Take 3: Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe Review

On November 24, 2018 By 18cinemalane5 Comments

I will be one of the first people to admit that, this year, I have been failing at keeping up with Hallmark’s Christmas movies. So far, I have only seen three of Hallmark’s newly released Christmas offerings. But, by reviewing Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe, this short list will have grown to four movies. Because of this review, I have now seen both of the Hallmark Christmas movies that feature a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice. What got me interested in seeing this film is the character reversals that take place within this story. For example, instead of Mr. Darcy, we have a female protagonist named Darcy. This role reversal reminded me of one of my favorite Hallmark movies, Midnight Masquerade, so I was willing to give Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe a chance. Do I think this movie was better than Christmas at Pemberley Manor? I’m glad you came to this review because you’re about to find out!

Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe poster — *Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Pride%2c+Prejudice%2c+and+Mistletoe.

Things I liked about the film:

Lacey and Brendan’s performances: Whenever Lacey Chabert is cast in a Hallmark movie, you know she, more often than not, is going to bring her A game when it comes to her performance. Her portrayal of Darcy Fitzwilliam was no exception, as Lacey brought the right amount of sweetness to this role in order for her character to be likeable. I’ve seen Brendan’s lead performances in ‘Tis the Season for Love, Autumn in the Vineyard, Summer in the Vineyard, and Chesapeake Shores, so I knew he would have what it takes, talent wise, to lead his third Hallmark Christmas movie. Not only did Brendan pull off a really good performance, but he added the right amount of charisma for his on-screen presence to be as delightful as possible.

The Fitzwilliam’s house: I don’t know where Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe was filmed (probably somewhere in Canada), but wherever the production location was, the Fitzwilliam’s house was magnificent! The architecture was great to look at and showcased well on-screen. What was also great about this house was how it was decorated for Christmas-time. All of the decorations that were seen in this movie really complimented the features of this particular house!

The idea of auctioning off Christmas trees: When Darcy’s mother mentioned the idea of selling customized Christmas trees at the annual action, I thought it was a really creative concept. While auctions, especially charitable ones, have been featured in Hallmark movies before, the idea of selling Christmas trees at an auction is something I haven’t really seen in a Hallmark Christmas movie before. This idea’s originality is what carried my interest in that aspect of the plot. Maybe this idea could, one day, lead to a Hallmark movie about a Christmas tree decorating contest.

186734-OXNN2F-951 — Merry Christmas banner created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/merry-christmas-decorative-vintage-background_1359013.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A slow pace: While watching Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe, I noticed that the pace of this film was slower than most of the Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel. This caused the plot to feel more drawn out than it might have been intended.

The performances of the supporting cast: While Lacey and Brendan’s performances were really good, the performances from the actors in the supporting cast were weaker. The quality of these performances ranged from ok to less-than-stellar. There were even times when some of the actors appeared to be going through the motions, making it appear as if Lacey and Brendan were carrying the majority of the film on their shoulders.

The character of Carl: In my review of The Christmas Card, I talked about how I didn’t like the character of Paul, Faith’s boyfriend, because it felt like he was placed into the story just for the sake of adding something to the plot. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe had a similar problem with the character of Carl, Darcy’s boyfriend. Not only was his presence in the movie very limited, but the only time this character added conflict to the film’s overall plot was in the last twenty minutes of the movie. The character of Carl could have been written out of this story and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Not so strong on-screen chemistry: While Lacey and Brendan had on-screen chemistry, I don’t think it was as strong as it could have been. To me, it didn’t feel like a romantic relationship was developing between Darcy and Luke. Instead, it appeared as though Darcy and Luke’s friendship was growing over the course of the film.

Little resemblance to the Pride and Prejudice story: In my Christmas at Pemberley Manor review, I said that the only thing I didn’t like about the movie was how few resemblances to Pride and Prejudice were found throughout the film. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe had the exact same flaw, with even fewer characters being given the names of characters from Jane Austen’s book. If you remove the fact that this movie was supposed to be a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice with a twist, it would have come across like just any other Hallmark Christmas movie.

20181124_192613[1] — Yes, a new Hallmark movie was announced during the premiere of a new Hallmark movie. Isn’t that ironic? Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

20181124_192649[1] — Based on the title and the apparent month of release, I’m guessing this will be a Valentine’s Day themed movie. Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

My overall impression:

Before the start of Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups, I knew there would be at least one movie that wasn’t good. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe is the first Christmas movie, that I’ve seen so far, from this year’s line-ups that I didn’t like. As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I watch every movie with low expectations and an open mind. However, there are times when a movie just can’t reach those levels of expectations, no matter how low they are. On paper, the idea behind Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe sounded creative and interesting. But, in practice, this concept was not as compelling as I had hoped. During this movie, there was an advertisement for a Hallmark movie titled “Love, Romance & Chocolate”, which is supposed to premiere next February. This film will also star Lacey Chabert. Whoever stars in this new movie as the male lead actor, I just hope “Love, Romance & Chocolate” is better than Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe was.

Overall score: 5.7 out of 10

Have you seen Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe? What 2018 Hallmark Christmas movie do you like so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: The Christmas Card Review

On November 18, 2018 By 18cinemalane10 Comments

For Moon in Gemini’s The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon, I put a lot of thought into what film I would review. When I thought about which movies I had never seen up until this point, one of the first films that came to mind was the Hallmark movie, The Christmas Card. Since the movie’s premiere in 2006, it seems like a significant amount of Hallmark fans love this movie. The Christmas Card is so beloved that it almost always is included into one of Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups. This film also won Hallmark Channel’s first Christmas movie March Madness contest last year! Since 2006, fans of The Christmas Card have asked Hallmark on numerous occasions to give this film a sequel, wishing and hoping that their dream of revisiting this story would come true. Because of my participation in this blogathon, I was finally given the chance to not only watch this movie, but to see if it was truly as beloved as people had made it out to be. So, take a seat on this sleigh ride as we travel through this review of The Christmas Card!

20181118_212816[1] — Thank you, television of mine, for reminding me that I watched this film. Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: For the most part, the acting in The Christmas Card was fine. However, the three stand-out performers in this film were Edward Asner, Lois Nettleton, and Peter Jason! Their performances were so lively and animated when it needed to be, but also contained the emotions required for the film’s dramatic moments. It was always a delight when these three actors came on-screen, with the interactions involving their characters being enjoyable to watch. Because of their ability to provide the right amount of versatility to their roles, Edward, Lois, and Peter brought a good amount of believability to their performances, even more than the other actors in this cast.

The scenery: Any time the characters went into the forest, the setting surrounding them was beautiful to look at. The story’s natural landscape were showcased very well in the film and really captured the spirit of the season. Whenever the Spelman’s “special place” was featured in the movie, it was absolutely breath-taking. The natural beauty of the film’s snowy environment was definitely a highlight to this film!

The reverence and respect toward the military: Hallmark usually does a good job whenever the military or military families are incorporated into their stories. The Christmas Card is no exception. When the subject of fallen military members was brought up in the film, the creative team associated with this movie not only made sure the right emotions were featured in those moments, but that those moments were presented in a respectful and appropriate manner. During the Christmas Eve Service, the pastor said a prayer where he hoped the members of the military would stay safe during the Christmas season. I thought this prayer was well-written and handled by the film’s creative team with great care.

78758-OFLC5Q-374 — Christmas card image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/christmas-card-with-watercolor-mistletoe-decoration_965555.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/watercolor”>Watercolor vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A weak and drawn-out plot: The main plot of The Christmas Card is Faith (one of the main characters of the film) writing and sending a card to Sgt. Cody Cullen (the film’s protagonist), which causes him to travel to her hometown in order to thank her for the card. Because Cody doesn’t thank Faith for the card until the last ten minutes of the movie, it made the plot feel weak and drawn-out. Before I watched The Christmas Card, I was hoping there would be two interesting subplots to complement the main plot. Sadly, the only plot in this film was the main plot, with the story being filled with “filler” material just to keep the movie going. The scenes that show Cody working at the Spelman family lumberyard, one of the film’s “filler” material, were the most boring scenes in this movie.

The character of Faith’s boyfriend: The incorporation of Paul, Faith’s boyfriend, into this story was meant to add conflict for the protagonist. However, I found this conflict to be just as weak as the main plot. It felt like Paul and the conflict he brought were included in this story just for the sake of adding something to the plot. If Paul had been written out of this story, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Being forced to suspend more of my disbelief than I wanted to: More often than not, Hallmark asks their audience to suspend their disbelief when it comes to their movies (which, as a Hallmark fan, I am more than willing to do). However, there were moments in The Christmas Card where I felt Hallmark was asking me, as an audience member, to suspend more of my disbelief than I had wanted to. For example, I thought Faith’s card, while written with the best of intentions, was very unrealistic. I’ve participated in several activities that required me to write a letter or card to a military service-member. During my participation in these activities, I was always told that the only information I could share about myself was my first name. The idea of Faith not only sharing her full name, but also sharing other personal aspects of her life, such as where she lived and photos of what her family’s house looked like, seemed so ridiculous to me, that, to a certain extent, I was taken out of the film.

Greatest Film I've Never Seen blogathon banner — The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon banner created by Debbie from Moon in Gemini. Image found at https://debravega.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/announcing-the-greatest-film-ive-never-seen-blogathon/.

My overall impression:

At best, I thought The Christmas Card was ok. While there were a few good things about the film, it wasn’t enough to sweep me off my feet, as it did for some Hallmark fans. When I reflect on this movie, I can think of Hallmark movies with similar themes that are better than The Christmas Card, with Operation Christmas and Home for Christmas Day being two good examples. While I was watching The Christmas Card, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “this won Hallmark Channel’s very first Christmas movie March Madness”? Over the twelve years that this movie has existed, I feel that it has been over-hyped. I don’t think this movie is bad, but I do think it could have been stronger. I’m glad that Moon in Gemini created The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon because I now have an honest opinion about one of Hallmark’s most beloved films.

Overall score: 6.2 out of 10

Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts on The Christmas Card? What Hallmark Christmas movie do you cherish the most? Please let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Lawrence of Arabia Review

On November 11, 2018 By 18cinemalane16 Comments

For Maddy Loves Her Classic Films’ blogathon, The World War One On Film Blogathon, I had originally planned on reviewing the movie, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero. However, because the film changed its DVD release date several times, with December 11^th being the latest date, I had to come up with a different movie to review. Remembering MovieBabble’s list of the Top 10 Best World War I Movies, I visited this post to see what options were available at such short notice. I decided to pick Lawrence of Arabia because a) I’ve never seen it before and b) I’ve heard a lot of good things about the movie throughout the years. In fact, until I read MovieBabble’s aforementioned list, I had no idea that Lawrence of Arabia had anything to do with World War I. Despite the change of plans, I was looking forward to finally seeing this movie. Was it truly as good as almost everyone says it is? Let’s find out in my review for Lawrence of Arabia!

Lawrence of Arabia poster — *Lawrence of Arabia* poster created by Columbia Pictures. Image found at http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4455/Lawrence-of-Arabia/#

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of Lawrence of Arabia was really good! Everyone on-screen brought a significant amount of believability to their roles. Peter O’Toole gave such a great performance, bringing the emotional depth that made his performance so memorable. Two of the stand-out performers in this movie were Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn! Both of their performances were so good, it felt like their characters were truly coming to life as the events played out on-screen. The acting overall was definitely a highlight to this film!

The scenery: The scenery in this film is great to look at! Any scene that took place in the desert was filmed very well, making that environment appear beautiful. I also liked the architecture that was featured in the film. My favorite building in Lawrence of Arabia was the British offices in Cairo because that facility looked majestic and breath-taking.

Seeing World War I from a unique perspective: Whenever events from World War I or World War II are depicted in film, either characters are shown fighting on the European front or the conflicts of World War I or II are shown affecting various European countries. In Lawrence of Arabia, however, the effects of World War I are shown through the eyes of those stationed in Arabia. Like a lot of war movies or movies discussing the subject of war, there were several shared ideas in Lawrence of Arabia, such as looking out for fellow comrades, questioning the ethics of war, and individuals from various backgrounds coming together to reach a common goal. There were also ideas in Lawrence of Arabia that added uniqueness to this perspective, such as religion and the characters’ views on the two Arab tribes that were amongst Lawrence’s troop. These shared ideas and unique views of World War I make Lawrence of Arabia an interesting and compelling war movie!

2018 WWI on Film Blogathon — The World War One On Film Blogathon banner created by Maddy from Maddy Loves Her Classic Films. Images found at https://maddylovesherclassicfilms.wordpress.com/2018/06/23/announcing-the-world-war-one-on-film-blogathon/

What I didn’t like about the film:

An interesting four minutes: During the first four minutes of this movie, the screen was blank while the film’s score played. I was so caught off-guard by this, that I thought something was wrong with my television.

Some scenes feeling more drawn out than others: While watching Lawrence of Arabia, I noticed that some scenes were drawn out more than others. The scenes that were drawn out were any of them that involved the characters traveling in the desert. Because these scenes didn’t involve a lot of action or intrigue, this affected the continuity of my interest in the film.

A limited amount of battles: When one thinks of a war movie, the idea of the characters fighting in at least one battle is almost always expected. Before I saw Lawrence of Arabia, I thought it would contain two smaller battles and one big, climatic battle. However, this movie contained several military confrontations and political negotiations. While these things made the film interesting, I was expecting a little more action.

Seamless pattern with chamomile and poppies flowers — Poppy and chamomile pattern image created by Klyaksun at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/seamless-pattern-with-chamomile-and-poppies-flowers_1308007.htm’>Designed by Klyaksun</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Klyaksun – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

One three-hour movie and a film review later, I can honestly say that Lawrence of Arabia was a good movie! However, I, personally, feel that it’s not as great as some people have made it out to be. Over the years, I think it has become a bit over-hyped. But, I can definitely see why people like it as much as they claim to. This film does have its merits and has stood the “test of time” for good reason. Lawrence of Arabia is a film that is worth checking out, whether it’s your first time seeing it or if you’re re-watching it for the billionth time. Looking back on it, Lawrence of Arabia does make a good war movie. Its unique perspective and cinematic qualities set this movie apart from all the rest.

Overall score: 7.7-7.8 out of 10

Have you seen Lawrence of Arabia? What’s your favorite war movie? Leave your thoughts below in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to check out MovieBabble’s post that I mentioned in this review, you can visit this link:

https://moviebabblereviews.com/2018/08/22/top-10-best-world-war-i-movies/

Take 3: Marrying Father Christmas Review

On November 6, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Back in February, when I published my Word on the Street story about Marrying Father Christmas going into production, I never thought it would be as successful as it ended up being. As of November 2018, this Word on the Street post has received 2 likes and 303 views! Since my readers are, apparently, interested in this film, I have decided to write a review for Marrying Father Christmas! Before this movie premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, I had seen Finding Father Christmas and Engaging Father Christmas. I found both of these movies to be really enjoyable! When Hallmark announced that this series would receive a third film, I was definitely excited to see it. Did this movie live up to my expectations? Take a sleigh ride through my Marrying Father Christmas review in order to find out!

Marrying Father Christmas poster — *Marrying Father Christmas* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=143&FeedBoxID=986&NodeID=307&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Marrying%20Father%20Christmas&IsSeries=False.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: I thought the cast was solid in Marrying Father Christmas! From the child actors to the leading stars, everyone put all the talent they had into their respective roles! All of the performances in this movie appeared so natural, that it made the characters and their situations seem realistic. Because of the believability of the performances, every time characters interacted with one another made it seem like there were real-life conversations going on in the film. These performances helped elevate the emotion during dramatic scenes and bring in joy and humor when it was needed for light-hearted scenes.

The on-screen chemistry: One of the best parts of the Father Christmas series has been watching Miranda and Ian’s relationship grow over time. What makes this part of the series great is the on-screen chemistry between Erin Krakow and Niall Matter. Their performances appeared so natural and believable, that it looked and felt like Miranda and Ian truly got along with and cared about each other. Erin’s and Niall’s performance helped make the scene of Miranda and Ian’s wedding special, as the moment where Miranda and Ian exchanged their wedding vows was emotional and heart-felt.

The reveal of Miranda’s wedding dress: In wedding themed Hallmark movies, the audience is, usually, given the opportunity to see the bride wearing her wedding dress before the groom. In Marrying Father Christmas, however, Miranda’s wedding dress wasn’t revealed until the day of her wedding. I thought this creative choice was very clever, as I can’t recall Hallmark ever having a bride not reveal her wedding dress until the wedding itself. In terms of the dress, I thought it was simple yet classy. I also thought that Erin looked beautiful wearing that particular wedding dress!

204659-P02UXR-453 — Christmas family image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/nice-family-christmas-scene-singing-together_1458033.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A slower pace: In Marrying Father Christmas, the pace was on the slower side. It didn’t make the movie boring or dull. However, it did make the movie as a whole feel more drawn out.

The omission of the plot from Kissing Father Christmas: In my Word on the Street post where I talked about Marrying Father Christmas going into production, I wondered if the story from Kissing Father Christmas, the third book in the Father Christmas series, would be omitted from Marrying Father Christmas or if it would be included as a subplot. Sadly, this story was omitted from the movie. This made me feel bad for the fans of this book series, as this movie didn’t seem to follow the continuity of that specific series.

Some characters getting stronger subplots than others: While watching Marrying Father Christmas, I noticed that some plots were stronger than others. For instance, the subplot of Thomas and Margaret’s relationship was good. However, it wasn’t as strong as the subplot of Miranda trying to refuse Margaret’s plans for the wedding, for example. This caused the movie to not have the same amount of consistency as the other two movies.

75628-OEJ0NK-229 — Wedding cake image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/enjoyable-wedding-card_953556.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/frame”>Frame vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

While Marrying Father Christmas was a good movie, I don’t think it was as strong as Finding and Engaging Father Christmas. Despite this, I would still like to see this story continue. As a whole, I enjoy this series. The quality has been, for the most part, consistent and they have been a joy to watch. Father Christmas is a special series that has brought some great acting, good stories, and wonderful memories. Just like Christmas at Pemberley Manor, Marrying Father Christmas was a good start to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “Miracles of Christmas” line-up! It’ll be interesting to see which movie from this particular line-up ends up being my favorite.

Overall score: 7.9 out of 10

Have you seen the Father Christmas series? Do you want to see this series continue? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Queen of the Damned Review (Halloween Double Feature Part 2)

On October 31, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalane12 Comments

Happy Halloween! Just to let you know, there will be spoilers in this review. If you want to read this Double Feature’s introduction, visit this link:

My Halloween Double Feature: An Introduction

Queen of the Damned poster — *Queen of the Damned* poster created by Warner Bros. Pictures. Image found at https://www.warnerbros.com/queen-damned

In your introduction for this double feature, you mentioned that both Queen of the Damned and The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire were released in 2002. Can you think of anything from around that time period that could have influenced the creation of this film?

I think there are three things that influenced the creation of Queen of the Damned. The first is the character of Malcolm from Jurassic Park. As I mentioned in my Jurassic Park review, Malcolm is a rock-star-esque mathematician. However, Malcolm appeared to be a likable character. In Queen of the Damned, Lestat was a rock-star-esque vampire. Despite these characteristics, Lestat, for the most part, comes across as a likable character. The second thing is the 1998 film, Blade. I’ve never seen this movie, but I know that it’s a darker and more violent comic book film that, to a certain extent, discusses the subject of vampires. Because this film was successful enough to receive a sequel (that was, ironically, released exactly a month after Queen of the Damned), I’m speculating that Blade inspired the creative team behind Queen of the Damned to make their movie darker and more violent than their predecessor, Interview with the Vampire. The third and final thing is, interestingly, Interview with the Vampire. I’ve never seen this film either, but based on this film’s trailer, it appears to be a gothic film in the old-school sense. Queen of the Damned focuses on the new-school/modern gothic style, which is very different from the first film. Most movie series try to do something different with each new film, so I think this film’s approach was rather creative.

2. Were you able to follow along with the story and understand what was going on in the film despite not having read the source material?

For the most part, yes. I did some research about this film before I saw it, so I was aware of certain aspects of the film that some casual movie-viewers might not understand. For instance, in the film’s climax, there are various characters that are introduced. One of these characters is Pandora. If I didn’t know that she is a character from a spin-off book series that Anne Rice wrote, I would have no idea who Pandora was in this film.

3. Were your pre-movie questions answered?

Well, two out of my three pre-movie questions were answered. The only question that wasn’t answered was how Lestat survived being burned in the previous film. Honestly, I wasn’t as bothered by this as I thought I would be. Because this movie focused more on Lestat’s present and origin story, re-capping the first film would have felt like Queen of the Damned had too much content.

As for the two questions that did get answered, the reason why Lestat appeared like he was trying to pursue a romantic relationship with Akasha is because, in the movie, Akasha kidnapped Lestat and forced him to in be in relationship with her. Speaking of Akasha, she did reveal that the reason why she loved Lestat was because he reminded her of her deceased husband. As for Jesse, it appeared, in the movie, like she truly loved Lestat. Because she’s a vampire scholar, Jesse wasn’t as fazed by the vampire aspects of Lestat’s world. Also, because her aunt is a vampire, it seemed like Jesse truly appreciated the subject of vampires and the world surrounding them.

4. Were you right or wrong in your pre-movie prediction?

I guess I was kind of right in my pre-movie prediction {shrugs with a confused look on my face}. While Lestat was forced into a relationship with Akasha and Jesse wasn’t aware of this until the climax of the film, there is a moment during the film’s climax where Lestat pretends to drink more of Akasha’s blood then he should have. This allowed the other vampires present in that scene to defeat Akasha.

5. In this double feature’s introduction, when you talked about your reason for choosing to review Queen of the Damned, you said that the movie clips featured in the MsMojo video, ‘Top 10 Movies Based on Books That Need a Do-Over’, appeared bonkers to you. Was this movie bonkers or do you think these movie clips were taken out of context?

I definitely think these movie clips were taken out of context. To me, Queen of the Damned was not as bonkers as the clips within this video made it seem. The only thing I found bonkers in this movie was Lestat and Akasha’s “relationship” because of how problematic it was.

Old castle in the mountians. — Castle photo created by Photoangel at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/old-castle-in-the-mountians_1286237.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/tree”>Tree image created by Photoangel – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

6. In a post from The Blog Complainer titled “How To Make A Good Movie Sequel”, there were several steps listed as if the article were a how-to for making sequels that are good. When a sequel successfully followed these steps, it means they passed the “Good Movie Sequel School for Dummies”. Because Queen of the Damned is a sequel, do you think it passed this school?

Well, yes and no. On the one hand, Queen of the Damned is based on two books from The Vampire Chronicles series. On the other hand, some stories were explored more than others because of this choice. Also, there were no references to Interview with the Vampire besides Lestat being a protagonist in the sequel. Lestat also had different characteristics than he did in the first movie, such as being less self-centered. However, the creative team behind this movie tried to do something different from the first movie. Lestat’s backstory was further explored and there were new characters that were introduced. If Queen of the Damned were enrolled in the “Good Movie Sequel School for Dummies”, it would probably receive a grade of somewhere between a B to C+.

7. Did you acquire any new thoughts and/or questions while watching this film?

Yes, lots! Because this post is already long, I will only list a few of these questions and thoughts.

What is Lestat’s net worth?

Why is there a small amount of security at Lestat’s concert? Since his band was aware of Lestat encouraging other vampires to show up at his concert to try and hurt him, wouldn’t they want to have more security at the concert?

Why would Jesse and Lestat return Lestat’s journal to David? It’s Lestat’s journal, so why wouldn’t he want to keep it?

How did Akasha know about Marius and Lestat’s conversation about Lestat needing a companion? Shortly after she kidnaps Lestat, Akasha tells him that she wants to grant his wish of a companion. However, Akasha was not a part of that conversation nor did anyone tell her about that conversation.

As I’ve already mentioned, I think that Lestat and Akasha’s “relationship” was problematic. The reason why I put the word relationship in quotations is because Lestat and Akasha were not together for a long period of time and their relationship didn’t develop over a significant amount of time. The way I would describe this “relationship” is with an analogy: the “relationship” is a car and Akasha is driving it. All Lestat is able to do sit in the passenger seat and take orders from Akasha. Honestly, I think this “relationship” is one of the most problematic relationships I’ve ever seen in a movie.

I really liked the sets and scenery in this film! For the most part, it made the environments in the movie feel inviting and appealing. I also thought the acting was really good! Everyone portrayed their characters so well and all of the performances were memorable. Something that I didn’t like in this film was most of the music. While I liked the violin music and the music that played during Akasha’s demise, I was not a fan of the goth rock music. When Lestat sang at his concert, he sounded unnecessarily angry. I would rather hear him play the violin than sing.

8. In Queen of the Damned, did anything stand out to you, whether for better or worse?

I liked the techniques in story-telling that were used in Queen of the Damned. There were several times when voice-overs from Jesse and Lestat were included to show the film’s story from their specific point-of-view. I think these voice-overs added depth to the story that we wouldn’t have gotten if they weren’t there. Most movies have one main plot and a few subplots. Queen of the Damned was told through several subplots that were all connected to Lestat in some way. I thought this was a very interesting approach to cinematic storytelling that I haven’t really seen before.

To me, the biggest flaw of Queen of the Damned is the run-time. This movie combines elements from two novels into one movie. However, the movie itself is one hour and forty-one minutes. Since the creative team knew they were going to incorporate so many story elements into their film, I think this movie either should have been a two-part over-arcing story (like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) or the run-time should have been longer. Because of this, some plots were explored more than others. For example, Lestat’s relationship with Akasha and Jesse seemed to move at a very quick pace, not giving these relationships enough time to develop and grow. I believe that any of my aforementioned solutions could have solved this issue.

9. According to the BMeTric charts in the Queen of the Damned Preview from Bad Movie Twins, it appears that interest in this film is rising. Why do you think that is?

Well, I think there’s two reasons for that. The first is negative reviews that the film has received. After hearing these reviews and seeing the 17% it has on Rotten Tomatoes, some people might choose to watch this movie out of curiosity, like I did. The second reason is Aaliyah’s involvement in the film. Some people might choose to watch this film as a way to respect her memory. Others may choose to watch this film because they want to learn more about who she was as a person and entertainer.

10. After watching Queen of the Damned, what is the one thing you can take away from this movie viewing experience?

While I think Queen of the Damned could have been a stronger film, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people have made it out to be. To me, this film is decent and I do think it has its merits. After watching this film, I started to notice a very sad pattern. I’ve only seen six vampire movies in my life, including Queen of the Damned. Out of those six, most of them feature at least one problematic relationship that is meant to be romantic. I can’t say if this is a norm in vampires movies or if this is just a pattern in the vampire movies I’ve seen. However, I was happy to see Lestat and Jesse pursue a romantic relationship with each other because, to me, they seemed like they truly loved and cared about each other. Their relationship also appeared to be a healthy one, where Lestat and Jesse loved one another for who they were and appreciated each other’s worlds.

176402-OWIP8M-64 — Happy vampire image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/several-vampires-ready-for-halloween_1317599.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/party”>Party vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you to check out the blog posts I referenced, you can visit these links:

Queen of the Damned Preview

https://theblogcomplainer.com/2018/07/15/how-to-make-a-good-movie-sequel/

Take 3: The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire Review (Halloween Double Feature Part 1)

On October 31, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalane9 Comments

Happy Halloween! Just to let you know, there will be spoilers in this review. If you want to read this Double Feature’s introduction, visit this link:

My Halloween Double Feature: An Introduction

20181031_233641[1] — A DVD of *The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire*. Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

In your introduction for this double feature, you mentioned that both Queen of the Damned and The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire were released in 2002. Can you think of anything from around that time period that could have influenced the creation of this film?

When Hallmark Channel began in 2001, the network didn’t have a strong identity like they do today. Because The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire was released the year after Hallmark Channel’s start, the creative team behind this film seemed to have more creative freedom on this project than they would have if it were made in recent years. With this creative freedom, the film was able to explore themes that are normally not found in Hallmark movies, such as various belief systems and raising awareness for endangered species.

2. Were you able to follow along with the story and understand what was going on in the film despite not having read the source material?

Absolutely! The thing about The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire is it’s written in a way that made me feel like prior knowledge of the source material wasn’t necessary to enjoy this film. From what I know about the Sherlock Holmes character and series, the stories seem pretty straight-forward. The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire was, for the most part, isolated from the other movies in this particular series. This makes it a good movie to introduce someone to Sherlock Holmes, as the film doesn’t make you feel like you have to watch them in a certain order.

3. Was your pre-movie thought addressed?

Because there were no legitimate vampires in this movie, my pre-movie thought was not addressed. The closest thing to vampires in The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire were vampire bats.

4. Were you right or wrong in your pre-movie prediction?

I was so wrong in my pre-movie prediction {face palms embarrassedly}. As I mentioned in answer #3, there were no vampires in this movie.

5. Within your pre-movie thought for The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, you talked about how a film’s title can act as a promise to a film’s audience. Do you think the title of this movie was deceiving or honest?

It’s actually a little bit of both. On the one hand, most of the characters truly believed there was a vampire on the loose. On the other hand, as I’ve been saying, there were no vampires in The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire. If anything, this film’s title bent the truth.

O614E00 — Magnifying glass and fingerprint image created by Alvaro_Cabrera at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/loupe-over-a-fingerprint_853908.htm’>Designed by alvaro_cabrera</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/glass”>Glass vector created by Alvaro_cabrera – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

6. Because The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire was released before the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel) began, do you think there was anything within this film that could have influenced future films from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries?

I believe The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire was one of the movies that helped create the foundation that today’s Hallmark Movies & Mysteries films use in their stories. The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire is a murder mystery, which is the same type of mystery story that a lot of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries films choose to adopt. In terms of specifics, Watson and Holmes use autopsy reports to solve their respective mystery. This reminded me of how Jennifer Shannon, in the Garage Sale Mystery series, relies on Tramell’s autopsy reports to help her solve the case. What surprised me the most was that The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire takes place during the Christmas season. The only Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film that is set during Christmas is Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery. I’m hoping Hallmark can have more of their mystery movies take place during Christmas, so that fans of the mystery series can solve mysteries year-round.

7. Did you acquire any new thoughts and/or questions while watching this film?

Yes I did! Here are a few of them:

As I mentioned in answer #1, the theme of various belief systems was explored. In The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, every character believed in something. For instance, Sherlock Holmes believed in logic. It was interesting to see how these different belief systems correlated with each other to propel the story forward and help the characters solve the case. An example of this is how Holmes’ belief in logic and Dr. Chagas’ belief in knowledge and awareness of vampire bats were used together to not only prove Dr. Chagas’ innocence, but also to find the culprit.

As I also mentioned in answer #6, The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire took place during the Christmas season. While the Christmas theme, in this movie, did not have anywhere near as strong of a presence as in Hallmark’s Christmas movies today, I found this choice to be very interesting. When one thinks of what could be found in Christmas movies, the subject of vampires doesn’t normally come to mind. This shows that the concept of vampires can be incorporated into almost any type of movie in almost any time of year. This also shows how Hallmark thought outside-the-box when it comes to their Christmas movies.

There are very few Hallmark movies that feature characters with disabilities. Even fewer Hallmark movies feature protagonists or significant secondary characters who not only have a disability, but who also contribute to the film’s plot. In The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, Sister Helen, one of the sisters who lived and worked at the church, is blind. However, she didn’t let her disability stop her from helping Sherlock Holmes find the guilty individual and continuing to carry out her congregation’s mission of sharing their faith with the community.

8. In The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, did anything stand out to you, whether for better or worse?

For the better, I really think the camaraderie between Holmes and Watson was a highlight of this film. Matt Frewer’s and Kenneth Welsh’s performance was very natural and convincing, making their characters appear like they truly got along with each other. As I was watching this movie, I realized that this camaraderie is the foundation for all of Holmes’ interactions and relationships. If it was not for the believability of the camaraderie between Watson and Holmes, the other times where Holmes interacts with various characters would probably not feel believable either.

Now, for the worse, something that I felt was missing from this movie was humor. I’ve mentioned before on my blog that Hallmark incorporates humor into their mystery stories to give their audience a break from the darkness and sadness of the murder mystery. Since, in this movie, there were seldom moments of light-heartedness or humor, the audience isn’t able to take a break from the darkness of the murder mystery and the spookiness of the vampire theme. I don’t know if there is humor within Sherlock Holmes stories, but I’m pretty sure Hallmark could have added some light-hearted moments that would have be more in line with the tone and time period of a particular story like this.

9. When people talk about their favorite Hallmark movies or Hallmark movies that they like, no one mentions The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire. Why do you think the majority of Hallmark’s audience isn’t aware of this movie’s existence?

This movie is not available on Hallmark Movies Now and, as far as I know, it has never appeared on any of Hallmark’s networks. Because of this, Hallmark hasn’t given their audience an opportunity to see this film.

10. After watching The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, what is the one thing you can take away from this movie viewing experience?

Well, for one thing, The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire is a different film from what is usually found on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. This is because the movie is dialogue heavy, with few moments of suspense and action. However, I do this is a good movie. As I mentioned within this review, I think this movie is a good introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I also think this is a good introduction to mystery stories from Hallmark. In a time when Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is thriving with their mystery series, I believe it’s important for Hallmark fans to be given the chance to watch the films that helped these stories be what they are today. After I watched The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, I gained an appreciation not only for Hallmark’s mystery movies, but also for the foundation that was set in place so these movies could be as entertaining and intriguing as possible.

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Christmas at Pemberley Manor Review

On October 29, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Because I’ve been busy preparing my editorial for the 2^nd Disability In Film Blogathon and getting my reviews ready for my Halloween Double Feature, I haven’t been as active on my blog as I usually am. But, I wasn’t going to miss a beautiful opportunity to start reviewing movies within either of Hallmark’s Christmas line-ups! Both networks made no delays as they began airing Christmas movies last Friday. To start this Christmas movie season off on a well-intentioned note, the very first movie to premiere this year was Christmas at Pemberley Manor. When I first read the synopsis for this film, it sounded, to me, like a lot of other Hallmark movies I’ve seen or heard of before. Because this movie seemed to contain some of the same tropes that are usually found in Hallmark movies (businesswoman visits a small town and just so happens to find true love there, for example), I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this film. When I found out this movie was a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I was curious to see how this particular story would play out in the 21^st century. Did this creative approach work in this movie’s favor? Did the tropes win in the battle of Originality vs. Formulaic? Let’s turn the page on my Christmas at Pemberley Manor review in order to find out!

Christmas at Pemberley Manor poster — *Christmas at Pemberley Manor* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.hallmarkchannelpress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Christmas+at+Pemberley+Manor

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of Christmas at Pemberley Manor was great! Everyone was cast so well in their roles, with the portrayals of all the characters being memorably enjoyable. This is the second Hallmark Christmas movie of Jessica Lowndes’ that I’ve seen and I think her performance in this movie was much stronger than in A December Bride. This is also the second Hallmark Christmas movie of Michael Rady’s that I’ve seen and, just like in A Joyous Christmas, Michael’s performance was fantastic! I also think that Steve Larkin portrayed one of the best Santa-esque characters in Hallmark Christmas movie history!

The on-screen chemistry: I thought that Jessica and Michael performed very well together! The on-screen chemistry was one of the things that added to their performances, with this on-screen chemistry appearing very believable. As I watched Christmas at Pemberley Manor, I could see that Elizabeth and William’s relationship developed as the film went on. These characters looked like they truly cared about one another and their interactions were well-acted. I hope Jessica and Michael star in another Hallmark movie together again!

The writing: Even though there were some of the usual Hallmark movie tropes in Christmas at Pemberley Manor, there were times when it felt like the screenwriter was trying something new in terms of storytelling. For instance, in some Hallmark movies, there are two guys that, romantically speaking, like the same female protagonist. Out of these two guys, one of them almost always is portrayed as either a “workaholic” or not a nice person. In Christmas at Pemberley Manor, however, both of the guys that liked Elizabeth were genuinely good people. At one point, I honestly had no idea which love interest Elizabeth would end up with.

180564-OWVPWB-850 — Adorable Santa image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/christmas-background-with-funny-santa_1324597.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

Very little resemblance to Pride and Prejudice: When I heard that Christmas at Pemberley Manor was meant to be a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, I was interested in seeing how this story could be adapted for the 21^st century, especially since the only re-telling of Pride and Prejudice I’ve seen is the “Mr. Darcy” series on Hallmark Channel. However, this movie didn’t feel like any form of the Pride and Prejudice story. The only connections I could find between the original story and this film were Elizabeth’s, William’s, and Jane’s name being the same as either a character from the book or its respective author and the “don’t-judge-a-book-by-it’s-cover” trope.

polish-manor-1221172-1279x1705 — Manor with white colored porch image created by Arkadiusz Frankowicz at freeimages.com. “FreeImages.com/Arkadiusz Frankowicz .”

My overall impression:

Christmas at Pemberley Manor was such a strong start to not only Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups, but also to the overall Christmas movie season! This movie was such a pleasant surprise that I ended up liking more than I thought I would! Looking back on it, this scenario reminds me of Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie line-up from last year. The very first movie in that line-up was Marry Me at Christmas and before I watched this film, my expectations for it were low. This is because, just like how I originally felt about Christmas at Pemberley Manor, the movie sounded like a lot of other Hallmark movies I’ve seen and heard of before. When I did get the chance to watch Marry Me at Christmas, it became one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies from last year! I hope that Hallmark’s Christmas movies continue to surprise me the way Christmas at Pemberley Manor did, with more movies being better than expected.

Overall score: 8.2 out of 10

Have you seen Christmas at Pemberley Manor? What Hallmark movie are you looking forward to this Christmas season? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Love, of Course Review

On October 21, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Since both of my reviews from this year’s “Fall Harvest” line-up have been pretty well-liked and since I don’t know if I’ll review any movies before my Halloween double feature, I decided to review Love, of Course. Like a lot of the movies I talk about on 18 Cinema Lane, I had low expectations for this film. While I’d seen Cameron Mathison and Mackenzie Vega perform in at least one Hallmark movie before, I had never seen any of Kelly Rutherford or Gabby Douglas’ acting performances. Also, the story of a parent spending time with their children at college is not new for Hallmark, as A Lesson in Romance was released four years prior to Love, of Course. However, I wanted to watch this film with an open mind, hoping that, at least, some creativity was incorporated into this story. Was Love, of Course the surprise waiting at the end of the corn maze? Let’s take the trip through this review to find out!

Love, of Course poster — *Love, of Course* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Love%2c+of+Course.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The entire cast of this movie was great! Everyone brought their A game to their specific roles, with all of the performances appearing natural and believable. The talents of the actors complimented each other, making the film even more enjoyable. Before watching Love, of Course, I was impressed by Mackenzie Vega’s performance in Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Beach House. Mackenzie’s portrayal of Cara was great in this film as well! I hope Mackenzie can appear in more Hallmark movies in the future.

The on-screen chemistry: Kelly Rutherford and Cameron Mathison gave a great performance individually and as a pair. One thing that added to the portrayal of their characters was their on-screen chemistry. Amy and Noah’s relationship came across very convincingly. It also looked and felt like their relationship was developing over the course of the film. Watching Amy and Noah’s interactions was definitely one of the highlights of this film!

The fall and harvest themes: I thought the fall theme was incorporated really well in Love, of Course! There was a lot of fall related things in the movie; from the idea of someone going back to school to the desserts that Amy makes for the people around her. I also liked how this story focused on the theme of harvest. Farmer’s markets have been featured in Hallmark movies before. However, Love, of Course showed the process of how a farmer’s market participant prepares to sell their product at a farmer’s market. I found this aspect of the film very informative and interesting!

corn-2-1499929-1280x960 — Corn field image created by Rene Cerney at freeimages.com. “FreeImages.com/Rene Cerney.”

What I didn’t like about the film:

The under-utilization of Gabby Douglas: Even though Gabby doesn’t have as much acting experience as some of the other cast members in this film, I was disappointed by how little screen time she was given. Gabby is not only one of the top billed actresses in the film, she is also featured on the film’s poster. While watching this film, I noticed that Gabby was present in the movie for about five minutes or less.

Fresh Tasty Red Apples in Wooden Basket on Green Grass — Red apples in basket photo created by Valeria_aksakova at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/fresh-tasty-red-apples-in-wooden-basket-on-green-grass_1284495.htm’>Designed by Valeria_aksakova</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background image created by Valeria_aksakova – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

I’ve seen the majority of Hallmark’s 2018 “Fall Harvest” movies. Out of all those films, Love, of Course is the best one from this line-up! Outside of the Christmas season, the “Fall Harvest” line-up has been the strongest on Hallmark Channel! In fact, I think this year’s “Fall Harvest” line-up was better than last year’s. Even though Love, of Course had some elements that are usually found in Hallmark movies, there were also aspects within the film that were creative and interesting. It was also nice to see that the cast was made up of familiar faces (Mackenzie Vega from The Beach House) and new members of the Hallmark community (Kelly Rutherford). I’m hoping that these familiar faces can continue to work and thrive in the Hallmark community and that today’s new members can be the familiar faces of tomorrow.

Overall score: 8.3 out of 10

What are your thoughts on this year’s “Fall Harvest” line-up? Which movie has been your favorite? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence Review

On October 15, 2018October 15, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

With Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups approaching and Halloween almost around the corner, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is winding down their mysteries series to make way for the upcoming Christmas season. But before Christmas trees can be decorated and Eggnog can be prepared, the Darrow & Darrow series gave fans a third movie to satisfy their mystery solving desire until 2019. Even though Darrow & Darrow is only a year old, the series has proven they have what it takes to run the race alongside the long running Garage Sale Mystery series and fan favorites, like the Hailey Dean Mystery series and Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Because the latest Darrow & Darrow movie is about another murder mystery, it looks like this series has adopted the identity that a lot of the other mystery series, on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, have before them. Despite these series containing the same type of mystery, they have done a pretty good job at setting themselves apart from each other and incorporating as much creativity as possible. Did Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence contribute to helping this series stay creative and original? Keep reading in order to solve this case!

Darrow & Darrow 3 poster — *Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Image found at https://www.hallmarkchannelpress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=143&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Darrow+and+Darrow+Body+of+Evidence.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: Just like in the previous Darrow & Darrow film, the cast of this movie was really good! Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tom Cavanagh successfully led this production with performances that appeared very natural. Once again, their on-screen chemistry was a highlight of this film! I was also really impressed with Jordana Largy’s performance in this film, as it was versatile and believable.

The mystery: I liked the creativity that was found in this mystery story! Usually, the murder victim’s deceased body is shown on-screen somewhere in the first half of the movie. In Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence, however, the audience never gets to see the body of the murder victim. Most of the mystery stories on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries are about crimes that are less than a year old. The murder mystery in Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence started a year prior to the events in the film.

The humor: Like a lot of the series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence incorporates humor into their story as to give the audience a break from the darkness surrounding the mystery. The humor found in this movie kept in line with the humor from the other two movies and was genuinely funny. One of the funniest moments in Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence was when, at Lou’s fundraiser, Chester believed that telling Lou to be safe was the equivalent of cheering Lou on.

122337-OQPQ2I-585 — Paper Boats in the Sea image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/background-of-paper-boats-with-hand-drawn-waves_1189898.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A weaker first half: For the first half of Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence, Claire and Miles debate about whether or not Laura Graham murdered her husband. Also, Joanna helps out an employee at the Darrow & Darrow law firm and Lou tries to raise money for military veterans. Within this first half of the movie, it seems like these subplots, as well as Claire and Miles’ debate, overshadowed the mystery itself. It wasn’t until Joanna and Claire attended an auction that the story seemed to pick up in the second half of the film.

An inconsistent pace: Because the first half of the movie was weaker than the second half, the pace was slow for about half the movie. The first 25 minutes of the film being exposition heavy also contributed to the inconsistency of the film’s pace.

Pink jump rope lies by black snickers on white floor — Jump rope and sneakers image created by V.ivash at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/pink-jump-rope-lies-by-black-snickers-on-white-floor_1114248.htm’>Designed by V.ivash</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background image created by V.ivash – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

As good as Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence was, I still believe that Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder was the stronger film. Nevertheless, I’m glad to see that this series is continuing on with strength and creativity! Though Hallmark has not yet announced any upcoming movies in this series, I am looking forward to solving more mysteries alongside one of Hallmark’s favorite sleuthing teams! Who knows, maybe we could see a Christmas themed Darrow & Darrow movie one day? If the Murder She Baked series could receive a Christmas movie, anything is possible. For now, all we, the audience and fans, can do is anticipate the Christmas movies from Hallmark and look forward to the other projects both networks have to offer.

Overall score: 7.6 out of 10

Did you watch Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence? Would you like to see a Christmas themed Darrow & Darrow movie? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Without a Trace Review + 35 Follower Thank You

On October 12, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Because I received 35 followers on 18 Cinema Lane earlier this week, it’s time for me to review a film that turned 35 years old in 2018! While looking at my options for which film to watch, I came across a film from 1983 called Without a Trace. After reading the movie’s synopsis, I became intrigued by the mystery aspect of the film. As a fan of the mystery movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, I do enjoy a story that is intriguing and engaging. My interest for Without a Trace grew when I discovered that it was loosely based on a true story. I was curious about how this real-life event would influence the film. Keep reading to see how I feel about Without a Trace!

Without a Trace poster — *Without a Trace* poster created by 20th Century Fox. Image found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Without_a_Trace.jpg

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The whole cast in this movie was good! Kate Nelligan’s portrayal of Susan Selky was definitely one of the highlights of this film! Her performance was so emotional and versatile, that it felt like her character’s emotions were being transferred from her own personal feelings to the audience, allowing viewers to worry about Alex’s fate alongside Susan. I also thought that Kathleen Widdoes’ portrayal of the psychic, Ms. Hauser, was captivating and memorable. Kathleen’s acting talents were so versatile, it had the power to keep viewers engaged in the events happening on-screen.

The story: The basic premise of Without a Trace is figuring out what happened to Alex Selky. This story is treated like a mystery, where anyone could be a suspect and every possibility is explored. The way this narrative is written allows the audience members to solve the mystery alongside the characters. Because there are few scenes that feature Alex, it encourages viewers to ask “whodunit” and keeps them engaged as the story unfolds.

Comparisons and differences between the early ‘80s and today: Because this movie was released in 1983, I knew there was going to be some differences between the depicted world in the film and the world outside the film today. However, I was surprised by how many of the film’s topics were those that are still being brought up 35 years later. In a scene where Alex’s parents and Detective Al Menetti are being interviewed by several journalists, one journalist asks Al if Alex, a 6 year old child, was too young to be walking to school all by himself. As I watched this film for the first time in 2018, I found myself asking this exact same question. It was also interesting to see and hear how things appeared differently in the early ‘80s compared to today. In one scene, Jocelyn, Susan’s friend, asks Susan why the police aren’t using computers to solve missing persons cases. Because computers have a larger presence in society now than they did 35 years ago, I would have assumed that most crimes are solved with the use of computers. But, it stood out to me how the screenwriters were thinking that far ahead into the future at how some situations, such as those found in Without a Trace, could be improved upon.

21-150-01 — Magnifying fingerprints image created by Balintseby at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/glass”>Glass vector created by Balintseby – Freepik.com</a>. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/fingerprint-investigation_789253.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

Lack of suspense: When I first read the synopsis for Without a Trace, I was expecting a mystery story with suspense and intrigue throughout the film. While this movie did have intrigue, there was very little suspense that was found. There was such a lack of suspense that it made the characters appear like they didn’t have a sense of urgency. This is not a good thing, especially when a film’s plot revolves around a kidnapping.

The run-time: Without a Trace is a 2-hour long film. This caused the movie to contain scenes that felt like were included just for the sake of satisfying this run-time. This run-time also made the movie feel longer than it was probably intended. Personally, I think that Without a Trace’s run-time should have been an hour and 25 to 30 minutes. This way, it would allow the story to be more suspenseful and keep the intrigue going throughout the film.

The pace: Without a Trace’s pace was slow. This pace made some scenes drag on longer than they might have been intended. It was also the result of a longer run-time, where these scenes were possibly drawn out to fill Without a Trace’s 2 hour long time-frame.

OYHKOT0 — Newspaper image created by Zlatko_plamenov at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-psd/newspaper-mockup_1386098.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/mockup”>Mockup psd created by Zlatko_plamenov – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

Without a Trace is an ok film. Yes, this movie did have its flaws. However, I could tell that the effort, from the movie’s creative team, to make a compelling and thought-provoking film was there, even if that effort was not as strong as I would have hoped. When looking back on this film, I still can’t get over how some things have stayed the same. Trends change, popularity rises and falls, and style evolves. But certain subjects and messages are the things that remain everlasting. As I mentioned earlier, I knew there were going to be differences between the world of the ‘80s that appeared on my tv screen and the real world of 2018 that I’m living in today. Despite these differences, it’s the similarities that left a lasting and the biggest impression on me as I share this film with all my readers and followers. Thank you, once again, for making this review possible. 18 Cinema Lane would not be the same without you.

Overall score: 6.5 out of 10

Have you seen Without a Trace? What’s your favorite mystery story? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen