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Reviews
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (2022)
Issues with the plot
The acting was good. I recognized several of the actors and liked some parts of the movie, as well as the quality. However, I had some significant issues with the plot, which mostly centered around the dad being the "bad guy."
Warning Spoilers below:
The daughter, Abby, came across as very ungrateful and disrespectful to me. I'm saying this as a 30 year-old married female with no kids. The thought of springing a 3-week engagement on caring parents who have never even met the boyfriend sounds completely outrageous. The daughter was surprised that her dad was ready for her to work at his business after completing her MBA, even though that was the plan all along, even as recently as the previous winter break (she just graduated). The daughter for some reason expects her parents to be totally cool with the fact that she is marrying some guy they've never met in 3 weeks. The daughter has known him/dated him only 7 months. But that's not all, they will be immediately moving to Kenya for 3 years after the wedding to work as missionaries.
The primary focus of the movie is the dad not being able to let go. The daughter is "totally correct" in making her seemingly impulsive decisions, and the dad is all at fault. For some reason the mom has no hesitations in accepting her daughter's major life changing decisions.
I would've liked to see a little more compromise. For example, let's say the dad is able to wrap his mind around the fact that the daughter is getting married and wants to be a missionary. But, the daughter realizes that the timeline is a little too hasty, so the wedding is pushed back a bit. She works with her dad for a while. Abby and Oz get eventually get married after several more months or even a year. Then after taking a little time to adjust to married life, they travel abroad to do mission work. This would make more sense to me.
Instead, we see the dad come to terms with the fact that he is "all wrong" and have an abrupt change of heart. When we finally get to the wedding, the daughter finally starts having the thoughts go through her head that she should've already been thinking about and discussing with her parents. But now the dad is all in!!! So he encourages her to proceed.
I also had a problem with the groom's family being so pushy about the wedding when they had 7 months to get to know the bride. The bride's family was totally blindsided.
I had a hard time watching this one, due to what I thought were such weird plot points.
Big Time Rush (2009)
30-Year-Old BTR Fan
This show never gets old. I still enjoy it to this day. I was a little older than the target demographic when I really started watching the show at 16 years old (during season 2). I had tuned in one other time previously during season 1. That year, however, I wasn't available much to watch it when it was on. When I officially began watching in season 2, I had our DVR set up to record every episode. I also introduced the show to my younger siblings, and it was the one show we all loved to watch together. We still have a tradition of watching "Big Time Christmas" every year.
Even now at 30 years old, I am still a fan. The tv show still has me laughing. I still enjoy the music. I was very lucky to see them in concert last summer. Their new music is good, too.
Some favorite episodes:
Season 1: "Big Time School of Rocque," "Big Time Mansion," "Big Time Photo Shoot," "Big Time Terror," "Big Time Video," "Big Time Blogger"
Season 2: "Big Time Fans," "Big Time Girlfriends," "Big Time Christmas," "Big Time Guru," "Big Time Crush," "Big Time Reality"
Season 3: "Bel Air Rush," "Big Time Surprise"
Season 4: "Big Time Invasion," " Big Time Bonus," "Big Time Tour Bus," "Big Time Tests," "Big Time Breakout"
Christmas in the Smokies (2015)
Get Over It...
I turned the movie off...continue reading to find out why. I was watching and paying only half attention. Nothing too interesting or im
pressive. Then, I see these two people looking late 30s/early 40s on screen (I admit I'm bad at guessing ages). The woman says something to the effect of "and that spot over there is where a 17 year old me was left crying when her boyfriend abandoned her and broke her heart." The guy on the screen is the ex boyfriend in question. Now, he's a famous country music star.
I'm processing what just transpired in my head, resulting in me yelling at the tv screen. "This 40 year old is still caught up on her boyfriend from when she was 17?!?!?!?!?!? Get over it already!!! Move on!"
Then, I turned the movie off. No thanks. Let's be a little more realistic about a high school relationship. Maybe I could buy it if the actors looked younger or if they were older when the relationship ended. Embarrassing. And I usually love reunited relationship story lines. Not this.
3 stars because I've seen worse, but I also didn't finish so I can't give a 5 or above.
The Secret Lives of College Freshmen (2021)
Whyyyyyyyy?????????
Review contains spoilers: The movie had promise early on, but so many things happened later. I don't understand...
Why did the main girl not get some serious red flags when she shows up to the professor's house and no one else is there? The professor then offers her, an underage freshman, alcohol. Red Flag.
Why did they not turn the journal in to the police?? Why did the main girl and her best friend discuss the journal with other people?? After speaking with the police (finally) why did she not immediately volunteer the journal?
Why did the main girl not pick up on the fact that both Amy (the girl who died) and Daisy (student union girl) both have Professor Hampton's class together the previous semester? Daisy, the girl who failed the previous semester...Obvious candidate for plagiarist!!! Ughhhhh.
Main girl is tied up...her mom and the police arrive...Why did they send the mom in instead of the trained police?!?!?!?! Seems like an easily avoidable scenario. Because the mom and daughter together nearly got themselves killed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Then the police finally run in.
Ughhhhh. Some enjoyable moments, but a dumb main character making dumb choices. I've definitely seen worse, hence the 4-Star rating, but this one had me yelling at the tv for sure.
Coupled Up for Christmas (2023)
An Interesting Take On An Over-Used Trope
Spoilers: This movie contained the "fake dating" trope, but it was different than most. I really enjoyed it. The leads (characters: Tiffany and Peter) had great chemistry and worked well together--so many funny moments that had me laughing. There were also a few awkward and cringe moments, but they actually added to the humor. I can say that this Hallmark movie was better than many I've seen.
The main reason I liked this fake dating movie is because there was not a big public "reveal" of the fake relationship. Most movies like this do, and it can feel very embarrassing. I liked how things went down here. The lead, Tiffany, privately reveals the scheme to her male best friend, Brett, and he hears her out without blowing up. Although there are a few miscommunications, Tiffany and Peter sort out their issues more reasonably than characters of other movies.
There was a part that I thought was completely unnecessary and awkward near the end. Brett's girlfriend, Matilda, confronts Tiffany at the worst possible time-right when Tiffany is having a moment with Peter. I thought this was so random and weird, but I still laughed about it anyway.
Hilarious and charming movie...I would recommend!
Missing Twin (2021)
No Other Lifetime Movie Can Top This!...As The Worst Ever
I've seen a lot of Lifetime Movies and have yet to see one as bad as this. When my husband and I watch Lifetime Movies, "The Missing Twin" is the gold standard of comparison when ranking the worst of the worst. In our opinion, none of the ones we've seen are even remotely as bad as this! Bad acting, lame characters, and bad one-liners are packed into this film, and ludicrously unbelievable things begin to happen in the last 20-30 minutes of the movie.
SPOILER ALERT below: The movie starts out with lots of potential. I wasn't sure if it was going to be a psychological thriller, horror with ghosts/haunting, or grief/depression/coping drama. I wanted to figure out what was going on. My first instinct was to think the "missing twin" was still somehow alive, but didn't know how.
As soon as that mystery was solved, everything went downhill. In the last 20-30 minutes of the film, too many crazy things happen. The mom takes down an armed cop and her armed sister using only children's outdoor toys (i.e. Bean bag, boomerang). At one point, the bad cop is shot only one time, but appears fine and is talking coherently. Then without any explanation, we randomly see her being rolled away on a gurney as they are covering her with a tarp. So I guess she died??? Lots of slow motion running through a foggy forest. Bad camera angles. Boomerang. Weird flashbacks. Like, literal what?
Did I mention the main character/mom is a mommy blogger? Her blog helps her save the day in more ways than one. Also that's how she's so knowledgeable about her weapons of choice (outdoor toys) which she happily whispers the product specifications to herself before use. Note: this movie was released in 2021 but her blog looks more like it's from 2001. Eeeekkk.
Watch this movie please! You'll get some good laughs and you can tell everyone about this insane movie you watched. Great conversation starter. And one more plus...you'll be able to say you've seen Lifetime's worst movie ever. Let's check it off the bucket list!