August 5, 2020: Checking in with Robert Picardo. And our Crime Club convenes to discuss The Invisible Guest!

Cheetos Mac and Cheese? Yes/Nohttps://t.co/yccd1rvFTT

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) August 5, 2020

I come firmly down on the side of maybe.  Seems more of a side dish to be enjoyed with a good smashburger which is, by the way, my latest food craze.  I flatten the burgers with a heavy saucepan, then pinch the edges (as per the advice garnered from the internet) and fry them up in butter and a touch of oil before topping with cheese.  The edges come out nice a crispy.  Serve on a potato bun and, as they say, Bob’s your uncle.

Speaking of Bob, check out Robert Picardo’s new youtube channel for inspiring music videos…

And the exploits of his alter-ego, Alphonso…

“Y’know, these meatballs are made of turkey.  You’d never know it, right?”  I was on the floor.

Okay, so, who’s joining our Crime Club?  Did you get a chance to watch our first movie…

The Invisible Guest

SPOILERS ABOUND!

Well, what a great start to our Crime Club.

I have to admit, I guessed the twist some ten minutes in.  More specifically, as the first ten minutes unfolded I thought to myself “Hey, you know what would be a fantastic twist?” and filed it away in the hopes that, if the movie didn’t go there, then I could in a future script.  But, of course, it did.  And it was no less great.

I’m not usually a fan of the unreliable narrator as I find the blurring of the line between truth and fiction can sometimes be a little too convenient, resulting in clumsily manipulative misdirects or frustrating (in hindsight) withholding of key facts, but I thought it really worked well here.  As the movie progresses, we peel back the layers on the various narratives to reveal the a few surprises – on the way to the big surprise at movie’s end.

Some really great suspenseful sequences, my favorite being the moment Laura realizes she is being hosted by the dead kid’s parents…and still has his cell phone in her possession.

There were a couple of things I didn’t quite understand.  The first was the significance of the fake newspaper photo.  Not sure what purpose it served (so, if you know, please enlighten me).  The second was Adrian’s eleventh hour admission to the lakeside murder of Daniel, his sealing of the trunk to ensure his victim’s drowning.  While I liked the twist, I didn’t buy he would reveal the truth, even to his lawyer.  If it had been a guilt-wracked Laura, I would have more readily bought in, but Adrian, especially in the late goings, seemed pretty indifferent, even callous, to what had transpired.

But these were minor quibbles.  Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and would love to hear your thoughts.

This one gets a Highly Recommended from me.  If you haven’t seen it, there’s still time.  Watch and leave a comment in the comments section of this entry.

Or, if you want to look ahead, tomorrow’s #CrimeClub movie will be Green Room, starring Patrick Stewart and the late Anton Yelchin.

 

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