So the title is pretty much spoilers, but I think the public deserves to know!
I caught this movie today on the Mystery/ Court TV channel. It was nice to have on in the background while I went around cleaning and, I'll be honest, it sucked me in. The movie is absolute brimming with cliches - I don't think a unique line of dialogue was uttered for the first thirty minutes, and nearly every character is an archetype. I was not surprising, upon googling, to find out that this is literally an adaptation of a Harlequin romance novel. Usually when I hear "Harlequin romance novel" it's used in the same way one uses "Kleenex" or "Band-Aid." It's the brand-name turned generic. But this is the real, over dramatized, stereotypical deal. And it was actually fun to watch.
Until the last ten minutes, when they suddenly slapped together an ending! You'd think the genericized romance novel crew would know a bit more about how to write a longer climax! The ending was thoroughly unsatisfying. I was left wanting, and disappointed.
But anyway, they literally didn't finish the plot. This goes beyond sequel-baiting. The whole story sets up this connection between a murder that occurred twenty years ago and the recent murder of a journalist, only to completely forget about that point! She has a raunchy affair with her old high school fling, an act of infidelity against her current boyfriend, which! He figures out about, I guess, but that isn't addressed either! The ambitious deputy out to take his father's job, who holds a grudge against the main character for some reason I must've missed - oops, he's not relevant in the end. The strange messages she's been getting the whole time? Oh those were probably from the dead girl, who isn't dead, because this is Pretty Little Liars, I guess. Imagine my shock when, instead of part two kicking up right after, my TV starts a whole different cliche filled film. What?!
This is one book in a series, and it's clear that the ending will be explained in another book. But don't make the movie if we have to wait forever for the conclusion! It has to stand on its own! Ending this movie without the second half would be like ending a review in the middle of a
I caught this movie today on the Mystery/ Court TV channel. It was nice to have on in the background while I went around cleaning and, I'll be honest, it sucked me in. The movie is absolute brimming with cliches - I don't think a unique line of dialogue was uttered for the first thirty minutes, and nearly every character is an archetype. I was not surprising, upon googling, to find out that this is literally an adaptation of a Harlequin romance novel. Usually when I hear "Harlequin romance novel" it's used in the same way one uses "Kleenex" or "Band-Aid." It's the brand-name turned generic. But this is the real, over dramatized, stereotypical deal. And it was actually fun to watch.
Until the last ten minutes, when they suddenly slapped together an ending! You'd think the genericized romance novel crew would know a bit more about how to write a longer climax! The ending was thoroughly unsatisfying. I was left wanting, and disappointed.
But anyway, they literally didn't finish the plot. This goes beyond sequel-baiting. The whole story sets up this connection between a murder that occurred twenty years ago and the recent murder of a journalist, only to completely forget about that point! She has a raunchy affair with her old high school fling, an act of infidelity against her current boyfriend, which! He figures out about, I guess, but that isn't addressed either! The ambitious deputy out to take his father's job, who holds a grudge against the main character for some reason I must've missed - oops, he's not relevant in the end. The strange messages she's been getting the whole time? Oh those were probably from the dead girl, who isn't dead, because this is Pretty Little Liars, I guess. Imagine my shock when, instead of part two kicking up right after, my TV starts a whole different cliche filled film. What?!
This is one book in a series, and it's clear that the ending will be explained in another book. But don't make the movie if we have to wait forever for the conclusion! It has to stand on its own! Ending this movie without the second half would be like ending a review in the middle of a