Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[Maizie131]

I actually bought some made-for-TV Christmas movies on Amazon that are my favorites because the chances of seeing them on any channel some years are slim to none:  The Road To Christmas, Recipe for a Perfect Christmas, One Special Night, A Christmas Romance, Borrowed Hearts & The Christmas List.  I'd also like to buy The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  I think some (all?) of these are Lifetime movies.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Maizie131

[TVFan17]

I've bought some of the Hallmark movies on DVD too -- but not all of the movies are available on DVD, sadly (such as Finding Christmas, which I mentioned in my post here last night as being one of the movies that will be on in the wee hours of the morning during the Countdown to Christmas).  

 

From the Hallmark collection I have these DVDs:   Snow Bride; The Christmas Ornament; A Very Merry Mix-Up; A Royal Christmas; Annie Claus is Coming to Town; Come Dance With Me; Hitched for the Holidays; The Most Wonderful Time of the Year; Mrs. Miracle (the first one, not the second one); The Nine Lives of Christmas; Oh, Christmas Tree (a.k.a. Fir Crazy), and Trading Christmas. 

 

I have 2 different Hallmark DVD 4-packs/'collections,' each of which I only got for one movie.  One of them includes: Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade; Christmas Song; Baby's First Christmas; and the main reason I bought it -- A Bride for Christmas.   The second collection/4-pack includes:  The Town Christmas Forgot; It's Christmas, Carol; The Wishing Tree; and the main reason I bought it -- Naughty or Nice.

 

I also pre-ordered Christmas at Cartwright's and Let It Snow, and am waiting for those to be delivered.  I am going to pre-order the Countdown to Valentine's Day movie, All of My Heart, as I loved it.

 

Anything I don't have from the Hallmark collection (which would be many!), I don't have it because I either didn't like it enough to bother with the DVD right now (maybe down the road); or I didn't have enough Amazon gift card money stashed away to get it yet; or it is simply not available on DVD.

 

From Lifetime's movies I only have:  12 Men of Christmas and A Snow Globe Christmas.   There are others from Lifetime I would like to get, but just haven't done so yet.  I liked Christmas in the City, Christmas Angel (with Bruce Davison), The Road to Christmas and several others, so I might get those eventually.  I also like Fatal Desire, the movie with Anne Heche and Eric Roberts, but I don't think it's on DVD?

 

From ABC Family, I would like to get Snowglobe on DVD.   I would also love to get The Mistle-Tones, but it is one of those movies that is, inexplicably, not available on DVD.

 

All of the aforementioned DVDs that I own are still in their wrappers and have not been opened.  I really only got them for two reasons:  1) because I wanted to clear them off of the DVR to free up space; and 2) because I was afraid they would stop being shown on TV as the years roll on and more new movies are made.  Otherwise, I don't watch the DVDs during the year because I want to maintain some excitement about seeing them when the actual holiday season arrives.

 

But, all of that aside, this may not make sense to a lot of people but I am one of those kooky folks who likes to watch movies and TV shows on TV when they air, even if I have the DVDs, or even if I have the movie saved on the DVR, or even if I have seen the movie/TV show 100 times!  Lol.  I may have seen a movie many, many times and I may have the DVD to watch, but I still like the idea of a marathon.  There is a certain excitement involved with catching something as it airs on TV as part of a big "event" such as the Countdown to Christmas, or stumbling upon it on TV as I am channel surfing.  I look at the DVDs and DVR recordings as a back-up, but I really like to actually watch the movies when they air on Hallmark, Lifetime, etc., if I can manage it.  No matter how many times I have seen each Twilight Zone episode or each Breaking Bad episode, if there is a marathon of either show I am all over it!

 

Back to my original comment from my post in this thread last night -- I like the idea of a lot of new movies from Hallmark (though I feel they've set the bar so high for themselves with the number of new movies that there is no turning back in future years), but I also don't want my favorites from previous years to get pushed out of the schedule because of all of the new movies -- especially something like Finding Christmas, Farewell, Mr. Kringle or Matchmaker Santa, none of which are on DVD.   There are only so many that I can hold on the DVR, as I do record other shows too! 

Edited October 20, 2015 by Sherry67

[Maizie131]

But, all of that aside, this may not make sense to a lot of people but I am one of those kooky folks who likes to watch movies and TV shows on TV when they air, even if I have the DVDs, or even if I have the movie saved on the DVR, or even if I have seen the movie/TV show 100 times!  Lol.  I may have seen a movie many, many times and I may have the DVD to watch, but I still like the idea of a marathon. 

Sherry67  - I, too, have on occasion watched movies as they air even tho I have the DVD.  However, most of the time I go over to my DVD & plug in MY (same) movie, because commercials are just too hard for me to take!  And about marathons...oh yeah!!!  Love those, too, but I'll DVR them & watch later so I can fast-forward through the commercials. 

[EyewatchTV211]

My DVR is in big trouble. So many of the movies sound/look good, although I will eventually delete some that end up not living to their potential onscreen. Still, I better start doing what some of you have been doing and buy some of the DVDs. I have so much still saved on my DVR that I barely have room for my weekly shows now and have to keep up with deleting. I better delete more stuff somehow. :-( 

[TVFan17]

A good thing about getting the Hallmark DVDs is that they are usually not too expensive on Amazon or on Walmart.com -- especially if the movie is at least a few years old.  For example, when I got Hitched for the Holidays (which, if I recall correctly, debuted in 2012) earlier this year, I paid less than $2.00 for it!   Most of the brand new DVD releases are under $15.   Most of the movies that have been out on DVD for a year or two are in the range of $9 - $12, but sometimes you can find them even cheaper than $9.00.

 

I just wish Hallmark would release all of its movies to DVD, or whoever has legal rights to release them to DVD would do so.  There is a good portion of them on DVD, but there are some random gems that have not made it to DVD yet.

[Shanna Marie]

I would say that "Autumn Dreams" was so-so for me.  There was nothing wrong with it.   The 2 leads were likeable enough, but I didn't pick up on any real spark between them.

I finally got around to watching this from the DVR this weekend, and I have to agree. You could see the outcome coming a hundred miles away, and they didn't really do anything to make the getting there very interesting. There weren't really any twists. As usual in this kind of move, the guy was with a woman who was so blatantly, obviously wrong with him that he looked like an idiot for planning to marry her. In these kinds of movies, the "Ms. Wrong" fiance always wants to redecorate his home, and she always wants to go ultra-modern and get rid of his prized possessions, and the fact that they have totally different ideas of what makes a home is never a red flag for either of them.

 

But they completely lost me when they got to the wedding rehearsal scene. This wedding was supposedly the social event of the season with more than 400 guests, and they were having it in what looked like maybe the event space/meeting room at a La Quinta -- the kind of place a company might have a meeting for their regional sales staff, not where you'd expect to see a society wedding. And they had maybe 50-100 chairs set up, with no room for more than that. I can see where setting up 400 chairs for a short scene might be more than the budget would allow, but they could have had a bigger space and set up maybe a couple of rows of chairs and then had a stack, so it looked like they were still setting up.

 

But then there was the urgent phone call the heroine got during the rehearsal, in which her fiance was freaking out about the storm we saw approaching in the distance while he was talking to her. She then managed to get to the airport, get from New York to Iowa (or wherever the closest airport was) and get to the farm in time to help put out sandbags before the storm hit. I'd thought that the "there's a storm coming and we need you" phone call was going to be some kind of ploy from her fiance (to go with his hissy fit about her not wearing her engagement ring to work with heavy machinery), since by the time she could get to Iowa from New York, any storm would be over. But apparently they thought this was a real thing.

[TVFan17]

I finally got around to watching this from the DVR this weekend, and I have to agree. You could see the outcome coming a hundred miles away, and they didn't really do anything to make the getting there very interesting. There weren't really any twists. As usual in this kind of move, the guy was with a woman who was so blatantly, obviously wrong with him that he looked like an idiot for planning to marry her. In these kinds of movies, the "Ms. Wrong" fiance always wants to redecorate his home, and she always wants to go ultra-modern and get rid of his prized possessions, and the fact that they have totally different ideas of what makes a home is never a red flag for either of them.

 

But they completely lost me when they got to the wedding rehearsal scene. This wedding was supposedly the social event of the season with more than 400 guests, and they were having it in what looked like maybe the event space/meeting room at a La Quinta -- the kind of place a company might have a meeting for their regional sales staff, not where you'd expect to see a society wedding. And they had maybe 50-100 chairs set up, with no room for more than that. I can see where setting up 400 chairs for a short scene might be more than the budget would allow, but they could have had a bigger space and set up maybe a couple of rows of chairs and then had a stack, so it looked like they were still setting up.

 

But then there was the urgent phone call the heroine got during the rehearsal, in which her fiance was freaking out about the storm we saw approaching in the distance while he was talking to her. She then managed to get to the airport, get from New York to Iowa (or wherever the closest airport was) and get to the farm in time to help put out sandbags before the storm hit. I'd thought that the "there's a storm coming and we need you" phone call was going to be some kind of ploy from her fiance (to go with his hissy fit about her not wearing her engagement ring to work with heavy machinery), since by the time she could get to Iowa from New York, any storm would be over. But apparently they thought this was a real thing.

 

Lol.  You're right -- I forgot about the big storm scene/frantic phone call.  Now that I think of it, when I watched it I thought the same thing you did -- how did she get back home before the storm hit? 

 

It's not that I ever question most of the inconsistencies or illogical events in these movies.  I know to expect the stories to fall flat in some areas and leave some things unexplained, but, as you said, the two leads didn't do anything to make it interesting.  Even if I know where the story is going to end up, I want to enjoy the ride.  I would have enjoyed it more if I felt there was a spark between them, which I didn't feel.  I couldn't picture her with either of her two guys, to be honest. 

[Valentine]

I like to buy the DVDs as well, especially the bundled ones. I have a cheap recording DVD player, and recorded a few of my old favorites that they don't seem to show much any more, and you can't buy (The Christmas List, Three Days). I'm one of the Uverse people who is just now getting the Hallmark channel. I have been watching the sappy movies this fall, but I far prefer the Christmas themed ones. Like most of you, my DVR is in trouble because I have had plenty to watch in past years just from ABC Family, Lifetime, etc. I always record the older ones that they show one time during the season in the early morning in addition to all the others. 

 

These movies appeal so much to my sappy side and my snarky side. I rarely watch one without an eye roll or six. 

[TVFan17]

The merriment begins tonight on both Hallmark Channels!!!   I have not carved out enough room on the DVR to cover the vast array of new movies on even one channel, let alone 5 or 6 channels.  But I have enough room to capture "'Tis the Season for Love" on Sunday night.  I'm also going to record "A Boyfriend for Christmas" tonight, as I have never seen it all the way through and need to finally finish it.  Hopefully I can plow through them almost as quickly as I can record them, just so I can keep making room as the season rolls on.

[TVFan17]

We've been doing most of our Hallmark Christmas movie chatting and reviewing over in the Holiday TV movies/specials thread, but I wanted to post here -- because this is specific to Hallmark -- that I think the current revelation/announcement of Cedar Cove's cancellation may have come at a bad time.  News just leaked out yesterday that CC was ending, and Hallmark had to address it.  I'm not sure if they planned to address it just yet, or if they were forced to because word got out. 

 

In any case, since Hallmark is only 2 weeks in to this year's Countdown to Christmas, and only 3 of the 17 new movies (or 21 new movies, counting the ones on the Movies & Mysteries Channel as well) have premiered this far, I think that the CC cancellation could hurt the Countdown's ratings.  All of the Cedar Cove fans -- who were left with a cliffhanger of sorts and didn't get any closure -- are now angry at the channel.  If they also happened to be tuned in to the Countdown to Christmas, they may be angry enough to tune out for a while.  The number of complaints about the Countdown to Christmas (on Facebook) was/is overwhelming to begin with.  I don't think Hallmark needed to do anything extra to make people mad -- and revealing that a favorite series (one that I never watched) is ending will make them even angrier.

 

I think it would have been better to announce or address a series' cancellation at the beginning of 2016 -- in between the Countdown to Christmas, before the Countdown to Valentine's Day, and when no other Hallmark series is just about to debut.

[Irlandesa]

In any case, since Hallmark is only 2 weeks in to this year's Countdown to Christmas, and only 3 of the 17 new movies (or 21 new movies, counting the ones on the Movies & Mysteries Channel as well) have premiered this far, I think that the CC cancellation could hurt the Countdown's ratings.  All of the Cedar Cove fans -- who were left with a cliffhanger of sorts and didn't get any closure -- are now angry at the channel.  If they also happened to be tuned in to the Countdown to Christmas, they may be angry enough to tune out for a while.  The number of complaints about the Countdown to Christmas (on Facebook) was/is overwhelming to begin with.  I don't think Hallmark needed to do anything extra to make people mad -- and revealing that a favorite series (one that I never watched) is ending will make them even angrier.

It's possible that the news leaked out before Hallmark wanted to officially announce it with a press release.  Or it's possible they chose the "Countdown to Christmas" as the time to leak it because it has so much else going on that the news (which isn't even easily found with a Google search) will eventually be pushed to the background while the networks promote their new movies.

 

That said, the channel's brand is more Christmas-movie-palooza than it is Cedar Cove.  Both Ice Sculpture Christmas and Charming Christmas got twice the viewers Cedar Cove averaged in its third season. I have no doubt that some angry viewers might choose to boycott the Christmas movies.  But the amount of viewers who watch Cedar Cove and the Christmas movies, who are online enough to find something that is not highly publicized yet and would let it affect whether or not they'd stop watching the channel is likely negliible. 

[TVFan17]

There's no doubt that the Countdown to Christmas gets big ratings (relatively speaking, that is -- we're not talking Walking Dead ratings, but just ratings that are big for the Hallmark Channel in prime time!).  In fact, I have actually been surprised that Hallmark has not been posting about its ratings on Facebook this year (so far).  Last year they made sure to let us know quite often that the ratings were good for each weekend's round of new movies. I have been expecting them to do that again this year -- especially because so many of the people who complain insist that no one watches the movies and that they are losing viewers.  I knew they weren't losing viewers because I follow sites that give the ratings info, but I was curious as to how the ratings would go this year as it seems even more people are complaining.

 

I will be interested to see what happens to the Countdown's ratings for the upcoming new movies now that this Cedar Cove news has gotten out.

 

My sense of it is that the CC cancellation was not planned, BUT I also think that it was not a total surprise either.  I remember seeing a few of the stars of CC on Home & Family a few months ago, and someone mentioned something about the "next season" or "Season 4."  One of the actors reacted oddly to that comment, as if he didn't think there would be a Season 4.  

 

Also, back during Christmas in July Hallmark chose not to air any of the Debbie Macomber Christmas movies (there have been 4 of them so far), which I thought was strange since Season 3 of Cedar Cove (a Macomber story) was about to premiere, and the channel has a good relationship with her.   They had initially said in a press release that Mrs. Miracle would be shown during the July event, and then it never aired at all.  

 

Then Hallmark sloppily handled the announcement of the new Macomber story-turned-Christmas movie -- Dashing Through the Snow -- when they said on Home & Family that it would debut as part of the massive, mega Countdown to Christmas event on the Hallmark Channel this year, only to later move it over to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, which doesn't have as many viewers.  I remember thinking that if I were Debbie Macomber I would be a little annoyed at how Hallmark was treating my Christmas stories, old and new!

 

So, the cancellation of Cedar Cove is an interesting development as far as it being another Macomber project tossed to the wayside.

 

I didn't watch Cedar Cove, and I don't watch When Calls the Heart either, but I know enough to know that if WCTH ever gets cancelled there will be a LOT of unhappy viewers.  Its 3rd season is coming up early next year, so it should be interesting to find out what happens beyond that point.

[Irlandesa]

I would hope that Hallmark could negoatiate a wrap-up movie for Cedar Cove.  I think its fans merit that. 

 

As for When Calls The Heart, it will be interesting.  Same day ratings are about the same but it looks like it gains quite a bit in the DVR playback which might work in its favor.

[TVFan17]

I posted more about this over in the Holiday-specific thread, but I wanted to post the link here, too, as there is a heavy focus on Hallmark movies.  It's an article from today's Los Angeles Times about the success and popularity of holiday movies and specials across different channels, and it mentions that Hallmark is aiming for 28 new movies by 2018 - http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-holiday-tv-movies-20151124-story.html.

 

I think they will also eventually build up their other seasonal events as well -- Countdown to Valentine's Day, Wedding Month, Christmas in July/Keepsake Ornament Preview and Fall Harvest -- but the Countdown to Christmas is the granddaddy of them all, so that's where they will focus most of their attention.  I just wonder when the interest in the holiday movies (I say "holiday" instead of "Christmas" because I suspect they will eventually make some new Thanksgiving movies too, and maybe another New Year's movie) will begin to die down.  So many viewers already complain about everything -- the length of the marathon, the 'round-the-clock programming, the repeats, how early the marathon begins, the lack of new actors, the flimsy writing, the production value, etc.  While they may appreciate even more new movies, I tend to wonder if some of the longtime viewers -- the ones who preferred the "older" movies (from 2012 and prior) -- will begin to get tired of the onslaught of new movies.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

Well, we can add one more special "themed movie event" to Hallmark's catalog.  They are now branding their 'new movies every weekend in January' deal as "Winterfest."  (Or is it "Winter Fest"?)  So, essentially, the Countdown to Christmas will segue right into Winterfest, and there should be a new movie for the first 4 Saturdays of January.  The 5th Saturday in January (1/30/16) should be the start of the Countdown to Valentine's Day, if history repeats itself, so Winterfest should flow right into the Countdown to Valentine's Day.

 

So, we now have:

 

Winterfest (new movies for the first 4 Saturdays in January)

 

Countdown to Valentine's Day (from end of January to Valentine's Day; at least 5 new movies, most likely)

 

Wedding Month (June) (mainly weekends only; at least 3 new movie premieres during the month)

 

Christmas in July/Keepsake Ornament Preview (10 days in July; limited schedule; usually starting on 4th of July weekend; possibly one new movie premiere)

 

Fall Harvest (at least 4 new movies, most likely, and probably on the first 4 Saturdays in October)

 

Countdown to Christmas (starts right around Halloween, give or take a couple of days; lasts for 2 months and should now include at least 17 new movies)

 

Thanksgiving Week (the event-within-the-event; at least 5 new movies debuting on consecutive nights during the Thanksgiving Week portion of the Countdown to Christmas)

 

 

And that's all just on the regular Hallmark Channel, not counting Movies & Mysteries. 

 

This is getting interesting, the branding of these new movie blocks... I guess it helps pull in the advertising dollars.  Now I am finding myself pondering other possibilities.  Where else could they go with the branding?  Spring Fling?  Summerfest?  They will occasionally do single movies for other holidays or seasons -- July 4th, Mother's Day, April Fools' Day and St. Patrick's Day.  They release at least a couple of new movies in August and September, usually, but there is no branded name for that.  They have never done an Easter movie, as far as I know.

[twoods]

How in the world do they crank these movies out so fast? I know ratings are amazing but it's getting overboard with the movie themes.

[TVFan17]

How in the world do they crank these movies out so fast? I know ratings are amazing but it's getting overboard with the movie themes.

 

You're right.  They do crank them out super fast -- and adding even more movies to each event, or at least to the Countdown to Christmas each year, makes that all the more mind-boggling.

 

Hallmark probably has a slightly bigger budget than, say, the UP channel (whose movies always seem to really be made on the cheap, judging by the sets), but probably not as big of a budget as Lifetime.  Although... the bigger the Countdown to Christmas becomes, the more the advertising dollars pour in and, eventually, the more money there is to be spent on making more movies.

 

I think that the Fall Harvest event pulled in great ratings (compared to that time frame if there were no Fall Harvest event).  I think I remember reading that this past Countdown to Valentine's Day event pulled in good ratings (compared to what the ratings would normally be like without it).  And we know that the Countdown to Christmas (which includes Thanksgiving Week) is a big ratings hit for Hallmark. 

 

Otherwise.... I'm not sure.  I don't know what the ratings were for Wedding Month, and I actually don't even know what the ratings were for the Christmas in July event (with the one new movie) this past summer.  But if Hallmark can gather up even just 3 new movies for the March-April-early May time frame they should package it as "Spring Fling" or "Spring in Bloom" or something.  They would have been airing new movies in January anyway, but to now brand that time frame as "Winterfest" means that Folger's Coffee and Walmart can get in on that event's action too!  Lol.  They don't have to wait for the Countdown to Valentine's Day or Countdown to Christmas.

[Irlandesa]

How in the world do they crank these movies out so fast? I know ratings are amazing but it's getting overboard with the movie themes.

In the end, it's only about two hours per week of original programming which is not a lot.  Lifetime pulls it off.  Syfy kind of does as well.  The one thing Hallmark has that the other two channels don't is "theme" branding.  I love the movies but "theme" branding kind of annoys me.  That said, it works. It does scream "new movies coming."

 

Did anyone watch 12 Gifts of Christmas yet?  I thought it was really pleasant.  The story wasn't super exciting but I thought the leads had good chemistry which goes a long way into helping me enjoy the movie.  There were some things I found kind of silly, though.  There were the idea of off-the-menu cupcake flavors that were so outrageous but in the off-the-menu cupcake flavor sampler he brought into the office, there was red velvet. Since when is red velvet an outrageous flavor?  It's also silly that a cupcake store would keep something like eggnog spice "hidden" and not advertised. 

 

The old family portrait was so funny because I know what Donna Mills looked like 20 years ago.  It's not that different than how she looks today.  And it is nothing like how she looked in the old family portrait she had hung on her wall. 

 

And I don't think they set up the angst part very well.  They mentioned that she did a lot of stuff "for fun" but I don't ever recall them mentioning that she didn't want to display the fun stuff because she was afraid of she'd be perceived. He shouldn't have included her art without her permission. It was risky on his end.  But her sense of betrayal was over-the-top, especially since I doubt most gallery owners are looking to find out who created a piece of art in an advertising campaign so they can judge them.

 

Despite those complaints, I enjoyed it overall.  It wasn't as good as Wednesday's movie but not as mind numbingly boring as last weekend's two movies.  Speaking of the actress, due to the love of Snow Bride, I rewatched it and it enjoyed it more the second time. I can see why this is a favorite of so many.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Irlandesa

[TVFan17]

Winterfest 2016 will feature 5 new movies, on January 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th (which actually makes me wonder when the Countdown to Valentine's Day will begin, as I think it began on the last Saturday in January earlier this year):

 

Welcome to Paradise (with Luke Perry)

 

My Life as a Doormat (with Holly Marie Combs)

 

Love on the Sidelines (with Emily Kinney -- that's right, folks... it's Beth from The Walking Dead)

 

Unleashing Mr. Darcy (with Ryan Paevey and Cindy Busby)

 

The Guide (with Meghan Markle)

 

 

Here is the page with the synopses -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/winterfest/schedule.

 

 

Last year I believe that the Countdown to Valentine's Day featured 5 new movies, beginning on that last weekend in January.  I suppose they could start it on Sunday, January 31st with a new movie, and then have new movies on February 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th.  Or, maybe The Guide is really the start to the Countdown to Valentine's Day?  I guess we will find out soon.

 

 

 

Edited to add:  I think I found something!!!!  

 

This is a new Hallmark movie, as far as I know.  It's called All Things Valentine, and it is showing on Sunday, January 31st!!!!  I believe we now have our first movie title for the Countdown to Valentine's Day!!!  Here is the synopsis -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-things-valentine.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Sherry67

[Enero]

I caught Family for Christmas. I really didn't like it. To start I'm usually not a fan of the movies that have the woman having to completely give up get career to find love and be happy but I went ahead and gave this one a chance. Secondly, God Bless her, but Lacey Chabert still looks all of 12 years old and talks that way too, so it was hard for me to buy her as a wife and mother much less a successful news reporter.

The other thing that bugged was that when she woke in the alternate universe and was talking, what her "husband" should've considered crazy, because she was denying him and her children, he completely ignored her crazy talk. Didn't bother to ask if she hit her head or perhaps needed a doctor. Nothing. Just acted as if she was simply acting a little off her game.

I didn't buy her transformation at the end at.all. She had more passion for her career in that moment when she as the housewife was pitching her idea to the news station than she ever had in the time she spent with her "husband," "kids" and "friends." Plus she spent most of the movie stink facing the idea of living in the suburbs and all that came with it. I can understand the character wondering what if and feeling lonely for the holidays, but deciding on a dime to give up the life and career she'd built didn't gel with me. It didn't help that the leads had no chemistry and again she didn't seem all that into the family when she was with them. Even with all that I think this movie would've worked okay, if they'd had her finish the big story at the end then go meet her ex for dinner instead of having her completely throw her career away, implying she was now ready for love and marriage and therefore could no longer have a career.

[TVFan17]

Hot off the pages of Facebook... Hallmark Channel favorite Autumn Reeser (from Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Midnight Masquerade, A Country Wedding and I Do, I Do, I Do) is currently shooting a new movie (in Canada) for the channel.  She posted some photos, and it looks like there is a farm, stables and hay involved.   Earlier this year she was in a Countdown to Valentine's Day movie and also one of the new "June Weddings" movies.  She is not in any of the upcoming Winterfest 2016 movies, so will she pop up in the Countdown to Valentine's Day, or during Wedding Month?  Maybe a Fall Harvest movie?

 

Alicia Witt shot something in Vancouver a few weeks ago, which may or may not be a new TV movie.  We'll see if it pops up anywhere.

 

In addition to the 5 new Winterfest 2016 movies coming up in January, 2 of the new Countdown to Valentine's Day titles have materialized -- All Things Valentine and Food for the Heart.  There should probably be at least 3 more new Valentine's Day movies too.

 

 

I caught Family for Christmas. I really didn't like it. To start I'm usually not a fan of the movies that have the woman having to completely give up get career to find love and be happy but I went ahead and gave this one a chance. Secondly, God Bless her, but Lacey Chabert still looks all of 12 years old and talks that way too, so it was hard for me to buy her as a wife and mother much less a successful news reporter.

The other thing that bugged was that when she woke in the alternate universe and was talking, what her "husband" should've considered crazy, because she was denying him and her children, he completely ignored her crazy talk. Didn't bother to ask if she hit her head or perhaps needed a doctor. Nothing. Just acted as if she was simply acting a little off her game.

I didn't buy her transformation at the end at.all. She had more passion for her career in that moment when she as the housewife was pitching her idea to the news station than she ever had in the time she spent with her "husband," "kids" and "friends." Plus she spent most of the movie stink facing the idea of living in the suburbs and all that came with it. I can understand the character wondering what if and feeling lonely for the holidays, but deciding on a dime to give up the life and career she'd built didn't gel with me. It didn't help that the leads had no chemistry and again she didn't seem all that into the family when she was with them. Even with all that I think this movie would've worked okay, if they'd had her finish the big story at the end then go meet her ex for dinner instead of having her completely throw her career away, implying she was now ready for love and marriage and therefore could no longer have a career.

 

The fact that Lacey Chabert still looks so young makes it all the more amusing that she and Mariah Carey are playing "old high school rivals" in A Christmas Melody this coming Saturday, 12/19!  The age difference between the two women is at least a decade in real life.

[Irlandesa]

I know it sounds silly but I am so ready for Winterfest.  If nothing else, it looks like the storylines appear to have a bit more variety than the Christmas movies.  And some of the actors are a bit older, I think, which is nice. 

[TVFan17]

I'm looking forward to Winterfest and to the Countdown to Valentine's Day, mainly because these 'catchy event names' draw me in.  The stories are usually all variations of each other, but just without Christmas trees, elves and Santas in them!  I like the Christmas movies better than any of the other movies, but I will still be watching!  I am sad to see the Christmas movies end, though -- even though I know it is necessary, and it's good to have a break.

[TVFan17]

I just realized (after I posted earlier) that Hallmark has pulled one of their usual sneaky switches in programming after an official advertisement/announcement.  Originally, the Winterfest event was supposed to have 5 movies in it, with the final movie airing on Saturday, January 30th.  That movie was going to be called The Guide, and it stars Meghan Markle.  It was listed under Winterfest on the Hallmark Channel and everything, when Winterfest first became a 'thing' back in early December. 

 

However, Hallmark has now removed The Guide from the Winterfest line-up and renamed the movie -- it is now called Love Lessons.  http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/the-guide.  It is still set to air on January 30th, BUT this tells me that the Countdown to Valentine's Day is going to start on January 30th instead of January 31st, and that the movie was renamed so it fits more with the branded Countdown to Valentine's Day theme!

 

I wonder if the original plan was, indeed, to have 5 movies in Winterfest and X number of movies in the Countdown to Valentine's Day, but maybe one of the Valentine's Day movies didn't get finished in time or is going to be moved to another time of year and so Hallmark 'stole' one of the WInterfest movies and threw it into the Valentine's Day mix.

 

Anyway, assuming that the Countdown is, indeed, going to begin on Saturday, January 30th with Love Lessons (formerly The Guide), then the second movie of the Countdown will be All Things Valentine on Sun. Jan. 31st -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-things-valentine.   There will probably be 2 new movies on Sat., Feb. 6th and Sun., Feb. 7th, and then one or two new movies on Valentine's Day weekend. 

 

At some point or another a movie that is currently called Food for the Heart will be shown (it may get a title change), and one of the stars is Marcus Rosner, who played Candace Cameron Bure's fiancé in A Christmas Detour.  I don't know if that one will be a Countdown to Valentine's Day movie, but because of the "heart" in the title, I wouldn't be shocked if it turns up in February.

 

I would imagine that we will begin seeing Countdown to Valentine's Day commercials when Winterfest begins.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Sherry67

[StaceyNotStacie]

Did anyone watch Love in Paradise?  I thought it was pretty good.  I thought that Luke Perry and the lead actress were a good match, and I liked how Luke Perry's actor interacted with the townsfolk.  It was a nice movie and it was nice to get away from the Christmas movies.

 

I'm hoping that the rest of this month's movies will be just as good.

[Irlandesa]

I watched it too and also liked it a lot.  I didn't get much natural chemistry between the actors but both the script and the actors were strong enough to get past that and make me at least care about the couple's fate.  So even if I wasn't swooning, i was happy with the resolution. 

 

I loved the scenery.  I liked the character interaction.  And I loved a lot of the humor.  Not only was Luke Perry doing some fun things physically but the movie had a few clever lines that actually made me laugh out loud.

 

The only thing that kind of threw me was the ending. I thought the actor was broke.  I guess if he sold his apartment he'd have enough to pay off the loan but they never really explained where it came from.  I thought for sure the resolution would be that in order for him to continue to do the movies, he'd insist they rent out the ranch.  They'd get money and good publicity. 

 

 

It was a nice movie and it was nice to get away from the Christmas movies.

I kind of agree.  I love Christmas movie season but a lot of that was because we would be guaranteed new Hallmark movies every week.  Well, now that Hallmark has beefed up their movie making, the holiday season isn't as essential. I also think taking away the Christmas of it all gives the movies a little more breathing room.  Too many Christmas movies feel they need to say something about Christmas instead of it just being the time of year when it takes place or letting it just be a backdrop.  

[TVFan17]

I watched Love in Paradise today.  I liked it -- if it hadn't been funny and had been a serious Hall of Fame-type of drama, I probably would not have liked it.  The humor is what keeps me tuned in.  I think that Luke Perry had a hand in co-producing this movie (didn't he?) as well as being the star, and he was able to work things into the story that he enjoys and can do well.  He is supposedly quite skilled with horses and ranches and all of that in real life.  Also, I remember that when he was on Beverly Hills 90210 he and his wife at the time had at least one pet pig.  So I guess he is skilled in pig care as well!  Lol.

 

I assumed that "Avery" only agreed to take that Aim to Please, "Installment" #6 job (and I guess #7 too?) so that he could get the money to pay off the loan for "Casey" and "Heather."  Isn't that what happened?  He didn't want to take the job, but he took it for them.   And because of his time spent at the ranch (and on horses), his scenes were better and more authentic.   In real life, of course, in the time it took him to shoot Installment #6 (and possibly #7), they would have probably already been out of the ranch before he was able to bail them out.  But in Hallmark-land everything happens very quickly and he was able to save them.   In any case, it was a cute movie. 

 

I also watched A Wish Come True today -- it was, as I recall, either the last new January movie in 2015, or it was the first Countdown to Valentine's Day movie in 2015.  I had intended to watch it back then but was not able to, and I never made a point of trying to catch it later.  I like the idea of the birthday wishes all coming true, with both positive and negative effects, but the story lost me somewhere.  I stuck with it all the way to the end, but it kind of fell flat somewhere.  Maybe it was the lead actress that I didn't particularly get invested in -- I'm not sure.  I mean, she was certainly better than some actresses in these movies, but I thought that her best friend -- the guy she was meant to be with all along -- should have moved on from her long ago.  I thought that he could have done better than this girl who was too blind to see that he loved her since childhood.  All in all, I guess it was a decent movie -- but I don't think I have a need to see it again.

 

I was very surprised to see that Hallmark was showing 3 of the Fall Harvest movies, spread out across yesterday and today (Autumn Dreams, Harvest Moon and October Kiss).  I thought that, much like Hallmark saves the Christmas movies for the Countdown, they would hold back the Fall Harvest movies and then repeat them in late September or in October, when the next Fall Harvest event takes place.  I'm sure they will repeat them then as well, but by running them now or any time before the next Fall Harvest event, it takes some of the novelty out of them.  They could build up the anticipation of that Fall Harvest event more if they kept certain things exclusive to that specific timeframe.  They are letting the air out of the balloon by showing pumpkins and Halloween-ish things now, instead of saving them for September.

 

In general, though, my favorite Hallmark movies are still, and will always be, the Christmas-themed movies (whether they are actually about Christmas or just use the season as a backdrop).  In fact, I just watched a couple of older favorites earlier today, as I had not had a chance to watch them in November or December and I wanted to clear them off of the DVR to free up space now that some of my other "regular TV" shows are returning this coming week.   I actually hated having to delete them because I was reminded of how much I liked those movies.  But then I also tell myself that I need to step away from the Christmas movies now (after tonight), just so I can get excited for Christmas in July, and for the next Countdown to Christmas, again!  As much as I love them, I know I will kill the excitement and novelty of them for myself if I watch them before Christmas in July -- and even then, it doesn't feel quite the same to watch them as it does in November and December.

 

I think that we will have a bit of break in new movies after the Countdown to Valentine's Day is over (except for the ongoing mysteries over on the Movies & Mysteries Channel).  March, April and May will probably be a bit slow in terms of new movies, with just a couple of new ones sprinkled in here and there.  June Weddings will probably give us another 3 new ones (if not 4).  Christmas in July should give us one new movie.  August and the first half of September will probably be kind of slow again, with not too many new movies.  Once we get to the second half of September or late September, I think we will be probably be guaranteed at least one new movie every weekend from then until the weekend right before Valentine's Day 2017.  Most weekends in the Countdown to Christmas will have 2 movies, of course, and Thanksgiving Week will have at least 5 new movies, if not more.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

I think that Luke Perry had a hand in co-producing this movie (didn't he?) as well as being the star, and he was able to work things into the story that he enjoys and can do well. 

He does but sometimes that can just be a way to pay an actor more while giving them less salary as an actor.  How much say he has in the movie might vary depending on the project.  But clearly this was a movie that was a perfect fit for him.

 

 

I'm sure they will repeat them then as well, but by running them now or any time before the next Fall Harvest event, it takes some of the novelty out of them.  They could build up the anticipation of that Fall Harvest event more if they kept certain things exclusive to that specific timeframe.  They are letting the air out of the balloon by showing pumpkins and Halloween-ish things now, instead of saving them for September.

I don't think fall fests or winter fests are going to carry the same weight with viewers that the Christmas movies will. It's a good marketing ploy to promote new movies but I would be surprised if seasonal 'fests' become a thing the way the holiday fests do.  I doubt they're going to have non-stop fall themed movies. And I can't imagine most viewers caring or associating specific movies with one of these fests enough to think next January "ooh, winterfest is coming, I can't wait to re-watch 'Love In Paradise.'" 

 

 

I think that we will have a bit of break in new movies after the Countdown to Valentine's Day is over (except for the ongoing mysteries over on the Movies & Mysteries Channel).

Maybe.  But they might surprise us. I know I never expected to get four new movies bridging the Christmas season with the Valentine's theme. 

 

Edited January 4, 2016 by Irlandesa

[TVFan17]

He does but sometimes that can just be a way to pay an actor more while giving them less salary as an actor.  How much say he has in the movie might vary depending on the project.  But clearly this was a movie that was a perfect fit for him.

 

 

I don't think fall fests or winter fests are going to carry the same weight with viewers that the Christmas movies will. It's a good marketing ploy to promote new movies but I would be surprised if seasonal 'fests' become a thing the way the holiday fests do.  I doubt they're going to have non-stop fall themed movies. And I can't imagine most viewers caring or associating specific movies with one of these fests enough to think next January "ooh, winterfest is coming, I can't wait to re-watch 'Love In Paradise.'" 

 

 

Maybe.  But they might surprise us. I know I never expected to get four new movies bridging the Christmas season with the Valentine's theme. 

 

The movies this January didn't surprise me because they did the exact same thing in January 2015 -- a new movie every weekend, and then they transitioned right into the Countdown to Valentine's Day.  The only thing that is different about it this year is that they attached the "Winterfest" name to it.  Otherwise, they are doing pretty much what they did last year.

 

The slow months  (the late February-March-April-May time frame) are basically that way because the focus shifts to the series.   The onslaught of new movies calms down and When Calls the Heart and Good Witch return -- but Hallmark will still repeat all of their other movies on weekends.  They may even use some of those weekends without new original movies to debut feature films that they acquire the rights to air.  They like to air New In Town (with Renee Zellweger) every now and then, and that was a feature film.  So we might see more of those when they don't have any new movies to air. 

 

And then the second half of July (which is, I think, when Chesapeake Shores will debut), August and the first half of September are generally slower too.  We will get some new movies in all of the slow months, but just not at the same rapid rate they are cranking them out for late September though Valentine's Day.

 

I still think Hallmark should come up with "Spring Fling" and "Summer Fest" brand names, and throw a couple of new movies into them.  They might as well celebrate all seasons!

 

I noticed that Hallmark did not say "Join us on October 31, 2016 for the Countdown to Christmas," or a similar statement, in their "over 50 million viewers" commercial at the end of the Countdown.  Last year they said "Join us on..."  In fact, on the specific Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas Facebook page -- where they count down to the start of the Countdown all year -- they have not yet begun the posts that should say something like "43 weeks until the Countdown to Christmas begins..."  They usually start those up right away.

 

So I am inclined to think that Hallmark is trying to figure out when, exactly, to begin the Countdown to Christmas 2016, with Halloween being on a Monday and the marathons traditionally beginning on weekends.  Starting it on 10/29 is not much earlier than starting it on 10/31, but if they advertise it as beginning then, they will catch hell from all of the complainers.  Plus, they might have an extra Fall Harvest movie to debut on 10/29.  But if they wait until Friday, 11/4 to begin the Countdown, it might be a bit late if they have more than 17 new movies to debut on mostly weekends leading up to Christmas.

 

What do you think?  Do you think they will go with 10/29, 10/30, 10/31 or 11/4 as a start date?

[Misslindsey]

I thought Love in Paradise was just okay. It wasn't horrible, but I did not love it either. I did not feel any real chemistry between the leads, though the acting was good so who knows. I think I liked the dad the best. I had a hard time believing that people would be so horrified that Luke Perry's character wasn't a real cowboy or fluent in ranch life. I am usually fine with most of the standard Hallmark cliches, but this movie did not really sell it well for me. Maybe I will watch it again sometime and see if I warm up to it more.

 

I have to admit that I am a sucker for these new movies every week regardless of what theme/fest they are packaged as. Though the movie that is on next week looks the least interesting for me. I am looking forward to the movie that looks like it will be lumped in with the Valentine's batch that had Kristoffer Polaha in it, because I kind of like staring at him.

[Irlandesa]

The movies this January didn't surprise me because they did the exact same thing in January 2015 --

What do you think?  Do you think they will go with 10/29, 10/30, 10/31 or 11/4 as a start date?

Wow. I do not remember new movies in January. 

 

Oh I think they'll start the 29th if they have the right number of movies. I think it's going to depend if they do the Thanksgiving marathon again.  Or maybe even throw in some extra movies on Christmas Eve eve?  What a about NYE movie?  I think that would be something fun to do.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Irlandesa

[TVFan17]

Wow. I do not remember new movies in January. 

 

Oh I think they'll start the 29th if they have the right number of movies. I think it's going to depend if they do the Thanksgiving marathon again.  Or maybe even throw in some extra movies on Christmas Eve eve?  What a about NYE movie?  I think that would be something fun to do.

 

In January 2015, there was:

 

Surprised by Love (with Hilarie Burton and Paul Campbell)

 

A Novel Romance (with Amy Acker)

 

Bridal Wave (with Arielle Kebbel and Andrew Walker)

 

Love by the Book (with an actress whose name I don't recall, and Stefanie Powers) -- this movie apparently premiered under another title on some website/channel called Pixl before it got to Hallmark, but it is a Hallmark movie so I don't know what that was about.

 

Those were all Saturday night debuts, if I recall correctly.

 

 

Then the Countdown to Valentine's Day kicked in on the last day of January 2015 with:

 

A Wish Come True (which is the movie with Megan Park that I watched yesterday)

 

 

The next Valentine's Day installments (in February) were: 

 

I Do, I Do, I Do (with Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo)

 

So You Said Yes (with Kellie Martin and Chad Willett)

 

Cloudy with a Chance of Love (which is a ridiculous title, starring Katie Leclerc, and also featuring Gregory Harrison)

 

All of My Heart (with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott).

 

I think that a New Year's Eve movie should definitely be something that Hallmark looks at -- especially if they plan to continue the streak of "at least one new movie every weekend from late September to mid-February" deal.  They can air all of the Christmas and/or Thanksgiving movies before Christmas, even going as far as a new one on Christmas Eve eve, as you said.  And then they should do some sort of New Year-themed movie with a premiere on either Friday, 12/30 or on Sat., 12/31 itself.  New Year's Eve/Day may be at the very end of the holiday season, but it is part of the holiday season and yet it seems to be largely ignored by Hallmark.

 

This year they got away with keeping a holiday season theme going with the When Calls the Heart: New Year's Wish deal.  But for people who don't watch that series, it may have been a weekend without a new movie.  Hallmark should look into a bona fide New Year-themed movie (not one that is connected to a series), with the whole 'kiss at midnight' gimmick that we would expect, or meeting in Times Square -- it's a cliché, but it's something.  In fact, they have one lone New Year's-themed movie called Kiss at Midnight, starring Faith Ford (about people who run dating services), and they didn't air it in December!!!??!!!

 

I think that the Thanksgiving Week thing will happen again this year -- because it did so well in the ratings.  What I wonder is if they will just stick to 5 new back-to-back movies, or if they will add in a couple of new ones at the beginning of the week, to make it a full 7 nights of new movies.  And will one of those movies actually be a Thanksgiving-themed movie this year?!

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sherry67

[JenMD]

He does but sometimes that can just be a way to pay an actor more while giving them less salary as an actor.  How much say he has in the movie might vary depending on the project.  But clearly this was a movie that was a perfect fit for him.

He also got a separate credit for creating the character, so I think this was something that he was probably very involved in.

 

I enjoyed it.  I liked everybody, the scenery was great and the resolution surprised me a bit (I thought they'd end up renting out the ranch for movies, too).  But it was a nice change from the endless sea of Santas and red bows, so that helped, heh.

[TVFan17]

Hallmark has posted a partial schedule for the Countdown to Valentine's Day, with the names and premiere dates of all 5 of the new movies!!  Here it is -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/valentines-day/countdown-to-valentines-day-schedule.

 

When I say that it's a partial schedule, what I mean is that the event is usually a full 2 weeks, and they will run movies on weeknights too.  In fact, it might even be all day and all night again, for part of the time, like it was in 2015.  In the list I linked above, they only posted the schedules for the specific days with new movie premieres, and not the schedules for the days in between.

 

Anyway, the 5 new movies are:

 

Dater's Handbook (formerly called Love Lessons and also The Guide -- with Meghan Markle of When Sparks Fly, Kristoffer Palaha and new Hallmark favorite Jonathan Scarfe of Love on the Air and Angel of Christmas -- Saturday, January 30th

 

All Things Valentine (with Sarah Rafferty and Sam Page of Annie Claus is Coming to Town) -- Sunday, January 31st

 

Appetite for Love (formerly called Food for the Heart -- with Taylor Cole, Hallmark favorite Andrew Walker of A Bride for Christmas, Bridal Wave, Dashing Through the Snow, etc., and Marcus Rosner, who played Candace Cameron Bure's jilted fiancé in A Christmas Detour) -- Saturday, February 6th

 

Valentine Ever After (with Hallmark favorite Autumn Reeser of Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, A Country Wedding, I Do, I Do, I Do, etc., Eric Johnson of Fir Crazy and Vanessa Matsui of Charming Christmas) -- Saturday, February 13th

 

Anything for Love (with Erika Christensen of My Boyfriends' Dogs, and Hallmark favorites Paul Greene of Perfect Match and A Christmas Detour, and Antonio Cupo of Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, I Do, I Do, I Do, For Better or for Worse, etc.) -- Sunday, February 14th

 

 

 

Conspicuously absent from the 'new movie premiere schedule' is Sunday, February 7th -- which seems like it would be a prime day to premiere a movie.  Maybe they will show some sort of Hall of Fame premiere on that night or something.

 

Edited to add:  I forgot that the Super Bowl is on February 7th.  That explains why Hallmark is not premiering a new movie on that date.  Too many people tuning in to the Super Bowl and not to Hallmark.

 

Edited to add:  Yahoo TV just provided me with an article that helped fill in the blanks about the movies, such as actors, plots, etc. https://www.yahoo.com/tv/hallmarks-countdown-to-valentines-day-154554622.html

Edited January 9, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

I wanted to mention that one of the better Hallmark romantic comedies is on the Hallmark Channel in 2 days, Sunday, January 10th -- All of My Heart with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott.  Check your listings for times. 

 

It's not that this movie is drastically different than the usual Hallmark movies -- it still has the predictable storylines and the dreaded tropes and all of that.  If you want a movie without those things, don't watch Hallmark movies.  It's also not for anyone who dislikes Lacey Chabert.  But if you can deal with Lacey and you don't mind the predictability and tropes, it's a cute, sweet and occasionally funny movie.  The 2 leads have -- as twoods called it when talking about Lacey and Brennan in A Christmas Melody -- an "easy chemistry."  There were a couple of moments -- much like the recent Love in Paradise movie with Luke Perry -- when I laughed out loud.  Mostly all Hallmark movies (Hall of Fame movies aside) follow a basic template and formula, but for some reason some of them are just better than others and they are more effective.  I think that All of My Heart is one of those.

 

Tomorrow night -- Sat., 1/9 -- is the second new Winterfest movie, Love's Complicated, with Holly Marie Combs.

 

Edited to add:  Yahoo TV just released a good article with all of the details about the upcoming Countdown to Valentine's Day movies, and who is in them!  More Andrew Walker!  More Jonathan Scarfe!  More Antonio Cupo!  More Autumn Reeser!  More Paul Greene!  Here is the link to the article -- https://www.yahoo.com/tv/hallmarks-countdown-to-valentines-day-154554622.html.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

And  Hallmark Channel news just keeps a-comin'!  First, if you scroll 2 posts up ^^ you will see that I added in cast/actor information for the 5 new Countdown to Valentine's Day movies, complete with some of actors' previous Hallmark credits -- IF they have been in Hallmark projects in the past. 

 

In the post directly above this one, I included the link to a Yahoo article with synopses and info about all 5 of the movies.

 

Now there is even more news.  Tonight, Hallmark had their "TCA16" (essentially an upfront) Winterfest Event.  There should be another one of these events in late summer or early fall.

 

Anyway, one of Hallmark's tweets during the event said: "We'll have 30 consecutive weeks of original programming starting with [When Calls the Heart] on 2/21!"  https://twitter.com/hallmarkchannel/status/685686349073006592

 

I am assuming they mean new, original programming.

 

I'm thinking that means that between the episodes of the 3 series and any new movies, there should be very few weekends without any original programming between now and the end of the year. There may be a couple of weeks of down time in mid-September, and possibly on Christmas weekend and New Year's weekend there won't be any new movies, but otherwise it seems like there should be something new on the channel -- maybe sometimes there will be a series episode and a new movie instead of always just either/or -- almost every weekend of 2016,

[Irlandesa]

OMG is Anthony Cupo being relegated to dad role?

[walnutqueen]

I didn't have the Hallmark channels for years, but I did manage to catch some of those Good Witch movies.  Now there's a series which I also managed to miss; hopefully Season 1 will re-air so I can catch up.  Could someone familiar with the story tell me what happened to the witch's cop husband?  Thanks!

[twoods]

They all look decent (V day countdown) but the last movie cringes with the usual stereotype of a high powered female executive having a hard time finding love, and there being "complications" that she falls for a nurse when there is nothing wrong with that profession.

[EyewatchTV211]

Eric Johnson! He's another favorite of mine, but he hasn't been in too many of the movies. He was a big reason why I liked the 2nd Mrs. Miracle movie. I didn't love Fir Christmas, which was unfortunate since I like him. When everyone was talking about eye candy for the Christmas movies, he was another one I was thinking of.

[TVFan17]

Well, even more news has come out of Hallmark's TCA16 Winterfest event from last night... and I'm not sure what to think of some of it. Poaching in Kenya? More Mariah Carey direction? Jennifer Love Hewitt? Kristin Davis? The only thing I already knew about in all of this is the Andie MacDowell movie.

So I will leave this here for you -- http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/tca16-mariah-carey-jennifer-love-hewitt-direct-hallmark-films/396403

Edited January 10, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

Oh I'm intrigued by Darrow & Darrow. I have liked Kimberly Williams Paisley in her Hallmark movies.

[TVFan17]

Oh I'm intrigued by Darrow & Darrow. I have liked Kimberly Williams Paisley in her Hallmark movies.

You know, up until last night I had absolutely no clue that Kimberly is the sister of Ashley Williams (who starred in October Kiss on Hallmark, and Christmas in the City on Lifetime). It never even occurred to me that they are related. I think that Ashley is going to do something else with Hallmark this year too, but it hasn't been announced yet.

I also just found out that a very pregnant Kellie Martin is going to be involved in the new series of movies based on Nancy Grace's Hailey Dean stories, probably for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.

[twoods]

I like Ashley Williams but sometimes her ear to ear grin is distracting in movies, especially when it's not needed. I absolutely loved Kimberly in Lucky 7 with Patrick Dempsey so can't wait to see her in the new series.

I really liked the Love's Complicated movie tonight. The leads had great chemistry, and it helped that I found Ben Bass so charming. Made me miss Rookie Blue a bit. I think I would have found this movie a bit boring if it wasn't for the cast, but they worked. Especially loved seeing John Corbin as Cinco's father. Their scene was very sweet.

Edited January 10, 2016 by twoods

[TVFan17]

I like Ashley Williams but sometimes her ear to ear grin is distracting in movies, especially when it's not needed. I absolutely loved Kimberly in Lucky 7 with Patrick Dempsey so can't wait to see her in the new series.

I really liked the Love's Complicated movie tonight. The leads had great chemistry, and it helped that I found Ben Bass so charming. Made me miss Rookie Blue a bit. I think I would have found this movie a bit boring if it wasn't for the cast, but they worked. Especially loved seeing John Corbin as Cinco's father. Their scene was very sweet.

I recorded it and am now going to watch it so I can skip the commercials. I made the mistake of sitting down to watch 3 Hallmark movies in a row -- LIVE -- earlier today (Lucky in Love, Perfect on Paper and October Kiss), and the frequent commercial breaks were maddening. So I decided to record Love's Complicated to avoid that mess again.

I just saw someone on the Hallmark Channel Facebook page say that it Love's Complicated is a boring movie, the leads are unattractive and that Holly looks pregnant! Then she went on to comment on her teeth. Did you find any of that to be true? I thought it was particularly harsh.

Oh, don't forget -- if you have time, try to catch All of My Heart, which is on Hallmark later today (Sunday)!

I wonder if one of the 3 new movies that Mariah Carey is going to direct will be another Christmas movie. ..

[Josette]

Could someone familiar with the story tell me what happened to the witch's cop husband?

The character died. The show time jumps from the last movie. Their daughter together is now a teenager.

[twoods]

Yikes, that is harsh. I didn't think she looked pregnant, and didn't find the leads unattractive at all. People have different tastes in movies, so that the poster probably has liked movies that I hated.

[Misslindsey]

I could not get into Love's Complicated. I kept finding myself drifting and doing other stuff while this was on in the background. I did not think the leads were unattractive at all. I just did not find myself really liking this movie.

[chitowngirl]

Until reading this thread just now, I had no idea that Kimberly and Ashley were sisters either! I went to IMDB and looked up Ashley Williams and it is very obvious from her picture that they are related. I adore Snow and Snow 2 (ABC Family movies that I didn't see at all on the schedule this holiday season!).

Topic? I appreciate that when HMM has a new mystery movie on Sunday night, they show all the previous movies in the series first. I missed one of the Garage Sale mysteries and caught it last week and missed a Murder She a Baked that I'll catch tonight before the new movie.

[Irlandesa]

Yikes, that is harsh. I didn't think she looked pregnant, and didn't find the leads unattractive at all. People have different tastes in movies, so that the poster probably has liked movies that I hated.

  

Yep, people do have different tastes in movies. For me, Love's Complicated was one of the best Hallmark movies in a long time. The leads had really good chemistry. They were well developed through the glimpses into their personal and professional lives. They had conflict that was inherent not only to outside factors but because how different they were in handling conflict. They also spent a lot of time together where I felt with about 30 minutes to go that they could end this movie with a proposal and I wouldn't think it too outrageous.

That isn't to say it ended perfectly. I felt it was a bit awkward due to Hallmark's incessant need to have a public kiss or declaration of love. But that was the only "off" bit in a movie I felt was otherwise put together very well. I have a feeling this is one I will rewatch.

I did have to laugh about Lea's conversations with her publisher about conflict...etc. It almost felt like meta criticism on how Hallmark puts together their movies. "Eh, it needs conflict, here are some ideas and throw something in."

As for Holly looking pregnant, I think that's ridiculous for the most part. She did not look pregnant throughout the movie. I will say that I find tight, short dresses made of anything other than black or a dark blue are not flattering to most women. I've seen even 0 size actresses who look like they have a bit of a paunch in dresses like that and I think there were so many better sexy styles they could have put her in. Otherwise I thought she was beautiful. And I wasn't sure what to make of the actor but he played "catching feelings" so well that I found him very attractive at the end and I hope to see him appear again.

Until reading this thread just now, I had no idea that Kimberly and Ashley were sisters either!

I feel like I didn't know this, learned it and then forgot again. And I too am looking forward to another Murder: She Baked. Do we know if they're doing more Gourmet Detective?

I am also looking forward to Love On The Sideliness. Based on the previews alone, I think the two leads will have chemistry, although I so wish Hallmark would stop previewing the big moments in the movie like the kiss or the declarations of love. You're Hallmark, Hallmark, we know they're going to fall in love. Showing those big moments kind of ruins those moments for me because they're almost always better in context after buildup instead of in random clips.