Holiday TV Movies & (Non-Rankin Bass) Holiday Specials - General Discussion

[Enero]

29 minutes ago, kirinan said:

I just saw my favorite new Christmas movie so far this year, Snowed Inn on Lifetime. It might have just been because Andrew Walker was in it and I really like him, but I enjoyed that one more than I have any of the new movies this season. Yes, I could sit here and pick it apart because it had so many of the elements of the Hallmark Christmas movie drinking game (precocious child, orphaned heroine, jerk boyfriend, Christmas morning deadline, Santa and Mrs. Claus), but what can I say? For some reason, I connected with this one. Monday at 8 p.m. ET they're showing the director's cut, which appears to be 10 minutes longer. And I will be in front of the TV again; that's how much I liked it.

Even though this was on Lifetime, Andrew Walker is fast adding himself to my Hallmark Holy Trinity (Antonio Cupo, Paul Greene, Victor Webster). In fact, after this movie I think I may now have a Hallmark Holy Quaternity. Or maybe I should call it a Cable RomCom Holy Quaternity.

This. Snowed Inn really was a treat.  IMO,Lifetime always does a little better job with their Christmas movies than Hallmark. 

Bethany and Andrew had nice chemistry, and those kisses at the end were the best. The ex boyfriend showing up out the blue in Indiana was a bit of an eye rolling moment, but still did nothing to ruin the goodness that was this movie. 

[Misslindsey]

Quote

I just saw my favorite new Christmas movie so far this year, Snowed Inn on Lifetime. It might have just been because Andrew Walker was in it and I really like him, but I enjoyed that one more than I have any of the new movies this season. Yes, I could sit here and pick it apart because it had so many of the elements of the Hallmark Christmas movie drinking game (precocious child, orphaned heroine, jerk boyfriend, Christmas morning deadline, Santa and Mrs. Claus), but what can I say? For some reason, I connected with this one. Monday at 8 p.m. ET they're showing the director's cut, which appears to be 10 minutes longer. And I will be in front of the TV again; that's how much I liked it.

I agree. I think it is my favorite cheesy Christmas movie of the year so far as well. I like both Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker, so I gave it a shot and I am glad I did. It had the typical cliches, but they worked for me. This is one I will watch again.

[twoods]

I had high hopes for Snowed Inn because of the leads and it did not disappoint. I'm glad that everyone else enjoyed it as well. This is the best Andrew Walker movie in a while, and Bethany was great as always. It was pretty funny as well, and the romance was nice. Definitely a keeper.

[Kaoteek]

1 hour ago, Enero said:

IMO, Lifetime always does a little better job with their Christmas movies than Hallmark. 

Eh, I wouldn't say that. If anything, I think Lifetime Christmas movies have a tendancy to be very hit or miss : either they're a success, and they're much better than your average Hallmark movie, or they're a bust, and they're really worse than most of what the competition produces.

I think that's mostly due to the fact that Lifetime buys its movies from different productions companies, including very cheap ones (Hybrid comes to mind, but Marvista can also do very cheap when asked to) which ends up giving their movies such a variable success rate. Whereas Hallmark's productions are more uniform and homogenous, quality-wise, and they all have roughly the same specs imposed by Hallmark : you're less likely to find awful or great movies on HM, since these days, they're more on a okayish-watchable baseline, with some slightly above and some slightly below.

(also, depending on the year, Lifetime might invest more or less $$ in their holiday season, which leads to different results, whereas Hallmark is, for better or for worse, all in)

 

And while i'm here, i'm halfway through Netflix's Christmas Inheritance, and so far, i like it. The usual cliches are there, but it kinda feels like a Hallmark movie that has more time and money to breath, and isn't limited by Hallmark's usual hang-ups - the lead is curvier than usual, her outfits are... let's say less conservative, the douchy successful bf is a black guy, the overall tone is less serious... it remains to see if it can keep up the 100 minutes distance, or not.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Kaoteek

[Irlandesa]

When I was skimming the holiday movies at the beginning of the season, Snowed Inn jumped out at me because I knew both of the leads could create chemistry.  It just goes to show you what an A++ duo can do to a movie because it had a lot of the little cliches that feel tiresome in Christmas movies, but because they interacted and felt like real people, it felt fresh.  I do think that some of the dialogue was peppier which also helped it overcome the cliches.  Just really good, solid chemistry with an adorably sexy kiss at the end.  Andrew has been in a lot of movies lately with leads not quite up to his caliber so it was nice to see him matched.  I hope they do more together. 

And it has one of the tropes that I know many here like--

Spoiler

The Santa is real

twist.

The little short, My Christmas Grandpa, was aww inducing as well. I hope they do these next year.  There were a few I enjoyed and even when they were bad, they were over within 15 minutes or less.

I liked A Christmas Cruise too, although I doubt I'd rewatch that.  I especially liked the fact that she didn't give up her job to follow her new boyfriend but rather her new desire for adventure.  He had to go with her.  (Even though he cruise directored even less than Julie on The Love Boat.) I am curious about her relationship with Jessica Morris.  They seem to do a lot of movies together.  Sometimes with Jason Shane Scott who did appear with Jessica Morris in a Lifetime short.

[Enero]

40 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

The little short, My Christmas Grandpa, was aww inducing as well. I hope they do these next year.  There were a few I enjoyed and even when they were bad, they were over within 15 minutes or less.

Agreed. I also loved The Christmas Snowman. Very original and adult twist on Frosty the Snowman. The Christmas Trap was a romantic idea (liked that the actors were POC), but the actors lack of chemistry and the horrible kiss at the end caused this one not to work for me. 

Still, the vignettes overall have been good and a great idea by Lifetime. I too hope they will do them again next year. 

Four Christmases and A Wedding - I didn’t like this one. The lead female (Chloe) was annoying. I also didn’t care much for the guy (Evan) she was mooning over the entire movie. 

He travels from 4K miles away back to the U.S. with his Swedish girlfriend but spends most of the visit it seems purposely running into Chloe and giving her heart eyes. RME. And of course she’s heartbroken each time she sees him with his girlfriend. 

My thought was if their first and only date was that electrifying they would’ve kept in touch during that year while he was living and working abroad. Both were single when they met. So there was no reason why they couldn’t have maintained contact.

I actually liked the guy she worked with, who liked her, but who she ignored for a good part of the movie before finally settling for him until Evan showed up again. Glad he (the guy she worked with) did find someone gorgeous and hopefully deserving of him in the end. 

This movie might’ve worked for me if the leads actually had chemistry and weren’t so annoying, but unfortunately IMO that just wasn’t the case. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by Enero

[ButterQueen]

Mr Butter and I did not like The Best Christmas Party Ever.  

Edited December 17, 2017 by ButterQueen

[MissyPoo]

I haven't been able to watch many movies this weekend since I've been running around, but I saw Snowed Inn was on when I was channel surfing at parent's house and I got super happy. I've been looking forward to this one and judging from all the comments, it won't disappoint. Can't wait to watch it (and Christmas Cruise which I have to make sure I taped). My DVR is going to hate me.

Oh! A heads up for those looking for The Spirit of Christmas. Just spotted it on Lifetime later today. 11 am PST/2 pm EST.

[mikeb]

Here's an interview with Andrew Walker about Snowed Inn.  He says he thought it was a Hallmark movie until he got on location and talked to the director.  He says Hallmark doesn't like too much comedy so he and Bethany Joy Lenz were able to inject more humor and physical comedy than normal.  Also the kissing was able to be racier than on Hallmark.

tvline.com/2017/12/16/andrew-walker-snowed-inn-christmas-lifetime-movie-preview/

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, mikeb said:

Here's an interview with Andrew Walker about Snowed Inn.  He says he thought it was a Hallmark movie until he got on location and talked to the director.  He says Hallmark doesn't like too much comedy so he and Bethany Joy Lenz were able to inject more humor and physical comedy than normal.  Also the kissing was able to be racier than on Hallmark.

tvline.com/2017/12/16/andrew-walker-snowed-inn-christmas-lifetime-movie-preview/

OMG.... that music video!  I wonder if it will air for the director's cut on Monday 

[In2You]

Hallmark doesnt like too much comedy yet they continue to make mainly from coms. The irony.

Edited December 17, 2017 by In2You

[Popples]

12 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I just watched A Christmas Cruise on ION.. holy soap opera alumni!  We have Vivica A Fox, Kristoff St John, Jessica Morris, Rib Hillis, and Jason Cook in this particular movie... but I like that both leads were African America, over 40, and showing that love and finding ones path in life isn't just for the under 30 crowd.  It's interesting that both performers played love interests back in the early 90s on Generations and have reunited as love interests in a holiday tv movie.  

Aw man, I always forget about ION Christmas films. I just looked and it is re-airing on December 24, at 1:00 am, and my DVR is set.

[MissyPoo]

My Christmas Grandpa had me near bawling like a baby. I never got to know my grandparents very well before they passed and I wish I was closer to them throughout my life, so I know how the little girl Paige felt. Loved how she reached out to Fred and her sister and Topher were adorable. Good to see Vivica Fox again. I kinda wish this was a longer one. This short is up there as a fave for me with Christmas Snowman.

Edited December 17, 2017 by MissyPoo
Homonym attacks are fun

[Kaoteek]

Christmas Wedding Planner (a straight-to-video canadian movie, I think, that just aired around here) was basically your standard ION-level tv movie, adapted from an Harlequin novel, with Christmas being nothing more than a distant background to a wedding movie, w/ all its shenanigans & stuff. Add to that a very melodramatic ceremony, and a last-minute "hey, we've only known each other for a couple of weeks, let's get married right now" that's always very annoying, and you get a very forgettable movie.

That said, I really liked the lead, Jocelyn Hudon (who played the daughter in the Romijn/O'Connell Paris Valentine movie, and a book-reading patient in The Christmas Cure), and she should have no problems getting bigger parts in the future. Also, Joey Fatone & Kelly Rutherford are in it.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Kaoteek

[Crs97]

I just watched Christmas in the City.  Choosing among Ashley Williams, her love interest, and her daughter for worst actor - it’s a toss-up.  Painful, painful.  Silver lining - her best friend sang and had a nice voice.

[In2You]

9 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I just watched Christmas in the City.  Choosing among Ashley Williams, her love interest, and her daughter for worst actor - it’s a toss-up.  Painful, painful.  Silver lining - her best friend sang and had a nice voice.

Yeah I wasn't a fan of that movie and I recall wanting my time back after I watched it back when it first premiered.

 

I'm watching Christmas Cruise and Nick Viall's acting is painful

[EyewatchTV211]

12 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Oh! A heads up for those looking for The Spirit of Christmas. Just spotted it on Lifetime later today. 11 am PST/2 pm EST.

Shoot. I wish I had read this in time to re-record. I just did a search and it looks like it won't be playing again. :-(

I was disappointed in Christmas Cruise. I was liking it at the start but then it just went downhill for me. I won't detail the several things that made me start to dislike it, but I will just say that if these channels want to keep making characters writers/journalists, they need to be grammatically correct with the obvious things. It bugs when characters say, "Anyways" in general, but a writer?

[Enero]

16 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Oh! A heads up for those looking for The Spirit of Christmas. Just spotted it on Lifetime later today. 11 am PST/2 pm EST.

This one was excellent. IMO. The leads were gorgeous and had wonderful chemistry and the storyline was different and really good. 

I thought the piano accompaniment in the ending scene was just beautiful. Where can I find it?! ?

This is most definitely worth a watch. 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Enero

[Suzysite]

The Spirit of Christmas is on Netflix.   I haven't seen it yet, but it's next on my list.

[Shanna Marie]

Finally catching up on more movies that have been piling up on the DVR. Angry Angel was a lot of fun, a nice antidote to too much Hallmark, since it had some edge (OMG! The heroine actually slept with a guy!), and yeah, that's either a setup for a series, or at least a sequel. Next year we'll probably get Angrier Angel.

I was surprised by how much I liked The Spruces and the Pines. It didn't look as cheap as the usual ION movie, possibly because instead of building cheap sets they just shot everything on location, using what was already there, so it was real houses, a real coffee shop, a real town's street, etc. The cast seemed very easy and natural, and I actually got a little misty-eyed toward the end, when I usually watch these to snark. I'm not going to watch it again this year, but if it pops up next year and I catch it, I'd be willing to watch it again.

But there was something odd about the way it was shot that I'm still trying to figure out. It seemed to have genuinely been filmed in the winter, since in all the shots around the tree farm, the non-evergreens were bare, unlike so many of these where they roll out the white blanket on the ground while the trees are all green and leafed out. But then in a lot of scenes, it looked like they'd laid out Astroturf because the grass was bright green and perfectly even, and it was a stark contrast to the bare trees. And then the whole thing seemed to have been shot with a filter or color adjusted to emphasize the green. It made the Christmas trees look bright, bright green, along with the Astroturf grass, and it made the darker colors pop, but then it made everything else look a kind of sick, faded yellow, and it didn't do a lot of favors to the actors' skin tones. The GREEN! was kind of distracting. If it hadn't been for the Christmas decorations and cast dressed for winter, I'd have thought the movie was set in the summer but shot in the winter, so they were using tricks to make it look sunny and green. I kind of liked that they didn't throw fake snow all over the place, and a lot of the scenes looked like winter without snow, but then there would be that lush green, fake-looking grass, and all I could think was why?

[CarbonCopy]

On 12/10/2017 at 9:55 PM, VMepicgrl said:

Reading the comments now. I like this one that references The Spirit of Christmas 

I bought this movie just for him, lol. That guy is smoking, blazing hot. And the movie is actually really good too. 

[Maharincess]

I'm not into the Hallmark channel at all so I don't watch their movies.  My favorite cheesy Xmas movie is called On The Second Day Of Christmas with Mary Stuart Masterson and Mark Ruffalo.  I've seen it on Lifetime a couple of times and then it just seems to have disappeared. I search for it every year and it's never on. I can't find it on Hulu or Netflix either. 

Has anyone else seen this one? Nobody I know had ever heard of it. 

[sistersledge]

The one thing that bugs me about A Very Merry Mix-up is when she jumps on not-Will/Bill when he arrives at the first house. It was so out-of-character for their relationship.

[emjohnson03]

On 12/11/2017 at 3:41 PM, twoods said:

I'm struggling with Christmas in Mississippi. So far there isn't an annoying significant other, which always brings down a movie. Maybe it will pick up.

I caught this OnDemand because Wes Brown...goodness he is very Hallmark with his acting but I don't care because he's such a good looking guy. He has had longer hair in the past and I'm so happy he has it short again. 

But yes, boring! No good conflict and it was bland. It was Hallmark on Lifetime. And I kinda dug the two of them together (both pretty people) but I wanted more drama and a few shirtless scenes maybe?? I mean 'comon, it's not ON Hallmark so you can go there! Of course they could have had a deranged ex-girlfriend or the mother not wanting them to be together. I think that would be have been all kinds of crazy and you know I would be there with popcorn!

[Whimsy]

I watched Christmas Inheritance last night on Netflix.  I didn't hate it.  It wasn't really great, but I have a low threshold for Christmas movies.  I do have a few nitpicks though.  I call total BS on was the fact that no one knew who Ellie was.  This town put so much importance on the company (Home & Hearth? Hearth & Home?  Whatever.  Terrible name for a toy company either way) that they would be following the family.  She'd be in magazines and, as Jake said, they have the internet.  I don't believe for one hot second that people wouldn't have recognized her.  Also, why were the letters so important to the entire town?  This was repeated several times.  Why does the "town" care about a letter that's written to one person?  Maybe they read it out loud every year? I just didn't get that sense. 

I was distracted by where I had seen Ellie before.  Didn't place her right away as being from The 100 since I gave up on that show in season 2.  Once I IMDB'd her, I couldn't NOT see Clark.  Not that she acted like Clark, but that's all I could see.  I also was distracted by the fiancée, Gray.  I figured out I had seen him on Bitten without looking him up, so I was proud of myself there. 

In other Christmas movies it's made clear that one of the new couple is planning on moving to the other's hometown.  I was a bit confused as to what was going to happen now with Ellie and Jake.  She obviously was going to have to go back to NYC for her CEO position and Jake hated NYC so I don't know what that resolution was going to be.  I feel like they left that dangling.

Who thought having Andie McDowell sing was a good idea? 

I also didn't really buy Ellie as the "party heiress" or whatever they were calling her.  Even in that opening scene it seemed very out of character.  I don't know.  It was just so contrived but no worse than any other Christmas movie. 

That may seem like a lot of complaints, but I still didn't think it was the worst one I'd seen this year.  Haven't seen the other Netflix one yet, but will probably do that tonight or this weekend.

[Atlanta]

On 12/16/2017 at 6:40 PM, In2You said:

Christmas Princess  was a nice break from the similar shallow small town girl finds love at Christmas tales. Bonus that it was based on a true story. It's always nice to get a reminder around this time that there's someone always worse off than you to make you really appreciate what you have.  I even got a little teary eyed watching some of those flashbacks.

And was nice to see her seeking counseling to do with her feelings. 

Can't find Christmas Princess. What channel was it on? I'm always interested in something based on a true story.

[In2You]

16 minutes ago, Atlanta said:

Can't find Christmas Princess. What channel was it on? I'm always interested in something based on a true story.

UP TV 

[MrsClaus]

i just watched My Christmas Love.  I missed the part of why the lead thought the gifts were for her.  She didn't live there so why did she assume they were for her?

[Qoass]

CBS is showing the I Love Lucy colorized Christmas special again which is okay I guess but I'm frustrated to see that they're following that with two Dick Van Dyke Show episodes, also colorized. I don't care for that pastel palette anyway but what really frustrates me is that Dick Van Dyke has an absolutely wonderful Christmas episode that they never show on network TV. It's a special Alan Brady presentation with all the characters in the show singing and dancing. Fast forward through Larry Matthews performing Little Drummer Boy and you've got yourself a fantastic show!

[Enero]

On 12/15/2017 at 0:19 PM, twoods said:

Finally finished A Christmas Prince and it did pick up halfway through, especially with the twist. I ended up liking it, but Rose is so much better on iZombie so she was a bit disappointing. I really liked the sister.

Saw a preview for the new Netflix movie Christmas Inheritance, and I don't mean to be shallow but wish that the lead actor was better looking.  I liked the "other boyfriend" a lot better, but it doesn't look very good.

I didn’t realize the lead in this is the star of iZombie until I read your post. 

I liked everything in this one except the romance. Her and the Prince didn’t have very many scenes alone and even when they did there was no chemistry. I didn’t feel like they had a relationship. Thus the proposal and kiss at the end felt hollow. 

[Atlanta]

I want a Christmas movie where the country person goes to the big city and finds himself/herself and love. LOL Just finished Christmas Inheritance.

[anniebird]

On 12/4/2017 at 0:33 AM, Irlandesa said:

That helped until it didn't.  When the little girl didn't age in four years, it became a distraction.

 

i couldn't stop thinking about that as every year passed.

Based on everyone's recommendation, I just watched Snowed Inn and it's my favorite Christmas movie this year. It's amazing how a good cast, good writing, and a good director can set one movie apart from all the others.

[Maharincess]

I hate the colorized versions of I Love Lucy. This has been my favorite show since I first saw a repeat when I was 4 years old. I loved it so much that my mom's friends always called me either Miss McGillicuddy or the Maharincess of Franistan when I was growing up and I could recite the entire Vitameatavegamin commercial when I was 6. It is just unnatural to me for it to be in color. I have the entire series on DVD so when Xmas time rolls around I put in my black and white version of the Xmas episode and watch that instead.  The color versions just look so fake to me. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by Maharincess

[In2You]

Finally watched Enchanted Christmas. I was a little thrown by her Alexa PenaVega's character having a French last name that is not common in Latin America but it was nice they actually made her character latina and showcased a latino couple. I actually thought she and her husband had decent chemistry so I was surprised by how harsh people were on this movie compared to some of the other Hallmark ones this season. The dance at the end was cute though the snow felt forced. I liked that the daughter wasn't a little meddler. Rick Garmon who wrote one of my favorite Pixl movies Late Bloomer wrote this movie. 

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, anniebird said:

i couldn't stop thinking about that as every year passed.

Based on everyone's recommendation, I just watched Snowed Inn and it's my favorite Christmas movie this year. It's amazing how a good cast, good writing, and a good director can set one movie apart from all the others.

 

The writer of Snowed-Inn Christmas, Carley Smale, has not written many things (that have been seen), but one of the few things she wrote is On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, one of my favorite Hallmark Channel movies (starring Brooke Nevin and Robin Dunne).    So she might be one to watch in the future, as far as knowing that whichever movie she writes has the potential to be good.     On IMDB it looks as though she has had a lot of experience as a "Miscellaneous Crew" member on assorted Hallmark movies as well.

The director of Snowed-Inn Christmas, Gary Yates, has done several Hallmark projects in the past, with a dash of Lifetime thrown in.  He just directed one of the upcoming Hallmark Winterfest/January 2018 movies (with Taylor Cole and Jack Turner).  His track record/success rate seems to be hit or miss.

With each passing holiday season and the growing array of new Christmas movies across several channels (and now Netflix is in the game too), I am leaning more towards thinking that the ones that end up standing out on any given network are all just part of the luck of the draw... or, as the very old saying goes, it's a "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" kind of situation. 

Many of the same directors, actors, writers, exec. producers and production companies bounce around between a few of the networks (including Hallmark, Lifetime and UP) that air these Christmas movies.  Sometimes (but not always), when a movie is being filmed, the entire cast and crew might think it's for one network and it ends up on a totally different network instead.  Sometimes (but not always) a movie with a brand new face will be a hit with the viewers, when, in a different year, a movie with a familiar, reliable face will be the hit.  Sometimes a specific actor and director can work together in a movie and it's great, but then that same combo does another movie one year later and the movie is not great.  Sometimes two actors are great together in one movie, with one specific director and producer at the helm, but then those actors team up again with a different director and producer and the result is not as good.

In one way, there are so many variables that factor in to what is going to be a winner or a clunker each year, but, at the same time, a lot of the same people are used for movies on multiple channels each year, and some combos of actors-writers-directors-producers will just work well, while others will not.  You never know which movies are going to be the keepers before watching them, because so many of the same people are working on them.

[twoods]

1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

 

The writer of Snowed-Inn Christmas, Carley Smale, has not written many things (that have been seen), but one of the few things she wrote is On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, one of my favorite Hallmark Channel movies (starring Brooke Nevin and Robin Dunne).    So she might be one to watch in the future, as far as knowing that whichever movie she writes has the potential to be good.     On IMDB it looks as though she has had a lot of experience as a "Miscellaneous Crew" member on assorted Hallmark movies as well.

 

I also hope she's writes more scripts- I absolutely loved On the 12th Day of Christmas. It was a nice story with the leads having great chemistry. You have motivated me to watch it again this weekend.

Did anyone watch the director's cut of Snowed Inn? Wanted to see how many more scenes they added. I hope they repeat Wrapped Up in Christmas director's cut so I can DVR it.

[MissyPoo]

4 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I hate the colorized versions of I Love Lucy. This has been my favorite show since I first saw a repeat when I was 4 years old. I loved it so much that my mom's friends always called me either Miss McGillicuddy or the Maharincess of Franistan when I was growing up and I could recite the entire Vitameatavegamin commercial when I was 6. It is just unnatural to me for it to be in color. I have the entire series on DVD so when Xmas time rolls around I put in my black and white version of the Xmas episode and watch that instead.  The color versions just look so fake to me. 

My soul sister! Fellow Lucy fan here. I never tire of her crazy antics. I should probably do what you do and watch the uncolorized version because every time I watch it, I keep feeling off kilter. But I'm there, every year like a crazy person eager to tape this ep. Kinda like watching the colorized version of Babes in Toyland. Strange.

 

54 minutes ago, twoods said:

Did anyone watch the director's cut of Snowed Inn? Wanted to see how many more scenes they added. I hope they repeat Wrapped Up in Christmas director's cut so I can DVR it.

 

It was cute! There was a nice little epilogue in the end where he proposing in a very cute way and they have taken over the company together and there's a wedding and it's adorable sauce all over. I really wish the director's cuts were the actual showings because I loved the one for Four Christmases and a Wedding (although the extra dance scene was embarrassing). They also had an epilogue where you see them working in their careers and the children they have and how they lived afterward. I only remember one scene from Wrapped Up in Christmas DC regarding the friend and the music/bookstore guy, but I wish there was a cute epilogue there like the other two. 

P.S. Late Bloomer is definitely a good one.

2 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

In one way, there are so many variables that factor in to what is going to be a winner or a clunker each year, but, at the same time, a lot of the same people are used for movies on multiple channels each year, and some combos of actors-writers-directors-producers will just work well, while others will not.  You never know which movies are going to be the keepers before watching them, because so many of the same people are working on them.

1

I'd be super curious to go on a set as a fly on the wall to see how some of these are filmed. In my old life, I wanted to be a director and I'd love to see what techniques these directors use to get certain performances out of the actors or if they let them run with their respective roles naturally.

[TVFan17]

12 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

 

I'd be super curious to go on a set as a fly on the wall to see how some of these are filmed. In my old life, I wanted to be a director and I'd love to see what techniques these directors use to get certain performances out of the actors or if they let them run with their respective roles naturally.

Yes!  It would be really interesting to see how these shoots play out from that perspective, and if it is evident right from the start of filming that some movies are going to be keepers or clunkers.  I am curious as to which directors and actors actually care more about the work and making it good, and which ones are more like "Meh... it's a paycheck, so I'll just phone in my responsibilities."

Additionally, I am fascinated by the whole casting process too, because it seems like we see certain faces in multiple new movies in a single year (such as Andrew Walker or Lacey Chabert), possibly even on a couple of different networks, and other actors we might only see in one new movie per year (like Alicia Witt, who never does any new non-Christmas Hallmark movies).  And then there are other actors who were in very popular Hallmark Christmas movies (such as Jordan Belfi and Mark Wiebe, who were in Snow Bride and A Very Merry Mix-Up, respectively), but then completely disappeared from the Hallmark channels.   Even Jesse Hutch -- who co-starred in the charming  Let it Snow four years ago -- has only been in one additional Hallmark movie since then (Harvest Moon), and since Cedar Cove ended in 2015.    And, as we know, Antonio Cupo -- who starred in the fan favorite, Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade -- has not been in a Hallmark Christmas movie since 2013 (Hats Off to Christmas), nor has he been the leading man in any kind of Hallmark movie since 2014 (For Better or for Worse), and even his supporting role status seems to be dwindling now.

In other words, I wonder why some actors who turn in good work in popular movies are used a lot, every year, while others who turn in good work seem to vanish for years.  There are certainly enough movies to go around, and it seems like there should be room for everyone -- both familiar/regular faces and new faces, as well as faces we haven't seen in years.

Edited December 21, 2017 by TVFan17

[twoods]

I couldn't agree with you more. Jordan Belfi was great in Snow Bride, so why has he been in zero movies since then? Jesse Hutch was in a Lifetime (I think) Christmas movie last year. I liked Neal Bledsoe in Coming Home to Christmas so hope to see him in other movies.

[WendyCR72]

Just a heads up that the re-airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas will air tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC (12/21/17)!

[Kaoteek]

Well... I know Charlie Brown Christmas's a tradition in the US and everything, but...pass. ^^

 

On another note, Jesse Hutch was in Lifetime's Becoming Santa, in 2015, and this year, he was in Ion's Snowmance : both are movies that don't really fit anymore with Hallmark's usual specs, and movies that are lighter in tone, more comedic and with a touch of magic. Maybe Hutch deliberately chooses those over more generic scripts, and as such, he just doesn't really has the chance to/wants to work for HM anymore.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Kaoteek

[MissyPoo]

Too true. I was just wondering if it was a want to or not had a chance to myself. I also notice Sam Page made 2 appearances this year as well as Jill Wagner. I get the feeling Harvest Wedding was a last minute-er while Maggie's was planned.

I also wondered about Autumn also. I notice she's been in more bigger movie roles while new faces (at least to me) are showing up on Hallmark. I imagine some actors and actresses see Hallmark as a stepping stone to bigger roles. For instance, I've been wondering where the heck Christopher Russell ran off to since I liked him in Midnight Masquerade. From his IMDB looks like he's been bouncing around some pretty big shows but he does have a tv movie coming up (oooh with an alternate title of My Perfect Valentine). Maybe I spoke too soon.

[bmoore4026]

Watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I'm very much like Charlie Brown this year.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas this year.  A lot of it stems not from commercialism, but from personal issues.  Psych med mix-ups and general apathy, for instance.  And depression. 

What Sally says sums it up for me: "All I want is my fair share."

Linus quoting the scripture about the angel appearing before the shepherds and Jesus in the manger will always be beautiful, though.

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, Kaoteek said:

Well... I know Charlie Brown Christmas's a tradition in the US and everything, but...pass. ^^

 

On another note, Jesse Hutch was in Lifetime's Becoming Santa, in 2015, and this year, he was in Ion's Snowmance : both are movies that don't really fit anymore with Hallmark's usual specs, and movies that are lighter in tone, more comedic and with a touch of magic. Maybe Hutch deliberately chooses those over more generic scripts, and as such, he just doesn't really has the chance to/wants to work for HM anymore.

Yes, I saw Becoming Santa (terrible fake, squishy snow that bounced back into place when people stepped on it!!  LOL) and I know about Snowmance, but I am mainly surprised that Jesse Hutch has not become one of Hallmark's regulars because Let it Snow remains one of their most popular Christmas movies.   We know how they love to use certain actors in multiple projects in a year, and it's peculiar that, given how many movies they are making each year (not just Christmas movies), they have not brought Jesse into one of them since 2015.

Also... Jesse Hutch is still willing to work for Hallmark.     They're not casting him.   People ask him repeatedly on his Instagram page if he has any upcoming Hallmark movies, to the point where he finally said "Hallmark did not hire me for any" (new Christmas movies or otherwise), and then went on to talk about Snowmance.   And, much like Antonio Cupo just told people on Instagram last night to let Hallmark know if they want to see Antonio in more movies, Jesse has asked before if people want to see Jesse in more Hallmark movies.   

Hallmark is not using certain actors, while using others a lot, so I think that people like Antonio and Jesse assume that it's the viewers who don't want to see them, or that the viewers might help to get them cast in something, when that is not necessarily the case.

 

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

Too true. I was just wondering if it was a want to or not had a chance to myself. I also notice Sam Page made 2 appearances this year as well as Jill Wagner. I get the feeling Harvest Wedding was a last minute-er while Maggie's was planned.

I also wondered about Autumn also. I notice she's been in more bigger movie roles while new faces (at least to me) are showing up on Hallmark. I imagine some actors and actresses see Hallmark as a stepping stone to bigger roles. For instance, I've been wondering where the heck Christopher Russell ran off to since I liked him in Midnight Masquerade. From his IMDB looks like he's been bouncing around some pretty big shows but he does have a tv movie coming up (oooh with an alternate title of My Perfect Valentine). Maybe I spoke too soon.

I wondered why we were seeing Sam Page in two new ones during this holiday season, although one movie was on HMM at the start of the season and the New Year movie is on the Hallmark Channel at the end of the season.  Still, though, it seems like someone else could have been cast in his role in the New Year movie.

Christopher Russell is one of those Hallmark actors -- kind of like Damon Runyan -- who goes back and forth between being the leading man and being a supporting character.   But I think that 2017 is the first year in a while that Christopher has not been in any Hallmark movies, as a lead or a supporting character.   The Valentine movie is not a Hallmark movie, but I'm not sure which network is getting it. 

I think you're right -- some of the actors probably don't want to get stuck in the Hallmark mold, or in the TV movie mold, when they would prefer to move on to bigger and better things.   It is a stepping stone.  They can't really showcase their acting talents in made-for-TV romantic movies as well as they might be able to in TV series or theatrical movies, but they can get experience, build up their resumes, learn the business and earn a paycheck by doing the TV movies -- which only take about 2 or 3 weeks to shoot, so they're not stuck in a huge time commitment either.

[Jaded]

Here’s What Happens When You Watch 7 Days Of Made-For-TV Christmas Movies...Rediscovering holiday spirit through low-budget seasonal entertainment is, well, it’s OK.

[TVFan17]

I'm going to guess that this has been mentioned in this thread and that I somehow just overlooked it, so I am probably just repeating what everyone already knows.   But it might be worth mentioning one more time, as we are getting close to the end of the holiday season and I don't know how much longer these movies will be available.  This could be of interest to anyone who doesn't get the UP channel or the ION channel, and/or who just wants to see some extra Christmas movies that have not been shown on Hallmark's channels this year.

Hallmark's streaming/Video On Demand service (no live streaming, sadly), Hallmark Movies Now, has a bunch of movies other than just Hallmark movies.  

Right now, HMN has a wide array of Christmas movies from different networks, as well as their own Hall of Fame movies (such as November Christmas) and others.  Just in the Christmas movie category alone, they've got a lot of UPtv movies (including Married by Christmas), at least a couple of ION movies (such as A Cinderella Christmas), some Lifetime movies (including The Spirit of Christmas), and at least one or two ABC Family/Freeform movies (including Santa Baby, but no Mistle-Tones yet, unfortunately).  They have been adding to the selection every few weeks, but I don't know what's going to happen to all of the Christmas movies once Christmas is over.

 Here is the Christmas movie page on the Hallmark Movies Now streaming site --

https://www.hmnow.com/movies/holiday

 

Of course, there are plenty of non-Christmas movies and different content on the site as well, but the Christmas movies are what might disappear sooner rather than later.  

Anyway, they are offering a 7-day free trial, if I am not mistaken, so it might be worth looking into for a few days if you need more Christmas movies in your life. 

Edited December 22, 2017 by TVFan17

[CherryAmes]

I was watching the Switched for Christmas (or whatever it's called) the one where Candace Cameron Bure plays identical twins and I was prepared to like it but I couldn't get past why they switched in the first place.  Unless I missed something the reason was pretty weak.  Weak to virtually non-existent.  I mean lookalikes switching places have been a literary staple for generations but there's usually a good reason for them to do it.  If no reason and they're not 10 yrs old! what's the point?

[anniebird]

19 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I'm going to guess that this has been mentioned in this thread and that I somehow just overlooked it, so I am probably just repeating what everyone already knows.   But it might be worth mentioning one more time, as we are getting close to the end of the holiday season and I don't know how much longer these movies will be available.  This could be of interest to anyone who doesn't get the UP channel or the ION channel, and/or who just wants to see some extra Christmas movies that have not been shown on Hallmark's channels this year.

Hallmark's streaming/Video On Demand service (no live streaming, sadly), Hallmark Movies Now, has a bunch of movies other than just Hallmark movies.  

Right now, HMN has a wide array of Christmas movies from different networks, as well as their own Hall of Fame movies (such as November Christmas) and others.  Just in the Christmas movie category alone, they've got a lot of UPtv movies (including Married by Christmas), at least a couple of ION movies (such as A Cinderella Christmas), some Lifetime movies (including The Spirit of Christmas), and at least one or two ABC Family/Freeform movies (including Santa Baby, but no Mistle-Tones yet, unfortunately).  They have been adding to the selection every few weeks, but I don't know what's going to happen to all of the Christmas movies once Christmas is over.

 Here is the Christmas movie page on the Hallmark Movies Now streaming site --

https://www.hmnow.com/movies/holiday

 

Of course, there are plenty of non-Christmas movies and different content on the site as well, but the Christmas movies are what might disappear sooner rather than later.  

Anyway, they are offering a 7-day free trial, if I am not mistaken, so it might be worth looking into for a few days if you need more Christmas movies in your life. 

They have the movie Off Season which I mentioned on this thread was one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. What sets it apart is that the main character is a weird little kid (played by Rory Culkin), it takes place in Florida, in summer, and then there's Hume Cronyn who may or may not be Santa Claus. It also stars Adam Arkin, and Sherilynn Fenn and it's delightful. They also have Three Wise Women - an Irish Christmas movie and another one I really liked.

Edited December 23, 2017 by anniebird

[methodwriter85]

On 12/15/2017 at 0:19 PM, twoods said:

I saw a preview for the new Netflix movie Christmas Inheritance, and I don't mean to be shallow but wish that the lead actor was better looking.  I liked the "other boyfriend" a lot better, but it doesn't look very good.

Jake Lacy is far better looking than the movie suggests he is. It's strange- I don't get why they put him in such a super unflattering hairstyle. There are very few guys for which that slicked back hairstyle works.

For me, A Christmas Inheritance wasn't really as hate watchable as A Christmas Prince, which was a shame. Did anyone else notice that Eliza Taylor seemed like she was on the verge of tears in almost every scene?  Her best-known role is a dramatic series lead, so maybe she had a hard time tuning into the romantic comedy wavelength?

I really, really wanted to like Sam Page's Christmas Gift movie because it had a really cute premise and I loved the interplay between him and his former frat buddy, but the lead gal just left me completely flat.

So far I'd say the best one of this season seems to be Snowed In Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker. They had really good chemistry with each other. I also liked Wrapped in Christmas. (Tatyana Ali wouldn't have a shot in hell at leading a Hallmark movie; that's how you know this is a Lifetime one.)

[In2You]

Snowed Inn Christmas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Christmas Princess, Angry Angel, and Enchanted Christmas were the only ones I enoyed this year.

And if Lifetime is gonna do those mini movies next year they need to make them more interesting and work out some sponsorship deal where they can be commercial free.

Edited December 25, 2017 by In2You