Ornament Review: Connect 4 - 2019 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Captures the version of Connect 4 I grew up with

Cons: I’m not connected to any

The Bottom Line:

Great game ornament

Connect 4 shrunk to tree size

So glad I got it

I Bet You Can Connect the Reasons I Love This Ornament

While Hallmark has an official Family Game Night ornament series going right now, they also offer some game themed ornaments that aren’t part of the line.  Not surprising since they offer many nostalgic toy ornaments each year.  While I haven’t bought all of these compliments, I knew I had to get Connect 4 when I saw it was going to be released this year.

This ornament perfectly captures the look of the classic game (and by classic, I mean the version I grew up with).  It appears they have recently updated Connect 4, but for me, this ornament is how the game should look.  It has blue support arms and a yellow vertical game grid.  You take turns adding red and black discs (like checkers pieces) trying to get four in a row.  The first one to do that wins.

And this ornament captures a just completed game.  If you look, you can see where both people came close to winning before one person actually did.  Was it black or red?  I’ll let you see for yourself.  The game must have just ended since the blue lever at the bottom hasn’t been flipped yet, sending the discs tumbling out of the grid.

The fact that I know exactly what has happened just by looking at the game board is exactly why I love this ornament so much.  It captures the game and the fun so much.  Yes, I quickly graduated to Match 4 (which is Connect 4 in 3D), but this is still very fun just as it is.

Since the game stands on its own in real life, it’s no surprise that the ornament stands on its own.  The blue legs provide a solid enough base for the ornament.

It’s also no surprise that the ornament hangs straight.  The loop is right in the center, so naturally it is balanced perfectly.

As I keep saying, nostalgic ornaments are one of my weaknesses when it comes to Hallmark ornaments, and this is a great one.  Connect 4 will connect with anyone who has fond memories of playing this game.

Book Review: Wicked Harvest by Karen MacInerney (Dewberry Farm Mystery #6)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fast paced story, fun characters

Cons: Paranormal elements stronger than previous books, editing error

The Bottom Line:

Brewery murder

Dampens this Oktoberfest

Book for series fans

Who is Wicked Enough to Kill?

I don’t remember Oktoberfests being a big deal until the last few years.  It’s quite possible that I wasn’t paying attention since I don’t drink, of course, but it seems more places are joining in the celebrations.  Author Karen MacInerney has decided to make the festival the background for Wicked Harvest, the latest mystery in her Dewberry Farm series.

The town of Buttercup, Texas, has decided to host an Oktoberfest event this year.  Naturally, farmer Lucy Resnick will have a booth selling wares from her farm, but the kickoff event is at the Sweetwater Brewery, and Lucy is going to be there as just a guest.  This brewery is fairly new in town, but Lucy and many of the residents are becoming fans of their brews, both beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

The brewery is planning to reveal a new recipe at the event, but that reveal doesn’t quite go as planned.  However, things take an even worse turn a little while later when Lucy and her boyfriend, Tobias, start to take a brewery tour and instead find a dead body.  It is pretty obvious that it was murder, but who did it?

The book is very fast paced.  Not only is there the murder, but there are a couple of sub-plots to keep Lucy confused and us engaged.  The pages flew by as I raced to find out just what was going on in Buttercup.  Rest assured that things come to a satisfying conclusion.

This series has always had a bit of a paranormal element to it.  Usually, it’s fairly small, and I can ignore it.  However, that wasn’t the case here.  It played a large part in Lucy’s investigative efforts and even played a part in one of the sub-plots.  Since I’m not usually a fan of paranormal cozies (with a couple of exceptions), that aspect of the book bothered me, especially since it drove the plot rather than providing just a bit of a nudge like in previous books.

There was also a scene in the first half where Lucy talks over the clues she’s gathered so far with a friend.  However, Lucy hasn’t actually gathered those clues yet.  Sure enough, over the next few chapters, we watch Lucy have those conversations that lead her to those clues.  Hopefully, this will get edited quickly so future editions won’t have the issue.

I do love these characters, and it was great to see them again.  The book is a quick read, so it is focused on the mystery and the sub-plots, but there is still enough time to catch up with Lucy and her friends in town; they are such wonderful characters.  The suspects are developed enough to keep us guessing and make us care about the outcome.

The book has several recipes at the end, which is no surprise to reads of the series.  In this case, there are six recipes, covering some German inspired delights like Bienenstich and Lebkuchen Hearts.  Not sure what those are?  You’ll have to pick up the book for the English translation.  There are also recipes for a goat milk flan and fresh mozzarella.

Wicked Harvest is a book that fans of the Dewberry Farm series will enjoy.  Yes, it has its flaws, but it is still fun to spend time with these characters.

Want to read earlier books in the series?  Here are the rest of the Dewberry Farm mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Movie Review: Proposing Murder - A Crossword Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun mystery

Cons: Plot points obvious at times; cheese

The Bottom Line:

Puzzle for a friend

Gets Tess involved in murder

Light, entertaining

“We Just Found Your Phone Number at a Homicide Scene.”

For our final two Hallmark mystery movies of the year, we get to return to another of the many new franchises that they’ve introduced this year.  It’s time to return to New York City for the second Crossword Mystery – Proposing Murder.

We are once again spending time with Tess (Lacey Chabert), the crossword editor for a newspaper.  When she meets Lyle (Kyle Buchanan), a friend from college, she is delighted to find out that he has fallen in love.  One thing that he and his girlfriend Abby (Alex Paxton-Beesley) have in common is their love of crossword puzzles, and he asks Tess to hide his marriage proposal in this Sunday’s crossword puzzle.  Tess is only too happy to oblige.

Unfortunately, Abby never sees the proposal.  When she arrives for brunch, she finds Lyle stabbed on the floor of his apartment.  Detective Logan (Brennan Elliott) lands the case, and he is surprised to find a connection to Tess.  Tess once again jumps into the case.  Can she help Logan figure out what happened to her friend?

Yes, Tess’s aunt Candace (Barbara Niven) is around again, although she only has a couple of scenes.  This movie is really focused on the case, and as such Tess and Logan get the majority of the screen time.  Yes, Logan does his share of investigation, but it is Tess who makes the majority of the connections and uncovers the majority of the clues.

The movie is very obvious when it is setting up something that is going to be used later.  They couldn’t have been more obvious if they used neon signs saying “Important plot point.  Pay attention.”  Then, it just becomes a waiting game until they actually use what they’ve set up.  I do usually prefer my mysteries to be a little more subtle about things, but this is a fairly minor complaint.

The mystery winds up in some pretty unexpected places as Tess follows the puzzles.  Yes, there are some puzzles beside crossword puzzles that come into play, and Tess’s skills truly help move the case forward.  There’s plenty to keep us entertained as we wait for those plot points I mentioned above to come into play.  And there are plenty of suspects to keep us guessing.

This movie does come with the standard Hallmark cheese warning.  It seemed to me to have a pretty average dose in both the writing and acting, but fans of the channel’s movies will know to be ready for it.

Proposing Murder is an entertaining mystery movie.  When you are looking for a little light entertainment, it will fit the bill perfectly.

Book Review: I'll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Interesting look at the run of Friends

Cons: Little new, pushing modern political and social agenda

The Bottom Line:

A classic sitcom

Gets a behind the scenes book

That has some issues

The One Where We Look at the Friends Phenomenon

I’m a fan of Friends, and I enjoy getting a behind the scenes look at things in Hollywood.  Between the two, I was immediately interested in reading I’ll Be There for You: The One About Friends when I heard about it last year.  It took me until now to actually find the time to pick it up.  Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be.

The book is written by Kelsey Miller, who starts out telling us what a fan of the show she is.  She used to plan her trips to the gym around the show, in fact.  And she knows lots of other big fans of the show, so researching the show was a natural fit.

Over the course of the book, we get a well-researched look at the show and the impact it has had on the US and the world in the 25 years since it premiered.  We learn about how the creators met and came up with the show, the path the actors took before they landed on the show, and some of the bumps and growing pains that everyone experienced during the 10 years the show was on the air.  There is also talk about the impact the show has had on fashion, trends, and overall pop culture the world over.

As the end notes make very clear, this is a well-researched book.  There are pages of notes at the end (although it is hard to follow for sure which facts from the book the notes are referring to).  However, that is one of the issues with the book.  Most of these are stories we’ve already heard.  Granted, it’s been long enough that the details are hazy in my mind, but it would have been nice to see some new insights from the cast and crew about the show and its legacy at this point in time.  There is none of that here.

We also get Kelsey’s thoughts on the seasons and a few key episodes.  Honestly, I hadn’t thought about the trajectory and arc of the show in the way she laid out, but I will now.  I found myself agreeing with her thoughts most of the time.  And remembering how and when the show was picked up for more episodes also helps explain some of the issues with the later seasons of the show.

The bigger issue comes when she tries to look at the show via a 2018 lens.  She brings up the standard issues that are leveled against the show – the lack of a diverse cast or guest star list, the homophobic jokes (at least when viewed through certain lenses today), the sexist way the women are treated at times.  Now, I’m not going to deny any of these things.  However, I wonder why this show is singled out for them.  These were quite common on TV back then and even now, depending on the show.  And yet, people keep coming back to this show over and over again as a bad example and treating it worse than they do other shows.

I think this was my biggest sticking point with the book.  This is the part where Ms. Miller conducted original interviews, contacting various figures in the areas she maintains should be offended by these elements in the show.  Heck, there’s almost an entire chapter of the book focused on the wedding of Susan and Carol in season two and why it isn’t the milestone in TV history that it could have been (despite it being a pretty major TV milestone).  And yet, these experts all pretty much said the same thing I did.  “Yes, the show should have paid more attention to (insert issue here), but this was TV and the culture at the time, and the show was just trying to be a comedy and not trying to push an agenda.”  However, Ms. Miller clearly isn’t happy with that answer, as she includes some pretty snide comments , especially in the footnotes.

This attitude also comes through in the final chapter.  Instead of devoting much of this chapter to trying to show Friend’s lasting impact and popularity or discuss what the cast has done since (both of which are in there), the majority of the chapter is devoted to the lawsuit brought by one of the writer’s assistants who sued due to a hostile work environment after being fired.  Now, I’m not going to argue that this shouldn’t have been included in the book.  However, she goes out of her way to wish the outcome of the suit had been different and tying it into the #MeToo movement in Hollywood of the last couple of years.  A valid comparison?  Maybe, but there are also very noticeable differences.  Worthy of so much time, especially as the last thing the book talks about?  Probably not.  And, for the record, I wouldn’t have lasted one day in the writer’s room as described in the lawsuit, so I don’t think that is a good work environment, even for a show like Friends, which spends plenty of time talking about sex.

So far, this sounds fairly negative, right?  This is a case where it is easy to see and point out the flaws.  While I was reading the book, I was hooked.  I’d pick it up, and I’d be lost in the stories about a show I love.  The pages flew by, and I’d have a hard time setting it down again.  And, as the book was discussing filming the final couple of episodes, I was finding myself as chocked up as I am every time I watch them.

If you are a die-hard fan of Friends, you’ll be tempted like I was to read I’ll Be There for You.  And you’ll probably wind up enjoying it even though it adds little new to the discussion of the show.

TV Show Review: Friends - Season 10

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Laughs, great ending

Cons: Ross/Rachel/Joey triangle; painfully embarrassing early episodes

The Bottom Line:

Final season laughs

Brings Friends series to a close

Good but not the best

The One Where We Say Goodbye

Nothing lasts forever.  Nowhere is that truer than in TV where even the biggest TV shows eventually end.  2014 saw the end of the TV show Friends.  While the show was past its prime, there are still plenty of laughs to be had with season 10.

As is usually the case for the show, it opens exactly where season 9 ended.  In this case, it means the gang is hanging out in Barbados at the paleontology conference where Ross (David Schwimmer) was the keynote speaker.  Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) have decided to start dating since Ross has started dating Dr. Charlie Wheeler (recurring guest star Alisha Taylor).  Sounding like a soap opera?  The Ross/Rachel/Joey love triangle had definitely entered soap opera levels by this point in the show.  Fortunately, they get rid of these complications pretty quickly once the gang in back in New York.

What else is instore for our friends this season?  Unable to have a child of their own, Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) start the adoption process, leading them to meet Christy (recurring guest star Anna Farris) and look for a house in the suburbs.  Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) plans her wedding to Mike (recurring guest star Paul Rudd).  While Joey doesn’t get any storylines after he and Rachel decide to just be friends, he makes a memorable and hilarious appearance on Pyramid.  Rachel’s sister Amy (guest star Christina Applegate) makes a return appearance.  And in the annual Thanksgiving episode, the gang convinces Monica to make Thanksgiving for them again this year, and then everyone shows up late.

Like many viewers, I was frustrated with the Ross/Rachel will they or won’t they storyline by this point in the series.  As usual, that pretty much gets ignored until the final few episodes where a big change makes them confront their feelings for each other one last time.  Personally, I was satisfied in the way they wrapped up this particular storyline, although I do agree with the many who question how healthy their relationship would really be.  (They can thank their writers for making them so dysfunctional.)

Honestly, I was very happy with the finale of this show period.  While this chapter in the character’s lives is definitely ending, we leave everyone in a happy place.  It’s very bittersweet, but the emphasis for me is on the sweet.  Even so, I can’t help but choke up a little at the obvious signs that a series I have loved for ten years is ending.  Still, the finale has enough nods to some classic moments from the show and some good laughs along the way.

But before we get there?  Oh the humiliation they put the characters through at the start of the season.  There are several episodes that are cringe worthy and not that funny.  Fortunately, they seem to be in the first third of the season, and once the writers get going, this is back to the laughs and antics we know and love.

The actors are in fine form again as always, bringing their characters to life and getting every laugh from the scripts.

Because season 10 was a last-minute pick up, it was shorter than the previous seasons – only giving us 18 episodes.  They are preserved in the first three discs of the set in full frame and stereo sound – how they were originally broadcast.  We get the standard three audio commentaries from creators and executive producer, which are fun.  The fourth disc of the set contains the extras.  There is a retrospective with the cast and creators reflecting on the run of the show and runs about half an hour.  The highlight is the five seasons of blooper reels.  Yes, there is one for season 10, but we never got them for seasons 1 through 4 – until now.  We also get three final interviews with major guest stars.  But you can skip the Joey Joey music video.

Friends had definitely peaked before we reached season 10, but there are still some fun episodes and good laughs to be had in the final season.  And the show got a very sweet send of.  Fans of the series will be glad they have this set in their collection.

Book Review: The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Colorful pictures, good story, good moral…

Cons: …that may be a bit too complex for all to grasp

The Bottom Line:

Katy has her dreams

Difficult ones for caboose

Good, complex moral

Dream but Enjoy the Present

It’s been years since I originally read any of Bill Peet’s books, so I am fuzzy on many of them.  When I sat down to reread The Caboose Who Got Loose, I really didn’t remember anything about the story, but it turned out I really liked it.

This book tells the story of Katy.  Katy is not happy with her life as a caboose, however.  She wants to be in one place, not constantly being dragged from place to place.  She dreams of not constantly having to travel.  However, she gets another point of view in the train station from people who wish they could see the world like she is.  Will she see the other perspective?

I’m about to do something I rarely do, and spoil the book.  But since this is a kid’s picture book, I am assuming you won’t mind.  If you do, then please stop reading now.

You see, I can’t describe why I liked the book so much without getting into the story.  Katy actually does begin to enjoy seeing the world around her until one day the coupling holding her to her train breaks, and she finds herself traveling on her own before coming to rest between two trees.  And she is quite content with being stuck in her new location.  What I really appreciated is the moral and Katy’s attitude late in the book.  No, she never gives up on her dream, but she learns to enjoy where she is.  I’m sure I didn’t pick up on this as a kid, but it is a good lesson to remember.  We get so caught up in dreaming about the future that we don’t take the time to enjoy life as it is happening around us.  There’s nothing wrong with the dream, but we need to enjoy the present, too.  I realize this is probably too subtle for kids, but maybe I’m underestimating them.

Okay, deep breath.

Bill Peet always filled his books with colorful illustrations, and this book is no exception.  We’ve got blue sky, trees, colorful buildings, and Katy, who is red.  There is plenty here for kids to look at as the book is being read to them.

This is one of the books that Bill Peet wrote in rhyme.  It makes the story really flow and adds a fun touch.  These are definitely not early readers, but the rhymes will help readers who are ready to move on to more challenging books figure out new words.

Whether kids get the subtle message of the book or not, they will enjoy the story and the colorful pictures.  That makes The Caboose Who Got Loose a winner.

October 12th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Three of the four fall Arrowverse shows returned this week.  Or premiered in the case of Batwoman.  It's getting harder to keep up with everything.

God Friended Me – Kara doesn’t love Miles?  Or if she does, why can’t she tell him?  Yes, that’s what I took from the episode.  Oh, and Joy needs to calm down just a tad.  I’m curious where they are going to go with Simon and the reporter.  And, for that matter, how long is Kara going to stay in Paris?  I’m guessing one more episode, but we’ll find out.

Batwoman – I’ve been very worried that this show would be political.  So far, it isn’t that bad.  Oh, it’s there, and it could go much worse, but I enjoyed it.  I’ll definitely be back next week.  Unfortunately, I think my favorite part is Alice and all of her references to Alice in Wonderland, and as a villain, I fear she won’t be around long.

Supergirl – The politics is still in this show, I see.  Lectures about the press and how it should be vs. how it is going now.  And how no one is respecting it.  Yawn.  So this is what is going to turn Lena Luthor into a villain, huh?  And for a minute, I thought they were going to have her really forgive Kara.  That will be interesting to watch.

Dancing with the Stars – We are at the point where two groups of celebrities are forming – those who are able to really learn how to dance, and those who are trying but not really getting it.  It’s nice to see another one or two joining the upper group, but we will see if they can stay there.  Meanwhile, we have a few weeks of easy eliminations yet.  I’m surprised that Sean Spicer is still around, although there are still several dancers who are as weak as he is.  Have we seen any 9’s yet?  It seems like we normally see a 9 or two by now.  Next week is Disney week!  Can’t wait!!!

A Very Brady Renovation – With all the shows coming back this week, I also didn’t go back for the “bonus scenes” episode.  I’m so glad I did.  This was more from the “kids” points of view, and I enjoyed that so much more.  Their tidbits and reactions are so much fun.  It really makes me want to pull out my DVD’s for the show.

The Flash – Nothing like finding out you only have two months to live.  And that date is the Tuesday of crossover week.  I wonder if that’s going to be the cliffhanger episode.  I honestly can’t remember what is airing when.  When will people learn that dark matter is bad news?  I mean, it’s right there in the name, for Pete’s sake.

This is Us – Better episode than last week.  The scene at the end with the three characters laughing at the AA meeting was great.  I love how they worked Timothy Omundson’s real life stroke into the backstory for his character (that’s the actor playing Kate and Toby’s new neighbor).  And Kate walking with him was perfect.  I knew the assistant (or whatever her position was) would be fired when she spoke up, but I wasn’t thinking that the proposal was going to be a proposal.

Survivor – If the rest of the group plays it right, I was see leaving with an idol.  It’s bad; I get it, but it’s a sign that the other team members are really good at playing the game.  Still, I always feel bad for that person.  Not surprised who lost and went since we spent almost the entire episode with that tribe.  Seriously, was the other tribe all hugs and bunny snuggles while this was going on?

American Horror Story: 1984 – I’m beginning to think everyone is absolutely crazy.  And I’m kind of over the show again.  It’s just that disturbing.  This is why I haven’t watched it before.  I may see if I can read recaps and find out what happens for the rest of it that way.

The Good Place – Torture makes you a better person.  Or, another way to say it is might be no pain, no gain.  Or, “Those whom God loves, He also disciplines.”  Discipline really is a good thing.  Of course, this episode showed that with so many laughs along the way it was great.  The best line was Chidi’s line, “I made God cry?”  Especially with how he delivered it.

Carol’s Second Act – That was the best one so far.  Carol had calmed down a little.  The plot was completely predictable, but it was still fun.  Missed her daughter, and I hope they don’t just humiliate the one doctor.  I mean, it was funny and he does deserve it, but if that’s all they do with him, it will become predictable.

Book Review: Read It and Weep by Jenn McKinlay (Library Lovers Mysteries #4)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Characters, twists to mystery

Cons: Love triangle overshadows everything

The Bottom Line:

Love life the focus

When play brings danger to town

Overall book’s slow

Romance Overshadows Mystery

Being multiple books behind in the Library Lovers Mysteries, I know some things that were coming in the series.  One of them was that main character Lindsey Norris’s love life would take several left turns.  That particular storyline really takes shape in Read It and Weep, the fourth in the series.  Unfortunately, I felt like it overshadowed the mystery.

This fall, Lindsey’s friend Violet La Rue is directing a local theater production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and she is encouraging everyone to try out for it.  Lindsey is more interested in working behind the scenes on the costumes, but many of her friends land parts in the play.  Even Ms. Cole, the sour circulation librarian, is in the cast.  The one non-community member cast is Violet’s friend, Robbie Vine, a celebrated actor.  He brings with him his wife and his girlfriend, but he still is immediately smitten with Lindsey, and he starts flirting with her, which does nothing but irritate Sully, Lindsey’s ex.

However, Lindsey’s romantic troubles aren’t the biggest issue on the stage.  Instead, a series of increasingly more serious accidents seem to be happening in the theater.  Is someone out to destroy the production?  Is one particular person the target?  Will Lindsey get to the bottom of things before someone dies?

Since I’ve pretty much already said this, I’ll start with the romance, which overshadows everything.  Honestly, Sully has been an idiot (I thought his actions at the end of the last books were so stupid, I wanted to smack him), and the appearance of Robbie doesn’t make things any better.  Unfortunately, we are left with a collection of romantic comedy moments in the book.  A few would have been fun or cute, but they got repetitive.  Then again, I’m a guy.  While I will enjoy the occasional romantic comedy and don’t mind the romantic sub-plots in cozies, this kind of story is not what I normally pick out.

It doesn’t help that the mystery doesn’t fully kick off until later in the book.  Yes, there are some events and people are taking them seriously, but the focus is still on Lindsey’s love life.  Once the plot gets started, it is decent and kept me guessing until the end.  Even then, Lindsey’s love life is a focal point, we just have more mysterious things happening to help us keep reading.

I definitely enjoyed the characters.  We get to see a different side of a couple of the series regulars, which I greatly enjoyed.  While Violet has been in the series since the beginning, I haven’t felt like we’ve really gotten to know her yet, and that definitely changed here.  On the other hand, the suspects were rather weak; I think this was mostly caused by – you guessed it – the emphasis on Lindsey’s love life.

And I still really enjoy the setting.  Briar Creek seems like a charming small town that it would be a pleasure to visit – between murders, of course.  And I can’t leave out the fact that it is on the coast.  I’d probably join the summer crowds, but I’m sure I’d love it.

This series includes quite a few extras.  We get a recipe, a craft project idea, and discussion questions.  No, not for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  If you want to find out what book is featured at the end, you’ll have to pick up a copy.

This book is not up to author Jenn McKinlay’s usual standards.  However, I’ve read enough of her books to suspect that Read It and Weep is blip from an author I usually adore.  If you are a fan of the author and this series, you’ll still want to pick it up, but if you are new to her books, I suggest you start elsewhere.  Me?  I’m looking forward to visiting Lindsey again soon.

Need to check out more books in the series?  Here are the Library Lover’s Mysteries in order.

This review is part of this week's Friday's Forgotten Books.

Ornament Review: Piranha Plant - 2019 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Perfectly captures this video game nemesis

Cons: Only if you don’t time your jump just right

The Bottom Line:

A limited piece

Fun Mario nemesis

Glad to have this one

You’d Better Jump This Ornament Right to Your Tree

Once again, I started out the year by saying I was going to cut down on Hallmark ornament purchases.  And once again, I am completely failing.  But when I saw the Piranha Plant ornament, I knew there was no way I could resist.

If you aren’t familiar with the Piranha Plant, then you aren’t a fan of the Super Mario games.  These are the plants that pop out of some of the pipes, killing you on contact if you aren’t able to jump over them.  And this ornament looks just like them.  The plant has fully come out of the pipe, and has its mouth wide open.  We get the green pipe, green stem and leaves, and red plant with white spots with an open mouth and those teeth.  Heck, there’s even a tongue inside, which I don’t remember seeing before.  It looks just like the character does in the games.

And that’s why I had to have it.  I’ve loved the Mario characters since he and Luigi were just regular characters and not super.  I’ve spent many an hour over the years jumping over these plants, or timing things just right to run by them, so buying this ornament really was an obvious choice.  No, it isn’t a hero, which is what I normally gravitate to, but it was too much fun to ignore.  Honestly, I’m having too much of a hard time ignoring all of the Nintendo ornaments Hallmark has this year.  These games inspire such nostalgia, which seems to be my weakness when it comes to ornaments.

You might not think of a pipe as something that stands on its own, but in this case, that is true.  The pipe is solid enough and the base flat enough that you can set the ornament out to enjoy year round.  And maybe I need to do that since I have more ornaments than I can fit on a tree (or in my condo, but that’s another issue).

If you are brave, you can also hang this ornament on your tree.  Why do I say that?  Because the loop is in the middle of the plant’s mouth, so you’ll need to slip a loop in there quickly before the plant’s jaws shut.  Okay, so maybe this is really made from plastic and that won’t happen.  Anyway, the ornament does tip slightly, but you won’t be able to notice once you get it buried in the middle of tree branches.

No, I don’t regret adding Piranha Plant to my ornament collection.  No, to make sure I hang him on my tree away from my Mario ornament.

Original Price: $17.99

Movie Review: A Killer Engagement - A Matchmaking Mystery

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery

Cons: Hallmark cheese, chemistry between leads

The Bottom Line:

Engagement party

Ends in a tragic murder

Starts new, fun franchise

“Police Work is Serious.”  “And Matchmaking Isn’t?”

When Hallmark announced that this fall they’d be introducing the Matchmaker Mysteries, I was excited.  No, not because of the subject matter or because of the main star.  I’m a fan of one of the supporting stars, so I was happy to get to see more of him.  Fortunately, A Killer Engagement lived up to my expectations.

Angie Dove (Danica McKellar) has always had a knack for finding the perfect match for people, and she’s turned it into a career with the launch of a local TV show in her hometown of Philadelphia.  As the movie opens, she’s getting ready to film an update on one of the couples she’s set up on her show, and it’s a great one.  Aaron (Randy Thomas) is getting ready to propose to Emma (Helena Marie) on the show.  Naturally, she says yes, and the happy couple invite Angie to attend the engagement party they are going to throw that Sunday.

However, the party doesn’t turn out to be a happy occasion.  When Angie arrives, she discovers that Aaron is nowhere to be found and Emma seems distracted.  She mentions wanting to ask Angie for advice, but then is pulled away.  A few minutes later Emma is dead.  Detective Kyle Cooper (Victor Webster) is assigned to the case, and he quickly begins to look at Aaron, who seems to have vanished, as his prime suspect.  Angie is certain that her client is innocent, but can she prove it?

The cast member I mentioned earlier?  Actually, that’s Bruce Boxleitner, who plays Angie father, Nick Columba, a retired homicide detective who just happens to have been Kyle’s training officer.  These relationships prove to be fodder for some fun along the way to the end.

The mystery is good.  There are several motives, or potential motives, spread out over the cast of suspects, and it was interesting seeing how Angie and Kyle figured out what was really going on.  I was actually impressed with how Angie figured it all out in the end; the solution was perfectly logical given everything we knew.

I did feel the supporting characters could have used a little more development.  We meet a few people who work on Angie’s show, but I’d like to know exactly what it is they do.  Or maybe it was mentioned briefly in passing and I missed it.  Either way, this is a minor complaint, and something I’m sure will be expanded on in future movies.

Which brings us to our three leads.  Ironically, for a matchmaker, Angie appears to have a rough love life herself, and her father’s is no better.  I’ll be interested to see if they explore this a bit more in future movies.  Normally, I feel the chemistry between the leads in these Hallmark Mystery Movies, but in this case, I found it a bit lacking between Angie and Kyle.  Again, the irony.  But I’m willing to be proved wrong as the franchise continues.

Overall, I found the acting fine from the entire cast.  The movie has the standard Hallmark cheese warning from the writing and the acting, but it’s a pretty average dose, not something that is going to be an issue if you know to expect it going in.

While there has been no official announcement about more movies starring these characters, I’d be surprised if we don’t get to revisit them again next year.  Based on how much I enjoyed A Killer Engagement, I will be looking forward to our return visit.