Movie Monday: Chronicle Mysteries – Recovered

If you love suspense movies, Recovered, the first movie in the new collection of Chronicle Mysteries series, is just the ticket. Set in small town Pennsylvania, Alex McPherson (played by Alison Sweeney) makes it her goal to solve a cold case while keeping the audience of her well-followed podcast informed of each development.

No one knows what happened to Alex’s friend, Gina, after a car accident on a fateful night 20 years ago. Can Alex solve find the missing pieces to the puzzle? Why does someone not want the truth to be found?

Alex uses The Harrington Chronicle, a newspaper owned by her uncle, as her landing spot where she conducts research for her project. There, she meets the leading man, Drew Godfrey (played by Benjamin Ayres).

Those who are accustomed to clean suspense movies (Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye, Signed, Sealed, and Delivered, and Garage Sale Mysteries to name a few) will not be disappointed with this newest series starring Alison Sweeney.  For those of you movie buffs, you may recall that she also starred in the Murder, She Baked mystery series with leading man, Cameron Mathison.

Recovered is an enjoyable movie with twists and turns, adventure, humor, and, of course, a bit of romance. It’s perfect for a family night movie and contains nothing objectionable; however young viewers may be frightened by the car wreck scene (nothing graphic) and a duel with the bad guys.

I give Recovered a five out of five stars for those 10 and up. I can’t wait to watch the second installment!

 

 

Other posts on this blog that you may enjoy:

Movie Monday: Beautifully Broken

Mom-Approved Movies Listing

Movie Monday: God Bless the Broken Road

Movie Monday: Free Burma Rangers

proud to be an American

Movie Monday: The Christmas Cure

Sure, it’s no longer the Christmas season, but some movies are great to watch any time of the year. Case in point: The Christmas Cure.

Hallmark Christmas movies are plentiful. Some are top-notch, some are so-so, and there are a few I’ve hit the “pass button” on. The Christmas Cure is one that goes in the top-notch category.

Vanessa Turner decides to spend Christmas at home. A busy emergency room doctor in a large city, Vanessa is ready for some rest and relaxation in her small home town. She reconnects with her mom, dad, and younger brother, Kyle,  all of whom she has close relationships. She also reconnects with a man from her past – high school sweetheart, Mitch. After all these years apart, is there still chemistry between the two of them?

Vanessa’s dad decides to retire. He’s run the clinic, which is attached to his and his wife’s home, for a number of years. It will be difficult to walk away from a job and the patients that he loves, but he deems it’s time. Will Vanessa decide to continue her father’s practice, or will she return to a job, complete with a promotion, in the city?

There are many redeemable qualities in this movie. Vanessa’s parents, Bruce and Martha, love each other and have a happy marriage. The longevity and sincere love of their marriage is a breath of fresh air.

Dr. Bruce Turner has worked as a doctor in his clinic for numerous years. He still cares deeply about his patients and goes out of his way for them. He even makes housecalls. His daughter, Dr. Vanessa Turner, follows in his footsteps and is also a kind and caring doctor as well.

The sibling relationship between Vanessa and Kyle is endearing. They are close and back each other up when necessary. Kyle, as the klutzy younger brother, provides several instances of comic relief.

Vanessa and Mitch have an innocent love that has endured throughout their years apart.

There is nothing objectionable in The Christmas Cure, and it is suitable for the entire family. It contains humor, love, drama, and a wonderful story line interwoven through the lives of a family and a young man who they’ve taken under their wing.

I highly recommend The Christmas Cure and give it a five out of five star rating.

For a listing of movies, please see my collection of Mom-Approved Movie Listings.

 

 

Movie Monday – Christopher Robin

My first thought while watching the recent release of Christopher Robin was of the Disney movies my siblings and I watched as children. The Disney Sunday Movie series came on TV every week with Mr. Eisner doing the introduction. Some movies were classics, some were new, but all were good. This movie was heartwarming like how those I remember from yesteryear used to be. A time when Disney catered to families with wholesome fare. (For those of you who want to take a step back into time and watch the intro to the Disney Sunday Movies series, you can see it here).

We see Christopher Robin as a grownup now, working furiously to save his job, to the detriment of his family. When Pooh and the gang locate him after numerous years apart, will they remind him of what truly matters?

Christopher Robin is a sweet movie with a lot to offer families. It entertains the youngest viewers with silly antics of Pooh and his friends. For older viewers, a good lesson is thrown in the mix. Will Christopher realize the importance of his family? Will he seek to put them first before his job? Will he learn to have fun again?

There are melancholy parts as well. As I watched, I couldn’t help substituting in my mind a cell phone for Christopher’s “bag of important things.” Sadly, it’s a common occurrence to see parents spending more time with their cell phones than their families. But that’s a topic for another post.

Humor, drama, and a bit of light suspense round out this movie. My favorite humorous part involves Pooh on the train. I won’t give away spoilers, but let’s just say a grown man with a talking Teddy Bear does prove to be interesting.

Objectionable content: One utterance of “Good Lord”.

My two teenage daughters recalled fond memories of watching Winnie the Pooh and Heffalump when they were younger. We all agreed that the movie Christopher Robin was well done and that the voices of the characters were believable – and just as my daughters had remembered.

This movie is a winner for the young, the old, and everyone in between. I give it a Tigger-filled 4.5 out of five.

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Looking for other Monday Movie reviews? Check out these past reviews…

Movie Monday: A Bramble House Christmas

Movie Monday: Switched for Christmas

Movie Monday – When Calls the Heart: My Heart is Yours

Movie Monday: Where Love Found Me

Movie Monday: Finding Father Christmas

Movie Monday – Unbroken: Path to Redemption

Movie Monday – Seasons of Gray

Movie Monday – The Mighty Macs

Movie Monday ~ Safe Harbor

Movie Monday – Silver Bells

 

 

 

 

 

Four chances to win!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever posted three posts in one day, but today is going to be one of those days! First off, I want to tell you that I have been honored to be the guest on four (yes, four!) different blogs this week. Each blog is giving away a copy of McKenzie to one lucky commenter. Here are the links:

http://enjoycountryliving.com/wp2/?p=1228 (also includes the blogger’s review of McKenzie)

http://dawnsdelightsart.com/2012/04/mckenzie-montana-skies-series-giveaway.html

http://anoterote.blogspot.com/2012/04/book-giveaway-penny-zeller.html

http://momofonehavingfun.blogspot.com/2012/04/mckenzie-by-penny-zeller-book-giveaway.html

These are also really neat blogs, so I encourage you to check out what these blogs have to offer! And yes, feel free to enter on each blog for a better chance of winning!

For more giveaways, please see my Events and Giveaways page at https://pennyzeller.wordpress.com/events-info/

Be sure to join me each Thursday for special giveaways with some of my favorite author friends and be sure to stop by this blog on May 3 when I’ll have a very special giveaway in honor of my blog’s anniversary and my Facebook page’s new remodel! Until then, have a fantastic rest of your week!

Come Meet Kaydie!

Come meet Kaydie!

Kaydie, the heroine of my latest book has her first ever interview this week on Author Roseanna White’s blog at http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-friend-penny-heroine-interview.html?showComment=1309186661821#c3553227287570134824 Come on by and learn a bit more about Kaydie  and while you’re there, leave a comment for a chance to win your own personalized copy of Book #2 in my Montana Skies Historical Romance Series.

Also, I am a guest on the new Christian Women Online Magazine this month. Join me at http://cwlxpress.com/2011/06/3018/ where I discuss my path to publication.

Join me later today for Movie Monday and don’t forget to check out my previous post – an interview with Author Dawn Byrd and leave a comment for a chance to win a free download of her latest book! If you need a good laugh, check out the most popular humor posts in the right hand margin and join me later this week for another funny post about a day in the life of a wife, mom, and author 🙂 Until then, be sure to stop by and meet Kaydie!