Blackwater Lane

This movie plot might have been good if it had been crafted better. It had a lot of good elements, but the pieces just did not fit together in a plausible way and convincing manner.

Many inconsistencies and some stupid liberties were taken during the making of this movie.

Minka Kelly is an absolutely gorgeous woman, but her role was severely flawed. However, I quite enjoyed watching her, even though the realism was badly impaired.

Even worse than the spooky nonsense was the lame love plot. Also, there was a murder for no particularly good reason.

In general, the character motivations were very poorly played.

The script was bad, the direction was substandard, and the dialog was unconvincing.

Other than that, the production quality was reasonably good.

Combining a Lifetime-esque "weak scared woman in jeopardy" with the "is it supernatural, psychological, or a plot" genre, this is a poorly written, poorly acted, and overly long example of this sub-genre. A woman who-- of course -- has a previous psychiatric admission becomes a quivering mass of jelly and acts in very stupid ways, despite the fact the character is or should be a bright person. But oooh is she having a breakdown? Is there a ghost? Is there someone messing with her? A plot so transparent that if you've seen one of these, you've seen them all. If you have experience with these types of stories, you'll see the ending coming from about 20 minutes in. Painful to watch and a disappointingly obvious ending unless you are just one of those who like this sub-genre.

I gave this four stars because I am a fan of Maggy Grace and Dermot Mulroney. If not for the two of them, it would have been substantially lower. The entire movie is insanely slow and Minka Kelly does NOTHING to help amp it up other than run around and manage to look confused the majority of the film. To say she lacks charisma is a massive understatement. She delivers every line as though she took a Valium and chased it with a Xanax. I knew where the plot was heading fairly early on. I just didn't care. I wasn't worried or concerned for any of the characters, at any time. I think this could have been a fantastic thriller but unfortunately it just doesn't land.

I'll start by saying I am not a fan of ridiculous Hallmark movies that are silly because they are so unrealistic and the dialogue and acting are reminiscent of day time soaps. The gazes off in the distance, the awkward almost kisses and a LOT of whisper talking.

There's a lot of that in this movie. The main character is written like the typical helpless Hallmark woman. Who is so hurt and weak but also strong and smart but you don't really know that until the end. Is that suppose to be comforting? No, don't worry, she's not as annoying as you think!

I have to say though that the story of is she actually experiencing a mental health crisis or is it ghosts or something else is very compelling and the only reason I watched it until the end. And just like a soap opera, you've got the main character narrating what happened at the end just in case you didn't understand what you just saw. Ugh.

This is a prime example of why women need to be written better in Hollywood. Thank you Geena Davis for doing all you are. We deserve better.

It's not a spoiler, I'm just doing you are favor, it's not horror, there's nothing scary, there are no jump scares or idiotic CGI.

It's a mystery movie and it could be suspenseful, but not the white knuckles type. More like the brainy kind.

At one point it seems like a Scooby Doo episode but longer, way longer and not as silly.

It's not convoluted or twisted as the Agatha Christie novels and if you are into this genre you might even guess the end.

I gave it a 7 because it is intriguing and entertaining, beautiful to look at, and well acted... although I would go easier on the forehead Botox (sometimes I couldn't figure out if she was laughing or crying).