AnalyzeAndCritique

I’m closer to loving than liking Three Wise Men. The focus on the brother’s relationship rather than a meet cute, misunderstanding, and HEA was nice. I’m a sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies. You know what you are getting and the bar isn’t set high. It is just a new version of classic Christmas songs. We know the verses and the chorus just hearing a different voice. The movie fell apart 75% of the way through and then felt rushed. The decorating contest was fun hijinks, but it seemed to shoehorn in the return of both mothers. Until that moment, I had been happily engaged with the comedy and dialogue. I can suspend my demand for realism in regards to the hospital trip and even the mom leaving the baby behind. I could believe in a small Hallmark town they wouldn’t involve the police. They had to bend the rules to make the plot work. The tone of the movie changed at that point and it removed me from my enjoyment. Suddenly we had ten seconds to wrap it all up. The ending with all the brothers with love interests was a gift card under the tree. It isn’t the worst gift you can receive, but not a lot of thought went into it. I’m not mad one brother ended up with the mother. I’m almost bummed it was the firefighter. It might have been interesting to see the gamer grow up and become a father given he was the first brother to spend time with Thomas and he was accused of being selfish the whole movie. I liked how Paul connected with his lady through the movie. Firefighter could have gotten his own lady for the end of the movie. Maybe a cameo from a Hallmark leading lady. Things I’m noticing this year is someone at Hallmark apparently has been listening regarding the women’s long hair. I’m not sure they understood the feedback. Too many questionable hairstyles. Used to blame it on wigs, but the hair seems natural just styled questionably. Also given Tyler is shorter than Andrew and Paul, why can’t they get him pants that don’t look like he had a growth spurt two weeks before filming? Paul’s cuffed jeans seemed to be extra long. Also interesting all the firefighters were wearing regular sweats while Andrew was in form-fitting elastic ankle sweats. Those styling choices always stand out to me. As if the viewer already wasn’t engaged to the main character, we have to make the extras schlubby. Don’t pay attention to the extras. You must be looking where we want you. Overall I enjoyed it. It might make the list to be watched annually. I’m sure though I won’t be sitting and watching for the mothers return.

Secondhand embarrassment times a thousand. Typically when this happens in a movie, I am thinking “you haven’t committed yet, run!” I can’t reconcile jumping to an assumption and yelling at someone. A rewatch of ‘Tis might be on the agenda with a fast forward through that scene. Project had such a great (mature) scene in the backyard. I remember being impressed on first watch. Although I do believe it was followed by the illogical assumption. I can ignore some crazy things though. I rewatch A Brush with Love despite the multiple shortcomings because of Nick Bateman.

Ben wasn’t as prominent in the book. He was more sympathetic in the series (could be the FNL nostalgia talking). He provided Reece good intel, but didn’t participate in most of the action. The twist at the end of the book with Hartley, Horn, and Ben waiting on him with a kidnapped Katie was shocking even knowing from the series he was bad. Katie never confronted Hartley like in the series so her presence wasn’t as prominent either. They developed Ben and Katie for the series which was a good directorial decision. We get to know Reece through Katie and Ben provides the brotherhood which helps us understand why Reece sought revenge for the other SEALs in addition to his family.

I waited until after seeing the series to read the book. I am glad I did because I viewed them as two different works. As a series, this was quite enjoyable.I have often wondered how our trained military feel about domestic terrorists. We train them and encourage them to defend the country, but sometimes those doing the most harm are US citizens and not foreign terrorists. I once had a conversation about this with my cousin who served. The book was far superior, but as a reader I haven’t ever felt a book was inferior. I liked the way some of the deaths were handled in the book better, but creative concessions had to be made. I like that Reece killed Ben on the boat in the series. The scene was well acted and played wonderfully on screen. The book had Ben dying at Hartley’s house along with Horn. When I got to that chapter, I didn’t feel disappointment at all that it varied from the series. Ben kidnapped Katie to try and manipulate Reece. I think it was easier for Reece to kill Ben in the book versus the series. Although Ben was dying either way because of his involvement and financial benefit. I hope we will be getting further series as Carr has written five books. His writing is bogged down a bit by details, but I am sure it is more for the benefit of those who know the differences in Glocks. I tended to skim past them otherwise I would have spent too much time researching. The storylines are good though and make for nice adaptions to screen. Hopefully, next time they will brighten things up just a bit. Sucks having to wait until night to watch.

Sophia Bush Chris Evans the Harry Potter kid

His character in both those movies held an appeal. However, despite the fact that I love the concept of Project, I disliked the movie. Hallmark suffers from over exaggerating the perfectness of their leads (99% of the time it is the female lead) which immediately turns me off to them. Project would have be fitted from a lopsided ponytail or some rushing to pull a wish off. Most women I know aren’t completely put together during the holiday season let alone a woman who is executing a number of wishes in a short time frame. * ’Tis was a great character for Travis. He gets a 12/10 for hotness and appeal. The shirtless scene had nothing to do with the score either. I liked that the guy was into Christmas and seemed to be the romantic. I just hated the entire premise because Merry lied to her boss and led everyone down the path of misconception. I do like that he was in on it so it wasn’t faux drama between the two of them. Didn’t it end though with him leaving and her chasing him to the airport? I honestly don’t remember. * The only women I know that come through projects without a strand of hair out of place are the ones not executing any of the tasks. Leading up to a trade show, I worked a million hours a week and got like no sleep. The weekend of the trade shows, I used a ton of makeup to cover my exhaustion. The two female VPs who showed up looking impeccable, hadn’t lifted a finger to help. One had just returned from a Caribbean vacation and the other flew in the night before from another office. Needless to say when I see impeccably dressed/groomed women in TV shows pulling off major projects, I call BS.

Christmas Getaway with Travis Van Winkle and Bridget Regan is one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies. It doesn’t escape all the tropes, but the leads have good chemistry.

Normally I can find something I like about the Christmas movies. Even if is it just the decorations. My original complaint was going to be the leads chemistry, but I’m going to chalk that up to the writing since they are a couple. Even real-life romance couldn’t overcome this drudgery. Taylor has no Christmas spirit but is so amazing that she’s being considered for front page articles and a promotion. Eyeroll. Luke meets an amazing girl and is melancholy like they broke off a five year engagement before the first date. Eyeroll. Taylor flipped from “they can’t order you to save the life of your friend” to “you have to do this.” Really quickly. Run, Luke, run. Your relationship doesn’t stand a chance. This movie was eerily reminiscent of early Hallmark. Girl is practically perfect in every way even when she’s being a selfish wench. Guy is accommodating despite the fact the girl could be upgraded relatively easily at the local diner. Someone needs to tell the directors to allow the female leads to speak instead of baby whisper. The soft-spoken little girl voice makes me want to give them a cookie and a coloring page while the grown ups talk. I was excited for the Christmas Camp movie until the sneak preview. Looks like we turned the melodrama up to a 12. If that is the strongest 90 seconds of the film, I’m going to enjoy some s’mores and Candy Crush.

I am not trashing her at all. I am saying as a character she is not entirely likable. Making friends would not be listed on her resume. She has a quick wit and the relationship with her father is one I have thoroughly enjoyed. However, we can't pretend she is some saint. If she was a saint it would be entirely boring. The point of my post is to say that if Veronica was to ride around and meet strangers, she would not be as likable. What made Veronica less bitchy and more intriguing was knowing Wallace and Mac stuck around. My point is that RT screwed the pooch. He handicapped Veronica. If the next stage in Veronica's life is accusing strangers of crime while triple charging clients, I don't see it lasting very long. In S3 she helped the paper expose the locked room in the sorority. She jumped the gun and threw a wrench in a lot of people's lives. Eventually, that gets old. It also isn't noir it is an SNL skit or the Pink Panther. There is also no double standard. Most everyone in Neptune has some serious baggage. Big Dick, Beaver, Aaron, Logan, Lily, and the rest were all players in Neptunes' version of As The World Turns. I am not saying VM fell to the bottom of the moral totem pole. I enjoyed S1-3 and the movie. I know who VM is. I came for S4. I'm bowing out before S5 because everything I enjoyed about VM or which allowed me to understand her unlikable traits just got blown up or written out.

I don't like Veronica Mars. Honestly, as a character without context she is not enjoyable to watch. She is a bitch to those closest to her. Strangers are sometimes treated with more kindness, but usually more contempt. She jumps to conclusions and shows no hesitancy in accusing friends and family of crappy things. What made Veronica likable was the redeeming qualities we saw through the eyes of Keith, Wallace, Mac, Weevil, Piz, and Logan. Keith and Veronica are a wonderful parent-child relationship in their dysfunction. Keith desperately wants Veronica to not be like him and Veronica clearly had hero worship for Keith. She wouldn't wax poetic about how amazing her father is, but she lived her life imitating him. Wallace, Mac, and Weevil showed us Veronica was capable of having friends even when she wasn't being a good friend. They each pushed her outside of her comfort zone at times and challenged her beliefs. As it was mentioned upthread, it was great that there was never even a hint of attraction between Wallace and Veronica. I rewatched some of S3 before S4. Veronica didn't make friends easily because her first impression was usually accusing someone of something and then choking on crow. Veronica was at least somewhat human with Wallace and Mac. Logan was probably the character who redeemed Veronica consistently. They both shared some pretty screwed up childhoods, but in my eyes, at times it helped them understand each other. They both suffered from quick assumptions and brutal accusations. They shouldn't have worked, yet I couldn't see them working with someone else. Piz and Veronica weren't going anywhere. Logan wasn't going to settle with a kindergarten teacher. Logan was with a messed up popstar in the movie. The voicemail Logan left for his therapist describing Veronica explains why they worked. He saw her in a way that left room for such potential despite her seemingly stalled emotional growth. He loved her despite the fact he had grown beyond her. S5 won't happen for me even if Logan miraculously awakens from a coma because RT gets his hands slapped repeatedly for the next six months. His explanations for the decision to kill Logan loudly proclaims to me that he has not grown since Veronica was in HS. The movie was a love letter to the fans. I think when the fans fund your film, you had better not do your own thing while flipping the bird. S5 was RT servicing himself because he shows a limited range in creative direction. A 35yo woman can't have a boyfriend. She either needs to be married with kids or single with a smattering of one-night stands. There were so many directions they could have taken S5 while allowing Veronica some happiness. Logan could have been out of the country for long periods of time on deployment. Veronica still could have traveled the country with Logan showing up at random locations. Heck, they could have been relocated to the East Coast. I agree Neptune played a huge part in Veronica Mars and her story. I'm glad we didn't suffer through NYC shacking up with Piz. Piz is the type of guy I date not the kind of guy Veronica stays with. I would not have been as upset saying goodbye to Neptune if we kept a few characters who made Veronica tolerable. Veronica is 35. She can't be paired with her father forever. Mac may not ever be more than a name drop again. Wallace has a wife and child now. He won't be road tripping anytime soon. Logan would have followed her anywhere and supported her dreams. Alienating Veronica has probably alienated more fans than RT intended. I don't quit shows because they don't end the way I want. I stop watching shows when writers service themselves or create convoluted drama. I quit shows because of the arrogance of the writers or their lack of ability to tell genuine stories. RT is losing me for both reasons. He wanted VM footloose and fancy-free which was story suicide and he isn't skilled enough to continue VM's story with Logan as her husband. Ultimately RT punished a large majority of the fans. He gave them what they wanted, but doled out a whooping by killing Logan immediately.

Well, consider this my lesson learned. Next time don't try to reader's digest a reply. I used "freedom of speech" instead of typing out "it is Amell's freakin' social media and he is allowed to share his opinions regardless of who agrees with him." I don't have the patience to tap out "he shouldn't have to defend himself nor explain his point because it is his Twitter/Facebook/etc" on my phone. I figured I'd explain that since I'm being policed by the "freedom of speech" enforcers. The correct way to phrase it may have been "freedom of social media." Although I think I prefer my normal slogan for Twitter. "140 characters to prove how much of a twit you are." Everyone should use social media responsibly. Who is tasked with ensuring users maintain the proper level of responsibility? What percentage of his followers should he try to prevent insulting? The vocal fans who worship the ground he walks on? The fans who follow him just to troll? Should he avoid it all together to avoid insulting someone? Should his followers who not agree just browse through instead of congregating on a message board and crying in their tea? Again it is his damn page so if he wants to insist the sky is green, grass is purple, and unicorns are the next wave of transportation he has every right. He isn't trolling all over other's pages. It wasn't his finest hour by any means. I personally wouldn't ever tell someone to stop responding as conversation is a give-and-take. However, I can see his frustration if the CW requires an online presence and he'd rather only be in communication with people who know him and how his mind works. After all no one here really "knows" Stephen Amell. Everyone knows the persona. Perhaps the anger lies in being duped about how "real" he is. He shows a bit more of himself and it doesn't live up to the standard the fans have set for him. He's human and has a thought which might not be PC enough to please the masses. His unpopular opinion was met with blow back. No one can say how he was feeling, but maybe the disrespect thrown his way set him on the defensive. I imagine he tweeted his original tweet and went about his day. An hour later he's got two minutes and hell broke lose on his social media. i sympathize with the man if he rushed a thought and he returned to nastiness. After all it can happen to anyone attempting to formulate a thought across the internet.

Omg. Headdesk. I gave an exaggerated example. No one demanded he donate his salary. My point was is everyone felt they needed to add their two cents as to how to make it better. Which is what he did when he made his original post. He perceived a slight against a generalized group and tried to make it better. Then everyone jumped off a cliff without a parachute (ie went extreme) and suddenly he is defending himself and puppies are involved (see Amell's previous posts). He hasn't helped himself with his subsequent posts, but the beauty of social media or message boards is you until now or mute. Instead his social media is burning and gasoline keeps getting poured on it which has ignited Arrow forums. The beauty of this country and the resulting social media symptoms include freedom of speech. Is Amell an ass? Maybe. If we dig deep enough on this forum, we could probably find something to support the same opinion towards each other.

I find it amusing how a social media misstep has blacklisted Amell. I don't agree with him, but I imagine he felt as though his own needed to be defended. He made a mistake. Exasperated it. He didnt beat his wife or kid. Besides being a relatively good-looking white guy who hasn't faced much diversity and was embraced because of his abs, he is generally tongue-bathed for simple actions like removing his shirt. Maybe we should not expect deep and meaningful if we are content with superficial.

I'm glad Nick didn't attend the wedding. His thirty seconds with Andy was far more interesting than McSwarek will ever hope to be. I miss Nick and Andy. although I wouldn't wish Andy on any of my exes. Andy's dress was hideous. The jacket and sunglasses were a cute touch, but the flipping boots. Ugh. Chloe was cute solving the crime by knowing the dish the wife was preparing. Duncan annoyed. Suddenly introducing Sam's father seems like such a wasted opportunity. I also liked how we randomly forget people exist while new faces suddenly are everywhere. I keep saying I'll stop watching, but summertime boredom sucks me in. I hope someone else can put an end to this show so I won't be tempted to catch another episode. I'm not ready for a McSwarek married life snoozefest. I really don't want a rocky marriage though for them so one is tempted to cheat. The ending montage (besides McSwarek) with the rookies becoming TOs was a nice touch and it amused me more than anything else this episode. You know Andy is going to screw it up royally so why bother Oliver?

NFL controls the headsets.