Mystery Files – Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021)

Posted January 19, 2024 by Cass Winters in 5 Strawberries, Hallmark, Movie, Mystery, Mystery Files, Review / 0 Comments

Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021)

Directed by:
Catherine Cyran

Written by:
Marcy Holland & Dave Thomas

Production by Two 4 The Money Media
Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes
Released on April 18, 2021 (United States)

Starring
Danica McKellar
Victor Webster
Bruce Boxleitner
Cory Lee
and more…


Yep, I watched all 3 of these in a row. I didn’t slow down for no one. I can’t believe that I watched this much of these in such a quick period of time. It is almost like I allowed myself to just enjoy what I was watching and not allowing anyone to impede my enjoyment of what I was viewing. Such a great time!

More cheesy goodness that is a Hallmark murder mystery. I mean this is nothing thought-provoking here. It didn’t change me as a person, but it was good fun. Trying to guess what had happened and why. Trying to figure out the little clues along the way and what they meant. That was all here and it was fun.

The relationship between Victor Webster and Danica McKellar still felt a bit forced here. It wasn’t as if they were horribly acting off each other, but they did not have great chemistry. Instead it always felt like she was just “there” and so was he. They did not share any onscreen electricity that would have added that nice Hallmark touch that is sometimes there in their films. They usually have a silly romantic touch to them that draws me into them, but this just doesn’t have that for me. Individually though, their acting is still great and makes the moments of sleuthing to still be engaging and fun.

The plot here is lacking behind the other two films in this trilogy, but it is still a fun little romp trying to find out what had happened. I think the only reason this one was a little behind was because for me the first two were so well done for this type of film. This one felt more like a “we need to checkmark these boxes” instead of making it as exciting as the other two. There weren’t as many shocks to me in this one and I did guess what occurred far too early on in the film. I want a bit of a shock and did not feel that here. Though I did love the nice little nod in one scene to the previous film where one of the suspects that worked in a library was holding the book of one of the previous film’s suspects. Great nod and glad I caught it.

Overall, I did enjoy this film and was able to get through it. It didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth, which I was expecting at the end of three films. It continued me down the path of enjoyable Hallmark cheesiness. Man, it made me want to read a murder mystery if I am enjoying these films this much. I wonder how much I would enjoy cheesy murder mystery books. Hrmm, I may just have to find that out soon right?

Hallmark Movies Now has a plethora of mystery films from its library. One of those is the “Crossword Mysteries” series starring Lacey Chabert of “Mean Girls” fame. I may have already went onto the next mystery series. Want to see how I feel about the next mystery series? Tune in NEXT FRIDAY!

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