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Not My Life (2006)
Good Mystery/Thriller
**Review Contains Spoilers** I really liked this movie, one of the better Lifetime thrillers I have seen. The acting was good, the movie kept a good pace, and the story was suspenseful, though the underlying premise was pretty unbelievable. In particular, I thought the acting of the acting of Meredith Monroe and Ari Cohen, the main characters were pretty convincing. I would definitely recommend this movie as a thriller worth watching. That being said, I always have a few pet peeves with Lifetime movies...
- Why do so many of these movies have the stereotypical best friend of the female protagonist- not married or divorced, has no life of their own and is fully engrossed in the female protagonist's life & issues, usually quirky in some way and less attractive than the female protagonist. I guess these quirky characters are supposed to add some color to a movie, but I just find them annoying. Why not just write a character you would find in the real world? - So the dirty husband/doctor faked the deaths of himself and Alison/Annie through a car accident. This means he must have killed two other people- male and female around their same ages and put them into the car and blew it up. Now theoretically, you might not be able to positively ID the bodies if they were blown up, but the article the detective found said they were burned beyond recognition. I'm not forensic expert, but don't they ID bodies using dental records in these cases? - Why in the world did the private detective not call the cops when he and the quirky friend discovered that the evil doctor took Alison/Annie away? Clearly they had ample evidence that he abducted her. Also, he already told his CSI buddy to inform the FBI. The excuse he gives is that he broke into the house- okay, but who knows that other than himself and the friend? Also, he was going to have to call the cops "sometime", once he found the guy. Wouldn't it have been better to do it before he left to find her, rather than confronting a murderous psycho on his own? But then it wouldn't have had that great thrilling Lifetime finish where the female protagonist gets her revenge on her evil oppressor.
Okay, that's all of my peeves- pretty minor actually for a Lifetime movie :)
Confined (2010)
Average Suspense Thriller
*Review Contains Spoilers* Been awhile since I've seen this movie. But it was a decent thriller. It is pretty well paced, keeps you in suspense. I especially liked Michael Hogan as the creepy locksmith/neighbor. Could definitely see him playing this type of role on the big screen. He kind of reminds me of Frank Langella.
Did others notice the similarity of this film to Disturbia and its inspiration Rear Window. Well, I guess its obvious.
Anyway, couple of things I did find silly about the movie: - The suspicious neighbor Victoria, manages to break into the basement, break loose a brick and talk to the little girl. Wouldn't the creepy neighbor notice right off the bat the break in the wall- even though she replaced the brick. Not like she had a can of white paint with her.
- The architect friend. The friend travels miles to check out the creepy neighbors house? Seems a little extreme to do as a favor. & wouldn't she tell her friend in advance that she was coming? And the creepy neighbor thinks nothing of it. The guy is keeping his daughter locked up downstairs- wouldn't he want to check things out with the building commission before letting her in? - Hiding the architect friend in the car trunk. What was the creepy neighbors plans with her? Keep her there for awhile & then kill her? Lock her up in the basement with the daughter? Very strange. Also laughable was that we see the friend with the family and the friend is laughing and clutching her wineglass just like old times. I guess people can recover from trauma with time, but its like nothing ever happened with her at all.
The typical 'chase' scene at the end was weird. I think the creepy neighbor knocked the husband unconscious, but just leaves him outside. While the daughter is being hunted by the neighbor, the husband takes his time to unshackle his wife rather than calling 911 or going after the creepy neighbor himself. That was odd.
Anyway, likable movie with some good acting, but not great.
Between Truth and Lies (2006)
Yeah, Not That Great
Review Contains Spoilers Mariel Hemingway- wow I was surprised to see her in this movie, I haven't seen her in anything for ages. I didn't like her acting in this movie, but to be fair, maybe it was because the script was so weak. I don't recommend anyone watch this movie, but for those of us who have here are the good points and the inane points of the movie.
Good Points - John Watton as the creepy stalker. He played his character to the hilt. If I ever saw a dude who looked and acted like this, I would immediately think stalker, child pornographer- something bad. The laughable part is when Hemingway's secretary tells Hemingway, 'you've got a new patient and he's kinda cute. Yeah, not so much...
- Maggie Castle as the teenage daughter. Young actresses need to get experience from somewhere, even if it is in bad TV movies. She played a good authentic confused teenager.
Inane Points - Psychiatrist confiding personal matters to a patient. I am definitely no expert in this field, but really, isn't it the first thing and last thing they tell you in psychiatry school to never confide personal information to your patients about yourself- Good Will Hunting stuff aside. C'mon, these are people with serious emotional issues- especially someone with a clear obesessive disorder? I think this 'doctor' would be better off joining another profession.
- Okay, the police are no help with a runaway daughter. What is a worried financially well-to-do mother to do? Hire a private investigator? No that would be too easy. Just sit by the phone and hope and pray your daughter hasn't been run over by a bus and calls you. After she confides in her psycho patient through that conversation happens to recall a boy she smoked pot with, the psycho is able to track down the boyfriend in one day after threatening one of the daughter's friends.
- John Walter's criminal past. Two points here. How it all comes together for Marial Hemingway. She is listening to a recording of John speaking vaguely about things in his sessions, she looks at a picture of her daughter in a blue sweater. Why, he must be trying to kidnap her! I didn't get it. Secondly, she calls and finds out two months ago her mentor was murdered through his wife. She then googles the murder and there is a police photo of John. If he was the murderer, wouldn't it be more than two months for a court trial, sentencing and prison time? If he is a public suspect- shouldn't the police be holding him or something. If he isn't, why in the heck is his picture posted via a google search? - First most ludicrous moment. I dig the Fatal Attraction ending to a movie. You think the psycho is dead, but they're not. But c'mon, John was shot in the freaking back with what appeared to be a pretty potent handgun. You would be thinking significant blood loss, maybe some paralysis from being shot in the spine. But no. Apparently the gun was loaded with fusili because a minute later he comes strolling in the room looking perfectly find- has the strength to hold and threaten the daughter, converse with Hemingway kiss the daughter etc.
- Second most ludicrous moment. What in the world was the daughter hiding- a box cutter? And why does John look down at it in horror- did she stab him with it? Was he horrified by the sudden betrayal after the kiss? I didn't see any blood or tear in his sweater when Hemingway shot him, so doesn't look like the daughter stabbed him. But how was that going to hurt him if a gunshot in the back didn't? Better than nothing I guess.
Okay, that's it.
The Love of Her Life (2008)
Decent TV Thriller
Review Contains Spoilers! Watched this movie the other night. Don't know what it is about these Lifetime movies that draw me in- the suspense,the high drama who knows. Unlike the previous reviewer, Mr. Fisher, I did not find the movie as abysmal as he did. The acting was decent for a made for TV movie and there was a fair amount of suspense. In particular, I liked the acting of the son, Alex House, he played a good confused teenager. That being said, I always find myself nitpicking for things because in made-for-TV movies, there is usually something to nitpick about.
1) What is with Brandy Ledford's right eye(the actress who played Kathryn)? It droops throughout the movie. She must have had an infection or something. But if that is supposed to be alluring, it doesn't work.
2) So Allison's plan to kill her husband was to run him off the road while he was bicycling so it would look like an accident. How is that a surefire way to kill anyone? What if he didn't die? Was she going to back over him with her Honda Element? 3) How in the world would anyone be so lucky to commit murders without any witnesses whatsoever? Jordan apparently parks in the middle of nowhere after a 'rally' and no one witnesses Allison's hit and run-even though she stops and stands over his lifeless body for some time.
4) How completely isolated to the world is Brian's sister Jordan. I get that she is a 'free spirit' and has no parents. But doesn't 'anyone' give a care that this woman has gone completely missing- co-workers at least? Wouldn't it be natural that after a couple of weeks they would try to contact her brother's fiancée or send the police to talk to her? I mean that could have been a little wrinkle in Allison's plans if the police or co-worker came by and figured out that the model looking Allison was not Granola Jane Jordan.
Those nitpicks aside, it was a pretty decent TV thriller. I guess the only other nitpick is that a more dramatic ending would have been nice. There are two types of endings for thrillers- the Fatal Attraction- you think the crazy person is dead, but they revive and attack you repeatedly or, as in the case of this movie, the person hits their head and goes unconscious. I would have liked a Fatal Attraction ending where Allison gets up and attacks Kathryn, the son magically revives and the two of them grip the gun and shoot Allison together- truly showing that mother and son have reunited and bonded during this difficult trial for them both. But I guess you can't have everything :)
Engaged to Kill (2006)
Engaged to Kill? More Like Engaged to Thrill!
I agree with what most of the other posters have said. Engaged to Kill is a terrific Lifetime thriller. Contains all of the key elements of a good Lifetime movie- creepy male killer and heroic female heroines. However, that being said, and maybe I'm being nitpicky, but it could have been made better.
First of all the title. *Almost* pure genius. See the creepy killer is indeed engaged, as in ready, to kill- not once, but twice- in the beginning when the doctor is kidnapped and he plans to kill her and at the end when he tries to kill her daughter. And then, he is really engaged, as in betrothed to marriage, as he proposes to the daughter. See what they did there? But then I thought, maybe he is engaged to his girlfriend in the beginning of the film. The title then has meaning not once, but in four different ways in the movie. I think I just blew my own mind! Sheer genius of a double-entendre titling huh? Almost... He did not *need* to get engaged 'to' kill. He could have just been dating the daughter and did the same thing. So really, it could have been named 'Engaged and Kills'. Though it would have packed the punch of the original title, it would have been more accurate. I think the best title would have been- 'Mother May I Sleep with Danger II' or 'Mother May I Be Engaged to Danger'. That would have been mucho better.
Here's another issue. The mother doctor is being framed by the creepy boyfriend because he gets a patient to say that one of her procedures went wrong. Now mind you, that would give me seconds thoughts about seeing a doctor under investigation. But then her boss says they are getting flooded with patients complaining that she was rude and rough with the patients. Just because there is one allegation of malpractice does not automatically prompt patients to accuse a doctor of other things- especially if she is a truly good and honest doctor. What I think happened is once one person was perceived as being brave enough to stand up against her other patients became emboldened enough to speak up about how she mistreated them over the years. I think she was a truly shady doctor who *finally* got her just desserts! Also, what's up with the creepy boyfriend's henchman? How many henchmen can pull off impersonating a gynecologist? And he's a good looking guy- not the kind of guys you see in lockup. He should doing something else, like making made for TV movies...
Finally, the ending comeuppance line could have been better. The daughter is standing at the door after having a major artery slashed (don't worry paramedics that trusty drape pull will hold!). As a final shot at the creepy boyfriend, she says, in a cute way, Aloha! See because they were going to get married in Hawaiia & the writers, with a never dying love of double entendre, also knew that Aloha means both hello and goodbye in Hawaiian. But why not take it a little further and emphasize the last syllable- Alo-HA! Boy, they could have scored *triple* entendre there. Or why not something simple and tongue in cheek- like, 'Oh, I'm calling the engagement off- Alo-Ha! That way they could have worked the film title back into the script. Lost opportunities that separate good, from *great* films...
Okay, well there's my four cents. Again, I highly recommend "Mother May I Sleep with.. I mean 'Engaged to Thrill' to anyone.