Taken So Young

The touching true story "I Know My First Name is Steven" was based on the real life story of Steven Stayner who was taken when he was seven years old and held captive by his abductor, Kenneth Parnell.

Part one of the movie begins on December 3, 1972 with Kenneth Parnell standing with his friend, Murph and they are passing out flyers but then start discussing about how Parnell wants a kid. He suddenly goes into a toy store and starts buying lots of toys. The movie then turns its' attention to Kay Stayner, Steven's mother, who is buying Christmas gifts for her 5 children, including Steven. At home, Steven was the troubled child who got into messes and always got yelled at. Kay doesn't know what to do with him.

On the dreadful day, December 4, 1972, Steven is walking home from school and gets distracted by Murph who then gets Steven into the car that Parnell is driving. They make up an excuse of wanting donations from his mother for their church but end up driving farther out of town than where Steven's house is. The first night away from home was very scary for Steven. He kept saying he wanted to go home. Parnell told him lies about how his parents' didn't want him anymore. Steven was upset but actually believed him. He didn't have any other choice but to stay with Parnell.

Parnell changed Steven's name to Dennis Parnell, dyed his hair and told him never to say anything to anyone. Being with Parnell changed Steven's life. He started smoking and drinking. Unfortunately, Steven also had to endure sexual abuse by Parnell. Seven years have passed and the movie now shows Steven at fourteen years old and still with Parnell. Where else would he go? He thought he didn't have any other family. Parnell actually went ahead and kidnapped another child, Timmy. When Steven found out, he decided to finally leave and take Timmy back home. The authorities found out who Steven was. After waiting for so long, Steven's parents got their son back. Steven was reunited with his family.

To be continued.....

Lizzy    =)

A Mother's Happy Ending

Part 2 of the Lifetime original movie "A Matter of Justice" continues with FBI agent, Mr. Matthews interviewing Dusty. After speaking with Mary, Mr. Matthews decides to visit with Rocky to find out the real truth behind Chris' murder. Mr. Matthews has Rocky write a letter to Dusty informing her to contact him or he is going to tell everything. Dusty decides to call Rocky and with the FBI listening in, Rocky tries to get Dusty to admit she had him kill Chris. She doesn't admit to anything. The call is a failure which upsets Mary and doesn't know what to do now. She is only hoping now that the flyers that she had sent out to shelters showing Chrissy's picture can help bring Dusty in since she is not able to leave Oklahoma. Mary waits on what will happen next.

One rainy night, Dusty and Talbot drive to Illinois but soon get into an argument and then Dusty along with Chrissy get kicked out of the car and become stranded on the road. The police pick her up and take her to a shelter. The women at the shelter recognize Chrissy from the picture on the flyer and call Mary. The next day, Mary shows up with the authorities and takes Chrissy back and Dusty is arrested for kidnapping. Chrissy is now back living with her Nana and Papa. Once she is arrested for kidnapping, Dusty is then charged with conspiracy to committ murder by the FBI. During the trial, Rocky testifies against Dusty. Mary is the next to testify. After hearing all the evidence against her, Dusty is found guilty by the jury. Everyone is pleased. At the end, Mary looks at Jack and says "I wish Chris could see this. I want to hold him in my arms and tell him, "You can rest now. Mommy and Daddy have taken care of everything."

It was such a warm, heartfelt drama that showed the love of a mother had for her only son who was taken from her way too soon. She didn't know how to deal with his death. She blamed herself for not being able to protect him. She blamed her husband for letting him join the Marines in the first place. She blamed Dusty for not loving him and only wanting his money.

But in the end, she received custody of her granddaughter, Chrissy, whom she made a promise to watch over in honor of Chris. She also received the one thing that she has been wanting throughout the whole movie since Chris' murder, and that is justice.

Lizzy   =)

A Matter of Justice

The Lifetime original movie "A Matter of Justice" is an unbelievable story based on true events of the life of Mary P. Brown who tragically suffered the loss of her son, Chris. The movie begins with Part 1 showing 17 year old Chris getting into fights at school in their small home town. Frustrated with not knowing what he wants to do with his life, Chris decides to join the marines. Mary is against the whole idea but after discussing the matter with Chris' father, Jack, they both decide to let Chris join. On his 18th birthday, Chris and another marine friend go out for a drink at a local bar. There he meets the older, sensual Charlene who is better known as Dusty.

Mary had thrown a welcome home party for Chris but much to everyone's surprise, Chris shows up with his new bride, Dusty. Much to her dislike, Mary tries to accept Chris' choice of marriage but is unable to like Dusty. She takes Chris aside to explain that he made a mistake. After forcing herself to let Chris know that his new bride is not welcomed in her home anymore, Mary found out that Dusty is pregnant and now doesn't know if she'll see her only grandchild. Chris announces that Dusty gave birth to Tara Christine Brown who was nicknamed Chrissy. Dusty doesn't exactly enjoy motherhood. She still flirts with other men. Finally, Chris has had enough and decides to leave Dusty. After going back home, Chris does decide to go back to Dusty but then finds out Dusty has moved on and found herself another man, Rocky. With divorce papers in hand, Dusty thinks she is going to be getting benefits from her divorce but the only way she'll get any benefits is if Chris is dead. Thinking of the idea, Dusty seduces Rocky and talks him into killing Chris. The tragedy happens when Chris returns home thinking he is going to talk to Dusty but then Rocky comes from behind and starts stabbing him over and over again. In the middle of the night, Mary receives a phone call from Dusty telling her that Chris was murdered.
While the investigation now begins, his family mourns him back home and puts him to rest. Mary, wanting to know what happened to her son, is told lies from Dusty. After hearing her lies, Mary starts thinking that Dusty had something to do with Chris' murder. The marine authorities do find out and arrest Rocky for the murder but Mary still thinks Dusty had a part of it. Now that Rocky stood trial and was convicted, Mary is determined to prove Dusty's guilty part.

Finding out that the benefits have been put on hold and not winning custody in Alabama, Dusty, along with her new boyfriend Talbot, decides to kidnap Chrissy back and take her to Oklahoma so that she'll start receiving the benefits again. Dusty finally wins custody in Oklahoma but is ordered to stay in Oklahoma. Mary fights hard to get Chrissy back. Meanwhile, the FBI has started to investigate Dusty's part in Chris' murder.

To be continued.....

Lizzy   =)

The Burning Bed

The original movie "The Burning Bed" is a true story based upon the battered housewife, Francine Hughes. The movie follows the thirteen years of domestic abuse that she endured at the hands of her husband James Berlin Hughes. Everyone called him "Mickey."

They had met the summer of 1963. She felt so special when she was around him. They end up getting married in 1964. It was so nice in the beginning. However, after a year, the pressures of marriage and trying to find a job was taking a toll on Mickey. That was making it hard for Francine to be happy. They started having their arguments. And one night, one argument had led Mickey to hit Francine for the first time. It was a slap but that was just the beginning. Francine had left but she found out she was pregnant and thought it was her obligation to get back with him for the baby's sake. Deep down, she did love him and would hope that he would change. She went back to him. They had a beautiful baby girl. The marriage was going well for awhile. Unfortunately, the abuse did not stop. A few years passed, they had a baby boy. During this time of having two children, she was sure that the abuse would stop. It did not. Mickey started drinking and became more abusive. Francine decides to leave him. She moved out on her own with the kids.

It was the winter of 1970 and Francine gave birth to their third child, a baby girl. She thinks about letting him see the children but when he wants more than that, she refuses. He leaves upset and then gets into a car accident. Nearly facing the loss of him, Francine decides to take care of him when he gets out of the hospital. She feels obligated and loyalty towards him. The years pass by and she is still with him, enduring more and more abuse as time goes on. At this point, I don't think she knows how to leave him. Each time she tries to leave, he stops her and starts beating her again. She just can't take it anymore.

One night, March 9, 1977, Mickey was sleeping in his bed. Francine poured gasoline in the bedroom and lighted a match. The house starts on fire. Mickey dies. Awaiting trial, Francine is in jail. Soon the trial will begin. The witnesses express in detail the history of abuse that Francine received. After hearing the sad and unbelieveable stories of abuse, the jury had decided she was innocent on reason of temporary insanity. 

I think it was a fair decision. It's sad that she had to resort to killing him just to stop the abuse. It's sad that she had gone through so much pain for so long and she didn't know what else to do.

Lizzy  =)

A Child Lost Forever

Lifetime Movie Network showed the movie based on a true story called "A Child Lost Forever." It followed a young woman, Jerry Sherwood, who at 17, got pregnant. She gave birth to Dennis Craig Puckett but sadly, was forced by the authorities to give up her baby for adoption. She didn't want to but it seemed like the only logical thing to do at the time. She was told he would be placed in a good home and taken care of well. She was told that she would be able to look for him after he turned the age of 18. She signed the papers.

She missed him every day for every year she wasn't with him. Every year, she lit a candle for his birthday and sang to his picture. In the middle of her sadness and remembering Dennis, Jerry did have 3 other children and raised them.

During the time that Jerry was getting on with her life, the movie went back to show how Dennis was living. He was now living with a woman named, Lois Jergens. She had adopted Dennis but already had another child name Robert. She was a mean woman. She was always yelling at Dennis. Not Robert, only because he obeyed and behaved like a good boy.

19 years had passed and when Jerry knew that it was time to find and contact Dennis, she spoke with the adoption agency to ask for information on how to reach him. A few days had passed and she had received a letter. It had stated that Dennis was dead. She was devasted. The worst part about the letter was that it stated that Dennis had died when he was 3 years old. She was shocked even more. What happened?, she asked herself over and over again. Then to not even get notified made her start getting upset. Every day for 19 years she thought he was alive and living a good life but then to find out that he passed away so young made it unbelieveable for her to grasp. She wanted to know how he died.

She wasn't getting much help with her search for information. Then she found out that Lois Jergens, who had adopted Dennis, was accused of child abuse but was never charged. She knew deep down that the abuse is what really caused Dennis to die. Jerry's lawyer had enough information to prosecute. During the trial, witnesses were sharing stories of the abuse that Dennis received by the hands of Lois. Then the real reason of his death was a hard blow to the abdomen that caused internal injuries was announced. The jury found Lois guilty and she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The beatings that Dennis endured was unbearable to watch. It was sad to watch this cute little boy get yelled at just because he was playful. I don't understand why parents become abusive. It was nice to see justice for little Dennis and put Jerry's mind at ease knowing that her son is in heaven and his killer in jail.

Lizzy   =)

War of the Worlds

The story was first written as a novel in 1898 by H.G. Wells. The story then escalated as a radio broadcast on Halloween night in 1938 narrated by Orson Welles. Until at last, Paramount, producer George Pal, and director Byron Haskin released the story as the sci-fi movie classic "War of the Worlds" in 1953. The movie, reflecting the classic novel, showed what it would be like if the world was invaded by Martians.

The opening first follows a narration of pictures of the planets in our solar system then showing last why the Martians find Earth the only world worthy of invasion. Once the Earth is shown for a few minutes, a meteor comes out of the sky and goes crashing to the ground. The town people of Linda Rose, Ca. witnessed the crash and rush to see this big surprise from the sky. One of the cast members is Dr. Clayton Forrester played by Gene Barry, who portrays a scientist, happened to be on a fishing trip in the area of this small town of Linda Rose. He discovers that the meteor is giving off radiation and suggests that all the town people to stay away. Once it has cooled off, a part of the meteor starts to unscrew and the martian is shown for the first time. It's a pulsing mechanical cobra-shaped head supported by the long neck of a martian war machine. The authorities quickly notify the military who immediately surround the original landing site. They then find out that these same machines have landed all over the world. The military's first attempt to battle with the martians are unsuccessful against the martians' fire power. They retreat and try to to decide on what the next step will be against these more advanced creatures. The government decides on going with the plan of dropping the a-bomb on top of the martians. Unfortunately, due to the martians' force field, the a-bomb is a total failure. The humans are devastated. They have no idea what will it take to defeat these monsters. A narration then begins of how the martians attack the world and cause mass destruction. As the movie moves towards the end, the scene shows the town people hiding in a church. The martians are destroying the buildings near the church. As soon as the martians come to fire on the church, it crashes. The people are puzzled and wonder what happened. It is soon discovered that the all-powerful invaders are dying. The reason is that the martians have no defense against the Earth's viruses and bacteria. The smallest creatures that "God in His wisdom had put upon this Earth" has saved mankind from extinction.

It was a well done science fiction feature that uses excellent special effects and provides that suspenseful and chilling adventure which will remain one of the top classics through time.

Lizzy    =)

Odd Girl Out

As a parent of a teenage girl, I feel it's important to watch movies involving the behavior of girls. I've watched so many movies with my daughter concerning true stories about girls acting in social environments. One movie we watched was a true story shown on Lifetime called "Odd Girl Out."

The movie follows Vanessa, who is a popular straight A student who loves everything about her life. She is best friends with Stacey, who is the campus queen that everyone wants to be friends with. Unfortunately due to an argument of misunderstanding, their friendship has hit a snag. Vanessa, now feeling like an outsider since the dispute, is being taunted with, harassed, laughed at and picked on. It upsets her so much. She doesn't understand why this is happening to her. She knows she hasn't done anything wrong to upset Stacey. She tries hard to win back Stacey's friendship. It doesn't do her any good. The mean girls' behavior still aims towards Vanessa even more. Sadly, with the more taunting and teasing, the more Vanessa becomes hurt, confused and unstable. So unstable, that she goes ahead and cuts her own hair. She didn't know what she was doing. She assumed she was ugly and that's why no one was being her friend. Her mother tries to comfort her but she was unsuccessful. Her mother tries to talk with her but she is not respondent. Her mother tries to stop the teasing but no one is on her side to fix the problem. So the problem continues. Time goes on. The teasing has gotten so bad that as a last resort, Vanessa ends up swallowing prescription drugs. She thinks she would be better off dead. Her mother finds her in time and rushes her to the hospital and she is saved. As she recuperates, she starts to realize that none of this problem is her fault. She realizes that these girls are not worth all the pain she is going through. At the end of the movie, Vanessa graduates and then confronts Stacey. She comments that Stacey is one of the meanest people there and she is not worth her time and doesn't want to be her friend anymore. The End.

I feel that the moral of the story is you are worth so much and don't let others make you think any different. Vanessa responded to this difficult situation in an unfortunate way that made her do damage to herself. It was only towards the end that she learned to handle it in a brave manner. It's so hard to get through these problems alone. It's always best to have help and support. Vanessa found that with her mother, the school staff and her true friends.