Twisted Vines

Watched a delightful new indie whodunit on Prime- Twisted Vines. Filmed on location in a California Winery-it's an humorous engaging isolated drawing room mystery that would make Agatha Christie proud. Vivica A Fox (hamming it up with her Diva best) leads a fine ensemble in this look at a wine country wedding interrupted by a mountain fire and unexpected murders. The raging fire of course traps the guests in one setting leaving a rookie Sherriff and his girlfriend (the vineyard's sommelier) to guess the identity of the murderer. Director Jihane Mrad Balaa and writers Corrine Sbeith/Tom Stohlgren wisely know this type of material needs a fast pace/whimsy and camp. The fine cast is up to this. Always great seeing Streets of Fire star Michael Pare in a supporting role. If you like mysteries this is a fun watch. Hope to see some more adventures with these characters.

As someone who loves winding down with a murder mystery, I am really glad that I stumbled upon this movie. The twists and turns kept me guessing. It had a lot of the familiar themes that I love about this genre, without being predictable or bland. Additionally, as someone who lives in wine country, the environment and characters felt authentic. I also loved seeing the environmental elements (I won't spoil it!) that are an ever present threat in my community. It added to the realism, and made this an easy movie to recommend to my friends and neighbors -- Pairs well with a large glass of wine and some popcorn while laying in bed!

The only good thing about this movie might have been the scenery but even that looks contrived. It was supposed to be on a sprawling California wine vineyard but most of the shots looked like they were filmed in someone's suburban back yard. The wedding scene was in a gully surrounded by rocks and shrubs. The ceremony was missing vows, the maid of honour sat off to the side sulking and the groom kept making eyes at the vartender. The plot was vague and confusing. I wasn't sure who everyone was even after 30 minutes. The acting was stunted and artificial. The actors often sounded like they had bad for fitting dentures. Even the audio was terrible. Don't waste your time.

I loved the setting and the story setup. The plot was fun and unpredictable. The acting was spectacular and the entire mood was like a old Agatha Christie movie but new. Very entertaining. I highly recommend "Twisted Vines." Vivica Fox captured her character beautifully, and she was surrounded with a talented team of actors. The winery itself became another character in the film. The fire trapping them together added to the thrills, as did the nighttime filming. Everyone was truly believable and the twists and turns in the plot had me fooled until the end. I had read professional movie reviews before I saw it -- their high ratings were justly deserved. Great job all!

This movie was bad, bad, bad. Disjointed story line (and calling it a story line is generous). Vintner not at all concerned with his vines when wild fires are creeping in. No one is panicking that the cop's bad advice basically trapped them all behind the fire. So many pieces that didn't make sense or weren't explained. The movie starts like you're already 20 minutes into it and should know the background of the characters. I only kept watching it hoping it would improve. Nope. Don't waste your time on this one. There are better crappy movies out there that are at least entertaining. Really surprised Vivica Fox was in this stinker.