Christmas Scavenger Hunt premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 3rd and stars Kim Shaw (Belinda) and Kevin McGarry (Dustin). Tom Arnold appears in a supporting role as Belinda's dad.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: Belinda (aka Linda and Bel) is a big city career girl with a real estate development company. She is up for a promotion if she can secure a property in her hometown for a her client. She is going home for Christmas (and a wedding apparently) for the first time in years. Dustin is small town boy who never left home even when they were supposed to go to the big city together for college. As luck would have it, Dustin runs the textile mill museum that Belinda is tasked with purchasing. We find out that the mill is in need of restoration and financial backing which means it will need a Christmas miracle to avoid being sold. Thanks to Belinda's meddling dad, she is paired up with Dustin for the town's annual Christmas scavenger hunt.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I was completely prepared to fall head over heels for this movie and in a way I did... flat on my face. The script was terrible. I love the idea of scavenger hunt and Christmas themed is a bonus. However, there appears to be no rush to complete the 10 tasks and the winner is decided based on a karaoke competition at the party that evening. Even though Dustin is the reigning champ from the last few years, I don't see any level of hustle. I know that they supposed have until midnight but really why procrastinate. Besides since the hunt ends with karaoke and a party, I'd imagine the hunt really ends by 9pm or so. I am so disappointed at the unrealized potential here that could be enjoyed with some relatively easy and small tweaks to the story. Additionally, why is it that the Christmas miracle always comes through in the end. In this case it's all thanks to Belinda's giving nature during the hunt. I kind of would have liked it if the Christmas miracle were that they were able to come to a compromise with the future developer to save the mill building. I am guessing that the mill building would have been on the National Register of Historic Places or at least the state/town register and as such probably wouldn't have been able to be easily torn down anyway. Besides, this is a more believable outcome in my mind. Finally, I never really got the feeling that there was real chemistry between the main characters. Don't get me wrong there was plenty of familiarity but I didn't get the feeling of real passion. Belinda's breakup with her boyfriend and admission that Dustin was always the one within a few days seemed comical and entirely unrealistic to me.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Kim Shaw appears to be making her Hallmark debut with this film. She has appeared in a number of series and movies on TV but nothing that I've watched. I hope that her next Hallmark film has a better script and she has a better chemistry with her next co-star. Kevin McGarry was previously in Winter Love Story (2019) with Jen Lilley. He also is the "new" Mountie on When Calls the Heart (2019 - he gets a better offer?) with well everyone Hallmark! Interestingly in looking at their IMDB pages it appears that Kevin had a role in one episode of Kim Shaw's TV show, Saving Hope, in 2017.
You'll have to let me know if I'm being too harsh just because the movie didn't live up to my expectations based the potential I saw in the concept.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Monday, November 4, 2019
Merry & Bright - Premiere #5
Merry & Bright premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on November 2nd and stars Jodie Sweetin (Cate) and Andrew Walker (Gabe). Sharon Lawrence appears in a supporting role as Cate's Mom.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄 + 1/2 tree... poor planning by me and hopefully I can figure out how to show a 1/2 tree but this is what I've got for now... It's early in the season and while I liked the movie, I don't think that it's a 4 star movie for me.
General Movie Details: The Board of Directors of the Merry & Bright Candy Cane Company have concerns for the future of the company and their new CEO (Cate) so they employ a corporate consultant (Gabe) to review and make recommendations for the future of the small candy maker. Initially, Gabe doesn't want to be there and Cate doesn't want him there either. However, over the course of working together (2 weeks... saving personal commentary for below) they realize they might not be as different as they thought and they can work together to make Merry & Bright successful again. The general theme is to hold on to who you are and your legacy but be willing to take a chance.
Meet Cute Moment: When Gabe recognizes Cate at the hotel and tries to introduce himself after arriving in town, she instantly assumes that he is the blind date her mom set her up on. She, of course, explains to him that she isn't going on a date with him only to realize who he really is and to be completely embarrassed.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So I loved the homage to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice when Cate overhears Gabe on the phone putting down the town, the company, the situation and Cate. I also loved that Gabe commented that with 2 weeks to Christmas that a candy cane company would be winding down. Yes, Gabe, in the real world you are absolutely correct but this serves as a reminder that time works differently in a Hallmark movie. Issue number one is with the makeup artist on the film because Jodie Sweetin's (and the actress playing her assistant to a lesser degree) fake eyelashes are just too long. I have no problem with enhancing the actresses natural lashes but this is just plain distracting. There are a few shots with her in partial profile and it looks unnatural and unnecessary to be done up to that degree. Moving on... I find it problematic that we are supposed to believe that the Merry & Bright Board of Directors is concerned enough about the future of the company to hire a consultant but then these characters are not in the film and are never referenced again. The Board does not even need to be briefed about a possible new product line or taking on another large investor. Something seems not right for an apparently engaged and concerned BOD to be completely absent from the the presentation of the findings and in the decision making process. To balance out this rant, I have to applaud the writers for their appropriate use of the flash forward in time (one year) so that we can see the happily ever after moment craved in the genre and it isn't completely unbelievable or worse creepy. Honestly, I am ok without the neat bow in the last seconds of the movie but I know that I am probably in the minority on this account. If you have to wrap it up with a bow, a well done flash forward is my personal preference. In case you are looking for a Christmas Eve event, Britewell, Ohio also has a Christmas Eve Jubilee for the town. Yep, everyone's doing it. I guess I should just embrace it already.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Jodie Sweetin also appeared in Entertaining Christmas (2018) with Brendan Fehr. Andrew Walker is a Hallmark fixture who also appeared in Debbie Macomber's Dashing Through The Snow (2015) with Meghan Ory. Did you know that apparently Andrew Walker has been two timing Hallmark with Lifetime the past few years around this season? I had no idea until I was checking out his IMDB page. Keep your eyes peeled because it appears he is not the only Hallmark stalwart who is involved with more than one network these days.
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: It's nice when you can learn something completely useless from a movie. December 26th is National Candy Cane Day. Share this random fun and true fact with someone you love. When you are either shopping for deals or trying to return the failed Christmas gifts be sure to have one handy to celebrate and just get through the day.
Let me know your thoughts about fake eyelashes, flash forward endings and flavored candy canes.
General Movie Details: The Board of Directors of the Merry & Bright Candy Cane Company have concerns for the future of the company and their new CEO (Cate) so they employ a corporate consultant (Gabe) to review and make recommendations for the future of the small candy maker. Initially, Gabe doesn't want to be there and Cate doesn't want him there either. However, over the course of working together (2 weeks... saving personal commentary for below) they realize they might not be as different as they thought and they can work together to make Merry & Bright successful again. The general theme is to hold on to who you are and your legacy but be willing to take a chance.
Meet Cute Moment: When Gabe recognizes Cate at the hotel and tries to introduce himself after arriving in town, she instantly assumes that he is the blind date her mom set her up on. She, of course, explains to him that she isn't going on a date with him only to realize who he really is and to be completely embarrassed.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So I loved the homage to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice when Cate overhears Gabe on the phone putting down the town, the company, the situation and Cate. I also loved that Gabe commented that with 2 weeks to Christmas that a candy cane company would be winding down. Yes, Gabe, in the real world you are absolutely correct but this serves as a reminder that time works differently in a Hallmark movie. Issue number one is with the makeup artist on the film because Jodie Sweetin's (and the actress playing her assistant to a lesser degree) fake eyelashes are just too long. I have no problem with enhancing the actresses natural lashes but this is just plain distracting. There are a few shots with her in partial profile and it looks unnatural and unnecessary to be done up to that degree. Moving on... I find it problematic that we are supposed to believe that the Merry & Bright Board of Directors is concerned enough about the future of the company to hire a consultant but then these characters are not in the film and are never referenced again. The Board does not even need to be briefed about a possible new product line or taking on another large investor. Something seems not right for an apparently engaged and concerned BOD to be completely absent from the the presentation of the findings and in the decision making process. To balance out this rant, I have to applaud the writers for their appropriate use of the flash forward in time (one year) so that we can see the happily ever after moment craved in the genre and it isn't completely unbelievable or worse creepy. Honestly, I am ok without the neat bow in the last seconds of the movie but I know that I am probably in the minority on this account. If you have to wrap it up with a bow, a well done flash forward is my personal preference. In case you are looking for a Christmas Eve event, Britewell, Ohio also has a Christmas Eve Jubilee for the town. Yep, everyone's doing it. I guess I should just embrace it already.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Jodie Sweetin also appeared in Entertaining Christmas (2018) with Brendan Fehr. Andrew Walker is a Hallmark fixture who also appeared in Debbie Macomber's Dashing Through The Snow (2015) with Meghan Ory. Did you know that apparently Andrew Walker has been two timing Hallmark with Lifetime the past few years around this season? I had no idea until I was checking out his IMDB page. Keep your eyes peeled because it appears he is not the only Hallmark stalwart who is involved with more than one network these days.
Hallmark, I'm Looking At You: It's nice when you can learn something completely useless from a movie. December 26th is National Candy Cane Day. Share this random fun and true fact with someone you love. When you are either shopping for deals or trying to return the failed Christmas gifts be sure to have one handy to celebrate and just get through the day.
Let me know your thoughts about fake eyelashes, flash forward endings and flavored candy canes.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Two Turtle Doves - Premiere #4
Two Turtle Doves premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on November 1st and stars Nikki DeLoach and Michael Rady.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Single successful scientist (Dr. Sharon Hayes) returns home to her hometown to celebrate her first Christmas since the passing of the grandmother who raised her. While in town, she has to wrap up the details of her grandmother's estate with her lawyer (Sam) who happens to be a widowed (attractive) father and her next door neighbor. Her grandmother stipulated that before making any decisions about the house Sharon needs to complete 12 of their family traditions like the 12 days of Christmas heirloom ornaments. However, when the ornaments are located, the two turtle doves ornament which was always hers and was thought to bring love is missing. The hunt for the missing ornament helps both Sharon and Sam to begin to see the possibilities of what's to come and to make space for it.
Meet Cute Moment: Sharon stops into the Holly and Ivy bakery in town to pick up some cookies and Sam notices her and saves her from a group of ladies who recognize her as Vera's granddaughter and are trying to play matchmaker with their sons.
Christmas Decoration Alert: Over the years, my spouse and I have noticed that the Hallmark set decorators love some giant Nutcrackers. I too love a giant Nutcracker, although mine are only about 3' tall compared to their 6-8' at minimum statues. There was at least three giant Nutcrackers spotted at different locations in the movie. I am guessing that I probably missed a few so keep your eyes peeled.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So the center of the film is about a set of handmade ceramic ornaments depicting the 12 days of Christmas. These were apparently passed down through the generations as they were made by Sharon's 7x great grandfather. I am all about antiques and old stuff but these ornaments do not look like ones that would be over 100 years old. They look way too contemporary in their form and colors. Also, who goes out to dinner and ice skating wearing a suit and pantsuit? I mean even for a first date this seems like a mismatch but apparently they must have discussed it beforehand because they are both improperly dressed for the evening activity.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Nikki DeLoach was previously in Christmas Land (2015) with Luke Macfarlane. Michael Rady was previously in Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018) with Jessica Lowdes. He also was in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies for a non-Hallmark connection.
Hallmark, I'm looking at you: While writing this post, I wanted some seasonal music in the background and I noticed that Hallmark had a Yule Log recording available... so I started streaming it only to be immediately confused, the Christmas music was playing and the yule log was lit in the background... however, in the foreground was a room completely decorated for fall!!! I am so confused, this does not compute.
Let me know how many giant Nutcrackers you caught and if the autumn yule log is as problematic for you as it is for me.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: Single successful scientist (Dr. Sharon Hayes) returns home to her hometown to celebrate her first Christmas since the passing of the grandmother who raised her. While in town, she has to wrap up the details of her grandmother's estate with her lawyer (Sam) who happens to be a widowed (attractive) father and her next door neighbor. Her grandmother stipulated that before making any decisions about the house Sharon needs to complete 12 of their family traditions like the 12 days of Christmas heirloom ornaments. However, when the ornaments are located, the two turtle doves ornament which was always hers and was thought to bring love is missing. The hunt for the missing ornament helps both Sharon and Sam to begin to see the possibilities of what's to come and to make space for it.
Meet Cute Moment: Sharon stops into the Holly and Ivy bakery in town to pick up some cookies and Sam notices her and saves her from a group of ladies who recognize her as Vera's granddaughter and are trying to play matchmaker with their sons.
Christmas Decoration Alert: Over the years, my spouse and I have noticed that the Hallmark set decorators love some giant Nutcrackers. I too love a giant Nutcracker, although mine are only about 3' tall compared to their 6-8' at minimum statues. There was at least three giant Nutcrackers spotted at different locations in the movie. I am guessing that I probably missed a few so keep your eyes peeled.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So the center of the film is about a set of handmade ceramic ornaments depicting the 12 days of Christmas. These were apparently passed down through the generations as they were made by Sharon's 7x great grandfather. I am all about antiques and old stuff but these ornaments do not look like ones that would be over 100 years old. They look way too contemporary in their form and colors. Also, who goes out to dinner and ice skating wearing a suit and pantsuit? I mean even for a first date this seems like a mismatch but apparently they must have discussed it beforehand because they are both improperly dressed for the evening activity.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Nikki DeLoach was previously in Christmas Land (2015) with Luke Macfarlane. Michael Rady was previously in Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018) with Jessica Lowdes. He also was in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies for a non-Hallmark connection.
Hallmark, I'm looking at you: While writing this post, I wanted some seasonal music in the background and I noticed that Hallmark had a Yule Log recording available... so I started streaming it only to be immediately confused, the Christmas music was playing and the yule log was lit in the background... however, in the foreground was a room completely decorated for fall!!! I am so confused, this does not compute.
Let me know how many giant Nutcrackers you caught and if the autumn yule log is as problematic for you as it is for me.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Nostalgic Christmas - Premiere #3
Nostalgic Christmas premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on October 31st and stars Brooke D'Orsay and Trevor Donovan.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: single career girl (Anne) goes home to small Maine hometown (from NYC) to help Dad close down his toy store and retire, widowed single dad (Keith) in same small Maine town is trying to keep the local mill he runs from being sold and closing, they wind up co-chairing the Christmas Committee and realize in the process that it is difficult for them both to say goodbye to a town they love and call home. Theme of remember what really means something to you.
Meet Cute Moment: Keith's daughter forgot to get a toy for the toy drive so they convince Anne to open up the toy store to remedy their toy emergency. While his daughter finds the perfect toy, Keith proceeds to praise the quality of her Dad's toys while putting down both the quality of the new high tech toys sold elsewhere and the buyer of said toys (her).
Notable Handmade Alert: Hand carved Santas! Not only are they something to behold but the individualized names and tags... I wish I knew where I could get my hand's on the advent calendar Anne swiped the descriptions from. I may not be able to carve wood but I could see those tags and descriptions in some future applications. Nutcrackers, anyone? Ah, a project for another day!
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So, I love the fact that she is a corporate working girl but still takes off basically the whole month of December. This isn't snark, I know people who do this and applaud them for making it happen. Yeah for vacation, no bah humbug here! Fear not, there is plenty to poke at in this film. Let's start off with timing in the film, it's 3 weeks until Christmas and they are just getting around to putting together the Committees to plan the town festivities. I LOVE that Anne points out that they seem to be off to a late start. I kind of love a movie that can poke fun at itself, a bit of an elbow nudge and wink here. Beyond the timing until Christmas, let's talk about geography for a minute... Anne says it's a 5 hour train trip from NYC to Maine. I heard this and immediately called FOUL. I looked online and seems that the typical trip from NYC to Portland, Maine is about 8 hours but the quickest on Amtrak is just over 6 hours. I guess in a world where you can build a Christmas Village in under 3 weeks, of course the trip would be quicker too! Just in case you were curious, the culmination of the town's Christmas festivities is... you guessed it, a pageant on Christmas Eve.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Brooke D'Orsay was also in Christmas in Love (2018) with Daniel Lissing (another 3+ tree holiday film, if you can catch it). Trevor Donovan was also in Snowcoming (2019) with Lindy Booth.
Hallmark, I'm looking at you: I want to take a quick moment to ask a question, is there really any possible justification for having a Christmas movie premiere on Halloween??? I think not Hallmark, and you're breaking my heart already with the all Christmas, all the time even before Halloween. Please put the orange, gold, pumpkin, candy and costumes back in Halloween. Forgetting about the fact there's another big holiday, Thanksgiving, still on the horizon that you've decided to pass right over. Plea (falling on deaf ears) over and now it is time to embrace Hallmark for it's commercialism. I am actually surprised it's taken this long to try to further monetize Countdown to Christmas and the networks with merch. While some may go for wine glasses and socks, I am all in for the idea of Hallmark movie bingo. I was initially thinking that this might need to be in my stocking this year, but I really wished that they had an alternative movie bingo set that could be used year round. Then I did a bit of Googling and found the game put together by Missy Kellor (going back to 2017) and am thinking that I am going to partake in the free card options and may pull in some of the prior year's cards as well. I checked out her 2018 post and am thinking that some of her ideas are just the inspiration I need to create my own year round Hallmark movie bingo set or even seasonally if I need more craft plans in my life.
Who is in for some Hallmark bingo with me? Keep an eye on a stocking near you because I know a few people in my life who would appreciate some Hallmark bingo cards, just throwing it out there.
Let me know if you too felt that Hallmark was hitting a bit more of their stride with this one. I'll admit that I've liked some of the casts previous movies so it might be my own biases here as well.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄🎄
General Movie Details: single career girl (Anne) goes home to small Maine hometown (from NYC) to help Dad close down his toy store and retire, widowed single dad (Keith) in same small Maine town is trying to keep the local mill he runs from being sold and closing, they wind up co-chairing the Christmas Committee and realize in the process that it is difficult for them both to say goodbye to a town they love and call home. Theme of remember what really means something to you.
Meet Cute Moment: Keith's daughter forgot to get a toy for the toy drive so they convince Anne to open up the toy store to remedy their toy emergency. While his daughter finds the perfect toy, Keith proceeds to praise the quality of her Dad's toys while putting down both the quality of the new high tech toys sold elsewhere and the buyer of said toys (her).
Notable Handmade Alert: Hand carved Santas! Not only are they something to behold but the individualized names and tags... I wish I knew where I could get my hand's on the advent calendar Anne swiped the descriptions from. I may not be able to carve wood but I could see those tags and descriptions in some future applications. Nutcrackers, anyone? Ah, a project for another day!
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: So, I love the fact that she is a corporate working girl but still takes off basically the whole month of December. This isn't snark, I know people who do this and applaud them for making it happen. Yeah for vacation, no bah humbug here! Fear not, there is plenty to poke at in this film. Let's start off with timing in the film, it's 3 weeks until Christmas and they are just getting around to putting together the Committees to plan the town festivities. I LOVE that Anne points out that they seem to be off to a late start. I kind of love a movie that can poke fun at itself, a bit of an elbow nudge and wink here. Beyond the timing until Christmas, let's talk about geography for a minute... Anne says it's a 5 hour train trip from NYC to Maine. I heard this and immediately called FOUL. I looked online and seems that the typical trip from NYC to Portland, Maine is about 8 hours but the quickest on Amtrak is just over 6 hours. I guess in a world where you can build a Christmas Village in under 3 weeks, of course the trip would be quicker too! Just in case you were curious, the culmination of the town's Christmas festivities is... you guessed it, a pageant on Christmas Eve.
Hallmark Movie Connection: Brooke D'Orsay was also in Christmas in Love (2018) with Daniel Lissing (another 3+ tree holiday film, if you can catch it). Trevor Donovan was also in Snowcoming (2019) with Lindy Booth.
Hallmark, I'm looking at you: I want to take a quick moment to ask a question, is there really any possible justification for having a Christmas movie premiere on Halloween??? I think not Hallmark, and you're breaking my heart already with the all Christmas, all the time even before Halloween. Please put the orange, gold, pumpkin, candy and costumes back in Halloween. Forgetting about the fact there's another big holiday, Thanksgiving, still on the horizon that you've decided to pass right over. Plea (falling on deaf ears) over and now it is time to embrace Hallmark for it's commercialism. I am actually surprised it's taken this long to try to further monetize Countdown to Christmas and the networks with merch. While some may go for wine glasses and socks, I am all in for the idea of Hallmark movie bingo. I was initially thinking that this might need to be in my stocking this year, but I really wished that they had an alternative movie bingo set that could be used year round. Then I did a bit of Googling and found the game put together by Missy Kellor (going back to 2017) and am thinking that I am going to partake in the free card options and may pull in some of the prior year's cards as well. I checked out her 2018 post and am thinking that some of her ideas are just the inspiration I need to create my own year round Hallmark movie bingo set or even seasonally if I need more craft plans in my life.
Who is in for some Hallmark bingo with me? Keep an eye on a stocking near you because I know a few people in my life who would appreciate some Hallmark bingo cards, just throwing it out there.
Let me know if you too felt that Hallmark was hitting a bit more of their stride with this one. I'll admit that I've liked some of the casts previous movies so it might be my own biases here as well.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
A Merry Christmas Match - Premiere #2
A Merry Christmas Match premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas on October 25th and stars Ashley Newbrough and Kyle Dean Massey. It's only the second movie of the season and I've already gotten things out of order so it's looking like it'll be in the order that I watch them and not entirely chronological.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: single girl with big city dreams (Corey) stays "stuck" in small hometown and runs her Dad's antique shop, her now famous best friend comes home for a visit from LA with boyfriend and his rich "most eligible bachelor" best friend in tow (Ryder), all before Christmas Corey makes an impromptu visit to the famous bestie in LA and attends a party at Ryder's parents home (without letting him know she was coming). You see where this is going or maybe not quite yet... The general theme is follow your dreams and your heart.
Meet Cute Moment: While he is looking around her family's antique store they turn around and almost run into each other. He falls backward and breaks a chair and winds up kneeling on the floor in front of her. You won't forget about the broken chair because they bring it up on at least three more occasions.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I already went off about this from the last movie but it came up again so I will try to merely just mention it in passing. In this movie the main character is planning and putting on a children's Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve. Again with the Christmas Eve festivities, really?!?! Forgetting about the question of time at home or church on Christmas Eve, doesn't anyone in town go away for the holidays? I would think that there would be a lot of kids who couldn't make it due to family obligations and the theater would be a bit empty too. Every holiday concert or pageant where I live is at least a week or two before the holiday for precisely these reasons.
Hallmark Movie Connections: Ashley Newbrough was previously in Small Town Christmas (2018) with Kristoffer Polaha. I also saw her in a non-Hallmark Christmas movie (who knew?!?) Snowmance (2017) that is often (although not currently) available on Amazon Prime. Kyle Dean Massey is making his Hallmark movie premiere but was previously seen performing on Broadway and in the show Nashville.
Let me know if you found a merry Christmas match in this movie because I missed it.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄
General Movie Details: single girl with big city dreams (Corey) stays "stuck" in small hometown and runs her Dad's antique shop, her now famous best friend comes home for a visit from LA with boyfriend and his rich "most eligible bachelor" best friend in tow (Ryder), all before Christmas Corey makes an impromptu visit to the famous bestie in LA and attends a party at Ryder's parents home (without letting him know she was coming). You see where this is going or maybe not quite yet... The general theme is follow your dreams and your heart.
Meet Cute Moment: While he is looking around her family's antique store they turn around and almost run into each other. He falls backward and breaks a chair and winds up kneeling on the floor in front of her. You won't forget about the broken chair because they bring it up on at least three more occasions.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: I already went off about this from the last movie but it came up again so I will try to merely just mention it in passing. In this movie the main character is planning and putting on a children's Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve. Again with the Christmas Eve festivities, really?!?! Forgetting about the question of time at home or church on Christmas Eve, doesn't anyone in town go away for the holidays? I would think that there would be a lot of kids who couldn't make it due to family obligations and the theater would be a bit empty too. Every holiday concert or pageant where I live is at least a week or two before the holiday for precisely these reasons.
Hallmark Movie Connections: Ashley Newbrough was previously in Small Town Christmas (2018) with Kristoffer Polaha. I also saw her in a non-Hallmark Christmas movie (who knew?!?) Snowmance (2017) that is often (although not currently) available on Amazon Prime. Kyle Dean Massey is making his Hallmark movie premiere but was previously seen performing on Broadway and in the show Nashville.
Let me know if you found a merry Christmas match in this movie because I missed it.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses - Premiere #1
Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses premiered on Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas on October 26th and stars Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis. Donna Mills appears in a supporting role.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: single mom former interior designer, rich single workaholic, mission to redecorate estate for everyday and Christmas, faux love triangles, finding balance in life and the spirit of Christmas (plays on meme of Grinch)
Meet Cute Moment: They literally run into each other on the sidewalk. He walks away saying "Nice running into you." Her first impression of him as related to her Dad "...just someone in need of some Christmas cheer."
Notable Knitwear Alert: Max (her son) is seen wearing a great knitted hat with fair isle sheep on it at the tree lighting (similar to the Baa-ble Hat). Max is later seen wearing a knit sweater with reindeer fair isle pattern across the chest at home when Nick comes to visit.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: What's with people planning/attending an event on Christmas Eve? I mean really!?! In this movie they are planning and attending a charity party on Christmas Eve. I don't recall seeing any children at the party either. Do millionaire/billionaire families not spend Christmas Eve with family and close friends? They are obviously not religious either because no one was rushing out to make it to church on time. This trope of things happening on Christmas Eve has always bothered me since it is NOT normal. Also, do people really not plan ahead more than a month when remodeling/redecorating their house? Maybe money solves the problems that a lack of planning causes but the contrived nature of this trope has always bothered me.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie and let me know if the same things bother you.
RATING (out of 5): 🎄🎄
General Movie Details: single mom former interior designer, rich single workaholic, mission to redecorate estate for everyday and Christmas, faux love triangles, finding balance in life and the spirit of Christmas (plays on meme of Grinch)
Meet Cute Moment: They literally run into each other on the sidewalk. He walks away saying "Nice running into you." Her first impression of him as related to her Dad "...just someone in need of some Christmas cheer."
Notable Knitwear Alert: Max (her son) is seen wearing a great knitted hat with fair isle sheep on it at the tree lighting (similar to the Baa-ble Hat). Max is later seen wearing a knit sweater with reindeer fair isle pattern across the chest at home when Nick comes to visit.
Obligatory moment of snark/personal rant: What's with people planning/attending an event on Christmas Eve? I mean really!?! In this movie they are planning and attending a charity party on Christmas Eve. I don't recall seeing any children at the party either. Do millionaire/billionaire families not spend Christmas Eve with family and close friends? They are obviously not religious either because no one was rushing out to make it to church on time. This trope of things happening on Christmas Eve has always bothered me since it is NOT normal. Also, do people really not plan ahead more than a month when remodeling/redecorating their house? Maybe money solves the problems that a lack of planning causes but the contrived nature of this trope has always bothered me.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie and let me know if the same things bother you.
Hallmark = Christmas Movie Magic?
At least that is what they want to make you think with all of their ads. I completely admit to having a slight addiction to the channel and their formulaic year round theme-based romance/chick films. When I got rid of cable and went with Sling over a year ago, I made sure to include the Hallmark channels (because apparently one is not enough) with my subscription.
I also admit that in the past I have consumed almost all of their original films at Christmas and throughout the year. This year, in celebration of 10 years of Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark has upped their holiday game and has an astounding 40 premieres (24 on Hallmark + 16 on Movies & Mysteries). While I'm not sure I can completely commit to watching all of the movies - - there are 4 premieres a week starting in October - - I can try...
My initial thought is to rate each film out of 5 Christmas trees (seasonally appropriate), include a few details regarding the characters/situation/themes that establish a baseline understanding of the movie, brief description of the meet cute moment, notable knitwear (I am a crafter after all) and maybe a bit of my commentary and snark. We'll see how it goes and this may push me to watch some of the movies/actors that I would usually avoid.
I don't plan to write a dissertation for these movies or go knee deep into the details so my posts will be only the briefest of summaries. If you want a complete review and discussion, there are podcasts for that.
I also admit that in the past I have consumed almost all of their original films at Christmas and throughout the year. This year, in celebration of 10 years of Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark has upped their holiday game and has an astounding 40 premieres (24 on Hallmark + 16 on Movies & Mysteries). While I'm not sure I can completely commit to watching all of the movies - - there are 4 premieres a week starting in October - - I can try...
My initial thought is to rate each film out of 5 Christmas trees (seasonally appropriate), include a few details regarding the characters/situation/themes that establish a baseline understanding of the movie, brief description of the meet cute moment, notable knitwear (I am a crafter after all) and maybe a bit of my commentary and snark. We'll see how it goes and this may push me to watch some of the movies/actors that I would usually avoid.
I don't plan to write a dissertation for these movies or go knee deep into the details so my posts will be only the briefest of summaries. If you want a complete review and discussion, there are podcasts for that.
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