Secrets of Eden

... this would be it. Everything bright, shiny, and clean. Totally unrealistic lighting, sets, and locales. The cast looks - and talks - like they just popped in from, well, let's just say not Vermont where, by contrast, clothes tend to be more practical and makeup restrained (when worn at all).

The landscape? Definitely not Vermont.

Architecture? Definitely not Vermont.

Stamos plays an evangelical pastor with a big church in town. The center of town churches in New England, however, are typically the oldest mainline protestant denominations or Catholic. While there are exceptions, evangelical congregations tend to be small and their buildings tucked away somewhere. The evangelical content comes off as a non-sequitur in this context.

The plot is obvious. John Stamos' acting is wooden. Most of the rest of the cast is forgettable. I don't know where to place the responsibility other than the director, as the cast itself is certainly capable of better.

A fresh scrubbed murder mystery set among the beautiful people of the make-believe land of non-Vermont.

Awful. Just awful.

I am convinced Anna Gunn is the best thing to ever come out of New Mexico. She is one of the most talented actresses to ever grace a television screen. Her range is phenomenal. She shows it in Secrets of Eden as Detective Catherine Benincasa.

Ms. Gunn is an enchantress who will enrapture you no matter if you're watching Breaking Bad or this TV movie. If you love Anna, you'd better watch Secrets of Eden.

This is a surprisingly good film for an afternoon movie. My husband and I kept changing our minds about who had done it. There is a surprise at the end which we hadn't seen coming.

When there is an apparent murder/suicide in a small town, the detective who investigates finds evidence of an affair between a rather attractive pastor and the deceased woman.

The town scenes are attractively portrayed. The acting was very good all round and looking back there are clues along the way. The flashbacks were occasionally a bit confusing but at the end they seem to fit in with what has happened. Some of the flash backs were quite chilling and the pastor's calm persona was quite creepy at times.

I didn't expect much from an afternoon movie but this is well above average.

Horrible movie and waste of John Stamos. I have always liked his work on stage and in film. His Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway was brilliant. It is sad to see him in this trite silly movie. As for the annoying Anna Gumm as a nosy detective. With her sleepy eyes (like she's half awake) I was voting for Stanos to knock her off. Her level of acting is on a monotonous level matching her monotonous looking face. As the victim Sonya Solomaa was as boring. Never have like her with her large mouth and all the teeth. Here she has that long teenage hair which she's much too old for a 42 year old actress. Tired of watching these over the hill actresses trying to look young. Oh, and the raccoon eye make up on Miss Gumm. Laughable.

It's a very good movie. It shows a typical american's perfect family who keeps it problems under look and key. A terrible story of violence it's developed inside until blow it in an aparent marriage's murder and suicide fact. The town's pastor, a detective, the daughter, some friends are involving while the plot is progresing, keeping your focused and finding intresting scenarios. The cast has good role-plays from John Stamos,Sonya Salomaa in the main characters and Anna Gunn playing an eager detective. Finally the set design is very attractive and pleasant to develop this awful story.