Hidden Crimes

This wasn't bad for a Lifetime made for TV movie -although still completely forgettable. The acting is decent, from a bunch of Canadian talent including James Gallanders, Kristen Holden-Reid and Tricia Helfer (which is always nice to see.) The story is intriguing enough with a decent mystery, a bit of a romance and a nice twist.

Tricia Helfer plays Julia Carver who gets a postcard from her incarcerated brother that starts her on a race for millions in stolen cash. When her nephew (who she is raising) is kidnapped the hunt for the stashed loot intensifies. Julia teams up with her brothers Army Ranger buddy and together they follow the amassing trail of clues that will eventually lead to a trade for her nephews life.

This is a good movie , I did'nt expect it to be , so I was pleasantly surprised.

Good plot , well acted, and the lead female character Julia is very likeable, down to earth and ordinary ,unlike a lot of female leads that are so perfect and boring, Julia has got a personality and guts .

The story was intriguing, moving at a steady pace, perhaps a bit predicable , but entertaining all the same.

Give it a go, it's definitely worth a watch.

Bank robbers steal $18.4 in bonds and their leader Max Carver hides the loot. One year later in Philadelphia, he's in prison for the crime but the loot has not been recovered. His son Steven is staying with his sister Julia Carver (Tricia Helfer). His crime partners David Lester (Kris Holden-Ried) and Finn want the loot. When a botched threat leaves Max in a coma, David goes for plan B. Max had sent a clue to Julia and Max's war buddy Kurt Warnecke helps her.

I don't like the female prison guard. It seems unlikely to have a female prison guard in a high security male prison. It gets even more unlikely when she delivers a postcard outside of the system. That is illegal and she could get into a lot of trouble. It would be easier for him to call her with clues which are indecipherable except for them. It's all setup for a contrived scavenger hunt. A twist is expected and it's not that surprising. Kurt could have looked up the final clue with a google search. All in all, it's a limited B-movie.

As other reviews have said, this is a reasonable little film, with an innocent relative having to help her jailed brother to find the loot he hid.

We get assured the brother is a fine decent guy -- shame about the bank robbery -- but I missed the bit that explained why only HE got caught? If they did explain.

We get a hint of family, son missing dad, and then the rest of the gang want to get that loot (20 mill no less!!).

Threats are made, and then a postcard turns up, so sister has to turn sleuth and find that loot, encouraged by the BAD GUYS.

She sets off on the trail, with brother's best friend (and her ex, as it happens). There is a blindingly obvious plot 'twist' to come, but the title HIDDEN CRIMES could have referred to the terrible hole in the plot, (if you watch, you'll see it OK!), which would have meant the loot would have stayed hidden altogether!!