Kay777 Reviews

Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002 TV Movie)

Great clips, Disrespectful of Ms. Crawford

[7/10 · 19 April 2023]

Joan Crawford was a phenomenon, a brilliant actress and a true movie STAR. She was also a strong character, and strong characters have both fans and foes. She had both.

I love that she did things her way. As one of the guests said, "She wouldn't be directed." She didn't NEED to be directed, she had great instincts.

The info re: her movies and the clips were fun to watch, but it is almost as though the producers were looking to produce a hatchet piece.

Considering what a major movie star and fine actress she was, I was disappointed that her resentful daughter got so much air time to voice allegations that could not be proven or disproven. Some of the stories the men told were better left untold - if they were true, also. Joan deserved better than unsubstantiated rumors treated as fact.

TCM blew it on this one, as far as I am concerned.

The Harrad Experiment (1973)

Surprisingly

[1/10 · 19 February 2023]

Boring. I don't know what I expected but I did think it would be at least mildly entertaining. Sadly, it was not.

The character of Harry was played by Bruno Kirby, an actor I've seen in several films, may he rest in peace. I never liked his work in them, and the most interesting thing about this movie was the realization that even in his youth, he was still - well, Bruno, which is to say, annoying.

Ted Cassidy (Lurch in the Addams Family), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl, Milk Money), and Gregory Harrison (Gen. Hospital; Signed, Sealed, Delivered tv movies) have bit roles - uncredited, for which they are likely tremendously grateful. Save time and skip this one.

A Match Made at Christmas (2021)

Colossal Waste of Time

[1/10 · 11 December 2022]

Male lead was jerk throughout - nasty, mean, emotionally abusive to female lead. When the female lead tells the guy they'd end up hurting each other, she's wrong: HE will end up hurting HER, and she will tolerate it because he suddenly" loves" her. Run, girl, run like the wind...

If ANY of the characters were likable, it would have been worth watching, perhaps, but none of them were likable or relatable. The film is an "Abundant House Film," which states it's goal is to make film with 'messages of hope, reconciliation, sacrifice, and goodness to audiences in a fun, entertaining way.' Well, they missed on fun/entertaining.

In this movie, the hope seems to be missing, but the sacrifice is front and center. What they call reconciliation seems more like wishful thinking on the part of the female lead.

I suppose, with Abundant House being a family affair, one can't really expect a well-done film. Expect the worse, and that they deliver abundantly.

Francesca Quinn, PI (2022 TV Movie)

High hopes, dashed

[2/10 · 1 November 2022]

Two stars, only because I liked the male lead.

The writing could be a bit tighter, but, frankly, it was good enough for a Hallmark movie. The supporting cast was middling to good, also. Most of the characters were fine, but the character of Francesca was unlikable, to say the least. Francesca was not at all relatable or engaging. Watching the movie, I found the character quite awful. I hated her.

If that weren't enough, she often mumbled and lowered her volume as she ended her lines. For an actress to deliver lines unintelligibly is head-shakingly poor acting.

The biggest problem with this movie was the lead, Mallory Jansen, who seemed to consider the main work of acting to be making faces and batting her eyes. Worse than the lack of acting ability was her lack of chemistry with any of the other players. I can't imagine what she was trying to play - nasty? Disgusted with everyone and life? Perpetually dissatisfied? Whatever she was trying to portray, it came off as wishing she were elsewhere doing anything but this movie. I was shocked to see that she had appeared in several series. Unbelievable!

Oh, and Francesca's awful breathy voice-overs. Ugh.

Mapp & Lucia (2014)

Great fun!

[9/10 · 13 June 2022]

I was introduced to the Lucia series mwfmty years ago and have read the books many times over the years. I thoroughly enjoyed the earlier series, so watched this one predisposed to find it lacking.

I was delighted to to discover it was as much fun as the earlier series.

The actors do Benson proud, imho. If you enjoy Benson, don't miss this series.

The Eleventh Victim (2012 TV Movie)

Time I'll Never Get Back

[1/10 · 6 June 2022]

Even worse than the movie is knowing I actually watched the whole thing. Now I'm kicking myself for having wasted so much time on this limp excuse for a movie.

The Santa Stakeout (2021 TV Movie)

Background Noise

[2/10 · 13 May 2022]

Annoying lead actors set your teeth right on edge. Cute premise but HM does not deliver.

However, if you are busy with other tasks, this is a good movie to have on in the background. It will not distract you from the work at hand or other conversations, but when you look up you'll see a wreath or candy cane or something Christmasy.

If you don't ask much of a movie, you might like this one.

First Response (2015 TV Movie)

Not Bad

[5/10 · 27 April 2022]

The actors are good, the plot has possibilities. Could have done without the endless flashbacks. It was nice to see a female lead who was strong and resourceful as opposed to needing the man to save the day. Overall, parts of the movie were really good, others (like the flashbacks) were boring.

The Woman in the House (2022)

A Waste of Time

[3/10 · 1 April 2022]

Kristen Bell, Michael Ealy, and Benjamin Levy Aguilar were excellent along with the supporting cast. The writing was uneven at best. The humor was flat, but I kept watching due to the excellent cast. The ending was ridiculous rather than funny, making this a very poor parody. If they make a sequel, I'll skip it.

A Perfect Christmas List (2014 TV Movie)

Not bad

[5/10 · 8 December 2021]

Some good folks in this one- Marion Ross, Barbara Broderick, Richard Karn are great. Aaron HIll is likable. Ellen Hollman, however, is awful. Not likable, not relatable, fairly obnoxious throughout the movie with no meaningful change (or recognition that she does all the things she hates about her mom.

The movie isn't awful; the supporting cast save it. A better lead actress would have made the movie a lot more enjoyable, though.

Swept Under (2015 TV Movie)

A **** movie

[1/10 · 26 October 2017]

Where to begin? The beginning seemed promising, but the movie (or Devin Kelly) quickly grew tiresome. The female lead was not relatable or appealing; even after her backstory was revealed, she was still unlikable.

The premise was interesting, but the script just didn't deliver. If it hadn't been for Aaron Ashmore, whose work I like, I'd have given up on this one 30 minutes in.

The ending was unrealistic and and out of character, a lousy ending to a movie that never worked.

Deadly Encounter (2004 TV Movie)

Beyond Awful

[1/10 · 23 September 2017]

The female lead was stiff and wooden and the ex-husband was not engaging in the least. The lead's friend had all the talent you'd expect to find in a middle-school theatrical production. The lead's mother was not even in it; she looked more like a producer's assistant running lines with the lead rather than someone actually acting. Within ten minutes, I was rooting for the bad guy. It was so bad that I ended up reading a package insert from a box of sinus pills I found in the drawer of the nightstand. The possible side effects were a lot scarier than this movie.