E's List: The Psycho Edition.

Hollywood has a tendency of creating psychotic girls that are incredibly believable. These movies might not be the best in their genre, but their characters are worthy of mention. Warning, SPOILERS ALERT.

#5: Judith Fessbeggler, Saving Silverman.

Portrayed by: Amanda Peet.
Manipulative and controlling, Judith Fessbeggler is a psychologist who enters a relationship with sensitive and pushover Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs). Judith is emotionally (and somewhat physically) abusive towards Darren. She isolates him from his best friends, Wayne (Steve Zahn) and J.D (Jack Black) and forces him to make changes about his life he is unhappy about. The silver lining for Silverman is when Wayne and J.D kidnaps Judith to save their friend from a bad marriage.
Scale of Psycho: 2/5.

#4: Melissa Nelson, Malicious.

Portrayed by: Molly Ringwald.
A young, bright and beautiful medical student seduces Doug Gordon, her college's star baseball player. Knowingly to Melissa, Doug is in a long-term relationship with Laura. Nevertheless, Melissa pursues Gordon restlessly. After entering an affair with Gordon and being rejected by him, Melissa starts to harassed him. She soon threaten his life and Laura's. Melissa is one of the lesser known psycho, but she's still worth mentioning.
Scale of Psycho: 3.5/5.

#3: Andie, Crush.

Portrayed by: Caitriona Balfe.
Scott Norris (Lucas Till) is a popular high school soccer player. After injuring his knee and breaking up with his on/off girlfriend Jules Lindstrom (Sarah Bolger), Scott starts to receive love letters from Bess (Crystal Reed), a social outcast from his school. After ignoring the letters, Scott begins to receive threats. When Jules, who he is trying to back back together with, receives threatening messages as well, Scott decides to confront Bess who he believe is his stalker. Soon, Scott discover that someone else is after him.
Scale of Psycho: 4/5.

#2: Madison Bell, Swimfan.

Portrayed by: Erika Christensen.
When Madison Bell transfers to Ben Cronin's (Jesse Bradford) high school, she's immediately smitten by him. Even after Ben reveal he has a steady girlfriend, Amy (Shiri Appleby), Madison is still convinced that Ben is in love with her. Obsessed and dangerous, Madison stalks Ben and his family, desperately trying to force her way into Ben's life and heart. After ruining Ben's chances in a swimming competition and hitting Amy with her car, Madison still manages to put the blame on Ben.
Scale of Psycho: 4.5/5.

#1: Amazing Amy, Gone Girl.

Portrayed by: Rosamund Pike. 

Beautiful, smart, caring, Nick Dunne's (Ben Afleck) wife got it all! Except when she is faking her own murder and making sure her husband gets accused of the crime. Vengeful after learning of her husband's affair with one of his student, Amy goes to the extreme to make sure her vengeance is complete. She even goes as far as murdering a helpful friend. There is no denying that Amazing Amy is the craziest of them all.
Scale of Psycho: 5/5.

Book Review: Dangerous Girls.

"Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?"

Author: Abigail Haas.
Release Date: July 16th, 2013.
Description: Paperback, 388 pages.
Availability: Amazon, $11,23.
Genre: YA, Thriller.
Rating: 4 Stars.

Resume: This is the story of two girls; one alive and one dead. Anna and Elise are high school seniors and best friends. On their wild Spring Break vacation in Aruba, a tragedy strikes. When the ragged body of Elise is found, Anna's world is turned upside down. As Anna is targeted by the authorities of Aruba as the prime suspect of her best friend's atrociously violent murder, she has to clear her name before it's too late.

Review: Abigail Haas is a skilled author. Dangerous Girls is an entertaining, brilliant and well-written thriller. The timeline is organized greatly with chapters from their week in Aruba to Anna's trial with a few flashbacks of the girls' friendship. The book is written in the first person with Anna was our narrator.

Anna is the kind of girl who's likable from the very start of the novel. She's your typical girl-next-door, YA heroin. If Anna is the good girl, Elise is a wild child. She is always pushing the limits and often acts recklessly. She is the bad seed your parents warn you about. Ironically, she's the one who gets killed. The girls' friendship is great for the most part and suffocating at times. Both characters are complex in their own way. Haas created two beautifully flawed characters.

With six other teenagers on the Aruba trip along Anna and Elise, we have a wide range of suspects in Elise' murder investigation. However, the lack of backstory for many (if all) of those characters eliminates them as potential killers right off the bat. Along the way, the readers get very few clues to try and solve Elise's gruesome murder on their own. If this book has one flaw, it's that there isn't enough leads for to get lost into and cracking our brains about.

Dangerous Girls is exciting and thrilling. I enjoyed Dangerous Girls because it's a gripping and undeniable page-turner. I couldn't put it down. I had to know who killed Elise and why. Dangerous Girls is one of the best young adult thrillers I've ever read. If you are looking for a good read with a dark tone and atmosphere, you should definitely pick up a copy of Dangerous Girls.

E's List: The Sofia Coppola Edition.

A few weeks ago, I talked about my fascination for John Hugues' genius. Sofia Coppola is as very bit as worthy of being talked about as Mr. Hugues is. In her earlier life, Coppola worked as an actress and a model, however she found her true calling behind the camera. She has only directed a handful of movies, so far. Therefore, I will shrink my usual top 5 to a top 3. 

#3: The Bling Ring, 2013.

Starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang and Leslie Mann, The Bling Ring relates the true story of a group of teenagers arrested after robbing celebrities. With cameos from Paris Hilton and Kirsten Dunst, real victims of the teens' robberies, The Bling Ring sets itself apart from the other movies about the same subject. The acting is on point and Coppola's work is flawless. The soundtrack for The Bling Ring is also adding to the movie's quality with songs from Frank Ocean to Phoenix.

#2: Marie-Antoinette, 2006.

Reviving the decadent years of Marie-Antoinette, Coppola chose her favorite actress, Kirsten Dunst, to portrait the tragic Queen of France. The movie begins with the arrival of the young Archduchess of Austria in France at the age of fourteen. Sent by her dominant mother to marry the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette is about to loose her innocence. The rest of the movie follows the new queen as she embarks into numerous affairs and satisfies all of her decadent desires in a desperate effort to escape from her unhappy marriage.

#1: The Virgin Suicides, 1999.

Tragic, beautiful and breath-taking, The Virgin Suicides is a coming-out-of-age movie based on a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. Set in the early 70's, the film relates the story of the Lisbon sisters; Therese, Mary, Bonnie, Lux and Cecilia. When The Virgin Suicides begins, Cecilia just attempted suicide. In consequence, their already strict parents tighten their hold on their daughters. Isolated, lonely and depressed, the sisters make a pact in order to escape their parents' controlling tendencies. There is a tone of melancholy throughout the movie that fascinates and perturbs. A brilliant and magnificent take on growing-up's hardships.

Be Kind Rewind: The Pretty One.

"They are so perfect they seem fake. It's like they are in technicolor or something."

Cast: Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson and John Carroll Lynch.
Release Date: February 7th, 2014.
Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 47% rotten rating.
My Rating: 3 stars.

Resume: Audrey and Laurel might be identical twins, but their personalities couldn't be more different. While Audrey is outgoing and bubbly, Laurel is an introvert and awkward individual. When Audrey dies after a terrible car crash, Laurel decides to assume her identity.

Review: The Pretty One is a drama/comedy. With an interesting premise and Zoe Kazan as a lead, this flick had a lot of potential. I will never stop praising Zoe Kazan's acting. Her charm in The Pretty One is undeniable. She's got that cute, ditsy thing going on. Unfortunately, the character of Laurel is somewhat cringe-worthy and flat. Laurel is painted as this weird, little creature. She should be interesting to watch in progression, but I found myself to be much more interested by Audrey's character and her life before her tragic death. As a stand alone character, Laurel doesn't have much substance other than being awkward and a skilled painter.

Jack Johnson and Ron Livingston share the male lead of this movie. After watching Johnson in Drinking Buddies, I had high expectations for his performance in this flick. Johnson delivered as an intellectual, yet lovable, next door neighbor to Kazan's character. Livingston is a much less likable character, as it should be. His acting is sharp and for an actor with so little time on screen, he is quite memorable.

The romance between Laurel/Audrey and Basel (Johnson) is quite uncomfortable to watch at first but eventually, you warm up to the couple. One of the things that bothered me about their romance was that I didn't picture Laurel and Basel falling in love. It would have made more sense to me if Audrey and Basel would have gotten together. There is a good chemistry between Kazan and Johnson. After roughly thirty minutes, the grieving aspect of the movie is over and the romance takes control of the movie. It's rather quick for a lonely twin who just lost her sister and only friend. Put aside a few hiccups, Laurel is surprisingly comfortable in Audrey's shoes. Laurel got an instant sense of style and gift for selling houses, which would have been unlikely to happen in real life.

For a comedy, the laughs are very little, leaving the drama to take over. The moments in the movie that should bring out your emotions fail to do so. While both Kazan and Johnson are good actors, I couldn't really believe that Laurel was grieving for Audrey.The movie is also extremely slow-paced which is not unusual for indie movies. In the genre, I've seen better and worst. The visual is incredible; it's picture perfect. The decors for the twins' childhood's house and for Audrey's apartment are very well put-together. The costumes for Laurel/Audrey are stylish and on point.

Overall, The Pretty One is worth a watch for the fans of both Zoe Kazan and Jack Johnson. 

E's List: The Mean Girls (Movie) Edition.

After my top 5 of the best mean/bad girls of TV, I'm now ranking the baddest, meanest girls who've graced us with their presence on the big screen. 

#5: Becky Leeman, Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Portrayed by: Denise Richards.

Becky is awful. She is greedy, mean and power-hungry. Once she enters the American Teen Princess pageant of her hometown, Mount Rose, Becky teams up with her scheming mother to eliminate the competition. In order to secure herself a win, Becky lies, manipulates and even goes as far as killing some contestants. Throughout the pageant, Becky is downright mean to all of the other girls, especially to nice-girl Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst). After winning the pageant, Becky dies abruptly, leading her mother to confess her crimes.

#4: Big Red, Bring It On.

Portrayed by: Lindsay Sloane. 

Stealing, Betraying and lying are only a few words to describe head cheerleader of the Toros' cheerleading squad, Big Red. After leading her squad to victory five times at the Nationals, Big Red leaves the team to attend college. Leaving her team and new captain Torrance with a stolen routine for the Nationals, Big Red deceives and betrays all the members of her former squad. She then goes on the blame Torrance for the defeat of the Toros at the Regionals. Big Red, it's more like Big Bully.

#3: Tracy Flick, Election.

Portrayed by: Reese Whiterspoon. 

Driven and ambitious, Tracy Flick will stop at nothing to win the title of school president. When Jim McAllister (Mathew Broderick) stands in the way of her project, Tracy decides to take him down. Eventually, she destroys his home life and his professional life. In the end, Tracy wins the election by betraying and lying her way through the campaign. Pick Flick? You better, otherwise you might regret it. 

#2: Courtney Shayne, Jawbreaker.

Portrayed by: Rose McGowan.

Prolific member of the Flawless Four, Courtney rules the school with her friends, Julie, Macie and Liz. While Courtney tries to dominate the school with an iron fist, Liz is a kind-hearten leader who's appreciated by most of the student body. When a prank goes wrong and Liz ends up dead, Courtney silences her friends by threatening and bullying them. When she loses control on the situation, Courtney humiliates and betrays her friends. Eventually, Courtney will get a taste of her own medicine.

#1: Kathryn Merteuil, Cruel Intentions.

Portrayed by: Sarah Michelle Gellar.

In the history of high school, there never was a baddest, meanest, girl than Kathryn Merteuil. Vengeful after losing a boy to Cecile, Kathryn sets up her brother-in-law, Sebastian, to seduce her. Meanwhile Sebastian tries to bed virginal Annette, just for amusement. A bet is soon made between Kathryn and Sebastian. Kathryn is manipulative, spiteful and with no empathy for anyone. She doesn't care how many lives she needs to destroy for her own benefit. Adding to that an heroin addiction, you have the lethal combination that is Kathryn Merteuil. 

Book Review: Still Waters.

"Hannah sat on the step beside Colin and took his hands. She peered into his face insistently until he met her gaze."

Author: Emma Carlson Berne.
Release Date: Decenber 20th, 2011.
Description: Paperback, 212 pages.
Availability: Bookoutlet, $4,79.
Genre: YA, Paranormal.
Rating: 3 Stars.

Resume: Serious and responsible, Hannah isn't the type of girl to disobey or lie to her mother. However, with her boyfriend Colin going away to college, Hannah decides that she must go away with him for the week-end before he leaves. Colin's parents' lake house seems to be the perfect destination. But once the couple get there, Colin seems to be drifting away from reality. Can Hannah solve this mystery before it's too late?

Review: With a little over two hundred pages, Still Waters is a relatively short novel. This book is written in the third person which can be an advantage, or an inconvenient. In the case of Still Waters, it's an inconvenient. The author would have benefited from choosing the first person for her story, as it would have allowed the reader to connect more with Hannah.

Hannah is the main female character of the novel. She is from a dysfunctional family where the roles of the parents and the children are often confused. Not a lot can be said about that character because the author chose to  give us very little information about her. Her whole world revolves around Colin and her inability to tell him she loves him. Colin is a young man fresh out of high school who's attending Pratt in the fall. He has a very chaotic family unit; his mother being described as an alcoholic and his father never seems to be around. Colin also resents both of his parents for an unknown reason. He is all-around rude and aggressive towards them. Hannah, being as clueless as she is throughout Still Waters, brushes it off because he is attractive and popular. Because she didn't tell him she loved him back, Colin feels like it's his duty to pressure her restlessly to do so. He does it in a very passive-aggressive way, which only makes it more annoying.

The whole book was incredibly unrealistic. Hannah kicks off the book with her idea of a week-end away to at lake house owned by Colin's parents. She schemes to plan this trip to the lake house, behind Colin's back, going as far as breaking into his family's house to retrieve a map to go down there. She also lies to her mother to obtain her permission to go away. The lie she comes up with though is everything but believable. No teenager would go out of town for her summer job after only one shift. Berne painted Hannah as very selfish and self-absorb. She pretty much manipulates her boyfriend to go to a place that she knows make him feel very uncomfortable. She lets down her best friend when she was counting on her. She promises to bring an income home to her financially struggling mother, which was a straight up lie. Hannah doesn't seem to care about anybody's feelings but her own.

 After planing to spend the a few days at a house that's been vacant for roughly ten years, Hannah only packs clothes and a bathing suit. She doesn't know in what state the house will be or if it's even safe or livable. But no, Hannah does not worry about those type of things because she does not seem to be very bright. When the couple finally get there, they eat rotten food because Hannah didn't think to bring any food. No big surprise here since Hannah has been acting irrationally since the first chapter.

Still Waters is a well-written novel, even though Berne's dialogue is clumsy and corny at times. The book is somewhat thrilling, with clues to solve the mystery. The romance between the two main characters can be adorable. Colin is especially sweet towards insufferable Hannah all through the novel. Hannah is very insecure and needy, Colin does a good job reassuring her.

The ending of Berne's novel was utterly disappointing. It was rushed and left us with a bunch of unanswered questions. The author ended the story with a sappy, irrelevant, unrealistic finale.

Overall, Still Waters is a good thriller. However, the characters are lacking depth, some storylines are well-developed while others aren't and the Emma Carlson Berne's writing is pretty solid even though it's shaky at times. If you like short novels, thrillers and don't mind if it's slow-paced, I'd recommend it to you.

Book Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone.

"I have learned that knowing where you're going means remembering where you've been. I'm not afraid of what lurks behind me, or ahead."

Author: Kat Rosenfield.
Release Date: July 5th, 2012.
Description: 288 pages, Paperback.
Availability: Amazon, $9,49.
Genre: YA, Romance, Mystery.
Rating: 2 Stars.

Resume: Rebecca is a small-town girl with big hopes for the future. Fresh out of high school, she plans on leaving Bridgeton after the summer to go to college in a big city. However, when the body of Amelia Anne Richardson is found lifeless at the beginning of the summer, Rebecca reevaluates the choices she made.

Review:  Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is beautifully written. There is no doubt that Kat Rosenfield is an extremely skilled and talented writer; she proves it with her debut novel.This book is divided between chapters from Rebecca's perspective and the story of Amelia Anne. Oddly enough, Rosenfield keeps switching from the first to the third person, which can be confusing for the reader.

Despite having her name in the title, Amelia Anne Richardson isn't the main female character of this novel. The YA follows the every moves of Rebecca, a girl who just graduated from high school with honors. Rosenfield painted Rebecca has an indecisive, sensible and relatable character. However, the very little information we get on Rebecca, makes it hard for the reader to connect with her character.
Rosenfield's repetitive and heavy descriptions of Rebecca's discomfort and break downs throughout the story, decrease the interest of the reader for Rebecca's journey. James, Rebecca's boyfriend, is an high school dropout and a perpetual smoker. We get a few flashbacks and some glimpses of James. With James, Rosenfield is redeeming herself for insufferable Rebecca. His raw emotions and honesty, makes him a really likable character. I grew attached to James throughout the book. The character of Amelia Anne is charming. She is a glimpse of sunshine in the dark and moody atmosphere of this novel.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is lacking suspense and mystery, despite being described as a thriller. The plot is entirely missing, making the reader wonder if someone clipped a chunk of pages from their copy. Extremely slow-paced, redundant and bland, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone failed at captivating its readers.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is a coming-out-of-age novel disguises as a thriller-mystery. It is prettified by prose, metaphors and figures of speech, while also being filled with excessive, irrelevant descriptions.

Picking up this book, there was promise of a few thrills and twists. Rosenfield, again, failed to deliver. The identity of Amelia Anne's killer can be easily guessed within the first chapters. His motivations and actions are just as predictable. The story could have benefited from solid, interesting, secondary characters. Rebecca, as a protagonist, doesn't offer a strong enough tale to be the sole entertainer of the book. She definitely needed more meat around her. Her family is mentioned, but its too little, too late. The only information we get on them is that her mother's an alcoholic and her father's a judge. Again, the character development is poor.

This novel had a lot of potential that, sadly, wasn't exploit. I do hope Kat Rosenfield continues to write because she has a beautiful and different writing style. Hopfully, I can connect more with her next project.

Overall, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone was disappointing, misleading, heavy and incredibly boring. It was, personally, a major let down. For those of you who appreciate gorgeously written book without caring about the plot or the character development, I would recommend this one.