Tag / Luckiest Girl Alive

by admin

Book 14 (of 52) – Luckiest Girl Alive

Luckiest Girl Alive – Jessica Knoll

Ani FaNelli seems to have it all, a fancy Manhattan apartment, a top job in the publishing industry, and a blue-blood fiancé.  On the inside, however, she is broken, ruined by what happened to her in high school.  When she agrees to participate in a documentary looking back at what happened at her prestigious school, she finally confronts the demons that she has hidden for years and just might find the closure she has been looking for.

I first added Luckiest Girl Alive to my to-read list based on its inclusion on a list of “new” Gone Girls.  When I checked it out last week, I was unaware that 1) it was by Jessica Knoll, who I had just read for the first time less than two months ago and 2) I had seen the movie adaptation starring Mila Kunis last year.  I even mentioned both of these facts in my review of Bright Young Women and it still didn’t stick.  This was not as pleasant an experience as my previous one with Knoll’s work.  The attempt to make FaNelli a sympathetic character came way too late and was sort of forced into the last chapter or two, making the ending feel rushed.

by admin

Book 7 (of 52) – Bright Young Women

Bright Young Women – Jessica Knoll

In January of 1978. an unnamed serial killer (*cough*Ted Bundy*cough*) attacks a sorority at Florida State University, killing two and maiming two others.  When the sorority president sees him fleeing the scene, she embarks on a journey to prove that the man wanted for numerous murders out west was the one she saw.  She teams up with an older woman, whose girlfriend went missing years before, to find out the truth, both in the 70s and today.

A nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller in last year’s Goodreads Choice Awards, Bright Young Women, by Jessica Knoll, blends the historical facts of Ted Bundy’s reign of terror with the fictional victims of an unnamed sorority in Florida and a troubled young woman finally finding her footing in Washington.  This is my first experience with Knoll’s work in book form, though I did see the adaptation of her Luckiest Girl Alive, starring Mila Kunis, last year.  I’m sure I will check back in on her at some point.

by admin

2023: The Year In Movies

The return of my annual long December vacation helped push a healthy increase in movie watching for me, with my highest total since the lockdown in 2019.  I managed to watch 88 movies last year, my third consecutive year under 100, despite being home all day and not needing to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.  The extended WGA and SAG strikes limiting new output probably didn’t help either.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
Mila Kunis stars as a woman who sees her life start to unravel when she is faced with a years-old trauma.

Do Revenge (2022)
Two high school girls decide to trade off and get revenge on each other’s bully.

Orphan: First Kill (2022)
A long-delayed sequel to the 2009 horror film.

Margaux (2022)
A smart house sets its targets on a group of friends who have rented it for the weekend.

American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules (2020)
The latest sequel to the comedy hit flips the script and has a trio of girls looking to lose their virginity before graduation.

Sick (2022)
Two friends quarantine at a lake house, but they quickly find out they are not alone.

The Menu (2022)
A chef prepares his final meal, taking out his frustrations on his diners on the way out.

Death on the Nile (2022)
Hercule Poirot takes on another case, based on the Agatha Christie novel.

Unhuman (2022)
A bus full of high school students try to survive after a crash leaves them vulnerable to an attacker.

Shotgun Wedding (2023)
A destination wedding goes off the rails when the wedding party is held hostage. Continue reading →

by admin

You Ought To Be In (13) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the six actors that have starred in exactly 13 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Gene Hackman

The retired Hackman, who is now 93 years old, first entered my movie consciousness when I saw the original Christopher Reeve Superman.  My most recent experience with his work remains 1971’s The French Connection, which I saw in 2018.

Woody Harrelson

In 1992, I headed to the theaters to see White Men Can’t Jump, where I first encountered Woody Harrelson in film.  That was followed by six more films between 1994 and 2000, after which there was a long lull.  Harrelson came back in to my world in 2008, then added two more in 2010.  His most recent appearance came in 2022, when I saw the previous year’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl first burst on to the scene in 1994’s My Father, The Hero, which I took in the following year.  After achieving television stardom, she leaped back to the big screen in a big way in the mid-2000s, including four films in three years between 2006 and 2008.  She last showed up on my screen in 2018, with the ironically titled Unforgettable.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones first showed up on my screen back in 1993 in The Fugitive.   My big Tommy Lee Jones years were 1997 and 2000, when I saw him in two films per year.  After a few years away, my most recent experience with him was in 2020, in 2019’s Ad Astra.

Mila Kunis

After years on That ’70s Show, Mila Kunis first moved to my movie screen in 2003, with the unfortunate American Psycho II: All American Girl.  After a six-year break, she came back with a vengeance, appearing in seven films I saw between 2009 and 2011.  I last saw her work earlier this year, thanks to 2022’s Luckiest Girl Alive.

Al Pacino

My first experience with Al Pacino was in 1997, when I saw him in City Hall.  I splurged on his films in 2000 and 2001, when I took in five, including The Godfather and The Godfather II.  After a twelve-year absence, Pacino returned to my screen twice in 2020, in 2017’s horrible Hangman and 2008’s Righteous Kill.