28 reviews
- Robert_Hearth
- Dec 2, 2006
- Permalink
I rent a lot of movies. I find some unexpected gems, a lot that get categorized as idle entertainment, and some that make me curse myself for renting movies in the first place. This movie solidly fits into the idle entertainment category, as I could see the end result taking shape way too early in the viewing process. Without giving away anything, the one thing that stands out in this movie is the acting of Jordan Hinson. She was cast as what she is...a teenager. But throughout the entire movie, she goes above and beyond what (I would think) would normally be expected, and delivers an outstanding performance. I think she was the true star of the movie, though you have to look at the fine print on the back of the DVD to find her name. If you want to see a diamond in the rough, look here. She makes the movie worth viewing.
- downsized99
- Mar 3, 2007
- Permalink
One year after losing their son David, Eve Goode (Angie Harmon) and her husband Raymond Goode (Joel Gretsch) adopt the orphan Ethan Snow (Bobby Coleman) and his teenager sister Abby Snow (Jordan Hinson) and bring them to their mansion nearby a lake. Abby faces difficulties of adaptation in her new home, and she confronts Eve, who proves to be deranged and unstable. When Ethan gets sick, Abby tries to contact their friend, detective Ben Koch (Jason London), and she realizes that her brother and she are trapped in the house.
"The Good Mother" is predictable, full of clichés, but still a reasonable B-movie. The story has a tense beginning, but there is no previous development of the characters Abby and Ethan Snow or Ben Koch. The viewer does not know who they are or their relationship. The attitude of Abby when she moves to her foster house is totally ungrateful and unfair with her stepparents that gives a magnificent room in a wonderful house, triggering the insanity of Eve. It is difficult to understand teenagers most of the times, but there is no explanation for the feelings of Abby when she moves to the Goode's house without a previous development of her character. In the end, the forgettable "The Good Mother" is an enjoyable entertainment. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "A Casa de Vidro 2" ("The House of Glass 2")
"The Good Mother" is predictable, full of clichés, but still a reasonable B-movie. The story has a tense beginning, but there is no previous development of the characters Abby and Ethan Snow or Ben Koch. The viewer does not know who they are or their relationship. The attitude of Abby when she moves to her foster house is totally ungrateful and unfair with her stepparents that gives a magnificent room in a wonderful house, triggering the insanity of Eve. It is difficult to understand teenagers most of the times, but there is no explanation for the feelings of Abby when she moves to the Goode's house without a previous development of her character. In the end, the forgettable "The Good Mother" is an enjoyable entertainment. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "A Casa de Vidro 2" ("The House of Glass 2")
- claudio_carvalho
- Jan 11, 2007
- Permalink
- TequilaMockingbird63
- Sep 27, 2006
- Permalink
- jeannel2003-618-511281
- Aug 20, 2010
- Permalink
I must admit i did think this might be just another of those dreary drag along movies. But I can honestly say its not. Angie Harmon plays a very convincing role as a troubled mother & keeps you squirming in your seat. Shes backed up well by Joel Gretsch as her doting husband, with a very fine performance from unknown Jordon Hinson. The plot it self is a very simple one & its been seen before in a number of good movies, but this doesn't take anything away from the excitement or suspense. The characters all develop well as the story unfolds, & still gives you a ending with a surprise twist. Its a very entertaining effort, its no blockbuster but I,m sure it will be well received in video stores.
- daisydebbiedo
- Sep 26, 2006
- Permalink
- JillClarke2
- Dec 3, 2010
- Permalink
Well, after seeing "The Good Mother" my heart was still racing. It was basically about,grieving mother,Eve Goode and her obsessive desire to be a caring, protective, loving, healing mother, who's recent victims happen to be recently orphaned Abby and Ethan Snow. Abby soon finds out that her foster mother's obsessive desire is as extreme as it is deadly, when she finds out her foster mother's frightening secret.
Sequel to The Glass House, which itself was entertaining, "The Good Mother" fit along well with the previous plot. It was quite close to being the same thing.
I personally enjoyed the film, It was suspenseful at times and very interesting.The acting was good and the emotion was evident.I recommend it, to all who enjoy suspenseful,and thrilling films with a little bite to it.
Sequel to The Glass House, which itself was entertaining, "The Good Mother" fit along well with the previous plot. It was quite close to being the same thing.
I personally enjoyed the film, It was suspenseful at times and very interesting.The acting was good and the emotion was evident.I recommend it, to all who enjoy suspenseful,and thrilling films with a little bite to it.
- Mizu_wolf4102
- Jan 11, 2007
- Permalink
When a sequel is direct to video and ups the ante to a 'R' rating, shouldn't the audience hope for a more salacious and violent viewing experience? Unfortunately, with the perpetually stern and severe, though gorgeous, Angie Harmon starring, those hopes are laid to rest. Whereas the original was proud of its B-roots and had an excellent slimy, perverted performance from Stellan Skaarsgaard...this film actually wants the audience to take the plot of a grieiving mother gone overprotective gone crazy, seriously. The original had a PG-13 rating, and yet delighted in ingénue Leelee Sobieski's nubile, well-developed frame while providing its audience with delightful action and a propulsive narrative. In this poor sequel, we get a whiny prudish protagonist, very little violence, and stultefyingly lame tension. The original was set in that amazingly austere cold house, made of actual glass. "The Glass House 2: the Good Mother" instead employs its characters in an adobe-styled Spanish château, which leads me to the poor choice of cinematography. The allegiance to using a gold-hued tint to add Latina flair to the visuals was poor decision-making especially considering the milquetoast energies enemating from the acting crew. (There are white people still in Cali, y'know.) I like Joel Gretsch, but when Jason London has more inner force than any of the other talent, "Houston, we may have a problem."
Having lived with an abusive stepparent, this hit the nail bang on the head. DAMNED scary. Soundtrack was nice, acting superb all around, and the photography lush and brilliantly planned.
Actually, I'd rate this as an 8.5, because the enabling stepfather was just a little TOO accommodating, although the writing is otherwise well-crafted. The reason I gave this a ten is to offset the overly biased previous postings which don't give this movie its due. The visuals are truly stunning, the sets gorgeous, and the camera-work clever and innovative.
Oh, and the actresses are unbelievably beautiful. The "stepmother" is a latter-day Ali McGraw, and it's testament to her talent that she can go from dazzlingly, breathtakingly sexy to skin-crawlingly scary within a matter of seconds.
The "stepdaughter" is also great, absolutely believable and so pretty and vulnerable you know she's going to be a major heartbreaker as she matures.
Don't listen to the negative voices. Judge for yourself. A solid, high-tension, superbly-crafted thriller.
(And no, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved.)
Actually, I'd rate this as an 8.5, because the enabling stepfather was just a little TOO accommodating, although the writing is otherwise well-crafted. The reason I gave this a ten is to offset the overly biased previous postings which don't give this movie its due. The visuals are truly stunning, the sets gorgeous, and the camera-work clever and innovative.
Oh, and the actresses are unbelievably beautiful. The "stepmother" is a latter-day Ali McGraw, and it's testament to her talent that she can go from dazzlingly, breathtakingly sexy to skin-crawlingly scary within a matter of seconds.
The "stepdaughter" is also great, absolutely believable and so pretty and vulnerable you know she's going to be a major heartbreaker as she matures.
Don't listen to the negative voices. Judge for yourself. A solid, high-tension, superbly-crafted thriller.
(And no, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved.)
- snowdog-14
- Oct 19, 2006
- Permalink
High class intense melodrama which had my attention.
Mother loses child and adopts two as replacement; yet the mother and her husband have dark secrets in a house full of them. And on one level this film goes further than child endangerment but into child cruelty and worse.
Excellent photography, generally very good direction with a few blimps near the end.
Super performances from the two female leads which makes the film.
The actress playing the mother is sensationally "bad".
Worthy of a sound: 7/10.
Mother loses child and adopts two as replacement; yet the mother and her husband have dark secrets in a house full of them. And on one level this film goes further than child endangerment but into child cruelty and worse.
Excellent photography, generally very good direction with a few blimps near the end.
Super performances from the two female leads which makes the film.
The actress playing the mother is sensationally "bad".
Worthy of a sound: 7/10.
In this sequel to the mediocre original, another teenage girl and young boy get adopted by a creepy couple after their parents pass away. At first, their new life seems idyllic, but as in the first film, things aren't always as they seem, and there are a few skeletons busting to come out of the closet.
Okay, for a start the main problem here is there is not a sympathetic character in the film. Mom is a psycho, Dad is a doormat, Abby (the girl) is a total biatch and the young lad has so few scenes we barely know what to think of him. Also, from the beginning it's pretty obvious that everything about this place spells *CREEPY* and yet, it takes Abby more than an hour of the movie to bother doing anything about it. That's after her foster mother purposely leaves broken glass in the sink for her to cut herself with, drugs her with tranquilisers so she spends days at a time in her room and forbids her to leave the house or speak to anyone on the phone. Even when her brother falls MYSTERIOUSLY ILL with 'food poisoning' and crazy mom won't take him to the hospital, she still doesn't twig. Fortunately, there's a convenient bedroom full of evidence of her past crimes and... Oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you're going to watch it, I suppose you want to discover the 'surprises' all by yourself. Lucky you.
The acting all round ranges from average to deplorable (especially in the later sections when things get REALLY over the top), there isn't an unpredictable plot twist in the script and most of the occurrences happened in the original, anyway. So why not do yourself a favour, see The Glass House again instead? Save yourself a rental fee. Or better yet, why not just dump both movies and go watch something classic from that Master Of Suspense himself, Sir Alfred Hitchcock? I recommend North By Northwest or The Birds. No, they weren't made this century, but I tell you what.. they beat ten shades of poo out of today's so-called thrillers. Exhibit A: this film. Life is short, after all.. 3/10
Okay, for a start the main problem here is there is not a sympathetic character in the film. Mom is a psycho, Dad is a doormat, Abby (the girl) is a total biatch and the young lad has so few scenes we barely know what to think of him. Also, from the beginning it's pretty obvious that everything about this place spells *CREEPY* and yet, it takes Abby more than an hour of the movie to bother doing anything about it. That's after her foster mother purposely leaves broken glass in the sink for her to cut herself with, drugs her with tranquilisers so she spends days at a time in her room and forbids her to leave the house or speak to anyone on the phone. Even when her brother falls MYSTERIOUSLY ILL with 'food poisoning' and crazy mom won't take him to the hospital, she still doesn't twig. Fortunately, there's a convenient bedroom full of evidence of her past crimes and... Oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you're going to watch it, I suppose you want to discover the 'surprises' all by yourself. Lucky you.
The acting all round ranges from average to deplorable (especially in the later sections when things get REALLY over the top), there isn't an unpredictable plot twist in the script and most of the occurrences happened in the original, anyway. So why not do yourself a favour, see The Glass House again instead? Save yourself a rental fee. Or better yet, why not just dump both movies and go watch something classic from that Master Of Suspense himself, Sir Alfred Hitchcock? I recommend North By Northwest or The Birds. No, they weren't made this century, but I tell you what.. they beat ten shades of poo out of today's so-called thrillers. Exhibit A: this film. Life is short, after all.. 3/10
- anxietyresister
- Aug 3, 2008
- Permalink
- cornflowersandcolour
- Jun 22, 2007
- Permalink
this movie has nothing to do with the first one.the actors and the characters are different.it starts out promising but quickly sputters.i could only watch it for about 35 minutes.i just found it way too slow and boring.Angie Harmon make for a compelling villain,except we are only given glimpses into her character.i know i hadn't watched it very long,but i just expected something more.i felt no tension or suspense and to be honest,i really didn't care about what happened.to me,it was just that uninteresting and not compelling.maybe sometime in the future i will attempt to watch the whole movie.in which case this review may or may not change,but as it stands,i give Glass House:The Good Mother a 2/10,based on Angie Harmon.
- disdressed12
- Oct 31, 2007
- Permalink
Plot done over and over and over again. This one no different than any other. Evil woman who gets away with murder and empty headed men who go along with the stupidity. Again we're supposed to believe women can be evil and men can be patsies. Brett Merryman wrote this crap and Steve Antin directed not so good actors. Angie Harmon gets boring along the way with this constant evil stare all the time. Joel Gretsch as her doting vacant husband goes around whining all the time. Then there's the children played by Jordan Hinson and Bobby London. London spends most of the time sick in bed and Hinson seems to be running around in circles looking for a way out. But never seems to find the door. Jason London plays a detective without a clue. Of course he gets it from the witch mother. So there you have it. A trite not so original LMN movie with the same theme, the same bitchy women, and the same weak men. Typical LMN crap.
- reeves2002
- Oct 7, 2006
- Permalink
From the first five minutes of this show, the ending was clear. The plot isn't in any way original or inventive. There were no twists to keep the interest of the audience. The pace was slow. There wasn't any rise or fall in the action. Even the high action scenes were painful due to their extreme predictability. The music contributed to the somber, slow tone of it all, and brings Chinese Water Torture to mind. The characterizations were extremely simple. The characters at the beginning didn't change or grow through their experiences. They didn't seem real in any way.
The acting wasn't horrible. There just wasn't any fleshing out that could be done with the script or the action. This has to be a writing issue, but shame on Angie Harmon and director Steve Antin for agreeing to be a part of such an awful movie. Still, the real shame has to belong to the writer for this awful script. YUCK! The only positive was the acting of the teenage lead, Jordan Hinson. Her acting (and character) was most believable. Still, one word describes this movie best: tedious. I kept on waiting for it to get better; I waited until the ending credits rolled.
The acting wasn't horrible. There just wasn't any fleshing out that could be done with the script or the action. This has to be a writing issue, but shame on Angie Harmon and director Steve Antin for agreeing to be a part of such an awful movie. Still, the real shame has to belong to the writer for this awful script. YUCK! The only positive was the acting of the teenage lead, Jordan Hinson. Her acting (and character) was most believable. Still, one word describes this movie best: tedious. I kept on waiting for it to get better; I waited until the ending credits rolled.
- lizzy-cunningham
- May 8, 2008
- Permalink
I was ready to watch something else 15-20 mins into the movie. I was hopeful but way too much exaggerated acting from the main characters. It was theatrical with too much dramatic gestures.
- mrandrewreeves
- Jul 1, 2022
- Permalink
Another retread of the bad mother plot. This one of course involves a foster family that has some issues. It's shot well, acted alright, but the story has been done so much it's just not really that much of a contribution. There's no great lines or great scenes. Overall, 4/10.
- wandernn1-81-683274
- Oct 27, 2021
- Permalink
An orphaned teen girl (Jordan Hinson) & her little brother start a new life in remote Simi Valley, Ca, with their adoptive parents (Angie Harmon & Joel Gretsch), a seemingly-ideal couple who tragically lost their son a year earlier. Jason London is on hand as the kid's acting-godfather.
"Glass House: The Good Mother" (2006) naturally has a similar plot to the first film, but the kids are a little younger here and, as the title implies, the mother is now the key adversary. Being a direct-to-video release it lacks the budget of the first film with Leelee Sobieski and Stellan Skarsgård (2001) and therefore lacks the theatrical pizazz thereof, having a Lifetime movie vibe.
As with that first movie, the awesome mansion itself is a highlight, located just a dozen miles north of the Glass manor used in the previous flick (in real-life). Unlike the first film, however, the actors are all no-names. Yet they rise to the challenge, especially Harmon as the increasingly not-good mother and Hinson as the formidable girl, who essentially becomes the "final girl" à la slasher flicks.
Not that this is a horror movie, but there is that element. It's more realistic than the conventional slasher, which typically involve some eye-rolling psycho wearing a mask and brandishing a machete, etc. Here, the diabolic individual is more every-day and perfectly harmless on the surface, which somehow makes it more chilling.
The flick effectively addresses the mental illness factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), aka Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP). These types of psychos actually exist, unfortunately.
The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Simi Valley, Ca, with some stuff done in Hollywood.
GRADE: C
"Glass House: The Good Mother" (2006) naturally has a similar plot to the first film, but the kids are a little younger here and, as the title implies, the mother is now the key adversary. Being a direct-to-video release it lacks the budget of the first film with Leelee Sobieski and Stellan Skarsgård (2001) and therefore lacks the theatrical pizazz thereof, having a Lifetime movie vibe.
As with that first movie, the awesome mansion itself is a highlight, located just a dozen miles north of the Glass manor used in the previous flick (in real-life). Unlike the first film, however, the actors are all no-names. Yet they rise to the challenge, especially Harmon as the increasingly not-good mother and Hinson as the formidable girl, who essentially becomes the "final girl" à la slasher flicks.
Not that this is a horror movie, but there is that element. It's more realistic than the conventional slasher, which typically involve some eye-rolling psycho wearing a mask and brandishing a machete, etc. Here, the diabolic individual is more every-day and perfectly harmless on the surface, which somehow makes it more chilling.
The flick effectively addresses the mental illness factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), aka Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP). These types of psychos actually exist, unfortunately.
The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Simi Valley, Ca, with some stuff done in Hollywood.
GRADE: C