7/10 - classic Hallmark Movies & Mysteries light-hearted fun is paired with a fun techy twist
11 Reviews
Crossword Mystery: Terminal Descent
JoBloTheMovieCritic15 February 2021
Giggles
teebear81717 February 2021
My wife and i like Lacey very much. We like all her movies. I read a critique of her on a past movie. A man said she giggles throughout all her movies and it irritated him. I never noticed. I looked for it here and he was right. My God, she was giggling constantly throughout the movie. Constant, non stop giggling. I heard some actors read these review sites. If she does, i hope she takes it as a respectful observation and addresses it. Many actors have acting quirks. Brad Pitt has to eat throughout every movie, Dicapprio has to smoke all movie long, Selleck cant do anything without chomping on a cigar, etc I guess Lacey has to giggle all movie long. Wish she would cut back on it.
Big brain X, BB for short.
cgvsluis27 February 2021
Crossword exhibition: Tess versus a super computer...or at least it was going to be until the CEO and inventor of said super computer plummets to his death in an A.I. controlled elevator at his tech company on the day Tess was checking in pre-crossword off.
Logan is called in to investigate the high profile case even though it is out of his jurisdiction.
"How do you think your friend Hammer in there got his nickname?"-Logan "He's in construction?"-Tess "Felony assault...with a hammer."-Logan
There is some great humor in this entry in the Crossword Mystery series on Hallmark. A great and timely topic in this tech heavy mystery and as usual Logan tells Tess to stay out of it. That does not prevent Tess from making friends at a motor cycle club in order to get info on a suspicious plant curator at the tech company.
Wife in the process of divorce, 20 year Cold War ex-partner, tech and CEO rival...there are plenty of suspects, but who did the deed?
"You grow on people."-Tess "Like a fungus?"-Logan
Another great hallmark mystery with the emphasis on the mystery...this is becoming a very slow burn.
"Us O'Conner men, we play things close to the vest."-Logan
Logan is called in to investigate the high profile case even though it is out of his jurisdiction.
"How do you think your friend Hammer in there got his nickname?"-Logan "He's in construction?"-Tess "Felony assault...with a hammer."-Logan
There is some great humor in this entry in the Crossword Mystery series on Hallmark. A great and timely topic in this tech heavy mystery and as usual Logan tells Tess to stay out of it. That does not prevent Tess from making friends at a motor cycle club in order to get info on a suspicious plant curator at the tech company.
Wife in the process of divorce, 20 year Cold War ex-partner, tech and CEO rival...there are plenty of suspects, but who did the deed?
"You grow on people."-Tess "Like a fungus?"-Logan
Another great hallmark mystery with the emphasis on the mystery...this is becoming a very slow burn.
"Us O'Conner men, we play things close to the vest."-Logan
franchise needs rethinking
SnoopyStyle8 October 2021
Crossword puzzle maker Tess Harper (Lacey Chabert) enters a competition with a supercomputer. Its creator, tech mogul Morgan Daniels, seems to be killed by his own AI creation. Police detective Logan O'Connor leads the investigation and Tess keeps getting involved.
There isn't enough romantic chemistry between Tess and Logan. They don't spend much screen time together and they don't have heat when they do. He even has a new hot female partner. If this franchise is to continue this way, it would be more compelling to follow Tess doing the investigations all by herself. I like her going into the biker bar and I like her using her book smarts. She should become a Sherlock Holmes type character without the need of a Watson. It may be a rule that Hallmark mysteries always need to have a couple but this needs an exemption from that rule.
There isn't enough romantic chemistry between Tess and Logan. They don't spend much screen time together and they don't have heat when they do. He even has a new hot female partner. If this franchise is to continue this way, it would be more compelling to follow Tess doing the investigations all by herself. I like her going into the biker bar and I like her using her book smarts. She should become a Sherlock Holmes type character without the need of a Watson. It may be a rule that Hallmark mysteries always need to have a couple but this needs an exemption from that rule.
Very Mediocre
coachanthony7922 April 2021
I have enjoyed the Crossword Mystery series but was disappointed with this new episode. Maybe it was rushed through production, or maybe they couldn't do retakes or shoot other scenes because of COVID, who knows, but my overall impression of this (like another HMM movie that recently aired) was that it seemed incomplete. It was still a good story and the actors fine, tho Logan's constant "Interesting" gets annoying, I gave this a 7, barely.
Let us hope the writers work in some better dialogue and we get a little more suspense in future "Crosswords".
Let us hope the writers work in some better dialogue and we get a little more suspense in future "Crosswords".
Another great Hallmark Mystery
angwall-7245020 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you love mystery, light romance and family friendly feels than you can't go wrong with Hallmark Mysteries, but if you want the best of Hallmark's mysteries you have to go for Crossword Mysteries.
LC and BE have such great chemistry. Their romance in this one is starting to see a uptick and its great how slow and steady it is. This series is really focusing on building their friendship and allowing it to transition into romance.
On the mystery front this one is fun, fast paced and well balanced with the character development. This is not a good movie to start with if you are new to Crossword Mysteries but its a great addition to the series.
Fine for what it is
EPMD5717 May 2021
This is as light as a murder mystery can get, but I think that's what most viewers of this genre want. The writers are obviously holding back in the relationship arc because they don't want to kill off the series, which is why I can't go higher than a 7 out of 10.
Lacey steals the show, even with her persistent giggle. She's perfect for this genre and her costar does well alongside her.
Lacey steals the show, even with her persistent giggle. She's perfect for this genre and her costar does well alongside her.
Lacy is super hot
laureenharlow33311 March 2021
Terminal Descent
coltras3517 June 2023
After volunteering to participate in a crossword solving competition with a new supercomputer, crossword puzzle editor Tess Harper finds herself swept into the investigation of the bizarre murder of a tech CEO, who heads into an elevator, speaks to it, asking for the parking garage, and the elevator actually answers him. But instead of going down, it starts ascending. As it plummets he cries out to the interactive computer programming that runs the elevator, BB, but it hits the bottom.
Death by elevator makes a change from a stabbing or poisoning. This is a decent, if a little convoluted mystery that made it hard to keep with the characters, addition to the excellent Crossword Mystery starring cutie Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott.
Death by elevator makes a change from a stabbing or poisoning. This is a decent, if a little convoluted mystery that made it hard to keep with the characters, addition to the excellent Crossword Mystery starring cutie Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott.
Worst Hallmark show. Boring and unrealistic. A disappointment.
rg799127 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Wow is this show long. I made it through almost an hour of the show only to realize that there was another hour to go. No way was I willing to give that much time to this ridiculous show. No thanks, there are much better things to watch. I could not get into this at all. I love Lacey Chabert and her movies. I like Brennan Elliot well enough in his movies. This movies premise is ridiculous. It's Aurora Teagarden, but Crossword puzzles, which is ridiculous. Chabert plays an annoying character who is so entitled and out of touch that she thinks she can just barge into an officer's office, with a crazy theory and expect it to be taken as fact. Then somehow she gets his number and thinks she can call him whenever and that he has to waste his time with her lunacy. Yes, I know that she was right in the end, but still she comes off as completely crazy seeing something where there isn't something, because she craves being relevant. I saw her as nosy and desperate to be part of something bigger. I don't blame her though, who even does crossword puzzles? Who even still gets a newspaper for that matter? This show is not believable. What is the deal with everyone she knows being all crossword puzzle obsessed. Her career as I understood was to make the crossword puzzles, she's clearly known for them, the show makes it clear constantly. Why that would be a thing is beyond me. Not even my grandparents do crossword puzzles anymore. Yet the premise is that criminals post their future crime jobs in crosswords that they submit. Why are these criminals crosswords being printed rather than her doing her actual job and making the daily crossword??? It seems like the problems and the show would end if she would just do her job. I found this boring. I couldn't get behind the character. Her reasoning seemed so far fetched and really reaching and it's not believable at all. I expected to absolutely love this. How are there more episodes? After solving this case, how is she useful ever again? Are there a multitude of criminals using her crossword puzzles page to broadcast a future crime?? I mean, really?? Does she get paid to walk around advertising the crossword puzzles that she doesn't make but analyzes for devious behavior? I mean, what?? It makes no sense. Why was this show even made? Are there not enough shows that are basically the same as this, just without crossword puzzles being the theme? Why give this 2 hours?? Make When Calls the Heart 2 hours long please. Make a 2nd season of When Hope Calls. Stop churning out these Aurora Teagarden copy cats. I could sit through 2 hours of Aurora Teagarden, but this should be 30 minutes long. So disappointing.
Irritating
skipperkd3 November 2022
Tess is so irritating. Does she need to prove something, or make herself seem important? Is she competing with Logan? She wanders alone into dangerous places, playing detective. She learns important info and doesn't tell Logan, her detective friend. They went together to the hospital hoping to find out who the murder victim had been visiting, and yet when Tess later discovers that it was his former business partner, she keeps that info all to herself entirely. Nor does she tell Logan what she later learns about another potential suspect, Jessie. Tess comes across to me as nosy and needy, not a busy crossword editor who occasionally is helpful in police investigations.
On the upside, I was interested in the premise - computer versus organic brain in solving nuanced puzzles. I was also interested in the privacy invasion aspects of the government deal.
On the upside, I was interested in the premise - computer versus organic brain in solving nuanced puzzles. I was also interested in the privacy invasion aspects of the government deal.
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