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melanie-11927
Reviews
The Wrong Stepmother (2019)
I wish they'd call them the "wrong" movies in the UK
I wish they wouldn't keep giving them different names in the UK. If they called it "The Wrong Stepmother", I would have known instantly not to watch it. I liked Cindy Busby in Heartland as Ashley but in this she was terrible. And, what was Corin Nemec doing in it? Surely he could have found a better role than this.
And why do they keep giving Vivica A Fox top billing when she only plays a cameo, (and I'm grateful that it was only a cameo)? Her acting is appalling. The too good to be true expressions are so bad they are almost funny, but not quite. She's always the same in every bad movie she does. Estate Agent, Detective, Teacher, but all with the same holier than thou expressions. Yuk. I hope this isn't what we have to expect from any new movie from now on. I'm part way through and I'll probably have to keep watching now. Why, I have no idea. Pretty obvious what the outcome will be.
The Wrong Housesitter (2020)
I'd give it a zero if I could
If Channel 5 had called this by the name given instead of calling it something else, I wouldn't have bothered recording it. As it was, I sat through it but dear, oh dear. The acting was truly appalling as it is with all these "wrong" movies. And, why is Vivica given top billing when she only has a minor role?
The plot was very similar to another movie which I watched years ago, except that one had better actors in it. I can't remember the name. So, this one seems to be a rehash of another film.
Kristin was probably the best one in it and it was nice to see the lawyer, albeit not for very long.
The neighbour next door was awful and just like a male version in another of these "wrong" movies. Honestly, I've never seen such rubbish. Vivica plays the same character she always plays and overacts. The others sound as if they are reading off a script. If this is what TV has come to, no wonder people are switching off.
The Wrong Real Estate Agent (2021)
What can I say
There is fluff and there is fluff. I mean I do enjoy a bit of Channel 5 afternoon fluff occasionally. It's good to switch off, but this was bad. I can't believe I actually wasted an afternoon watching this.
There were more holes in the plot than Swiss cheese and the acting was appalling. I mean, Vivica continually overacted with the rolling eyes, especially when she leaped out of bed in the night. The nosy neighbour next door was also really bad with the overacting in the way he leapt up behind the bushes.
I thought the young girl was OK and her boyfriend. A pity it wasn't more about them and less of Vivica. I thought Ron was OK as well. Other than that it was just absolute rubbish.
Overall, it was disjointed, I didn't care about the characters because of the bad acting and it was just really lame. I mean, two minutes in and you knew who it was. So all I can say is lame.
Lace (1984)
Best Mini Series Ever
This is my favourite mini series ever. I watched in back in the 80's and we were all gripped as to who the mother was. Not going to say who. I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen this and I just love it. Someone said the acting was bad. I thought it was pretty good especially compared to some modern standards. This originally aired around the same time as Deceptions with Stephanie Powers, Mistrals Daughter and I'll take Manhattan. I loved them all but this was my favourite.
It wasn't just the storyline, it was the music, the atmosphere, the scenery, the glamour, and the era it was set. It was set in both the 60's and and the 80's. Even now, it is my favourite and I'm so glad I got the DVD. Just wish I could get hold of Lace II but that doesn't seem to be available. However, Lace II, wasn't a patch on Lace I. I have to watch it when it's available but I didn't like that they changed some of the characters including one of the main characters. Also the storyline of Lace II wasn't quite so gripping. But, it's still watchable.
You probably have to love mini series to like this now. Back in the 80's lots of people loved Dallas and Dynasty and this complimented them perfectly. Nowadays, people prefer reality programs which I can't stand, but, if you want some nostalgia and love soaps, you will love Lace. It hasn't dated either. It's still brilliant. That's my opinion anyway.
The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)
The best adaptation of the book
I watched this back in the 70's and read the book. I still love it. IMO it is far superior to the Sky remake.
The acting of the children was superb which is missing in the remake. It also had an innocence and atmosphere which was missing in the remake.
Maybe it's because I'm of that generation, but I just think they knew how to make children's films back then. It's of the same genre as "The Railway Children" but with a bit of spookiness thrown in and a bit of comedy. Children's films don't seem to have that innocence any more which is a real shame.
The casting was excellent. Lynne Frederick and Roslyn Landor really stand out as excellent actresses. The actress who played the mother was also excellent and so was Mr Blunden. In fact, all the cast were excellent.
One review said it was only for children. I disagree. I think there is a child in many of us and I love it even though I'm an adult. But then, I still love my Enid Blyton's as well.
The Amazing Mr Blunden (2021)
The Amazing Mr Blunden
I really wanted to see this as I loved the original. However, although this was watchable and modern kids may like it, it didn't have the magic of the original.
I found that the script was almost identical to the original but the acting was poorer. I thought Mr Blunden was well cast and so was Sara. Mrs Wickens was OK as well and Bella. The rest, not so much. To be fair, Lynne Frederick would be a hard act to follow as was the original actress who played the mother. There was just something about the original family that was missing in this adaptation.
I didn't like the fact that it was set in modern times, except when the children went back to 1821. The original was set in the early part of the 20th century and there was a magic to the Xmas scenes even though they were poor. The original had atmosphere. This one didn't. There was nothing new about it other than setting it in modern times. It was also too PC. Casting for the sake of it rather than what would have been more appropriate.
Overall, this was simply a cheap, lazy copy with no originality. I recommend the original 1972 version and the book. I believe the original book is being released again. If it's still in it's original format that will be fine. If it's been edited to suit the PC agenda then I recommend getting an old copy from somewhere.