one floor below ( romanian : un etaj mai jos ) is a 2015 romanian drama film directed by radu muntean .

it was screened in the un certain regard section at the 2015 cannes film festival .

it was screened in the contemporary world cinema section of the 2015 toronto international film festival .

one floor below

the key to appreciating
one floor below
is to keep in mind that it takes place in a country still troubled by its past .
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much more accomplished is
one floor below , ” radu muntean’s excellent and much - awaited follow - up to
tuesday , after christmas” , the 2010 festival hit that remains one of finest achievements of the so - called new romanian cinema . just like in his previous features (
summer holiday , ”
the paper will be blue” and
tuesday… , ” all co - written by alexandru baciu and razvan radulescu ) , at the center of
one floor below” is a male character under moral pressure , entangled in a thickening web of self - delusion while striving to preserve some sort of control over his life .
here’s slow burn , and there’s wondering if the thing is even lit . one floor below , the latest from romanian director radu muntean is an exercise in frustration and disorientation . no wonder its protagonist is a professional freelance bureaucrat . though figuring out just what exactly our closed - lipped middle - aged protagonist does all day is just one mystery in this odd and , eventually , very satisfying film .
the moral tug - of - war between reporting a homicide and remaining silent lies at the core of radu muntean’s lean , absorbing anti - thriller “one floor below . ” like a pot set to bubble only every few seconds , the drama is tightly measured to ensure a controlled level of tension that remains discreetly constant , nicely melding with muntean’s skilled construction of three - dimensional bourgeois life . the helmer’s affinity for young , middle - class relationship stories is expanded here , and the confidence he gives his actors , as always , serves him well . while understated , “one floor below” non - judgmentally homes in on a weighty theme and deserves a high place on the fest circuit .
after being the sole unfortunate witness of a domestic quarrel that ends up in a murder , patrascu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbors : one is the bizarre murderer , the other one his very own conscience .
the moral tug - of - war between reporting a homicide and remaining silent lies at the core of radu muntean’s lean , absorbing anti - thriller “one floor below . ” like a pot set to bubble only every few seconds , the drama is tightly measured to ensure a controlled level of tension that remains discreetly constant , nicely melding with muntean’s skilled construction of [ … ]
mauntean attempts to examine hard truths about masculine insecurity , but sandu ' s ethical conundrum doesn ' t feel like one at all .
muntean and co - scripters alexandru baciu and razvan radulescu are never explicit about what sandu is thinking ( this wouldn’t be a romanian film if they were ) : is he protecting his family ? himself ? an undercurrent of so much of new romanian cinema has been the need to strip bare how people treat each other as fellow human beings , a theme that “one floor below” subtly examines not via the murder , but through sandu’s lack of a sense of the common good : keep your head down , don’t get involved — a message hardly limited to one balkan nation .
so many of the great recent romanian films like the death of mr lazarescu , beyond the hills , everybody in our family , child’s pose work so well because of black humour , nonstop talking and an unbearable , increasing vice - grip . one floor below is a break from this formula . it really isn’t up until the very end of the film that any of the characters’ feelings are on the screen in a flagrant manner . as such , don’t expect this to be much of a crowdpleaser . luckily patarescu and dima stick with their own inspections until the end .
one day , just as he and jerry arrive back at their building from a walk , patrascu passes an apartment one floor below his own and hears a heated argument kicking off between student laura ( voiced by maria popistasu , who also plays laura’s sister later ) and her next - door neighbor , vali dama ( iulian postelnicu ) . it’s obvious that the two have been having an affair , and that the married vali is possessive and possibly a bit violent . when vali suddenly bursts through the door and sees patrascu on the stairwell , no more than a curt hello is exchanged between them . however , it’s clear that in that instant vali now knows that patrascu knows about the affair , and this glancing , two - second exchange will have far reaching repercussions for both of them .
a good life , an average life , is severely shaken , and sandu’s quandary — to tell or not to tell — channels directly into his conscience . what works so well in “one floor below” is how muntean sets this dilemma off against the patrascus’ daily existence : they have friends and family , olga helps matei with his math homework , sandu enters jerry in a canine contest . at the registration office the people know and like him ; he has a sense of humor — his private phone ring is a recording of ceaucescu’s voice . is a sense of societal responsibility a necessary component of a decent fellow ?
the city to city program , spotlighting london this year , includes four world premieres in its slate : tom geens’ “couple in a hole , ” george amponsah’s “the hard stop , ” david farr’s “the ones below” and michael caton - jones’ “urban hymns . ”
dima ( iulian postelnicu ) lives downstairs with his wife . however he was having an affair with the young woman on the ground floor . soon after that overheard fight , she’s taken out in a bodybag after a ( rumoured ) blow to the head .
as i was watching the film , i admired how subtle it is in portraying a man whose sense of social belonging and responsibility has been destroyed almost totally by the authoritarian political system he grew up in . at the same time , i feared that the way of articulating the subject matter may be too offhand and subtle for it to fully register with audiences that haven’t grown up ( as i have ) within the former communist block . the key to appreciating
one floor below” is to keep in mind that it takes place in a country still troubled by its past—just like the son of the main character proves to be troubled by chaotic , video game - fueled dreams in the film’s last , strangely comforting scene that is as close as muntean gets here to articulating something akin to hope .
paul hanganu loves two women . adriana his wife and the mother of their daughter , the woman with whom he ' s shared the thrills of the past ten years , and raluca the woman who has made him redefine himself . he has to leave one of them before christmas .
the camera almost never leaves sandu patrascu ( teodor corban ) , but it’s not quite accurate to say audiences see the action through his eyes — rather , the character’s steady presence forces us to question his motivation without condemning him . he’s a perfectly “normal” guy , sharing a business with his wife , olga ( oxana moravec ) , as car - registration expediters , lavishing attention on his golden lab , jerry , and being a decent dad to his son , matei ( ionut bora ) . while going home , he hears a violent argument in a first - floor apartment between laura ( maria popistasu ) and her horny , married neighbor on the second floor , vali ( iulian postelnicu ) . lingering a little longer than he should in the hall , sandu encounters vali exiting .
contemporary world cinema — the program with the broadest global reach — adds 56 movies , including 26 world premieres . leanne pooley’s “25 april , ” which uses animation to tell the story of the 1915 battle of gallipoli ; christopher doyle’s “hong kong trilogy : preschooled preoccupied preposterous” ; eric khoo’s singapore hotel - set “in the room” ; and salem brahimi’s family drama set in 1980s algeria , “let them come , ” which is one of six films featured in the fest’s contemporary world speakers series , have been added to the lineup .
all this comes wrapped in a suspense scenario : muntean’s signature device is a long take of an ostensibly innocent conversation , usually focused on technicalities in a specific field ( dental care in
tuesday” , computer equipment in
floor” ) , with a subtle tension mounting due to viewers being privy to the characters’ hidden secrets . by stretching those moments in time , muntean not only builds palpable tension , but also shows the length his characters are willing to go in order to avoid confrontation with the truth and maintain illusion of order in their lives ( this very delusion may be , in fact , his favorite subject ) .
this year’s opener of the section was naomi kawase’s
an ,
a cloyingly sentimental yarn of an elderly pastry chef transforming lives around her through the magic she does with the titular pancake filling . kawase is a long - time cannes darling and i may be alone in my emotional immunity to her films , but it needs to be said that this particular one feels extremely calculated in its effort to become an arthouse version of the popular inspiration - through - cookery genre that gave us
babette’s feast” and
chef ” at its best , and
chocolat” and
eat pray love ” at its worst .
sandu patrascu is an ordinary romanian citizen , living in a comfortable apartment in bucharest . he has a good job ( in the vehicle registration business ) , a wife ( no - nonsense olga ) , a teenage son ( computer - obsessed matei ) and a ( trained ) dog . on the whole , he feels good about himself . one day though , he gets upset by an incident he is the witness of : a violent quarrel taking place on the other side of a female neighbor ' s door . worse , vali , another neighbor , leaves the apartment while sandu stands in the staircase listening . even worse , laura , the young woman he has heard shouting is found murdered . what will patrascu do under such circumstances ?
high - profile crowd gathers to celebrate u . k . film at the toronto film festival
david gordon green’s “ our brand is crisis , ” starring sandra bullock and billy bob thornton ; james vanderbilt’s cbs scandal film “ truth , ” starring cate blanchett and robert redford ; and “twilight” director catherine hardwicke’s “miss you already , ” starring drew barrymore and toni collette , will world premiere at the 2015 toronto international film festival , it was announced tuesday .
natalie portman’s “a tale of love and darkness , ” based on amos oz’s bestselling novel , will receive its north american premiere following its debut at the cannes film festival .
in all , toronto added almost 100 films ( including more than 40 world premieres ) across its gala , special presentations , city to city , contemporary world cinema and wavelengths programs . it also added 38 international short films to short cuts .
the festival will close with the world premiere of paco cabezas’ “mr . right , ” a romantic comedy with a hitman twist , starring anna kendrick and sam rockwell .
wavelengths , the festival’s experimental strand , adds 54 films ( 10 feature length ) , videos and installations .
galas “disorder , ” director alice winocour , france / belgium ( north american premiere ) “man down , ” director dito montiel , usa ( north american premiere ) “miss you already , ” director catherine hardwicke , united kingdom ( world premiere ) “mississippi grind , ” director ryan fleck , anna boden , usa ( canadian premiere ) “mr . right , ” director paco cabezas , usa ( world premiere ) ( closing night film )
david gordon green’s “our brand is crisis , ” starring sandra bullock and billy bob thornton ; james vanderbilt’s cbs scandal film “truth , ” starring cate blanchett and robert redford ; and “twilight” director catherine hardwicke’s “miss you already , ” starring drew barrymore and toni collette , will world premiere at the 2015 toronto international film festival , it was announced tuesday . natalie [ … ]
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jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
out of enthusiasm , a militia soldier abandons his platoon and decides to fight for the cause of the revolution . his lieutenant and the rest of the crew look for him during the confused night of 22 - 23 december 1989 .
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costi is a family man whose cash - strapped neighbor makes him an intriguing proposition : help him find the fortune reportedly buried somewhere on the grounds of his family ' s country home in romania and split the profits .
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on his spring break at the seaside , with his wife and his four year old son , bogdan ciocazanu runs into his best friends from high - school at the precise date and time that reminds all of . . . see full summary »
after the terrible news of a fatal car accident involving her son , a desperate mother will do anything in her powers to set her child free .
emanuel spends his days at a sanatorium . falling in love with another patient , he narrates his and his fellow patients ' attempts to live life to the fullest as their bodies slowly fade away , but their minds refuse to give up .
a newbie agrees to deliver the wrong merchandise for money . he will learn soon that this trip will change his views about life , forever .
a film director wants to add a new scene in his movie while in production and needs the lead female protagonist to be nude .
two weeks before his release , a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home . meanwhile , he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern .
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enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
patrascu ( teodor corban ) spends a lot of time caring for his happy golden retriever . his son is so consumed with videogames he mumbles about passcodes in his sleep . everything about his life is mundane to the point that , as an audience member , you begin projecting great importance onto every strangely front - and - centre detail . oh , i should point out that patrescu probably knows there’s a murder in his building . but he isn’t sure and , more importantly , he feels guilty because he only suspects because he was eavesdropping on an argument , and the potential killer caught him in the act .
“life is also made of stuff like this , ” a bored , by - the - book cop tells patrascu after a semi - formal interview , in which patrascu gives nothing away . it’s a line that resonates throughout this movie . there’s a lot of stuff on the screen , and some of it is excruciatingly boring . it is up to you , in the audience , to figure out if what we’re seeing is actually plot , or if these long scenes about nothing are just the naturalism inherent in new romanian cinema .
yet this is all by design . as patrascu rolls what he thinks he knows over in his mind , he’s hired by dima to help him change the title and deed of his car . he takes the job , maybe so he can keep a closer eye on the young man . perhaps dima hires him so he can keep an eye back . why didn’t patrascu mention the argument to the cops ? dima also starts showing up around the house , helping patrascu install motion sensors to the kid’s xbox console . in any other suspense movie riffing this hard on rear window , a line about installing a webcam would mean soundtrack stingers and close - ups . not here . this is detached , flat film - making at its most bare . you figure out which lines of dialogue deserve to be underlined .
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radu muntean’s new drama revolves around teodor corban as a man who withholds key evidence when his downstairs neighbor is found dead .
appreciation may vary when it comes to particular examples of the romanian new wave , but you ' ve got to give these filmmakers their due : they’re great at titles . from the starkly apt the death of mr . lazarescu and the quantitatively resonant 4 months , 3 weeks and 2 days to the irony - laden child’s pose , so many of the major recent romanian films have monikers that wring heady significance from a seemingly innocuous detail . it’s all about finding austere poetry in the messy stuff of everyday life , on every level .
like several other protagonists in muntean’s films , sandu patrascu ( corban ) is a middle - aged , middle - class average joe , but more honest and grounded that the philandering heroes of christmas and boogie . a professional fixer who navigates the intricacies of romanian bureaucracy for people with vehicle - registration problems , he’s well - liked by clients and colleagues , loving towards his wife olga ( oxana moravec ) and geeky pubescent son matei ( ionut bora ) , and positively doting towards his golden retriever jerry , whose poop he always bags responsibly .
some time passes as patrascu has dinner with his family , and goes back to work , but when he comes home that evening , the building is in a quiet uproar . laura has been found dead . maybe it was an accident , maybe not : the neighbors aren’t really sure . but when vali starts hovering about the building entrance , making excessively friendly overtures towards matei and trying to read patrascu’s poker face , it’s clear he’s worried that sandu might reveal what he knows , especially when a policeman ( muntean - regular adrian vancica ) starts making door - to - door enquiries .
the script plants hints about patrascu’s motivations like a trail of tiny breadcrumbs , which make this something of thriller in its very low - key , hyper - realistic way , filmed with unfussy clarity by tudor lucaciu . a vast swathe of the running time is taken up with observing patrascu going about his business as the dmv - like vehicle - registration center , interludes which almost become drolly amusing in their monotony . and then suddenly there’s a thunderbolt of violence , and all the masks of civility slip .
a moral quandary melds with a skilled construction of three - dimensional bourgeois life in radu muntean ' s lean , absorbing anti - thriller .
teodor corban , iulian postelnicu , oxana moravec , ionut bora , tatiana iekel , vlad ivanov , mihaela sirbu , ioana flora , maria popistasu , liviu cheloiu . ( romanian dialogue )
later that day , sandu gets word that laura is dead , possibly murdered . the police come to question the building’s occupants , and sandu stays mum , not even telling olga about the argument , although there’s little doubt in either his mind or the viewer’s that vali murdered laura . but maybe , just maybe , if sandu doesn’t say a word , it will all blow over .
but vali lives in the same building , and he’s not going away . he hangs around , a figure of quiet menace with a s–t - eating grin that’s designed to make sandu uneasy . then he asks sandu to help with his car registration , and ingratiates himself in the family by connecting matei’s xbox and offering computer advice . vali is wondering why sandu didn’t turn him in , sandu is wondering whether vali is a threat to his family , and tension is building on all sides .
the script’s ability to keep all these ideas in play while maintaining a satisfyingly low - key approach speaks to its strengths , reinforced by the way the camera constantly privileges sandu with frequent shallow focus and lighting . corban , still best known for “12 : 08 east of bucharest , ” warrants the camera’s attention , delivering a performance in which the interior struggles exist just under the skin . he’s a fully developed character , and his near - omnipresence , within a limited span of time , increases the sense of pressures doggedly wearing at his soul . postelnicu’s chilling aura , steeped in menacing smugness , lingers even when he’s offscreen .
muntean again works with his usual tech collaborators ( d . p . tudor lucaciu and editor alexandru radu ) , achieving a degree of minimalism that never feels empty or trying . his characters are the focus , and through them , a regular life becomes weighted with a moral dilemma of quasi - dostoevskian proportions .
reviewed at cannes film festival ( un certain regard ) , may 14 , 2015 . running time : 93 min . ( original title : “un etaj mai jos
)
production : ( romania - france - germany - sweden ) an epicentre films ( in france ) release of a multi media est , les films d’apres midi , neue mediopolis filmproduktion , bleck film & tv production , with the participation of cnc , institut francais , hbo romania , cofinova 11 , cine plus , chimney . ( international sales : films boutique , paris . ) produced by dragos vilcu . delegate producer , oana kelemen . co - producers , francois d’artemare , alexander ris , christine haupt , anna croneman . co - executive producers , jessica ask , fredrick zander , frank evers , helge neubronner , andreas eicher .
crew : directed by radu muntean . screenplay , alexandru baciu , muntean , razvan radulescu . camera ( color , widescreen ) , tudor lucaciu ; editor , alexandru radu ; music , electric brother ; production designer , sorin dima ; costume designer , eliza frone ; sound , andre rigaut , alexandru radu ; line producer , christine haupt ; assistant director , sebastian mihailescu ; casting , andrei amarfoaie , carmen sandu .
with : teodor corban , iulian postelnicu , oxana moravec , ionut bora , tatiana iekel , vlad ivanov , mihaela sirbu , ioana flora , maria popistasu , liviu cheloiu . ( romanian dialogue )
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
writer - director radu muntean occupies his characters with trivial matters but the weirdly ambiguous conflict between the two men eventually comes to a boil .
like a pot set to bubble only every few seconds , the drama is tightly measured to ensure a controlled level of tension that remains discreetly constant .
the film takes a character who would be merely incidental in a more conventional film and uses him to construct a poignant meditation on responsibility , guilt and community .
it ' s a bit of a shaggy dog tale and quite a disappointment from this talented director .
a surprising and provocative piece of romanian filmmaking . [ full review in spanish ]
surprising romanian thriller with deep moral conflicts and a strong dramatic load . [ full review in spanish ]
in its quiet accretion of everyday details , with key events happening off - screen or on the obscure margins , the beautifully shot tale is equal parts dostoyevsky and chantal akerman .
deftly scripted , subtle and challenging , this is a film which reminds us why muntean is such an important contributor to the romanian new wave .
read more : interview : director radu muntean talks ‘tuesday , after christmas’ & prison set documentary .
and i mean slowly . muntean is fascinated , as he was in ‘tuesday’ with the lived - in business of living , but here he indulges that fascination to the point of exasperation and beyond . in drab shots indifferently composed , we follow patrascu through seemingly every minute step of his everyday routine , to the point that it feels like most of the film is him driving around grey streets in an ugly compact car , monosyllabically answering his cellphone , trying to find a parking spot , going to an office , bringing in some forms , trading tired cliches with old acquaintances , and on and on and on .
of course this is entirely the point . we are supposed to watch incident , encounter and conscience work upon him incrementally , until he’s pushed towards a moment of crisis , but patrascu as a character is so frustratingly passive that when a final confrontation does occur , it is too little drama , too late on and we still have no real idea if he has undergone any actual arc of change . dima too is a mystery to us , his motives for involving himself threateningly with patrascu and not simply thanking his lucky stars he didn’t talk , are muddy . and patrascu’s wife and son are ciphers , merely there to be hovering presences on the fringes of the man’s banal daily life .
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eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far . they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
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the actress and director both love the genre , but as they told indiewire , they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients ( “the pain of others” ) and his exploration of the slenderman myth ( “a self - induced hallucination” ) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…
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a tribute to the late tab hunter , a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .
the cannes international film festival is the most talked - about film festival of the year , where directors from around the world showcase their newest work , from the most challenging art cinema to the big blockbusters . for many years , roger ebert and a team of contributors have covered cannes , and we are continuing that tradition with start - to - finish coverage from around the festival .
cannes may be still abuzz with the roaring engines of george miller ’s
mad max : fury road ”—a joyful act of kinetic overkill that provided a tingly morning jolt to members of the press—but there’s also a quieter fare playing here that can be no less thrilling in its own unassuming way .
whereas the main competiton kicked off yesterday with matteo garrone ’s
tale of tales , ” an interesting if uneven rumination on the theme of loss and disenchantment , today saw the opening of a side section called un certain regard , which is nominally a second - string competition , but sometimes offers films to rival the quality of those officially vying for the golden palm ( as was the case with such fare as alain guiraudie ’s
stranger by the lake ” and ruben östlund ’s
force majeure ” ) .
formally speaking , the film’s inoffensive simplicity suggests finger - painting , and offers about as much sophistication in terms of character development and theme . also , to this foodie’s disappointment , kawase doesn’t try to come up with a way of filming food preparation itself that would seem appropriately loving and sensual . instead , we end up literally staring into a simmering pot of beans for much of the film’s running time , while the main character ( rather bullyingly ) brings good cheer to everyone she meets—especially her grumpy boss , whose dislike of sweets is an all - too - easy shorthand for the chronic unhappiness from which he suffers .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
the place for everything that doesn ' t have a home elsewhere on rogerebert . com , this is a collection of thoughts , ideas , snippets , and other fun things that roger and others posted over the years .
more moviegoers see films on video in some form than ever before - - whether streaming on demand , cable or satellite , instant download services , dvd or blu - ray . even high - profile pictures become available to home viewers before or at the same time as their theatrical release . reviewing them is a job for . . . the demanders !
our far - flung correspondents are cinephiles from all over the world , hand - picked by roger ebert to write about movies from their unique international perspectives . they include contributors from ( alphabetically ) brazil , canada , egypt , great britain , india , mexico , the philippines , south korea , turkey and the u . s . they converge every year at ebertfest .
since he started as film critic for the chicago sun - times in 1967 , and began covering movies locally and at international film festivals , roger ebert has met and interviewed countless movie idols , artists and unknowns - - some of them even before they became famous . there ' s hardly a major figure in the history of movies , from the last part of the 20th century into the 21st , that he hasn ' t encountered .
roger ebert has attended international film festivals and events for almost half a century , from the kolkata international film festival to the academy awards . in addition to his coverage , our contributors report the latest from cannes , telluride , toronto , sundance and other movie showcases world - wide .
life itself ,
based on roger ebert ' s memoir and directed by steve james , will open in theaters and be available on demand on july 4 , 2014 .
the opening shot of a movie can tell us a lot about how to view and interpret what follows . it can even represent the whole movie in miniature . the opening shots project collects illustrated analyses of some of jim emerson ' s favorites , and contributions from scanners readers .
the ebert club is our hand - picked selection of content for ebert fans . you will receive a weekly newsletter full of movie - related tidbits , articles , trailers , even the occasional streamable movie . club members also get access to our members - only section on urltoken


the bride he bought online is a 2015 american television thriller film , written and directed by christine conradt , and starring anne winters , alexandra paul , and jamie luner .

it was broadcast on the lifetime network in the united states on july 18 , 2015 .

the bride he bought online

the bride he bought online could have also been inspired by some russian bride pranks or mail order bride pranks .
travis hammer in the new movie ' the bride he bought online .
( courtesy of lifetime )
tomorrow , watch kaylee , avery , and mandy in the bride he bought online . on lmn .
tune in for the lifetime movie the bride he bought online tonight at 8 / 7 central . # bridehebought
don ' t miss the re - run of the bride he bought online tonight on lmn right after the premiere of the psycho she met online .
did you miss it ? the bride he bought online will re - run on lmn on friday at 8pm pst .
i watched a lifetime movie i recorded last weekend that turned out to be surprisingly good : the bride he bought online .
tonight , don ' t miss the re - run of the bride he bought online on lmn ! check local listings for start times .
this saturday , don ' t miss the re - run of the bride he bought online ! check local listings for start time in your area .
did you miss it ? set your dvrs ! the bride he bought online re - airs on lmn on wed , nov . 16th . urltoken
the bride he bought online ( review ) - tars tarkas . net - movie reviews and more . obsessively stupid about stupid films - tars tarkas . net
the bride he bought online . . .
the youtube account associated with this video has been terminated due to multiple third - party notifications of copyright infringement .
the bride he bought online re - airs on lmn sunday , april 9th right after the premiere of the psycho she met online . if you missed it , now ' s your chance to catch it ! check local listings for start times .
bride he bought online ( also known as the bride he bought online ) doesn’t boast that it is based on a true story . but there are several real “catfishing” mail order bride stories that could have inspired the writers . catfishing is the word used to describe the act of creating a fake profile for the sole purpose of duping another into believing that it is real . the mtv show catfish first popularized the word . in their show , they go behind the profiles and expose the real people to the world . in many cases , those who thought they’d found love online have been left heartbroken . others have been bullied online by these fake profiles .
anne winters and travis hammer star in “the bride he bought online” ( lifetime at 8 p . m . ) , a thriller about a computer programmer who seeks revenge against a trio of teen girls who tricked him into purchasing a fake mail - order bride .
bride he bought online is a new lifetime movie that is set to make its debut tonight . lifetime movie lovers have become accustomed to being entertained every weekend by lifetime’s original movies . tonight’s thriller the bride he bought online takes a shocking turn after some teens decide to play a joke on a lonely computer programmer . starring anne winters , travis hammer , and annalisa cochrane , according to the internet movie database ( imdb ) .
a lonely , socially inept computer programmer named john seeks revenge when he learns he ' s been duped unleashes a wrath that no one would have expected : by three teen girls who created a fictitious mail - order bride that he bought .
she said she originally wrote the bride he bought online as an indie horror movie that would be her directorial debut and she was ready to start up a crowdfunding campaign . but , there was no need , because executive producer pierre david was into the idea — but as a thriller .
so much of our every day communication happens through the faceless internet — e - mails , tweets , instagram photos , gchat , online dating sites , and so much more . i ' d like to think i always know who i ' m talking to , but sadly , i can never be too sure . and , the new lifetime tv movie the bride he bought online , premiering on saturday night , will truly show audiences that the new love you found over the internet could be a mere prank by some teenagers . we hear of the idea of catfishing pretty often , so it ' s fair to wonder : is the bride he bought online based on a true story ?
oh , lifetime . always so good at reminding us that teenagers are the worst . also at giving characters [ adopts liam neeson voice ] a very particular set of skills that are selectively convenient to the plot . take , for example , last night ' s movie the bride he bought online , in which a computer programmer only realizes he ' s been catfished after he loses hundreds of dollars and has his heart broken . thank goodness he has all that computer knowledge to get revenge .
after finding a mail order bride website , three teen girls become fascinated with the dynamics behind “loser” guys who buy brides online . in the sneak peek teaser , we see the girls making plans to dupe a lonely man who seeks a bride online . once he shows up at the designated location , the girls watch as the disheveled computer programmer holds up a sign with his bride’s name on it . it becomes apparent to at least one of the teen girls that what they are doing is downright wrong . one thing is for sure , these girls have messed with the wrong man and have no idea what’s in store for them after following through on this cruel joke .
so , while the movie isn ' t based on one specific case , conradt says she was inspired to write the film by various cases of cyberbullying and juvenile crime . conradt has a masters degree in criminal justice from boston university and her studies focused on cyber crime and juvenile delinquency . the bride he bought online certainly deals with those topics . it ' s a story about three teenage girls who run a prank blog and decide their latest target will be the man who falls for a fake profile they posted on a mail - order bride website . unfortunately for them , the pranked man becomes becomes hellbent on revenge against the girls , but will he take it too far ?
a lonely and unstable man seeks revenge against three teens who created a fake mail - order bride blog .
part of the fun of the bride he bought online is how everything keeps escalating . there isn’t one kidnapping , there are three . the girls prank against john escalates to filming and getting him to spend hundreds of dollars . john turns from an awkward guy who is improving for a woman he loves into an embittered men’s rights activist ranting about how american women treat men horribly . even his plan for the girls jumps the rails when it turns out the shady guys he met in the darknet are untrustworthy ! who knew ? ! what pranksters , those sex slavers ! the constant amount of plot twists is entertaining , and while the film was never in danger of slowing down , it does keep dodging your expectations . or pranking your expectations !
even though mandy screams every five seconds that he ' s going to kill them , john says he has other plans for them . plans like selling them into prostitution . that seems like an appropriate punishment for three stupid teenage girls who played an online prank , don ' t you think ? unfortunately he only manages to sell kaley ( so convenient that it was the ringleader ) before the sex traffickers bail on him without paying . well , shit . now what is he supposed to do with these other two girls he kidnapped ?
ryan discovers his friend brent is the father of one of his girlfriends twins babies and that he date raped her at a party over the summer . with college around the corner he will stop at nothing to clear his name .
now that john has all three girls tied up in his warehouse , he ' s able to lecture them about hurting people and being a pariah and how american women aren ' t grateful like foreign women are , and blah blah blah . i thought he was trying to talk them to death . my favorite part is when he says his father used to tell him he has to walk in another person ' s shoes to understand them , and he used to think he meant he had to put their shoes on , “but now i realize he meant it in a figurative way . ” really , john the computer wiz ? you just realized that today ?
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the bride he bought online is a lot of things , or should i say , too many things . within a 90 - minute time frame , it tries to cover an impressive amount of different topics , including friendship , young love , social network , online dating , human trafficking , prostitution , and murder , even . while it shows a great deal of ambition , it also makes it comparatively difficult for a television movie like this to be able to live up to this kind of ambition . therefore , the consequence is that we get to see a little bit of everything , but we never get a chance to be truly involved in any of it .
when viewing the mail order bride website it can be seen that they are on a youtube video . however this
video
acts as a real website .
more dire a fate than she deserves . i was amused to read the posts about this film on the urltoken message boards , and in particular how many people were bothered by the fact that conradt created both john and kaley as multi - dimensional characters , neither all good nor all bad , and wanted this film to have more clearly defined heroes and villains than the anti - hero and anti - villain conradt gave them . i was also amused that at least two of the message board contributors wondered if conradt was setting up a sequel — which in this case might not be a bad idea : a the bride he bought online , part 2 : kaley’s revenge
john tries to chase after them for a while , but eventually he gives up and just collapses on the ground staring at a picture of his fake girlfriend on his phone . then he has some sort of vision / memory / hallucination where he ' s playing the guitar for a mannequin wearing a wedding dress ( did that actually happen ? what ' s going on here ? ) before he shoots himself .
the excessiveness in its themes , the predictability of the storyline and the flat characters not only stop the movie from reaching the threshold of a good drama , but also make it nearly impossible for the audience to relate to the movie .
she also doesn ' t seem to know that you probably shouldn ' t try to fool an admitted computer programmer with a fake profile on a site for mail order brides . luckily for kaley , john ( travis hammer ) turns off the computer genius part of his brain when he sees pictures of diwata , the fake filipino woman kaley is pretending to be . they end up talking , and he even sends her a video of himself playing the guitar . it ' s all very pathetic , right down to the part where diwata doesn ' t show up to the airport on the flight he bought her a ticket for .
when viewing the mail order bride website it can be seen that they are on a youtube video . however this
video
acts as a real website . see more »
upon returning home , kaley turns on the tv , but john uses his computer hacking skills to scare her by turning off the security system in kaley ' s home . having succeeded in panicking her , he then enters the house and kidnaps kaley at gunpoint , taking her to the warehouse where he is holding mandy hostage . the next day , avery is being interviewed by an agent , as the parents of kaley and mandy are looking for their daughters . avery tells the agent about nick , and the cops mark him as a suspect . nick spoke to the cop , straightened everything out and told him about john and he was unaware what he was doing .
in 2006 , a russian mail order bride named nina reiser entered into an online relationship with — and later married — computer programmer hans reiser . reiser ended up killing nina reiser after they began having problems . she was missing for a time , but hans reiser eventually led police to her body .
john takes mandy and avery back to the warehouse . he has to leave avery in the car while he ties mandy up , and for some reason she doesn ' t use that opportunity to make a run for it . does his car have a child lock or did he do some computer wizardry on it ? at least once they ' re all in the warehouse , avery takes advantage of the glass bottle just sitting on the ground and slices john ' s arm with it . he ' s very offended , and he runs home to bandage it . that ' s when his neighbor from across the street , a prostitute ( kesia elwin ) who ' s always showing him her bra through the window , shows up and notices his wound .
but , does this mean you should distrust the entire internet ? not quite .
i think what ' s interesting is that when people go online the balance of trusting is thrown off , because either they just completely trust without being given a reason to trust that person , or they completely distrust ,
conradt tells bustle .
a lot of our meaningful interactions with people have been replaced with what we believe are meaningful interactions online . people now believe you could get to know someone so well online and fall in love with them .
beyond the plot twists , the bride he bought online works because of the amazing actresses and their command performances . annalisa cochrane is awesome chewing the scenery when kaley goes full mean spoiled brat , and mandy and kaley feuding over a young man hired by john to get friended on their social media accounts is great catfighting and passive aggressiveness . anne winters plays avery so over everything and crushing on a boy instead , but is still forced to with her friends causing issues because of her sense of loyalty . lauren gaw’s mandy torn between being popular and standing up for herself and remaining friends with avery , knowing in her heart that kaley will be left behind when they go off to college , but not able to push far enough away fast enough to do what is right .
later that day , avery is also kidnapped by john , and having now captured all three girls , he takes them to sell to a man he found online . the man are going to sell the girls for human trafficking . however , john gets scammed by the men , who only take kaley with them . afterwards , john takes mandy and avery back to the warehouse , where avery slashes him with a piece of glass and tries to escape , but is unsuccessful . upon returning home , john ' s hooker neighbor offers to find him someone else to sell the girls to , and the pair return to the warehouse . however , instead of aiding john in his trafficking attempt , the neighbor shoots him in the arm , allowing mandy and avery to escape . john then retaliates by shooting his neighbor in the chest while the girls hide in the warehouse , armed with the neighbor ' s gun and a cell phone . they call the police and are saved , though john commits suicide before he can be arrested .
john wants revenge , so he hires a male prostitute named nick ( randy blekitas ) to flirt with the girls and get their phone numbers . then the prank ee becomes the prank ster . ( unfortunately that wasn ' t a line in the movie . ) john starts texting kaley as nick , and you might think he plans to make her fall in love with him before standing her up , just to make things even . but this is a lifetime movie , so of course he has much more sinister things in mind .
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john was legit in love , but his heart is destroyed . after a bit of investigating , he finds out diwata’s photos are of a dead model , and quickly traces where the photos are hosted , right in kaley’s webspace complete with her name . some social media stalking soon strikes gold , john remembering her and the other girls from the airport as he overheard kaley and avery arguing . he even finds their pranking site along with the video of him at the airport . anger turns to revenge , and john prepares to do some pranking of his own . turns out kidnapping three teenage girls is also a prank ! but the pranking has just begun , and the girls must avoid the ultimate prank !
what starts out as a harmless prank blog takes a dark turn for 17 - year - old avery when her friends , mandy and kaley , create a fake profile for an international dating site and begin to communicate with a lonely , socially inept computer programmer named john . having lived a life of isolation and bullying , the humiliation he feels when he realizes he ' s been duped unleashes a wrath that no one would have expected .
john lures kaley and mandy to the skate park after dark , making them think they ' re meeting nick there . when the two girls split up , he kidnaps mandy and takes her to a generic tv movie warehouse , complete with graffiti and random pieces of trash here and there that will prove useful to the plot . once mandy ' s tied up and wastes no time placing the blame on kaley , john heads to her house , where he turns off her security system and all the lights using a few keys on his computer . this is just a reminder that john has the technological talent to do all this , but he didn ' t think to do a reverse image search until he ' d already paid for his fake girlfriend ' s plane ticket .
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what starts out as a harmless prank blog takes a dark turn for 17 - year - old avery when her friends , mandy and kaley , create a fake profile for an international dating site and begin to communicate with a lonely , socially inept computer programmer named john . having lived a life of isolation and bullying , the humiliation he feels when he realizes he ' s been duped unleashes a wrath that no one would have expected . written by reel one entertainment
of corridors so that , even if they free themselves from the straps he’s tied them up with , they’ll have no idea how to get out ) and terrorize them with what sort of fate he has in mind for them . eventually it develops that his revenge for the girls having tormented him and put him in so much emotional pain will be to sell them to human traffickers , and he actually turns kaley over to a tall , intimidating - looking guy — only the guy reneges on paying john , so he takes the other two girls back to his hideout . the one true good guy in all this is the detective the police put in charge of finding the kidnapped girls , kathy schumaker ( a marvelously hard - edged performance by alexandra paul ) , who is able to trace nick and get him to rat out john . though nick has no idea where john is holding the girls , avery manages to make a call on a cell phone she concealed on her person and the police are able to use that signal to trace where they are and rescue them — though not before john becomes a true figure of pathos as he makes a speech about how sorry he is that his desire for love and companionship led to all this , and then shoots himself .
conradt is very passionate about these topics and has studied the motivations behind teen crime ( peer pressure and lack of understanding consequences are among them ) , as well as internet crimes , in which the world wide web gives folks a new way to commit old - fashioned wrongdoing . she published a paper in the international journal of cyber criminology on the adrian ghighina online auction fraud case .
the same goes with the characters . throughout the movie , none of them has any sort of growth or development at all . even with all the relatively big changes that happened in their lives , the sad guy remained sad ; the meanest girl remained the meanest , the least determinant girl was still the least determinant one , and the girl who knew a tiny little better than everyone else didn’t learn to know even an inch more .
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returning show : the final season of the western drama “hell on wheels” ( amc at 9 ) begins with cullen bohannon ( anson mount ) joining the rush to finish the first transcontinental railroad .
when a woman and her boyfriend are injured in a car crash , he is left with a leg injury which requires them to hire a nurse , but the woman they select is more trouble than she appears .
from the dramatic music scoring , the impressively contrasty lighting , and the mass use of close - ups on characters’ facial expressions , i am sure the intention was to let audiences take a part in the world it created rather than just be the indifferent spectators . but again , we can’t always get what we want , can we ? that’s the rule of life , and that’s also the rule of filmmaking .
kaley is prank - obsessed and doesn’t want to live the normal life , using the prank website as a longshot way to escape going to college and getting a job . kaley just wants to be rich and live the easy life . this drives her to search out bigger stunts to pull for more views , likes , and follows , to sell the site or even land a tv gig out of it . she’s the mastermind behind the latest stunt , setting up a fake profile on a meet foreign women / mail order bride site . she’s even already been in contact with her intended target before she reveals it to the other girls , but doesn’t explain how far she is going to go until it’s too late to stop it . he’s going to get so pranked by her !
a police detective follows a trail of evidence that eventually seems to lead to his trusted partner ' s ex - con brother who he helped put in prison years ago .
what starts out as a harmless online prank takes a dark turn for 17 - year - old avery lindstrom ( anne winters ) when her friends , mandy kim ( lauren gaw ) and kaley mack ( annalisa cochrane ) , create a fake profile for an international dating website and begin to communicate with a lonely , socially inept computer programmer named john bennett ( travis hammer ) . having lived a life of isolation and bullying , john becomes consumed by his desire for revenge after learning he was catfished by the girls . doing some digging online , john finds that the photo of his nonexistent
girlfriend
was actually that of a deceased filipina model , then uncovers the identities of the three girls who played him like a fool on their blog with their cruel prank . while both avery and mandy feel bad for what they did to him and show some remorse , kaley doesn ' t , being the
mean girl
of their school .
so this review has been out for a while but we ' re just seeing it . pretty funny stuff ( be sure to read the captions under the stills ) . props to the writer , and glad she liked the movie .
: the media never reported how we really met john . they said he found us using social media . the reality is , we found him . we preyed on him . if you poke a lion with a stick , is it his fault for attacking you ? i ' m not saying any of us deserved what he did . nothing gives you the right to hurt someone else even if they bully you . but that goes for kaley , too . she had no right to hurt him either and if she hadn ' t , maybe she ' d still be here .
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the three girls have defined personalities , all of which carries over after they are abducted . mandy immediately tattles on kaley for planning everything and bickers with her when the two are chained up . kaley continues insulting and even spitting on john , thinking she is still in control and that he is the contemptible weakling she was mocking . avery responds with mature logic , trying to get john to talk , be calm , answer questions , and appear that she’s trying to make a connection with him so he doesn’t go overboard , but kaley’s insults keeps that from happening . things just go so well together .
the film first had a limited release in canada on may 24 , 2015 . it was then broadcast on the lifetime network in the united states on july 18 , 2015 . [ 2 ]
nick tells the girls he had just moved from pittsburgh , and they invite him to a party that avery is throwing . though he fails to show , nick then sends a text message inviting kaley and mandy to skatelab ( which was actually sent by john ) , and when they arrive , it seems as though no one is there . john kidnaps mandy outside the hangout first , which kaley initially thinks is a practical joke being pulled by mandy or avery . kaley returns to the party and plays a practical joke on avery ' s crush trevor , pouring water on the crotch of his pants , then posts video of the prank on their blog . at this point , avery has had enough of kaley and ends their friendship .
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when [ lifetime ] finally saw it , they said this is one of the darkest movies we ' ve ever done , because of the ending ,
conradt hints .
you start out with the girls and they ' re so terrible to this guy , doing something so wrong and so mean . then when it ' s flipped and he takes his revenge , i wanted the audience to say , ' they were mean , but they didn ' t deserve that . '
out - foxing avery’s wimpy , nerdy boyfriend trevor , played by chase austin ) . nick shows up , collects his usual $ 200 fee , then starts to take off his pants and is startled when john explains he doesn’t
one true life catfishing scheme backfired on a man who intended to extort money from a university professor . in that case , daniel duplaisir took explicit photos of an underage girl and entered into an online relationship with professor james aune . after duplaisir threatened to expose the once - respected professor by sending a slew of blackmail - type emails , aune committed suicide by jumping from a parking garage . his last message to duplaisir stated :
john ( travis hammer ) is a computer toucher who is far more comfortable typing linux commands than talking to anyone , especially women . it’s even more apparent with his interactions with his escort neighbor ( both her clients and his packages get their addresses confused ! ) but he’s not afraid to sign up for dating sites like the one kaley put her fake profile on , and is soon chatting with “diwata” . kaley perfectly places her bait , and soon john invites her to america to attend his company’s party . thus , the prank is on , as kaley plans to film him at the airport waiting for his mail order bride that will never come . actually , she plans to have mandy film him , and even has to trick avery into coming , who then storms off when she figures out what is going on .
john decides to get back at the girls by hiring a good - looking guy about their age name nick ( randy blekitas ) . nick is a male prostitute , and john tells him he is playing a trick on his niece , and wants him to get the three girls to fall for him and then stand them up . john finds their hangout , the skatelab skate park , and sends nick there to flirt with them . the plan works well , as both kaley and mandy express interest and give him their phone numbers .
judging from the title i assumed that christine conradt was involved , and it turned out she not only wrote the script ( solo this time , though on some of her previous lifetime scripts she’s had collaborators ) but directed ( her debut in that role ) — and turned in a mighty fine job as director , bringing to the film all the tight suspense editing and neo - gothic atmosphere needed for a christine conradt script to work on screen . judging from the title and the previews i had expected a story something like the 1949 film caught
as the film ends , avery is in the hospital , being questioned by law enforcement . the final scene shows her taking things out of kaley ' s locker , while avery ' s voice - over explains that kaley was never found .
sam gleason lives in a town where high school football is the backbone of the community . when she accuses a member of the team of committing heinous acts against her on a night she can ' t even remember , will anyone believe her ?
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the bomb ( lone wolf documentary group / pbs , 2015 ) & . . .
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avery lindstrom ( anne winters ) is the nice girl who is so done with pranking and is thinking about her future , she also serves as a bookend narrator . mandy kim ( lauren gaw ) once was overweight and unpopular , but is now part of the cool squad and desperately wants to stay there . she is starting to have some moral objections to the non - stop pranks , but let’s kaley push her around . kaley mack ( annalisa cochrane ) is attractive , popular , and is the driving force behind the secret prank website . she’s the reason the other two are popular at school , and schemes up the latest and greatest pranks in her quest for social media love .
i find it interesting from a theoretical standpoint that the internet has created crimes that didn ' t exist before and how people , because of the anonymity of the internet , have the ability to sit behind a screen and do things that they couldn ' t justify doing in person ,
writer and director of the film , christine conradt says .
that ' s what inspired me to create a story around that concept .
after his airport heartbreak , john finally thinks to do a reverse image search on diwata ' s photos and discovers they depict a model who died in a car crash several years ago . could have saved himself a lot of sadness and about an hour and forty - five minutes of movie time if he ' d done that before , but whatever . having finally remembered that he ' s a computer wiz , john is able to trace the prank back to kaley and her friends . since avery made her facebook check - ins public so literally anyone can see where she is , john tracks her down and spies on her and mandy at their local skate park hangout .
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prostitute , whose name i don ' t remember and will therefore be referred to as just prostitute ( sorry ) , asks john if he ' s done something illegal and offers to help him , whatever it is . apparently the one thing she ' s not so cool with is him selling teenage girls into prostitution . she tells him she knows a guy who can help , but i could tell she was bluffing and would try to save the girls . gotta love a hooker with a heart of gold , right ?
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daniel duplaisir was completely shocked by the sudden turn of events , which eventually led to his arrest .
well , it looks like you ' ve wandered over into the us lifetime site . you should go to the uk one . over here we ' ve got laffs , fashion , tea and biscuits . and david duchovny .
many people get hurt in the process . we want to see her get her “comeuppance” even though we’re also horrified by what happens to her at the end and think being forced into prostitution and turned into a sex slave is far
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“government matters” ( wjla at 9 : 30 ) hosts erica mccann , director of federal procurement for the information technology alliance for the public sector ; “newsmakers”  ( c - span at 10 ) talks to labor secretary thomas perez ; “sunday morning futures with maria bartiromo” ( fox news channel at 10 ) hosts house foreign affairs committee chairman edward r . royce ( r - calif . ) ; “this is america & the world” ( weta at 10 and whut at 6 p . m . ) talks to chile’s ambassador to the united states , juan gabriel valdés ; “meet the press” ( nbc at 10 : 30 ) has british prime minister david cameron ; and “face the nation” ( cbs at 10 : 30 ) talks to secretary of state kerry .
a high school senior becomes the victim of an elaborate frame - up after learning that her boyfriend is sleeping with their teacher .
the whole time kaley is playing this prank , mandy is all , “i don ' t know about this , kaley . this seems kinda mean . oh , you want me to film his sad reaction on my phone ? okay . ” avery manages not to play any direct part in the prank , but she allows herself to be pulled along for the ride and continues to hang out with these people even though she seems to spend the entire time rolling her eyes at them . classic cady heron syndrome .
this series gives us a look at society ' s obsession with weight loss and fashion as seen through the eyes . . .
nick : i just moved here from pittsburgh . mandy : [ flirting , large smile ] that ' s cool ! nick : well . . . so what do you guys do for fun around here ? [ kaley smiles seductively at him and slightly raises an eyebrow and the camera angle cuts to them syncing their phones ] kaley : you got it ? nick : yeah . kaylie mack . mandy : [ still smiling ] i ' ll give you my number , too ! [ kaley looks at mandy with subdued fury and then back at nick ] nick : well , cool . well , i ' ll catch you guys later . [ kaley smiles and nods and he begins leaving ] kaley : nick ! avery ' s . . . [ seems hesitant or thinking while she speaks ] kaley : having a party at her house this weekend [ pauses ] kaley : . . . if you wanna come . nick : [ grins ; chuckles ] maybe . text me the details . [ holds up his phone ; kaley gives him a pleased smile as avery looks mad and then when nick leaves kaley turns excitedly to the girls ] avery : kaley , what are you doing ? i am not having a party . mandy : you have to ! [ kaley remembers mandy ' s flirtation and her face turns serious ] kaley : first of all , mandy , i saw him first . mandy : [ teeth clenched , smiling ] no , you didn ' t . [ speaks normally ] mandy : he talked to all three of us at the same . time . avery : i gave him the tissues , so i get first dibs . avery : [ frustrated , amused ] guys , it doesn ' t matter , anyway ! see more »
series premiere : ben kingsley co - stars in “tut” ( spike at 9 ) , a limited series about the teenage egyptian pharaoh tutankhamun ( avan jogia ) .
nora and eph conduct experiments on their patients , dutch and vet bond during a mission and kelly searches for zach on “the strain” ( fx at 10 ) .
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it’s high school , and our trio of main girls are concerned with what everyone in high school is concerned with , views on their secret pranking website ! wait , huh ? we’ve entered the world of internet prank videos , a genre that has flourished on youtube despite the fact most of them are terrible and / or totally fake . but , sure , whatever you want to watch is your business , tarstarkas . net can’t really judge based on some of the films we’ve reviewed !
author and screenwriter christine conradt is the mind behind over sixty movies , that have aired on usa , lifetime , showtime and more . now she ' s adapting several titles in lifetime’s beloved at 17 series into ya novels . missing at 17 , pregnant at 17 , and murdered at 17 are full of all the dishy twis . . .
in addition to studying crime , conradt has a bachelor ' s degree in screenwriting from the prestigious usc film school with more than 40 movie credits under her belt as a screenwriter — and a good amount of those are beloved titles have aired lifetime , including a nanny ' s revenge , the secret sex life of a single mom , and betrayed at 17 .
a spoiled , selfish teenager becomes infatuated with her teacher . she befriends his daughter as a way of worming her way into the family , and sets about manipulating every aspect of his life .
is pure , concentrated lifetime amazement that raises the bar for their original movies . it’s not really that much of a surprise , for not only is this a lifetime movies superstar writer christine conradt script , she also directs it ! conradt clearly knew she had to up her game , and blasted past that goal and then some ! we can only hope this is the beginning of a new level of awesome flicks !
is quite an impressive directorial debut for christine conradt and makes me wish she can do more movies as a director — indeed , she’s good enough to break out of the lifetime ghetto and make films for theatrical release .
at the beginning , avery states mandy
5 years ago , she moved here from san francisco .
yet , a few minutes later kaley says
this is our last year together before we all go off to college . we ' ve been friends since the third grade
so they are in 12th grade . now if mandy moved here
5 years ago
, that means she didn ' t meet them until 7th grade .
at the beginning , avery states mandy
5 years ago , she moved here from san francisco .
yet , a few minutes later kaley says
this is our last year together before we all go off to college . we ' ve been friends since the third grade
so they are in 12th grade . now if mandy moved here
5 years ago
, that means she didn ' t meet them until 7th grade . see more »
this week ' s teenage protagonist is avery ( anne winters ) , whose classic lifetime downfall is that she ' s smart and thoughtful and could probably be friends with anyone she wanted , but she decides to hang out with the literal worst people available to her . in this case that ' s super bitch kaley ( annalisa cochrane ) and her minion mandy ( lauren gaw ) . together the three of them enjoy wearing totally inappropriate clothing to school ( i can see your butt cheeks , young lady ) and running a blog on which they post videos of teachers getting pranked . they have a few thousand followers , and therefore kayley is convinced it ' s going to make them famous and she won ' t have to go to college . kayley doesn ' t seem to know a lot about the internet .
the next day , mandy and kaley ' s parents are already working with a lady detective ( alexandra paul ) , so you know they ' re gonna get found . avery shows her a photo of nick she took . i bet she thought she was safe because she was , like , totally against this prank , and the universe is rewarding her for it . but she ' s very , very wrong . somehow john gets into her house in broad daylight with her mom ( jamie luner , who ' s been in approximately every lifetime movie ever ) nowhere to be found .
avery and mandy are rescued , but kaley hasn ' t been found . and seven months later , she ' s still missing . translation : ¯ _ ( ツ ) _ / ¯ avery ends the movie with a voiceover narration basically saying , “i ' m not saying kaley deserved it , but…” the subtitle of this movie should have been blame kaley . don ' t get me wrong , i hated her , and you can see from my posts about justin bieber that i ' m all for stupid young people facing consequences for their behavior , but i ' m not so into those consequences being sex trafficking . call me old - fashioned .
don ' t worry , i won ' t spoil the ending for you , but i will say that it ' s pretty dark . nothing is tied up in a neat little package with a bow and that ' s something that makes sense for a movie with so much gray area , where no one is completely right or totally wrong .
) and so instead conradt’s story centers around three high - school seniors , kaley ( annalisa cochrane ) , avery ( anne winters ) and mandy ( lauren gaw ) , who have started a supposedly secret blog ( though with over 3 , 000 followers how secret can it possibly be ? ) on which they post smartphone video footage of pranks they’ve played on the unsuspecting .
sunday talk - shows : “capital download” ( wusa at 8 : 30 a . m . ) talks to sen . tom udall ( d - n . m . ) ; “fox news sunday” ( fox at 9 ) hosts secretary of state john f . kerry ; “white house chronicle” ( weta at 9 ) has edison international’s theodore f . craver jr . ; “state of the union” ( cnn at 9 ) features sen . marco rubio ( r - fla . ) ;
unfortunately that hooker with a heart of gold ends up getting shot and killed by john , but not before she shoots and injures him . mandy and avery grab prostitute ' s phone ( but not her gun , because ? ? ? ? ? ) and make a run for it . they call 911 , who puts them through to the lady detective , who ' s at john ' s house thanks to prostitute nick ' s lead . ( wow , a lot of helpful prostitutes in this movie . )
on “humans” ( amc at 9 p . m . ) , joe crosses a line with anita , karen’s true nature is revealed , leo makes progress toward finding mia , and a vengeful niska gets what she wants .
a supply - gathering mission takes a disastrous turn , anthony’s loyalty is brought into question , pope makes a reckless move , and anne’s skills are tested on “falling skies” ( tnt at 10 ) .
how far can revenge go and just how dark does it get ? you ' ll have to tune in saturday , july 18 at 8 p . m . to find out .
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a lonely computer programmer exacts harsh revenge on three teenage girls after they play a cruel prank on him .
a teen ' s life turns upside down when her boyfriend impregnates both her and a new student at school .
growing up under terrible circumstances in a loveless home , a girl who finally finds happiness refuses to let anyone take it from her .
linda has a seemingly perfect marriage with her rugged and handsome husband mark and an adorable 8 year old daughter , chloe . but when chloe is injured by an elderly babysitter who has . . . see full summary »
a mother vows to get justice when her daughter ' s life is destroyed by a sex video that goes viral .
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