Bottle with Love – Review

Bottle with Love – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Nick walks the shoreline and picks up a bottle with a note inside.  He thinks nothing of it and puts it away.  His sister Sophie calls as asks if he will make it to her wedding and all the events leading up to it.  Nick assures Sophie he will be there.  In addition, she asks him to come home and help with the family business. Quickly, Nick is uneasy.  He has never liked sitting in an office all day.  He likes to be one with the world.  Although his dad wants him to work in the business, Nick has never asked for money and had stayed connected with the family.  Hearing Nick’s unease over the phone, Sophie tells him he will only come back as part-time and for a short term.  She just wants his expertise in finding new clients before the company goes public.  He agrees and comes back to Boston.  Nick opens his suitcase and finds the bottle.  The letter inside is from MLBeantown.  She is a woman wondering if love will ever find her and if someone does find it the bottle, they should email her back.  Nick is won over and emails her back as RealTraveler.  After several exchanges, Nick reveals that Sophie hired someone to help him find new clients.  Her name is Abby.  Abby likes things to be in order, researched, and price checked.  Nick doesn’t know that Abby is MLBeantown until a piece of clothing blows away the facade.  But when Abby learns that her love interest RealTraveler, is her nemesis, Nick, it could put a kink in her armor.  If she figures out he knew, it could break her heart.

The moment you see Nick pick up the bottle, you know where this story is going.  However, it does make you wonder: are we better at communicating online than in person.  Each time Nick and Abby are in direct contact, they bicker like toddlers.   But online, they listen to each other and try to understand each other’s perspective.  It’s a sweet movie that can be saved for a rainy day.  And let it inspire you to create your own message in a bottle.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

This is ridiculous. Technically, I am about to pollute – Abby

It sounds like you had a few things bottled up there – Elaine

Like it or not, you’re going to have to make this work – Francis

I expect you? What am I? 12 – Nick

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Secrets in a Small Town – Review

Secrets in a Small Town – Lifetime – 2 hours and 5 minutes

Claire and Sarah move to a small town 7 months after Sarah’s dad died.  Claire has accepted the Vice Principal’s job at Sarah’s high school.  To kill time, Sarah shoots baskets but doesn’t notice Coach Ruth is watching.  Later, Ruth sees Claire and approaches her.  Ruth asks Claire to have Sarah try out for basketball.  The team is undefeated and many of the current players have scholarships.  Being a part of the team may be what Sarah needs to make friends and fit in.  Claire takes Ruth’s words to heart and asks Sarah to try out for the team.  After a painful tryout, Sarah is offered a spot on the team.  After tryouts, the team invites Sarah to a night out.  The next morning, Claire can’t find Sarah.  She tries to keep calm and assume she went straight to school.  But to no avail.  Claire checks social media, calls, texts, and drives the street but she comes up with nothing.  She goes to the police but the sheriff becomes defensive.  When Sarah’s shoe is found in the woods, this town will be turned inside out.

This movie is gritty and raw.  It mixes small-town politics, hazing, and a mother’s love in one strong movie.  As the mystery of Sarah’s disappearance unravels you will be glued to the screen with sincere concern and anger.  This movie has the feel of Searching with a Lifetime twist.  You will be crossing your fingers for Sarah’s safe return home.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

I think you hired dyslexia movers – Sarah

Yes, it would be terribly selfish of you to deny the world your talents – Claire

Nothing without pain girls, nothing without pain – Ruth

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When Murder Calls – Review

When Murder Calls – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Dr. Jill is a radio Dr. Phil mixed with Wendy Williams.  She has the catchphrase “Cut him loose” with a tough, no-nonsense attitude.  With high ratings, she loves the fans and notoriety.  A frequent caller, Alexis, calls Dr. Jill to inform her that her cheating boyfriend has left.  Jill expresses happiness while Alexis his hurt.  Jill tells her to end this pathetic existence and be grateful he left.  Jill keeps saying “end it”.  Soon, she hears a gunshot.  They quickly go to commercial. One year later, Jill has yet to come back to WRMD and their ratings are on a steady decline.  Newly hired GM, Stuart was warned to get the ratings up or he will lose his job.  So he meets with Jill and pleads with her to come back.  She agrees but only if she can do the show the way she wants to do it.  Instead of tough love, she will only offer love.  Although her recently formatted show is a hit, the station owner hates the new Dr. Jill.  He believes that listeners will get bored and move on.  He tells Stuart to bring back the old Dr. Jill.  Stuart approaches Jill with the new offer and she hates it.  But she agrees to use her catchphrase again.  Her next show is a mix of the new and the old.  Then Claire (the Dr. Jill show producer) gets a caller who calls herself ‘Alexis’.  She believes it may be the same person because police never found the woman who committed suicide matching that name.  The police believe it was a prank.  Claire puts the call into Dr. Jill.  Alexis haunts Dr. Jill with one question: “How do you sleep”.  Dr. Jill knows it’s Alexis and hangs up.  In a few days, Dr. Jill will live in total fear, she will be a murder suspect, and she will have to confront her past in front of her audience.   Who is Alexis?

This is a true thriller.  It will leave you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing.  You are given a lot of misdirection because everyone has an ulterior motive.  At certain moments in the story, you may start to believe Dr. Jill is losing her mind.   Don’t worry, Lifetime still gives you the classic dumb cops.  However, everything else isn’t predictable.  Even the last moment leaves you in the dark before it comes to a true conclusion.  This is how a thriller is done.  So don’t be fooled by its slow pace, it all pays off.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars

No, you’re not. Your life is – Dr. Jill

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