2013-05-23T02:27:24-04:00 Jackie K. Cooper http://www.news.moviefone.com/author/index.php?author=jackie-k-cooper Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Jackie K. Cooper Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3313004 2013-05-21T11:27:59-04:00 2013-05-21T11:28:00-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ THE OPHELIA CUT by John Lescroart

Fans of John Lescroart look forward to each and every new book he writes, but when his story concerns Dismas Hardy the anticipation is even higher. When the story concerns Hardy and all of his cronies then the anticipation is through the roof. In Lescroart's latest novel THE OPHELIA CUT the focus is on Hardy and all his friends and relatives. So hail, hail the gangs all here!

In previous novels it has been established that Dismas' brother in law Moses McGuire is a recovering alcoholic. It has also been established that he loves his wife Susan and their daughter Brittany. When Brittany is raped Moses is devastated. This is a wound from which he seemingly cannot recover. In a short amount if time Moses is arrested for the murder of Brittany's attacker.

Now it is up to Dismas to save him by using all of his legal skills. But there are other reasons Moses must be saved and they go beyond pure compassion for the man. Moses is the keeper of some secrets that must not be divulged. If he does reveal them Dismas and some of his most powerful friends will be in jeopardy.

This is a plot Lescroart can spin with confidence and authority. He knows these characters like the back of his hand and he knows just how to emphasize all of the pertinent plot points. Plus when it comes to writing courtroom dialogue his skills stand far above those of all of his contemporaries.

With all of these factors to his credit THE OPHELIA CUT should be one of his best and brightest novels - but it isn't. Lescroart is sabotaged by his ending. The novel is racing at break neck speed towards some desperate occurrence that will resolve all the issues. Readers will be gasping for breath as they wonder just how the book is going to end. Lescroart has them in the palm of his hand - and then he stumbles or punts or does something completely unsuspected. Unfortunately it is also completely unsatisfactory.

THE OPHELIA CUT is four fifths great Lescroart, but the last fifth wrecks it. I am an admirer of Lescroart's talent. He has satisfied my literary expectations for many years. I have liked some of his works better than others but I have always been able to trust him to stay true to his characters. With THE OPHELIA CUT he let me down.

It has been four years since the last Dismas Hardy centered novel. I hope it will not be another four before we get another one. Lescroart needs to get his characters back on track, and to give his readers a real reason to celebrate the talent of this brilliant author.

THE OPHELIA CUT is published by Atria Books. It contains 418 pages and sells for $26.99.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3252292 2013-05-10T09:05:11-04:00 2013-05-10T09:05:13-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ SILKEN PREY by John Sandford

By now everyone knows John Sandford is the author of the very successful "Prey" series of books. His main character in the "Prey" books is Lucas Davenport, the Deputy Police Chief of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sandford has written over twenty "Prey" books and they have all met with acclaim and good sales. There is no reason to think his latest book SILKEN PREY will be any different. Sandford fans are a devoted lot and they eat up anything he writes, especially ones involving Davenport.

In this new book Davenport gets involved with politics, not a place he particularly wants to be. But in a campaign race for a Senate seat from Minneapolis the incumbent is ahead by a slight margin. That all comes crashing down when child pornography is found on his computer. The Governor of the state doesn't believe it was put there by the senator. He thinks he was framed and calls upon Davenport to investigate.

The investigation quickly goes from the placing of the child pornography on the computer to a few deaths that might be related. The problem is the "might be's." Davenport has to bring all his skills and those of his crew into the game to prove that they are related and to catch the killer. One of his suspects turns out to be the woman running against the senator, and she is as evil as they come.

Those who have followed the "Prey" series of books are now as comfortable with Davenport as they can be. They know he is independently wealthy, has fine cars and expensive clothes, and is married to a surgeon named Weather. They also know his kids and his employees. In total most readers are as comfortable with Davenport as they would be with an old friend who comes to visit every year or so.

The problem with comfort though is it can make reading about someone's adventures dull. Long time readers of Sandford's books have now become a little bit bored with information about Davenport's lifestyle and of his personality ticks. The man has become a little too vain and a little too predictable. Something needs to be done to shake things up and it doesn't occur in this book.

Too be sure it is still fun to read how Davenport solves a crime and captures the bad guys. Sanford gives us all the intricate details. But there is a sense of déjà vu about it all. How many times have we seen Davenport in similar situations and watched him save the day. The fun may still be there in part, but the excitement has faded.

Sandford needs to breathe some fresh air into this series and give us something new. For long time fans the familiarity is beginning to breed something akin to contempt and that is not a good thing.

SILKEN PREY is published by Putnam. It contains 416 pages and sells for $27.95.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3234113 2013-05-07T22:30:03-04:00 2013-05-07T22:30:07-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ "Iron Man 3" (Disney)

"Iron Man 3" proves once and for all time that Robert Downey, Jr. is the heart and soul of this Marvel Comic film franchise. Without him the franchise would not have the charm, the excitement or the humor that it possesses. In this the installment of the series he is an absolute necessity and has the entire weight of the movie on his shoulders. With such a load he cannot fly as high as he did in earlier stories but he still manages to give it enough star power to make it enjoyable.

The main problem with this 3rd installment is that it is aimed primarily at the fanboys. The story takes up shortly after the plot of "The Avengers" has ended and the facts of that film impact on this one. If by chance you did not see that movie then you might be confused by Tony Stark's (Downey, Jr.) funk which is driving him to sleepless nights. His lover Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) understands but can't really help him.

It is only after his home is attacked that Iron Man gets his mojo back. This is some fifteen or twenty minutes into the film and it has been proceeding at a crawl up to that time. When you are watching an Iron Man film you want the action to be quick, exciting and often. You don't want your hero spending his time navel gazing.

The movie has a large supporting cast that includes Ben Kingsley and Guy Pierce as villains, Don Cheadle as Tony's best friend, William Sadler as the President, and Paltrow as the love interest. Still these good actors (for the most part) lend little to the enjoyment of the movie. They are just filling holes that are required by the script. The most superfluous character is Paltrow's Pepper. She just drags the movie down each time she appears.

There are also inconsistencies in the story that will have the audience scratching its head. One scene has Iron Man fighting Aldrich Killian (Pierce). Killian manages to cut off Iron Man's leg but when Stark emerges from the suit he is physically fine. Why wasn't his leg missing?

The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.

Downey, Jr. is the saving grace of the movie. He looks the part physically; he is able to toss off the one liners to great effect; and he makes the man a believable hero. All else in this film may be less than great but Downey saves the day. This franchise is nothing without him. He is irreplaceable.

I scored "Iron Man 3" a depressed 6 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3203683 2013-05-02T16:46:24-04:00 2013-05-02T21:46:01-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Delirious and Helpless, helped bring in fans and his newest book, Stolen, should solidify that base. This latest story is even more suspenseful and chilling than the first two and will have you turning the pages as quickly as possible even though you don't want to know what terrible event is going to happen next.

John and Ruby are a couple who have their future mapped out. He has a growing online gaming company while she is learning about acupuncture and other health remedies of that sort. They are not wealthy by any means but they are getting by, and they know their future is going to be bright. But then the bottom drops out of their lives.

Ruby discovers she has cancer. It is treatable and perhaps curable but she needs a certain type of medication. The generic brand is on the market but is not available due to a shortage. Their insurance company will not pay for the non-generic treatment because there is a generic on the books. It is a malevolent catch-22 but it is the quandary they are in.

In order to get the medicine John steals the identity of one of his gamers. This leads him into a perilous situation as the man whose name he took now engages John and Ruby in a deadly game of how far they will go. This involves making them participate in a series of criminal acts. If they refuse then someone innocent dies.

Palmer lets his creative juices flow freely as he takes us into this insane world. It is a violent place and he does not spare us from the gruesome details. Sometimes the situations border on nauseating.

Daniel Palmer certainly has creative writing skills but there are weaknesses he will probably outgrow as he progresses as a novelist. Some of his plot points are beyond the realm of believability and make the story less appealing than it otherwise would have been. Plus his characters do not seem to be consistent in their actions. Granted they are caught in a horrific trap but some of what they do is not true to how their characters are drawn. Finally, the epilogue to this story is its weakest point. It is nice to have a summation of sorts but this presentation is just annoying.

Still you have to admire Palmer's talent. He knows how to hook the readers and reel them in. He also keeps the rapid pace of the plot going from beginning to end, and makes you scared to turn to the next page. More seasoned authors could learn a thing or two from him in that respect.

Stolen is published by Kensington Press. It contains 416 pages and sells for $25.00.

www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3187699 2013-04-30T15:54:36-04:00 2013-04-30T15:54:38-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ "The Big Wedding" (Lionsgate)

When you have Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams in a movie you have the reasonable expectation that it will be watchable and somewhat entertaining. So what went wrong with "The Big Wedding" in which these people are cast? This movie is a film with only glimmers of talent and that is certainly not enough to warrant it being made or being seen.

First up is the premise. Ellie (Keaton) and Don (De Niro) are divorced and he is now happily involved with Bebe (Sarandon). Ellie comes to her old house where Don and Bebe are now living. The reason for her visit is the upcoming marriage of her and Don's adopted son Alejandro (Ben Barnes) to Missy (Amanda Seyfried). Their other two children, Lyla (Katherine Heigl) and Jared (Topher Grace), are also going to be there.

The main problem arises when Alejandro remembers his birth mother, Madonna (Patricia Rae), with whom he has stayed in touch and who is coming to the wedding, is also very religious. He has never told her Ellie and Don are divorced and Madonna doesn't believe in divorce. This means Ellie and Don have to pretend to still be married and Bebe is now odd woman out.

This all sounds like some British farce of a hundred years ago. It is a creaky plot on which to hang a story and a script, especially when you add in the recovering alcoholic priest (Williams) and the virgin elder son (Grace). But even all this might have been somewhat salvageable if there had been some humor permeating the script or better yet a semblance of taste.

The whole intention of the film appears to be proving (1) senior citizens have sex (2) senior citizens can say just as many dirty words as the younger crowd (3) the careers of Robin Williams and Katherine Heigl are now officially over; and (4) De Niro continues to embarrass himself with these "comedy" ventures. Watching these screen veterans swear, mug and continually act clueless about everything is just painful to watch. No one escapes from this flop with their dignity intact.

The film is rated R for profanity, comic violence, sexual situations and nudity.

Surely someone looked at this piece of boring inanities and knew how much it stunk. But if they did they also decided to go ahead and foist it on an unsuspecting public who should now avoid it at all costs. This is not "Something's Gotta Give, Part 2." It is more "Movie 43, Part 2."

Still there are some glimmers. De Niro has a scene or two where he actually sounds sincere and creates a character. Also Keaton and Sarandon both look good. But that's it. There is nothing else hopeful in this movie and certainly nothing major worth watching.

I scored "The Big Wedding" a crashed 4 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3157497 2013-04-25T16:57:04-04:00 2013-04-25T17:00:02-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Firefly Lane, the story of two friends named Tully and Kate. Now Hannah has written a sequel to that successful story and it is titled Fly Away. Whereas the first book was a celebration of life and friendship, the new book is about the aftermath of a death and is too much of a downer. You trudge through these pages rather than "fly away."

Fly Away is basically the story of Tallulah "Tully" Hart. It is now four years since her best friend Kate's death and she is still suffering from the loss. She is trying to be a good friend to Kate's husband, Johnny, and Kate's children, a daughter named Marah and twin boys Wills and Lucas, but they seem to drifting away from her.

Marah is at an age when she can be independent and she demands that her father and Tully give her some freedom. This results in chaos but when Tully tries to help Johnny appears to resent it. He gathers his children around him and forces Tully out of their inner circle.

Most of this story is told in flashbacks that fill in the blanks between the time of Kate's death and Tully's life four years later. A few flashbacks are acceptable. Still when just about everything is told in one flashback or another then the reader begins to get whiplash and ends up having a hard time sorting out the time frames of what is occurring.

The same is true of the gloom and doom that surrounds Tully's life. She is on a downward spiral where everything keeps getting worse and worse both personally and professionally. She alienates Johnny, Marah, her mother and just about everyone else she knows. She put her career on hold when Kate was sick and now can't seem to get it started again. All of this gloom makes the story difficult to absorb. A few bright spots along the way would have helped immensely.

Still Hannah has not lost her skills as a novelist. She knows her characters through and through, especially the tragic Tully. Hannah captures with her words and phrases the essence of this character and makes her live and breathe on the pages. That is what makes the story so heartbreaking. The readers feel Tully's agony and are with her throughout these dark days.

Fly Away is a novel that will touch the hearts of all who pick it up and digest its pages, but it certainly would have been nice to have a break from the tragedies every once in a while. Instead they just all pile on as one sad event follows another.

Fly Away is published by St Martin's Press. It contains 416 pages and sells for $27.99.

Jackie K Cooper]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3140319 2013-04-23T15:32:28-04:00 2013-04-23T15:32:38-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Home Run is a movie you will have to seek out if you want to see it. It is only playing on a limited number of screens and most of those are in the south. Still it is a movie worth seeing and worth your efforts to find it. It is from the same studio that brought you Courageous and Fireproof.

Home Run tells the story of a major league baseball player named Cory (Scott Elrod). He is a man who suffered emotional and possible physical abuse from his alcoholic father when he was a child. Now he is an adult and is exhibiting the same weaknesses his father had -- a fiery temper and a thirst for alcohol. His brother Clay (James Devoti), who is the District Attorney in their hometown, also worries about him.

One day Cory has a meltdown at a game and is ejected. Later this is turned into a suspension and a requirement to get treatment in a twelve step program. He also is required to do community service by coaching a little league team. Cory rejects these ideas but is forced to comply. The rest of the film deals with his redemption and recovery.

Scott Elrod is very good in the role of Cory. He appears to be an actor who could become a major star if the right role came long. He is able to convey Cory's recovery without making it preachy or unbelievable. If enough people see this film Elrod could move on up the Hollywood ladder.

Most of the cast are unknowns except for Vivica A. Fox, who has a great time playing Cory's agent/publicist. She adds fun to the film by being completely feisty and enjoyable. Each time she appears on screen she lights up the scene.

The movie is rated PG-13 for mild violence and adult themes.

Home Run has a faith-based message, but this is just part of the 12-step program in which Cory is involved. It does permeate the story but never overpowers it. Cory deals with a lot of issues before he can move on to the road towards recovery.

This is the kind of movie that is uplifting and entertaining. With its baseball background and its family sensibilities it will appeal to a variety of audiences. Home Run doesn't knock it out of the park but it does touch a lot of entertainment bases.

I scored Home Run a recovered 7 out of 10.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3113621 2013-04-19T13:02:31-04:00 2013-04-19T13:00:52-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Remember Sunday which is their latest movie offering.

Remember Sunday is the story of a man named Gus (Zachary Levi) who suffered a brain aneurism and now has short-term memory loss. Each morning when he wakes up he can't remember anything that has happened since the day he had the aneurism. Everything before that day he can remember but nothing since that day. If you are a movie fan then you are immediately thinking Groundhog Day and 50 First Dates both of which explored the same theme.

This film pursues the romance angle in that Gus meets a waitress named Molly (Alexis Bledel) and they fall for each other. Of course the next day he doesn't remember her but he has made some notes to remind himself that he met her. He also has his sister Lucy (Merritt Wever) and his best friend Jerry (David Hoffman) to help move things along.

Levi and Bledel are competent actors and even exceptional ones in the right roles. These are not the right roles for them and they have very little chemistry together. Their characters just never seem to make a valid connection.

It is nice to see Nurse Jackie co-star Wever in a new role. The warmth you feel for her on "Nurse Jackie" spills over to her very brief role in this movie. Hoffman also is a welcome presence in his scenes with Levi. They actually do seem to be best friends.

The story borders on being an emotionally satisfying one but never crosses over to that state. It always draws back just as you are on the edge of accepting the premise and the characters. If Levi and Bledel were more believable in their roles the movie would be more acceptable as an enchanting love story.

Down deep I know "Hallmark Hall of Fame" still has the ability and capacity to give us a great film. I am counting on it. Don't let me down, HHOF.

Remember Sunday airs Sunday, April 21 at 9PM on ABC.


Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3081110 2013-04-15T09:45:31-04:00 2013-04-15T14:00:12-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Nurse Jackie and The Borgias. Both of these series have their core fans. I can understand it with Nurse Jackie but what are they seeing in The Borgias that I am not? I have tried and tried to study the acting, direction, setting, music and everything else in The Borgias but it still comes across to me as one of the most boring shows ever made.

This new season of The Borgias starts with the attempt to poison Pope Alexander/Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons). All of the members of his family are gathered around trying to do something miraculous. This includes his sons Cesare (Francois Arnaud) and Juab (David Oakes), his daughter Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) and his former mistress Vannoza Dei Catannei (Joanne Whalley), who is also the mother of his children.

While waiting to see if the Pope will die, those who are on his side plot ways to save his life. Those who are against him plot ways to make sure his life ends. That is what this series does constantly -- plot. There are schemes and plans and plots all over the place and to do this the characters in this show have to talk and talk and talk. It is exhausting.

Occasionally there are some bits of action or romance that take place but not enough. The chapters of the show seem to be filled with tedious occurrences which wear the audience down. To counter this the acting is good, the sets are lush, and the overall look of the show is above average. Still the direction is turgid and the movement of the plot is snail paced.

Irons has never been an overly charismatic actor and in the role of Rodrigo he is bland. The character is pompous and pretentious and always one to talk more than he should. And he does it slowly, very slowly. The rest of the cast revolve around him and his lack of energy drags them all down too. They play their roles adequately but they need to be more animated.

Nurse Jackie is everything The Borgias is not. Edie Falco and company move their series forward with breakneck speed. Plus they create characters that draw you in, not push you away. At the heart of everything is Falco as nurse Jackie Peyton. This woman has had more than her share of problems over the past few seasons and at the start of this one she is clean and sober. There seems to be some lights at the end of her tunnels, and the audience is rooting for her all the way.

Each episode builds on the past one and it all moves forward at a breakneck pace. Merritt Wever manages to match Falco's talent in scene after scene as she plays Nurse Zoe Barkow. Zoe has grown so much as the show has gone forward. She is now an integral part of Jackie's life, but also influences other people who are on the staff at the hospital where they work.

A good addition to the cast this season is Morris Chestnut as Dr. Prentiss. He is the new head of the ER at All Saints Hospital and brings military experience to the job. He is immediately summed up by Jackie to be a good guy but he and hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) bump heads. Both Chestnut and Smith are excellent actors and they add a salty flavor to the mix.

This is also a good year for young actress Ruby Jerins who plays Jackie's oldest daughter Grace. Grace has a major role in some of the crises facing Jackie and Jerins nails the performance each and every time.

The bottom line is Nurse Jackie is TV entertainment at its best while The Borgias is TV entertainment at its worst.

Nurse Jackie airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on SHOWTIME while The Borgias is same day, same channel at 10 p.m.

Nurse Jackie:
Sampling Period: 4/15/2013 at 12:01AM - 5/15/2013 at 11:59PM



The Borgias:
Sampling Period: 4/15/2013 at 12:01AM - 5/15/2013 at 11:59PM
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3057448 2013-04-11T09:00:19-04:00 2013-04-11T09:04:52-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ Secrets Over Sweet Tea.

The first person you meet in this book is Scarlett Jo Newberry. She is a unique individual who goes her own way even when it is startling to her pastor husband Jackson. We quickly learn however that Jackson adores Scarlett Jo and woe be unto anyone who criticizes her. He knows her heart and her heart is large.

The next person introduced to the reader is Zach Craig, an attorney who is cheating on his wife Caroline. Zach knows what he is doing is wrong but he is unable to resist the temptation life has thrown at him. He actually does love his wife but he feels isolated from her. Still he knows that what he is doing can lead to tragedy for all involved.

Finally we meet news anchor Grace Shepherd. She and her husband Tyler have had a bumpy relationship. His problems with alcohol have placed stress on their marriage and his failure to want to have children has affected Grace emotionally. She is committed to their marriage but her patience and her hope is running thin.

All of these stories take place in the enchanting town of Franklin, Tennessee. It is a place that is as southern as they come and the choice of drink, as in most southern towns, is sweet tea. That magic elixir can warm the heart and help create friendships. It can also pry personal secrets out of the most cautious and private of people. And secrets do come out in this novel.

Jones is able to bring you into the world of these characters instantly and make them appealing even with all their flaws. She also knows how to plot a story that will fascinate her readers while giving them a plethora of problems to mull over as the story evolves. Life is not simple for these people but when things look the darkest a bright light comes their way.

There are more than a few twists in this story and what you as a reader think you have figured out, you probably don't. Jones has a message inside her story and a few observations of faith but that never drags the story down or makes it into a fairy tale.

Secrets Over Sweet Tea is a story to be savored. You will like Jones' style of writing; you will like the characters she creates; you will like this book.

Secrets Over Sweet Tea is published by Tyndale House. It contains 416 pages and sells for $13.99.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3022821 2013-04-05T17:07:32-04:00 2013-04-05T17:26:53-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ A Mother's Rage is a typical Lifetime original movie but with a twist. Lori Loughlin stars in this dramatic film which concerns how far a mother will go to protect her daughter. It is a different type of role for Loughlin as her character becomes fiercely violent to protect her daughter from real and imagined threats.

The film starts with Rebecca Mayer (Loughlin) driving her seventeen year old daughter Connor (Jordan Hinson) to college. Along the way Rebecca becomes suspicious of a stranger at a gas station she thinks is hitting on her daughter. Later she is alarmed to find out the man is following them. At this point all of her protective instincts kick in and she finds she will do whatever is necessary to keep her daughter safe.

All of this takes place in the first fifteen minutes of the film, and then a twist kicks in that leads the story off into a new direction entirely. It is not what the audience expects and it leads to a much more suspenseful story. There are coincidences on top of coincidences before the plot runs its course; some of them are believable and some of them are not.

Lori Loughlin is best known for her role of "Aunt Becky" in "Full House." She was also seen in the TV series "Summerland" and "90210". As Rebecca Mayer she manages to show aspects of her talent that have never before been seen. This is a highly dramatic role and she plays it adequately for the most part. There are some scenes that don't ring true but they are only a few.

Also in the cast is Ted McGinley who is best remembered from the TV series "Married With Children." Like Loughlin he is playing against type as his role is that of an overweight, grizzled short order cook. He is barely recognizable.

If you like suspenseful melodramas then you might want to tune on for this one. It will certainly hold your attention. Of course it will also leave you thinking that everybody in the world is crazy. The assorted men Rebecca encounters certainly are.

Lori Loughlin has long been a favorite of mine and this movie gives her a chance to portray a character unlike any she has played before. The movie is a good showcase for her even though the plot and the people in the story go a little bit over the top from time to time.

A Mother's Rage airs Saturday, April 6 at 8PM on the Lifetime Channel.

www.jackiekcooper.com]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3008054 2013-04-03T15:07:44-04:00 2013-04-03T15:07:52-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ And Then I Found You. This story is based on a true occurrence in her family and is all the more jolting because it is based on an actual event. Writing about it gives Henry a chance to compose her story in a more painful and direct way than she has done in the past.

Kate Vaughn is a young woman living in South Carolina. She has a thriving business, an attentive boyfriend, and the love of her friends and family. But something is missing. Kate has a hole in her heart and nothing she does can completely fill it. This emptiness occurred when she was younger and became pregnant. She placed the child for adoption and has never had any contact with her in all the time since. That is about to change.

Kate's 13-year-old daughter decides to reach out to her "birth" mother through the Internet and in doing so she breaks open all of Kate's hidden fears and doubts. Perhaps her boyfriend Rowan is not the right one for her. Perhaps she should attempt to see Jack Adams, the father of her child, one more time. Perhaps there is hope for a relationship with her daughter after all. These complex questions come to a head, and a path not chosen opens up.

Henry writes this story with eloquence and beauty. This is her most personal and her most powerful story to date. It is also the one in which she seems most secure with her characters. Kate Vaughn is not your most likeable of heroines. She doesn't take what is the most logical action in dealing with her pregnancy. She listens to her head and not her heart and that is what causes her regrets.

She is also a young woman who wants it all. She wants a career, marriage, children, and she wants them on her terms. The fact people are hurt by the decisions she makes is only an emotional by-product. She knows what path she wants to take and she forges on. It is only later that doubts arise and make her question the way she chose.

Readers will find themselves emotionally involved with Kate and her story from the moment she is met as a thirteen year old child. For the next twenty-two years of her life she is a fascinating but flawed human being, but then we all have flaws of one kind or another. These flaws make her more identifiable to those who read her story.

Fans of Patti Callahan Henry haven long been waiting for a story this touching and gripping. With And Then I Found You that wait is over.

And Then I Found You is published by St. Martin's Press. It contains 272 pages and sells for $24.99.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2979388 2013-03-29T12:15:00-04:00 2013-03-29T12:15:05-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ The Storyteller. It is filled with Picoult's amazing way with words and showcases her ability to make any story she writes fresh and innovative. This is very important because the subject matter of The Storyteller is the Holocaust, a subject matter that has been examined in just about every way possible.

The focus of The Storyteller is on Sage Singer, a young woman who attends a grief group. She is there because of the recent death of her mother. She died as a result of a car accident in which Sage was driving. The accident left Sage with scarring on her face and this makes her reticent to be seen in public. Therefore she takes a job as a baker that allows her to work at night out of the public eye.

In her grief group is a retired teacher named Josef Teller. He is quite elderly but through the course of their meetings he comes to think of Sage as his friend. Later he asks her to help him die. She of course is horrified but then he reveals to her he was a member of Hitler's Army during World War II and that he did horrible things to the Jews.

Sage is not a practicing Jew but her grandmother is. She also was part of the members of the Jewish faith who were persecuted during the war. As Sage tries to make her decision of what to do about Teller, he begins to tell her his story. In a parallel way her grandmother begins to tell her own story. These two stories help Sage decide what she needs to do.

Picoult is such a masterful storyteller that these two stories spring to life vividly in the pages of the book. The horrors of the war are revealed in much detail, but somehow the impact of these tales is muted. We know that both of these characters have survived whatever they went through and this makes their stories less involving.

Readers will also have a difficult time pulling for Sage. She is such a contrary character, full of insecurities and at odds with her life. She manages to stay rather dispassionate about the stories she hears and this in turn makes it easier for the reader to stay untouched. At least not as touched and horrified as they should be based on the horrors that are revealed.

Still the basic Picoult touches are there such as the attention to detail, the narrative viewpoint of several characters rather than one, and a final twist that will be a surprise to some readers. All of these are plusses but they do not raise the level of reading entertainment to that of her previous novels. Picoult is one of the best writers out there today but The Storyteller is only second rate.

The Storyteller is published by Atria. It contains 460 pages and sells for $28.99.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2968269 2013-03-28T10:54:10-04:00 2013-03-28T10:54:18-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/ G.I. Joe: Retaliation, don't get to the theater late or you'll miss him. His role in this film is even briefer than the one he had in Side Effects. And if you are looking forward to watching Bruce Willis do his thing, well don't blink or you will miss him too. Still you get a lot of action and a little acting from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and others.

The movie is all about the elitist G. I. Joes who are like Navy SEALs on steroids. Duke (Tatum) leads the team and his second in command is Roadblock (Johnson). At the start of the film the entire group is on a mission and is sold out by the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce). The president is not really the president but is actually the dastardly Zartan (Arnold Vosloo).

The rest of the film is about the surviving G. I. Joes trying to prove the president is an imposter and also act to save the world from nuclear destruction. It is all fairly predictable but some of the action sequences are amazing. This is especially true of a sword fight battle on the side of a mountain. The people who are fighting are suspended by wires and swing back and forth attacking each other. It doesn't sound like much in words but seeing it is awesome.

The acting in the movie is pedestrian. Johnson is brawny and brave; Willis is smirky and cool; Palicki is beautiful and graceful; while the rest of the cast are cool and confidant. Walton Goggins, one of my favorite actors, has a brief appearance in the film but soon disappears. He is so good at what he does that you wonder why he took such a nothing role.

The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.

This is a movie made for the fun of watching good guys battle the bad ones. It is escapism pure and simple. Maybe if Tatum had stuck around, or if Willis had had a more dominant role the film might have been better. As is, it is a movie to see for the special effects and the swordplay. Don't expect any more than that and you won't be disappointed.

I scored G. I. Joe: Retaliation a paid back 5 out of 10.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2929137 2013-03-22T10:07:49-04:00 2013-05-22T05:12:01-04:00

Jackie K. Cooper http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jackie-k-cooper/
Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story is a typical Lifetime movie as it is based on a true story, has some high drama involved, and keeps the audience guessing till the very end. In the film Peter Porco (Lochlyn Munro) is killed and his wife Joan (Lolita Davidovich) severely wounded when they are attacked in their home as they sleep. The lead detective, Joe Sullivan (Eric McCormack), immediately suspects the Porco's son Chris (Matt Barr).

Although Sullivan is convinced of Chris' guilt, the town and members of his family stand beside him. They do not think it is possible that he could commit such a heinous crime. In time Sullivan is the one who is on the receiving end of the town's scorn. Even his daughter Melanie (Sarah Desjardins) thinks her father is prejudiced against Chris.

Mc Cormack is the best known member of the cast and he is very good in the role of the detective, but the movie is stolen by the performance of Barr. He makes Chris likeable even when he admits to doing wrong things. Plus you can see why the women fall for him and support his innocence even when he is cheating on them. It takes a smooth operator to pull something like this off and Barr makes Chris Porco one smooth operator.

However, even as Barr is stealing scene after scene, Davidovich is quietly painting a portrait of a woman who will never give up on her son. She also captures the actions of a character who has been brutally attacked and lived to see another day but is scarred physically and emotionally. It is painful to watch her performance at times as it is so real.

While watching the movie, the audience is never sure of what the outcome will be. At times it seems that everything is going against Chris but at others it seems there is not nearly enough evidence to convict him. It is a seesaw case and the verdict is not definite until it is rendered.

Lifetime was determined to air this film and after watching it, you will know why. It does pack a powerful dramatic punch. So tune in on March 23 at 8 p.m. to see Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story, the movie the legal system almost didn't allow to be aired.]]>