The Good Witch

Movie Review 8

A town full of problems and prejudice. 

Luckily a good headstrong witch named Cassandra is ready to tackle these woes.  

So it's not ABC Family but it's Hallmark Channel so it's just as light and warming and far from scary. As the holidays near I figured a movie as suiting as this, The Good Witch would be a nice watch. This made for TV movie starts off a soft tint and slow music as it shows an array of eye catching items that witch would probably use for line of work. The credits roll and the movie officially begins as Jake Russell (Chris Potter) a local cop gets startled as a cat hops onto the hood of his truck. The cat scurries off into an alley in which Jake follows. The cat leads him to an older fellow named Walter who's sleeping under a tree. It seems he knows Walter and the predicament he's in. Jake helps Walter up into his truck away from the cold.

As Jake returns home the pressures of family life come barging in as his daughter Lori (Hannah Endicott-Douglas) is constantly having nightmares and his son Brandon (Matthew Knight) is having some rebellious issues of his own. Later we see Martha, a well to do lady, who walks by and sees Walter wondering down another alley. This upsets the lady as she storms into the police station having a word or two about Walter's appearance. She also continues on stating about a rumor of someone “occupying Grey House.”

Jake and busy body Martha go by to the Grey House and walk on in. The house looks very dusty and but occupied. The same black cat runs by startling both Jake and Martha. The light switch turns on as a beautiful woman walks down the stairs. She introduces her self as Cassandra Nightingale and is somehow not upset by the trespassing. They verify that she is the new owner of the house. Martha expects her to fix her new home up but Cassandra disagrees and thinks the house has character. This offends Martha as she walks out angrily. Later Brandon and Lori are walking home from school they get chased by the local dog and run into the premises of Grey House. They both run in and Lori falls scraping her knee at the same moment the dog runs in through the gate as they forget to close it behind them. Cassandra who is somehow just standing there sees the situation and with just a glare calms the barking dog. (Finally MAGIC!) The dog sits quietly as she walks up and talks to him and scolds him for scaring the children. Lori and Brandon are amazed and confused. Cassandra introduces herself as Cassie as she notices Lori is got a pretty bad scrape on her
knees.

Had to take a Screen Shot, sorry for the quality.

Cassie brings the children into the house which is a bit cleaner and actually quite homely during the daytime. She leads them toward her kitchen where it's obviously her favorite room in the house as it's well decorated and probably something you'd expect to see in witches kitchen. Cassie has a way with children and puts some healing herbs on her wound and places a band-aid with a kiss. She offers the children some Gingerbread and gets up to get her trey. Though by then it's too late Brandon sees the kitchen's supplies. Isis, Cassie's cat busts out of the closet and knocking down a unique broom in the process. Both frightened Brandon and Lori run away from the house. Cassandra confused and sad as the first problem of a line of problems begin.

Okay here's the low down, the movie starts off slow and has some scenes and dialogue that could really use some work. On the other hand the morals and the plot over all as a whole is actually quite inspiring. The way the movie depicts magic is not flashy at all and is not overly obvious which is also one of the appealing aspects of the movie. It's non Hollywood. Would I recommend this movie yes and no. Yes if you're planning to show it to a friend who's very sensitive with religious issues. It would make a good starter movie. If you're a fan of witch movies in general also a yes as I said there are some things that's worth learning and seeing. Plus this movie made me a fan of actress Catherine Bell. I would not recommend this movie if you're want to see something funny, fast pace or something overly magical.

Title: The Good Witch

Length: 89 min

Ratings:PG

Year: 2008

Director: Craig Pryce

Starring: Catherine Bell, Chris Potter, Matthew Knight, Hannah Endicott-Douglas

Over All Score: B – Parts of the movie has me shaking my head but Catherine Bell (Cassandra Nightingale) and her scenes have me doing the exact opposite. There are ups and downs with this movie.

Entertaining: B- The movie is definitely Hallmark you'll love and hate characters.

Cinematography: B Nothing dramatic or stunning.

Storyline: C- The story is okay but seems half baked at times. If a few added scenes and better dialogue in the beginning of the movie would greatly improve the over all quality. Also it seems everyone in the town including Brandon and Lori is up to try the nerves of their father and Cassandra.

Acting: B- Acting from the main cast is good. Some of the minor actors seem borderline sub-par.

Music: B+ The score is good and crisp. Nothing horrible about it.