The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story – Review

The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story – Lifetime – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Alexis comes home from medical school to visit her family.  Her mother, Michelle, pulls Alexis aside.  Michelle thinks her husband, Martin, is having an affair and asks Alexis to pull his phone records.  Alexis finds that he calls the same number several times a day and at all hours of the night.  Michelle asks Alexis to help her confront Martin and Alexis does.  Martin explains the woman is Jillian Willis, a nursing student, and she took over their rental property.  And he spent so much time at the hospital because the doctors diagnosed him with cancer.  Alexis believes her father, but Michelle still can’t get rid of that uneasy feeling.  Later, Michelle tells Alexis that she plans on getting a facelift.  While it was Martin’s suggestion, Michelle is all too happy to do it.  After the operation, Alexis takes care of Michelle until Michelle can take care of herself.  Alexis goes back to school, but the next day, Martin calls her home.  Her mother died.  The medical examiner believes it was heart disease, but Alexis isn’t sure of this diagnosis.  After Michelle’s funeral, Martin runs into an old patient named Gypsy.  She was terminated with little notice by her clients while working as a nanny.  Martin believes this is a stroke of luck.  He was looking for a nanny, so Alexis could go back to school instead of caring for her three younger sisters.  But this luck feels like a trap to Alexis, so she asks for Gypsy’s ID.  When she looks it over, the name on the ID is Jillian Willis.  Alexis’s world comes crashing down.  She knows Martin moved in his mistress shortly after her mother died.  She wants to believe Martin wouldn’t kill her mother, but she has no idea of the depths of his depravity.  Good thing she has aunt Linda on her side.  

Alexis had to grow up too fast in her family.  Her parents put her in ‘grown folks’ business’ too much.  And she played referee between them while being a nanny and medical student.  When Alexis learns the truth about Martin, she discovers that an affair is the tip of the iceberg.  Martin has defrauded the government, his job, his patients, and her.  She wants to believe in her father.  But one night, he destroys all her hope by assaulting her.  Evil like Martin MacNeill shouldn’t exist in the world, but it does.  If you think this movie is twisted, it barely scratched the surface of what Martin did to his family.  And great job to the set designers for making the technology accurate.  

I give it 5 out of 5 stars

Ok, can you please never go back to school – Michelle

Aren’t you glad you married a bad liar – Martin

Gone? What do you mean gone? – Alexis

He raise you as his protégé.  You have to start thinking like him – Linda

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Under Wraps – Review

Under Wraps – Disney Channel – 1 hour and 35 minutes

Gilbert and Marshall are best friends with very different interests.  Gilbert wants a purple-eyed panda, and Marshall loves horror movies.  One thing they are excited about is seeing the ancient Egyptian exhibit at the natural history museum.  Their teacher partners the students together but see that Amy is the odd one out.  So the teacher pairs Amy with Gilbert and Marshall.  It takes a moment, but the three find common ground.  During the museum visit, Gilbert tells Amy about their scary neighbor, Mr. Kubot.  They saw him taking something out of a van that was big and shaped like a body.  When Amy, a future investigative journalist, asks to know more about Mr. Kubot, Marshall tells her that Mr. Kubot works as an antique importer.  Then, Amy remembers that the museum curator told them one of the coffins and its mummy went missing.  Amy wants to set up a post and watch Mr. Kubot’s home.  

During the stakeout, Marshall convinces Gilbert to go inside to look around.  Gilbert finds the coffin and the mummy.  Gilbert reaches for the mummy’s amulet to get a closer look but pulls the mummy on top of himself.  Gilbert gets from under the mummy and runs out of the house.  As the mummy lay on the basement floor, the moonlight shines on the amulet and awakens the mummy.  The mummy walks out of the home and into Marshall’s front lawn.  As the kids try to hide the mummy, they learn that they have three days to get him back in his coffin or he will die.  If they think that will be easy, then they are wrong.  And thanks to a missing inhaler, Mr. Kubot is on their trail, and he wants his mummy back.  

The remaking of Disney’s Under Wraps is a combination of The Mummy and Encino Man (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  It’s an easy watch with kids but doesn’t require much attention from adults.  Unlike most Disney Channel products, this movie isn’t a musical.  You will get one dance circle at a party but nothing else.  With the mummy and theft at the storyline’s forefront, this movie includes a moment for family and love.  Make sure you don’t overlook these lessons in this uncomplicated story.  

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

It’s not fun for me – Gilbert

And you think I’m weird for liking horror movies – Marshall

You’re candy is safe for now on – Amy

He’s dead – Buzzy

The amulet giveth and the amulet taketh away – Mr. Kubot

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My Daughter’s Double Life – Review

My Daughter’s Double Life – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Heather comes home from her women’s church group and can’t find her daughter, Ally.  Heather calls for hours but doesn’t get a response.  When Heather’s boyfriend, Jack, comes home, she tells him about Ally’s disappearance, and they call the police.  Since Heather is an adult, the police will file a missing person’s report but can’t do much else without evidence of an abduction.  For days, Heather waits by the phone but hears nothing.  Then, the police knock on her door.  Heather went into a lake, and the undercurrent took her.  When Heather is ready, she can go into town and retrieve Ally’s things.  Heather begs Jack to let her go alone, and he relents.  At the police office, they grab a box with Ally’s things and give it to Heather.  But they didn’t find a body.  Without the body, Heather refuses to believe Ally is dead.  She gets a room at a local B&B and starts to investigate.  When she goes to a coffee shop, Heather sees Mariah walk by the storefront.  Heather remembers that the local sheriff told her that Mariah was the last person to see Ally alive.  Heather gets Mariah to talk to her.  At first, Mariah is sweet and forthcoming.  But her attitude changes and Mariah becomes cold, calculating, and hurtful.  Heather goes back to her B&B and explains what happened to Ally to the proprietor.  She tells Heather another girl drowned years ago and finds the article.  The girl in the picture is Mariah.  This article gives Heather all the proof she needs to believe Ally is alive.  Heather will turn the town upside-down to find her.

This movie will make your head spin but in a good way.  You have no idea who is good, bad, or indifferent.  You do know that something is wrong, and all clues point to this town.  When the truth lifts the veil, Heather will discover the secrets, the lies, and the evil around Ally’s disappearance.  While this plot may seem far-fetched, it could be a ‘Ripped from the Headlines’ movie.  The story will hook you, so keep some snacks nearby.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

It’s a community college. So, it comes out of the vending machine – Ally

Home by 6, right? – Jack

Mind troubled with doubt will never truly see – Mariah

The hardest part of anybody’s journey is taking that first step – Richard

No, but Jack she would never just leave me – Heather

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Sacrifice – Review

Sacrifice – BET Her – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Daniella is a high-powered entertainment lawyer with a skill for compiling secrets for or against her clients.  Her hard-nosed style is constantly at odds with her sorority sister, District Attorney Beverly Rucker, and her co-worker, Joshua.  Beverly has a disdain for Daniella’s client’s lyrics, alleged money laundering, and drug-dealing past.  However, Joshua is the boss’s son and believes the future partner position is rightfully his.  However, Joshua’s father, Arnold, will give it to the best person for the job.  And at this time, that person is Daniella.  Later that night, Daniella and Arnold attend a party for Isis’s album release.  Daniella has been Isis’s lawyer since the beginning of Isis’s career and sees Isis as a little sister.  So seeing Isis together with her controlling boyfriend, Lewis, makes Daniella sick to her stomach.  But there is nothing she can do.  Daniella congratulates Isis and Isis’s manager, Larry, on the success.

After the party, Tamika, Daniella’s assistant, has horrific news.  Someone attacked Isis in her home, and Isis is on life support.  Daniella knows who to blame: Lewis.  Daniella runs to Beverly to question what the police are doing to find him, but Beverly’s answer dismays Daniella.  With no witness or a weapon, all the evidence is circumstantial.  The best Beverly can do, charge him with misdemeanor assault if they find Lewis, and Isis IDs him as her attacker.  Daniella can’t hide her fury.  She vows to track Lewis down and make him pay, and she will uncover every secret in the industry to get him.

It’s easy to see why BET turned this movie into a series.  This movie is Empire mixed with Law & Order and Scandal (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  While Daniella is on the hunt for Lewis, her past haunts her nightmares.  Daniella was the product of an affair, so she feels like a mistake.  And when Daniella was a child, both of her parents died in an accident.  However, her nightmares make her believe she was in the car when they died.  While trying to fix her client’s lives, she must work on hers without falling apart.  And it takes a funeral for Daniella to come full circle.  

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

If somebody yells black lives matter, what side of the line are you on – Daniella

You’re more fun when you’re drink – Arnold

Selling drugs in the community is not survival.  It’s murder – Beverly

He just finished – Tamika

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Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone – Review

Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone – HMM – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Jeweler Benedict Stone sits with his estranged wife, Emilia, and tries to persuade her to come home and work things out.  However, Emilia feels like a failure in their marriage because she can’t get pregnant.  Emilia knows how much Benedict wants a child, and it breaks her heart.  She wishes he could be happy with the life they have, but she knows Benedict doesn’t like to change his mind.  Defeated, Benedict goes home alone.  Before he turns in for the night, Benedict gets a knock at his door.  Benedict assumes it’s Emilia and apologizes.  However, it’s a 16-year-old girl he has never seen before.  She introduces herself as his niece Gemma.  Confused, he lets her in.  Benedict hasn’t spoken to his brother, Charlie, in twenty years.  And the last time Benedict saw Gemma was in her birth announcement.  While Gemma’s details are vague at best, Gemma wanted to see Benedict and traveled hundreds of miles to do it.  During her travels, she lost her phone and money. Benedict offers his home to sleep and money for clothes.  With this new interruption in his life, this structured man will see the beauty in flaws and find his passion for gemstones.  But his past isn’t too far behind.  

Based on Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick, this mysterious outsider wasn’t a mystery at all (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer).  Your imagination will jump to possibilities of Gemma, her lineage, and her intentions, but they are all wrong.  Your creativity will make for a better story than this film.  It does have some beautiful imagery and intriguing facts about gemstones, but that’s it.  While this may not be the writer’s intention, Gemma comes off as a spoiled brat who ran because she had a tantrum.  Maybe the book had a lot of internal monologues to explain these issues, but it doesn’t come across well on the screen.  This movie just fell flat with expectations.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars

You’re not a failure – Benedict

Those 2 are just hopelessly in love. Or just hopeless. One of the two.  I just can’t tell yet – Gemma

You don’t like to let go of what you love – Emilia

I don’t even know how anymore – Charlie

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A Professor’s Vengeance – Review

A Professor’s Vengeance – LMN – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Nicole sits in her advanced creative writing class and squares her shoulders for a challenging new academic year.  But when Professor Daniel Hudson walks into the room, her shoulders slump.  Last year, Nicole and Daniel started a relationship, but he neglected to tell her that he was married to Dr. Valerie.  Nicole’s rage builds, and she storms out after class ends.  Daniel catches up to her and attempts to gaslight her, but Nicole won’t have it.  Nicole can’t drop the class because she needs it to graduate.  So she tells Daniel they will have a professor-student relationship only.  Nicole runs home to tell her best friend, Zoe, everything that happened.

And to make matters worse, Daniel wants his students to attend a party at his home.  Zoe convinces Nicole to go with the promise that she will go with Nicole.  At the party, Nicole gets drunk, and Daniel takes her outside for a private conversation.  But it doesn’t take much for Valerie to see them and become suspicious.  Soon, Nicole gets creepy phone calls, a failing grade, and attacked.  She knows Daniel is behind it, and she will dig up his past to find the truth.

Experienced Lifetimers can see the twist coming from miles away.  Just the timing alone makes it obvious.  And if you know anything about the murder weapon, you can pinpoint the killer immediately.  The protagonist is a mess, the antagonist is a jerk, and the killer is pathetic.  There is no real mystery for viewers to unravel.  Watch this if you need 2 hours to kill, but don’t cancel plans or take up space on your DVR.

I give it 2 out of 5 stars

You never asked – Daniel

That’s exactly what I am afraid of – Nicole

Stop talking Daniel.  It makes you sound guilty – Valerie

I support you, but I want you to do what is best for you – Zoe

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Romance in the Wilds – Review

Romance in the Wilds – UPtv – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Ranger Buck, a retired veteran, gives billionaire Martin Lamont a flight to his newly acquired land.  When Buck sees it, he knows that Stanley, the project manager, made some miscalculations, and the area is dangerous to mine because of fault lines.  Buck convinces them to move the site to a safer location.  As the team packs up to move, they accidentally knock over a gas can.   When he gets to the new site with the abandoned ranger station, Buck finds a surprise: Jessica.  Jessica uses the station to research her dissertation, but Buck had no idea someone was there.  She tries to stand her ground, but Martin owns it.  Jessica has no choice but to move.  He hates that she lost her dig site, but Buck had no other choice.

Buck leaves but sees an electrical storm forming, which his cousin, Ranger Amara, confirms.  Buck flies over to check on the land and sees a bolt strike.  The strike ignites the spilled gas, and a fire starts to consume the woods.  With a dry season, Amara and Buck fear a deadly inferno.  Then, Buck remembers Jessica and attempts to call her, but the calls go unanswered.  So he makes his way back to her.  While Jessica thinks he is there to apologize, Buck grabs her so they can leave.  She pulls away and starts to gather her data.  In the panic, Buck grabs her flash drive, and they run to escape the flames.  When they get to the plane, it’s on fire and explodes.  They must find a way out of this fiery trap before they and Jessica’s dog, Charlie, parish.  Good thing buck has Amara, his mother, former ranger captain Janine, and his sister, ranger Roma, watching over him.

Graphics aside, this is an exciting watch.  Jessica jumps to conclusions about the forest ranger’s macho side, but she is entirely wrong.  This strong military man was raised by and surrounded by dedicated women.  Janine was a forest ranger like her husband, and she rose to the rank of captain.  Amara is the current captain and keeps an eye on all the rangers around her.  Then you have your wild card, Roma.  Roma is ready for any challenge at any time, and she taught her brother well.  So when Jessica tries to assert dominance, it’s not necessary.  Buck is ready and willing to listen to her advice and opinions.  It’s Jessica that has to change her mindset about him.  Seeing this dynamic change on screen is a breath of fresh air to the genre.  

I give it 5 out of 5 stars

He is not a man.  He is an intercontinental corporation – Jessica

By the way, I do like dogs – Buck

Billionaires aren’t folks. They’re people who know the value of everything but the price of nothing – Amara

Retirement is a bit of a myth, darling.  A mother’s work is never done – Janine

Thank the heavens – Roma

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Taking the Reins – Review

Taking the Reins – Hallmark – 2 hours and 0 minutes

Once again, Amanda looked over Sam for the cover of Compass Magazine.  Amanda thinks Sam is a great writer technically, but Sam’s stories lack passion.  When Sam’s parents call her, her mother, Bonnie, tells Sam that the Northeastern championship will be held at their horse ranch this year.  Sam rode horses in the past but gave it up at the top of her game.  Then, she left the horse ranch for a writing job in the city.  While Bonnie is happy for her, Sam’s father, Preston, is bitter.  Then, Sam gets an idea for her next article.  She can write about the contest, and Amanda approves.  But it will only be on the cover if the article is good enough to attract readers.  At the farm, everyone, including her sister, Alex, is hiding something from Sam.  Bonnie and Preston never told Sam that they hired her ex-husband, Luke, to be the new trainer.  Sam tries to be the bigger person and ignores Luke’s presence, but he is everywhere.  When she questions Preston about hiring Luke, Preston admits the ranch is in trouble.  To get more money, Preston will be racing because a blue ribbon winner will attract more clients.  During training, Preston hurts himself but tries to keep riding.  Samantha can’t stand to see her father hurting and wants the ranch to stay in the family.  So, she gets back on the saddle literally.  But can she follow Luke’s lead for the sake of her family’s ranch, or will past misgivings sour the ranch’s future?

This movie makes the best out of uncomfortable situations and sisterly bonds.  Alex knows Preston and Bonnie should have told Sam about Luke before she came to visit.  But when they decide to let Sam know, Alex wants a first-row seat to the catastrophe.  And let’s not forget, Alex has the quickest rebound in the history of Hallmark movies.  This family connection and love jump off the screen.  And you want Sam and Luke to patch things up before the movie wraps.  While this movie isn’t an instant classic, it will be one of your favorites of the season.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

Well, that would require you coming home – Preston

I meant to tell her – Bonnie

Let’s go tell her now, so I can be there for it – Alex

What did you not understand about a sidebar – Sam

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