Seeds of Yesterday (2015)

Just perfect...

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I won't deny that this modern version of V.C. Andrews' 4th book in the Dollanganger series has a lot of cinematic style, highlighting the dark and ugly secrets of the rich and strange in a haunting and often surreal way. But Seeds of Yesterday just came across as lame and overdramatic. The acting was horrible for the most part, and the character of Cindy especially really got on my nerves. She's this wealthy, worldly dancer, almost an adult, so it makes sense for her to just blurt out "d!ckhead" at her brother like a five-year-old? The perverse sex scenes between siblings Cathy and Christopher were just shudder-inducing, disgusting and frankly silly. The film takes place in an earlier point in time, yet every character talks just like a 21st century hipster. All of them act like children. The constant lines such as Bart's "your wife can't stay off my junk" and the pretentious speech style of the immature and dysfunctional family seemed out of place and a little stupid.I honestly think that this film series has been stretched out much longer than it needed to be, and that it's just a cash cow for a company already known for making identical films about shallow cookie-cutter families. I never would've thought that Lifetime would be the company to revive this twisted series, and instead of focusing on giving the story some depth, they just kept on piling up the shock value of the incest, sexual phrases and violent theatrics. I just kept laughing the whole way through, because it's impossible to take Seeds of Yesterday seriously.

And here we have finally arrived. The last installment in the Dollanganger series, which is hopefully never going to continue. We began with Flowers in the Attic, a isolated story that was fairly interesting, and then Petals on the Wind, which was underwhelming at best, and then If There Be Thorns which was a suspenseful thriller that I thought was the best so far. Now, we've come to the finale. The only thing I know for certain is that James Maslow is in this one, and I enjoy him as an actor and he's a sexy beast, I mean, delightful human being. Let us dive right into the deep END... this is......Seeds of Yesterday. Seeds of Yesterday starts off thirteen years after If There Be Thorns, with Bart inviting the family to the newly built reproduction of Foxworth Hall for his twenty-fifth birthday bash, and all of them bringing news and their own problems that start to weigh heavily on Bart's mind.This is a very worthy sequel to If There Be Thorns. Let's talk about the positives, because there is a lot of them. The character of Bart is probably the most interesting character, in not just this film or the previous one, but in the entire series. James Maslow gives an amazing performance in this film. I wouldn't expect it from the guy who began on a show like Big Time Rush, but he honestly brings a sense of darkness to the character that just works so well. Definitely the best actor in the film, just as Mason Cook was last time.The cinematography and music are all wonderful. What's the point of even mentioning it in these films anymore? They all look very atmospheric and make any room seem either warm or cold, depending on what the situation is.All of the other actors do well, even some of the newer ones who have been recast again (I think this is the only time Chris and Cathy haven't been recast in a film!). Some of the highlights, in my eyes, include Sammi Hanratty as a grown-up Cindy Sheffield, Anthony Konechy and Leah Gibson as Jory and Melodie Marquet, and they all do a great job. All of them are forced to do some pretty despicable things in the film, or experience those things, so having actors who can properly convey that, is very important.The plot is pretty good. Towards the end, it does go a bit crazy and Bart seems to be going off the deep end, but what I previously thought might have been possession could have also been delusion. The way this film ends, it's kind of reminiscent of how the first one begins. It begins, and ends, in the attic of a Foxworth Hall. I don't know if that was in the book, but that is a very strange way to end the film.Perhaps my only issue is that I still can't believe that there's another incestuous relationship in this film, and the fact that for how much Bart preaches about sex being a sin, he really has a lot of it in the film. I counted like four or five times he had a sex scene in the film. The incestuous relationship kind of comes out of nowhere. I won't spoil it, in case you have an interest in watching the film, but still.Overall, Seeds of Yesterday is on the same level as If There Be Thorns, better than the first two and a very intriguing story. I personally enjoyed the acting, especially from James Maslow, the cinematography, music, and script. The only things I disliked were some of the plot elements and the ending, but it's still a great conclusion to this roller-coaster ride of a series.8/10. Grade: B+ (Film Grade) 7/10. Grade: B (Series Grade)

I thought even without Corinne's religious brother, Joel making a sudden appearance like he did in the book, the ending of the Dollanganger series was satisfactory. James Maslow made an excellent Bart Foxworth (Dollanganger was a funny name Cathy, Chris, Carrie and Cory's father found in the genealogy). Foxworth was the real last name of this family. James was creepy, attractive, and rather scary as the ultra-religious Bart who thinks his family is mired in sin and will all suffer from hell's torment. The other characters were great and I thought the newborn twins who were Deirdre and Darren Marquet (older brother Jory's children) were adorable! Sammy Hanratty as slutty younger adopted Cindy was great and she and James Maslow had a love/hate sexual relationship. The last scene with Cathy going up to the attic of the mansion and yellow flowers appearing was a fitting closure to this series!

The fourth (and, presumably, final) "Lifetime" TV-movie in the "Flowers in the Attic" (2014) series continues to focus on the children who took the spotlight in "If There Be Thorns" (2015). Blonde mom Rachael Carpani and doctor dad Jason Lewis and (as Cathy and Christopher "Chris" Dollanganger) return as the incestuous parents; they provide good-looking continuity and have more involvement in the storyline. However, they take a back seat to the story's newest entry in the crowded "shirtless hunk" character sweepstakes, handsome James Maslow (as Bartholomew "Bart" Foxworth). Here, he has restored the original Foxworth mansion, which burned to the ground in "Petals on the Wind" (2014). No slouch in the shirtless department, Anthony Konechny (as Jory Marquet) assumes the role as Mr. Maslow's brother...The family gathers at the mansion to sort out inheritances and have uncontrolled sex with each other..."Seeds of Yesterday" ups the arousing female quotient, which had dipped in the previous movie; however, there are no nipples. The new nymphomaniac in the mansion is sexually-charged Sammi Hanratty (as Cynthia "Cindy" Sheffield). The little blonde girl adopted in the previous story reveals her real worth, herein. Of course, she was meant to grow up and have sex with anyone willing, which she states is her insatiable "appetite." Also needing, as she says, "a man inside me," is ballet dancer Leah Gibson (as Melodie). Lead actor Maslow attracts every woman in the cast, even getting his mom on her knees for a suggestive scene. In between the sex, the story is lost and confused. Original author Virginia C. Andrews' characters seem only used to show various family members live simply to copulate with each other.**** Seeds of Yesterday (4/12/15) Shawn Ku ~ James Maslow, Anthony Konechny, Sammi Hanratty, Rachael Carpani