Reviews
The Christmas Candle (2013)
Not a formulaic Hallmark movie!!
I watched this movie with my daughter who is deeply religious, and I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it. I despise Hallmark movies, but this was definitely not sappy and fake at all! (i.e. no sign of Kirk Cameron, lol) We are Christian but not churchgoers, and this movie wasn't a thinly-veiled attempt at conversion. It's not stilted or preachy. That doesn't surprise me at all, because on a couple of occasions I attended church as my father's caregiver and heard Max Lucado speak. He was in a simple dockers/button down/loafers outfit, and was just up there as a regular guy talking about real life. That is something lacking in most of today's churches.
The movie is well-acted, and I was actually shocked to see Susan Boyle in it, because I love her voice! She truly is mesmerizing to hear, and I thought her acting was touchingly real. This movie makes you feel good without being a "feel-good" cliche. It gives you hope in this Covid dumpster fire 2020 mess we've been in, without becoming sappy or overly sentimental. It elicited a few tears in me without being a "tearjerker." It depicts real life situations that are gritty and sad, and not all the story lines are formulaic happy endings, but overall, the feeling is optimistic. If you're on the fence like I was, I suggest giving this a try!
Share Your Scare (2019)
Couldn't get through the first episode
The woman being interviewed told her story in the most annoying way. "Blah blah AAAND. AAAND Blah blah blah AAAND. AAAND blah. Take a f-in break. Start a new sentence. Segue into it using LITERALLY ANY OTHER WORD. How about editing? Nope. Aaaaand, so after her statement the weirdly dressed pretend psychic "host" "interviews" the mother aaaand she basically tells the whole story again in the same words. Aaaand, I'm outta here.
The Shadow People (2017)
Hard pass
I admit we didn't watch this until the end, because we couldn't. We usually don't let bad reviews sway us, so we had every intention of seeing it through, but... First of all, the couple is so horny they almost die while making out during a hectic drive in pouring rain. Seriously? You couldn't wait 20 minutes? Then they proceed to make out every couple of minutes. Simpering was the word another reviewer used. The baby voices, the incessant flirting, it NEVER STOPS. Add in that the wife wears things my toddlers did. Her pixie haircut and the shortie overalls were just too cute and made me roll my eyes so hard they hurt. She smiles so big and so constantly that her huge teeth are scarier than the ghosts. The "jump" scares hardly registered due to my annoyance. My husband looked to be falling asleep waiting for something to happen, so we just abandoned it entirely.
Redeemed (2014)
I thought it was hokey
I am not a "railer against God", but I thought this movie was really cheesy in parts. Not only do most Christians not talk this way in ordinary conversation, but the entire emotional affair was so clearly obvious from the start. Paul was supposed to be a good man and husband, and he didn't even TRY to avoid temptation. Really? Invite the woman to your home to meet your family and work on stuff in the study!Show her some American hospitality! As for the woman who played his wife, I am glad she turned her life around, but I have to say that her appearance and demeanor doesn't reflect it. I had a hard time seeing past the sex kitten baby voice, the bleached blonde bed-head hair, the heavy makeup,fake eyelashes, fake tan, obvious lip fillers, and of course the ever present cross nestled between enhanced cleavage. Even her dress for renewing vows was on the tacky short side. I couldn't help but smirk every time she prayed. This probably makes me a bad person, I know. Don't even get me started on her friend! That over the top fakey, Christian manner and hokey accent. "It seems like we're talking' about......whispered in shame....INFIDELITY." I can see her using the exact same tone to say her neighbor is...wait for it....GAY. Shhhhh! Not in front of the children! Not as bad as Fireproof, not as good as Left Behind. Just...meh.
Shuffle (2011)
I loved, loved this movie!!
Before I rented this on On Demand, I watched a free preview. It turned out to be the first 5-10 minutes of the movie itself. Before long, I became so enthralled that I canceled the preview so as not to spoil the movie!
T.J. Thyne does a marvelous job with this mystery/drama/sci-fi mash up, and holds your attention all the way to the satisfying "Ahhhh...." ending. It did remind me a little bit of "The Time Traveler's Wife", but was different enough to be interesting. I actually enjoyed this more, because the ending was happier and more hopeful. The acting was superb, and I would not have known it was lower budget.
I definitely recommend this! And if you are a fan of the show "Bones," as I am, you'll love seeing a few familiar faces!
The Double Born (2008)
Utter &%$#fest!
People who likes this "movie" must be:
A) Involved with this film student quality mishmash; i.e. friends/relatives of its director.
B) Serial killers/psychos in training.
C) Pseudo intellectual posers who think anything grainy, disjointed and deeply disturbing is "art."
It's no wonder we never saw this in theaters. We had hoped for more, since it was based on a story by Bram Stoker. Instead, what we got is a series of badly executed jump shots, irrelevant plot points, gratuitous nudity, poorly conceived "artistic" lighting, dizzy camera angles that are supposed to be "gritty", boring, meaningless still life shots, ridiculously bad acting, and accents that sound straight out of a faux coal mine. Wth?? An utterly nauseating waste of film. Just my opinion, of course!
Yes, folks, the emperor really IS naked!
Talk of Angels (1998)
Should have been a miniseries
This movie badly wanted to be of the "Thornbirds" variety, but they tried to cram it all into 2 hours. Unfortunately, this means that all the different plot elements are so rushed as to become nonsensical. You never see the development of the relationship between her and the children, or even much of her and the son. The movie focuses on so much meaningful interaction between her and the father that at first I kept thinking they were going to fall in love. It certainly seemed that way on his part, and the two definitely had a lot of chemistry. Perhaps it was jealousy you see when he finds the postcard?
One thing that bothered me is that her governess friends keep endlessly harping on how "young, beautiful, naive and innocent" Mary is. Polly was 32 when she played this role, and although she is strikingly beautiful, she is hardly what I would call a girl. Even more so considering the time period of the film. I think a much younger, authentically Irish unknown would have suited the part better.
The accents are a little mystifying for me. I don't know much about Spain, but only some of the characters spoke the proper "lisping" Castilian Spanish. Everyone else did not. Am I missing something here?
The ending was horribly rushed, in my opinion. I understand her choice to leave, but some followup would have been nice. On the whole, this movie left me wanting a few hours more, and it was ultimately disappointing.