Maya's Reviews

I've been meaning to put this episode out for a while, but life happens. Here are my thoughts on the entirety of the Insidious franchise—my reviews, my rankings, and my recommendations.

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// Franchise Information //

Genre: Horror

Studio: Blumhouse

Budget: $42.5 million

Box Office: $728.6 million

MPA Rating: PG-13

- Insidious (2010): directed by James Wan

- Insidious 2 (2013): directed by James Wan

- Insidious 3 (20...

I've seen this movie twice now, and I cried both times. I have been looking forward to this movie since it was announced—it exceeded expectations.

*I am currently in the process of trying to repair my camera/get a new one, so please be patient with me, as the next few episodes will be audio-only. Thank you!*

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// Barbie Information //

Director: Greta Gerwig

Studio(s): Mattel

Genre(s): Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure

Release...

Cillian Murphy? Emily Blunt? Florence Pugh? Robert Downey Jr.? Rami Malek? I mean... what more could you ask for in a cast?

Long time, no see! I am (hopefully) back for more regularly posted episodes. *I am currently in the process of trying to repair my camera/get a new one, so please be patient with me, as the next few episodes will be audio-only. Thank you!*

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// Movie Information //

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stud...

I went and saw M3GAN for my birthday on Friday the 13th. Was it worth it? 100%

Does Megan listen to punk rock? Is she truly a horse girl at heart? You decide. I apologize for what sounds like an airplane taking off constantly in the background. My microphone decided to pick up my 16 year old laptop trying not to overheat and explode. 

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// Movie Information //

Director: Gerard Johnstone

Studio(s): Blumhouse Productions

Genre...

The Menu is a movie I have been anticipating for a while, and today I'm delving into my thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving, if you celebrate!

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// Movie Information //

Director: Mark Mylod

Studio(s): Searchlight Pictures  

Genre(s): Comedy, Thriller, Horror

Release Date: November 18, 2022

Average Rating on Letterboxd (out of 5): 3.8

MPA Rating: R

Length: 107 minutes

Budget: $30 million

Box Office Earnings: $16.2 million

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View a...

I was lucky enough to have the chance to interview Joyce Chopra, director of Smooth Talk, and author of Lady Director. Lady Director is set to be published NOVEMBER 22, 2022.

“Joyce Chopra’s career spanned six decades, and her perspectives are thoughtful and broad, including stories about how she navigated monumental shifts in her craft and in the culture at large. She has wonderful anecdotes about working with Laura Dern and Treat...

Happy Halloween! I hope your October was fantastic and spooky.  For me, I'm sad its almost over. Join me for a special Halloween episode where I go over my top 10 horror movies! 

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Visit my Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/maya_grimley/ 

View all of my links: https://beacons.ai/mayareviews 

Help others: https://bit.ly/maya-social-resources

Follow me @mayathebookworm on Twitter, BookBub, and BookSirens;...

I had a lot of anticipation for Smile. The combination of the advertising and reviews was enough to make me see this movie as soon as I could. Want to know whether Smile is worth seeing in theaters? Buckle up and listen to hear my opinions of this movie.

Please be aware that this movie deals heavily with suicide!

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JUSTICE FOR DEE WARNER - Resources Below

Interview Room Podcast: https://anchor.fm/chris-mcdonough/episodes/New-info...

Go into watching Barbarian knowing as little as possible... though, please be aware that there are some prevalent issues in this movie that require content warnings—I go over them in the episode. 

"SOME STAY FOR A NIGHT. SOME STAY FOR A WEEK. SOME NEVER LEAVE.  In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is alr...

Happy October, everybody! It's officially Halloween season, y'all.  Join me while I go over my list of 31 days worth of movies that I hope to watch this October leading up to and on Halloween!  Stay tuned for some exciting things this October regarding my blog and podcast.

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Visit my Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/maya_grimley/

View all of my links: https://beacons.ai/mayareviews 

Help others: https://bit.ly/ma...

If you have not seen Don't Worry Darling yet... go watch it!!! It's best to know as little as possible before watching, this movie is phenomenal!  I was hesitating to review this movie til later in October, but I could not wait.

// Content Warnings: death, violence, alcohol usage, suicide // 

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// Movie Information //

Director: Olivia Wilde

Studio(s): Warner Bros. Pictures

Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery, Drama

Release Date...

After putting off reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy for years, I finally read the fantastic series and am so excited to be able to review the entire trilogy today!  Just a fair warning that there will most likely be spoilers for the series as the episode progresses since the books build off one another.

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To check content warnings for all of the books you read, go to the Trigger Warning Database: https://triggerwarningdata...

SURPRISE! An extra episode in between my review of They/Them and the Shadow and Bone series. SPOILER AND AD FREE!

Prey (2022) is a prequel to Predator (1987). "On the Great Plains in 1719, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled Comanche warrior, sets out to protect her people when an unknown danger threatens them. But the prey she’s stalking turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal."

// Co...

They/Them is getting some less than exciting reviews, and so I thought to myself... why not watch it and see for myself? I was fairly excited for this movie and decided to watch it in a tent in the pitch-black nighttime to immerse myself in the horror movie vibe.  Let's just say I definitely have some thoughts about this slasher film.

Content Warnings: death, homophobia, transphobia, physical and psychological torture, pedophi...

As promised, I am starting to branch out my podcast to include reviews of movies.  First on my list, since I was able to see it recently in theaters, is 'Nope'! Directed by Jordan Peele, creator of 'Get Out' and 'Us', the movie follows two siblings whose horse ranch is shadowed by a strange phenomenon.

Bear with me as I get a hang of reviewing movies... it is very different from reviewing books, haha.

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// Movie Information ...

This is the second novel I have read by Kiersten White, and though it is a stark difference from Hide, I absolutely loved Padawan. This is the perfect novel for those wanting to read about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s journey of self-discovery on his way to becoming a better padawan.  "Obi-Wan Kenobi struggles with his place in the Force as a young Padawan in this coming-of-age adventure!"

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JUSTICE FOR DEE WARNER - Resources Below

Inte...

I find it very difficult to review this novel because I am not quite sure how I feel about it. There were many intriguing aspects that I loved but there were also many things that I didn’t enjoy about Wake the Bones.  Wake the Bones follows the story of Laurel Early, who just came back from college looking forward to returning to her normal life.  Unfortunately, she is thrust into a world of darkness when her late mother'...

Didn't I tell ya I'd try my best to put out new content? Well, lookee here... a new review!

This time I review a new book by Kiersten White, a horror novel taking place in an abandoned amusement park where 14 competitors must hide or else something sinister might find them. A brilliantly written horror novel that kept me interested from start to finish, Hide exhibits a broad and unique cast of characters, each trying their best to ...

It has been an insanely long time since the last episode... January? Crazy.  Alas, I am back with a review of Dean Koontz's upcoming novel, The Big Dark Sky!

The Big Dark Sky is a brilliantly written novel following the stories of various characters all connected to a mystery at the center of the spiderweb they’ve been caught in. Full of suspense and showcasing Koontz’s excellent writing style, The Big Dark Sky maintains Koont...