September was a busy month for me as a writer amid Fall camping season. Our oldest granddaughter is in cheerleading, so there Jr. High football games to attend. Writing wise, I’m compiling notes, scenes, and character details for a supernatural horror pilot I’m intending to write.
But even with all that busyness, I managed to find enough downtime to catch a few movies at the theater and binge a TV series on Netflix.
On TV
The series I delightfully binged until the wee hours of one morning was the Netflix hit: The Perfect Couple.
Nicole Kidman and Liev Screiber head a talented ensemble cast, and the storyline kept me rivetted until the very end. Based on the novel, of the same name, by Elin Hilderbrand, the series is an American mystery drama centered around a wealthy Nantucket family and the tragic death of a bridesmaid on the eve of their son’s wedding.
Naturally, everyone is a suspect. The character reveals, plot twists, and finale revelations are what make this series so binge-worthy. Thank God they didn’t string out the episodes, leaving us hanging week to week!
Screenwriter Jenna Lamia, and the other writers of the show, did an excellent job adapting Hilderbrand’s lengthy and rambling novel into a gripping, cinematic gem of a series. I loved the character changes and additions of the series vs. the novel.
Kudos to all.
So, if you haven’t seen The Perfect Couple on Netflix, and you love a good mystery with glitz – WATCH IT!
MOVIES
In theaters this September:
I managed to drag my husband to view the American remake of, Speak No Evil, thriller starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis. It was a slow-burn thriller, so slow that my husband got bored and almost left the theater. I encouraged him to stay, and the movie indeed picked up in the half-hour finale.
The movie follows a British family who is invited to spend a weekend at a secluded farm by a couple they met while on holiday in Italy. As the weekend progresses, they come to realize there’s dark side to the family who invited them.
McAvoy was creepy. The storyline twist is superb! The characters were well-rounded – and the story behind the mute boy, played by Dan Hough, really had me rooting for the innocent family to save him and escape.
However, sitting through 3/4 sluggish until the finale was tough – even for a movie buff like me.
So be warned. The film is worth watching on some rainy weekend when you have nothing better to do.
I also got to see, Never Let Go, starring Halle Berry. It’s a creepy horror flick written by KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby. It’s a haunting and engaging film, artfully directed by Alexandre Aja. This too is a slow burn thriller, about a mother struggling to survive pending starvation and threats by an unseen force, while raising two young sons. Yet, it’s filled with enough jump scares and supernatural occurrences that I was on the edge of my seat and flinching while watching it. The young actors, Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV, are phenomenal to watch and to empathize with.
It’s unsettling. Its storyline and imagery linger with you as your leave the theater. I enjoyed it.
It’s not one I could watch again. I shiver just thinking about the film as I type this.
A must see?
It stars Halle Berry, so – YES!
