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

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

I enjoyed Christmas Around the Corner, but then again, I've had a soft spot for Alex Breckenridge ever since the early 2000s, as well as for bookstore-centered movies.

The "rent a house and run a bookstore" set up was silly but the leads did have a sexy chemistry.

[MissyPoo]

On 12/14/2018 at 8:49 AM, LexieLily said:

Which thread do we use to mention the I Love Lucy Christmas special tonight?

Thanks for posting about it here though. I wouldn't have known it came on recently. Thankfully, they put it on the website for streaming. Woo hoo! I hope they put the future one on there as well for those of us who can't get the network.

[kirinan]

Last night I watched Christmas Pen Pals on Lifetime, and it's one of my favorites of this season so far. Not rocket-to-the-top favorite, but I really enjoyed it. Of course, it helps that: a) the plot was You've Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner-ish (YTM is my all-time favorite movie; I would guess I've watched it several hundred times--no, seriously--over the years), and b) Niall Matter is one of my favorite romantic Hallmark/Hallmark-style movie lead (I'm a sucker for those Eureka guys).

I liked the story, too. The Pen Pal thing was a believable way for the town to get excited, for me anyway. The female lead, Sarah Drew, grated on me at first. I can't quite decide if it was the actress or the way her character was written, but it doesn't help that I am SO tired of these exaggeratedly uptight- or workaholic-to-a-caricature female characters. But I liked her more as they movie went on. Oh, and loved the Dad subplot with Michael Gross, and the sisters' relationship seemed very real. And Delores Her-Big-Brown-Eyes! (Dead Like Me fans will know what I mean.)

All in all, a solid B+ from me (would be an A- if not for the "uptight female" bit).

Edited December 16, 2018 by kirinan

[mikeb]

19 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

Was Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe a Hallmark movie? Because I just read the book it was based on, and it's so not Hallmark material. Speaking of Karen and Jack, the heroine and her BFF have that kind of vibe going on. The heroine has a friends with benefits relationship with her high school boyfriend who's also moved to New York. She sleeps with two different guys during the course of the book and spends most of the book drunk. It seems more like Lifetime material. If it's Hallmark, they must have seriously changed the story.

 

It was a Hallmark movie starring Lacey Chabert, although it seems very different from the book synopsis I just read.  None of the things you mentioned occur in the movie.  In the movie, she had to decide whether to continue to work for big-city firm where she is unhappy or stay in her hometown and take over her father's company after reconnecting with high school rival who is a cook with own restaurant.  You can guess which she picks.

Edited December 16, 2018 by mikeb

[BooBear]

On 12/11/2018 at 2:56 AM, Irlandesa said:

There was no need for a fiance.  Or even a boyfriend but that would have been preferable.  And it all happened over 3ish weeks.

I just saw it and enjoyed it a lot. I kind of felt like the insomnia was telling Lizzy that she and her finance weren't right for each other, she just didn't want to listen. The marriage was forcing the issue.  This was why her finance' called it off when he found out she hadn't been sleeping with him. 

I enjoyed it for its unique premise, relatively unique male lead (not ambitious but still a pretty good guy), and supporting characters. I also give them great credit for addressing the boner issue as that will come up in that situation. 

I was most puzzled by these things though 1. why no sleeping pill reference? It would have made more sense if there as a throw away line about Lizzy trying them but having them not work? 2. was it ever explained why Billy made her sleep and vice versa?  It did feel like there was a lot left on the cutting room floor. At a basic level it seems improbable that you could fall in love with someone you are just "sleeping" with because you wouldn't be awake most of the time you were with them. If they really wanted to sell it they should have had more moments where maybe she wakes up early and you she likes being with him... or he wakes up and you can tell how much he likes just being there or more pillow talk before falling sleep. 

[JenMD]

On 12/14/2018 at 6:13 PM, Camille said:

It was horrible.

Wow, yes, and I thought the Czech one was bad.  This one was like a really bad feature-length So You Think You Can Dance routine.

22 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

I got around to watching ion's A Snow White Christmas, [snip]Blanca was so blank that my impression was the actress was all "why are they pointing cameras at me and telling me to say things?" but I couldn't tell if that blank lack of affect was intentional or just bad acting.

 

Ha, that is the perfect description!  I'm guessing the latter but I only lasted about 20 minutes, if that.  Not nearly as much cheesy fun as I hoped it would be.

[Shanna Marie]

7 hours ago, mikeb said:

In the movie, she had to decide whether to continue to work for big-city firm where she is unhappy or stay in her hometown and take over her father's company after reconnecting with high school rival who is a cook with own restaurant.  You can guess which she picks.

Wow, then they definitely went away from the book because in the book, she stays in New York and the high school rival moves to New York to be with her, where he becomes a personal chef to the wealthy. She's super happy in her big-city firm, and the book mentions on just about every page how wealthy she is.

[Dr.OO7]

What really ticks me off about these Christmas movies is how ridiculously fast the protagonists fall in love. It's clearly already December (or close to it) when the movie starts, as evidenced by the decorations being up, and everything works out perfectly in time for Christmas Eve. That's a maximum of three weeks these people get to hook up.

At least in "A Royal Christmas", the couple was already together, or in other movies, they're exes who still love each other.

[Kaoteek]

Well, Christmas Pen Pals left me more than cold.

Basically a Christmas variation on the secret valentine gimmick (with the added tropes of "girl comes back to her hometown to find love with her ex-boyfriend", "urban girl is lost without her tech" and "female app developer of a dating app is unhappy in love"), with a way too basic and obvious script, a high tech/digital-only type of urbanite/millenial female app developer lead and a bland quasi-love interest (not talking about Niall Matter, but Giles Penton). Honestly, I cared so little for the lead - I think she lost me when she started complaining about the spelling of her pen pal "and that's why autocorrect has been invented for" (especially since it was obviously a set-up for the conclusion of the story) - and the movie never really recovered for me. I liked seeing Michael Gross, though, and here and there, there was decent thematic development about grieving and moving on, but overall, it was too by-the-book for me.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Kaoteek

[Irlandesa]

I liked Christmas Pen Pals more than @Kaoteek and less than @kirinan.  I was looking forward to it because I felt like Niall Matter and Sarah Drew would be good together and I think they were.  I liked the Shop Around The Corner thievery as I love those adaptations. 

But the anti-tech vibe in this episode was ridiculous.  The dad doesn't stream anything?  He doesn't work from home?  And a cafe without wifi?  No wonder he was struggling.  The letters that so fascinated Hannah were so bland. 

And I wanted a better ending. I think having the lead see Niall's character with the book and giving a You've Got Mail "It's you, I wanted it to be you" would have been a more fulfilling ending than pulling back for yet one more miscommunication with him giving the book to the doctor.  (I wanted more of an epilogue with the doctor and the friend too).

57 minutes ago, Kaoteek said:

I think she lost me when she started complaining about the spelling of her pen pal "and that's why autocorrect has been invented for"

That wasn't a good look but man, it's probably the realest reaction any character has had in any of these holiday movies.  People judge spelling.  Oh boy do they judge it. 

[emjohnson03]

Wasn't sure if this was the place to post but since this airs around Christmas every year...who is in for Sound of Music??

I always love this movie even though I'm not a fan of musicals. It's so innocent and sweet that it could be seen as too much of those things (which Christopher Plummer thought when filming) but in these times it's exactly what I enjoy falling into.

It seems every year it gets more and more enjoyable to watch and God forbid when Julie and Christopher pass away, it's only going to take on more of a meaningful role in the story of film.

And really, who can resist Christopher Plummer as the Captain? Whew! 

I find it even more fascinating how much Christopher Plummer disliked making the film and has never hidden that and yet, it seems to have made him more endearing to the role. 

Edited December 17, 2018 by emjohnson03

[JasmineFlower]

Christmas Around the Corner on Lifetime. It will repeat tonight on Lifetime along with future airings. I'm telling you this because basically, I loved this one. Not perfect, but close enough for Hallmark/Lifetime/ABC Family holiday movie purposes for me. It felt a bit different, it felt pretty complete too. It stars Alexandra Breckenridge who has been in many things over the years so you might recognize her. And the lead guy's aunt, who is a pretty major character here, is played by Jane Alexander. Yes, that Jane Alexander. So, acting is definitely up to par here. The script works well despite a rather strange set up (that's a vacation?). The casting is really, really well done. The leads have great on-screen chemistry that pulls you in nicely. The "twist" isn't overblown where it distracts from things. The teen in this feels really authentic, the kind of casting that should happen more often but probably won't since she's awkward, but that's what really makes her work too, she definitely pulled off her character well. The owner of the baker next door is a great barometer of how the town is going through a transformation with the lead woman now in town. I was calling her the acerbic baker based on initial interactions and that soon became a funny way to refer to her. And there's a gay pastor! Seriously. He's married with a new daughter and we meet his black husband and adorable daughter as well. From start to finish, this one worked for me big time. 

It's my favorite so far this season. I've enjoyed several so far, but this is the one that I think I will most be looking forward to seeing again year after year.

Edited December 17, 2018 by JasmineFlower

[Crs97]

I am always in for The Sound of Music!  The wedding scene is my favorite, even though when I was little I thought it was mean that they sang the song about Maria being a problem to solve while she walked down the aisle.  After my mom stopped laughing at my indignation, she explained the concept of a voice over.  When they show the Captain in uniform watching her approach . . . swoon.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Crs97

[carolibra]

I've had my TV on UP all day, and I swear each movie has had a shot of the same town corner!

[Kaoteek]

Christmas With a View : same production company & director as Christmas Catch, Christmas with a Prince, A Christmas Village, Hometown Holiday, Christmas Wedding Planner, A Very Country Christmas ; same lead as in Christmas with a Prince ; same strong points & problems than most of those movies : same type of occasional wacky overacting from the supporting cast (there's even a former pro wrestler in the bunch), same very cheap green screen work, same Harlequin-inspired type of story which probably wouldn't fly on Hallmark or Lifetime (the couple hooks up halfway through the movie ; she's a competent, professional protagonist that doesn't need to go back home to find love or to reconnect to her roots/to the Christmas spirit), same diversity (though i'm not sure i'm buying the lead being Vivica Fox's daughter), same nice snowy canadian exteriors, same awkward, uneven writing and pace (the final 20 minutes drop most of the romance, in order to take a more dramatic & angsty turn)...

 

Overall, I can't say it was particularly convincing or compelling, but it was watchable. I liked the blond, ditzy bff, though.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Kaoteek

[JasmineFlower]

Following in the footsteps of Angry Angel last year, these are two very, very solid offerings from the channel that started it all. Both are enjoyable, very watchable, and feel like actual real movies. I'd say I don't like these quite as much as I did Angry Angel, but they remain a cut above the rest in terms of a complete movie with superior production values.

The Truth About Christmas - This was a lot of fun. This is Liar Liar in Christmas form, but way worse because her boyfriend is about to announce his run for mayor and she's his campaign manager. Great setup and her inability to lie is really very entertaining. I'm not too familiar with Kali Hawk but she's really great here. Since this one aired a while ago, I'll go ahead and be vague but just say, I loved the three leads and I was totally feeling the brother. I realized during the bar scene they were definitely not going there and I ended up being fine with that after really, really wanting it to happen after he was first introduced. But they conveyed his love for his brother well so I knew it wasn't happening. There are some, for me, cringeworthy things that happen because of her inability to lie, one scene in particular was just diarrhea of the mouth and a lot, but all in all, this is a well written, well acted movie. And a major bonus comes with the lead character's career. Something that basically never happens both on the personal and professional sides at the end. Loved that. So, this is a highly recommend. 

No Sleep Til Christmas - This is the one with Dave Annable and Odette Yustman Annable. Been a very long time since I've seen them acting together, they still have the same chemistry and play well off one another. This has a very strong cast. Outside of Dave and Odette, there is Alphonso McAuley, who you may not know but may be recognizable. He's hilarious and I assume may have been suggested by Odette, her former castmate on Fox's Breaking In. Her fiance is played Charles Michael Davis, who has been in quite a bit and was a lead on The Originals and the most recent season of Younger. His mother is played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, looking absolutely fantastic. Like seriously, killing it so hard on here looks wise that Hallmark should be ashamed of making her seem like a dowdy old woman in their movie last year. Working it big time.

So, the movie is well cast and again, a very complete feeling movie with superior production. It's kind of an odd premise but they make it work. Biggest flaw of the movie to me is definitely that overall, Odette's character isn't very likable with her elitest attitude. Luckily that feeling of disliking her is not a constant thing, but when something comes out of her mouth that is along these lines, I just kind of went, why? So unnecessary and not a way to endear her to the audience and have them rooting for her. That is truly the biggest flaw here outside of whatever was going on with Dave's face in the first half hour of the movie (back away from the plastic surgery and injections man - you do not need them). Luckily, the latter 3/4 of the movie was shot later or earlier and his face is mostly settled at that point and no longer distracting. Also, their meet cute is rather flawed for me because it basically had her endangering the public if I understood it correctly as if her needing to get sleep was a worthy reason to do what she was doing. But this is part of the setup being odd and probably flawed. Despite this, still very enjoyable and I highly recommend this one as well.

For anyone kinda sick of holiday movies, this one is non-Christmasy so a good one to try. She's an event planner with holiday parties to plan, but this is not one where either lead loves Christmas above all else, can't shut up about it or is decorating their lives to the hilt. And neither is overly involved with anything relating to Christmas. So a really good break from the the usual Hallmark and Lifetime fare this time of year if you need it.

ABC Family/Freeform is continuing it's commitment to all things Disney and so these movies are not airing much. No Sleep Til Christmas will repeat next Friday, December 21st at 11:55 pm ET. That's the first repeat airing for this movie and I think it might be it's only, so definitely set a recording if you're interested. The Truth About Christmas aired a couple of times after the premiere, but is not on the planned schedule for the rest of the month, hopefully they'll change that. But if not, both movies are available to stream on their site and through their app.

[formerlyfreedom]

2 hours ago, JasmineFlower said:

ABC Family/Freeform is continuing it's commitment to all things Disney and so these movies are not airing much. No Sleep Til Christmas will repeat next Friday, December 21st at 11:55 pm ET. That's the first repeat airing for this movie and I think it might be it's only, so definitely set a recording if you're interested. 

It's also showing on Hulu, which is where I caught it this afternoon - it was a cute movie, definitely liked that the premise was a bit different from a lot of the typical fare.

Hands down, this made me laugh out loud (just spoiler tagging for those who want to be surprised);

Spoiler

when Lizzie and her fiance are at the alter, and the priest says, "Is there anyone here who knows why these two should not be joined in marriage?" and they play across the crowd - cut to Billy's friends and god daughter, and the little girl has her hand raised - her mom just grabs and puts it down. Lord, did I laugh, because I know kids who would do that!.

[Chippings]

Is this the right Forum for ION Christmas movies ?  Just when I was getting into Hallmark movies this year (both channels) I realized there were also Lifetime Christmas movies, and then - splat ! -- ION as well.  Tonight I saw a replay of the one with Maxwell Caulfield (?) as the King and father of the 'Prince' du jour, and then watched the new Cindy Busby one.  If this is the right place to mention that one, it was interesting and I liked the flow of the story, but nice as he was I thought the 'Prince' was incredibly miscast.  He seems a suitable guy for many roles, and his bio shows some nice range.   But the undisciplined 'playboy' prince role bit did not suit him at all.  Fine acting, but he's just not a romantic lead.     

I do like what only ION seems to do, which is to give a little plus at the end "and so later this character went to culinary school and opened a restaurant .." and "the little girl became a doctor' ..  very satisfying.            (If I should move this comment, pls advise.)  

[Chas411]

Just watched The Christmas Contract - it’s cute. Really nice chemistry between the leads and a nice supporting cast. On a shallow note I was really distracted by Hilarie Burtons foundation makeup as I thought it was really heavy in certain scenes. 

[Dr.OO7]

13 hours ago, emjohnson03 said:

Wasn't sure if this was the place to post but since this airs around Christmas every year...who is in for Sound of Music??

I am. It's one of my favorite movies, though like you, I can't understand why it's always aired this time of year (and sometimes on Easter) even though it has nothing to do with the holiday. I have the same complaint about The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind always being shown at Thanksgiving.

Years ago, my mother explained that the first two are family-friendly fare that's appropriate for the gatherings that typically take place. Fair enough, but that really doesn't apply to GWTW.

13 hours ago, emjohnson03 said:

God forbid when Julie and Christopher pass away, it's only going to take on more of a meaningful role in the story of film.

I am DREADING that day. ☹️

13 hours ago, emjohnson03 said:

And really, who can resist Christopher Plummer as the Captain? Whew! 

Hell, yes.

Charmaine Carr (Liesel) had a huge crush on him and it's pretty obvious.

[TVFan17]

I haven't been making an aggressive effort to keep up with all of the non-Hallmark Christmas movies this year because there are just so many and there is not enough time, but I have watched (or tried to watch) a few of them.  I think I could manage to watch some of the ION movies if I could find those in my On Demand options.  Last year I am pretty sure I saw some ION movies in the On Demand section, but this year, at this point, the new ones are not there (maybe it's a provider-based issue).

Fortunately, I can usually find the new Freeform, UPtv and Lifetime movies On Demand, which helps a lot.

I think I already mentioned here that I enjoyed A Christmas Switch (one of UP's new movies).

I also really enjoyed Christmas Perfection (one of Lifetime's acquisitions).  That was a lot of fun.

I tried to watch Lifetime's A Very Nutty Christmas, The Christmas Contract, Santa's Boots and A Twist of Christmas and couldn't get through them (although a big part of that could have to do with being distracted as I was trying to get other things done -- I might have to give a couple of them another chance).

I wanted to like Lifetime's A Christmas in Tennessee because of Rachel Boston and Andrew Walker, but I did not.  I thought it was a bit on the bland side.  His Lifetime movie last year, with Bethany Joy Lenz, was so much better.

I wanted to like Lifetime's  Poinsettias for Christmas because of Bethany Joy Lenz and Marcus Rosner, but I found it to be dull.  The movie was not as good as its cast.   It reminded me too much of the tulip movie on the Hallmark Channel a couple of years ago, and that one was also just kind of... there.  

Edited December 17, 2018 by TVFan17
forgot to add a title!

[Crs97]

Back to Sound of Music for a minute - it is a testament to Julie and Christopher that the Laendler becomes one of the most intimate dances due solely to their expressions, and I love his little smile both when he prepares to dance with her and then when he reaches behind him to take her hand.  It is a look of such delight and amusement that deepens considerably as they come closer.  Mmmmmm

[Kaoteek]

UpTV's Christmas on Holly Lane was interesting, if just for the change of pace and setup : no basic "city girl finds love in a small town" romance, but three friends (Sarah Lancaster, Karen Holness, Gina Holden) reuniting for Christmas at one's home in the snow, and using the holidays and their time together to help each other, save the house and fix each others' lives. More angst and melodrama than most Christmas movies, but some humor to balance it out, some real thick snow, and a likeable cast made it a refreshing low-key change to Hallmark's usual formula.

Edited December 18, 2018 by Kaoteek

[twoods]

I am liking Christmas Pen Pals so far. Niall makes everything better and Sarah Drew’s character grew on me as the movie went on. Sucked she was the typical uptight techie, but it made sense in the movie. I also liked the idea of the town being involved in the Christmas Cupid stuff- it’s a really cute idea. I also like the small scene with the guy at the coffee shop and the worker and wish we saw more of them.

Edited December 18, 2018 by twoods

[roseslg]

On 11/25/2018 at 7:28 PM, dalek said:

I also enjoyed the movie, and thought all the actors were good.  I generally like Hilarie Burton's Christmas movies.  However, the premise was pretty similar to last year's Hallmark movie "The Mistletoe Promise," which I thought did a better job with the premise.  

I have the same questions too.  I think he came back for good, but I don't know how the hell that happened.  I guess the same magic that kept him there for 12 days?  I kept supposing Lily was a witch and was able to do that at the end.  I watched this against my better judgement and just kept saying 'this makes no sense' throughout.   Why does everyone fall in love in 3 days?  My word!  

[JenMD]

13 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

UpTV's Christmas on Holly Lane was interesting, if just for the change of pace and setup : no basic "city girl finds love in a small town" romance, but three friends (Sarah Lancaster, Karen Holness, Gina Holden) reuniting for Christmas at one's home in the snow, and using the holidays and their time together to help each other, save the house and fix each others' lives. More angst and melodrama than most Christmas movies, but some humor to balance it out, some real thick snow, and a likeable cast made it a refreshing low-key change to Hallmark's usual formula.

I loved this one, I think it might be my favorite this season.  Everything about it just worked for me.  I loved the three women and their friendship, which was central to the story.  I loved the location and yes, the real snow.  I enjoyed how they used the tropes we see all the time (house that needs to be sold [but won't be], big event at Christmas, reconnecting with high school crush, moving from the big city [x2!]) and wrote them smartly and with some thought.  There was drama but it was funny, too.  Riley had some killer expressions and reactions that just cracked me up.  But they all got the chance to experience both fun and drama.  Oh, and Cat's daughter nailed the bratty teenage attitude, there were a couple of moments where she bore an uncanny resemblance to my niece, so kudos to the actress. Overall, I thought it all gelled really well, definitely one I'd watch again.

Also, count me in on enjoying Christmas Pen Pals.  Not my favorite ever, but something just a little different with the Christmas Cupid and a good cast.  We're almost at the end of this (seemingly neverending) Christmas movie journey, I'm not asking for too much anymore.  Heh.

[Spartan Girl]

So I watched A Very Nutty Christmas on Lifetime. It's like Elf Meets The Nutcracker and despite the silliness it's pretty cute.

[twoods]

You guys weren’t kidding with how good Christmas Around the Corner was. I would think that the premise would be the same old Hallmark formula, but the great chemistry with the leads and their flirty banter made it a winner. I also liked the Aunt and other secondary characters. Definitely going to rewatch this one after I clean out the DVR with the other movies. Also will try to hunt down the Holly Lane movie on UP. Thanks guys!

[AnnaRose]

I don't have UP channel, so no Christmas on Holly Lane for me.  :(

Do these movies tend to show up on other channels later?  I mean, do they tend to be independent productions (outside of the ones Hallmark produces since they have a well-oiled movie making machine) that are then shopped to different channels over the years?

[MissyPoo]

7 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I don't have UP channel, so no Christmas on Holly Lane for me.  :(

Do these movies tend to show up on other channels later?  I mean, do they tend to be independent productions (outside of the ones Hallmark produces since they have a well-oiled movie making machine) that are then shopped to different channels over the years?

They sometimes pop up on Hulu, Netflix, Tubi and other streaming sites and the Tube (where Christmas on Holly Lane is as of this post). It'd be nice if Up fixes their streaming site on Sling. 

[Irlandesa]

Christmas on Holly Lane was kind of depressing for me.  I liked the all female friendships but I think Hallmark has worn me down--I don't need cheating and divorce in my Christmas movies.  It was a bit funny to see Giles Panton in it. He was in three movies this weekend.  (And looking at IMDB, it looks like five for the season although this weekend is the first where I felt I recognized him from movie to movie.)

So I gave up on that one.  I also gave up on Christmas In Royal Fashion, liked the music but got bored of the story in Country Christmas Album, and was mildly interested in Coins For Christmas.

One more weekend to go. 

[BooBear]

On 12/16/2018 at 8:29 PM, JasmineFlower said:

Christmas Around the Corner on Lifetime. It will repeat tonight on Lifetime along with future airings. I'm telling you this because basically, I loved this one. Not perfect, but close enough for Hallmark/Lifetime/ABC Family holiday movie purposes for me. It felt a bit different, it felt pretty complete too.

I am going to have to say I didn't like this one. The biggest problem for me was that the lead actor pinged my gaydar. Not great in a romantic movie. Also I thought the plot was the most convoluted thing I had seen in a while. Basically someone has an apartment to rent in a small town in Vermont and, to get people to stay there, they let you manage the bookstore they also own.  Who would go to that bother? I know there was a twist coming but 60 minutes in I didn't care at all. 

[Dr.OO7]

Related to the time factor that I complained about, one of the other things that I liked about Christmas In The Air is that even though the leads clearly become very attracted to each other, they're not fully in love yet--the guy outright says something like "Twelve days isn't long enough to get to know you, but I'd like to."

Edited December 20, 2018 by Camille

[anniebird]

3 hours ago, BooBear said:

I am going to have to say I didn't like this one. The biggest problem for me was that the lead actor pinged my gaydar. Not great in a romantic movie. Also I thought the plot was the most convoluted thing I had seen in a while. Basically someone has an apartment to rent in a small town in Vermont and, to get people to stay there, they let you manage the bookstore they also own.  Who would go to that bother? I know there was a twist coming but 60 minutes in I didn't care at all. 

The premise might seem silly or convoluted but it's a real thing in Scotland.

https://mymodernmet.com/the-open-book-airbnb/?fbclid=IwAR2wtPSzv0tVo2PtlATxwKBO7f2s9HgJ7mL50buO3gGpkn4FcYCYvalFxfI

[twoods]

Anyone catch Hometown Christmas on Lifetime with that actress from 7th Heaven? It’s super boring so far so I may come back to it if others like it.

[Irlandesa]

5 minutes ago, twoods said:

Anyone catch Hometown Christmas on Lifetime with that actress from 7th Heaven? It’s super boring so far so I may come back to it if others like it.

Forgot to add that to me "started it, gave up on it" list from above.

[methodwriter85]

On 12/16/2018 at 9:18 PM, JasmineFlower said:

No Sleep Til Christmas - This is the one with Dave Annable and Odette Yustman Annable. Been a very long time since I've seen them acting together, they still have the same chemistry and play well off one another. This has a very strong cast. Outside of Dave and Odette, there is Alphonso McAuley, who you may not know but may be recognizable. He's hilarious and I assume may have been suggested by Odette, her former castmate on Fox's Breaking In. Her fiance is played Charles Michael Davis, who has been in quite a bit and was a lead on The Originals and the most recent season of Younger. His mother is played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, looking absolutely fantastic. Like seriously, killing it so hard on here looks wise that Hallmark should be ashamed of making her seem like a dowdy old woman in their movie last year. Working it big time.

So, the movie is well cast and again, a very complete feeling movie with superior production. It's kind of an odd premise but they make it work. Biggest flaw of the movie to me is definitely that overall, Odette's character isn't very likable with her elitest attitude. Luckily that feeling of disliking her is not a constant thing, but when something comes out of her mouth that is along these lines, I just kind of went, why? So unnecessary and not a way to endear her to the audience and have them rooting for her. That is truly the biggest flaw here outside of whatever was going on with Dave's face in the first half hour of the movie (back away from the plastic surgery and injections man - you do not need them). Luckily, the latter 3/4 of the movie was shot later or earlier and his face is mostly settled at that point and no longer distracting. Also, their meet cute is rather flawed for me because it basically had her endangering the public if I understood it correctly as if her needing to get sleep was a worthy reason to do what she was doing. But this is part of the setup being odd and probably flawed. Despite this, still very enjoyable and I highly recommend this one as well.

For anyone kinda sick of holiday movies, this one is non-Christmasy so a good one to try. She's an event planner with holiday parties to plan, but this is not one where either lead loves Christmas above all else, can't shut up about it or is decorating their lives to the hilt. And neither is overly involved with anything relating to Christmas. So a really good break from the the usual Hallmark and Lifetime fare this time of year if you need it.

I caught this on Hulu and enjoyed it. I agreed that Dave Annable looked...off. Between injections and choosing a weird hair dye that didn't match his hair before it went grey, I had a hard time seeing him at his cutest self, but he does seem to get back to cuteness after the movie goes on.

I liked that this was set in a city, and I liked that both of them are flawed- she's a snob, and he's a bit of a bum. They had good and easy chemistry and I liked that because this is Freeform, they were were allowed to talk about things like erections.

It was a nice departure from the typical Hallmark movie about a beautiful small town and the beautiful, perfectly bland man and woman who fall in love at Christmas.

[Silver Raven]

A very snarky, disbelieving review of Christmas Mail from the ion channel.

[irisheyes]

On 12/16/2018 at 8:25 PM, emjohnson03 said:

Wasn't sure if this was the place to post but since this airs around Christmas every year...who is in for Sound of Music??

I always love this movie even though I'm not a fan of musicals. It's so innocent and sweet that it could be seen as too much of those things (which Christopher Plummer thought when filming) but in these times it's exactly what I enjoy falling into.

It seems every year it gets more and more enjoyable to watch and God forbid when Julie and Christopher pass away, it's only going to take on more of a meaningful role in the story of film.

And really, who can resist Christopher Plummer as the Captain? Whew! 

Is it weird that I have a crush on Christopher Plummer in this movie just like my mom did when it was originally in theaters, and he’s too old for either of us?  No?  😂

[Jaded]

On 12/17/2018 at 7:56 PM, Kaoteek said:

UpTV's Christmas on Holly Lane was interesting, if just for the change of pace and setup : no basic "city girl finds love in a small town" romance, but three friends (Sarah Lancaster, Karen Holness, Gina Holden) reuniting for Christmas at one's home in the snow, and using the holidays and their time together to help each other, save the house and fix each others' lives. More angst and melodrama than most Christmas movies, but some humor to balance it out, some real thick snow, and a likeable cast made it a refreshing low-key change to Hallmark's usual formula.

 

I really liked Christmas on Holly Lane. Each time there was more angst and melodrama I kept thinking how some Hallmark viewers (like some rabid ones who post elsewhere) would blow a gasket if it aired on there. It was really nice to have a holiday movie that didn't follow the basic formula where the women usually have to give up past lives/jobs by the end and viewers usually never find out what they'll do in the future besides ending with a guy and maybe a bonus kid when everything is over. This one had the women supporting each other and doing things for themselves except for the literal heavy lifting and construction. The romance storylines weren't the main focus which was a nice change of pace. The boss of the one woman who worked in the office was pretty disgusting behavior wise towards the beginning and didn't get much better when he appeared again.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Jaded

[TVFan17]

At the recommendation of a friend, I finally watched Christmas Pen Pals from Lifetime.   It was quite good -- it had a solid story line, effective lead actors and a likable supporting cast (Michael Gross was a standout).   And even though it was mostly obvious which people were going to end up together in the end, I thought they did a good job of maintaining a tiny bit of mystery about some of the secondary pairings, making me second guess whether certain people would actually end up together or if they were going to be matched with other unexpected people. 

However, I thought that the movie was a little slow in certain parts.  But I realized that pacing problems and dragging are an epidemic in all of these made-for-TV Christmas movies' story lines for me -- on any network.    Let me put it this way - no matter which network a movie came from, even if it is a movie that I consider to be "good," I tend to find that there are usually slow sections here and there.  I might find about 90% of the scenes to be interesting, and then the other 10% of the scenes seem unnecessary or dull.    Again, it doesn't matter which network premiered the movie.   Pacing seems to be a common issue in most of them.  I might truly enjoy the movie, but I will always run into those slow scenes. 

It is very rare to find a TV Christmas movie that I think keeps a consistently steady pace with no lulls, from start to finish, and that holds my attention from the minute the opening credits roll to the minute the ending credits roll..  I don't know whether to blame the writers, the directors or the editors (or all of the above), for the more sluggish scenes, but... it is what it is, I suppose.

[shapeshifter]

On 12/3/2018 at 11:04 AM, Shanna Marie said:

Christmas Cupid's Arrow, or something like that,

Maybe should've been "Christmas Stupid's Arrow"? Heh.

 

On 12/3/2018 at 10:02 PM, Irlandesa said:

. . . and the script had promise.

Mileage varies, as we often say here on PTV, and below I will attempt to rip the script to shreds (heh).
And, @JasmineFlower,

On 12/4/2018 at 8:35 AM, JasmineFlower said:

With increased production values and some script editing, I think this could've come off a good deal better for me than it did. Because I didn't mind many parts of this movie and yet it still felt lacking by the time the ending rolled around.

you are much more optimistic^ than I can be, although I will grant that there were a few small nuggets of something worthwhile.
So. "Christmas Cupid's Arrow" is:

On 12/3/2018 at 11:04 AM, Shanna Marie said:

. . . about a woman getting on an online dating app, . . . turned into a replay of Cyrano de Bergerac, except the Cyrano character was quite cute. The hot guy from the dating app was actually a pretty shallow lawyer, but he liked the literature professor heroine, so he got his friend, another professor, to write poems to send her so she'd think he was deep. You know how it's going to go if you've ever seen one of these when the other professor turns out to be a widower with an adorable little girl. The widower with the adorable little girl is never going to be Mr. Wrong.

--except the shallow lawyer seems to only "like" the heroine as a challenge to add to his quiver of arrowsgirlfriends.
The heroine is named Holly Willinger (get it? Will-ing-er? Even more than willing?) played by the adequate actress, Elisabeth Harnois from CSI; the hero/other college professor is played by the also adequate Jonathan Togo from CSI: Miami. Too bad the script wasn't about the two actors from different incarnations of the same franchise meeting on Christmas. Maybe that was the original premise?

Maybe it's because I've worked as a reference and instruction librarian in academia for 20 years, but I was flabbergasted that a college professor and a lawyer would cook up and agree to a pay-to-play scheme in which a professor who is hoping to get tenure takes part in providing prose to be plagiarized in exchange for a crack at a better paying academic job. There was one brief moment where the "lawyer" implied in a threatening voice that only the professor was guilty, which the professor wasn't having, but after that, all academic honesty issues were swept away between them like so many of the hero's burned Christmas cookie crumbs. 
But wait. There's more.
The heroine is also an academic professor, and damn well knows the implications of plagiarism by a faculty member, and even uses the plagiarism word (so, no, I'm not imagining it) and yet, in the end, she and the "good" guy agree to spend Christmas with her family.
I'm not sure if that was before or after they passionately kissed in front of his little daughter--which was way too inappropriate. 

There was a Cyrano De Bergerac-ish scene that was so cringingly funny that maybe they could have done something with that--but not unless in the end the professor got fired and will never teach again for taking part in using plagiarism to manipulate a woman into seduction by his old college bro roomate, and only if the lawyer gets disbarred for the same.
BTW, the heroine did more than her share of inappropriate hugging of her "just a friend" colleague. 

I am so glad my daughter was too busy to watch this when I recommended it based on the description (my daughter met her wonderfully kind SO on a dating app). I wonder if she would have turned it off 10 minutes in, or if, like me, she would have stayed to see how many bodies piled up in this train wreck.

On 12/3/2018 at 3:46 PM, Shanna Marie said:

I figured out while watching the noon news what the sound quality was like -- it's like during a newscast when either one of the people forgets to turn their microphone on or the microphone fails, and you can still hear them because they're being picked up by other people's mikes, but the sound's not great, so they sound like they're trapped in a box, far away. . . .

The lead actress used to be on CSI, and I noticed she got producer credit. You'd think she'd have dealt enough with real production crews from being on a major network series to know something was seriously wrong. . . .

My theory on the crappy sound quality? They decided against editing it in hopes that the audience would miss the terrible story.

[Dr.OO7]

I posted something like this before. . .

Which version of A Christmas Carol is your favorite? It's a toss-up between the 1984 and 1999 versions for me. I especially like that the 1999 version includes some scenes usually left out of other adaptations and makes the Ghost of Christmas Present age as the day goes on.

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe it's because I've worked as a reference and instruction librarian in academia for 20 years

Ha, me too (well, not 20 years).  But in my defense, I gave up on the movie because of the sound issues so a little of your nitpicks weren't nits I was around to pick on.  Overall, I was praising the idea behind the movie because it was different and while I have seen some iffy things in academia, I think I'd care more about the overall movie than how realistic it is.*

*Caveat being that I could change my mind at any moment.

Edited December 23, 2018 by Irlandesa

[irisheyes]

2 hours ago, Camille said:

I posted something like this before. . .

Which version of A Christmas Carol is your favorite? It's a toss-up between the 1984 and 1999 versions for me. I especially like that the 1999 version includes some scenes usually left out of other adaptations and makes the Ghost of Christmas Present age as the day goes on.

The Muppets. Rizzo is an under appreciated character. 

[Dr.OO7]

I just came from the NYCB version of The Nutcracker.

Lovely as always.

For added bonus, I spotted a black ballerina during the Waltz Of The Flowers!

Edited December 24, 2018 by Camille

[MissyPoo]

I just happened to put Will You Merry Me? on from the DVR since it was recommended here and haha where has that movie been all my life? I can't believe I skipped it in the past. It's freakin' hilarious which kinda sucked because I'm fighting a cold and every time I laugh, I fall into coughing fits so I was laughcoughing most of the movie. I miss Wendy Malick and Cynthia Stevenson on my screen. And the girl I remembered from an old show from Lifetime called Wild Card. Anyone remember that show? Joely Fisher (Carrie's half sis) was some Vegas card shark that ended up caring for her sister's kids after she died and the oldest girl was the one getting married in this one. Nuts. I'm adding this one to my watch list every year.

Oh! I just checked Amazon and it's on sale for 99c. I'm sold!

[Aliconehead]

2 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I just happened to put Will You Merry Me? on from the DVR since it was recommended here and haha where has that movie been all my life? I can't believe I skipped it in the past. It's freakin' hilarious which kinda sucked because I'm fighting a cold and every time I laugh, I fall into coughing fits so I was laughcoughing most of the movie. I miss Wendy Malick and Cynthia Stevenson on my screen. And the girl I remembered from an old show from Lifetime called Wild Card. Anyone remember that show? Joely Fisher (Carrie's half sis) was some Vegas card shark that ended up caring for her sister's kids after she died and the oldest girl was the one getting married in this one. Nuts. I'm adding this one to my watch list every year.

Oh! I just checked Amazon and it's on sale for 99c. I'm sold!

I watched this again and enjoyed it also.  I like that it actually acknowledged another religion and actually discussed it.  I did have a hard time with CS character at first. She was just so stupid to think that a Jewish girl would want to marry in a church, now to be fair it does happen, but she just seem to be clueless and naive about it.  

 

I also watched Wild Card and loved it. 

[In2You]

I didn't even watch any of the ION movies this year. There were just far too many movies on TV at the same time.

[In2You]

I liked Kaitlyn Leeb better in Christmas with a View and I thought the couple had hot chemistry in that movie.  But who the hell were they trying to fool casting Vivica Fox as mother to those Eurasian women? Even the casting of Kaitlyn's real life daughter as her neice didn't match. Not with that father and that grandmother. I'm all for colorblind casting but damn!

Edited December 24, 2018 by In2You