Birthmother’s Betrayal – Review

Birthmother’s Betrayal – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Tara is envious of her best friend, Jenny.  Jenny met her birth mom, who lets her do whatever she wants.  Now, Tara wants to meet her birth mom.  Tara’s adoptive mom says no because the adoption agency warned her to keep Tara away from her birth mom.  After a medical scare, both Tara and Amy are curious and start the process in secret.  Tara takes a DNA test to find her mother while Amy calls the adoption agency.  Tara gets her results and meets with her birth mother, Grace, in secret.  Tara mentions Amy contacted the adoption agency for records, putting Grace on notice.  So, Grace finds the agent and kills her.  When Amy calls for updates, she learns the agent is dead.  She calls Grace and sets up a meeting.  Amy and Grace talk until Amy is comfortable introducing Grace to Tara.  A few days later, Amy has a surprise for Tara.  She introduces Tara to her birth mother, Grace. Tara pretends it’s the first time.  They sit, look at photos, and laugh, but Grace tries to make a quick exit and has a fainting spell.  Amy insists that Grace spends the night, then the madness begins.

Lifetimers, you get a shovel and a great plot twist.  For the first thirty minutes, you believe you know where the plot is going.  So you will be tempted to divert your attention.  It is a huge mistake.  This movie saves itself from the Lifetime cliches by giving you the twist early.  You become so preoccupied with the plot that you can’t turn away.  This movie deserves your full attention with tea to sip and pearls to clutch.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

It’s not stalking.  She’s my mom – Tara

I’m in a good place now – Grace

Video? What video – Amy

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Deadly Transaction – Review

Deadly Transaction – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Erica and Riley are having fun with her copier.  Erica is printing $100 bills and using the fake money to buy high-end items.  This plan works because Erica is using the same printing paper the U.S. Treasury is using: 75% cotton and 25% linen.  After a shopping spree, Riley gets an idea.  She takes a fake hundred and goes to the currency exchange.  Erica starts to freak out.  Tricking an inexperienced store clerk in one thing, but trying to fool a personal money handler is another.  So, Erica is amazed when Riley receives 85 euros.  But Riley’s plan doesn’t stop there.  She takes the euros to another exchange and gets real American money back.  With a new level of crime, they need better prints.  Erica researches on YouTube and discovers all the items they need are in their art class.  Riley flirts with Mr. Sylvester, the art teacher, to get a duplicate of the classroom key.  They print a large sum of money, buy high-end clothes, and sell the clothes to their classmates for 75% off.  Erica believes everything will be fine if they keep their operation small.  Just one problem.  Mr. Sylvester found one of their phony bills in his class.  He is in debt with some dangerous men, so he comes up with a plan.  Riley and Erica must pay Mr. Sylvester $50,000, or he will turn them into the FBI.  Erica wants to report him, but Riley wants to up the operations to pay him.  By the end of the movie, someone is in jail, someone kidnaps for ransom, and someone is on Erica’s dangerous path.

Great job on keeping it creepy!!!! In these movies, you always have the rebel clashing with a level-headed criminal.  It doesn’t take long for viewers to see that level-headed Erica and rebel Riley will fall apart.  It’s hard to figure out what motivates Riley.  It could be the deception, the risk, the money, or all three.  Her need or want to do this is never fully fleshed out.  However, you know Erica’s motivation.  Her aunt and guardian, Karen’s on the brink of financial ruin.  She needs money to save their home.  While these girls are dangerous, it’s Mr. Sylvester that will make your skin crawl.  He is spine-chilling as he threatens and manipulates these girls.  This movie is a fun watch with a well-written, honest, and focused ending.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

Where there’s a will, there’s a way – Erica

Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s bad – Riley

See you in class – Mr. Sylvester

Don’t push me away – Oliver

You gotta be kidding me – Karen

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Apple Mortgage Cake – Review

Apple Mortgage Cake – Aspire TV – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Angela Logan is a divorced mother of three who works and volunteers to help her community.  Firstborn, Marcus is a 19-year-old college student who will do anything for his mom.  Her middle son, William, is a 17-year-old student who loves computers.  Her youngest son, Nicholas, is a 15-year-old student who is mad at the world.  In 2009, Angela’s car broke down, so she walks home.  Mrs. Row confronts her about the unfinished home repairs.  If Angela doesn’t get them finished, the city will issue fines.  Angela tells Mrs. Row she will get it done and starts to bake for the Lincoln High Casino Night Fundraiser.  At the fundraiser, Angela runs into her old friend Melvin George, and later they ride home together.  He tries to kiss her on the doorstep, but she backs away.  She stumbles and sees the mail.  She has gotten a final foreclosure notice.  She has ten days to pay them back $4000, or she and her sons will lose their home.  After three generations of women owning the house, she can’t believe she will be the one to lose it.  Then her sons come up with a great idea.  She should sell her Apple Cakes and charge $40 a cake.  At that price point, she will need to sell 100 cakes in 10 days.  She renames them Apple Mortgage Cake and gets orders instantly.  When the cake orders stop, Angela will have to do something she has never done before. Rely on others.

Based on a true story, Angela Logan went from struggling mom to local heroine to national news in 10 days.  She started with a goal to save her home.  However, Angela never lets her boys forget that other people are going through harder times than them.  So she continues to volunteer to help those who are less fortunate as her world is falling around her literally.  This movie stresses one issue that Angela had to learn.  It’s ok to ask for help.  Angela gets help from family, friends, the community, The Hilton, and Bake Me a Wish to become an entrepreneur in 10 days.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

You got to put work in before you get the award – Grandma

I know. You always have something else to do – Nicholas

Maybe today isn’t a red-letter day.  But someone’s always got it worst than you – Angela

Today, I am necessary – Melvin

So, what didn’t you want Marcus to tell us – William

You are allowed to have a bad day – Gloria

She’s an entrepreneur, just like you mom – Marcus

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Timeless Love – Review

Timeless Love – HMM – 2 hours and 0 minutes

At 7:05 am, Megan wakes up next to her husband, Thomas.  As they admire each other, their children Isabel and Dylan run in their parents’ bedroom with their imaginations in full gear.  Thomas offers to get them ready while Megan takes a shower.  Afterward, Megan goes downstairs to find her family.  But she can’t find them anywhere.  Megan looks at the clock and notices it still reads 7:05 am.  She opens her eyes to the shock of her nurses.  For two months, Megan has been in a coma after a horrible accident.  Elated at her miraculous recovery, Megan’s parents come to her bedside.  Megan asks her parents where are her husband and kids.  Confused, her parents responded she is single with no kids.  The news crushes Megan’s spirit.  She tries to piece her life together with family, therapy, and a temp job.  She is awestruck to see Thomas is her boss.  And he is just like her dream.  Well, this Thomas is a bit different.  Thomas goes by Tommy, doesn’t know her, and has a girlfriend.  Convinced this is the man in her dreams, Megan has to find a way to tell Thomas the truth without scaring him off.

You will be sucked into the movie the moment Megan learns her husband and children aren’t real.  The actress handles this like they died because she has lost everyone she loved in a moment.  Real or not.  It’s painful to watch her world crumble.  The second tear-jerker moment, for the audience, is seeing Megan in front of what she thought was her home.  She falls apart because the house is still under construction.  So it solidified that her dream isn’t real and her family is gone.  From that point forward, she is fighting for the family she lost.  While she isn’t manipulative to get Thomas from his girlfriend, Megan is lying by omission.  The writing and acting will leave you fully invested.  Not just in their love but for Megan’s hopes and dreams to come true.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

I think I know my husband – Megan

I’m sorry. Are you alright? – Thomas

You met in a dream – Eve

She can see right through this – Howard

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Sisters of the Groom – Review

Sisters of the Groom – UPtv – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Jason Quinn is a success in his father, William’s company, but he wants to quit and work as a landscaping architect.  He plans on giving William the news after his brother’s wedding.  Jason’s brother, Tim, thinks waiting is the wrong idea because no time will ever be a good time to quit the family business.  During their talk, Jason and Tim’s sisters interrupt.  Amanda and Lisa double-check with Jason and Tim about the wedding week.  Before their mom died, she would plan a week of activities before a wedding.  They are keeping the tradition alive.  Still, Amanda and Lisa have something up their sleeve for Jason.  They worry about him being single for the wedding and secretly invited his ex-girlfriend Cassie to the wedding.  The women leave for a spa day while Tim heads back to work.  Jason prepares for an interview with a potential chef for their spas and resorts.  Molly has an interview with Williams Spa and Resort, but her van breaks down on the way.  She asks her sister, Sarah, to run to the meeting and give the presentation.  Sarah says yes because Molly needs the contract to get a larger space for the catering company.  The moment Sarah and Jason lay eyes on each other, their tempers flare.  At 2 am the night before, she was cooking, singing, and dancing in heels right above Jason’s head.  Jason, tired and angry, begrudgingly came upstairs to give her a piece of his mind.  Now, Sarah gives the presentation, but Jason feels her food isn’t healthy enough for his clients.  Sarah storms off but leaves her pistachio cake behind.  Sarah tells Molly she lost the interview, so they will have to come up with another plan.  The plan will come from Jason.  Worried about what his sisters have in store for him, Jason offers Sarah a deal.  If she goes to all the wedding activities and the wedding with him as his date, he will give them the final interview with his father.  For her sister, Sarah says yes.  Jason warns her that his sisters are a force of nature.  However, Sarah should keep her eyes on Cassie.  While keeping this secret, they fall in love.

With a plotline set up for a lot of funny moments, the movie gets serious with adoption woes, a marriage falling apart, and self-doubt.  The biggest downfall is too many characters.  With Jason’s large family and their issues, Molly is having problems as she works with her ex-boyfriend to cater an event.  If you remove Molly’s storyline, it will not affect the plot.  Also, Amanda and her husband, Henry, are arguing about preparation before their adoption confirmation.  The adoption agency turned them down three times, so Amanda doesn’t want to prepare and get her hopes up.  While this is a heartfelt addition, it feels like a time filler.  The next issue is hair and make-up.  The actresses for Lisa, Cassie, Amanda, and Nicole look too similar.  Since very few scenes were with their significant others, it was hard to tell them apart.  Changes in hair and make-up would make it less confusing for viewers.  Don’t be mistaken; the story was strong.  It was the subplots that cluttered the screen.  This film should have focused on one family’s problem or just one couple.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

Time is irrelevant when people come together to break bread – Sarah

If we build it, he or she will come – Henry

You said go big or go home.  So, I went medium – Molly

I made your mom a promise. I would gently nudge but not interfere – William

We can’t leave yet, I need intel – Kate

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Love in the Forecast – Review

Love in the Forecast – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Local weather woman, Leah, aspires to be a meteorologist.  She asks her boss for a chance to research and write a report for the next forecast.  He shoots her down and tells her she doesn’t have the education.  Defeated, Leah gets another gut punch.  Nolan cancels their first date to go to Las Vegas with friends.  Leah has no prospects in her personal life, so she focuses on her professional life.  She declares it the Year of Leah.  In one year, she will:

1. Finish her degree
2. Move out of her parents home
3. Focus on the weather

When Leah focuses on herself, the world focuses on her.  One, in particular, is her neighbor, Mark.  Leah met Mark a few months ago when she was getting weather information from a tower.  He told her to put down the technology and pay attention to nature.  She laughs and tells him she will trust science and technology to tell her what she needs to know.  Now, Mark has moved from the country to give the city a fair chance for one year.  A company hired Mark to offer his perspective on dairy farming.  After a year, if Mark doesn’t like city living, he will move back to the country.  While Leah shows him the beauty of the city, Mark teaches her how to read nature for the weather.  Their love will come down to a bouquet of lilies.

We all know what it’s like to get tricked by a bad weather forecast.  So seeing Leah and her boss, Chris, flub it the weather so many times makes you cringe.  However, their flubs drive Leah closer to Mark.  They grow and learn from each other, but their 1-year tasks allow the characters to gain personal growth apart.  The viewer sees their independence as a strength to their love.  Not as a weakness that needs to be corrected by love.  This aspect sets this movie apart from others in the genre with similar plots.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

When you got all this, you don’t really need that – Mark

It’s the year of Leah, mom and it’s gonna be great – Leah

Just remember, when it rains it pours – Fiona

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