life only kicking you more when you're already down. Uramichi clearly has issues of depression and has given up on life already - his co-workers equally dysfunctional - yet with all the maudlin messages and sardonic humor, you can't help but care for Uramichi and the gang, even root for them, and there are also more than a few surprisingly funny moments here, often in the form of the hilarious, sometimes quite mature way the studio audience kids react to the trauma and drama of the adults performing (r trying to) before them. The artwork is excellent, helping to set up the dark humor and sarcasm, and by the end I was really rooting for Uramichi to get his groove back ... even as the story drops a few hints of surprises coming up for volume two that might hopefully turn him around. Fans of sarcasm and snarky humor, or those who've ever looked back on life (no matter the age) and wondered what the heck happened ... you'll get this, complete with some laugh-out-loud moments, and look forward to volume two. Others may want to pass, though I think you'd be missing out. Personally, it had to grow on me, initially - but once it did, I loved it.  4/5 stars 

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THE HAUNTED LIBRARY #1 - Dori Hillestad Butler (author), Aurore Damant (illustrator)

Prose (Story): Kaz is a young ghost boy separated from the rest of his ghost family when their haunt is torn down without warning, the winds outside literally scattering the family members in various directions. Alone and terrified, the timid little ghost finally ends up at a small-town library, where he meets a young living/human girl named Claire, who can ... see him, when no one else can! Claire and her grandma (who runs the library) live in the apartment above, and Claire has been able to see ghosts for ages - even has issues with the ghost of an older gentleman in a top hat who resides in the library, ignoring her at every turn - but when yet a third ghost seems to be causing trouble, scaring library patrons, Claire and Kaz team up to solve the mystery of the vanishing ghost, all while Claire also tries to figure out how best to help Kaz find his family again.

Don's (Review): The first in the lengthy chapter book series by Edgar award-winning author Dori Hillestad Butler has the author setting up some new/original "rules" for the spirit realm; here, ghosts fear the outdoors because a strong breeze can scatter them anywhere out of their control, and can also choose whether or not they want to be seen by humans (Claire being the exception) - choosing to remain invisible if they like. Kaz is set up as a kind, introverted ghost boy for readers to have immediate empathy for; the poor kid hasn't even learned how to pass safely through walls and other solid objects yet, and his loneliness at being separated from his family sets up things up nicely for developing a solid friendship with Claire. The twosome make a good mystery-solving duo as well, so much so that by the end of book one it felt like moving onto book two was a no-brainer. Aurore Damant's illustrations only add to the cartoon-y fun, and at ten books now I see no problem working my way through the whole series; Claire, her grandma, and especially Kaz are way-cool.  4/5 stars

Reading: THE ICKABOG - J.K. Rowling

Prose (Story): This new fairy tale by J.K. Rowling - originally an online project now published in book form for the first time - tells the story of the beautiful, bountiful and happy kingdom of Cornucopia, and what happens when a long-held legend of a monster living way up north in the marhslands is brought to life again by some nefarious members of the king's court ... and how a young boy and girl, best friends for years, must band together to see if both the legend is true, and if their now-crumbling country can be saved.

Don's (Review): One of the first words used to describe this book in the blurb - my last J.K. Rowling read, due to her non-inclusive and bigoted viewpoints on equality - is "warm" ... which, for this reader, was far from the word I would have chosen, as deception, violence, traitorous acts, and even murder played out on the page as I read. The story opens on the peaceful, wondrous and rich kingdom of Cornucopia, but unfortunately its monarch, King Fred, has a couple of advisors/underlings who manipulate him like a puppet ... no more so than when Fred leads a charge to the marshlands to find and destroy the mythical giant creature the Ickabog, building up a furor (thanks to those advising him) that instills fear and robs hope of the entire populace, and starts a chain reaction of events that sends Cornucopia spiraling into decay. I admit, for maybe the first third of the book I was thinking Good God, all this pain - subterfuge - espionage - murder - violence - what next? as the bad guys won at every turn and anyone going against the grain got probably disposed of. Fairly depressing stuff, and pretty dark for younger readers especially (even with the illustrations, throughout, supplied by children in the U.S. and Canada, via an online contest). But then, about a third in, I had an epiphany: that The Ickabog was, quite literally, an original fairy tale. Not the Disney kind - all sunshine and bunny farts - but more of the Brothers Grimm variety; a story with dark themes and darker deeds, where the hero/heroine (in this case, one of each) is put upon to the point of breaking by a villain or villains almost unstoppable in their evil. Almost. And once coming to this realization ... I devoured the book like a kid with his favorite ice cream, finding my assumption truer with each chapter and turn of events, "getting" the book at last right up to its genuinely satisfying finale; one that retained the novel's dark fairy tale vibe to perfection and put the book on my Top 10 of 2020 list. A great (if melancholy) way to end my reading relationship with the immensely talented - if sadly, seriously unaware - writer.  5/5 stars

Reading: THE FROG AT THE WINDOW - Scott Langteau (author), Michaela Brannon (illustrator)

Prose (Story): In a lushly-illustrated picture book, Katy and her parents leave to spend the Christmas holiday at Grandma's house just in time for a smart, cold little frog to move into their warmly-decorated home in their place - a move that inspires a forestful of other creatures to do the same to beat the cold. Soon the beleaguered frog has more roommates than he can handle, and before the house gets ruined tries to pull his new "friends" together to enjoy the holiday ... and get the heck out again before Katy and her family get back! 

Don's (Review): The warmth and beauty on every page, thanks to Michaela Brannon's colorful, old-world, Christmassy illustrations, highlight a sweet and funny tale about learning to work together, but also the spirit of Christmas that can be found in kindness and generosity. The part when the gang of animals has to improvise what they're doing there, when a couple of people are spotted looking through the living room window at them, is nothing short of hilarious, but the entire book - for what is a new story - evokes a classic, old-world charm and cocoa-with-marshmallows kind of feel reminiscent of watching Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life on TV on Christmas Eve. A gorgeous, heartwarming read.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THORNHILL - Pam Smy

Prose (Story): Told in two interlocking timelines, Thornhill tells the story - in 2017 - of a young woman named Ella, who lives in the top floor of a building that overlooks the broken-down, long-abandoned Thornhill Institute next door ... as well as the story, in 1982, of a young girl named Mary, still living on the top floor of Thornhill even as the orphanage is being closed down, dealing with both the ghosts of the place and a sadistic bully of a fellow student who is slowly driving her to revenge.

Don's (Review): In the space of a week I heard or read three rave reviews of this graphic/narrative novel (Mary's story told through written diary entries, alternating with Ella's story which is told in dark and moody comic-style panels), and the premise alone was enough to peak my interest. Mary's story is sad, a young girl with no family oppressed and depressed and terrorized by a fellow student recently returned to the institute when a family who had adopted her changed their mind. Mary's diary entries will readily connect with anyone who's ever been bullied, even if the unrelenting downer of her story can weigh heavily at times. Things get a bit confusing when the graphic novel portions - Ella's modern-day story - are introduced, but as Ella starts to see what appears to be a young girl on the Thornhill property next door, through her top-floor window, the two tales alternate and converge, finally revealing their connection to each other and an ending that was melancholy but at the same time fully satisfying ... my only issue with this book being my wish that author Pam Smy had developed Ella a bit more as a character - and maybe edited Mary's downer of a tale down a bit, as all that gloom occasionally became too much to keep pushing through on the page.  3.5/5 stars

November Wrap-Up: 94,955 words later ...

Only four books read in November; no films or new TV (though I did catch another couple of episodes of "Los Espookys" which is still sooo great!). Insane, even considering that health issues didn't help the issuue. One adult novel, two graphic novels, and a kid's book - none of them dogs, thankfully. And better still - reviews already up, inlcuding for Jane Harper's latest, currently only available in Australia!

But ... November was also National Novel Writing Month, where you sign up to compete with yourself, trying to write 50,000 words in the month of November - the first draft of a novel. I have signed up in the past, multiple times, never taking myself too seriously even though I have published before (though not anything novel length), and prior to this time never got further than about 3,000 words. But from the beginning, this round felt different. I had an idea for a cozy mystery in my head for awhile, well over a year, and wanted to try getting it out at last.

I blew by the 50k words in nineteen days! And on December 1st, at a whopping 94,955 words, I was finally able to type "THE END" with misty eyes, shocked that I was officially done - not with just the challenge, but the book itself! A HUGE accomplishment for this boy!

Now, giving it a rest for a bit, before the real work - the rewriting - begins.

Onto December! Already more than halfway through at least three books now, so detemined to make that year-end push. Also get some films and new TV under my belt. Keep turning those pages!