Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on December 15th and stars Jen Lilley (Hannah) and Carlo Marks (Ryan).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Hannah is a book editor in Angel Falls at her family's small publishing house. Ryan also works in book publishing in NY and is home in Angel Falls to settle some things for his parent's estate. Based on his experience in the industry, Hannah's mom hires him as a consultant to review and suggest expansion plans for their firm. This forces Hannah and Ryan to work together which Hannah does not look forward to.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcracker panels at the town tree plaza.
Costuming Notes: Both Ryan and Hannah have some great sweaters throughout the movie. Hannah has several coats that she wears over the course of the movie which makes sense but Ryan also wears at least 4 different winter coats. Seeing as Ryan was hoping to be in town for only a few days I find packing 4 winter coats seems a bit unlikely. Personally, I find 4 different winter coats to be a bit much for anyone but that's just me. Some people collect shoes and apparently for Hannah and Ryan it's coats. That's something else they have in common. I recall hearing that Jen Lilley recently had a child and it turns out it was about 6 weeks before filming the movie which explains some of the costume selections that were made - lots of coats, color blocking on some of the sweaters. Regardless of the reason, her costuming looked good and hopefully Jen was comfortable and not feeling pressure to look/dress a certain way for the role.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I am not thrilled with the guardian angels that stop time. I also don't really like that she's holding a grudge for 10 years that Ryan stole her dream job. It's odd when it comes out that he asked the interviewer about her and that he was told details of her interview. That makes no sense to me. There doesn't really seem to be much chemistry between Hannah and Ryan. I find that the fact that the mission is that Tina needs to stay in Angel Falls is problematic. Since she recently lost her husband I would think that she would benefit by being surrounded by people who care about her. Meanwhile, she knows no one in Angel Falls and Lawrence didn't seem to come back after he left. I guess that it could be good to see and experience the town he grew up in but not sure that renting a house there is logical. I assume that Ryan's house is rented fully furnished because Tina is baking right after moving in. It's also weird that Tina would insist that Ryan stay in the garage apartment while he's in town. There are other odd things built into the plot... They are making cookies on the day of the event at the bookstore, which seems like poor planning. There is also the fact that there's an office Christmas party when the "office" really just consists of Hannah and her family. I mean it makes more sense when you know that they invite most people in the community to the party but it's weird to call it an office party. I do like the twist to the ending that Ryan is the one who chucks it all to move back to the small town for a girl. I just don't really buy it all. I do admit that the wreath making event looks like fun but I think that it would be too cold outside to do it.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Jen Lilley is a frequent Hallmark star. She was previously in Winter Love Story (2019) with Kevin McGarry. Carlo Marks was previously seen in Hallmark's series, Chesapeake Shores as the love interest/boyfriend of Laci J. Mailey.
Hallmark, I'm Looking at You: So towards the end of the movie there is a passing remark about the Dread Monarch series... I'd swear that is the name of the book trilogy that Kevin McGarry's character authored in Winter Love Story... I haven't been able to confirm yet.
Curious if this movie fell short for you as well.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Holiday Date - Premiere #32
Holiday Date premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on December 14th and stars Brittany Bristow (Brooke) and Matt Cohen (Joel). Teryl Rothery and Bruce Boxleitner also appear as Brooke's parents.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Brooke is a tailor in NYC for a designer but she wants to be a designer herself in the future. She is supposed to be bringing her boyfriend, Ethan, home to meet her parent's over the holiday. Only problem is that Ethan dumps her the evening before they are supposed to leave. Instead of going home by herself, her friends concoct a plan for an actor friend Joel to accompany her and play the role of Ethan. Joel is an actor who is up for the part of a guy from a small town who runs a hardware store. He gets the first-hand experience of small town life and she gets to save face. What could go wrong...
Meet Cute Moment: Brooke's just been dumped and is outside ringing the bell at her friend's apartment for their Friendmas Party. Joel comes up and starts going on about how much he loves this time of year. They realize they are going to the same Friendmas party - he remarks "which makes them friends". I have to admit that I kind of love his point-of-view in that moment.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I always like this premise but this one just presents too many issues for me to really buy into it. The fact that they do very little planning and quizzing each other on their drive to her parent's is problematic to me. The fact that it didn't come up that Joel is Jewish and has limited knowledge of Christmas and Christmas traditions is the prime example of this. I like the twist to celebrate both holidays in the movie but I think it could have been accomplished better. Something to keep in mind if you try this at home, pick your partner in crime very carefully and above all else PLAN. I really like the exterior of her parent's house (and her Mini Cooper in the drive). At least I can do some house hunting (read dreaming) while getting my Christmas movie fix. The introduction of an engagement storyline was simply unnecessary and didn't really add to the movie. I understand why they did it for plot purposes to get the "real" Ethan to show up at her parent's but I think they could have easily done without it. Brooke and Joel were already well on their way to having the jig be up anyway, no additional help required.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Brittany has appeared in a number of Hallmark movies but I believe this is her first time as the lead. She costarred in Christmas at the Palace (2018) which starred Merritt Patterson and Andrew Cooper. This appears to be Matt Cohen's first Hallmark film. I hope that his next vehicle has his character being less over the top.
I think that this movie just didn't really work for me because it was just too over the top. If it were toned down a bit then I think that it might have been more enjoyable. Let me know what you think.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Brooke is a tailor in NYC for a designer but she wants to be a designer herself in the future. She is supposed to be bringing her boyfriend, Ethan, home to meet her parent's over the holiday. Only problem is that Ethan dumps her the evening before they are supposed to leave. Instead of going home by herself, her friends concoct a plan for an actor friend Joel to accompany her and play the role of Ethan. Joel is an actor who is up for the part of a guy from a small town who runs a hardware store. He gets the first-hand experience of small town life and she gets to save face. What could go wrong...
Meet Cute Moment: Brooke's just been dumped and is outside ringing the bell at her friend's apartment for their Friendmas Party. Joel comes up and starts going on about how much he loves this time of year. They realize they are going to the same Friendmas party - he remarks "which makes them friends". I have to admit that I kind of love his point-of-view in that moment.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I always like this premise but this one just presents too many issues for me to really buy into it. The fact that they do very little planning and quizzing each other on their drive to her parent's is problematic to me. The fact that it didn't come up that Joel is Jewish and has limited knowledge of Christmas and Christmas traditions is the prime example of this. I like the twist to celebrate both holidays in the movie but I think it could have been accomplished better. Something to keep in mind if you try this at home, pick your partner in crime very carefully and above all else PLAN. I really like the exterior of her parent's house (and her Mini Cooper in the drive). At least I can do some house hunting (read dreaming) while getting my Christmas movie fix. The introduction of an engagement storyline was simply unnecessary and didn't really add to the movie. I understand why they did it for plot purposes to get the "real" Ethan to show up at her parent's but I think they could have easily done without it. Brooke and Joel were already well on their way to having the jig be up anyway, no additional help required.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Brittany has appeared in a number of Hallmark movies but I believe this is her first time as the lead. She costarred in Christmas at the Palace (2018) which starred Merritt Patterson and Andrew Cooper. This appears to be Matt Cohen's first Hallmark film. I hope that his next vehicle has his character being less over the top.
I think that this movie just didn't really work for me because it was just too over the top. If it were toned down a bit then I think that it might have been more enjoyable. Let me know what you think.
Christmas in Montana - Premiere #31
Christmas in Montana premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on December 14th and stars Kellie Martin (Sara) and Colin Ferguson (Travis).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Sara is a financial advisor from LA who is up for a promotion to VP. In order to get her well-earned promotion she is headed to Big Fork, Montana to help a rancher get his business model working so they can get their necessary loan. Travis is a former NY lawyer who returned to Montana to run his family's ranch.
Meet Cute Moment: They meet in town at St. Nick's Knick Knacks booth. They share some seasonal puns while he mans his friend's booth. So of course since they hit it off so well, you know that he's Travis Carson and he's the client she'll be working closely with.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers in downtown Big Fork.
Notable Crafting Alert: Sara's daughter,Chloe, learns to knit while in Big Fork and she proceeds to teach Sara. I like this little bit and it's nice that they are selling yarn at the Christmas festival booths. However, there is a serious problem with the fact that Sara buys a huge skein of chunky weight yarn and remarks that it's cashmere. First there is no way that the skein is cashmere and if it were, then that skein would have cost a few hundred dollars and not just something to pick up on a whim to learn how to knit.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: OK, I think that visiting the Carson ranch for a hometown Christmas holiday would be great. Sign me up... then the reality of costs and travel set in and I come back to my senses and decide to stay home for the holidays. The Carson ranch is gorgeous. They decorate it with A LOT of lights. In actuality, I think that there are just too many lights, let the beauty of the land and the home speak for itself. I really like the garland tree that Sara makes in the barn. The tradition of a Christmas bonfire with marshmallows and cocoa sounds like fun. Next year I'll have to consider keeping our firepit out or accessible during winter for that purpose. There is a scene where they try on crazy Christmas hats for sale at the festival booth. Let's just say that this could be inspiration for next year's Christmas party theme. The hats could really give ugly sweaters a run for their money. I wonder who was the actual market for the hats on sale. They are a bit much for even the most enthusiastic of Christmas revelers. I did have to laugh at the obvious issue that the tree that they decorate at Carson ranch is much taller than the tree that they cut down. There is the obvious question about the blurring of the personal and professional lines but I'm willing to chalk it up to small town hospitality and an openness and willingness by the Carson's to work with any adviser/consultant to come up with alternatives to cutting staff. The fact that Sara is attractive and single doesn't hurt.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kellie has become a Hallmark regular especially on the Movies and Mysteries channel. She was previously seen in The Christmas Ornament (2013) with Cameron Mathison. Colin was previously in Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane (2018) with Alicia Witt. It really wasn't a favorite of mine but I hope he does more movies in the future.
Would you ever consider going away to a resort or ranch for a Christmas holiday with family?
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Sara is a financial advisor from LA who is up for a promotion to VP. In order to get her well-earned promotion she is headed to Big Fork, Montana to help a rancher get his business model working so they can get their necessary loan. Travis is a former NY lawyer who returned to Montana to run his family's ranch.
Meet Cute Moment: They meet in town at St. Nick's Knick Knacks booth. They share some seasonal puns while he mans his friend's booth. So of course since they hit it off so well, you know that he's Travis Carson and he's the client she'll be working closely with.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers in downtown Big Fork.
Notable Crafting Alert: Sara's daughter,Chloe, learns to knit while in Big Fork and she proceeds to teach Sara. I like this little bit and it's nice that they are selling yarn at the Christmas festival booths. However, there is a serious problem with the fact that Sara buys a huge skein of chunky weight yarn and remarks that it's cashmere. First there is no way that the skein is cashmere and if it were, then that skein would have cost a few hundred dollars and not just something to pick up on a whim to learn how to knit.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: OK, I think that visiting the Carson ranch for a hometown Christmas holiday would be great. Sign me up... then the reality of costs and travel set in and I come back to my senses and decide to stay home for the holidays. The Carson ranch is gorgeous. They decorate it with A LOT of lights. In actuality, I think that there are just too many lights, let the beauty of the land and the home speak for itself. I really like the garland tree that Sara makes in the barn. The tradition of a Christmas bonfire with marshmallows and cocoa sounds like fun. Next year I'll have to consider keeping our firepit out or accessible during winter for that purpose. There is a scene where they try on crazy Christmas hats for sale at the festival booth. Let's just say that this could be inspiration for next year's Christmas party theme. The hats could really give ugly sweaters a run for their money. I wonder who was the actual market for the hats on sale. They are a bit much for even the most enthusiastic of Christmas revelers. I did have to laugh at the obvious issue that the tree that they decorate at Carson ranch is much taller than the tree that they cut down. There is the obvious question about the blurring of the personal and professional lines but I'm willing to chalk it up to small town hospitality and an openness and willingness by the Carson's to work with any adviser/consultant to come up with alternatives to cutting staff. The fact that Sara is attractive and single doesn't hurt.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kellie has become a Hallmark regular especially on the Movies and Mysteries channel. She was previously seen in The Christmas Ornament (2013) with Cameron Mathison. Colin was previously in Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane (2018) with Alicia Witt. It really wasn't a favorite of mine but I hope he does more movies in the future.
Would you ever consider going away to a resort or ranch for a Christmas holiday with family?
Friday, December 20, 2019
Time For You to Come Home for Christmas - Premiere #30
Time For You to Come Home for Christmas premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on December 8th and stars Alison Sweeney (Katherine/Kat) and Lucas Bryant (Jack). Britt Irvin (love her!) appears in a supporting role as Kat's sister.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄 It may be a bit lower on rewatching but this one definitely pulled at my heartstrings.
General Movie Details: Kat lives in Boston and works at a bank and is traveling home for Christmas for the first time since her husband (Tyler) passed away (2 years before). Jack is a part-time musician and veteran who works for the USO and is filling in for a band/trio reunion in Provincetown, VA.
Meet Cute Moment: Kat while walking through the train station puts a "tip" in Jack's coffee cup because he's playing his guitar in a public place. Oops! And of course if turns out that they are seated across from each other on the train to Virginia.
Giant Christmas Decoration Sighting: There are both giant Nutcrackers and a giant Mouse King at a shop/location in Provincetown, VA. I love the addition of a Mouse King to the giant Christmas decoration options!
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: There is not much to say here, probably because I was really drawn into the story. The Jack mystery storyline really got to me because I was trying to figure it out and then figure out who is was looking to meet. I am glad that they didn't spell everything out for the audience at the beginning but let the story unravel. I really enjoyed the there of people coming into your life for a reason. It is a great outlook to take in your own life and works with the idea of mindfulness that many people are trying to incorporate into their lives. I also liked seeing Kat come to her realization of where and what she should be doing in the future. The seed of her future was planted in the flash back scene at the beginning of the movie and was part of the plot throughout so that her revelation at the end made sense.
I do admit that assigned seats on the train to Virginia is a bit of a stretch. I've taken Amtrak from NYC to Washington DC before and also in the Pacific Northwest and I've never seen assigned seats. There are assigned cars such as Business Class/First Class, the Quiet car and the Cafe car. I think that if you are on a sleeping car, then you may be assigned a cabin but on open cars this seems to go a bit too far. They could have gotten around it with a packed train car, which makes sense at the holidays, with a strategically placed empty seat. Besides then it adds to the fate aspect of the plot.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Alison is a Hallmark mystery mainstay with her Murder She Baked series and her new Chronicle Mysteries series (2019) which co-stars Benjamin Ayres. Lucas was previously seen in Summer Love (2016) with Rachel Leigh Cook.
Feel free to share your thoughts regarding the use of a mystery storyline as part of the movie.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄 It may be a bit lower on rewatching but this one definitely pulled at my heartstrings.
General Movie Details: Kat lives in Boston and works at a bank and is traveling home for Christmas for the first time since her husband (Tyler) passed away (2 years before). Jack is a part-time musician and veteran who works for the USO and is filling in for a band/trio reunion in Provincetown, VA.
Meet Cute Moment: Kat while walking through the train station puts a "tip" in Jack's coffee cup because he's playing his guitar in a public place. Oops! And of course if turns out that they are seated across from each other on the train to Virginia.
Giant Christmas Decoration Sighting: There are both giant Nutcrackers and a giant Mouse King at a shop/location in Provincetown, VA. I love the addition of a Mouse King to the giant Christmas decoration options!
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: There is not much to say here, probably because I was really drawn into the story. The Jack mystery storyline really got to me because I was trying to figure it out and then figure out who is was looking to meet. I am glad that they didn't spell everything out for the audience at the beginning but let the story unravel. I really enjoyed the there of people coming into your life for a reason. It is a great outlook to take in your own life and works with the idea of mindfulness that many people are trying to incorporate into their lives. I also liked seeing Kat come to her realization of where and what she should be doing in the future. The seed of her future was planted in the flash back scene at the beginning of the movie and was part of the plot throughout so that her revelation at the end made sense.
I do admit that assigned seats on the train to Virginia is a bit of a stretch. I've taken Amtrak from NYC to Washington DC before and also in the Pacific Northwest and I've never seen assigned seats. There are assigned cars such as Business Class/First Class, the Quiet car and the Cafe car. I think that if you are on a sleeping car, then you may be assigned a cabin but on open cars this seems to go a bit too far. They could have gotten around it with a packed train car, which makes sense at the holidays, with a strategically placed empty seat. Besides then it adds to the fate aspect of the plot.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Alison is a Hallmark mystery mainstay with her Murder She Baked series and her new Chronicle Mysteries series (2019) which co-stars Benjamin Ayres. Lucas was previously seen in Summer Love (2016) with Rachel Leigh Cook.
Feel free to share your thoughts regarding the use of a mystery storyline as part of the movie.
Christmas at Dollywood - Premiere #29
Christmas at Dollywood premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on December 8th and stars Danica McKellar (Rachel) and Niall Matter (Luke). It's no surprise that there is an amazing cameo by Dolly Parton (who is 73 years YOUNG!).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Rachel is a NYC event planner who gets some time off for the holidays to spend with her family. Since is she of course also in line for a possible proportion at work in the future. So when the opportunity to go home to Tennessee to work on the 30th anniversary of Snowy Mountain Christmas at Dollywood lands at her feet, she can't help herself. Luke is the Operations Manager at Dollywood and he wants to take over the holiday event so help secure his chances to get the General Manager promotion at the park.
Meet Cute Moment: Rachel is looking over what has been planned so far and gives his negative feedback on what he's planned thus far. They wind up meeting again while waiting to meet with the board. He thinks that she must be his competitor for the GM position.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So Rachel obviously loves her job so why is her family (and Luke) trying to convince her to leave it and start writing again and leave NY. I mean it's OK and reasonable to start writing again slowly as a hobby before chucking it all to become a writer. I mean she hasn't really shown a real desire to completely change paths right now. I mean I get that she can tell a mean bedtime story to her daughter but that doesn't mean there is a smooth path to children's book author, just saying. But based on the flash forward closing scene of the movie, it's obvious that I don't know what I'm talking about.
There are less pressing issues with this film too, no worries. Let's start with her parent's house. It's cluttered with Christmas stuff. Maybe it's just me but it seems like there is just too much Christmas stuff in every room. I am not a bah humbug (or minimalist) and a seasonal snow globe or Santa hat in a room seems fine but Christmas tchatchkes everywhere feels a bit oppressive. Is this what I could look forward to in retirement is the time to redecorate my whole house done to the knick-knacks for Christmas? Until then work and other hobbies are going to be where I choose to spend my time. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas but I limit my whole house put up and take down to 1 day.
There is a major fake snow sighting when they are building snowmen in the town square. So I checked December weather in Pigeon Forge and sorry to say they don't typically get snow. The average high is in the mid-40's for the month of December and they get some days where is hits near 60. They get some lows that are around freezing or a bit lower but it's not really even cold enough for snow making to ensure that the event could take place. I appreciate the holiday spirit but why does Hallmark need to paint every location backdrop with a snow brush. I get that it's an easy way to forecast winter and holidays but if it's not the case for the location just don't do it. I imagine that if I lived in Pigeon Forge I'd be laughing all the way through this one over the presentation of winter here. Hallmark should save themselves some money on the budget and show a more accurate portrayal of the towns/locations they highlight. If snow isn't a thing there, it shouldn't be in your film. Hallmark just needs to get a bit more creative in how they communicate winter/holidays to their audience. It would be nice for people who don't live somewhere where November/December = cold and snow to see something that aligns with there experience. I've always wondered what it feels like to live in a climate where it is warm and green at Christmas. Or taken a step further, take me down under to the southern hemisphere where Christmas happens in the middle of summer!
Hallmark Movie Connection: Danica was previously in Christmas at Grand Valley (2018) with Brennan Elliott. Naill is a Hallmark M&M regular co-starring in the Aurora Teagarden series of movies with Candace Cameron Bure.
Let me know if you think Hallmark could pull off a warm and sunny backdrop for a Christmas movie.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Rachel is a NYC event planner who gets some time off for the holidays to spend with her family. Since is she of course also in line for a possible proportion at work in the future. So when the opportunity to go home to Tennessee to work on the 30th anniversary of Snowy Mountain Christmas at Dollywood lands at her feet, she can't help herself. Luke is the Operations Manager at Dollywood and he wants to take over the holiday event so help secure his chances to get the General Manager promotion at the park.
Meet Cute Moment: Rachel is looking over what has been planned so far and gives his negative feedback on what he's planned thus far. They wind up meeting again while waiting to meet with the board. He thinks that she must be his competitor for the GM position.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So Rachel obviously loves her job so why is her family (and Luke) trying to convince her to leave it and start writing again and leave NY. I mean it's OK and reasonable to start writing again slowly as a hobby before chucking it all to become a writer. I mean she hasn't really shown a real desire to completely change paths right now. I mean I get that she can tell a mean bedtime story to her daughter but that doesn't mean there is a smooth path to children's book author, just saying. But based on the flash forward closing scene of the movie, it's obvious that I don't know what I'm talking about.
There are less pressing issues with this film too, no worries. Let's start with her parent's house. It's cluttered with Christmas stuff. Maybe it's just me but it seems like there is just too much Christmas stuff in every room. I am not a bah humbug (or minimalist) and a seasonal snow globe or Santa hat in a room seems fine but Christmas tchatchkes everywhere feels a bit oppressive. Is this what I could look forward to in retirement is the time to redecorate my whole house done to the knick-knacks for Christmas? Until then work and other hobbies are going to be where I choose to spend my time. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas but I limit my whole house put up and take down to 1 day.
There is a major fake snow sighting when they are building snowmen in the town square. So I checked December weather in Pigeon Forge and sorry to say they don't typically get snow. The average high is in the mid-40's for the month of December and they get some days where is hits near 60. They get some lows that are around freezing or a bit lower but it's not really even cold enough for snow making to ensure that the event could take place. I appreciate the holiday spirit but why does Hallmark need to paint every location backdrop with a snow brush. I get that it's an easy way to forecast winter and holidays but if it's not the case for the location just don't do it. I imagine that if I lived in Pigeon Forge I'd be laughing all the way through this one over the presentation of winter here. Hallmark should save themselves some money on the budget and show a more accurate portrayal of the towns/locations they highlight. If snow isn't a thing there, it shouldn't be in your film. Hallmark just needs to get a bit more creative in how they communicate winter/holidays to their audience. It would be nice for people who don't live somewhere where November/December = cold and snow to see something that aligns with there experience. I've always wondered what it feels like to live in a climate where it is warm and green at Christmas. Or taken a step further, take me down under to the southern hemisphere where Christmas happens in the middle of summer!
Hallmark Movie Connection: Danica was previously in Christmas at Grand Valley (2018) with Brennan Elliott. Naill is a Hallmark M&M regular co-starring in the Aurora Teagarden series of movies with Candace Cameron Bure.
Let me know if you think Hallmark could pull off a warm and sunny backdrop for a Christmas movie.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
A Christmas Love Story - Premiere #28
A Christmas Love Story premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on December 7th and stars Kristin Chenoweth (Katherine/Miss Clark) and Scott Wolf (Greg). This was the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie this season. While I think that this probably had more significance when these movies appeared on network televisions, I found that the main difference was that that commercials seemed to be primarily long Hallmark ads.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Katherine is a former Broadway star who is now working as a teacher. She is currently rehearsing her choir for their big Christmas Eve choral concert. Unfortunately the composer for their original song has flaked and she is forced to write music and lyrics and rehearsal the new song about angels in less than 14 days. Greg is an architect and widowed father to Kevin, a high school student. Kevin came to volunteer one day and after he got caught singing and piano playing after rehearsal he is recruited for the choir. However, Greg has some serious apprehensions because he thought the Kevin was volunteering at a start up to bolster his resume for getting into a good business program at college.
Meet Cute Moment: Katherine gets into a car not realizing it's actually a rideshare so they meed over her bags of angel wing costumes for the choir. Of course it turns out that he's the dad of her undiscovered vocal performer.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: There is a lot that could be said about the questionable behaviour that is often found at the heart of romantic comedies... and some day I might just delve down that problematic rabbit hole. In this film we see the unusual situation where the women is exhibiting some of the hallmark poor choices and I feel it would be unfair not to address them. Just because you have Greg and Kevin's address in Connecticut does not mean that you should travel out there to try and convince Greg to allow his son to participate. This is especially true after Katherine called and left several messages to which Greg hadn't responded. And since this is a romantic dramedy this is totally fine so much so that they then spend the day doing Christmas things like getting a tree. Not even a shadow of awkwardness even when she gets stuck in Connecticut because of a storm. I actually liked the storyline about adoption and searching for your child/birth mom but I do wish that the writers planted seeds of that a bit earlier so it was part of the entire story instead of all coming up in the last half of the movie. Do you think that it would get weird if Katherine and Greg were to get married? Kevin's stepmom would also be his birth mom... seems a bit much to have to explain to outsiders.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kristin Chenoweth is a well-known actor on TV and Broadway but I think that this might be her first Hallmark film. Some of my favorite TV appearances by her were her role on West Wing and Disney's Descendants. Scott Wolf is a TV veteran who also appears to be making his Hallmark debut. Scott previously starred in a holiday movie on the legacy ABC Family network called Picking Up & Dropping Off (2003) with Amanda Detmer that I recall really enjoying as well.
I am now wondering if Hallmark Hall of Fame movies typically include actors that are more well known and are not typically in Hallmark-esque films. Let me know if you think that there is a meaningful difference anymore between the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies and the better movies in their lineup.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Katherine is a former Broadway star who is now working as a teacher. She is currently rehearsing her choir for their big Christmas Eve choral concert. Unfortunately the composer for their original song has flaked and she is forced to write music and lyrics and rehearsal the new song about angels in less than 14 days. Greg is an architect and widowed father to Kevin, a high school student. Kevin came to volunteer one day and after he got caught singing and piano playing after rehearsal he is recruited for the choir. However, Greg has some serious apprehensions because he thought the Kevin was volunteering at a start up to bolster his resume for getting into a good business program at college.
Meet Cute Moment: Katherine gets into a car not realizing it's actually a rideshare so they meed over her bags of angel wing costumes for the choir. Of course it turns out that he's the dad of her undiscovered vocal performer.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: There is a lot that could be said about the questionable behaviour that is often found at the heart of romantic comedies... and some day I might just delve down that problematic rabbit hole. In this film we see the unusual situation where the women is exhibiting some of the hallmark poor choices and I feel it would be unfair not to address them. Just because you have Greg and Kevin's address in Connecticut does not mean that you should travel out there to try and convince Greg to allow his son to participate. This is especially true after Katherine called and left several messages to which Greg hadn't responded. And since this is a romantic dramedy this is totally fine so much so that they then spend the day doing Christmas things like getting a tree. Not even a shadow of awkwardness even when she gets stuck in Connecticut because of a storm. I actually liked the storyline about adoption and searching for your child/birth mom but I do wish that the writers planted seeds of that a bit earlier so it was part of the entire story instead of all coming up in the last half of the movie. Do you think that it would get weird if Katherine and Greg were to get married? Kevin's stepmom would also be his birth mom... seems a bit much to have to explain to outsiders.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kristin Chenoweth is a well-known actor on TV and Broadway but I think that this might be her first Hallmark film. Some of my favorite TV appearances by her were her role on West Wing and Disney's Descendants. Scott Wolf is a TV veteran who also appears to be making his Hallmark debut. Scott previously starred in a holiday movie on the legacy ABC Family network called Picking Up & Dropping Off (2003) with Amanda Detmer that I recall really enjoying as well.
I am now wondering if Hallmark Hall of Fame movies typically include actors that are more well known and are not typically in Hallmark-esque films. Let me know if you think that there is a meaningful difference anymore between the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies and the better movies in their lineup.
A Homecoming for the Holidays - Premiere #27
A Homecoming for the Holidays premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas December 5th and stars Laura Osnes (Charlotte) and Stephen Huszar (Matt).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Charlotte is a rising star in country music who comes home for Christmas to Montana so that she can rest and work on some new material. Matt is former military and close friends with Charlotte's brother. He is working in town helping to build a home for the widow of a veteran while he explores future job opportunities.
Meet Cute Moment: Matt picks up Charlotte's guitar pick and they start talking and connect and realize they are both Dolly Parton fans. While there is a spark between them he is shipped out along with her brother.
Unfortunate Wardrobe Choices: Charlotte is seen walking around in Montana in the middle of winter wearing outfits with short skirts paired with high-heeled boots. While this is totally normal for a musician while on tour, I'd imagine that she'd be freezing in the Montana cold.
Giant Decoration Sighting: There are giant toy soldiers in front of Big Sky Christmas.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So let's give some kudos to the writers for their handling of male machismo and jealousy in this script. Matt makes a misstep when the reporter confronts Charlotte to get a quote for her story. It was REALLY nice to see a women who knows how to handle the various aspects of her career and even nicer to see the guy apologize for making assumptions and trying to be a knight in shining armor. Also LOVE that Matt is completely fine and not jealous when a picture of Charlotte and Taylor is posted online because she was upfront and honest about their past relationship. I really appreciate that they (read he) can be level headed and honest. I like the idea that she starts a scholarship as a way to give back/pay it forward. It's incredible that she was able to work out the deal for the concert to be filmed in her hometown and that there were able to include the organization, it's mission and to showcase Hadley and highlight her scholarship program. That's a lot to work into a very short window but it seemed reasonable and not too outlandish. The job offer to Matt to run the scholarship foundation was where the concert/evening went a step too far for me, but there you go. One recommendation is that if anyone is thinking of setting up their own reindeer games, there should be 1 suit for each team and the team members need to change in and out of the suit for each leg of the relay instead of each team member having their own suit.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Laura Osnes is making her Hallmark debut but she is well known for her work on the Broadway stage. I'd imagine that we'll be seeing more of her in the future in roles where she also has a chance to sing as well. Stephen Huszar was previously seen this year in My One & Only (2019) which starred Pascale Hutton and Sam Page.
I'm curious if Charlotte's job offer to Matt bothered you as well, let me know.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Charlotte is a rising star in country music who comes home for Christmas to Montana so that she can rest and work on some new material. Matt is former military and close friends with Charlotte's brother. He is working in town helping to build a home for the widow of a veteran while he explores future job opportunities.
Meet Cute Moment: Matt picks up Charlotte's guitar pick and they start talking and connect and realize they are both Dolly Parton fans. While there is a spark between them he is shipped out along with her brother.
Unfortunate Wardrobe Choices: Charlotte is seen walking around in Montana in the middle of winter wearing outfits with short skirts paired with high-heeled boots. While this is totally normal for a musician while on tour, I'd imagine that she'd be freezing in the Montana cold.
Giant Decoration Sighting: There are giant toy soldiers in front of Big Sky Christmas.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So let's give some kudos to the writers for their handling of male machismo and jealousy in this script. Matt makes a misstep when the reporter confronts Charlotte to get a quote for her story. It was REALLY nice to see a women who knows how to handle the various aspects of her career and even nicer to see the guy apologize for making assumptions and trying to be a knight in shining armor. Also LOVE that Matt is completely fine and not jealous when a picture of Charlotte and Taylor is posted online because she was upfront and honest about their past relationship. I really appreciate that they (read he) can be level headed and honest. I like the idea that she starts a scholarship as a way to give back/pay it forward. It's incredible that she was able to work out the deal for the concert to be filmed in her hometown and that there were able to include the organization, it's mission and to showcase Hadley and highlight her scholarship program. That's a lot to work into a very short window but it seemed reasonable and not too outlandish. The job offer to Matt to run the scholarship foundation was where the concert/evening went a step too far for me, but there you go. One recommendation is that if anyone is thinking of setting up their own reindeer games, there should be 1 suit for each team and the team members need to change in and out of the suit for each leg of the relay instead of each team member having their own suit.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Laura Osnes is making her Hallmark debut but she is well known for her work on the Broadway stage. I'd imagine that we'll be seeing more of her in the future in roles where she also has a chance to sing as well. Stephen Huszar was previously seen this year in My One & Only (2019) which starred Pascale Hutton and Sam Page.
I'm curious if Charlotte's job offer to Matt bothered you as well, let me know.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Christmas Town - Premiere #26
Christmas Town premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on December 1st and stars Candace Cameron Bure (Lauren) and Tim Rozon (Travis).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟 This might increase to 3 trees but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see the last 30 minutes or so. Totally my fault, I was putting it off because... I typically dislike the movies starring Candace Cameron Bure. So I waited until the very last minute and so much so that it is temporarily not available to stream so I'll have to catch it next week when they replay it so that I can see the ending.
General Movie Details: Lauren is leaving Boston and moving to Springfield to take a permanent teaching position. Her train gets waylaid in Grandon Falls (aka Christmas Town). Travis is the local handyman, foster parent and all around nice guy in Grandon Falls.
Meet Cute Moment: Lauren is looking for a ride into town from the train station and Travis happens to be standing under the taxi sign. So of course she assumes that he's a taxi driver and has him get her bags and is prepared to get a ride from him until she realizes her error. He's too nice of a guy to say anything and offers her a ride anyway and luckily even the ticket collector from the train vouches for his character.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There is a giant Nutcracker in the Christmas Cafe.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I am not totally sure about the chemistry between the leads on this one but the last 30 minutes might set my mind at ease on that account. I appreciate that her ex-boyfriend isn't a complete jerk and he understands her love of letters which shows that at some point in their relationship he was attentive. The Grandon Falls Christmas festival lasts the 12 days before Christmas with a different event each night. While it sounds kind of fun it also sounds exhausting especially if you imagine coming into the home stretch before the holiday. The point I was in the movie was when all of the loose ends were getting tied up in time for the happily ever after finale. It always seems like things get tied up a little bit too easily and prettily. It would never be that easy or clean in real life. Based on what's happened so far it is pretty easy to see how the movie concludes but I'm willing to see it to completion.
Hallmark Movie Connection: If the Hallmark company had an actual Hall of Fame, Candace Cameron Bure probably would be the first inductee. She was previously seen in Christmas Under Wraps (2014) with David O'Donnell. This movie appears to be Tim Rozon first Hallmark movie. He seems to be working pretty regularly on TV but nothing that I usually watch.
You'll have to let me know if I'm the only one who doesn't look forward to a movie with Candace as the star.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟 This might increase to 3 trees but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see the last 30 minutes or so. Totally my fault, I was putting it off because... I typically dislike the movies starring Candace Cameron Bure. So I waited until the very last minute and so much so that it is temporarily not available to stream so I'll have to catch it next week when they replay it so that I can see the ending.
General Movie Details: Lauren is leaving Boston and moving to Springfield to take a permanent teaching position. Her train gets waylaid in Grandon Falls (aka Christmas Town). Travis is the local handyman, foster parent and all around nice guy in Grandon Falls.
Meet Cute Moment: Lauren is looking for a ride into town from the train station and Travis happens to be standing under the taxi sign. So of course she assumes that he's a taxi driver and has him get her bags and is prepared to get a ride from him until she realizes her error. He's too nice of a guy to say anything and offers her a ride anyway and luckily even the ticket collector from the train vouches for his character.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There is a giant Nutcracker in the Christmas Cafe.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I am not totally sure about the chemistry between the leads on this one but the last 30 minutes might set my mind at ease on that account. I appreciate that her ex-boyfriend isn't a complete jerk and he understands her love of letters which shows that at some point in their relationship he was attentive. The Grandon Falls Christmas festival lasts the 12 days before Christmas with a different event each night. While it sounds kind of fun it also sounds exhausting especially if you imagine coming into the home stretch before the holiday. The point I was in the movie was when all of the loose ends were getting tied up in time for the happily ever after finale. It always seems like things get tied up a little bit too easily and prettily. It would never be that easy or clean in real life. Based on what's happened so far it is pretty easy to see how the movie concludes but I'm willing to see it to completion.
Hallmark Movie Connection: If the Hallmark company had an actual Hall of Fame, Candace Cameron Bure probably would be the first inductee. She was previously seen in Christmas Under Wraps (2014) with David O'Donnell. This movie appears to be Tim Rozon first Hallmark movie. He seems to be working pretty regularly on TV but nothing that I usually watch.
You'll have to let me know if I'm the only one who doesn't look forward to a movie with Candace as the star.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen - Premiere #25
Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 30 and stars Erin Krakow (Ella) and Luke Mcfarlane (Edward). Kimberley Sustad appears in a supporting role as Ella's sister Marianne.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Marianne and Ella run their family's event planning business. Marianne is really the driver behind the business and Ella is still learning the ropes. Edward is the new CEO of his family's toy company and is wanting to make the role his own and is hoping to land a distribution deal with a vendor over the holidays. Edward decides that Ferris Wheel Toy Company should have a company holiday party on 12/23 and there are only 9 days before the event. It looks like he's going to need all the help he can get.
Meet Cute Moment: Ella is admiring a piece of artwork at the office of her family's lawyer when Edward comes over and makes some negative comments about the artwork.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers at the party the Dashwood's handled for the ballet. That looked like a party I would love to get an invite to, just saying. There are also giant Nutcrackers with Santa at Brandon's party.
Knit Wear Alert: Ella is known for her holiday scarfs. She has a cndy cane striped scarf as well as a candy cane striped sweater. At the tree lighting there is a passing shot of one of the extras who is wearing a Norwegian star fair isle hat is gray and white. My favorite is Edward's cable knit cream Christmas sweater.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let me start off by saying that this movie was written with me in mind. I am a lover of Austen and of the many books, movies, other media that draws on her for inspiration. Beacuse of my affinity for the inspiration material, I think that this movie failed to live up to my expectations. I do not expect that the script will follow the story precisely but I was left scratching my head that the writers decided to switch the personalities of the leads - - Ella is sensibility and Marianne is sense. I know that it shouldn't matter but I wonder why stray so far away from the start and just confuse the audience. I don't think that they really needed the Austen material as a tie-in. I honestly think that I would have liked the movie more if they only made the smallest of homages to Austen's material. I always find it funny when you see a character interacting with the fake snow without the proper winter weather gear. In this case, Edward was making a snowman with his bare hands. I am just saying that he'd have had a serious case of frostbite if that was real snow. I wonder about the success of a toy company in this day and age that wasn't doing focus groups with kids to help determine their future toy lines but instead just asking parents. I think that I missed something towards the end of the movie because I thought that the party was going to wind up being hosted at Edward's house but that's not where they are when they are at the party. Not sure what I missed but I'm glad I wasn't invited because I wouldn't have made it. Finally, the party was supposed to be on the 23rd. This is completely fine, but I wonder what happened to the 24th? It seems like the morning after the party is Christmas Day.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Erin currently stars in Hallmark's series When Calls the Heart. She was previously seen in A Summer Romance (2019) with Ryan Paevey. Luke Macfarland was previously in The Mistletoe Promise (2016) with Jaime King.
I hope that you enjoyed this one more than I did and you'll have to let me know if the switching of character traits bothered you.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Marianne and Ella run their family's event planning business. Marianne is really the driver behind the business and Ella is still learning the ropes. Edward is the new CEO of his family's toy company and is wanting to make the role his own and is hoping to land a distribution deal with a vendor over the holidays. Edward decides that Ferris Wheel Toy Company should have a company holiday party on 12/23 and there are only 9 days before the event. It looks like he's going to need all the help he can get.
Meet Cute Moment: Ella is admiring a piece of artwork at the office of her family's lawyer when Edward comes over and makes some negative comments about the artwork.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers at the party the Dashwood's handled for the ballet. That looked like a party I would love to get an invite to, just saying. There are also giant Nutcrackers with Santa at Brandon's party.
Knit Wear Alert: Ella is known for her holiday scarfs. She has a cndy cane striped scarf as well as a candy cane striped sweater. At the tree lighting there is a passing shot of one of the extras who is wearing a Norwegian star fair isle hat is gray and white. My favorite is Edward's cable knit cream Christmas sweater.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let me start off by saying that this movie was written with me in mind. I am a lover of Austen and of the many books, movies, other media that draws on her for inspiration. Beacuse of my affinity for the inspiration material, I think that this movie failed to live up to my expectations. I do not expect that the script will follow the story precisely but I was left scratching my head that the writers decided to switch the personalities of the leads - - Ella is sensibility and Marianne is sense. I know that it shouldn't matter but I wonder why stray so far away from the start and just confuse the audience. I don't think that they really needed the Austen material as a tie-in. I honestly think that I would have liked the movie more if they only made the smallest of homages to Austen's material. I always find it funny when you see a character interacting with the fake snow without the proper winter weather gear. In this case, Edward was making a snowman with his bare hands. I am just saying that he'd have had a serious case of frostbite if that was real snow. I wonder about the success of a toy company in this day and age that wasn't doing focus groups with kids to help determine their future toy lines but instead just asking parents. I think that I missed something towards the end of the movie because I thought that the party was going to wind up being hosted at Edward's house but that's not where they are when they are at the party. Not sure what I missed but I'm glad I wasn't invited because I wouldn't have made it. Finally, the party was supposed to be on the 23rd. This is completely fine, but I wonder what happened to the 24th? It seems like the morning after the party is Christmas Day.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Erin currently stars in Hallmark's series When Calls the Heart. She was previously seen in A Summer Romance (2019) with Ryan Paevey. Luke Macfarland was previously in The Mistletoe Promise (2016) with Jaime King.
I hope that you enjoyed this one more than I did and you'll have to let me know if the switching of character traits bothered you.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Christmas in Rome - Premiere #24
Christmas in Rome premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 30th and stars Lacey Chabert (Angela) and Sam Page (Oliver).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Angela is an American expat living in Rome and working as a tour guide of the city. She is passionate about Rome to a fault and her passion is contagious (and believable). Oliver is an American executive who finds himself in Rome right before Christmas trying to close a deal to buy an Italian ceramic company. As is often the case, this deal could land him a big promotion. The fact is that Oliver is going to need Angela's help if he wants any chance to make this deal happen.
Meet Cute Moment: He's trying to find his bearings on his phone and literally runs into Angela. One thing I found odd was that her initial reaction (in Italy) is to speak English to Oliver. Since he realizes that she is American, he asks her for directions and she helps him by walking him to the restaurant. Angela is asked to join the meeting to help navigate their cultural differences.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: While the timing is quite expedited since he is only in Rome for a few days, the connection is believable since they spent so much of the time together. They are both experiencing and growing over the course of their encounters. I enjoy the way that her tour goes beyond just the typical tourist sites. I'd love to experience tours like that in a foreign city. I'll have to keep an eye out for experiences that go beyond the surface in the future as I travel around, even in my own backyard. The ornaments that we see are beautiful and what a great way to decorate for the holidays and remember those we love and the joy we've shared. I have a bit of an issue with Angela's expectation that Oliver would say no to the work expectation that he'd need to be home for a meeting on 12/26. I think that while he would like to stay, it's not easy to completely change from being a workaholic overnight. I do appreciate that Angela is written to be upfront and honest regarding not wanting a long-distance relationship. I also appreciate that there were no random appearances of exes as a plot device. I did have to laugh at the end of the movie when there is a comment about an issue about traffic on Christmas Eve but Angela finds a way where there is no one on the roads.
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: It's nice that they used a destination that didn't require the use of fake snow during filming. I think that they might be able to do that more frequently. I can attest that even in the Northeast there are plenty of times when we don't have snow around Christmas but it is still pretty cold. Bundling up in coats, gloves, scarfs and hats will do a lot to set up the premise that it is cold and they can reduce the use of faux snow. Just saying.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Lacey Chabert is one of the featured actors appearing in Hallmark films and series. One of my favorite Christmas movies starring Lacey was Matchmaker Santa (2012) which co-starred Adam Mayfield. Sam was previously seen in The Perfect Christmas Present (2017) with Tara Holt.
I was afraid that I was going to dislike this movie but Lacey didn't steer me wrong. Not only does she appear in many Hallmark vehicles but most of them are very enjoyable. You'll have to let me know your thoughts regarding this film and about the "Lacey" factor.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Angela is an American expat living in Rome and working as a tour guide of the city. She is passionate about Rome to a fault and her passion is contagious (and believable). Oliver is an American executive who finds himself in Rome right before Christmas trying to close a deal to buy an Italian ceramic company. As is often the case, this deal could land him a big promotion. The fact is that Oliver is going to need Angela's help if he wants any chance to make this deal happen.
Meet Cute Moment: He's trying to find his bearings on his phone and literally runs into Angela. One thing I found odd was that her initial reaction (in Italy) is to speak English to Oliver. Since he realizes that she is American, he asks her for directions and she helps him by walking him to the restaurant. Angela is asked to join the meeting to help navigate their cultural differences.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: While the timing is quite expedited since he is only in Rome for a few days, the connection is believable since they spent so much of the time together. They are both experiencing and growing over the course of their encounters. I enjoy the way that her tour goes beyond just the typical tourist sites. I'd love to experience tours like that in a foreign city. I'll have to keep an eye out for experiences that go beyond the surface in the future as I travel around, even in my own backyard. The ornaments that we see are beautiful and what a great way to decorate for the holidays and remember those we love and the joy we've shared. I have a bit of an issue with Angela's expectation that Oliver would say no to the work expectation that he'd need to be home for a meeting on 12/26. I think that while he would like to stay, it's not easy to completely change from being a workaholic overnight. I do appreciate that Angela is written to be upfront and honest regarding not wanting a long-distance relationship. I also appreciate that there were no random appearances of exes as a plot device. I did have to laugh at the end of the movie when there is a comment about an issue about traffic on Christmas Eve but Angela finds a way where there is no one on the roads.
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: It's nice that they used a destination that didn't require the use of fake snow during filming. I think that they might be able to do that more frequently. I can attest that even in the Northeast there are plenty of times when we don't have snow around Christmas but it is still pretty cold. Bundling up in coats, gloves, scarfs and hats will do a lot to set up the premise that it is cold and they can reduce the use of faux snow. Just saying.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Lacey Chabert is one of the featured actors appearing in Hallmark films and series. One of my favorite Christmas movies starring Lacey was Matchmaker Santa (2012) which co-starred Adam Mayfield. Sam was previously seen in The Perfect Christmas Present (2017) with Tara Holt.
I was afraid that I was going to dislike this movie but Lacey didn't steer me wrong. Not only does she appear in many Hallmark vehicles but most of them are very enjoyable. You'll have to let me know your thoughts regarding this film and about the "Lacey" factor.
Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy - Premiere #23
Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 29th and stars Maggie Lawson (Katie) and Paul Greene (Ben). There are a number of recognizable actors from the prior two movies in the series that make cameo or supporting role appearances.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Katie is a freelance writer who needs a vacation and is looking for the spark to get her writing her second novel. She had read about the world renowned Christmas festival in Evergreen, VT and is hoping to experience the magic of the place herself. Ben is a former journalist who has made Evergreen his home and serves as one of the town's librarians. This years festival is bound to be extra special since it is the 50th anniversary of the first festival and there have been stories told over the years of a time capsule to be opened this year.
Meet Cute Moment: They are traveling on a train together and are jostled into each other while she is looking for a plug to charge her phone. In chatting they realize that they are traveling to the same destination and Katie gets an insider's view of Evergreen and the Christmas magic.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: The Christmas time capsule/advent calendar is pretty phenomenal but it doesn't look 50 years old and seems like it would be hard to get so many people in town able to make it each morning of the month. I really enjoy and appreciate the cameo appearances by the stars of the prior two movies in the series and allusions to the Christmas traditions highlighted in those plots. It makes it seem like Evergreen is a real community. While mentioning the sense of community created in the movies, I want to commend the writers and producers for the diversity in casting and highlighting women-owned business and leadership in the plot. The director makes good use of the musical montage to keep the story moving by showing the passage of time with the opening of the advent calendar days. The Christmas Eve event has returned but this time it is a community Christmas Eve Festival that is meant to be enjoyed with family. The best is that it appears that in the evening at the end of the festival they proceed to the church. It's also fun that while there is a proposal, it isn't among the main characters. I really enjoyed the ending plot device of the flash forward so that the viewer can get a sense of the conclusion of the story... or is it really a preview of what's to come?
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: There was a comment in the movie about Eisenhower and the advent calendar, so of course I found myself going down an internet search rabbit hole. And yes we do owe Ike some thanks for the widespread popularity of the advent calendar. My favorite find in my searching is an advent calendar posting to Twitter that highlights images from the Hubble Space Telescope. I recommend checking them out @TheAtlPhoto.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Maggie and Paul previously co-starred in My Favorite Wedding (2017). Maggie previously appeared in Christmas Encore (2017) with Brennan Elliott. Paul was seen in Anything for Love (2016) with Erika Christensen. Additionally, Paul can be seen playing Dr. Carson Shepard in When Calls the Heart.
I admit that based on the treatment of the first three stories of Evergreen, I'd watch any other Evergreen-based stories they tell in the future.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Katie is a freelance writer who needs a vacation and is looking for the spark to get her writing her second novel. She had read about the world renowned Christmas festival in Evergreen, VT and is hoping to experience the magic of the place herself. Ben is a former journalist who has made Evergreen his home and serves as one of the town's librarians. This years festival is bound to be extra special since it is the 50th anniversary of the first festival and there have been stories told over the years of a time capsule to be opened this year.
Meet Cute Moment: They are traveling on a train together and are jostled into each other while she is looking for a plug to charge her phone. In chatting they realize that they are traveling to the same destination and Katie gets an insider's view of Evergreen and the Christmas magic.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: The Christmas time capsule/advent calendar is pretty phenomenal but it doesn't look 50 years old and seems like it would be hard to get so many people in town able to make it each morning of the month. I really enjoy and appreciate the cameo appearances by the stars of the prior two movies in the series and allusions to the Christmas traditions highlighted in those plots. It makes it seem like Evergreen is a real community. While mentioning the sense of community created in the movies, I want to commend the writers and producers for the diversity in casting and highlighting women-owned business and leadership in the plot. The director makes good use of the musical montage to keep the story moving by showing the passage of time with the opening of the advent calendar days. The Christmas Eve event has returned but this time it is a community Christmas Eve Festival that is meant to be enjoyed with family. The best is that it appears that in the evening at the end of the festival they proceed to the church. It's also fun that while there is a proposal, it isn't among the main characters. I really enjoyed the ending plot device of the flash forward so that the viewer can get a sense of the conclusion of the story... or is it really a preview of what's to come?
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: There was a comment in the movie about Eisenhower and the advent calendar, so of course I found myself going down an internet search rabbit hole. And yes we do owe Ike some thanks for the widespread popularity of the advent calendar. My favorite find in my searching is an advent calendar posting to Twitter that highlights images from the Hubble Space Telescope. I recommend checking them out @TheAtlPhoto.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Maggie and Paul previously co-starred in My Favorite Wedding (2017). Maggie previously appeared in Christmas Encore (2017) with Brennan Elliott. Paul was seen in Anything for Love (2016) with Erika Christensen. Additionally, Paul can be seen playing Dr. Carson Shepard in When Calls the Heart.
I admit that based on the treatment of the first three stories of Evergreen, I'd watch any other Evergreen-based stories they tell in the future.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Christmas At The Plaza - Premiere #22
Christmas at the Plaza
premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 28th
and stars Elizabeth Henstridge (Jessica) and Ryan Paevey (Nick). Bruce
Davison (Reginald) and Julia Duffy (Amanda) appear in supporting roles.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Jessica is researching the Plaza to put together a legacy display for the holiday season. Nick is the head Christmas decorator for the Plaza this year.
Meet Cute Moment: Jessica is meeting her contact at the Plaza and accidentally moves his ladder and literally leaves him hanging while decorating and of course it turns out they will be working closely together over the coming weeks.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Nick takes Jessica to his home for an ugly sweater party where they wrap gifts and make cookies for the veterans and the party ends with a round of karaoke.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I generally dislike when the female characters are portrayed as having a lack of confidence and part of the plot is to build up the character to believe in themselves. However, it is a common device among many movies marketed towards women. I also dislike when the always present moment of confusion/misunderstanding pivots around a barely even mentioned ex. So you'd think that I wouldn't like this movie but I did. I really liked the inspiration for the exhibit being the Christmas tree toppers over the years. I found much of the storage of the Plaza's archives to be unbelievable, I guess that comes with this fictional world. I did like that Jessica dumps the jerk of the boyfriend but it is sad that the script had to make him such a stereotypical unsupportive male counterpart and that to him she was merely relatively intelligent eye candy. The associated mystery of the 1969 tree topper was an interesting twist but I found it odd that Jessica and Nick wouldn't just go online to see if the East Village store was still in business instead of going to actually find the store on foot. I didn't buy the fact that after 50 years Reginald could just go back and finish the finial he started back then. I also didn't buy the tidy bow that the Reginald storyline is tied up in the end. I did enjoy that the movie's conclusion at the Plaza on Christmas Eve. By the way, I would totally attend the Plaza's exhibit at the Oak Room. That sounds totally up my alley.
Hallmark Movie Connection: This is Elizabeth's first foray in a Hallmark movie. She is known for her role on the long-running Marvel's Agents of Shield TV series. I hope to see her other Hallmark movies as her schedule allows. Ryan has appeared in several Hallmark movies with a mixed approval rating my me. He was previously seen in From Friend to Fiance (2019) with Jocelyn Hudon.
Let me know if you enjoyed this movie as well despite some of the bothersome tropes.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Jessica is researching the Plaza to put together a legacy display for the holiday season. Nick is the head Christmas decorator for the Plaza this year.
Meet Cute Moment: Jessica is meeting her contact at the Plaza and accidentally moves his ladder and literally leaves him hanging while decorating and of course it turns out they will be working closely together over the coming weeks.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Nick takes Jessica to his home for an ugly sweater party where they wrap gifts and make cookies for the veterans and the party ends with a round of karaoke.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I generally dislike when the female characters are portrayed as having a lack of confidence and part of the plot is to build up the character to believe in themselves. However, it is a common device among many movies marketed towards women. I also dislike when the always present moment of confusion/misunderstanding pivots around a barely even mentioned ex. So you'd think that I wouldn't like this movie but I did. I really liked the inspiration for the exhibit being the Christmas tree toppers over the years. I found much of the storage of the Plaza's archives to be unbelievable, I guess that comes with this fictional world. I did like that Jessica dumps the jerk of the boyfriend but it is sad that the script had to make him such a stereotypical unsupportive male counterpart and that to him she was merely relatively intelligent eye candy. The associated mystery of the 1969 tree topper was an interesting twist but I found it odd that Jessica and Nick wouldn't just go online to see if the East Village store was still in business instead of going to actually find the store on foot. I didn't buy the fact that after 50 years Reginald could just go back and finish the finial he started back then. I also didn't buy the tidy bow that the Reginald storyline is tied up in the end. I did enjoy that the movie's conclusion at the Plaza on Christmas Eve. By the way, I would totally attend the Plaza's exhibit at the Oak Room. That sounds totally up my alley.
Hallmark Movie Connection: This is Elizabeth's first foray in a Hallmark movie. She is known for her role on the long-running Marvel's Agents of Shield TV series. I hope to see her other Hallmark movies as her schedule allows. Ryan has appeared in several Hallmark movies with a mixed approval rating my me. He was previously seen in From Friend to Fiance (2019) with Jocelyn Hudon.
Let me know if you enjoyed this movie as well despite some of the bothersome tropes.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
The Christmas Club - Premiere #21
The Christmas Club premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 27th and stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Olivia) and Cameron Mathison (Edward).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄 This is only the second movie that I didn't finish watching this year. I watched all but the last 20 minutes but I just wasn't enjoying the movie enough to finish it. See the rant section for details on my issues.
General Movie Details: Two strangers, Olivia and Edward, meet and help an elderly woman, Gertrude, whose Christmas Club savings ($80) is blown away. Olivia and Edward decide to pay it forward and give their own money to Gertrude but tell her they found her missing money. Gertrude goes on about fate and Christmas magic which will continue to be a theme throughout the movie.
Meet Cute Moment: The premise of the movie and the premise opening scene is their meet cute.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are several places with large nutcrackers. They are at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy and on the street. They are also in front of the store where Gertrude lost her money.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I found that this movie had a number of things that really just left me scratching my head and pulling me out of the story (really preventing me from being drawn in). At the holiday festival in the park there is a randomly placed wooden swing that they sit on and talk. This just seems very out of place seasonally and at the park since it looks like it was just placed there (with a cushion, really?). One of the main plot lines is that Maggie decides to retire and sell her business suddenly and puts the building up for sale in a few days because it is the best time to sell. I really wonder who told her that 2 weeks before Christmas was the best time to sell. I am sure that they are trying to get a commission and would say anything. Apparently, it works because with 5 days to Christmas a buyer is found and they are closing on the sale and the dance academy must vacate the premises before Christmas. Edward encourages her to open her own studio in a space for lease down the street and thinks she can get the business loan and be open by January. There is some serious time-bending going on in this story that just leaves me with more questions and issues. The tradition of the impractical Christmas Eve event is back in force with a Christmas recital at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy. Don't get me started on the fact that most dance academies host a ballet like The Nutcracker in December and not a recital... Also, the dance studio has lit and decorated Christmas trees throughout the space so I don't see how dancers can easily take class in the space forget about trying to perform. The only dancers we see (before the last 20 minutes) are the 5 and under crowd. I get that the theme is fate and Christmas magic but this movie could easily have been called Godwink Christmas 3: The Christmas Club. You'd just need Olivia's mom to make a comment using the term Godwink. The situations and timing were just taken too far too fast for me to follow and appreciate this movie.
I will point out two small things that I found refreshing and enjoyable. I liked the scarves on the eggnog glasses that Olivia's mom uses. I also appreciated that there was a Jewish character and a reference to Hanukkah and the lighting of the menorah. While the media related to the holiday season is overwhelming associated with Christmas it is nice to see some religious diversity. How about a holiday movie where Hanukkah gets more than a passing mention?!? How about something about Kwanzaa?!? Both holidays would be material that has not really been explored (read exploited) in holiday movies and the stories would lend themselves to greater diversity in talent and stories.
Hallmark Movie Connection: It appears that this is Elizabeth Mitchell's Hallmark debut but she has appeared in many TV series. I know her from Revolution but you might know her from another show. Additionally, she has an impressive Christmas movie connection as Carole/Mrs. Claus in The Santa Clause series (2 and 3). Cameron Mathison is in some ways the face of Hallmark. He has been in a multitude of movies and now is the co-host of Hallmark's Home & Family show since 2018. My favorite Christmas movie starring Cameron is The Christmas Ornament (2013) with Kellie Martin.
If you were able to sit through the entire movie, please let me know what I missed and if the resolution was worth it.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄 This is only the second movie that I didn't finish watching this year. I watched all but the last 20 minutes but I just wasn't enjoying the movie enough to finish it. See the rant section for details on my issues.
General Movie Details: Two strangers, Olivia and Edward, meet and help an elderly woman, Gertrude, whose Christmas Club savings ($80) is blown away. Olivia and Edward decide to pay it forward and give their own money to Gertrude but tell her they found her missing money. Gertrude goes on about fate and Christmas magic which will continue to be a theme throughout the movie.
Meet Cute Moment: The premise of the movie and the premise opening scene is their meet cute.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are several places with large nutcrackers. They are at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy and on the street. They are also in front of the store where Gertrude lost her money.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I found that this movie had a number of things that really just left me scratching my head and pulling me out of the story (really preventing me from being drawn in). At the holiday festival in the park there is a randomly placed wooden swing that they sit on and talk. This just seems very out of place seasonally and at the park since it looks like it was just placed there (with a cushion, really?). One of the main plot lines is that Maggie decides to retire and sell her business suddenly and puts the building up for sale in a few days because it is the best time to sell. I really wonder who told her that 2 weeks before Christmas was the best time to sell. I am sure that they are trying to get a commission and would say anything. Apparently, it works because with 5 days to Christmas a buyer is found and they are closing on the sale and the dance academy must vacate the premises before Christmas. Edward encourages her to open her own studio in a space for lease down the street and thinks she can get the business loan and be open by January. There is some serious time-bending going on in this story that just leaves me with more questions and issues. The tradition of the impractical Christmas Eve event is back in force with a Christmas recital at Miss Maggie's Dance Academy. Don't get me started on the fact that most dance academies host a ballet like The Nutcracker in December and not a recital... Also, the dance studio has lit and decorated Christmas trees throughout the space so I don't see how dancers can easily take class in the space forget about trying to perform. The only dancers we see (before the last 20 minutes) are the 5 and under crowd. I get that the theme is fate and Christmas magic but this movie could easily have been called Godwink Christmas 3: The Christmas Club. You'd just need Olivia's mom to make a comment using the term Godwink. The situations and timing were just taken too far too fast for me to follow and appreciate this movie.
I will point out two small things that I found refreshing and enjoyable. I liked the scarves on the eggnog glasses that Olivia's mom uses. I also appreciated that there was a Jewish character and a reference to Hanukkah and the lighting of the menorah. While the media related to the holiday season is overwhelming associated with Christmas it is nice to see some religious diversity. How about a holiday movie where Hanukkah gets more than a passing mention?!? How about something about Kwanzaa?!? Both holidays would be material that has not really been explored (read exploited) in holiday movies and the stories would lend themselves to greater diversity in talent and stories.
Hallmark Movie Connection: It appears that this is Elizabeth Mitchell's Hallmark debut but she has appeared in many TV series. I know her from Revolution but you might know her from another show. Additionally, she has an impressive Christmas movie connection as Carole/Mrs. Claus in The Santa Clause series (2 and 3). Cameron Mathison is in some ways the face of Hallmark. He has been in a multitude of movies and now is the co-host of Hallmark's Home & Family show since 2018. My favorite Christmas movie starring Cameron is The Christmas Ornament (2013) with Kellie Martin.
If you were able to sit through the entire movie, please let me know what I missed and if the resolution was worth it.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Check Inn to Christmas - Premiere #20
Check Inn to Christmas premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 26th and stars Rachel Boston (Julia) and Wes Brown (Ryan).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Julia Crawley is a lawyer living in NYC who is getting to go home to Crestridge, Colorado for the holidays. She's been at the law firm for 10 years and is trying for a promotion to a more senior partner track position that will mean more work and less time for family, friends and herself. Ryan Mason is a Crestridge native who after going to school for his MBA and working in Chicago decided to come home and help run his family's inn. Crestridge is home to two inns which sparked a long-standing feud between the families, the Crawleys and the Masons. Just imagine what could happen when a new enemy comes to town and is able to bring the the feud to an end. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!
Re-Meet Cute Moment: While they attended the same school they didn't run in the same circles so it's not surprising that they don't recognize each other at the train station. Julia unknowingly left her laptop on the train and Ryan returned it. Neither of them realizes at first that the other is from the feuding family.
Notable Fashion Alert: Rachel Boston's character is rocking several wrap dresses with boots. I think that this is a Rachel Boston costuming thing because I've seen her sport this look in other movies.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Not too much snark to share. I liked that the family feud was controlled. There is definitely a level of competitiveness and avoidance that makes it clear that there is definitely still a feud but it isn't taken to an over the top level with anomosity or malice. And the fact that the family feud appears to be waning anyway makes the movie resolution much more believable. I mean going from enemies to business partners wouldn't be possible any other way. I liked that the families were both still involved with the holiday festivities but just kind of avoided each other. I did enjoy the business Christmas decoration contest but I wish that we had seen the bakery or other competing businesses at some point in the movie. I did enjoy that both main characters had their assumptions about each other which were wrong and they have more in common than they initially expect and the same is true about their families. That little nugget is probably something we can all keep in mind throughout the year. I enjoyed the slow relationship building that they aren't really getting involved with each other because they know they are going their own ways but I felt that there was enough chemistry between the actors so that you knew that they were interested in each other. Julia's missing a step on the ladder and Jake just happening to be there to catch her was a bit too much but I guess there has to be at least one moment like that. I guess the issue was that I saw the moment coming a mile away but I did like that the moment was interrupted and called out. Part of the conclusion that I appreciated was that Julia's decision was first and foremost about doing what was right for her, her family, the town and Ryan is just one aspect of the decision. Way to go logical thinking! One moment of snark, is everyone really going to Eddie's pub and ordering the hot chocolate? If that's the case, you know it's been doctored.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Rachel is a year-round Hallmark staple. She was previously in A Rose for Christmas (2017) with Marc Bendavid. My favorite of her previous movies was A Ring by Spring (2014) with Kirby Morrow and co-starring Ali Leibert and Jesse Moss. Wes Brown is becoming a year-round staple and was previously seen in Under the Autumn Moon (2018) with Lindy Booth. Earlier this year he was in Over The Moon In Love (2019) with Jessica Lowndes, who apparently also wrote and executive produced the movie (thanks IMDB for that tidbit).
I hope that you enjoyed curling up and watching this little gem. By the way, did you notice that we're halfway through this crazy endeavor. Thanks for coming along!
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Julia Crawley is a lawyer living in NYC who is getting to go home to Crestridge, Colorado for the holidays. She's been at the law firm for 10 years and is trying for a promotion to a more senior partner track position that will mean more work and less time for family, friends and herself. Ryan Mason is a Crestridge native who after going to school for his MBA and working in Chicago decided to come home and help run his family's inn. Crestridge is home to two inns which sparked a long-standing feud between the families, the Crawleys and the Masons. Just imagine what could happen when a new enemy comes to town and is able to bring the the feud to an end. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!
Re-Meet Cute Moment: While they attended the same school they didn't run in the same circles so it's not surprising that they don't recognize each other at the train station. Julia unknowingly left her laptop on the train and Ryan returned it. Neither of them realizes at first that the other is from the feuding family.
Notable Fashion Alert: Rachel Boston's character is rocking several wrap dresses with boots. I think that this is a Rachel Boston costuming thing because I've seen her sport this look in other movies.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Not too much snark to share. I liked that the family feud was controlled. There is definitely a level of competitiveness and avoidance that makes it clear that there is definitely still a feud but it isn't taken to an over the top level with anomosity or malice. And the fact that the family feud appears to be waning anyway makes the movie resolution much more believable. I mean going from enemies to business partners wouldn't be possible any other way. I liked that the families were both still involved with the holiday festivities but just kind of avoided each other. I did enjoy the business Christmas decoration contest but I wish that we had seen the bakery or other competing businesses at some point in the movie. I did enjoy that both main characters had their assumptions about each other which were wrong and they have more in common than they initially expect and the same is true about their families. That little nugget is probably something we can all keep in mind throughout the year. I enjoyed the slow relationship building that they aren't really getting involved with each other because they know they are going their own ways but I felt that there was enough chemistry between the actors so that you knew that they were interested in each other. Julia's missing a step on the ladder and Jake just happening to be there to catch her was a bit too much but I guess there has to be at least one moment like that. I guess the issue was that I saw the moment coming a mile away but I did like that the moment was interrupted and called out. Part of the conclusion that I appreciated was that Julia's decision was first and foremost about doing what was right for her, her family, the town and Ryan is just one aspect of the decision. Way to go logical thinking! One moment of snark, is everyone really going to Eddie's pub and ordering the hot chocolate? If that's the case, you know it's been doctored.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Rachel is a year-round Hallmark staple. She was previously in A Rose for Christmas (2017) with Marc Bendavid. My favorite of her previous movies was A Ring by Spring (2014) with Kirby Morrow and co-starring Ali Leibert and Jesse Moss. Wes Brown is becoming a year-round staple and was previously seen in Under the Autumn Moon (2018) with Lindy Booth. Earlier this year he was in Over The Moon In Love (2019) with Jessica Lowndes, who apparently also wrote and executive produced the movie (thanks IMDB for that tidbit).
I hope that you enjoyed curling up and watching this little gem. By the way, did you notice that we're halfway through this crazy endeavor. Thanks for coming along!
Friday, November 29, 2019
A Christmas Duet - Premiere #19
A Christmas Duet premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 25th and stars Chaley Rose (Averie) and Rome Flynn (Jesse).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Averie and Jesse used to be a chart topping singing duo but they drifted apart. Averie is now living is a small town and running the Blue Spruce Inn. Jesse is still playing music and touring as a small time solo act. What happens when the life paths of these two converge at her little inn right in the lead up to the Yuletide Festival.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Jesse was booked to stay at the Blue Spruce Inn and runs into Averie and to his surprise she is the proprietor of the inn. It is your typical romantically awkward moment.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: The premise was a bit different than some of the other music related movies and the cast was pointedly more diverse than other movies so I was hopeful. While the movie wasn't bad, it was just okay. The plot seemed to be cluttered with the festivities and the inn review that I just didn't feel like there was much room for character exploration. The abbreviated time frame of 6 days until the Yuletide Festival also make it difficult to expect to see much other than your basic running around plot. Beyond the ridiculous time frame there are other unbelievable plot devices at work, such as the dwindled festival budget, the implication that there were no materials that could be salvaged after the flood and the idea that there was a storm raging somewhere off screen that seemed to be stranding many of the characters (either at the inn or unable to get to the inn). One thing that my viewing partner and I did enjoy was the performance of Chaley Rose so we hope to see her again with better material or a different co-star.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Chaley Rose and Rome Flynn are both making their Hallmark movie premiere. They may both be familiar as they both have been supporting cast members of popular TV series in the past. One performer that my viewing partner spotted and repeatedly mentioned was Reese Alexander as Averie's dad. Reese Alexander was recognized as the Tourney coach from Disney's Descendants movie from 2015. Proof positive that every performance is an opportunity to connect with the audience.
Let me know if you really bought into the character transformation and the movie's conclusion.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Averie and Jesse used to be a chart topping singing duo but they drifted apart. Averie is now living is a small town and running the Blue Spruce Inn. Jesse is still playing music and touring as a small time solo act. What happens when the life paths of these two converge at her little inn right in the lead up to the Yuletide Festival.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Jesse was booked to stay at the Blue Spruce Inn and runs into Averie and to his surprise she is the proprietor of the inn. It is your typical romantically awkward moment.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: The premise was a bit different than some of the other music related movies and the cast was pointedly more diverse than other movies so I was hopeful. While the movie wasn't bad, it was just okay. The plot seemed to be cluttered with the festivities and the inn review that I just didn't feel like there was much room for character exploration. The abbreviated time frame of 6 days until the Yuletide Festival also make it difficult to expect to see much other than your basic running around plot. Beyond the ridiculous time frame there are other unbelievable plot devices at work, such as the dwindled festival budget, the implication that there were no materials that could be salvaged after the flood and the idea that there was a storm raging somewhere off screen that seemed to be stranding many of the characters (either at the inn or unable to get to the inn). One thing that my viewing partner and I did enjoy was the performance of Chaley Rose so we hope to see her again with better material or a different co-star.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Chaley Rose and Rome Flynn are both making their Hallmark movie premiere. They may both be familiar as they both have been supporting cast members of popular TV series in the past. One performer that my viewing partner spotted and repeatedly mentioned was Reese Alexander as Averie's dad. Reese Alexander was recognized as the Tourney coach from Disney's Descendants movie from 2015. Proof positive that every performance is an opportunity to connect with the audience.
Let me know if you really bought into the character transformation and the movie's conclusion.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Our Christmas Love Song - Premiere #18
Our Christmas Love Song premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 24th and stars Alicia Witt (Melody) and Brendan Hines (Chase).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: Melody (apropos name) is a country star who has really made it and even debuts a new Christmas song at the Grand Ole Opry. She seems to have it all but her mentor accuses her of copying the song from one of hers. She has 12 days (until Christmas) to prove she wrote it. So she goes home to Madison, Indiana for Christmas for the first time in 2 years to try to find notes that can prove the authorship of her song. Chase is her ex-boyfriend and former writing partner who didn't leave Madison and is running his family's tavern.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Chase and Melody have a history as high school sweethearts. Sometimes the easiest way to deal with exes and past relationships is to avoid them at all costs. Well Madison is a pretty small town so of course you would run into each other in the grocery store and have an awkward conversation. Seemed to be an homage to You've Got Mail and the awkward encounter the main characters have at Zabar's.
Missed Nutcracker Moment: There is apparently a Nutcracker presentation event that happens at the tree lighting but we the audience don't get to attend but instead get to see another 4 minute commercial interlude.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let me start by saying that I didn't have high hopes for this movie because of the preview in the commercial. There was something weird about how she was moving while playing. But I hoped that I was going to be wrong. Alicia Witt is an actual song writer and performer so I felt like the performance would be good. I did like her performance at the Grand Ole Opry but wasn't really in love with the original Christmas songs. The plot was a bit weak with her mission to find a slip of paper with proof that she wrote the song years ago. There wasn't much chemistry between the characters and it felt like they were dialing it in. The movie concludes in typical Hallmark fashion with one character uprooting their life for the other.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Alicia is a Hallmark movie stalwart and seems to appear in a movie each Holiday season. One of my favorite of hers was A Very Merry Mix Up (2013) with Mark Wiebe. This movie appears to be Brendan Hines Hallmark debut, however, he has been working in supporting cast roles on a number of TV series over the years. I previously caught him as a recurring guest role in Scorpion.
Let me know if you felt differently about this one than me.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: Melody (apropos name) is a country star who has really made it and even debuts a new Christmas song at the Grand Ole Opry. She seems to have it all but her mentor accuses her of copying the song from one of hers. She has 12 days (until Christmas) to prove she wrote it. So she goes home to Madison, Indiana for Christmas for the first time in 2 years to try to find notes that can prove the authorship of her song. Chase is her ex-boyfriend and former writing partner who didn't leave Madison and is running his family's tavern.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Chase and Melody have a history as high school sweethearts. Sometimes the easiest way to deal with exes and past relationships is to avoid them at all costs. Well Madison is a pretty small town so of course you would run into each other in the grocery store and have an awkward conversation. Seemed to be an homage to You've Got Mail and the awkward encounter the main characters have at Zabar's.
Missed Nutcracker Moment: There is apparently a Nutcracker presentation event that happens at the tree lighting but we the audience don't get to attend but instead get to see another 4 minute commercial interlude.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let me start by saying that I didn't have high hopes for this movie because of the preview in the commercial. There was something weird about how she was moving while playing. But I hoped that I was going to be wrong. Alicia Witt is an actual song writer and performer so I felt like the performance would be good. I did like her performance at the Grand Ole Opry but wasn't really in love with the original Christmas songs. The plot was a bit weak with her mission to find a slip of paper with proof that she wrote the song years ago. There wasn't much chemistry between the characters and it felt like they were dialing it in. The movie concludes in typical Hallmark fashion with one character uprooting their life for the other.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Alicia is a Hallmark movie stalwart and seems to appear in a movie each Holiday season. One of my favorite of hers was A Very Merry Mix Up (2013) with Mark Wiebe. This movie appears to be Brendan Hines Hallmark debut, however, he has been working in supporting cast roles on a number of TV series over the years. I previously caught him as a recurring guest role in Scorpion.
Let me know if you felt differently about this one than me.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 - Premiere #17
Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2 premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 24th and stars Ali Leibert (Darcy) and Peter Porte (Aiden).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: It's been a year since Darcy ran over Aiden with her bike which gave him a case of amnesia in A Gift to Remember (2017). Aiden is all recovered and living two doors down from Darcy. Darcy is now the manager at Chaucers book store and we've returned just in time for Christmas. It's their first real Christmas together and they are both trying to come up with the perfect gift for one another. We are introduced to Marcus, a young boy who is spending Christmas with his aunt (Mrs. Henley) while his parents are both deployed over the holiday. In an attempt to pack more into the movie than is necessary, there is also the fact that Darcy and Aiden need to work fast to save the Liberty Recreation Center from being sold.
Giant Toy Soldiers Alert: There were giant toy soldiers, although not Nutcrackers, around the room at the Liberty Recreation Center party.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I really liked the 2017 feature, A Gift to Remember. This sequel didn't live up to the first in my mind. There were too many plot lines going on and it lacked the warmth of the original. There is a snowmaze at the park that they visit which is very cool and would be a cool addition to a winter wonderland. Aiden plans to design, cut and paint his village buildings in the approximately 1 week before Christmas Eve. My husband and I called foul loudly on that project. I mean if he were planning to only do one building I might find the project more reasonable but about a half dozen buildings is a no go in my mind. Let's talk about the fact that it is supposed to be December in Philadelphia. Darcy either is impervious to the cold or wants to come down with pneumonia for New Year's because when she gets dressed up for both the Rec Center party and the Christmas Eve party at Chaucers she is without a coat for both! If she were wearing a long sleeve wool dress, I might buy the lack of outerwear but she's wearing really short sleeved satiny dresses on both occasions. The one sentiment that I do appreciate from Mrs. Henley is that friends are the family you choose. It's a worthy sentiment to keep in mind as we look forward to Thanksgiving and the coming holiday.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Besides their prior pairing in A Gift to Remember (2017)... Ali was previously seen in a supporting role in Anything for Love (2016) which starred Erika Christensen and Paul Greene. Peter was previously in Love, Once and Always (2018) with Amanda Schull.
I really liked these characters and the original story but I'm just not sure that this script warranted revisiting them this year. The original movie was based on a book by Melissa Hill and if you are needing anther dose of the characters maybe the source material is worth a read. Please let me know your thoughts about this sequel.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: It's been a year since Darcy ran over Aiden with her bike which gave him a case of amnesia in A Gift to Remember (2017). Aiden is all recovered and living two doors down from Darcy. Darcy is now the manager at Chaucers book store and we've returned just in time for Christmas. It's their first real Christmas together and they are both trying to come up with the perfect gift for one another. We are introduced to Marcus, a young boy who is spending Christmas with his aunt (Mrs. Henley) while his parents are both deployed over the holiday. In an attempt to pack more into the movie than is necessary, there is also the fact that Darcy and Aiden need to work fast to save the Liberty Recreation Center from being sold.
Giant Toy Soldiers Alert: There were giant toy soldiers, although not Nutcrackers, around the room at the Liberty Recreation Center party.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I really liked the 2017 feature, A Gift to Remember. This sequel didn't live up to the first in my mind. There were too many plot lines going on and it lacked the warmth of the original. There is a snowmaze at the park that they visit which is very cool and would be a cool addition to a winter wonderland. Aiden plans to design, cut and paint his village buildings in the approximately 1 week before Christmas Eve. My husband and I called foul loudly on that project. I mean if he were planning to only do one building I might find the project more reasonable but about a half dozen buildings is a no go in my mind. Let's talk about the fact that it is supposed to be December in Philadelphia. Darcy either is impervious to the cold or wants to come down with pneumonia for New Year's because when she gets dressed up for both the Rec Center party and the Christmas Eve party at Chaucers she is without a coat for both! If she were wearing a long sleeve wool dress, I might buy the lack of outerwear but she's wearing really short sleeved satiny dresses on both occasions. The one sentiment that I do appreciate from Mrs. Henley is that friends are the family you choose. It's a worthy sentiment to keep in mind as we look forward to Thanksgiving and the coming holiday.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Besides their prior pairing in A Gift to Remember (2017)... Ali was previously seen in a supporting role in Anything for Love (2016) which starred Erika Christensen and Paul Greene. Peter was previously in Love, Once and Always (2018) with Amanda Schull.
I really liked these characters and the original story but I'm just not sure that this script warranted revisiting them this year. The original movie was based on a book by Melissa Hill and if you are needing anther dose of the characters maybe the source material is worth a read. Please let me know your thoughts about this sequel.
Christmas at Graceland: Home For The Holidays - Premiere #16
Christmas at Graceland: Home For The Holidays premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 23rd and stars Kaitlin Doubleday (Harper) and Adrian Grenier (Owen). Priscilla Presley makes a cameo appearance.
RATING (out of 5): 🌟 Just a reminder that the star =1/2 a Christmas tree and is basically as low as it goes ranking wise.
General Movie Details: Harper has been working in museums across Europe and came home for Christmas for the first time in 3 years. She's interviewing at the Brooks Museum for their international curator position and is in town for the holiday and waiting to find out if she got the position. Owen's a widowed businessman with 3 kids and he is without childcare while his nanny is home for the holidays and her backup fell through. Harper volunteers to fill in while she's in town.
Meet Cute Moment: She gives his kids (and her nieces) a private tour of Graceland which she did back in high school. When he picks up his kids he proceeds to stick his foot in his mouth a bit and then offers her the temporary nanny position.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I'll be honest, I didn't finish the movie... I turned if off about halfway through. There was no chemistry and not really anything believable or interesting in the way of a plot. I should also admit that I didn't watch last year's Christmas at Graceland (2018) which is completely fine since the two movies may share a name they are in no way related. Thanks Hallmark for not only adding to the confusion but also disappointing. So the movie starts no earlier than 3 weeks until Christmas and Owen is just starting to plan the Christmas Eve fundraiser at Graceland, the newly crowned Gala of Giving. I really find that hard to believe. About as difficult to believe as the fact that Harper is recruited to work on helping to curate the Elvis at Christmas special exhibit. No offense but that if it is that close to Christmas, any events and exhibits would already be finalized. I mean the special exhibit should already be mounted. So I found the whole thing to be utterly unbelievable and there was really nothing else substantial enough in the plot or performances to hold my interest. Also, they really made Memphis out to be quite white during December. I didn't think that they reliably had snow in the area of the country for that long. I get that they want to make it look and feel like Christmas but it seems to be a bit much this time. The one thing that I did see that I liked was the light up wooden advent calendar that plays music when the drawers are open that Harper gave Owen's kids.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kaitlin previously had a supporting role in Chance at Romance (2014) starring Erin Krakow and Ryan McPartlin. Adrian was previously in Love at First Glance with Amy Smart.
If you did make it through the whole movie I hope that you found it an enjoyable watch. With 14 movie premieres between 11/23 and 12/2, I just don't have the time or energy to watch a sub par Christmas movie.
RATING (out of 5): 🌟 Just a reminder that the star =1/2 a Christmas tree and is basically as low as it goes ranking wise.
General Movie Details: Harper has been working in museums across Europe and came home for Christmas for the first time in 3 years. She's interviewing at the Brooks Museum for their international curator position and is in town for the holiday and waiting to find out if she got the position. Owen's a widowed businessman with 3 kids and he is without childcare while his nanny is home for the holidays and her backup fell through. Harper volunteers to fill in while she's in town.
Meet Cute Moment: She gives his kids (and her nieces) a private tour of Graceland which she did back in high school. When he picks up his kids he proceeds to stick his foot in his mouth a bit and then offers her the temporary nanny position.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I'll be honest, I didn't finish the movie... I turned if off about halfway through. There was no chemistry and not really anything believable or interesting in the way of a plot. I should also admit that I didn't watch last year's Christmas at Graceland (2018) which is completely fine since the two movies may share a name they are in no way related. Thanks Hallmark for not only adding to the confusion but also disappointing. So the movie starts no earlier than 3 weeks until Christmas and Owen is just starting to plan the Christmas Eve fundraiser at Graceland, the newly crowned Gala of Giving. I really find that hard to believe. About as difficult to believe as the fact that Harper is recruited to work on helping to curate the Elvis at Christmas special exhibit. No offense but that if it is that close to Christmas, any events and exhibits would already be finalized. I mean the special exhibit should already be mounted. So I found the whole thing to be utterly unbelievable and there was really nothing else substantial enough in the plot or performances to hold my interest. Also, they really made Memphis out to be quite white during December. I didn't think that they reliably had snow in the area of the country for that long. I get that they want to make it look and feel like Christmas but it seems to be a bit much this time. The one thing that I did see that I liked was the light up wooden advent calendar that plays music when the drawers are open that Harper gave Owen's kids.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kaitlin previously had a supporting role in Chance at Romance (2014) starring Erin Krakow and Ryan McPartlin. Adrian was previously in Love at First Glance with Amy Smart.
If you did make it through the whole movie I hope that you found it an enjoyable watch. With 14 movie premieres between 11/23 and 12/2, I just don't have the time or energy to watch a sub par Christmas movie.
Holiday Hearts - Premiere #15
Holiday Hearts premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 23rd and stars Ashley Williams (Peyton) and Paul Campbell (Dr. Ben Tyler).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Peyton is planning the annual Canaday Inn Christmas Eve party for the first time and is having a bit of trouble with coming up with a theme. Peyton's crush from 10 years ago (Dr. Ben Tyler) has been back in town for a year and while she knows he's there she hasn't seen him. All that is going to change when Peyton and Ben are thrust together to take care of Lily, their friends daughter while he has surgery.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Both Peyton and Tyler are traveling the same stretch of road going in opposite directions when they both spot a reindeer in a field. Both are temporarily mesmerized by the sight and wind up sliding off the slippery road (luckily without colliding). When he can't get his car started again she give him a ride and they are forced back together.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are a squadron of soldiers outside the the stores along Main Street. There are a pair of smaller (3' tall) Nutcrackers flanking the door at Lily's house.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Peyton's parents are sporting some knit sweaters at the beginning of the movie when we meet them. Her dad is especially embarrassing what some might think borders on a conservative ugly sweater. Ben is wearing a great navy cabled pullover with a rolled mock turtleneck sweater while decorating the tree.
Notable Quotable: These aren't exact quotes but my highlighted take aways.... Dr. Ben refers to the Triple H gene, Ho Ho Ho. People either have it or don't. Lily shares that snowflakes are kisses from heaven (it comes up a few times). Peyton when talking to her sister remarks that her slice of pecan pie makes good boyfriend material, crusty on the outside and sweet on the inside.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Lily's dad needs to have emergency surgery for a torn ACL after falling from the ladder. I guess I'm just surprised that this would be deemed emergency surgery and would need to be done immediately. Lily's house is referred to as an old place but from the outside it looks relatively new or at least the siding looks pretty new. I enjoyed the fact that Lily and her caregivers (Peyton and Ben) are carrying on the family traditions. They are a family with 3 trees. You might say it's a bit much but I have to admit that I've so been that girl in the past. I'm now a 2 tree girl because you need one in both the family room and the living room. I seriously have issue with the fact that we are supposed to believe that Peyton doesn't have a theme for the Christmas Eve party until 3 days before and somehow manages to pull together all the right decorations and everything in time. You see that she has help but I just don't buy it.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Ashley Williams was previously in October Kiss (2015) with Sam Jaeger. Paul Campbell was previously in A Godwink Christmas (2018) with Kimberly Sustad.
While the movie was okay it was just lacking in the holiday magic for me. Let me know if you felt something more.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🌟
General Movie Details: Peyton is planning the annual Canaday Inn Christmas Eve party for the first time and is having a bit of trouble with coming up with a theme. Peyton's crush from 10 years ago (Dr. Ben Tyler) has been back in town for a year and while she knows he's there she hasn't seen him. All that is going to change when Peyton and Ben are thrust together to take care of Lily, their friends daughter while he has surgery.
Re-Meet Cute Moment: Both Peyton and Tyler are traveling the same stretch of road going in opposite directions when they both spot a reindeer in a field. Both are temporarily mesmerized by the sight and wind up sliding off the slippery road (luckily without colliding). When he can't get his car started again she give him a ride and they are forced back together.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are a squadron of soldiers outside the the stores along Main Street. There are a pair of smaller (3' tall) Nutcrackers flanking the door at Lily's house.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Peyton's parents are sporting some knit sweaters at the beginning of the movie when we meet them. Her dad is especially embarrassing what some might think borders on a conservative ugly sweater. Ben is wearing a great navy cabled pullover with a rolled mock turtleneck sweater while decorating the tree.
Notable Quotable: These aren't exact quotes but my highlighted take aways.... Dr. Ben refers to the Triple H gene, Ho Ho Ho. People either have it or don't. Lily shares that snowflakes are kisses from heaven (it comes up a few times). Peyton when talking to her sister remarks that her slice of pecan pie makes good boyfriend material, crusty on the outside and sweet on the inside.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Lily's dad needs to have emergency surgery for a torn ACL after falling from the ladder. I guess I'm just surprised that this would be deemed emergency surgery and would need to be done immediately. Lily's house is referred to as an old place but from the outside it looks relatively new or at least the siding looks pretty new. I enjoyed the fact that Lily and her caregivers (Peyton and Ben) are carrying on the family traditions. They are a family with 3 trees. You might say it's a bit much but I have to admit that I've so been that girl in the past. I'm now a 2 tree girl because you need one in both the family room and the living room. I seriously have issue with the fact that we are supposed to believe that Peyton doesn't have a theme for the Christmas Eve party until 3 days before and somehow manages to pull together all the right decorations and everything in time. You see that she has help but I just don't buy it.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Ashley Williams was previously in October Kiss (2015) with Sam Jaeger. Paul Campbell was previously in A Godwink Christmas (2018) with Kimberly Sustad.
While the movie was okay it was just lacking in the holiday magic for me. Let me know if you felt something more.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love - Premiere #14
A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 17th and stars Cindy Busby (Alice) and Benjamin Hollingsworth (Jack). Kathy Lee Gifford appears in a supporting role as Olga, Alice's mom.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: Alice runs her family's boutique in Minneapolis but she's realizing that it isn't her calling. Jack lives in Dublin, Wisconsin and works in sales for a medical company. These two individuals are experiencing godwinks that keep bringing them together and cannot be ignored.
Meet Cute Moment: Alice is at the hotel for a charity event, the Schooner Gala, and Jack is there for his company's holiday party. He's slightly distracted on his phone and runs into Alice and feels an instant connection. Alice even remarks, "You're still holding my hands." In his confusion he follows her into the Schooner Gala insteard of his office party but he doesn't realize it's the wrong party. It's only later that he realizes his mistake but there paths continue to converge.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers on the street with Alice's shop that are seen periodically through the movie. Additionally, there are some Nutcrackers on the shopping district street in Dublin, Wisconsin which are also seen multiple times during the movie.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I have a major issue with the movie. There was a Godwink Christmas movie that premiered last year (which I actually liked - probably a 4-tree movie) that also has Kathy Lee Gifford in a co-starring role as the aunt of the main character. Now this year, she's also in this movie BUT her character is a completely new/different character. REALLY!?!? If you are going to create a series of movies based on theme where the characters are not related from one movie to another, then you really shouldn't have any of the same actors in the movie. It just makes things unnecessarily confusing.
There are a bunch of little oddities in the movie that left me scratching my head. Alice's job is retail which is usually not a high paying position. But she has an amazing gourmet kitchen in what looks to be a really nice apartment. Jack lives 90 minutes from Minneapolis but his company puts him up in a hotel when he has to work in the Minneapolis office. This just seems weird to me. Where I am from a 90 minute trip to the office is just called a daily commute, just saying. Alice and Jack make snow angels on their roadtrip when they get waylaid but they don't have gloves or mittens. As someone who has made this mistake before, it isn't fun and it is downright cold. I guess they are impervious to the cold or the costume designer just forgot to include handwear for the actors. At the hotel in Iowa, they are in rooms across the hall from each other which is not too coincidental. The weird part is that their room numbers were 302 and 312. Usually those rooms would be down the hall from each other not across the hall. I'd expect the rooms to be 302 and 303 if they were across the hall from each other. One of the issues that I have a real problem with is the way that Olga, Alice's mom, does not respect Alice's privacy. She and the rest of Alice's family are all too willing to share her private medical information with others without her knowledge or permission. That's just not right!
Hallmark Movie Connection: Cindy Busby was previously seen in Royal Hearts (2018) with Andrew Cooper. Benjamin Hollingsworth was previously in Lucky in Love (2014) with Jessica Szohr.
To me this movie was not nearly as enjoyable as the first Godwink Christmas but let me know if you feel differently.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: Alice runs her family's boutique in Minneapolis but she's realizing that it isn't her calling. Jack lives in Dublin, Wisconsin and works in sales for a medical company. These two individuals are experiencing godwinks that keep bringing them together and cannot be ignored.
Meet Cute Moment: Alice is at the hotel for a charity event, the Schooner Gala, and Jack is there for his company's holiday party. He's slightly distracted on his phone and runs into Alice and feels an instant connection. Alice even remarks, "You're still holding my hands." In his confusion he follows her into the Schooner Gala insteard of his office party but he doesn't realize it's the wrong party. It's only later that he realizes his mistake but there paths continue to converge.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are giant Nutcrackers on the street with Alice's shop that are seen periodically through the movie. Additionally, there are some Nutcrackers on the shopping district street in Dublin, Wisconsin which are also seen multiple times during the movie.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I have a major issue with the movie. There was a Godwink Christmas movie that premiered last year (which I actually liked - probably a 4-tree movie) that also has Kathy Lee Gifford in a co-starring role as the aunt of the main character. Now this year, she's also in this movie BUT her character is a completely new/different character. REALLY!?!? If you are going to create a series of movies based on theme where the characters are not related from one movie to another, then you really shouldn't have any of the same actors in the movie. It just makes things unnecessarily confusing.
There are a bunch of little oddities in the movie that left me scratching my head. Alice's job is retail which is usually not a high paying position. But she has an amazing gourmet kitchen in what looks to be a really nice apartment. Jack lives 90 minutes from Minneapolis but his company puts him up in a hotel when he has to work in the Minneapolis office. This just seems weird to me. Where I am from a 90 minute trip to the office is just called a daily commute, just saying. Alice and Jack make snow angels on their roadtrip when they get waylaid but they don't have gloves or mittens. As someone who has made this mistake before, it isn't fun and it is downright cold. I guess they are impervious to the cold or the costume designer just forgot to include handwear for the actors. At the hotel in Iowa, they are in rooms across the hall from each other which is not too coincidental. The weird part is that their room numbers were 302 and 312. Usually those rooms would be down the hall from each other not across the hall. I'd expect the rooms to be 302 and 303 if they were across the hall from each other. One of the issues that I have a real problem with is the way that Olga, Alice's mom, does not respect Alice's privacy. She and the rest of Alice's family are all too willing to share her private medical information with others without her knowledge or permission. That's just not right!
Hallmark Movie Connection: Cindy Busby was previously seen in Royal Hearts (2018) with Andrew Cooper. Benjamin Hollingsworth was previously in Lucky in Love (2014) with Jessica Szohr.
To me this movie was not nearly as enjoyable as the first Godwink Christmas but let me know if you feel differently.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Write Before Christmas - Premiere #13
Write Before Christmas premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 17th and stars Torrey DeVitto (Jessica) and Chad Michael Murray (Luke). There are a number of actors you will also recognize in supporting roles.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄 I am very tempted to add a 🌟 (the new 1/2 tree, because 1/2 of a Christmas tree has to be the presence of a star) to this rating because I can definitely see myself rewatching this one. Also, I could easily see a spin off movie starring one of the supporting couples next year. Let's get the gang back together for a sequel, Germany anyone?
General Movie Details: Jessica really wants to spread some holiday cheer to her boyfriend so she buys him 5 very special holiday cards. However, when he dumps her that evening with 2 weeks until Christmas she decides to use those cards to thank 5 people who have had a lasting impact on her life. Those cards effect each recipient's life and their relationships and we get to see how that all plays out in this interconnected web.
Meet Cute Moment: There are a number of meet cute moments in this movie for several of the character couples. I enjoy that the first times we see the main characters they are more like passing ships. I mean they even bump into each other on the sidewalk and apologize and continue on their way with no lasting memory of each other. It is very fitting with the movie and these particular characters.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are two life-size Nutcrackers that flank the doors to Jessica's apartment building that you see glimpses of a few times over the course of the movie.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Warning, there is a bunch of sweet knits in this movie. The costume designer for the movie is Valerie Halverson and I just want to praise her for the use of seasonally stunning sweaters and accessories. This is someone with a vision and a love of knits. Come to find out she's also a Hallmark veteran when I checked out her filmography. Let's talk sweaters... Fair isle yoke sweaters are very on trend this year and we have two great ones to pick from here. Jessica is seen wearing a navy blue yoke sweater with a Norwegian star (selburose) band and an allover lice pattern in white in Strings & Notes about 3 minutes into the movie. Much later we see a white yoke sweater with a Norwegian star band and fair isle around the hem and cuffs in red on one of the girls at the group home. Jessica also dons a green cabled sweater in Strings & Notes about 28 minutes into the movie. The last item that I want to highlight in this movie is neither knitted or a costume... it's a crocheted afghan on the back of Aunt Lila's couch that can be seen when she calls Jessica to thank her for the card. I am not the only one that was enamored with the costume styling as I found a posting on where to buy the items or copy the looks. They chose some different pieces to highlight but you can see just how much knitwear was included.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So this movie feels to me like it is a relative to the format used in Love Actually or Valentine's Day. All of the films have an ensemble cast and disparate storylines with some character connections. However, they take it a step further in this movie by making Jessica be the character connection with everyone. I visualize this story as a hub and spoke model, anyone else seeing a wire snowflake form in their mind? I think that this works quite well to keep the story more contained and keep Jessica and her storyline at the heart of the movie. I won't deny that this type of story is by nature a bit disjointed and short on character development. I admit that the first 5-10 minutes of the movie are incredibly confusing because you are seeing snippets of scenes with people you aren't introduced to until later in the movie. But I think that a second watching might give the viewer an opportunity to get more from the quick initial snippets we see and the course of the various storylines. Yeah for "legitimate" excuses to rewatch! We have another appearance of an adopted child. In this case, he's a grown adult but it is still a departure from the norm and the writers work adoption and giving back to community into the plot seemlessly. Did I also mention there is a military component to the story too? They really hit all the points with this one. I didn't play Hallmark bingo while watching this one but I should just to see how many boxes on the page can get filled in...
Fear not, this movie is not without it's faults. Let's start with the elephant in my mind... It is 13 days before Christmas and she mails cards to recipients who not only receive the cards but the cards are able to create impactful situations for the recipients. I mean in my world it seems like the mail is extra slow around the holidays and it can take a week or more for mail to make it to it's destination no matter how close. Also, how does Jessica get the home address for former teen boyband member Jax? I know that his brother is his manager, but I doubt that their address is public record regardless of his current status as a has been. Good news for anyone missing it in the last few movies... bring on the Christmas Eve events with this one. In this case, there is even the option to attend multiple Christmas Eve happenings (you go Luke). Primo is hosting a Christmas Eve party at his restaurant. I guess that there are people with nothing to do on Christmas Eve so I guess a party is not that weird but seems like it should be postponed a week for New Year's. The other event is a pop-up reunion concert for Jax and his bandmates. This helps bring the plot back together towards a neatly tied bow but it seems a bit of a stretch that everyone is free for Christmas Eve and to pull off the plan in less than 2 weeks.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Torrey DeVitto was previously seen in Best Christmas Party Ever (2014) with Steve Lund. She seems to be pretty busy with her day job on TV, currently Chicago Med, but maybe she'll have time to co-star in the sequel I'm envisioning for next year. Chad Michael Murray previously starred in Road to Christmas (2018) with Jesse Schram.
Did you enjoy this movie or was it too much (too many storylines) and too little (too little character growth) for you?
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄 I am very tempted to add a 🌟 (the new 1/2 tree, because 1/2 of a Christmas tree has to be the presence of a star) to this rating because I can definitely see myself rewatching this one. Also, I could easily see a spin off movie starring one of the supporting couples next year. Let's get the gang back together for a sequel, Germany anyone?
General Movie Details: Jessica really wants to spread some holiday cheer to her boyfriend so she buys him 5 very special holiday cards. However, when he dumps her that evening with 2 weeks until Christmas she decides to use those cards to thank 5 people who have had a lasting impact on her life. Those cards effect each recipient's life and their relationships and we get to see how that all plays out in this interconnected web.
Meet Cute Moment: There are a number of meet cute moments in this movie for several of the character couples. I enjoy that the first times we see the main characters they are more like passing ships. I mean they even bump into each other on the sidewalk and apologize and continue on their way with no lasting memory of each other. It is very fitting with the movie and these particular characters.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There are two life-size Nutcrackers that flank the doors to Jessica's apartment building that you see glimpses of a few times over the course of the movie.
Notable Knitwear Alert: Warning, there is a bunch of sweet knits in this movie. The costume designer for the movie is Valerie Halverson and I just want to praise her for the use of seasonally stunning sweaters and accessories. This is someone with a vision and a love of knits. Come to find out she's also a Hallmark veteran when I checked out her filmography. Let's talk sweaters... Fair isle yoke sweaters are very on trend this year and we have two great ones to pick from here. Jessica is seen wearing a navy blue yoke sweater with a Norwegian star (selburose) band and an allover lice pattern in white in Strings & Notes about 3 minutes into the movie. Much later we see a white yoke sweater with a Norwegian star band and fair isle around the hem and cuffs in red on one of the girls at the group home. Jessica also dons a green cabled sweater in Strings & Notes about 28 minutes into the movie. The last item that I want to highlight in this movie is neither knitted or a costume... it's a crocheted afghan on the back of Aunt Lila's couch that can be seen when she calls Jessica to thank her for the card. I am not the only one that was enamored with the costume styling as I found a posting on where to buy the items or copy the looks. They chose some different pieces to highlight but you can see just how much knitwear was included.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So this movie feels to me like it is a relative to the format used in Love Actually or Valentine's Day. All of the films have an ensemble cast and disparate storylines with some character connections. However, they take it a step further in this movie by making Jessica be the character connection with everyone. I visualize this story as a hub and spoke model, anyone else seeing a wire snowflake form in their mind? I think that this works quite well to keep the story more contained and keep Jessica and her storyline at the heart of the movie. I won't deny that this type of story is by nature a bit disjointed and short on character development. I admit that the first 5-10 minutes of the movie are incredibly confusing because you are seeing snippets of scenes with people you aren't introduced to until later in the movie. But I think that a second watching might give the viewer an opportunity to get more from the quick initial snippets we see and the course of the various storylines. Yeah for "legitimate" excuses to rewatch! We have another appearance of an adopted child. In this case, he's a grown adult but it is still a departure from the norm and the writers work adoption and giving back to community into the plot seemlessly. Did I also mention there is a military component to the story too? They really hit all the points with this one. I didn't play Hallmark bingo while watching this one but I should just to see how many boxes on the page can get filled in...
Fear not, this movie is not without it's faults. Let's start with the elephant in my mind... It is 13 days before Christmas and she mails cards to recipients who not only receive the cards but the cards are able to create impactful situations for the recipients. I mean in my world it seems like the mail is extra slow around the holidays and it can take a week or more for mail to make it to it's destination no matter how close. Also, how does Jessica get the home address for former teen boyband member Jax? I know that his brother is his manager, but I doubt that their address is public record regardless of his current status as a has been. Good news for anyone missing it in the last few movies... bring on the Christmas Eve events with this one. In this case, there is even the option to attend multiple Christmas Eve happenings (you go Luke). Primo is hosting a Christmas Eve party at his restaurant. I guess that there are people with nothing to do on Christmas Eve so I guess a party is not that weird but seems like it should be postponed a week for New Year's. The other event is a pop-up reunion concert for Jax and his bandmates. This helps bring the plot back together towards a neatly tied bow but it seems a bit of a stretch that everyone is free for Christmas Eve and to pull off the plan in less than 2 weeks.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Torrey DeVitto was previously seen in Best Christmas Party Ever (2014) with Steve Lund. She seems to be pretty busy with her day job on TV, currently Chicago Med, but maybe she'll have time to co-star in the sequel I'm envisioning for next year. Chad Michael Murray previously starred in Road to Christmas (2018) with Jesse Schram.
Did you enjoy this movie or was it too much (too many storylines) and too little (too little character growth) for you?
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Christmas Under the Stars - Premiere #12
Christmas Under the Stars premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 16th and stars Autumn Reeser (Julie) and Jesse Metcalfe (Nick).
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Julie is a single mom and 7th grade science teacher in Chicago. This is the first Chrismas for her and her son after her father's passing. She is still working through the grief process which is made more difficult as she is still trying to deal with and resolve his medical bills. Nick is an investment banker who is the son of a prominent businessman. Unfortunately, he gets fired from his firm due to making a bad investment decision for a big and important client. These two people from disparate backgrounds find their paths repeatedly crossing at a local Christmas tree lot run by Clem. Tag line for this movie is that "Everything works out at Christmas, just need hope."
Meet Cute Moment: Their first interaction is truly just passing each other at Clem's tree lot. The following day, Julie and Matt (her son) come back to the tree lot and Julie and Nick, hired by Clem to be the "muscle", officially meet. Clem seems to have a bit of matchmaker in him and at the end of the day he sends Nick to deliver a tree to an address belonging to Julie to the surprise of them both.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There is a life-size Nutcracker at Clem's tree lot that can be seen while Clem is being interviewed by the reporter toward the beginning of the movie and also towards the end of the movie while Nick is on the phone.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let's start by saying that these characters for the most part seem like real people with relatively normal lives. Yes, Nick is a "rich" guy with all the trappings of that life but it fits since he was an investment banker and from a well off family... but his character is not used to represent Scrooge or an overly pompous rude rich guy. He is played just like a relatively normal kind of guy. This is refreshing to see in a Hallmark movie. I also really like that Julie is the one that asks Nick for a dinner date. Another thing that I found refreshing was that Julie's son, Matt, is her adopted son. They seem to be really pushing away from some of the typical Hallmark stereotypes with their characterizations in this movie. I understand that there needs to be a conflict for the story arc to work but I appreciate the fact that there are no exes that show up. The conflict is the result of Julie's own sensitivity regarding her current financial situation and the fact that she is open and honest with Nick about it provides the opportunity for Nick to reflect on his past and the person he wants to be. The conflict also doesn't create a real impasse between them. I know that there are some questions and issues left unexplained surrounding how her dad's medical bills would impact Julie financially. In my mind, I kind of think of it less that it creates trouble for Julie's financial position but more likely creates issues regarding his estate (and any inheritance) for which she is probably the executor. There is also a touching scene between Nick and his dad that stays on the right side of being too sentimental and sappy. You know that these characters are all "good" people because they spend their Christmas Eve with family and friends and giving "gifts" to each other. Fear not, this movie ends with a kiss, as all good Hallmark movies should. Although they really should invest in better green screen editing because the background for the kiss and finale really does look like a painted backdrop instead of a realistic cityscape. I bet they paid a lot of money for the poor effect. They could have just used an interior set for the background and had a better and cheaper result.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Autumn and Jesse are not new to Hallmark or to working with each other. They previously starred together in A Country Wedding (2015). Autumn also appeared in Valentine Ever After (2016) with Eric Johnson. Jesse also appears in the Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores (2016-ongoing) with Meghan Ory.
I really liked the feeling that I was watching seemingly real people trying to manuever through their lives without it feeling overly contrived. Let me know how you felt.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Julie is a single mom and 7th grade science teacher in Chicago. This is the first Chrismas for her and her son after her father's passing. She is still working through the grief process which is made more difficult as she is still trying to deal with and resolve his medical bills. Nick is an investment banker who is the son of a prominent businessman. Unfortunately, he gets fired from his firm due to making a bad investment decision for a big and important client. These two people from disparate backgrounds find their paths repeatedly crossing at a local Christmas tree lot run by Clem. Tag line for this movie is that "Everything works out at Christmas, just need hope."
Meet Cute Moment: Their first interaction is truly just passing each other at Clem's tree lot. The following day, Julie and Matt (her son) come back to the tree lot and Julie and Nick, hired by Clem to be the "muscle", officially meet. Clem seems to have a bit of matchmaker in him and at the end of the day he sends Nick to deliver a tree to an address belonging to Julie to the surprise of them both.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There is a life-size Nutcracker at Clem's tree lot that can be seen while Clem is being interviewed by the reporter toward the beginning of the movie and also towards the end of the movie while Nick is on the phone.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: Let's start by saying that these characters for the most part seem like real people with relatively normal lives. Yes, Nick is a "rich" guy with all the trappings of that life but it fits since he was an investment banker and from a well off family... but his character is not used to represent Scrooge or an overly pompous rude rich guy. He is played just like a relatively normal kind of guy. This is refreshing to see in a Hallmark movie. I also really like that Julie is the one that asks Nick for a dinner date. Another thing that I found refreshing was that Julie's son, Matt, is her adopted son. They seem to be really pushing away from some of the typical Hallmark stereotypes with their characterizations in this movie. I understand that there needs to be a conflict for the story arc to work but I appreciate the fact that there are no exes that show up. The conflict is the result of Julie's own sensitivity regarding her current financial situation and the fact that she is open and honest with Nick about it provides the opportunity for Nick to reflect on his past and the person he wants to be. The conflict also doesn't create a real impasse between them. I know that there are some questions and issues left unexplained surrounding how her dad's medical bills would impact Julie financially. In my mind, I kind of think of it less that it creates trouble for Julie's financial position but more likely creates issues regarding his estate (and any inheritance) for which she is probably the executor. There is also a touching scene between Nick and his dad that stays on the right side of being too sentimental and sappy. You know that these characters are all "good" people because they spend their Christmas Eve with family and friends and giving "gifts" to each other. Fear not, this movie ends with a kiss, as all good Hallmark movies should. Although they really should invest in better green screen editing because the background for the kiss and finale really does look like a painted backdrop instead of a realistic cityscape. I bet they paid a lot of money for the poor effect. They could have just used an interior set for the background and had a better and cheaper result.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Autumn and Jesse are not new to Hallmark or to working with each other. They previously starred together in A Country Wedding (2015). Autumn also appeared in Valentine Ever After (2016) with Eric Johnson. Jesse also appears in the Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores (2016-ongoing) with Meghan Ory.
I really liked the feeling that I was watching seemingly real people trying to manuever through their lives without it feeling overly contrived. Let me know how you felt.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Hallmark Fails?
This post is a break from our recent movie review fare to call out the cable division of Hallmark. So with it being the 10th anniversary of Countdown to Christmas, the company decided that they should overload the schedule with 40 premieres. They have been advertising the schedule for over a month with sneak peeks and commercials indicating the "official schedule" being premieres on Thursday and Friday on Movies and Mysteries and premieres on Saturday and Sunday (plus an all week Thanksgiving premiere-athon) on Hallmark Channel. This all made sense to me so that diehard fans (or those with a crazy goal and can do attitude) can see all of the premieres over the season. Well apparently something must have happened because Hallmark has changed their schedule for the rest of the season beginning with this weeks Friday premiere of Godwink Christmas 2 (you get the idea here). There was some back and forth with fans on their Facebook page where they confirmed the change in their comment responses. I imagine there was also some grumblings on Twitter and other social media sites as well. So there are now multiple premieres on Saturdays and Sundays onboth networks with conflicting times at 8pm and 9pm. Anyone trying to watch the movies live (I don't fall into this camp) will need to give up on that dream. The spread out of the premieres made it easier for me to both watch and post my reviews regularly and not get completely Christmas-ed out. I wonder if they have been seeing low ratings for the M&M premieres and hope that this move will yield better results.
Based on the movies I've seen so far this year, I'd recommend they focus on quality instead of quantity and I'm sure that limiting the number of premieres would result in improved ratings/viewership. I am sure that they have their own plans which seem to lean towards quantity forsaking all else. I know that they have Christmas movies 24-7 and only show their own movies but it would be nice to show more of their older films and maybe repeat some of the older ones more often. They could even pay for some older "independent" (ie not developed by a specific network) Christmas content that hasn't been on TV for years or has limited appearances. One example would be The Nutcracker, I mean the ballet not a movie about the ballet. Ovation TV used to do the Battle of the Nutcrackers but they don't show them anymore and many of the options would probably be available for a reasonable price to televise. Another example could be something like the fabulous (my opinion but it did also get two award nominations) TV movie The Christmas List (1997) with Mimi Rodgers that originally appeared on the long gone Family Channel. They could always have a throwback classic Christmas movie thrown in there for good measure, I'm thinking along the lines of Shop Around the Corner (1940) or both versions of Christmas in Connecticut (1945 and 1992). It's not their usual fare but they may attract others beyond their typical audience with some different offerings. I know there is a lot of additional Christmas content out there that is just wasting away with the increased focus on new content and lots of it.
All of this to say that I am going to continue in my attempt to see all 40 premieres this year but it's going to be a bit harder to fit it in with my life and be timely. There are only maybe 10-12 that my spouse is interested in watching so I try to fit my movie watching in when we aren't spending time together. In the end, I probably will be posting my "reviews" about 2 to 4 days after airing date.
Feel free to share your thoughts about Hallmark making such a huge schedule change after their very public and highly promoted schedule announcements. Also, feel free to comment on the thought of adding some different Christmas content and what you'd recommend.
Based on the movies I've seen so far this year, I'd recommend they focus on quality instead of quantity and I'm sure that limiting the number of premieres would result in improved ratings/viewership. I am sure that they have their own plans which seem to lean towards quantity forsaking all else. I know that they have Christmas movies 24-7 and only show their own movies but it would be nice to show more of their older films and maybe repeat some of the older ones more often. They could even pay for some older "independent" (ie not developed by a specific network) Christmas content that hasn't been on TV for years or has limited appearances. One example would be The Nutcracker, I mean the ballet not a movie about the ballet. Ovation TV used to do the Battle of the Nutcrackers but they don't show them anymore and many of the options would probably be available for a reasonable price to televise. Another example could be something like the fabulous (my opinion but it did also get two award nominations) TV movie The Christmas List (1997) with Mimi Rodgers that originally appeared on the long gone Family Channel. They could always have a throwback classic Christmas movie thrown in there for good measure, I'm thinking along the lines of Shop Around the Corner (1940) or both versions of Christmas in Connecticut (1945 and 1992). It's not their usual fare but they may attract others beyond their typical audience with some different offerings. I know there is a lot of additional Christmas content out there that is just wasting away with the increased focus on new content and lots of it.
All of this to say that I am going to continue in my attempt to see all 40 premieres this year but it's going to be a bit harder to fit it in with my life and be timely. There are only maybe 10-12 that my spouse is interested in watching so I try to fit my movie watching in when we aren't spending time together. In the end, I probably will be posting my "reviews" about 2 to 4 days after airing date.
Feel free to share your thoughts about Hallmark making such a huge schedule change after their very public and highly promoted schedule announcements. Also, feel free to comment on the thought of adding some different Christmas content and what you'd recommend.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
A Christmas Miracle - Premiere #11
A Christmas Miracle premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 14th and stars Tamera Mowry-Housley (Emma) and Brooks Darnell (Marcus). Barry Bostwick appears in a supporting role as Santa Dean.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄 A little insight here, my husband said that if I finish watching the movie then it deserves at least one star. I do have to say that I stopped the movie with about 17 minutes remaining to grab some dinner (and catch Disney +) so you can say that I really wasn't drawn into the story.
General Movie Details: Emma is a divorcee and single mom who just moved to Denver from Savannah for a new job as the Executive Assistant to the editor of a magazine (Daily Lifestyle Magazine). She has a background in journalism and pitches a story for the big Christmas issue for Real Life Christmas Miracles. Needless to say her boss steals her idea and she and her photographer colleague, Marcus, search for their own Christmas Miracle story to turn the tables on Valerie (the editor) and expose her.
Meet Cute Moment: Emma decided that 1 week after starting a new job that she should give everyone in the office mini Christmas trees that light up for their desks. So she tried to give one to Marcus but he didn't want one and they had a bit of a tete-a-tete before one of his friends came in and Emma gave the tree to him.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There was a Nutcracker sighting outside the theater where Sissy is performing.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So my favorite moment was when Marcus commented on the reindeer cookies and said, "I think these are going to sleigh (slay)." There you go that is the best there was to be had. I had a major issue with the timing in this movie. The characters work at a magazine which I am not sure about the actual issue frequency as it doesn't appear to be daily despite the name so maybe it's weekly. Either way, at the start of the movie there are already decorations everywhere you look which to me signals that we are at least at Thanksgiving time. Don't get me started on the fact that her son is already on holiday break until the new year which must mean that they are on a year-round calendar (PS Denver Public Schools are not, I looked). So if the Christmas issue of the magazine is so important, why wouldn't they have started planning and pitching story ideas for the features and the cover story for THIS year's issue before the post-Thanksgiving timeframe? Do they work with a printer with the capability to instantaneously print and deliver the magazine? I mean I know that monthly magazine's are usually working at least 3-6 months in advance of the publication date so they are usually thinking snow and Christmas during summer and fall so this must published more frequently but REALLY?!? Either way, I did find the timing of everything to be a distraction from the start. I mean Valerie (evil editor) says Merry Christmas to Emma and Marcus in the lobby right after meeting going over the Christmas issue layout. And yet based on a passing remark at the Christmas Eve jazz concert in the park (yep, they went there too) to reunite Santa Dean with his daughter, the Christmas issue was released a week before Christmas Eve. Now let's move on to the fact that Emma's new boss stole her idea and passed it off as her own and we see about 1 minute devoted to that confrontation/resolution but it is Christmas so everything works out in the end and everyone is forgiven and believed to have more integrity then they themselves feel they have and display. Finally, the snippet of the Christmas Eve concert where daughter and father are reunited sounded terrible. I mean the musical soundtrack, if they are really supposed to be professional musicians it really should have sounded better. There you have it... There was very little character development or backstory provided for the main characters. I really had no vested interest in whether or not Santa Dean's reunion happened. I don't think that I would classify a wish for a family reunion and a musical group reunion for a Christmas concert to be a "Real Live Christmas Miracle", but that might just be me.
Hallmark Movie Connection: It appears that this is the first Hallmark movie for both Tamera Mowry-Housley and Brooks Darell. Tamera was well know for starring in a sitcom with her twin sister Tia in the 90's and Brooks appears to be a regular cast member on The Young and the Restless.
I hope that if you watched this movie, you enjoyed it more than me because the only miracle for me was finishing it.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄 A little insight here, my husband said that if I finish watching the movie then it deserves at least one star. I do have to say that I stopped the movie with about 17 minutes remaining to grab some dinner (and catch Disney +) so you can say that I really wasn't drawn into the story.
General Movie Details: Emma is a divorcee and single mom who just moved to Denver from Savannah for a new job as the Executive Assistant to the editor of a magazine (Daily Lifestyle Magazine). She has a background in journalism and pitches a story for the big Christmas issue for Real Life Christmas Miracles. Needless to say her boss steals her idea and she and her photographer colleague, Marcus, search for their own Christmas Miracle story to turn the tables on Valerie (the editor) and expose her.
Meet Cute Moment: Emma decided that 1 week after starting a new job that she should give everyone in the office mini Christmas trees that light up for their desks. So she tried to give one to Marcus but he didn't want one and they had a bit of a tete-a-tete before one of his friends came in and Emma gave the tree to him.
Giant Nutcracker Sighting: There was a Nutcracker sighting outside the theater where Sissy is performing.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So my favorite moment was when Marcus commented on the reindeer cookies and said, "I think these are going to sleigh (slay)." There you go that is the best there was to be had. I had a major issue with the timing in this movie. The characters work at a magazine which I am not sure about the actual issue frequency as it doesn't appear to be daily despite the name so maybe it's weekly. Either way, at the start of the movie there are already decorations everywhere you look which to me signals that we are at least at Thanksgiving time. Don't get me started on the fact that her son is already on holiday break until the new year which must mean that they are on a year-round calendar (PS Denver Public Schools are not, I looked). So if the Christmas issue of the magazine is so important, why wouldn't they have started planning and pitching story ideas for the features and the cover story for THIS year's issue before the post-Thanksgiving timeframe? Do they work with a printer with the capability to instantaneously print and deliver the magazine? I mean I know that monthly magazine's are usually working at least 3-6 months in advance of the publication date so they are usually thinking snow and Christmas during summer and fall so this must published more frequently but REALLY?!? Either way, I did find the timing of everything to be a distraction from the start. I mean Valerie (evil editor) says Merry Christmas to Emma and Marcus in the lobby right after meeting going over the Christmas issue layout. And yet based on a passing remark at the Christmas Eve jazz concert in the park (yep, they went there too) to reunite Santa Dean with his daughter, the Christmas issue was released a week before Christmas Eve. Now let's move on to the fact that Emma's new boss stole her idea and passed it off as her own and we see about 1 minute devoted to that confrontation/resolution but it is Christmas so everything works out in the end and everyone is forgiven and believed to have more integrity then they themselves feel they have and display. Finally, the snippet of the Christmas Eve concert where daughter and father are reunited sounded terrible. I mean the musical soundtrack, if they are really supposed to be professional musicians it really should have sounded better. There you have it... There was very little character development or backstory provided for the main characters. I really had no vested interest in whether or not Santa Dean's reunion happened. I don't think that I would classify a wish for a family reunion and a musical group reunion for a Christmas concert to be a "Real Live Christmas Miracle", but that might just be me.
Hallmark Movie Connection: It appears that this is the first Hallmark movie for both Tamera Mowry-Housley and Brooks Darell. Tamera was well know for starring in a sitcom with her twin sister Tia in the 90's and Brooks appears to be a regular cast member on The Young and the Restless.
I hope that if you watched this movie, you enjoyed it more than me because the only miracle for me was finishing it.
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