The Good Witch's Wonder (2014)

In this 7th and most likely final Cassie Nightingale movie the "Magic" continues in the town of Middleton.More soap opera like goings on, someone up to no good and the usual Hallmark channel tropes.Certainly better than the 6th film but not reaching the heights of it's origin movie I'm glad that this is it.Well, when I say this is it they merely changed format and moved from movies to The Good Witch television show which I'm sure is in my future.Harmless stuff, but still just more of the same.The Good: It's over! The Bad: So generic! Things I Learnt From This Movie: Half the population of Middleton dresses like a victorian farmer for some reasonJust because a franchise manages 7 movies doesn't mean they're any good

The seventh (and possibly last) of the Good Witch movies from Hallmark. Starting next year, the movie series becomes a regular TV series. I have mixed feelings on that news. Five years ago I would have been happy at the idea but now I'm not so sure. Plus this likely means no more movies and that's a shame. The Good Witch series has produced some of the best made-for-TV movies of the last decade. This one starts off with some clunky exposition between Cassie and Jake to let us know where things stand for the characters we care about. Cassie's term as mayor is over. Martha has the job now but finds following in Cassie's footsteps isn't easy. Brandon's starting his dream job but, when that means moving his wedding date ahead, it causes problems with his fiancée and her pushy aunt. Brandon still looks 14, by the way. College student Lori is looking for a boyfriend but doesn't see that her nerdy guy friend is in love with her. Baby Grace is now a precocious kindergartner (played by an adorable little actress). She vanishes a lot, which is the movie's way of teasing us that she's like her mom. Grandpa George is worried, once again, about being old or the world is moving too fast or some such. Love George but I feel like we've had several movies now where he has to come to terms with some variation of the same problem.The primary plot revolves around the obligatory mysterious stranger that the series always has. Here it's Audrey, a suspicious-acting woman that Cassie quickly befriends and hires to work at the shop. Audrey is nervous and shady but that doesn't stop Deputy Derek from falling for her. But we also see someone lurking and watching Audrey from afar so it doesn't take a psychic to figure out quickly that someone has followed Audrey to Middleton. After knowing her for a few days, Cassie talks like Audrey is her 'best friend forever.' The movie pushes a little too hard that we should be emotionally invested in this character.Catherine Bell, sporting a new cropped hairdo, looks good here. Over the course of the series some rather noticeable cosmetic changes occurred to her gorgeous face that weren't particularly flattering. Thankfully, Bell seems to have pulled back on whatever she was doing to herself. She has started to look normal again (normal for Catherine Bell being something more than most mere mortals will ever achieve). I can't speak to what she has had done or undone but it does seem like an improvement over the last several years. I was worried 'cat-faced lady' was in her future but that doesn't appear to be the case now.This is better than the the last Good Witch movie but not as good as the first few. There's lots of comedy in the first half to balance out the heavily dramatic Audrey stuff. The funniest scene is when Martha tries to copy Cassie's style and manner. For the most part, it's an enjoyable entry in the series. If it turns out this is the last one, they went out okay. Here's hoping the TV series is as magical and fun as the movie series has been.

The Seventh of the annual "The Good Witch" TV movies showed up on the Hallmark Channel the Saturday before Hallowe'en. Like the earlier ones in the series, it is a pleasant little show about Cassie Bell, the Good Witch of Middleton, whose magical powers seem to consist of showing up suddenly and always having something on hand just as its need is recognized. A promo indicates that this will be a weekly show beginning in 2015.Like most of the others, this one concerns a series of small and medium problems suffered by the people around Cassie, as well as a new mysterious stranger, played by Rachel Wilson. All of them are solved by seeming happenstance, which is clearly the result of the Good Witch's magic.It's not great show making; every plot point is talked out until it becomes little more than radio with pictures. However, Miss Bell's perky charm carries the piece around well enough to make this quite watchable.

The cast has, amazingly, remained intact, allowing the audience to transition easily into more and more serious plots (given the two hour and G rating format). The "magic" of Cassie's powers are more and more easily transferable to the audience's own abilities although ambitious. The simple lessons of life are sweetly represented in a very approachable form. The idea that simple objects can teach us profound truths is fun. The multiple subplots were easily followed with just enough surprise to hold the viewer in suspense. The actors have settled into their roles without compromising energy or clarity if it's your first time seeing any of the "Good Witch" movies. I welcome the next - or the TV series - hoping for continued freshness and hopeful resolutions.