Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story – Review

Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes

The police pull Ashley Reeves from the woods 30 hours after her attack.  The doctors give Ashley’s mother, Michelle, a grim diagnosis.  With life-saving surgeries, Ashley is alive but in a vegetative state.  After a few days, Ashley bites Michelle’s finger on command.  The girl Michelle knows is still there.  Now, Ashley will have to learn to eat, speak, and walk all over again.  While she is pulling her body together, her world is falling apart socially and emotionally.  Ashley has PTSD over her attack.  While she doesn’t remember the attack, her trauma comes in the form of flashbacks and nightmares.  And to add to her stress, the media discovered that Ashley and her attacker slept together.  Now, the media and town shame her.  Her attacker is from an affluent family, and most consider him a nice guy.  They ask Ashley and her parents to let it go and see her part in it.  But Ashley refuses.  As her memory comes back, she makes one more stand for her mental and physical survival.

This story is not in chronological order.  You see Ashley come out of the woods, Ashley getting better, and then it slowly unveils what happened to her.  This storytelling allows you to see Ashley gain her mental strength, along with her physical, but it doesn’t let you see her attacker groom her.  This trusted member of the community gained her admiration, lured her into a bad situation, and took advantage of her.  Since viewers don’t see this, they witness a girl that lied and made a mistake.  It’s all too common to lose sympathy for her.  But Ashley’s final statements pull those skeptics back to reality.  There is only one victim in this story, and her name is Ashley Reeves.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars

He’s not the victim – Ashley

You’re the one who wants this – Sam

I know you’re in there, but you gotta let us know – Michelle

Sweetie, you can be honest with me – Kathy

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Lethal Love Letter – Review

Lethal Love Letter – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Amelia owns Squirrel, an organizational company with a blog site.  For the last three years, Becca has been Amelia’s assistant.  Whenever Becca tries to do more, Amelia shoots Becca down and reprimands her.  But Becca has a right to be concerned.  An online troll took the stalking offline and started going after Amelia in the real world.  One day, Becca hands Amelia a letter without a return address.  The letter is from Liv, Amelia’s ex-boyfriend’s wife.  Liv has a terminal illness and wants Amelia to take care of Mark after she dies.  Amelia thinks Liv’s final act was selfless and wants to help.  Amelia attends the service and sees Mark.  They start to talk, but Liv’s sister, Vicki, interrupts them.  Mark brushes off Vicki, and Mark and Amelia offer each other a helping hand in the future.  A few days later, Amelia finds a dead squirrel in her desk drawer.  She calls Mark for help because he owns a security company.  He tells Amelia to change the locks.  But something comes to Amelia’s mind.  The day before, Amelia had an argument with Becca about respect.  The women left furious.  Mark thinks Becca could be the culprit and offers to look into it.  A few days later, Mark confirms Becca is Amelia’s online troll and stalker.  Amelia fires Becca immediately, but Becca claims innocence.  With Becca out of Amelia’s life, Mark extends his protection and lets Amelia move in.  Safe in Mark’s arms, Amelia buckles down and gets back to work.  But is she safe?

This movie is slow to get to the point.  Your mind will wander, and you will spend more time looking at the clock than the screen.  The moment the antagonist asks Amelia to do something illegal, you know who your troll is, and you wait for Amelia to figure it out.  Until then, Amelia is the world’s worst boss.  She is controlling and doesn’t nurture her staff.  And when Becca expresses her feelings, Amelia is preoccupied with her phone.  You start to lose sympathy for Amelia and her issues.  Use this movie for background noise. 

I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever tried to stay ahead of you – Becca

Thank you, but let me take care of me – Amelia

It’s just your life’s work on the line – mark

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Soccer Mom Madam – Review

Soccer Mom Madam – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes

After discovering her fiancé’s affair, unemployed Anna left with her two kids, Mia and John Christopher, to live with her cousin, Letty.  After seeing Anna struggle to get work, Letty offers Anna a job at her massage parlor.  Anna tells Letty no because she knows Letty’s massage parlor is a front for prostitution.  Letty promises Anna she won’t work with the clients.  Instead, Anna will handle the phone calls, bookings, and security.  Within months, Anna has the massage parlor running like a well-oiled machine.  She uses her skills as a mom to make the women feel nurtured while the clients feel important.  But she believes the business can grow.  When Anna tells Letty, and Letty’s accountant, Arthur, her ideas, Arthur likes them, but Letty says no.  Letty believes that getting too big will garner unwanted attention.  Anna puts her notions to the side until a masseuse’s boyfriend comes in with a gun on Anna’s watch.  Letty fires Anna immediately, and Anna goes into business for herself.  She gets a loan from Arthur to rent a space, finds the top clientele, and offers one thing Letty never did: exclusivity.  With word-of-mouth, Anna’s business grows into an empire, but all empires fall, and you won’t believe who wields the sledgehammer.

Inspired by real events, this mom turned entrepreneur would be a triumph story if she made her money with a legal business.  When she decides to turn the page on her life, it’s not because of the criminal nature of her activities.  It’s for Mia’s respect.  Anna doesn’t want to disappoint her daughter.  But like all addicts, Anna’s addiction to money takes over.  Soon, Anna is in bed with Russian mobsters, has hedge fund managers in saran wrap, and is on the FBI’s radar.  You will marvel at her ability to become a ruthless pimp while selling raffle tickets for her son’s soccer game.  This movie is one to watch twice.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

No amount of money is worth your freedom – Letty

I took care of them and they took care of me, we were in it together – Anna

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The Wedding Ring – Review

The Wedding Ring – UPtv – 2 hours and 0 minutes

With her younger sister, Judy, getting married, Kate wonders when it will be her turn.  Being older, Kate believed she would get married first.  Kate’s friend and employee, Vicki, tells Kate to be proactive and join a dating app, but Kate doesn’t believe she will meet a man of substance on them.  Kate decides to put love on the back burner.  But if Kate doesn’t have a date for the wedding, Kate promises to join an app.  Until then, Kate will continue to focus on her store, Tokens of Love, and design custom rings for her clients.  One day, Kate returns to work after lunch and her salesman, Anthony, hands her a business card from Jamie.  Jamie is Kate’s high school boyfriend.  He broke Kate’s heart when he ended their relationship and moved to Chicago.  Kate takes a leap of faith and calls the number on the card.  Jamie asks Kate to meet him for coffee, not for a ring.  Kate says yes.  At coffee, Jamie tells Kate that he works as a headhunter for Shoreline Jewelry, and the company wants Kate to head their design department.  Kate can still make one-of-a-kind jewelry but on a national level.  Before Kate can say no, Jamie tells her to think about the offer and get back to him.  Kate tells Vicki and Judy about Jamie’s proposition and his good looks, but there is more than meets the eye.  Kate is attracted to Jamie but doesn’t want a soulless corporate job that will hurt her employees.  Vicki tells Kate to pretend to consider the offer to spend more time with Jamie.  Kate can still say no to the job and get the man.  As Kate spends more time with Jamie, will pleasure guide Kate’s business decision?

The Wedding Ring is a background movie that doesn’t offer much romance or comedy to the rom-com genre.  Even the comic relief, Vicki, doesn’t provide much laughter.  Your biggest laugh will be over a forgotten cell phone.  With the predictability of the story, you have zero concerns for Kate and Jamie’s romance.  The script captures your attention at the end when Kate has to make the most meaningful business decision of her life.  This movie is skippable in this June Grooms season.

I give it 2 out of 5 stars

Should dating really involve weapons – Kate

Wait, did he say grab coffee or buy you a coffee – Vicki

Can I be the boss when you go on your date – Anthony

No, I said the more we practice, the better we’d get – Jamie

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You Had Me at Aloha – Review

You Had Me at Aloha – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Paige works at the Expedition channel for executive producer Millie.  The host, Todd Harper, of their top travel show, asked for too much money this season.  So, Millie has to find a new host.  She would like Paige to do it because Paige has on-air experience.  But Paige says no.  After an unfortunate incident went viral, Paige lost the courage to be in front of the camera.  So, Millie goes to option two, Ben Burton.  Ben hosts the show Bold World, and on the show, he does extreme activities selected by his viewers.  Paige doesn’t feel Ben is the right host for their viewers, but Ben is Millie’s only option.  Paige sets up an audition for Ben, and he comes in with lots of spontaneous ideas for the show.  Paige tells Ben to stick to the script, and they start to argue.  Paige and Ben didn’t know the camera was recording their every word, and Millie got a copy.  Millie sent a copy to the channel’s executive, and they loved the chemistry between Paige and Ben.  They want them to co-host the show together.  Paige agrees to do it for the show, and they fly to Hawaii.  From the moment they arrive at The Kahala, Paige and Ben disagree about every detail of the show.  But Paige won’t budge.  She tells Ben they will stick to the schedule and be spontaneous on his time.  Ben takes full advantage of his time and gets closer to Paige.  As Ben brings out Paige’s wild side, he will uncover her need to plan, and she will discover his want for recklessness.  But as they get on the same track, will Todd derail them?

This movie will leave you with two sentiments.  First, wild goats are funny in viral videos but bad for TV.  Second, Todd is scandalous.  While the plot is easy to guess, Paige’s scheduled persona is not.  Throughout the movie, they hint about the issue, even show the video.  But you won’t know the lasting impact of her decision until the halfway mark.  As the script reveals Paige’s troubles, you never know that Ben has some too.  The plot never gives you a hint.  All viewers see is a fun guy that likes to do wild things.  But he’s wild because of pain in his past.  That emotional moment should be your reason to watch.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

Who’s ready to jump off a cliff – Ben

Roger, in accounting, said I need to be more sensitive towards people’s “feelings.”  – Millie

You can plan spontaneity  – Paige

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