10-5-25 — Christina Critiques (Mainstream movies, Wonderland nominees, Booker List nominees)

Title: THE OTHERS

Director: Alejandro Amenabar

Run Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: A mother must protect her children from entities seemingly intent on causing them harm or at the very least make them lose their minds.

Pros: The delicate manner in which grief, PTSD, and mental illness is handled, characters, pacing, atmosphere, very Hitchcockian.

Cons: I guessed the twist about 14 minutes into the film (oddly that doesn’t take away from the film at all), the shifting of the characters personalities so quickly.

Thoughts: I typically am not a fan of ghost movies because they all too alike. But this one, had such sadness and grief that the viewer can’t help but be enraptured by every word and image on the screen. And the director leaves so much open-ended that the viewer can walk away thinking about the film for long after the end credits.

Star Rating: 8/10

Title: HEREDITARY

Director: Ari Aster

Run Time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: A mother must somehow carry on after suffering two loses in her life while coming to terms with a secret that can affect all she loves.

Pros: Almost everything!

Cons: The transference … made zero sense, the ding dang dog!

Thoughts: OK, I REALLY don’t understand the hate that this film receives. Sure, it’s slow and the characters can be a bit annoying but those are paltry in comparison to the true brilliance of this film. The Easter eggs! Oh. My. Goodness. Everywhere and everything it seems. Again, there is grief but not that viewers usually see. We sees such a selfishness of it with Annie as she forgets that there are other family members around her. She misses clues to impending disasters and when it’s realized, well… it’s too late. Absolute masterpiece!

Star Rating: 9/10

Title: V/H/S HALLOWEEN

Director: Various

Run Time: (too freakin’ long) 1 hour, 40 minutes

Rating: (garbage) R

Synopsis: Two stories that do not make you wish you were swallowed, three stories that make you wish you were.

Pros: I know what Hell will feel like.

Cons: Almost everything.

Thoughts: Every year I tell myself, “Christina, this is the year you won’t hate the V/H/S series” and every year I’m a filthy liar. Two segments were definite standouts: UT SUPRA SIC INFRA and HOME HAUNT. The rest… I hope the writers realize they are burned marshmallows and get peed on by their dog. Wasting my ding dang time. And I know some will think it’s brilliant and cutting edge but they are wrong. I promise you, you don’t need those friends who have bad taste.

Star Rating: 5/10 (and I’m being extremely nice with this one)

Title: SINNERS

Director: Ryan Coogler

Run Time: 2 hours, 17 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: A set of twins come back home to open up a juke joint but their past and present will collide in a night no one will forget.

Pros: The soundtrack, Easter eggs, cinematography

Cons: Tiktok

Thoughts: “Tiktok? Christina, what in the world does that mean?!” Simmer down, sweet summer child, I will explain. Tiktok showed me all the best parts, like watching a trailer and realizing they bamboozled your ass for, what are tickets now like $15? Well, I can get swindled for much less and get more. I will say, there is a lot of education in this film and that’s what will get it the rating it does from me. But so much just didn’t make sense and that annoyed me. I typically like open-ended films, this one just didn’t work for me. Michael B. Jordan’s acting was top notch as was Hailey Steinfield’s but it just wasn’t enough for me.

Star Rating: 6.5/10

WONDERLAND AWARDS NOMINEES - Finalist

KENNEL

By: Garrett Cook

Release: 12/24/24

Page Count: 126

KU: No

Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Pup, a sub, lost his Dom and finds a home with Daddy. But Daddy is known in the community for sinister reasons and Pup finds that not Doms are created equal.

First line: “Cosmology of satin.”

Favorite line: ‘“Easy for you to say”, said Pup to themselves. “You’re already dead.”’

Thoughts: Cook knows how to unsettle readers from the first page and this is no exception. The sympathy for the characters are real as is the hate we, the readers, have to feel. And the title… friends, the title is perfection.

Rating: 5/5

Other recommendations: A GOD OF HUNGRY WALLS, CHARCOAL

Find it here: https://a.co/d/gShh2OJ

STARLET

By: Danger Slater

Release: 8/27/24

Page count: 136

KU: No          Hoopla: No

What happens when a down home gal gets her chance to impress a well-known and extremely popular actor? Shenanigans. And because Danger wrote it, double shenanigans.

Imagine AMERICAN NARCISSUS by Chandler Morrison but throw in body horror and paparazzi. I know, that’s a humdinger but trust me, it not only makes sense but is a stellar novel.

Slater gives us 10% Hollywood superficiality, 30% bizarro, 30% body horror, and 30% splatterpunk to equal 100% perfection. I’m not giving much away because I’m not going to ruin any of the insanity he has in store for you but know, he serves it like a Hollywood actress trying to stay of “the” casting couch.

5/5.

Find it here: https://a.co/d/dYxfqZm

2025 BOOKER LIST NOMINATIONS - Shortlist

AUDITION

By: Katie Kitamura

Release: 4/17/25

Page count: 200

KU: No     Hoopla: No

Synopsis: What happens when one must audition to play oneself in life? Will the audience react favorably as the curtain falls or will the show go on without you?

First line: “It seemed an unlikely choice, this large establishment in the financial district, so that I stood outside and checked the address, the name of the restaurant, I wondered if I had made a mistake.”

Favorite line: “Your approval means a great deal to him.”

Thoughts: AUDITION broke my heart. The female main character both needs and is needed for approval in life. How one sensitive interview question years before can rewrite an entire life or lives in this case. How easy it is to lose oneself in love, life, and marriage to the point of resentment for yourself and others. But the main question to answer when reading this is - who is in the spotlight on stage, the characters or you?

Rating: 5/5

Find it here: https://a.co/d/59vtxdw