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

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

I stopped when the judges dogged the lead chick's entry though I know she'll end up winning (or co-winning with lead dude if they find a way).

I was finding it somewhat more interesting than the previous Lifetime movies and I made it to about 50ish minutes in until I decided I need to stop and wait until it'd be good background noise.

The reason I stopped?  The pastry chef showed the woman a pavlova and told her he hadn't heard of it until recently.  Nope.  No way a pastry chef worth his/her salt not know what a pavlova is.

[Was-MArsenault]

TBS is showing A Christmas Story on Sunday, November 24 at 7 PM.

[Suzysite]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

No way a pastry chef worth his/her salt not know what a pavlova is.

To be fair, he did say he wasn't classically trained. Just taught to bake by his grandma.

One thing about the timing did confuse me, though.  The final baking contest was held on Christmas Eve.   Next scene they show the new owners all decked out for Christmas in the bakery wishing the child customer a Merry Christmas, so... was it supposed to be the next year?  Did I miss the "One year later"?  

Edited November 11, 2019 by Suzysite

[VartanFan]

Mistletoe Secret.  I’m staying until the end because of Tyler Hynes.  He has chemistry with anyone (though my fave is still the home remodel one).  Pickler - yikes.  The hair too blonde, the “acting”, the accent too grating.  It’s a struggle.

[kirinan]

4 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

Mistletoe Secret.  I’m staying until the end because of Tyler Hynes.  He has chemistry with anyone (though my fave is still the home remodel one).  Pickler - yikes.  The hair too blonde, the “acting”, the accent too grating.  It’s a struggle.

I love Flip That Romance and Falling for You because I think he had off-the-charts chemistry with both leading ladies.

As far as The Mistletoe Secret, I didn't mind Kellie Pickler as much as I thought I would. It was a typical Hallmark Christmas movie and hit all the usual beats (some kind of festival, hot chocolate, decorations, small business owner, etc. etc.), so while it wasn't at the level of some of my favorites, it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours. 

Tyler, of course, brought up the level (I just really, really love him), but to my surprise Kellie Pickler seems to be improving a little. I didn't want to hurl the remote at the screen like I did with the Graceland movie (which I turned off after 15 minutes and have no desire to try watching again). 

I did like that Alex's friend Sterling didn't turn out to be an out-and-out villain. A self-centered dimwit, yes, but he had some awareness that he was being a jerk at the end. Okay, on the humanity scale it's not Nobel Prize-worthy, but for Hallmark it was a moment.

I had more of a problem with the dialogue; the writing, especially at the beginning, seemed more stilted and Basil Exposition-y than usual. It smoothed out a bit as the movie went on, but still, I would have loved to get my hands on that script and edit it. Still, while it may not be a frequent re-watch, I would watch it again.

Oh, and for Tyler fans, I found this nice interview with him via his Twitter feed, which I started following last night. Not surprisingly, he comes across as very likable everywhere. 

[Lovecat]

17 hours ago, VMepicgrl said:

I was curious about the founding story, so I did a google search and also saw that Bethlehem was founded in 1741. Like you, I have no idea why they felt the need to make that change. The only thing I could think of is that they wanted the people in the reenactment to wear that particular style of clothing for some reason...

That's where I landed, too!  The Victorian-ish garb they were wearing is much more telegenic than the very plain (as in super muted colors, no embellishments, no buttons) clothes worn by the Moravians.  

[TVFan17]

My favorite Tyler Hynes movie in general is actually the one with LeAnn Rimes, from last year -- It's Christmas, Eve.  That's more for the movie as a whole.  But I like him/his character a lot in Flip That Romance with Julie Gonzalo.  I even liked Tyler in the recent Wedding March movie, when he was paired up with Cindy Busby.   He's always very intriguing and funny.

I'm interested to see what kind of chemistry Tyler will have with Lacey Chabert (I posted about their upcoming winter movie over in the main Hallmark Channel thread),

I tried to watch The Mistletoe Secret.  I was not really in the mood to watch a full new movie last night, for whatever reason, so I wasn't feeling it and stopped watching it about 40 minutes in.  (For the same reason, I also did not get all the way through the Rachael Leigh Cook Christmas movie last week -- I just was not in the mood to watch a whole new movie and couldn't really pay attention.)   I didn't watch most of A Sweet Christmas Romance on Lifetime either -- I only wanted to see if I could catch the Winter Storm Megan reference and be done with it, but I have no idea what else went on in the movie after that. 

However, I did see that one my favorites, Christmas Getaway, was on the Hallmark Channel last night, and I will always find the time for that one!   That one (along with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas airing today, and so many others I love from previous years) is always a delight.

Edited November 11, 2019 by TVFan17

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

The reason I stopped?  The pastry chef showed the woman a pavlova and told her he hadn't heard of it until recently.  Nope.  No way a pastry chef worth his/her salt not know what a pavlova is.

Unfortunately I find that believable just based on what I’ve see on baking competitions. In a recent episode The Great British Bake Off there was a woman who could not figure out why her shortcrust was so crumbly and to remedy it added more flour. Only afterwards did she realize she forgot to add water. I was in disbelief. I still don’t understand how any baker could possible not know how flour and water impacts a crust. 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Guest

[MissyPoo]

11 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

However, I did see that one my favorites, Christmas Getaway, was on the Hallmark Channel last night, and I will always find the time for that one!   That one (along with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas airing today, and so many others I love from previous years) is always a delight.

Ha! That's too funny because that's what I turned on as well. Such a great feelgood movie that never gets old. Much more enjoyable than the new crop this year.

[Jenniferbug]

Watching Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning!

I am finding this year that I'm more interested in watching the movies I've seen before and know I like than bothering with the new ones.

[Kaoteek]

Watched Nostalgic Christmas. Well... half of it, really, since it was late, it was bland, it was too tropey, and I just fell asleep in front of the tv. Somehow, despite liking the cast, I don't intend to finish the movie...

[ShelleySue]

I decided to watch a Christmas Movie Christmas on UPtv.  It was a really cute premise.  Two sisters, one of them a Christmas movie addict, wake up in a Christmas movie. It's filled with all of the tropes - cute grandma, the sisters need to save Christmas, little girls whose father is in the military, cute guy who owns a bakery, Santa who grants wishes, etc.  It wasn't as well made as a Hallmark movie, but I was enjoying it until the very end. 

Spoiler

All of the issues were solved and the sisters woke up back in their old lives.  But the mean they had met in their Christmas movie lives somehow were able to show up in their real lives. It reminded me of a story written by a third grade because the explanation of how the men showed up (they asked the grandmother where to find the women) was very lame.

[Homily]

1 hour ago, Jenniferbug said:

Watching Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning!

I am really hoping this shows up on the W channel (they air a lot of the Hallmark movies but not all of them).  I caught it last year and really loved it.

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, Jenniferbug said:

Watching Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning!

I am finding this year that I'm more interested in watching the movies I've seen before and know I like than bothering with the new ones.

Same here.

[dalek]

I've mostly been watching the Hallmark holiday movies that had previously been relegated to the app.  I think I've seen A Season for Miracles 4 times and Saint Maybe 3 times.  The new movies really haven't been doing it for me.

It's kind of noticeable in the older movies, before things got so formulaic how much less perfect the lives of the characters were.  The family in A Season for Miracles is a walking disaster and they've all been damaged by it, and not in a minor way.  While they get their happy ending, the movie shows the lasting damage a life in foster care did to Carla Gugino's character and her sister and in turn the damage the sister's drug addiction was doing to her children.  

Also, it's pretty easy to read the two older ladies from across the street as a lesbian couple.

I'll admit I may already be overdosing on holiday movies since I currently have the option of Lifetime, Hallmark, HMM, and Hallmark Drama.  I haven't even tried Netflix or Hulu yet.

[TVFan17]

When I had the free trial of Frndly TV (specifically to watch Angels & Ornaments and Farewell, Mr. Kringle on Hallmark Drama, and to watch some of the Deck the Hallmark 25-hour live stream), I also took the time to watch A Season for Miracles.    I understand that this is a movie that a lot of people love and ask for every year, but it's just not for me.   It's just not my personal taste or preference.   I finally saw it all the way through, from beginning to end, and once was enough for now.

I've been fairly pleased with Hallmark Channel's new movies this year, as I enjoyed the Jill Wagner movie, the Jodie Sweetin-Andrew Walker movie, and the Merritt Patterson-Jon Cor movie.  My issue is that I am finding that I'm not always in the mood to watch a full movie and I can't really pay attention to what's happening, so I give up on it or zone out.   There are times when I am more in the mood to invest 2 hours -- for Hallmark or Lifetime or UP, etc. -- and then other times when I'm not.   This season it seems to be the latter scenario.

I am looking forward to the Autumn Reeser-Jesse Metcalfe movie and the Chad Michael Murray-Torrey DeVitto movie.

[kirinan]

1 hour ago, AnnaRose said:

Same here.

Agreed! I've watched just a few of the new movies--usually the ones starring leads I already know I like--and have concentrated more on catching up on old ones I never got to see. I saw On The Twelfth Day of Christmas yesterday, and while it was no Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade (but of course, nothing can match that one for me), I really enjoyed it. I've caught a couple other older ones, and have liked them all. 

So in that sense, this season hasn't been a bust for me. Classics are classics for a reason, I guess. 

[Jenniferbug]

So far of the new movies, I've liked Two Turtle Doves though doubt it will be one I'll watch over and over- but will probably watch it once next year when it airs. Merry & Bright was ok too, but I didn't love it. I'd watch it again if nothing else was on. Picture a Perfect Christmas had good leads and a cute kid, but I can't say I was invested in the plot or outcome. So of the new ones I've watched, I've felt pretty "meh" about all of them. 

I caught On the 12th Day of Christmas the other night for the first time and liked it! 

I also watched Mingle All the Way (probably my favorite offering from last year), Magical Christmas Ornaments (Brendan Penny is so likeable in this and I don't hate Jessica Lowndes or the plot. Plus Tim Matheson!), and older favorites Snow Bride (may have actually watched it twice so far!) and 12 Gifts of Christmas.

[AAEBoiler]

On 11/8/2019 at 9:21 AM, Kaoteek said:

Christmas Scavenger Hunt was fine for what it was. At times, it felt a bit like there was a non-tropey, dynamic Christmas movie trying to burst out of the Hallmark format, but the clichés were often overwhelming (i rolled my eyes at the kid with the military parent), and kinda dragged the overall scavenger hunt down.

Yeah, Christmas Scavenger Hunt was incredibly predictable but I really liked both leads. They had a lot of chemistry together and seemed much more believable as real people instead of just looking like actors playing a role. This one has "re-watchability" for me.

[Was-MArsenault]

I'm surprised that this isn't on Hallmark Channel:

https://www.hallmarkdrama.com/home-family-a-very-merry-christmas

[Guest]

1 hour ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I'm surprised that this isn't on Hallmark Channel:

https://www.hallmarkdrama.com/home-family-a-very-merry-christmas

I think they are trying to pull Home & Family’s regular audience to Hallmark Drama for the new reality shows. They probably assume people will be more likely to watch the cookie competition if it’s paired with Home & Family. 

8 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

Watching Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning!

I am finding this year that I'm more interested in watching the movies I've seen before and know I like than bothering with the new ones.

I’m feeling the same. I suppose it not surprising that the more movies being made the more bland they’re becoming. I’m just hoping they’re will be at least one or two that will join my all time favorite list. 

At least I am finding Hallmark’s movies to be watchable when compared to Lifetime’s offerings so far. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Guest

[Jenniferbug]

16 minutes ago, Dani said:

I’m feeling the same. I suppose it not surprising that the more movies being made the more bland they’re becoming. I’m just hoping they’re will be at least one or two that will join my all time favorite list. 

At least I am finding Hallmark’s movies to be watchable when compared to Lifetime’s offerings so far. 

I usually find one or 2 that I like enough to look forward to watching again the next year. This year so far has been disappointing. Last year my 2 favorites were Mingle All the Way and Road to Christmas. Both were formulaic and predictable, but managed to be enjoyable anyway. I'm still hoping I will find some from this year's group! 

I haven't attempted the Lifetime movies this year since they haven't been getting very good reviews here. 

[sistersledge]

Caught the middle to end of Autumn Reeser's Bramble House last night and it really annoyed me how she up and jumped ship as soon as she found out. Dragged the kid out of bed ON CHRISTMAS EVE and started driving to the airport. I mean, c'mon. Maybe if she was single but who in their right mind would drag a kid along the way? 

Oh, Hallmark.

[ShelleySue]

I just realized something last night.  My two all time favorite Hallmark movies, The Nine Lives of Christmas and The Christmas Card star have three out of four stars (Brandon Routh, John Newton, and Alice Evans) who didn't go on to star in other Hallmark movies.  The Christmas Card is from 2006 so maybe that's before Hallmark started rotating stars from one move to another movie.  I wonder if that's why that's the reason.  It doesn't explain Brandon though.  I do know that those two movies regularly show up on lists of favorite holiday movies.

[dalek]

I was watching a couple of the Lifetime Christmas movies yesterday.  I had Christmas Harmony on mostly because it was directly after The Christmas Hope and I was too lazy to change the channel.  Early in the movie the female protagonist refers to her small town hometown as "like the Twilight Zone did an episode based on a Kincade painting."

That phrase is going to be running through my head pretty much every time I watch a Hallmark movie.

The Christmas Hope was a good tear jerker holiday movie although they have to walk over a lot of corpses to get to the happy ending.

[TVFan17]

4 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I just realized something last night.  My two all time favorite Hallmark movies, The Nine Lives of Christmas and The Christmas Card star have three out of four stars (Brandon Routh, John Newton, and Alice Evans) who didn't go on to star in other Hallmark movies.  The Christmas Card is from 2006 so maybe that's before Hallmark started rotating stars from one move to another movie.  I wonder if that's why that's the reason.  It doesn't explain Brandon though.  I do know that those two movies regularly show up on lists of favorite holiday movies.

I could be mistaken, but I thought I remembered reading something at some point about how John Newton stopped making movies, or took a break from acting, or something like that (I have to hunt down the thing that I read to see what it said).   Hallmark may have wanted him back for something else and he just declined.

I'm sure Hallmark would have loved to get Brandon Routh back for another movie -- Kimberley Sustad has even said she would like to do another movie with Brandon -- but he has probably just been too busy or not interested.  He always seems to be working or involved with something.

Edited November 13, 2019 by TVFan17

[Guest]

5 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I just realized something last night.  My two all time favorite Hallmark movies, The Nine Lives of Christmas and The Christmas Card star have three out of four stars (Brandon Routh, John Newton, and Alice Evans) who didn't go on to star in other Hallmark movies.  The Christmas Card is from 2006 so maybe that's before Hallmark started rotating stars from one move to another movie.  I wonder if that's why that's the reason.  It doesn't explain Brandon though.  I do know that those two movies regularly show up on lists of favorite holiday movies.

The Nine Lives of Christmas came out at the same time Brandon Routh started working on the CW’s superhero shows. Between that and comic book conventions he may not have been available for Hallmark movies. 

[In2You]

Found a trailer for A Christmas Princess

[KLovestoShop]

What’s frustrating to me is Hallmark is repeating the same movies over and over again despite having a huge catalogue of older, and in many circumstances, better movies.  I have no idea why Hallmark has put those films in storage, but it’s a very bad move.  I’m tired of seeing A Veteran’s Christmas, Snow Bride, Love You Like Christmas, A Bride For Christmas, Rocky Mountain Christmas, A Princess for Christmas (and all the other Royal movies) and anything with Lacey, Danica and Candice.  There are a lot of really good Hallmark Christmas movies that need to see the light of day.  If they’re putting those older movies on streaming, well, that’s another bone of contention.  The way things are going, regular broadcast channels will be showing C-list shows and reality crapola while putting everything else on their insane extra pay channels.

[twoods]

I had a lot of new movies on the DVR but watched Mingle All the Way instead and enjoyed it more this year. It had a nice premise and good chemistry with the leads. Haven’t seen anything that good this season but there is still time since there are about a billion left to watch.

[MissyPoo]

7 hours ago, In2You said:

Found a trailer for A Christmas Princess

Ooh finally! I'll be all over this when it premieres. Not even gonna lie.

[In2You]

5 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Ooh finally! I'll be all over this when it premieres. Not even gonna lie.

It looks cute and I see chemistry in the trailer.

[TVFan17]

I'm looking forward to the Tamera Mowry-Housley movie A Christmas Miracle tonight.  It looks like it's a good story.  

Tamera's co-star, Brooks Darnell, seems delightful and personable, and he and Tamera seem to have a nice rapport (based on their interview on Home & Family today).   I hope they are good together in the movie.

Remember that tonight is the last Thursday with a new movie premiere on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  The next one is on Sunday, and then all the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries premieres are Saturdays and/or Sundays from that point forward.

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by TVFan17

[MissyPoo]

11 hours ago, In2You said:

It looks cute and I see chemistry in the trailer.

Definitely! I got a good feeling from it so I may be rewatching it on repeat a few times this season hee.

6 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I'm looking forward to the Tamera Mowry-Housley movie A Christmas Miracle tonight.  It looks like it's a good story.  

Tamera's co-star, Brooks Darnell, seems delightful and personable, and he and Tamera seem to have a nice rapport (based on their interview on Home & Family today).   I hope they are good together in the movie.

Remember that tonight is the last Thursday with a new movie premiere on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  The next one is on Sunday, and then all the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries premieres are Saturdays and/or Sundays from that point forward.

 

I'm looking forward to it, too. The preview show clip caught my interest with the mystery element and their easygoing chemistry. Plus, I love watching Tia and Tamera in practically anything they do. I'll have to catch Tamera and Darnell's H&F appearance. I saw a clip of the little boy on FB and he was so adorable.  I wonder why Hallmark broke up the two premieres this week though. On FB a few people were saying how they liked the Thurs & Fri premieres better so it didn't get so crowded and I have to agree so much. 

Just looking at my watchlist for movie premieres, my list is starting to amp up. I already plan to watch both premieres this weekend for Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. Next week Netflix gets into the fold. Thankfully, I don't have anything to watch on Up til December.

Side note: proof that the holiday season is big business for TV networks. UP just broke a record for their viewers:

https://twitter.com/SleepyKittyPaw/status/1194970516844613633

I wonder if Hallmark is regretting skipping royal movies this year since everyone else is filling that void now.

Edit: Just saw this on FB. CenturyLink is paying a person to marathon 24 Hallmark Christmas movies in 25 days while documenting on social media. I'm surprised they didn't reach out tot he many Hallmark podcast out there already reviewing. https://www.centurylinkquote.com/get-paid-to-watch-hallmark-christmas-movies?fbclid=IwAR0gR1UV6CoEYkX89ZV67bkw_-6EncsmLMZPwqIAhw7mHaAh3yz5fsfaJ3Y

Edited November 15, 2019 by MissyPoo

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I'm looking forward to it, too. The preview show clip caught my interest with the mystery element and their easygoing chemistry. Plus, I love watching Tia and Tamera in practically anything they do. I'll have to catch Tamera and Darnell's H&F appearance. I saw a clip of the little boy on FB and he was so adorable.  I wonder why Hallmark broke up the two premieres this week though. On FB a few people were saying how they liked the Thurs & Fri premieres better so it didn't get so crowded and I have to agree so much....

I wonder if Hallmark is regretting skipping royal movies this year since everyone else is filling that void now.

 The strange thing is that Hallmark sort of has a royal-ish movie this year, but it is one of their 3 acquisitions for the season -- not an original, made-for-Hallmark movie -- and it is flying under the radar and not getting much hype.   It's not a flat-out royal movie in the tradition that we all know, but I would say it's "royal adjacent."  lol

A Cheerful Christmas has this synopsis (from the Hallmark Channel website):

Quote

"Lauren and her best friend Colleen think they have landed their dream job – giving people the best and most magical Christmas ever as their personal ‘Christmas Coaches.’ This holiday season promises to be their biggest ever when they land a royal client, the Anderson family, who has moved from England. When Lauren meets James, the eldest son, he wants nothing to do with planning Christmas as he’s busy negotiating a big acquisition for his father’s company. But Lauren won’t be thwarted in helping this royal family embrace the true spirit of Christmas. The more she prods James about their family holiday traditions the more he opens up. Sparks start to fly but she faces competition in the form of an old childhood friend and business colleague of James. Now Lauren must win his heart while giving the Andersons their best Christmas ever. Starring Erica Deutschman and Chad Connell."

Edited November 15, 2019 by TVFan17

[sistersledge]

Watch a movie everyday and get $1000? I'm doing it already and not being paid! My Instagram and Facebook are private... so I'm sure that disqualifies me but I'm going to apply just for fun.

Edited November 15, 2019 by sistersledge

[Kaoteek]

Picture a Perfect Christmas. Eh.

Didn't hate the movie, but contrary to most, I didn't care much for Jon Cor, and I found him quite unmemorable (according to my archives, he already didn't make much of an impression on me in Love on Safari... oh, well, at least i'm consistent), so the entire romance didn't really work for me. Merritt Patterson and the kid were likeable, though.

EDIT : and that's where the Hallmark schedule & copy/paste factory are affecting my enjoyment of their movies, since I just watched Two Turtle Doves, and all I could think of was "had I not watched recently a few other formulaic HM movies, I'd have enjoyed this one so much more".

Because the writing was better, it was more sincere, more emotional, the acting was stronger, the themes were deeper... and yet, although the tropes were less invasive and clunky than in other HM movies, I couldn't help but think "oh, yet another one of those... and of course he's a widower with a cute child... and of course there's some sort of pageant...".

Still. This one was a cut above the rest, and in a perfect world, it should be used as a template for the other Hallmark movies ; it won't, cos it's probably not fluffy and happy enough for most viewers, but it could.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Kaoteek

[TVFan17]

About A Christmas Miracle --

I got a kick out of the Campbell's Soup product placement.  Other than Balsam Hill, I don't see too many product placements in the Miracles of Christmas movies that premiere on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.   Folgers and other brands usually appear in the Countdown to Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel.  But, hey -- people DO eat soup during the colder months, so I'm surprised it took so long for Campbell's to get involved in one of these movies.  Campbell's is a huge, iconic, extremely familiar brand in the realm of soup, so they are a big advertising "get" for Hallmark, for sure.

Now back to the story itself...

I really liked Tamera and Brooks together.  They were charming and very likable.  They were not the problem.

I felt that the "miracle" angle they were working  was a wee bit underdeveloped.  I was not invested enough in the outcome of that particular miracle, as I didn't think the backstory was built up effectively enough to make me care.

I do like Barry Bostwick though.

I also thought that there was going to be more of a payoff with the shady boss (Valerie) who steals ideas.   I could see that the writers were not trying to make her a horrible, heinous villain through and through, but instead portray her as someone who was probably not all bad, but who did a bad thing and could be redeemed.  

So it's not that I thought there was going to be a big, angry revenge moment against the boss at the end of the movie -- that's not the kind of payoff I expected.   But I thought there would be a better explanation of or revelation about a deeper reason behind Valerie's shenanigans.   I even briefly thought that we'd end up finding out Valerie was secretly related to Santa Dean or something.   But... nope.   That didn't happen.

Edited November 15, 2019 by TVFan17

[MissyPoo]

3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I also thought that there was going to be more of a payoff with the shady boss (Valerie) who steals ideas.   I could see that the writers were not trying to make her a horrible, heinous villain through and through, but instead portray her as someone who was probably not all bad, but who did a bad thing and could be redeemed.  

So it's not that I thought there was going to be a big, angry revenge moment against the boss at the end of the movie -- that's not the kind of payoff I expected.   But I thought there would be a better explanation of or revelation about a deeper reason behind Valerie's shenanigans.   I even briefly thought that we'd end up finding out Valerie was secretly related to Santa Dean or something.   But... nope.   That didn't happen.

I was hoping! Ha! But I know, this is Hallmark and normally the 'villain' has a turnaround redemption angle eventually. Though I wouldn't have minded if Tamera's character won over the higher ups and showed her boss up like in December Bride which was subtle yet still got the point across. 

Otherwise, I liked the movie. It kept me interested and after a barrage of movies featuring children forcing their parents to re-marry, it was nice to see a kid being a kid adjusting to normal things like making friends, getting out of his shell, a new environment and such. (The kid was so adorable here! Loved the piano scene). Plus, I was surprised in the first scene Tamera and the aunt actually talked about something other than finding a guy. Even when she met Darnell's character, they had a natural chemistry and scenes together that felt like a natural developing friendship that could be more. Most current Hallmark outings force the two leads together for arbitrary reasons and have them keep bumping into each other for...reasons just to get them as a couple. I like that there was a story here other than marking off seasonal tropes and googly eyes.

But yeah, I kinda agree about the miracle angle. It was a tad flimsy and Tamera's character could have been a bit of a busybody when the man just wanted to be left alone but the ending was pretty sweet and I got a bit teary eyed myself. I just wish there was a more of a kablam scene with Tamera pwning her thieving boss. 😄

I'm looking forward to rewatching it again soon.

[twoods]

After all the crappy Lifetime movies so far, Wrapped up in Christmas was so much better after the rewatch. The chemistry was great and the storyline was not boring. When did Lifetime lose IT? And what is up with them having so many movies revolve around Christmas in the south? Christmas in the Bayou, Tennessee and Louisiana. Are they all a similar theme because I’ve refused to watch any of them.

That Christmas Princess movie looks really cute- what channel is it going to play on?

[Irlandesa]

On 11/14/2019 at 4:25 PM, MissyPoo said:

Edit: Just saw this on FB. CenturyLink is paying a person to marathon 24 Hallmark Christmas movies in 25 days while documenting on social media. I'm surprised they didn't reach out tot he many Hallmark podcast out there already reviewing. https://www.centurylinkquote.com/get-paid-to-watch-hallmark-christmas-movies?fbclid=IwAR0gR1UV6CoEYkX89ZV67bkw_-6EncsmLMZPwqIAhw7mHaAh3yz5fsfaJ3Y

That breaks down to about $42/movie or $27/hour assuming each movie is 90 minutes long.  That's not including the time and effort it takes to document the viewing on social media.

And you can't skip any movie.  Impossible.

Speaking of fast forwarding, I watched most of Christmas a la Mode but I did fast forward a few parts.  Unless Winter Storm Megan made an appearance in the times I was fast forwarding a bit, it broke the WSM streak.  I suspect this was a Lifetime purchase instead of a made-for-Lifetime movie.

[ECM1231]

Off topic...I have often wondered why so many of the Hallmark movie actors/actresses are Canadian.

Picture a Perfect Christmas...loved it! The kid was adorable and I loved Grandma Louise. Her face was so familiar so I checked IMDB and her name is Paula Shaw. She has an impressive filmography but curiously none of her films were ones I had seen. What blew me away, though, was that Terence Kelly, who played the elderly gentleman at the Christmas Pageant, was born in 1922!!!  That would make him 97! Mind- blown!

[Guest]

I started watching Christmas a la Mode with very low expectations but I ended up really enjoying it. I like that the lead was less bubbly than normal and how much of the focus was on the three women running the farm.

I do think they went too far making the sister the villain and her redemption at the end was really badly done. It also irritated me that everyone acted like Emily had no say in who the farm was sold to even though she was the co-owner. 

Overall I think I would enjoy watching it again at some point. 

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Speaking of fast forwarding, I watched most of Christmas a la Mode but I did fast forward a few parts.  Unless Winter Storm Megan made an appearance in the times I was fast forwarding a bit, it broke the WSM streak.  I suspect this was a Lifetime purchase instead of a made-for-Lifetime movie.

I didn’t catch a WSM reference either. You’re right that it was a Lifetime purchase. I noticed that in the beginning because the opening shot and title font was outside the norm for these movies. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Guest

[Guest]

5 hours ago, twoods said:

That Christmas Princess movie looks really cute- what channel is it going to play on?

It premieres December 1st on Ion. 

2 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Off topic...I have often wondered why so many of the Hallmark movie actors/actresses are Canadian.

Most of the movies film in and around Vancouver. 

[MissyPoo]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

That breaks down to about $42/movie or $27/hour assuming each movie is 90 minutes long.  That's not including the time and effort it takes to document the viewing on social media.

And you can't skip any movie.  Impossible.

Couldn't be me. If I can't skip some of those, I'd end up in a straitjacket. 

6 hours ago, twoods said:

After all the crappy Lifetime movies so far, Wrapped up in Christmas was so much better after the rewatch. The chemistry was great and the storyline was not boring. When did Lifetime lose IT? And what is up with them having so many movies revolve around Christmas in the south? Christmas in the Bayou, Tennessee and Louisiana. Are they all a similar theme because I’ve refused to watch any of them.

I'd love to know the answer to this myself. That movie is among my faves and they had some great entries in the past that made me look forward to this year but they feel like they phoned it in this season.

3 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Off topic...I have often wondered why so many of the Hallmark movie actors/actresses are Canadian.

55 minutes ago, Dani said:

Most of the movies film in and around Vancouver. 

I think I also heard something about the movie companies getting tax breaks or something if at least one of the leads are Canadian.

Edited November 16, 2019 by MissyPoo

[Guest]

11 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

18 hours ago, twoods said:

After all the crappy Lifetime movies so far, Wrapped up in Christmas was so much better after the rewatch. The chemistry was great and the storyline was not boring. When did Lifetime lose IT? And what is up with them having so many movies revolve around Christmas in the south? Christmas in the Bayou, Tennessee and Louisiana. Are they all a similar theme because I’ve refused to watch any of them.

I'd love to know the answer to this myself. That movie is among my faves and they had some great entries in the past that made me look forward to this year but they feel like they phoned it in this season.

Personally I’ve always found Lifetime to be extremely inconsistent. Each year they do a handful of really good ones mixed in with some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Now that they are trying to compete with Hallmark for who can make the most the ratio of good to bad is getting more and more disproportionate. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Guest

[TVFan17]

I don't think we'll hear or see a WSM reference in Lifetime's Matchmaker Christmas either -- that one was definitely an acquisition -- unless Lifetime's editors have worked some magic and somehow inserted a clever reference to WSM into it.

A Storybook Christmas is another one that shouldn't have a WSM reference in it -- it already aired on the W Network back in July under the title "The Plan for Christmas," and it was even promoted on W Network as part of Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July event, even though it never aired on Hallmark at all.  So it is definitely not a made-for-Lifetime movie, although it is premiering on Lifetime this holiday season.

There might be a few other acquired movies that sneak in without WSM references too, because they were made before Lifetime claimed them.    I think that when Lifetime increased their total number of new premieres this season, they were just acquiring more movies that had already been filmed. 

I am trying to remember the trajectory of the Lifetime schedule, but didn't they start out by announcing 26 new movies, and then they jumped to 28 new ones before finally landing on 30 new ones?    When they first announced the 26 movies, they probably already had a handful of acquired movies in the bunch..  But when they continued to increase the number it was probably because they were acquiring a few more.   

I always become aware of everything in production throughout the year, because I stumble upon all the non-Hallmark movies in production as I am looking for info and photos from the Hallmark movies that are filming.

Sometimes it is clear right off the bat that a movie in production is for Lifetime -- no question about it -- and other times it seems like the movies could go to any network, so I am always interested to see where they finally end up after being acquired.

Edited November 16, 2019 by TVFan17

[EyewatchTV211]

11 hours ago, Dani said:

I started watching Christmas a la Mode with very low expectations but I ended up really enjoying it. I like that the lead was less bubbly than normal and how much of the focus was on the three women running the farm.

I do think they went too far making the sister the villain and her redemption at the end was really badly done. It also irritated me that everyone acted like Emily had no say in who the farm was sold to even though she was the co-owner. 

Overall I think I would enjoy watching it again at some point. 

I didn’t catch a WSM reference either. You’re right that it was a Lifetime purchase. I noticed that in the beginning because the opening shot and title font was outside the norm for these movies. 

I'm with you on all of this. I started watching the late repeated showing of the movie because of issues with my DVR earlier, and I ended up staying up really late to watch the whole thing (and sadly had to sit through commercials). While the overall storyline matches so many of these typical holiday movies, the feel of it was almost closer to older Hallmark or even a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie (not saying the quality was actually there) than current Lifetime or Hallmark. It handled the storyline more seriously and didn't rush to resolve things. It didn't force a million Christmas activities unnaturally. It wasn't overly colorful and cheesy and fake. And I thought the leads had good chemistry. The male lead was a new one in these. Lookwise, he fits with the rest in terms of maybe being the bland white male, but I still enjoyed the eye candy. And he did actually have the "kind eyes" the characters kept referencing which elevates certain actors for me, like Colin Firth and Michael Rady. It seemed to actually be filmed in winter (trees were bare) but they didn't force fake snow that wasn't there. And surprise! There are farms in the northeast of the country, too. It's not all southern/midwestern cowboys. 

Agree that the main issue with the movie was the handling of the sister. 

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, VMepicgrl said:

It seemed to actually be filmed in winter (trees were bare) but they didn't force fake snow that wasn't there.

It was filmed in April-May, in Massachusetts.  It had a different title back then.

Edited November 16, 2019 by TVFan17
typo!

[EyewatchTV211]

1 minute ago, TVFan17 said:

It was filmed in April-May, in Massachusetts.  It had  different title back then.

Guess the bare trees were stock footage, then. I thought it was from the actual shooting. Though I'm trying to remember what last April was like in MA - you never know up there. Oh well. I'm glad it filmed in Massachusetts.