Today I had a peek at MTI's Verdict In Blood, a 'who done it' style crime story with a few twists and some gratuitous drug use thrown in for good measure. Well, I suppose there are worse ways to spend an afternoon!

Judge Marsha Blackwell (Sally Kellerman of Mash) used to be well know for her harsh verdicts and severe sentences but lately, she has gained the reputation for being one of the most lenient judges on the bench. After handing down a soft verdict in an assault case, she privately announced her retirement to Joanne Kilbourn, (Wendy Crewson of Air Force One) a journalist who had been working on a story about her. The next day the judge turns up murdered in her home and a list of questions remain. The judge was a very wealthy woman and she was also a woman with a whole lot of secrets. The list of suspects turns out to be larger than any one could have imagined and it's up to Joanne to unweave the web of secrets and find out 'who done it.'

turns out, Verdict in Blood is not a bad flick, It's certainly not one that I would have sought out myself, but it held its own. It had a moderate pace that kept it from being too slow of a movie but I was nowhere near on the edge of my seat either. Performances were good, and there was just enough action to keep the story from dragging. in other words, it was moderately entertaining.

The movie really had the cookie cutter feel of a drama. It contained a MacGuffin or two to keep you a little off balance but on a whole the movie was a little too predictable. Though the actual murderer wasn't immediately apparent, the cast members that were thrown in to look like suspects were pretty obvious.

Prestened full frame Verdict in Blood looked pretty good. There weren't a whole lot of bells and whistles as far as cinematic style is concerned but there were some black and white flashback scenes that were a nice contribution. Special features are limited to include trailers and cast bios. My copy was for screening purposes only and didn't include the features.

Though this movie wasn't really my cup of tea and wasn't one that I would go out of my way to rent or to buy, it wasn't bad. It had a decent enough story and it carried itself well enough to watch. If you enjoy this type of movie, it's worth a look.