Movie Review - Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

Dead Over Heels

An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

2017

The Cast

Aurora (Bure) is having plumbing problems and with the help of her friend, Sally (Doig) they set about fixing it.  While checking out the well's pump in the garden, the body of Chief Of Police, Captain Burns (March), falls from an aeroplane... at their feet.  Being the compulsively curious amateur sleuth she is, Aurora sets out to track down the cop killer...

Storywise, this isn't as solid as previous instalments of the enthusiast crime solver.  In a few scenes, it feels especially contrived.  Specifically where the two sisters are concerned.  The reaction of Bess Burns' (Cairns) reaction to her husband's death is kind of unbelievable.  She doesn't appear to mourn him and at times even sees a bright side to his death.  Then there's her sister, Lillian Tibbit (Harvie), who has an episode where she's the complete opposite of her normal personality,  This would have been okay had Bess been more realistic.  But to have two strange personalities in one story is one too much.  This does pull the audiences attention away and out of the story and film.

This though is pretty much the only downside to the movie.  The rest of the story is strong and sound.  Filled with red herrings and false suspects.  Though it shouldn't be too hard for you figure out whodunnit... though you may find yourself changing your mind a couple of times.

There's nothing too interesting in the direction, it's pretty standard stuff.  Also, the special effect of the falling body looks cheap and nasty.  Luckily it's at the start of the film and over in a couple of seconds.

It's the acting along with the story that will keep the attention of the audience.  Just like the previous episodes, the acting is above average and nobody stands out more than anyone else.  Everybody has the limelight, allowing the story to take precedence and helps to extend the mystery (there's nothing worse than having some actor or actress walk on screen and you know they're the bad guy or gal).

If you're a fan of the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries you will like this chapter of her life.  You needn't have watched the previous episodes to enjoy this film, though you would probably get more enjoyment if you had.

I give this a Free Falling Murder of 6.5 out of 10.

The Trailer

Movie Review - Aurora Teagarden Mystery: A Bone To Pick

Aurora Teagarden Mystery

A Bone To Pick

2015

Lighthouse Pictures / Muse Entertainment Enterprises : The Hallmark Channel / Muse Distribution International

6.25 / 10

Being English, the title of this movie threw me at first... "The Aurora Teagarden" sounds like a place you would go for a nice cuppa cha while sitting in beautiful floral surroundings...  But no "Aurora Teagarden" is the name of the leading character - poor girl.

That aside, this is a good way to pass an hour and a half.  Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, played nicely by Candace Cameron Bure. is a member of a mystery group dedicated to "Real Murders".  One of the members, Jane Eagles (Barbara Wallace), invites Roe round to her house so she can borrow a book on female killers, as this had been her "Real Murder" discussion subject.  A few days later she learns of Jane's death and is surprised to find herself in the will as the beneficiary of her house.  It's when she finds the hidden human skull that a mystery starts to reveal itself to her... and her friends...

It's hard to say why I enjoyed this film because some things annoyed me, such as Lexa Doig's character, Sally Allison, who is grating on the nerve and at times I wondered why the two were friends, let alone besties.  This isn't Doig's fault though as she did a more than an admirable portrayal of a strong, independent, and intelligent woman on Andromeda.  But here, she's not such a likeable character.  Though that may be the strong point of this series as it's not relying on characterisations as much as others do in this genre; they're a little more like everyday people, rather than "feel-good" representations.

Another thing which was annoying was how simple the mystery was, I pretty much had it solved at the skull, as I would think most would since previous scenes are so heavy handed at giving you the clues.  I couldn't really believe that it took Roe so long to figure it out.  This is more like a Columbo movie as it's not really about the mystery it's more about the trip to get to the reveal.  At least there's still some mystery here, unlike Columbo.

All of the cast give a solid and equal performance and portray their characters well; none outshines any of the others.  Director Martin Wood does a nice job of keeping the pace steady throughout, which works well with this type and style of story.

If you like your characters to be more "normal" in your mystery movies then you will like this; if you don't mind about the easy solve mystery because you prefer the drama more then this will really be your cuppa cha'.  At least worth one viewing... on a wet and miserable day - English Summertime - when you can't make it out into the Teagarden.