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Reviews
The Art of More (2015)
Poorly Plotted Canadian Series
This is surely one of the worst TV series of the past decade. It's hard to decide which element of the show contributes more to its staggering stupidity - the terrible dialogue, the contrived plotting, or the confused storyline. While the first season was more about the intrigue behind the art world, it devolved into a derivative action drama in the second. It's as if the producers decided that adding murder and mayhem would save the series from its other failings.
But given the fact that a third-rate Montreal production company - Muse Entertainment - was behind the series it is hardly surprising that The Art of More could ever be anything other than an artistic and commercial failure. It is a wonder that the series even made it to a second season given its hollow character.
Kate Bosworth does her best to bring some integrity to the acting but the makeup artist on the series seems to have given her face a photo-shopped gloss that distracts from her performance. Surely someone on the production team must have notice her odd appearance?
Meanwhile, Dennis Quaid chews the scenery with his over-the-top portrayal of an multi-millionaire businessman turned art collector provides unintentional comic relief.
Finally, lead actor Christian Cooke brings zero charisma or gravitas to his Iraqi war veteran now trying to make a career as an art gallery dealer while trafficking in stolen artifacts. Perhaps had the writers given him a more interesting story arc Cooke might have risen to the occasion. But in the end he is simply one further example of the many strange artistic choices made by Muse and its showrunner Brendan Kelly.
Muse should stick to making the kind of derivative Hallmark-style TV movies that it is best known for producing.
The Weekend Away (2022)
Made for TV-Movie Posing as a Feature Film
This is another in a series of low budget Netflix films that are notable for bad casting, writing, directing, and uttert lack of artistic merit. Poor Leighton Meester is basically left to carry this third-rate "thriller" on her own as Beth, who is implicated in the disappearance of her best friend Kate (Christina Wolfe) while they vacation in Split, Croatia.
The film seems to have had so little money that they couldn't even bother to hire a makeup artist for Meester or even provide her with a few decent outfits to wear. Her acting is impeccable, however, and her presence alone is enough to keep us hoping against all evidence that the film will somehow pick up steam. Instead, it's all downhill after the first 30 minutes or so and audiences must suffer through bad dialogue (particularly the line delivered by the Croatian detectives) and ludicrous plotting that makes Murder, She Wrote seem like a Hitchcock classic by comparison. Most of the supporting cast members - particular Luke Norris as Beth's husband, and the nerdy owner (It's not worth looking up his name) of the villa in Split where Beth is staying - deliver cringeworthy performances that remind one of the importance of secondary casting particularly in a film with only one recognisable star.
The only saving grace is the presence of Ziad Bakri as Zain, the Syrian cab driver who helps Meester's character search for answers to the disappearance of her best friend (played by Christina Wolfe). He deserved to have many more scenes with Meester if only to keep the camera away everyone else.
Let us hope that Netflix begins to take its low budget formula films more seriously in the future so that it doesn't torture its subscribers more than necessary.
A Cape Cod Christmas (2021)
Charming Holiday Movie
This is a charming movie for the holiday season. The romantic coupling between the two leads Margot (Katie Leclerc, best known for Switched at Birth) and Brent Bailey (various supporting TV roles) is gently heartwarming without devolving into an overly schmaltzy Hallmark TV movie.
The story revolves around Margot's return to her family home in Cape Cod which is now being sold after the passing of her parents. Margot's greedy siblings are anxious to cash in on their inheritance by selling to a buyer who insists on closing the deal before Christmas. Since Margot lacks the finds to buy out our brother and sister, she is forced to go along with the sale.
The real drama however is that between Margot and Brent which develops in a gentle way without seeming forced or cloying. Their banter is as entertaining as it is sensitive, and this is the kind of movie that you can enjoy late one night over a cup of hot cocoa, tucked up under the duvet, either alone or with a loved one. Their romance has its ups and downs although and we are kept guessing as to why their budding love story never seems to gain traction.
The only real weakness of the film is the misleading title. It is supposed to be a Cape Cod "Christmas" tale. Except the lush Autumn foliage suggests that shooting took place in October rather than late December! Or it is simply the warmest Cape Cod winter on record. But if one is willing to allow for the suspension of disbelief that the filmmakers ask of us, then the story will endear itself to all but the most cynical of viewers.
Virgin River (2019)
Absurdly Clichéd Soap Opera Masking as a TV Series
Virgin River makes the worst Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movies seem like Ingmar Bergman masterpieces. Contrived plotting, poor acting, and scenes that compare unfavorably to those found in Tele Novelas - this is the impression one gets from watching one of the worst series to appear on Netflix. Despite strong performances from the leads - Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel, Martin Henderson as Jack 0 Virgin River is maddeningly irritating from one episode to the next with plot twists that invite projectile vomiting.
Apart from a narrative structure that would be embarrass even the writers of the worst TV soap operas, the show is undermined by the terrible acting, particularly the performance turned in by Lauren Hammersly as Charmaine. Whether intended or not, Charmaine is relentlessly cloying and manipulative and somehow her ex-boyfriend Jack cannot see how twisted she is to the point where he becomes obsessed with being a father to twins that she discovered she was having after they had a casual affair. Jack is even willing to destroy his relationship with Mel because he is so insistent on spending every last cent on legal fees to fight for joint custody for children that Charmaine will never allow him to see.
The other glaring weaknesses of Virgin River are the over-the-top small town characters - the cranky, crusty town doctor (Tim Mathesen, who does his best in a stereotyped role - and particularly Lilly who is dying of cancer. Actress Lynda Boyd manages to win the worst acting award on the show - despite stiff competition - while we try to ignore her surgically enhanced lips and utter lack of acting ability.
Whoever did the casting for this production - shot in British Columbia - must have felt sorry for several of the relatively unknown Canadian actors who are woefully not ready for prime time. But perhaps Virgin River is the kind of series which could never improve on the hopelessly syrupy novels by Robyn Carr on which the series is based. Virgin River is a poor person's Nicolas Sparks pastiche - and this is not intended as a compliment.
Swept Under (2015)
Ludicrous Plot Twist Ruins Promising Story
Another example of a third-rate, low-budget made-for-TV movie from Canadian production company Incendo. Despite fine performances by the lead actors Devin Kelley (crime scene cleaner) and Aaron Ashmore (homicide detective), the film is destroyed midway through when an absurd plot twist undermines the narrative. Rather than describing the event which would be the ultimate spoiler, it is better to advise potential viewers to avoid this TV movie that has been churned out as a purely commercial product to play in markets as filler to be shown at 2 am on Bulgarian TV.
But perhaps what is most disappointing is that there was interesting chemistry between the two leads and that is what draws audiences to follow an otherwise routine murder investigation drama. But any viewer identification with the budding romance between Morgan and Nick is utterly destroyed by the truly sophomoric plot twist. Sad!