review
Reviews of the top geek movies, tv, and books in the industry.
Villainess Review: Tracey (The Pregnancy Promise)
Whenever a Lifetime film involves pregnancy, and especially has that word in the title, expect a villainess to appear. It's like clockwork. Pregnancy, babies, motherhood in Lifetime films? Hotbed for villainesses. The latest example comes in the form of The Pregnancy Promise, which centers on best friends Lucy and Skye. Their friendship is a close one, and Lucy enjoys spending time at Skye's home, with one side reason being that she's involved with Skye's brother, Aaron. As we would quickly learn, there's another reason: the environment at the Simmons household is a breath of fresh air compared to her own house.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Carolyn (Secrets on Greek Row)
I was looking forward to this film, Secrets on Greek Row, mainly because the title reminded me of the 2021 film, Secrets of Sorority Row. That film gave is a very fantastic villainess, and I figured that this one wouldn't disappoint. The film actually opened with a scene from 2007, where a businessman, Roger Lancaster, was facing some consequences, as he had sexually assaulted one of his employees, Vera Quaid. So in a moment similar to that predator doctor from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, with the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, Mr. Lancaster commits suicide.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Fiona (9-1-1)
I've mentioned this in past reviews centering on 9-1-1 and its spinoff series, 9-1-1: Lone Star, I absolutely love that a number of their episodes have themes. For the most part, episodes operate under an anthology format, with a number of different emergencies that all have the same thing in common. One such episode that stands out is "Peer Pressure," which deals with just that; the pressures of being part of the crowd.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Bea (Fantasy Island)
I love the current Fantasy Island reboot with a passion. I love everything about the show. It was my Tuesday jam during the first season, but now it's my Monday habit after 9-1-1 airs. I drink in every episode, enjoy the guest stars, really love the plotlines, and the fantasies in every episode are absolutely amazing. There's just one little thing that I can't help but notice: where are the villainesses? It hasn't bothered me because I love the show, but it would be nice to see just one pop up in this series.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Reviewing a Pair of Villainesses from "The Hand That Robs the Cradle"
I do love the month of April. For one, the Stanley Cup Playoffs start that month. Secondly, April's is when WrestleMania takes place, and after watching the second night of this year's WrestleMania (still not really happy that Cody Rhodes didn't win the main event), I tuned in to watch Lifetime's latest film, The Hand That Robs the Cradle (love the title). After the film kicks off with a scene where a woman is mugged and her baby is abducted, we see DeLondra Cortez hired as a nanny for the Chessman family, with the family's caretaker, Mrs. Tubbs, providing the recommendation. We see DeLondra playing with seven-year-old Danny Chessman, only for his mother, Melody Chessman, to make a not-so-positive impression on the new nanny.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Grace Hutchinson (The Baby Swindler)
I spent months looking forward to this film after learning about this from Reel One's website, and I beamed when it finally hit Lifetime! My reasons will be stated later, but let's set the stage. The main focus of this film, The Baby Swindler (originally titled, A Deadly Surrogacy) was widowed Susie Ashcroft, whose husband, Mike Ashcroft, passed on prior to the films events. The only thing she had left from Mike was a frozen embryo, and she was planning to finally have a baby of her own, but she was told that there was a chance that she couldn't maintain a full-term pregnancy.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Morgan le Fay (Jughead's Time Police)
I've written about a number of villainesses on Vocal, usually from TV, film, or some true crime stories. For this story, it's a first--delving from the world of comic books. In this case, it's from Archie Comics. Why? It's simple. Riverdale will kick off its seventh and final season. I beamed when I learned about this show seven years ago. I've been an Archie Comics fan for 30 years, and when I learned about a show centered on the Archie characters, I was in! These were not the characters I grew up reading, but I was all in because of that!
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Jenna Scott (Law & Order: SVU)
For as long as I can remember, Law & Order: SVU has featured some of the most wild, deep, and gripping cases--some of which have been borrowed from the actual news stories. The show's been on NBC since 1999, one of the longest running episodic shows on TV, and in the near quarter-century that the show's been on, it has not only featured some gripping stories, we have seen some sinister and very dark villainesses as well. The latest episode, "The Presence of Absence," ended up continuing that long trend.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Reviewing the Anticipated (and Twist-Filled) "Wolf Pack" Season Finale
A few days have passed since Paramount+ released the highly anticipated season finale of Wolf Pack, yet I still find myself drinking things in. This was a great Thursday jam for me; one of three along with Peacock shows Poker Face and Bel-Air. I spent eight Wednesdays being excited because once midnight hits in the West Coast, it's time for Wolf Pack, and this was such an amazing show and a terrific opening season, which featured a thrilling finale.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Eve Michaels (The Threat Next Door). Top Story - March 2023.
Tubi strikes gold yet again, and they did so under my nose. I've spent the last few months looking at the upcoming Tubi Originals release list, but I didn't see this film listed, The Threat Next Door. I didn't even know about it until hours before writing this review, but I definitely watched, and it was quite amazing. Before I start getting ahead of myself, let's set the stage in a proper manner.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Villainess Review: Sarah Davis (Picture Perfect Mysteries)
It really kills me that a lot of Hallmark's mystery film series are kaput, and one series I really enjoyed was Picture Perfect Mysteries. The main reason was because the central stars are married in real life; the leading lady was Alexa PenaVega, who played main protagonist Allie Adams, a professional photographer, while the lead detective, Sam Acosta, was played by Alexa's real-life husband, Carlos PenaVega. Also, I've been a fan of Alexa since the Spy Kids films, so that definitely played a role as well.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
Wolf Pack Review: "Lion's Breath"
Hard to believe that we are almost at the end of this inaugural season, and I'm referring to it as such with hopes that we will get a second season. As a devout optimist, I'd like to believe that we should see a second season of this amazing show, but it all depends on how this season ends, as well as the responses to the finale. But that's next week. The focus is Episode 7, which kicks off with Baron suddenly appearing to Everett, who attempted to get through to the timid, yet dangerous, werewolf. Baron states that he's not in control; someone's pulling the strings. That's one. I'll explain later.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Geeks
