Happywatcher

Sun Sand and Romance is on the countdown, I have it on in the background while prepping the burgers and potato salad. I posted last time that I wasn't comfortable with the "Boyfriend has to work through the vaca so she falls in love with the old BF" plot, and that Tricia is a great and likable actress. The real star here is the resort. The drone shots of the water sports, hotel beachfront, paddle boarding, horses on the beach, all look great. They also found the lead a modest swimsuit that also doesn't look frumpy.

Lucy being a whiner isn't fun, but Maze going all out to get eve is pretty god. Glad Dan is growing up

I was a little surprised with the back shank

Had a case many years ago with lots of parties and sides, about epublishing rights. I learned then that Harlequin could not republish almost all of their pre 1990 books, because the first sexual encounter in them was with physical force or threats. Tastes changed very quickly in just a decade, wonder if the writers think they are changing back?

Is Lynn Herring okay health wise? Lucy Coe Jones was just on and it is the first time the actress looked 60 (I know she is in real life but she never looks it)

I like the premise of the Picture mystery, my concern is that the (real life) couple didn't have super great on screen chemistry in the romance movie, but maybe they will in a mystery. When are they going to burn more of the Crosswords? That almost was good and may get better

Watched Love at the Shore on rerun while recovering from a pool event today. Three thoughts: 1. Amanda and Peter were pretty good, her character was a little over bitchy at first but not too bad. 2. Happy the Dog should be in every hallmark (or the rescue cat) 3. The plot was okay but the setting was great, the beach houses were awesome (someone on IMDB says it wasn't Savannah, maybe Kitty Hawk or Corella, NC)

Did they spend all their money on special effects and cinematography, and had to hire high school level scriptwriters and unit directors?

Maxie's dress was the only one that didn't fit right, too

The first 10 minutes I wanted to be a you tube/instagram influencer, it goes downhill fast after that. Mostly unrealted: a younger lawyer at the office said snapchat isn't for cybersex anymore, it is for sending your friends fun videos or rants, because they go away in a day.

I also turned off A Feeling of Home, I made it to the point when the lead started getting the vapors over fixing her 'leak' that she was from Texas. I thought the lead actress was playing a combo of every successful Hallmark leading actress very well. Her facial expressions, tone, and cadence was a good imitation of the best leading ladies. The story was awful. Almost none of it made much sense. 1. Dad was so hurt she had to come home, but was working. 2. She grew up on the ranch but didn't know how to dress for the ranch or carry out basic tasks. 3. Th old boyfriend was not played like a Hallmark old flame, the actor or director had him be an unlikable douche. The actress obviously worked hard and was let down by the writers, director, and actor playing the love interest.

Currently watching A Feeling of Home. Too early for an opinion on the movie, other than they have replaced the usual restored 1940 pickup for a slightly rusted 1940s pickup. Storyline is standard city girl with awesome job comes home to farm/ranch country and reconnects with high school boyfriend. However, Jonna Walsh is literally the perfect Hallmark lead. It is like someone rammed Danica, Candace, Taylor, and Erin together in a lab. I have no idea about the rest of her acting resume, but she is going 100% Hallmark girl in this

Paris, Wine, and Romance. I like Jen Lilley, and the cheap easteuro scenes look a lot like Paris. The story conflict isn't bad, and Jen is always good. They did an okay job dressing her, but half the full body shots make it obvious she is at least halfway through a pregnancy. More importantly, if they are at an international conference for the future of the US wine, why is she spending so much time in flirtyflirt with scruff beard, and not getting that wine placed? Jen has people counting on her, less kissy face with hair boy, more time marketing. Edit to add. They got to the conflict with the broken bottles, and the love interest's accent got annoying. They should have inserted a line about him going to wine master's high school in canada or something and dropped the accent... Our local trendy store's wine woman was kind enough to (politely and low key) teach me to say Wilmete....and to not only stop saying jobber for an overstock bottler, but to pronounce it correctly in french.

Diana just keeps getting dumberer, and the complex political plots are more basic that West Side Story

Not doubting you, but both of the two hospital CEOs in the teaching program I did work for were both non physician. The Catholic hospital had a non physician nun CEO, and the VA director was also non physician.

I think their excuse for the solo flight was that he was flying an organ, not a patient.

Love takes Flight. We were in the military, and I did some legal work for a teaching hospital before I got into the government. 1. Doctors don't run hospitals anymore, they have administrators and a CEO. They are completely different skill and experience sets. (note A) 2. The pilot needed to be fired. The military will take chances when there is no choice, such as when service men are dying and the helo needs to land on a hill side. Ships even have a winch down system for bad weather-- because the other choice is the aircraft going down in stormy water and everyone dying. The deck crew therefore risks their lives along with the aircrew. This was a single patient/single procedure, and there were other options to proceed. Whatever Nikki's character's name is, good job. 3. The pilot's whiny act because his mom didn't tell him she was dying while he was deployed got old. Every actor in this thing was way past college, as was every character. He needed to grow up. 4. Really impressed a show set in a US town had aircraft with US N numbers. Note A: The federal government stopped treating urban (Black) hospitals like teaching hospitals for cost reimbursement in the early 90s. A woman lawyer ended up in charge of one as CEO and kept things there going 5 years longer than any other urban one in our region of the country because she was so good--so some people can cross professions with excellent results.

The Internet misled me again. Thanks ETA: The movie ended. I still 75% think the two princes are FWBs

Went out to a pretty good dinner with friends, now watching Winter Princess for the first time off the DVR. The love interest, Jessie, is an overbearing lazy jerk. What woman over the age of 17 is supposed to find him hot? The princess should have dipped out and told Jessie and his sister to go screw themselves. The movie would have been better, as she could meet a good, strong, honest guy back home once the real movie started there. Plus, "Landoria" makes me laugh every time the lead or her brother or the side prince says it. The plot of the girl princess who wants to work at a ski resort is literally laughable, but other than the lead's accent she sells it, so props. 45 minutes in and I honestly can't tell if the two princes are together or not, so the movie has that going for it. Double props. (I know the movie is trying to hint the side prince is slated for her, but I still feel they may be together) I also looked up the names on the ski lifts, the actual resort, Big White in BC, looks as cool online as the movie makes it look http://www.bigwhite.com

On Episode 3. Twilight 2.0, only the lead girl is dumber and weaker.

They did a Halloween romance a few years ago, October Kiss. Ashley Williams played "Poppy", a nanny who attracted the love interest away from a professional woman and friend of his, Miranda Frigon, through the power of playing with the children. The problem is the professional friend was a better choice, because not only was she more even emotionally and a good professional match, but Poppy, as played, crossed over quirky into unreliable flake.

It got better after my rant. There were a few more scenes of her pushing things on the floor and making messes to cover up her identity, but not too many. Now it is a standard Hallmark plotline of her pushing to get the mixing bowl sized chocolate eggs made, and supporting the lives of the love interest and the daughter by providing the woman's supporting touch. The love interest got mad at her when he found out she is the owner's daughter--not at himself or his coworkers for not figuring it out. Plus, why would a owner's family member and corporate VP not ever visit a main production facility?

Easter under Wraps. The new Easter movie. I have it on while baking pies for tomorrow. The lead isn't being played as quirky or confused, she is a rude bitch. The love interest was just offered a management role with the competitor, and he should take it just to get away from her. She isn't likable in any way at work, and makes her fellow employees' lives worse. (She is the owner's daughter undercover, and there are some campy scenes, but mostly she is a distracted jerk) I came on here to post this as the last step before turning this off for watching the 10 Commandments for the 40th time. I suspect I will be turning the channel soon. Update: The widower love interest just introduced his daughter and the lead actress made an effort to be very nice and bubbly to the child. So at least she and the director knew to do that.

Watched Home by Spring. I kept feeling like the lead was the other woman. Like she was 10 seconds away from asking for the manager or calling to get the love interest fired. It could have been the editing or the directing, but it was there. https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-by-spring/videos

Watching the third Holly Peete mystery off our DVR. I had hoped this would be better than one and two. I can't think why these are so bad. The cast could literally pop out of this and into any Hallmark Christmas/Spring movie and do great. Everyone loves Holly the actress. Even the dog is cute. The mystery build up is cringy to watch, the romance is bad--like watching a skit of a series of bad dates done by a high school acting class. None of the characters' actions seem believable in any way. I can see why this got burned off against Game of Thrones.