Con Air - review

Nicolas Cage is a US Ranger who after an incident during which he’s defending his pregnant wife, finds himself in jail. As he writes letters back and forth to his daughter for the first 8 years of her life, he yearns for the day when he’s released on parole and when that day comes, he hitches a ride back home on a US Marshal plane transporting high risk criminals to different prisons.

With his wife and daughter waiting for him at home he hopes it will be an easy flight, but when the inmates take over control of the plane, Cameron finds himself in a fight to ensure he gets home.

As the most dangerous criminals in America hijack the plane and don’t care how many people have to be killed to ensure they get what they want, the US Marshalls on the ground finally work out what’s happened and face a race against time to ensure the plane is grounded, but as it heads towards Las Vegas, it’ll take more than attack helicopters to get the airplane down.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed this action thriller, even though I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite genre of film. It was fast paced and didn’t stop the whole way through – even the violence didn’t put me off!

Co-starring John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi & John Cusack, this movie is definitely one to watch.

84 Charing Cross Road - review

Based on the true story of scriptwriter Helene Hanff’s transatlantic correspondence with book shop owner Frank Doel, this movie is a sweet and charming watch which makes you appreciate the written word.

Living in 1940’s New York, scriptwriter Helene struggles to purchase English literature and so writes to a London book shop that specialise in second hand and antiquarian books in the hope they can provide her with the books she requests. This letter sparks 20 years of correspondence between Helene and book shop owner Frank Doel as Helene requests different books to be sent to her and Frank supplies the books along with an invoice and information about the book shop.

As war hits England, Helene learns from her English friends in New York about food packages which can be sent from Denmark and so decides to send packages to the shop throughout the years to help with rationing cementing her friendship with the team. Soon after Helene is corresponding with all members of staff at the bookshop, but its Frank she writes most to, learning about his family and the pair really get to know each other.

With a love of England, but never having visited, Helene writes to Frank and expresses her wish to be able to visit the bookshop during Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, but unfortunately unplanned dental work makes her trip un-affordable and so she relies again on letters to correspond with her English friends.

As time goes on, Frank updates Helene on life in England including the loss of a member of the team and the progress his daughters are making in life while Helene keeps Frank informed of what’s going on in her life as well as requesting more books.

20 years later, Helene is finally ready to make her trip to London, but having been informed of Frank’s passing, her trip is bittersweet as she visits where the shop used to be to find it closed down and abandoned, but still holding the memories of its American friend.

I really loved this movie and found it one which I could easily watch on a cosy afternoon. As someone who appreciates the written word, in both the form of books and letters, this movie was my cup of tea and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

The Art of Murder: Garage Sale Mystery - review

When bargain hunter Jen’s daughter Hannah approaches her to help with a sorority garage sale, her selling skills come in helpful as she steps in to help the other mums on how to get the best from the garage sale.

But when one of the mum’s go missing and is subsequently found dead in her mother’s attic full of treasures, Jen’s skills as a super sleuth are called in action as she goes against everyone else’s belief that the death was an accident believing a murder took place.

With her husband trying to relive his youth as a big birthday approaches, Jen struggles to find a motive for the murder, but when she learns about a burglary of valuable items, she begins to put the pieces together and sets out to find out the truth.

This TV mystery is another in the series that I always enjoy watching and is a cosy weekend watch.

Every Secret Thing - review

Years ago a baby was taken and later found dead with 2 young girls being convicted of her murder.

A few years later Ronnie & Alice are released from juvenile detention and back living in the same neighbourhood and when another toddler disappears in similar circumstances, Detective Nancy Porter (Elizabeth Banks) believes they may have had a hand in it.

With the movie darting between the past and present, you start to get a sense of what happened but don’t know which of the 2 girls actually committed the original murder and with each of them blaming the other during police interviews regarding the current abduction, it proves to be a difficult case to crack.

As Alice embraces her freedom and Ronnie throws herself into working in an attempt to forget her past, it’s easy to see why they would become instant suspects when history seems to repeat itself, but surely they can’t be guilty of both crimes?

This movie wasn’t as good as I’d hoped and to be honest I was bored way before it was halfway through.

It wasn’t the crime thriller I’d hoped it would be and I wasn’t gripped or particularly determined to see how it ended, but I stuck with it in the hope it would get better – unfortunately it didn’t.

The Memory Book - review

When photographer Clare comes across a memory book full of photos of a couple, she becomes convinced they are the picture of happiness. Searching for the perfect relationship, Clare buys the book and sets upon trying to trace the happy couple.

Along with a bartender she met at her own photographic exhibition, Clare tries all she can to discover who the couple are in the hope she can discover the secret to happiness.

As she travels to locations depicted in the book, Clare and Gabe end up creating memories of their own and when they track down Sarah they’re disappointed to find out she and Jonathan didn’t get married as planned and aim to bring them back together.

This TV rom-com was quite sweet in a way, but wasn’t as good as I’d hoped.

Now you see me 2 - review

Opening with Lionel Shrike’s attempt to escape from the safe at the bottom of the Seine which ultimately cost him his life, we see Dylan’s faith in his father severely tested as he prays for him to pull of the stunt. But as he fails to resurface while being watched by members of the public as well as Thaddeus Bradley, whose aim is to expose magic, Dylan is devastated and scarred by the event which will stay with him for life.

Back to the present day and after hiding out for a year after their last big performance which stunned the word, the four horseman – with Henley having been replaced by Lula – are ready for their comeback and aim to make it as big as before.

Their target is to expose the CEO of tech company Octa as a fraud, but as their show gets underway, the horseman find themselves being sabotaged as their own secrets are exposed such as Jack still being alive and FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes being involved with the group.

As the group attempt to escape the FBI, they somehow find themselves in Macau and under the orders of tech genius and former fellow CEO of Octa Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) who was thought to be dead. Along with Merritt’s brother Chase, Walter challenges the horseman to their biggest heist yet - to steal a memory stick from an underground facility which will allow him to access information on many people across the world.

Using his father – former horseman investor Arthur Tressler’s (Michael Caine) money and distaste of the team, Walter has control of the team as they work out how to fulfil this challenge and begin to learn each other’s skills in an attempt to pull it off.

With Dylan trying to trace the horseman, he reaches out to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who is still in prison and using his FBI status releases him in the hope of being able to use his expertise to trace the team, but as they discover what the team are up to and who they’re working for, the horseman really are being asked to push their skills to the limit.

This sequel was as slick and fascinating as the first movie. It was fast paced and kept going the whole way through until it came to a fantastic ending – one which couldn’t easily be guessed. With the team – Jessie Eisenberg, James Franco & Woody Harrelson, minus Isla Fisher – back together, this movie was close to taking over the first instalment in popularity stakes.

I can’t wait to see the next one!

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan

Margot Lewis is a secondary school teacher who in her spare time also writes an advice column, Dear Amy in the local paper. With the usual letters of heartbreak and asking questions, she’s thrown when she receives a letter supposedly from a girl who disappeared 20 years ago and is presumed dead, Bethan Avery. Surely it can’t be real?

Margot takes the letter to the police and thinks that will be the end of it, but when local girl Katie Browne goes missing, she wonders whether her disappearance has anything to do with Bethan’s.

As she struggles with the separation from her husband Eddy as well as feeling the pressure of receiving letters from Bethan, Margot’s mental state begins to deteriorate as things get on top of her and when she becomes involved in the police investigation into Bethan’s disappearance, she can’t help feeling that she may have known her when she was younger.

Haunted by memories of her past, Margot works alongside Senior Criminologist Martin Forrester as they work with the police to see if there’s any connection between Bethan and Katie, but as Margot becomes more involved, she risks her own sanity as her eagerness to help save Katie’s life, could mean losing her own.

I was gripped with this book from the start and at points couldn’t put it down – the only reason I put it down was to sleep and go to work! With chapters told from both Margot and Katie’s points of view, the story kept me interested and had me working on my own theories, but I couldn’t have predicted the twist which no one would have seen coming.

This thriller is a great debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The 13 problems by Agatha Christie

During an evening with friends, Miss Marple is drawn into a conversation about unsolved mysteries. As her writer nephew, Raymond West encourages the topic, the group take it in turns to talk about a mystery while the others are challenged with trying to solve them.

With her reputation for picking up on things other people miss and being aware of everything which goes on, Miss Marple is in her element as she puts her detective skills to the test and as the evening goes on, the group talk about a variety of different mysteries.

This novel had a different story for each chapter meaning it felt like a collection of short stories, but I liked it as it made me feel less guilty when I finished a chapter and then didn’t pick it up again for a few weeks.

As a fan of Agatha Christie and with the next 7 Miss Marple novels waiting to be read on my shelf, I enjoyed this novel and it definitely won’t be my last murder mystery.

Deadly Sisters - review

Opening with a scene of a happy family playing on the beach and running in and out of the sea, this movie mistakenly tricks you into thinking it will be about happy family life, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Based on a true story, Deadly Sisters focuses on Sandra and Beth Andersen, sisters who along with their mum and brother continually move house and live an unconventional life with the sisters playing the role of parents due to their mum’s battle with alcoholism and introducing abusive men into the family.

As the sisters escape their home life by throwing themselves into partying and hanging out with friends, they come up with the idea of claiming insurance money if their mum was to die and therefore plan on how to ensure she does.

Starting off as just throwing around ideas, the sisters discuss their plan with a few friends all of whom encourage them, but when the sisters go through with it and their mum is discovered dead, it’s up to them to maintain the idea that she died by drowning while drunk.

But as the reality of their actions sets in, as the one who actually committed the act of murder, Sandra struggles to keep quiet and can’t help talking about it at school. However while some students think she’s joking, it’s not long before the truth is discovered and the sisters are facing the consequences of their actions.

This movie didn’t grab me and I found my mind wandering throughout. With Abigail Breslin and Georgie Henley (The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe) starring as the sisters, to be honest I thought they both over-acted and at times made the movie seem really amateur.

Learning at the end of the movie about the real life sisters, I found it interesting that it took so long to discover the truth about their mother’s death and as a whole this movie left me empty.

Lost Letter Mysteries: The Impossible Dream - review

The latest instalment from this cosy series opens with the Postables sitting in front of an emergency session of the United States Congress committee. As the chairman enquires as to the reason for the session, the Postables recount their last few days in order to fill her in.

With Rita being a candidate for Miss Postable Colorado, the team are off to the state final in Washington DC where they all have their own things they wish to do during the trip. Shayne aims to visit her childhood home, but is upset when she discovers it has been demolished and Oliver wishes to visit the Pony Express Exhibit at the Post Museum in order to find closure following his wife leaving him there a few years before.

When the team check into their hotel they bump into Phoebe Abbernon and her grandfather, who they became acquainted with the year before following the arrival of a letter which may have been written by Phoebe’s mother who had gone missing & was presumed dead in Afghanistan following a mission gone wrong. As they say their hellos, Shayne has an idea to help them and enlists the help of a former boyfriend who happens to work in the Special Forces in an attempt to try and find out what actually happened to Phoebe’s mum.

While Rita prepares for her performance at the final of Miss Special Delivery, Oliver and the others work together with Steve in the hope of finally unravelling the mystery of Phoebe’s mum’s disappearance. But it’s Rita’s photographic memory which comes in handy when they are briefly shown a classified file containing a letter which appears to have been written by Phoebe’s mum with clues as to an escape plan.

The reason for the emergency meeting then becomes clear as the Postables believe the letter was written in code to Phoebe to inform her of her mother’s escape and asks that she is met by fellow army people to rescue her. But as the information is classified and therefore they shouldn’t have witnessed it, the Postables have a hard task on their hands if they are to convince the meeting to send a rescue party out on a dangerous mission in the hope of rescuing someone who has been presumed dead.

Meanwhile in an attempt to show how much he loves her, Norman tries to show Rita something he has been carrying around in an envelope the entire trip, but when he shows her she doesn’t react in the way he hoped. However when she realises why he did it, she forgives him and they finally share their first kiss.

I love this series of TV movies and this one was no exception.

Cosy easy watching, this movie was a joy to watch and I’ll definitely be watching the next one.

The Lady in the Van - review

Maggie Smith takes on the role of Miss Shepherd ‘The Lady in the Van’ in an adaptation of Alan Bennett’s novel based on a true event.

When playwright Alan Bennett moves into a quiet street in Camden, he’s intrigued when Miss Shepherd takes it in turns to park her van outside resident’s houses and when it comes to his turn, he’s already taken on concern for Miss Shepherd. Ensuring she’s ok every time he cycles past, she takes the liberty of naming him to a social worker and regularly uses his toilet when he’s at home.

As time goes by she informs him that it would be easier for her to move onto a driveway rather than staying on the road due to parking regulations and reluctantly Alan agrees for her to move onto his driveway temporarily.

Jump forward 15 years and Miss Shepherd is still living there with the two of them having become quite friendly, although she berates him about the number of men entering and leaving the house as he explores relationships. Alan has also learnt more about the lady Miss Shepherd is and discovers she is a former nun and concert pianist who has a living brother, although she doesn’t talk about him.

With Alan directing and starring in plays in the West End, Miss Shepherd keeps herself to herself and lives her life as she sees fit, but when she requires extra help and is taken to a day centre, it’s then that Alan realises he quite misses his friend on the driveway even with all her faults.

When Miss Shepherd returns to her van after leaving the day centre, Alan shares with her his discoveries about her life and is upset the next day when he discovers that she has passed away, but is also quietly relieved that he is able to move her van and surrounding rubbish from his driveway once and for all.

With a cameo from Alan Bennett himself, this charming tale of a relationship which developed over 15 years despite starting off reluctantly, was a joy to watch and I feel inclined to now learn more about Miss Shepherd.

True Story - review

When it’s discovered New York Times journalist Michael Finkle has fabricated details for his latest article, he’s fired from his job with his reputation in tatters. As he tries to reach out to contacts in the journalism world, he learns that an accused killer has been using his name and decides to find out why.

Christopher Longo is accused of killing his entire family and when he agrees to meet with Michael, he says he will tell him his story as long as Michael teaches him to write.

As a fan of Michael’s work, Christopher sends him notes he’s made on his life and explains how he is innocent, but as Michael becomes involved with Christopher and starts to visit him regularly in prison, his partner Jill feels he’s becoming too involved, especially when he begins to question whether Christopher is as innocent as he claims.

Based on a true story, I enjoyed this movie and found it really interesting to watch. With Jonah Hill and James Franco making a good pairing, I found myself along with Michael doubting what Christopher was saying at the same time as feeling sorry for him and not really knowing which direction the movie would move in.

A good watch which I wouldn’t mind watching again.

Bad Blood - review

Hannah, her sister Amber and Uncle Donny live in fear of their uncle Frank, a powerful drug lord who has everyone in his pocket including several police officers.

With Donny spending most of his time off his head on drugs and Amber working at a dead end diner, Hannah spends her days playing chess and visiting the graves of her parents.

But when she comes up with an idea to help her get away, she puts herself as well as her sister in danger as she merges herself in the murky underworld her uncle runs using fear as his weapon.

To be perfectly honest I only watched this movie because Sean Bean was in it, but without his lovely Yorkshire accent, it didn’t matter that he was the main attraction as the movie was rubbish. Without really having a point to it, this movie followed Hannah as she leads an aimless life and eventually finds out the best way to live under her uncle’s rules is to join him and that was basically it.

Not one I would rush to recommend or watch again.

Dad's Army - review

In Walmington-on-Sea, the home guard are upping their training as they prepare to help the nation during WW2.

Headed up by Captain Mainwaring, the platoon take part in exercises to get them prepared for battle as well as identifying German spies, but are blindsided when attractive reporter Rose Winters arrives to write an article on them.

Mesmerised by her beauty, members of the platoon are distracted from normal duty while trying to do their best in the hope of being featured in the article, but at the same time, the women of the village are put off by her presence.

With news a German spy has infiltrated the village, the home guard are on the lookout for anyone suspicious and battle to be the first one to identify the spy, but with all the attention on training for the war and Ms Winters, could the spy be closer to home than anyone thinks?

Having never watched the TV series I had no idea who any of the characters of Dad’s Army were and would have missed out on any of the in jokes, but despite this it didn’t stop me enjoying the movie and I found it really funny.

Starring a host of names including Toby Jones, Bill Nighy, Catherine Zeta Jones & Michael Gambon, I would watch this movie again and would recommend it if you fancy a light-hearted laugh.

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse - An Aurora Teagarden Mystery - review

When her real estate agent mum asks Aurora to show a house to a client, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body.

While showing the house and garden to Martin Bardell, a businessman new to the area, Roe finds the scarf of another agent who she soon discovers was reported missing the day before and while she’s showing Martin the garden, they find her body.

With the police soon called to the house, Roe can’t help but feel there’s something different about the house which she used to spend time in as a child and soon realises while comparing old photographs, that a painting has been stolen.

As Roe does her usual sleuthing around, the police are less than impressed to find her interviewing people and asking questions, but when her theory that the murderer could be another real estate agent is proved correct, they have no choice but to let her carry on.

While the police continue their investigation, Roe feels it’s her duty to uncover the murderer as she’s scared her mother or another agent could be in danger and as she digs deeper and discovers a connection which could tie the crime to a number of others, she begins to realise that the pool of suspects could be just a bit bigger than they thought.

As always, this cosy murder mystery was a delight to watch and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Although it’s unrealistic and you tend to question when Roe actually does any work as a librarian with all the sleuthing she does, it’s an easy watch which doesn’t require you to think too much.

Deep Family Secrets - review

When Joanne is woken in the early hours of the morning by her mum convinced her husband is having an affair, Joanne thinks her mum is just having another one of her ‘moments’. As they drive to where her father is it’s only when he emerges from a meeting with a male companion that Joanne’s mum accepts that she was wrong.

With Joanne trying to set herself up as a singer along with her boyfriend, she also spends time worrying about her parent’s relationship and therefore asks her dad straight if he’s having an affair. With him denying anything of the kind Joanne is happy, but when her mum later disappears and blood is found in her car, she’s not entirely convinced her dad didn’t have something to do with it.

As her worries escalate about her mum’s state of mind and her parent’s relationship, Joanne and her siblings Bobby & Lisa start to wonder whether their dad is capable of murder, but it’s not until Joanne digs deeper into the family that she realises just how many secrets have been kept.

This 80’s thriller drama was a good watch, but I wouldn’t bother watching it again.

It didn’t grip me or have me on the edge of my seat, but I’m glad I’ve watched it.

Deadpool - review

When former military officer Wade Wilson discovers he’s dying from cancer, he resolves to find a way to prevent his death no matter what, but what he doesn’t count on is being made to suffer as he becomes a superhero.

Nearly tortured to death by experimental science Wade soon becomes invincible, just wanted he wanted, but as any superhero knows, with great power comes great responsibility and he’s soon called upon to help when needed.

Despite getting his wish and not dying, Wade decides he can’t tell his fiancé Vanessa about his new life and so leaves her thinking he’s gone away to die, but when she becomes mixed up in his new way of living and held against her will by evil scientist Ajax, Wade knows he has no choice but to reveal his new identity.

This superhero action movie broke the ‘4^th wall’ meaning that Ryan Reynolds’s character Wade spoke to the watching audience.

As much as I try to watch movies in different genres, this movie didn’t really do it for me and I didn’t completely understand what was going on most of the time.

Not one I’d seen again.

Garage Sale Mystery: Guilty until proven innocent - review

Struggling to keep their second hand shop Rags to Riches afloat, Jennifer and Dani are in serious need of buyers, but when an old friend of Jennifer’s announces she’s closing her shop and they are free to take whatever they want, they jump at the chance to buy more stock.

As Jennifer revels in the number of items Sandra has to sell, while she’s looking through a barn also full of stock, she finds more than she bargained for when she discovers the body of Michael, Sandra’s former fiancé in a hidden room below the barn.

Shocked and devastated, as Sandra had been led to believe he had run off with another woman, Jennifer is convinced her friend had nothing to do with his death, but when the evidence begins to lead only one way, she has to pull on all her sleuthing skills to prove Sandra’s innocence.

Meanwhile Dani is approached by a wealthy art gallery owner, who impressed by Dani’s background in art, offers her the job of managing the gallery. With the shop struggling to make ends meet and the job coming with perks such as a higher salary and international travel, Dani has a decision to make about where her heart lies.

Will she decide to jump ship and work with art or will she remain loyal to Rags in the hope the shop will pick up?

I’m a fan of any mystery movies and having enjoyed all the Garage Sale Mysteries so far, this one was no different. An ideal watch for a lazy afternoon.

Buried Secrets - review

When former cop Sarah Winters publishes her debut crime novel, she as well as her fans is excited for her first book signing, but when Sarah is confronted by an angry man talking about a real death, she starts to worry about her safety.

Having left the police force until a cloud, Sarah is still being investigated for corruption and when the last case she worked on comes back into focus thanks to her book, her involvement in the case comes under suspicion.

This TV movie wasn’t as good as I’d hoped as it became predictable and I knew what would happen before the end. It filled a gap in my day though.

The Shawshank Redemption - review

Banker Andy Dufresne is handed a double life sentence when he’s found guilty of the murder of his wife and her lover despite his protests of innocence and finds himself locked up in the infamous Shawshank prison.

Determined to not be broken by his new life, Andy keeps to himself for the first few months but then finds himself making friends with Red, a fellow prisoner who is known at the fixer as he’s able to get his hands on things which prisoners want to help pass the time.

As the years roll by Andy finds himself using his skills as a banker to help him get on the right side of the guards and soon becomes a close confidante of the warden by becoming involved in setting up scams in which to funnel through money from the prison.

As well as dealing with the staff finances, Andy also campaigns for improvements to the prison library and proves that with determination and perseverance you can fulfil your wish.

This powerful drama was a movie I’d never had the desire to watch, but when I booked tickets to see a stage production, my colleagues told me I really should see the movie first. Now that I’ve seen it, I wouldn’t say I was as impressed by it as I was told I would be, but I can at least say it’s another movie I’ve watched.