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Cheer Camp Killer – Review
Cheer Camp Killer – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes
Sophia joins a cheer camp, hoping to get a full-ride scholarship if the coaches choose her for Camp Champion. After her mother died of an aneurysm, Sophia’s father is a single dad, and a scholarship will help. Jack, Sophia’s best friend, joins her at camp. On their first day, they meet Charlotte. Charlotte was going to attend with her best friend, Lily. But the coaches disqualified Lily because she tested positive for performance enhancing drugs after falling asleep behind the wheel of her car. But Charlotte doesn’t believe the allegations against Lily. Then Victoria walks in, and she is a shoo-in for Camp Champion and the captain of an award-winning cheerleading team. Coach Cooper heads the cheer camp with Coach Mary, Coach Beth, and Greg. Coach Mary is kind and wants to advance the cheerleaders’ abilities. But, Coach Beth is all about winning, and she is Victoria’s mother. Greg is a medical student and camp trainer. Also, he is secretly dating Victoria. Sophia and Charlotte are happy to learn they were paired to room together. But Charlotte is worried about the exhibition. Each cheerleader performs for the coaches. After their performance, the coaches separate the cheerleaders into the red team and the blue team. In the past, the coaches always pick the champion from the red team. At the exhibition, everyone, especially Victoria and Beth, notices how good Sophia is. So, it’s a shock when the coaches put Sophia on the blue team with Charlotte and Jack. Sophia’s chance of advancing will be an uphill battle because someone’s determination to be number one is dangerous. This person is willing to manipulate, drug, and torture for the title of Camp Champion and the scholarship.
The title is misleading because no one dies. Someone manipulates the blue team with alcohol, text messages, and rumors, but no one kills anyone. It does come close a few times but never carried out. The plot gives the culprit a fully-flushed backstory to explain their logic behind their terrifying ways. And to make matters worse, a coach is encouraging the culprit’s devious behavior. With many of these Lifetime movies, you watch to see how the culprit gets out of a sticky situation, not the protagonist. This movie isn’t the best of the ‘Fear the Cheer’ series, but it’s not the worst either.
I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars
I say, bring it on – Jack
I’m not worried. I’m just stating a fact – Victoria
Well, I’m not a big fan of hair spray – Sophia
Stop walking – Charlotte
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Betrayed By My Husband – Review
Betrayed By My Husband – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes
To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Gabby and Parker go on a 2-day kayaking excursion. They ask Parker’s brother, Carson, and Carson’s wife, Brooklyn, to watch their daughter, Lex, while they are out of town. During the excursion, Gabby believes something is wrong and asks Parker. He tells her everything is okay in their marriage. He blames his stress on company woes. They go kayaking again, but when Gabby looks behind her, Parker is gone. Detective Asher sends a team of divers into the water, and they find Parker’s lifejacket. After two weeks of searching the river, Parker’s declared dead. For the next two months, Gabby goes into a depression but bounces back for the sake of Lex and heads back to work. A lawyer comes to Gabby’s job because Gabby needs to sign life insurance paperwork, but the paperwork has changed. Three months before Parker’s disappearance, Parker made Gabby the sole beneficiary, leaving out Carson, and increased the payout to $5,000,000. Gabby is perplexed at the changes, but understood Parker’s generous nature and need to take care of his family. Later, Gabby travels to San Francisco for business and swears she sees Parker at the market. Everyone tries to convince Gabby that she is grieving and seeing things. However, Gabby starts to investigate Parker’s phone records, bank statements, and calendar. As she finds clues, Travis meets her in a stairwell. Parker owed him money, and if she doesn’t give Travis $300,000 in a week, he will kill her and Lex. Gabby is on the razor’s edge, and she must discover the truth, even in handcuffs.
Talk about a slow burn of expected Lifetime plot points to a more compelling twist that piques your interest at the end. While the first hour and 45 minutes is nothing new, it’s the last 15 minutes that grab your attention. With a drunken, argumentative brother-in-law, a money-grubbing stalker, and an aloof detective, Gabby has no one she can trust to help her find the truth. Experienced Lifetimers will pinpoint the double-crosser in the first hour, but that’s not where the deviance stops. So hang in with this one for a bit of fun at the end, but only if you have 2 hours to spare.
I give it 2 out of 5 stars
Parker, are we ok – Gabby
Get out of here! Don’t trip! – Carson
Really, he doesn’t tell me anything – Brooklyn
I’ve been waiting for your call – Parker
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Follow Your Heart – Review
Follow Your Heart – HMM – 2 hours and 0 minutes
Evelyn has exciting news for her favorite client, Kathy. Kathy’s books are selling better than ever, and Evelyn started planning the next book tour. However, after so many years on the road, Kathy’s not sure if she wants to go back on a book tour. Evelyn is fine with Kathy’s change of heart because Evelyn has another proposal for Kathy. Jack, Kathy’s boyfriend, works on a T.V. show, and ratings are dwindling. When the network executives found out he dated Kathy, they offered them a show together. Jack is ecstatic, but Kathy less so. The show would be them traveling together, but Kathy is ready to stay put. Jack thinks the idea will be great because they can spend more time together. Evelyn tells Kathy to give herself some time before she makes up her mind. And Evelyn believes the best place to think about it is the spa. Evelyn pays for the full spa treatments for Jack and Kathy. Before the spa treatment, the receptionist takes their phones. After a relaxing time, Kathy gets her phone and sees she has a message from her sister, Miriam. She tells Kathy their father died. Kathy heads to her hometown and promises Jack and Evelyn she will think more about doing the T.V. show. Once in Mountainview, Kathy meets her childhood friends, Isaac and Hazel. Isaac and Kathy shared childish flirting growing up, but Isaac got married and had a daughter named Sarah. Since then, his wife passed away, and Isaac is raising his daughter on his own. Hazel is happy to see Kathy is home and welcomes her back with open arms. But, Miriam is cold and distant. Kathy goes to Miriam’s house expecting to stay until the funeral and the will reading, but Miriam promptly tells her to leave. Miriam believes Kathy betrayed her family when she left. The Mountainview community is Amish. Ten years ago, Kathy left for Rumspringa and decided to leave the Amish faith, church, and the way of life behind. Miriam and her husband, Amos, never speak about Kathy to their three sons. And they will never welcome Kathy into their home. At the will reading, the lawyer surprises Kathy and Miriam when he tells them their father left the land to both of them. Miriam believes Kathy doesn’t deserve it, and Kathy agrees. Kathy states she will sign over her half of the farmland, but the lawyer warns Miriam about the taxes. Kathy offers to pay. However, Miriam refuses her money. The lawyer tells the sisters it will take a few days to get the documents together, so Kathy decides to stay in town. She gets in her car and searches for the nearest hotel, but it’s too far. She looks for the closest B&B, and Isaac owns it. With her past around her, can Kathy focus on her future with Jack and Evelyn or will she stay with love?
Follow Your Heart is a testament to the old saying, ‘You can never go home again.’ While Kathy remembers how to quilt and cook, she forgot Mountainview does not have running water or electricity. The town has remained the same, but the people did not. Her sister is married with three kids and won’t accept her English lifestyle. But Hazel treats Kathy the same. It’s easy to be angry at Miriam but give her time. The plot explains her side of the story, and you will empathize with her. With everything going on, it’s the written word that brings the family and love together. Isaac’s poetry and Kathy’s letters set everything right. This heartwarming story will become a Hallmarkies’s favorite and a true Hallmark classic.
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars
Why me? I’m a writer – Kathy
Admit it, you are a restless soul, just like me – Jack
How English – Issac
There’s no reason for you to be here – Miriam
You and I share a fondness for pies but that’s not why we are friends – Hazel
I’m totally off gluten but they smell delicious – Evelyn
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Cheer Squad Secrets – Review
Cheer Squad Secrets – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes
Amelie wants to become captain of the cheer squad and win nationals just like her mother, Kelly. But she is falling behind in her routines. She wishes she had Tonya’s strength. Kelly tells Amelie to keep practicing and to put her schoolwork first. Nationals is a great opportunity, but college is better. During practice, Amelie loses her grip and drops Tonya. Tonya flips out. Coach Nina tells Tonya to walk it off and tells Amelie to come to her office. Amelie explains she is trying, but she’s not getting stronger. Nina offers Amelie pills, but Nina can’t hand them to her. She can leave them on the table and walk out of the room. If Amelie takes them, then the pills are gone. Amelie inquires about what the medication is, and Nina says they are just vitamins. Then Nina leaves the room, and Amelie leaves with the pills. Kelly and her husband, Scott, notice changes in their daughter’s behavior. Amelie is becoming quick-tempered, argumentative, and failing school, so Kelly and Scott decide to pull her from the team. Nina won’t hear it. Nina has dreamed of going to Nationals since high school, so she won’t let Kelly stop her. Nina will get that national ring, and she will drug, steal, and kill for it.
Sigh, all this for a ring. Seeing Nina’s past sprinkled throughout the movie helps put things into perspective. She has become the coach who took advantage of her. She works her girls, who she calls her children, to the breaking point for a ring she missed 20 years ago. In high school, Nina’s coach manipulated her, emotionally crippled her, and left her behind when she was injured. There is no wonder why she snapped. Nina is a stage mom who lives through her children. Good thing Amelie has Kelly and Scott to see the warning signs. They are proud parents who defend their daughter to their last breath.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars
My mom was captain, that’s what I want to be – Amelie
What are you doing here – Nina
No, I will take care of my daughter – Kelly
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Country at Heart – Review
Country at Heart – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes
After living in Nashville for a while, Shayna hasn’t hit it big. She auditioned to be a background singer for Duke Sterling, and before she finished the song, Shayna knew she didn’t have the job. She is ready to go home to Silverado to help her dad, Jud, set up the family ranch for the Fall Music Festival. Working on the family ranch will be a welcome break from the music business. The moment Shayna steps in Silverado, her best friend, Jenny, and Jud can tell something is wrong. Jenny asks Shayna to give music one more shot and sing at her bar, to which she begrudgingly accepts. Shayna wows her home town again and catches the eye of Grady, a songwriter. He believes she has the melody, but her lyrics need more work. Grady heads to the ranch and gives Shayna his business card, but she thinks he is trying to pick her up. So, she ignores him. Then, Jenny looks him up online and discovers he is a hit songwriter for country greats, including Duke Sterling. Shayna calls him back, and they decide to write a song together. She wants her big break, and he wants his next hit. But when the industry steps in the way, can these two find their perfect harmony?
This movie is a beautiful story backed by a great soundtrack. Having the actors sing and play gives this movie an authentic feel and grabs the viewer’s’ attention. Hallmarkies, it’s easy to dislike Duke in the beginning, but the plot redeems him at the end. So give the guy a break when you watch. Shayna, Grady, and Duke have the same problem holding them all back from greatness, their insecurities. After several rejections in Nashville, Shayna doesn’t think she has what it takes to make it. After being stuck in the background, Grady doesn’t believe he will be a respected musician. After singing Grady’s songs for so long, Duke doesn’t think he can write on his own. They have to defeat their demons to move forward. This movie is not only fun to watch, but it’s fun to sing-along too.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars
I wasn’t stuck, I was just exploring where to go next – Grady
Nobody said it would break my heart either – Shayna
We were talking about choices, I guess she made hers – Duke
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Categories: Andrea Bogart, Anita Brown, Betrayed By My Husband, Cameron Bancroft, Cheer Camp Killer, Cheer Squad Secrets, Country at Heart, Darren Wall, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Fall Harvest, Fear The Cheer, Galadriel Stineman, hallmark, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, HMM, Jacqueline Scislowski, Jennifer Marshall, Jessy Schram, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Karis Cameron, Kelli Dawn Hancock, Kevin Joy, Kristen Harris, lifetime, lifetime movie network, lmn, Lucas Bryant, Made for TV, Margaret Anne Florence, Mariah Robinson, Michael Sirow, movie, Niall Matter, Philip McElroy, review, Shocktober, Sydney Malakeh
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