LOVE, LIES AND MURDER

Clancy Brown

LOVE, LIES AND MURDER (1991 telefilm/mini-series). Director: Robert Markowitz.

David Brown (Clancy Brown) tells the police that his wife, Linda, was shot but can't bring himself to check on her in the bedroom. He then tells them that his 14-year-old daughter, Cinnamon (Moira Kelly), murdered Linda, who was her stepmother. Linda's younger sister, Patti (Sheryl Lee of Twin Peaks), was also in the house. Although the cops feel that there are things about the story that don't add up, Cinnamon confesses after a suicide attempt, and is incarcerated. But while David and Patti live large on Linda's huge insurance payout, Cinnamon decides to open up to the police, and a diabolical scheme unfolds ... Love, Lies, and Murder is based on a true case (which was also the subject of two books), and features some fine performances by the leads, with especially good work from Kelly and Lee. If there's any problem with the movie it is that we don't get to know the victim very well, and the other characters are defined more by what has happened to them than anything else. Cynthia Nixon has a small early role as a friend of Patti's. Clancy Brown does a lot of voice work for animated shows such as Justice League where he played Lex Luthor.

Verdict: Absorbing and shocking true crime story. ***.

SEX AND THE CITY -- THE MOVIE

SEX AND THE CITY -- THE MOVIE (2008). Director/writer: Michael Patrick King.

Five years have gone by since the series ended and all four of the women are either married or in relationships. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth) decide to get married, but Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) discovers her husband has been unfaithful, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is antsy keeping it monogamous with her hunky boyfriend, and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is afraid something dreadful will happen when she discovers that against all odds she's pregnant. Then something devastating happens on her wedding day, and Carrie needs her friends more than ever. The plot itself may be slight, but the movie is certainly not uneventful, and despite its length it's never boring. The film has warmth, honest sentiment, wit, humor and its trademark frankness in equal measure, and if it has a theme it's assuredly the importance of friendship. Of course, some of the movie -- as with the series -- must be taken with a grain of salt. Carrie calls for a cab from the third step of her brownstone stoop and one immediately comes to a halt right in front of her. Sure -- that always happens in New York! And Samatha, while still a hot babe on her 50th birthday [the great-looking Cattrall was actually 52 when she made the movie], gives up a relationship with a handsome younger man who loves her at a age when many women fear [rightfully or not] that they'll have trouble attracting men at all.

Still, the movie is a lot of fun.

NOTE: To read a write-up on the series itself, click here and scroll down a bit.

Verdict: This modern take on an old-fashioned "women's picture" really works for the most part. ***1/2.