Ghostwriter14 Reviews

The Super (2017)

Dick Wolf Semi-Good Attempt

[3/10 · 18 February 2019]

Not a bad movie, plenty of suspense as a good thriller should have. However, if you're an avid horror fan, it will be fairly easily to eliminate Val Kilmer's character Walter from the suspected baddies pool as in most horror movies, the creepy guy is the one who warns everyone about the killer. They tried to go for the old Dick Wolf "surprise/twist ending" by revealing that Rose was an evil spirit leading her Patrick Flueger's character Phil to murder, however, the lack of reaction from people when he was introducing Rose sort of killed it. After all, wouldn't you do a double take if your new employee was introducing a daughter that wasn't physically there? And then the Beverly character SAVES the evil girl little spirit when she just watched it lead the guy to murder. Can we say Darwin Award moment?

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Great Adventure

[6/10 · 4 November 2018]

I first saw The Nutcracker when I was apparently too young to enjoy it. According to my mom, I leaned over to tell her that there wasn't any words. However, some years later, I saw a televised performance and became entranced, even buying the book in recent years. That being said, this is NOT the same adventure. Does it mean it's bad? No. It's still thrilling and magical but definitely different. I enjoyed the changes and the scenery was breathtaking.

The Bad Seed (2018 TV Movie)

Passable For A Remake

[6/10 · 3 November 2018]

While by no means at the same caliber of the original, this remake was passable. Some things that bothered me were some of the changes. For example, I'm not sure why they decided to change her name from Rhoda to Emma, and this irked me the same way it did when they changed it to Rachel in the 85 version . It's said that the mother died when Emma was a baby and they could've easily written in where the mother was fond of old-fashioned names and named her Rhoda. In the same way, not sure why they renamed Claude Milo as he could've easily been a different nationality as it was a prep school setting and it's not unreasonable to think that other ethnics could make it into the school. Maybe Lowe was afraid that people would accuse him of just using the names in an updated setting? Not sure.

I didn't really mind the gender swap of Chloe for Leroy or the dad for the mom as it still worked and I had always wondered how the dad would react in the 50s version if he had found out what his wife did. And seeing Robe Lowe's character David trying to take a more active role in trying to stop her from killing up until the cops were called and forced to kill him was pretty cool.

One thing I felt worked was showing more of Emma's sociopathic tendencies with her questioning why people get sad and her practicing the phrase "a basket of kisses" in front of the mirror as it gives the viewers a bit of a chill to see just how disconnected she is from the rest of society. And my favorite part was seeing Patty McCormack (the original Bad Seed) as the counselor Miss March. This told me a lot about the script as she had been offered a part in the 80s adaption and promptly turned it down after reading the script. so the fact that she agreed to do a role in THIS adaption tells me that she approved of the script and why it gets higher than a five.

Mako Mermaids (2013–2016)

Good Series But Raises Questions

[5/10 · 2 April 2018]

Over all, I enjoyed this series, but for a spin-off, it raises a lot of questions 1: Mermaids: If there's a Mermaid Council and the moon pool is always guarded, where were they when Emma, Rikki, and Cleo fell into the pool? And why wasn't this addressed in H20 Just Add Water? 2. Merman: Throughout the whole series, noises are made about the fact that there are no mermen and that they're dangerous, but if that's the case, how are there numerous pods all over the world with over a hundred mermaids in each pod? 3. The characters: A lot of the time, the characters weren't very likable. They can be forgiven at the beginning of the series because they don't know land culture, that's fine, but Nixie came across as being sociopathic and Weilan (a later mermaid) was an annoying know-it-all. 4: Music: I'm not talking about the score or background. I'm talking about Sirena and the actress Amy Ruffle singing in practically EVERY episode. The series relied too much on music and it became annoying. That being said, it had plenty of excitement and great storylines. It just probably would've been better as a stand alone series than a spin-off.

H2O: Just Add Water (2006–2010)

Great Series Even With These Flaws

[10/10 · 2 April 2018]

I saw this series in the last year and I absolutely loved it. As a whole, it was well done and it did its job in entertaining me. However, there were five things that irked me throughout the series: 1. Kim. Okay, yes, she's supposed to be the annoying younger sibling character, but she NEVER got disciplined for mouthing off to her parents. If I had said or done half of the things this girl did while I was growing up, I would've been either spanked or grounded. 2. Will in season 3. For the most part, I have no problem with him. He reminded me a bit of Byron from S1: a genuinely nice guy. However, what I had an issue with was the girls looking to Will and suddenly treating him like the expert in all things mermaid after finding out Bella (the mermaid who replaced Emma in S3) was a mermaid when Zane had known about them for two years. 3. Cleo: Her whole personality changes in S3 and she becomes a cross between Lewis and Emma, which made no sense. I could see her becoming more confident after the fiasco with Charlotte but to suddenly change her personality so much? 4. Bella's appearance:. Bella herself is an interesting character, but Cleo and Rikki were awful quick to welcome her into their group after everything with Charlotte. Why weren't they more suspicious? 5. The water tentacle/comet angle: honestly I wasn't a fan of this angle as it made it feel like a whole different show. However, these flaws don't take away from my enjoyment. The series is wonderful and I enjoyed every character even the villains.

Marry Me at Christmas (2017 TV Movie)

Just As Charming As The Book It's Based On

[10/10 · 28 October 2017]

I bought the book about a few months before finding out that they were turning it into a Hallmark movie, so I decided to read the book. Now I'm watching the movie and I have to say I'm rather pleased with it. There are the obvious differences between the book and the movie of course, but the differences don't take away from the storytelling.

While the cast isn't QUITE how I pictured everyone in my head, they all capture the ESSENCE of the people they're portraying, especially Trevor Donovan as Johnny Blake. Donovan captures Johnny's longing to be normal and slight pushiness when it comes to his sister's wedding. A lot of actors are good at playing either the rich type or the down- to-earth guys and tend to falter when trying to portray both but Donovan does it well.

From what I've seen so far, the movie is sweet and charming, and I'm enjoying it.

Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story (2005 TV Movie)

One Of The Best Movies I've Seen In A Long Time!

[10/10 · 30 September 2005]

It was so awesome and inspirational! I enjoyed it so much! I watched it for Jami Gertz because she's such a wonderful actress and was pleasantly surprised to see Jorge Vargas (Auggie from Higher Ground) in it as well. I was also interested in it because it was based on a true story and I've always been such a sucker for true stories. Jamie Gertz was excellent! Jorge Vargas was wonderful! The trust and respect the real Marilyn Gambrell instilled in the kids was sensational. I truly believe the United States would benefit if more programs Like No More Victims were added to the school curriculum. I'm sure there are a lot of kids who seem like they're bad to the bone, and yet, they're hurting as much as anybody. Sadly, no one seems to realize this. Once again, I believe that we could all benefit from a program such as No More Victims. I would definitely recommend it for anyone desiring to watch something inspirational. I would also like to say kudos for such strength and character you see in the movie.

Higher Ground (2000)

"Seductions"

[11 April 2004]

I really liked the HG ep "Seductions" because, again, Hayden Christensen did such a great job emotionally. For those of you who don't remember the plot, it's the episode where Shelby (A. J. Cook) tries to seduce Scott (Christensen). It seems to work when he begins to makeout with her after foolishly kissing Sophie (Ann-Marie Louder. However, as they progress, he begins to have flashbacks to what Elaine did to him and freaks and ends up confessing what has happened to him. I feel that this is a good episode because it shows that this kind of abuse can happen to boys as well as girls and they aren't freaks, their abusers are. In another plot, Auggie was glad that Scott and Juliette had broken up, but was mopey because she still hadn't noticed him. They first showed Scott being seduced by Elaine in the very first episode "Scott Free" and then they went on to explore the other characters so that you were like, "What about Scott? How does this effect his life NOW?" An example of Christensen's superb acting is when his character is talking the CPS and they keep asking him questions such as "Did you record it?", "Did she ever write you?" All in all, I totally loved the episode.