Kaoteek

Evergreen 4 was meh. Granted, I'm not the biggest fan of the series despite liking the shared universe/continuity thingy, but this one felt somewhat undercooked (maybe due to COVID, since one character only appeared via Skype, and the cameos were somewhat limited to Ashley Williams and Barbara Niven), which bothered me since Rukiya Bernard was the lead, and she deserves stronger movies.

Just starting/catching up with the season, and to noone's surprise, the new format just doesn't work for me or my significant other. It's messy, the editing and overall flow are all over the place, it's change for change's sake... not sure we'll finish the season, tbh.

But, as he explained, "it's a matter of life or death !". ^^

No argument there, they're both just as childish and petty during those first 30-40 minutes. Who said she was worse ? (and the later parts proved that indeed, as you mentioned, they're both pleasant, and would have made a fine leading couple in a regular, non-hyper-competitive story, had they not wasted 30 minutes on that silly, immature rivalry) (yes, I know, this movie's writing probably annoyed me more than it should have...)

Aaaaand it's a semi-miss. Mainly because Once upon a Main Street commited the mistake of having its rival main characters be as bitchy, mean-spirited and hyper-competitive as possible during the first half hour or so, clearly aiming for fun, light-hearted and comical, but landing on broad, annoying and off-putting. Once old man Duffy got involved, the romance kicked in and the characters had to work together, it got better, but not necessarily enough to make up for that early childish, snarky, petty behaviour (later on, Rowena the arrogant shop owner didn't help) and for that very unlikely plot. YMMV, though. (that said, you've got to like Lachey's willingness to go slapstick)

The Santa Squad (coming up on Lifetime Dec. 7, i think) was fine... if you've never seen A Nanny for Christmas, Crown for Christmas or any of the other variations on the "jobless young woman gets hired as a nanny for a rich widower's daughter(s), and end ups turning their life upside down and falling for him" formula. Here, the lead couple (Aaron Ashmore & Rebecca Dalton) is strong and likeable, the kids are... eh, the british butler p.a. is underused, the bitchy rival is barely in the movie, and there are some fun supporting characters, so... there's that. Very basic movie, but watchable. Hoping for something fun from the Lachey/McPartlin Lifetime movie that just aired.

Same here. I checked the movie's imdb page before coming here, and for what it's worth, let's just say the early reviews are... unusually unkind.

Christmas Waltz was okay - plotwise, everything felt way too generic for me, and a bit forced (then again, ballroom dancing - especially the very average kind - always left me cold) but Chabert seemed enthusiastic & motivated, and her playful chemistry with Kemp made it work. Didn't care much for A Christmas Tree Grows... again, very generic & tropey, with an added dose of forced, artificial enthusiasm, esp. from the lead actress. On the other hand, I enjoyed both Christmas by Starlight (the tropes were there, but Sustad & Campbell made it work with their chemistry) and Five Star Christmas (even though BJL's character was a bit on the grating side).

I kinda liked The Christmas House. It didn't take itself too seriously, and the family was likeable. However, both Jonathan Bennett's boyfriend and the lead character's love interest were particularly bland, so there's that. Yadda yadda Christmas Sweater. Meh. I'm usually there for Ashley Williams' movies, but this one lacked energy, and most of the time, the lead couple's relationship felt more like friendship than romance. Godwink Christmas 3 : The Godwinkening. Sam Page & Brooke D'Orsay worked well together... but that's about it. Didn't really work for me, and the recurring "Oooh, something godwinky is happening" chimes were more annoying than anything. Heart of the Holidays. Tropes, tropes, and even more tropes. Barely made it to the end, despite liking Vanessa Lengies' energy as the lead. I probably would have prefered to watch a movie about the pregnant friend, or about the asian girl (yay diversity !) trying to awkwardly flirt with Corey Savier, she seemed likeable.

Cheesefest, indeed. I almost gave up right there, during the in-your-face opening number, but thankfully, it toned it down later on. Still, it was rough. "MGM musical meets Hallmark meets A Christmas Carol meets Touched by an Angel meets It's a Wonderful Life meets community theater meets Dolly Parton - but with no budget, awkward lip-synching, flat direction and staging on a cheap overlit backlot" rough. Every now and then it worked thanks to Dolly, Baranski, Treat Williams, or a song or two, but overall, it will probably end up being a holiday favorite for MST3k-type snarky commentary.

Christmas Unwrapped was okay-ish. Derivative, but I appreciated the cold, snowy Ottawa exteriors. Despite liking both movies' leads, I didn't care much for Netflix's Operation Christmas Drop and Christmas on Wheels. Neither of those movies managed to keep me interested till the end (but then again, army-centric movies tend to leave me cold, and a lot of CoW felt really implausible). Oh, and Holidate... eh. I wouldn't even call that a Christmas movie, since 90% of it didn't take place during the holidays, but overall, it was average. I liked the cast (Aimee Carrero was criminally underused, though, and Luke Bracey really felt like the casting director tried to get a Hemsworth, but couldn't afford one ^^) but the movie probably lacked a rewrite to tighten things up, and I liked it more when it was called Plus one.

I probably should have rephrased that, I guess (and i think the word might be stronger in english than it is in french, so nuance got lost in translation), but by "overcompensating", I meant that from what i've watched so far, there's sometimes an air of Hallmark trying to awkwardly cram as many minorities/ethnicities as possible in some of their movies, this year, to prove that they're making an effort on that front. Whether it's having their season-opening movie feature more diversity in a 100-people remote alaskan town than in the 10 previous years of Hallmark movies combined, having the token redhead bff be a lesbian who has the hots for the sexy asian barmaid, or Michael Rady's mom being played by a wheelchair-bound latina, there's something that rubs me the wrong way in this sudden approach. Yeah, they're making an effort, and in theory, i'm all for it, but i'm not sure they're making an effort for the right reasons - but then again, it's still Hallmark we're talking about, subtlety was never their forte, and I might be expecting too much from the network : the Hallmark guidelines may have changed, but the writers are still clearly limited in what they can do. (as for the upcoming Jonathan Bennett-fronted movie, yeah, it will be boycotted by the usual suspects ; they're already pretending Christmas with the Darlings never aired nor existed, so what's one more - or less - movie for them ?)

Happily surprised by On the 12th Day of Christmas and Holly & Ivy (same writer in both cases) and the way they seem to sidestep the usual Hallmark tropes while staying entertaining and/or touching. Frustrated by Timeless Christmas, which needed at least a couple of rewrites to feel less superficial, and sometimes felt a waste of its main couple. Left cold by Cranberry Christmas and its 90 min marriage counseling session. Not the biggest fans of Benjamin Ayres, though. Really didn't care for Christmas with the Darlings which lacked energy, chemistry, and felt way too generic to be interesting. Then again (unpopular opinion), I've never been the biggest fan of Snow Bride (same writer and same star), so there's that. Liked The Christmas Bow, even though I still feel Michael Rady is too safe & bland for my taste. Overall, so far, Hallmark is faring better than I expected them too - sometimes, they're overcompensating on the diversity mandate, they often fall back on the usual tropes, but they seem to be giving their writers slightly more leeway, this season.

Ah, it's been a while since i've been back to this thread (i'm still barely getting back into the holiday movie groove) and I see that things haven't changed a bit : Ashley Williams' smile still creeps some viewers, the tropes discussion are still as present as ever, and the board still doesn't seem to know whether to talk about Hallmark Xmas movies here or in the holiday thread. The more things change... ^^ Anyway, as I just wrote, I've been very slowly getting back into it. I'm three Hallmark movies in (Jingle Bell Bride, Christmas Tree Lane, Chateau Christmas), already noticing some trends (three movies, two struggling musicians... and I see there are a couple more of those on the schedule), and although those three movies were nothing to write home about (Jingle Bell Bride kinda felt like Hallmark overcompensated on the diversity front, to the point it felt forced, and something bothered me in Gonzalo's (over)acting ; C. Tree Lane was your standard Hallmark "let's all join forces and save x or y for Christmas" fare with added unconvincing "look at Alicia Witt's talent, she's really a great musician !" ; Chateau Christmas was... fine, but uneventful), there seems to be a slight effort from Hallmark's part, with some changes and improvements, here and there, on the usual clichés. Still, it's early in the season, and there's plenty of time and movies for the network to get back to its usual mediocre tropes. We'll see.

I wouldn't call it a last minute revelation, though, since 5 minutes into the movie, his arrival into town has his buddy, the angel Raphael, freeze time, falling snow and passersby (there goes Hallmark cgi budget for the next five years !) to have a brief chat with him about their guardian angel nature, and his mission in Angel Falls. (that said, the rest of the movie doesn't really make Anthony's nature clear until the end, so if one were to miss that early scene, it could be a surprise) On another note, the season is over, I'm done with my Christmas movies' backlog and I think i'm gonna pass on the Winterfest movies - none really appeal to me, whether due to the cast/couples or because of the synopses... we'll see if the Valentine movies look more appealing. Right now, it's back to all the tv shows and movies I've put aside these past two months !

Just finished New Year's Kiss and, well... not surprised it never got close to airing on Lifetime or Hallmark. It's cheap. ION/Up Tv cheap. Mostly due to a constant, loud and intrusive synth musical score, the likes I hadn't heard since 1980-1990s Mike Post (without the talent). It's everywhere, it's repetitive, it's sometimes as loud as the dialog, it's a mess. Also, there's no kiss on New Year's Eve : it's a Christmas movie through and through, and it ends on Christmas morning (w/ a bonus magic Street Santa). My guess is the original title was something along the lines of Christmas Missed Connections, since missed connections play a big part in the movie, and both leads keep on missing each other before finally meeting at the one hour mark (and then, they barely have 10 minutes of shared screentime overall). Add to that a more lighthearted, risqué sense of humor (a blind date/missed connection ends up in talks of threesome/multiple orgasms, a guy undresses on video chat...), and there was no chance it would end up on HM & co. Funnily enough, aside for the cheap musical score, I've watched worse, this season, and what little there is of Dunne/Karpluk worked for me. And I liked the two BFFs (doofus Matt Hamilton and Karis "hey, it's your missed connection, right there, but he can't hear you, you should flash him to get his attention... or I'll gladly do it for you, if you'd like !" Cameron).

Ah, yes, the BFF who had an affair with the lead's boyfriend "but it's not my fault, he seduced me, he's cunning, I'm a poor victim, just like you, let's forgive and forget and be besties again, mmmkay ?". Such a lovely character. That movie. *sigh*

Holy reindeer poop, 12 pups of Christmas was bad. Frowny, bitchy, hostile pet therapist joins an almost-bankrupt pet tracking dot.com where nothing makes a lick of realistic sense, and turns everything around through her... huh... winning ways and... huh... her brilliant ideas, like calling the product a not-at-all generic "Animal tracker". Awful acting, mediocre writing, low production values, cartoony music (man, the Oriental Riff and the generic asian accent of the secretary when the therapist goes to pitch the Japanese investor, yeesh), laughable flashbacks, not enough dogs... in another movie, Donny Boaz might have made a solid, fun male lead, and Elizabeth Small was likeable, as always, but the rest of them, ouch.

Funnily enough, I had the exact opposite reaction to Christmas Love Letter. I strongly disliked the very self-centered and personnality-free lead character, the pushy precocious kid, and overall, it was too broad for me to get on board (the robot dog, sure :rollmyeyes:).

Yeah, it's airing here, in France, on January 4th. And usually, the ones that air here before the US or Canada tend to be the cheapest, worst ones, so... Aside from that, A Date by Christmas Eve was silly, magical wish-based fun, that kinda-sorta-almost worked despite an obvious lower budget, and uneven writing. Nothing to write home about, though, even though I enjoyed Lengies, McNiven, and the way nobody took the material too seriously. Ghosting : The Spirit of Christmas, on the other hand, didn't really work me. It wasn't bad, per se, but it really was barely a Christmas movie, and it seemed to try too hard to be an anti-Hallmark type of movie. Also, I'll admit that it was probably too "California" for me, if that makes sense.

Christmas Hotel : I've always like Tatyana Ali, but overall, a bland, bland formulaic movie. Double Holiday : Charming, likeable leads, and a nice way of side-stepping the usual Hallmark tropes by using their setups to further the story or as a background piece (for instance, the way the "you've got to have a gingerbread house competition in the movie" imperative was used as background dressing for Polaha playing basket with the kids). Really enjoyable, and a highlight of the season for me.

Finally getting to the end of my watch-list (almost there !) : Christmas in the Highlands : basically a cheap Royal movie in disguise, with a strangely overexpressive and overexcited lead, and nice Scotland exteriors. Not really worth the time. Christmas in Vienna Best Christmas Ball Ever : a cheap, generic "an American in XXXX" movie, with nice Vienna exteriors, but not enough money to make up for its bland male leads, its rough dancing, costumes, and ADR. The big Christmas ball was somewhat laughable, but at least Elisabeth Harnois seemed to enjoy herself. The Christmas Temp : Decent, although I'm not huge on Robin Dunne as a romantic lead, and it all felt a bit disjointed. Also, the overall "artist in a creative rut" thing was more annoying than endearing, despite Canning being likeable. Christmas on my Mind : I liked the town, the snowy exteriors, the lead couple and Greene's BBF/colleague, but the movie was very bland and auto-piloty. I think at this point in the season, I'm just all burned out on the "hey, let's do all the Christmas small town events & competitions while drinking hot cocoa" basic patented Hallmark formula®©™.

Sense, Sensibility and Snowmen. I have absolutely no point of reference as far as Jane Austen goes, but I liked seeing Krakow more enthusiastic, energetic and dynamic than in her usual movies. However, this one quickly lost my interest, and the french couple's accents were awful (about as awful as the ADR in some of the exterior scenes).

Quite liked Holiday Hearts, and the easy chemistry Paul Campbell & Ashley Williams had in this one. Also, the kid was likeable, the supporting cast was dynamic, and overall, the usual tropes were used with enough energy and smarts that they didn't fell too forced, or on auto-pilot. (that said, I gotta say that between the cheap driving scenes and the CGI snowman construction, I had a good laugh at the not-quite-there sfx)

Catching up with earlier Christmas movies, I didn't care much for Lifetime's A Sweet Christmas Romance. It was my first time seeing Adelaide Kane, and I wasn't too impressed. The romance was flat, the characters weren't particularly likeable, the writing was awkward (the cooking show competition format, including eliminations, was very forced in that context, and all the non-competition bits in between were just heavy exposition dumps), and the constant references to Winter Storm Megan grew tiring (we got it, Lifetime, it's a shared universe with a common element). Also, I must admit, I'm not really a fan of Loretta Devine's very particular acting choices. Angel Falls 2 : Electric Boogaloo was another mixed bag. I don't really remember Angel Falls 1, but I always enjoy a good Guardian Angel-type movie, à la Mrs Miracle, provided the lead couple is likeable. Here, however, as much as I like Jen Lilley, I didn't care AT ALL for Carlo Marks. And overall, the entire movie's "distraught widow/author must relearn the magic of Christmas in order to write again" plot was really just a way to have the lead couple go through all the usual tropes and montages of the genre. That said, I liked seeing Laura Miyata again (already in Lilley's Winter Love Story) and i'm still waiting for some exec to give her a chance as the lead, whether at Hallmark or elsewhere.