Lisa Marie’s Top 8 Novels of 2020

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I said earlier today when I posted my top 8 non-fiction books of the year, I’m disappointed in myself. Considering how much time that I spent at home in 2020, I should have read more books. I should have read every book that I have in the house. That was certainly what I was expecting to happen but, as the lockdown went on and on, a combination of frustration and depressing kicked in and I basically totally lost focus.

So, I didn’t read as much as I should have. But, at least I can say that I did read. To be honest, I imagine that’s more than a lot of other people did. Language is a wonderful thing and it’s dying. Though I may not have read as much as I wanted to, I still read some very good novels over the course of 2020. Listed below are eight of my favorites.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — This was a wonderfully atmospheric book, one that took all of the traditional gothic elements and imagined them through the prism of Mexican culture and history. This was a wonderful read, both entertaining and thought-provoking. Apparently, it’s being turned into a miniseries for Hulu and I’ll definitely be watching.
The Swap by Robyn Harding — Swapping partners leads to chaos! (Well, yeah.) This is an enjoyable thriller about a drunken night and the drama that follows. The characters are all sharply etched, especially Low, a the manipulative teenager who you’ll kind of sympathize with even when you know you shouldn’t.
The House on Fripp Island by Rebecca Kauffman — Two families share a vacation house on Fripp Island. One family is rich and one family is poor and both families are full of secrets and lies. The House on Fripp Island is the literary equivalent of a good Lifetime film and, if you know how I feel about Lifetime films, then you know that’s a huge compliment. I will also admit that I another reason why I liked this book was because it featured a character named Lisa.
The Sister-in-Law by Sue Watson — Speaking of books that would make a good Lifetime film, The Sister-in-Law is another book about a family at a vacation home. Once again, it’s all about secrets and lies and melodrama and it’s an incredibly fun read.
Regretting You by Colleen Hoover — This book is an examination of the relationship between a overprotective mom and a rebellious daughter. It rang true in all the best ways. I could relate.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — Nora is given a chance to see how her life would have turned out if she had made a few different choices. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think. This is a perfect read for anyone struggling with regret.
Wild Child by Audrey Carlan — What happens when you combine a serial killer thriller with a romance? You get this well-written and fast-paced book about how Simone goes from nearly being a victim to falling in love with a handsome FBI agent.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth — Though this book may be a bit overlong at 640 pages, this epic and sprawling novel about love, history, and yellow jackets still held my interest. It’s a challenging and well-written book by the author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

TSL Looks Back at 2020:

Six Other Films From Crown International Pictures That Deserved An Oscar Nomination!

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

An hour ago, I told you about the only Oscar nomination that was ever received by Crown International Pictures, one of the most prolific B-movie distributors of the 70s and 80s. That nomination was for Best Original Song for Crown’s 1972 film, The Stepmother.

Here are 6 more films from Crown International Pictures that I think deserved some Oscar consideration:

The Teacher (1974)

“She corrupted the youthful morality of the entire school!” the poster screamed but actually, The Teacher was a surprisingly sensitive coming-of-age story about a relationship between a younger man and an older woman. Jay North and Angel Tompkins both give excellent performances and Anthony James shows why he was one of the busiest character actors of the 70s.

2. The Sister In Law (1974)

John Savage has been acting for several decades. He’s appeared in a number of acclaimed films but he’s never received an Oscar nomination. One of his best performances was in this melancholy look at love, betrayal, and ennui in the early 70s.

3. Best Friends (1975)

One of the strangest films ever released by Crown International, Best Friends is also one of the best. A road trip between two old friends goes terribly wrong when one of the friends turns out to be a total psycho. This well-acted and rather sad film definitely deserves to be better-known than it is.

4. Trip With The Teacher (1975)

Zalman King for Best Supporting Actor? Hell yeah!

5. Malibu High (1979)

Surely Kim Bentley’s performance as a high school student-turned-professional assassin deserved some sort of consideration!

6. Don’t Answer The Phone (1980)

Don’t Answer The Phone is not a particularly good movie but it certainly is effective. It made me want to go out and get a derringer or some other cute little gun that I could carry in my purse. That’s largely because of the performance of Nicholas Worth. Worth plays one of the most perverse and frightening murderers of all time and Worth throws himself into the role. It’s one of the best psycho performances of all time and certainly worthy of a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Embracing the Melodrama #47: The Sister-in-Law (dir by Joseph Ruben)

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(SPOILERS BELOW)

After watching enough old movies, I’ve become convinced that the early 1970s must have been the darkest and most cynical time in American history. It seems like almost every film released from roughly 1970 to 1977 was required to end on a down note. Even the happy endings were full of ambiguity. (American Graffiti, a feel-good film according to the reviews that were written at the time of its initial release, ends with one of the characters dying in a car accident and another one MIA in Vietnam.) I’m not complaining, of course. I love a sad ending.

Maybe that’s why I so love the 1973 film The Sister-in-Law. The film starts out as a typical melodrama from Crown International Pictures but it has one of the darkest endings that I’ve ever seen. In fact, the ending is so dark that it’s pointless to review The Sister-in-Law without telling you how the movie ends. So, consider this to be your final SPOILER WARNING:

Okay, ready?

Robert Strong (played by John Savage) is a genuinely likable musician who has spent the last year or so hitchhiking across America. He decides to visit his wealthy older brother, Edward (Will MacMillan). It quickly becomes apparent that Robert and Edward are almost insanely competitive with each other. A friendly day of fun in the pool ends with Edward nearly downing his younger brother.

Robert gets back at Edward by having an affair with Edward’s wife, Joanna (Anne Saxon). However, Robert eventually breaks things up with Joanna and starts sleeping with Deborah (Meredith Baer), who happens to Edward’s former mistress.

Edward, however, has problems beyond dealing with his wife and his mistress. It turns out that he’s made all of his money by smuggling drugs into America from Canada. Now, the Mafia is demanding that Edward bring in a huge shipment of heroin. Edward, however, convinces his brother to do it for him.

Robert and Deborah drive up to Canada and pick up the heroin. However, as they do so, they talk about how sick they are of being used by Edward. So, Robert and Deborah pull over next to a waterfall and, in a surprisingly lyrical scene, they dump all the heroin into the water supply.

And then they make love in the forest.

Well, the mafia wants to know what happened to their heroin. So, Edward and Joanna get on an airplane and flee the country. Meanwhile, Robert and Deborah are pulled over by two gangsters. Robert is pulled out of the car and executed in the middle of the street. The gangsters drive away. Deborah collapses to her knees and sobs over Robert’s dead body.

The end.

Seriously, that’s how the movie ends. The gangsters get away with it. Hateful Edward and his self-centered wife escape the country. Deborah is in tears. And Robert, the one truly likable person in the entire film, lays dead in the street.

Not even David Fincher could make a film this dark. And, honestly, the darkness at the heart of The Sister-in-Law feels considerably more potent and tragic than anything you could find in any Fincher film. As played by a very young John Savage (who, just last year, played the President in Bermuda Tentacles), Robert is such a likable guy that you’re glad you got to spend a little bit of time with him before he was brutally murdered in the middle of the street. Robert’s violent death sticks with you.

(Savage also sung several of the surprisingly catchy songs on the film’s soundtrack.)

Despite or perhaps because of the ultra-dark ending, The Sister-in-Law is one of my favorite Crown International films. If nothing else, it proves that 1973 was apparently even darker than 2015.