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

[walnutqueen]

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

Thanks, Josette!

Guess her witchy protection spells weren't enough to save her husband's life, eh? ;-)

[TVFan17]

First of all, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't know that Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Ashley Williams are sisters! It was just never even on my radar that they are family. They're both very pretty.

Second, I just checked the Hallmark Channel Facebook page again and I don't see the specific comment from the girl who was criticizing Love's Complicated and basically slamming everyone's looks. It might be there -- there have been times when I thought a comment was removed and then it popped up later on -- but I wonder if she removed it because she got negative feedback. I expected that people would probably respond to her and tell her that she was being mean. I think she said the movie was "terribly boring" as well as saying the leads were unattractive, Holly looked pregnant and appeared to have dentures. This person also said something like Holly is not the typical Hallmark actress -- except she wasn't saying that in a complimentary way!

The word "unattractive" is harsh, and usually very subjective. There are actors who I think are very attractive, and I see other people say that they are not attractive at all. On the other hand, there are actors and actresses that people rave and gush about as being so hot, or so sexy, or so beautiful -- and I just don't get it at all. Also, there are different ages, shapes, sizes, faces, skin colors, hair colors, hairstyles, clothing styles, etc., in the world. I don't want to see movies where all the actors look exactly the same in each one.

Anyway, I liked the movie. I thought the leads were good together. I thought the guy was entertaining. I thought there were some very funny moments -- like when they had to do the conflict exercise at the supermarket. In fact, the people in the group were amusing. I don't really need depth in these kinds of movies, but this one seemed to have a bit more depth than some. It felt like it was being fleshed out a bit better than other movies. It was good! I liked last week's new movie too, so I am hoping that next week's movie (with good ol' "Beth Greene" from The Walking Dead) will be decent.

[chitowngirl]

 

   Do we know if they're doing more Gourmet Detective?

 

I looked on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Facebook page and someone posted the same question. The HMM answer was they didn't have any new info on The Gourmet Detective right now.

[Luckylyn]

I really liked Love's Complicated because Holly's storyarch was compelling. I liked that although there was a love story the movie was more about Holly taking more control of her life and not just going along with what others wanted.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Luckylyn

[twoods]

I did end up liking All of My Heart, but that quick proposal at the end prevented it from being a great movie. Their banter was great, and it was better than Christmas Melody.

[sacrebleu]

I kind of get the knock on the "attractiveness" of the male lead in "Love's Complicated" He's got one of those lantern jaws, and if the proportions are right, you get Ben Affleck or Aaron Eckhart, if they're off, you get Jay Leno-- he was (IMO) more toward the Jay Leno side of the spectrum.

[TVFan17]

I did end up liking All of My Heart, but that quick proposal at the end prevented it from being a great movie. Their banter was great, and it was better than Christmas Melody.

 

I'm glad you finally got to see it!  Yes, that 'came out of nowhere' end was puzzling.  It would have made more sense if something had appeared on the screen to say "One Year Later..."  Even if it had said "Six Months Later" it would have made more sense.  But I didn't see anything like that, so it appeared that the event/open house sort of thing being held at the B, B & D was the one that they had already been talking about and planning -- in which case, it was way too soon to be getting married.

 

That aside, Lacey and Brennan do have nice banter and -- as you said once before -- easy chemistry.  The goats were cute.  I laughed out loud a couple of times, one of them being when Brennan's character first met "Gabby" the goat.  Ed Asner randomly rambling about ducks was funny.  I liked the guys at the shop that Brennan was talking to (the tall one with the poker face and the other one).  I liked the whole thing -- it's just that the proposal seemed so unnecessary and rushed within the time frame we were given.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

More Hallmark news!   We already know about the new series with Kimberly Williams, the poaching in Kenya movie with Kristin Davis, the 30 consecutive weeks/weekends of original programming starting on February 21st, the continued work with Mariah Carey and the new work with Jennifer Love Hewitt, the names/plot synopses/casting info for all 5 of the new Countdown to Valentine's Day movies, etc., etc..  In addition to all of that, it appears that I was either psychic or Hallmark took my suggestion.

 

I believe I said somewhere in this thread, and I also posted the idea on the Hallmark Channel Facebook page, that they need to create a movie event called "Spring Fling."  It's as easy as taking whatever movies they already have planned for spring and putting a catchy label on that timeframe, to draw in viewers and advertisers.

 

And that's what they are doing!!!  Spring Fling is the name of the new event that seems to be limited to April only.  Four new movies (one with Nicollette Sheridan and one with Lisa Whelchel).  Not sure about the other 2 movies.  I learned about this from the It's a Wonderful Movie website -- http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2016/01/hallmarks-2016-tca-winterfest.html.

 

 

By the way, not shown in the blog linked above is Emily Kinney ("Beth" from The Walking Dead), who stars in Love on the Sidelines this coming Saturday night.  She was also at the TCA16 event this past Friday night.   And I am not used to seeing her with dark eye make-up -- https://twitter.com/TWDBeth_/status/686266405809958914.

 

 

Edited to add: 

 

Press release with more details about the new Spring Fling event -- http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/1389064.pdf

 

The Spring Fling movies in April will be (titles definitely subject to change):  The Manny (with Nicollette Sheridan);  Mommy Bloggers (with Lisa Whelchel); By Chance (cast unknown); and The Convenient Groom (unknown cast).

 

Press release about the 30 consecutive weeks of original programming (series) -- http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/1389059.pdf.

 

Another press release about Darrow & Darrow, Mariah Carey (one of her 3 new movies with Hallmark IS going to be a Christmas movie for the Countdown to Christmas) and other stuff. -- http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/1389065.pdf.

 

Press release about J.L. Ranch -- http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/1389066.pdf.

 

Press Release about what Jewel is doing for Hallmark, as well as info about a new mystery movie series with John Schneider, Shenae Grimes-Beech and Sean Faris, and mentions of all of the other mystery movie series on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel-- http://awsprxdam.crownmediadev.com.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/highRes/1389061.pdf.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

Too much news coming in about all of the stuff that's happening on both of the Hallmark Channels (this was what the whole TCA event was about 3 days ago).  I can barely keep up with it!   See links in above post!! ^^

[Pyewacket]

Thanks for all that information, Sherry67! I'm excited for all this new Hallmark programming -- I love TV movies and as much as I enjoy a lot of what Lifetime has to offer, it's nice to have something to balance out their "I've kidnapped my neighbor and am holding her hostage in my basement. Again." fare. 

[Stuffy]

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 haven't thought about Lucky 7 in awhile. It's probably one of my all time favorites along with A Season For Miracles and The Magic of Ordinary Days. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.

[Irlandesa]

I liked Gourmet Detective so I'm happy it mentioned in tthe press release.  I like other mystery series too but that was the only one whose future was somewhat in doubt. 
 

I haven't thought about Lucky 7 in awhile.

I watch Follow The Stars Home whenever it airs but I would love to rewatch Lucky 7 again.  Too bad it was ABC Family and they don't re-air movies quite like Hallmark does.

[ShelleySue]

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 liked the movie but I could have liked it more if Holly's voice wasn't so droning.  I'm not sure if it's her or if it is the way that the noncommittal, non-confrontational character was supposed to be played.

 

Does anyone try to place a character while watching tv?  I do all of the time and make it a habit to IMDB shows while I watch them.  For some reason Hallmark is very slow in getting movies listed.  Sometimes they don't even exist on IMDB even after they've aired.  Then when they do air, they are very incomplete.  For example, in Love's Complicatedhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt5212042/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast, Leah's mother looked familiar but I can't seem to figure out why.  "Uncredited professors" are listed on IMDB, but Leah's parents aren't.  During the movie itself there was actually no page up for the movie.

[blackwing]

Are the Gourmet Detective movies available anywhere besides the Hallmark Mysteries channel?  I seem to have the Hallmark channel but not this other one.  I hope they will come to regular Hallmark or DVD.  I've read both of these Gourmet Detective books and they are enjoyable books, it'd be great to see how they adapt to screen.

[TVFan17]

I don't have a direct link to provide for this bit of news (shockingly!!) because I think it must be hidden on Hallmark's media site in the sections that are only for the media folks with proper log-in credentials, but...

 

Unless something changes between now and February 1st, it appears that this year Hallmark is not doing what they did with the Countdown to Valentine's Day last year.  Last year they advertised "all  day and all night" movies for 2 weeks, and if I recall correctly I think it was all day and all night for at least one of the two weeks -- meaning that, like the Countdown to Christmas, there were movies every day and probably overnight too.

 

This year, according to a Hallmark banner I saw in a Facebook fan group, it seems that Hallmark is veering away from an "all day and all night" thing.  In fact, this schedule for the Countdown to Valentine's Day is drastically reduced from what it was last year.  They are instead advertising "a movie every weeknight."  It is shaping up to look like this so far:

 

Six movies on Sat. Jan. 30th (one new movie premiere)

Six movies on Sun., Jan. 31st (one new movie premiere)

One movie at 8 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 1st

One movie at 8 p.m. on Tues., Feb 2nd

One movie at 8 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 3rd

One movie at 8 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 4th

One movie at 8 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 5th

Six movies on Sat., Feb. 6th (one new movie premiere)

Schedule unknown for Sun., Feb. 7th, as Hallmark's Kitten Bowl takes place on this day

 

Six movies on Sat., Feb. 13th (one new movie premiere)

Six movies on Sun., Feb. 14th (one new movie premiere)

 

I'm not sure about the schedules for 2/8 - 2/12, but I am guessing there will be one movie each night.

 

 

I wasn't sure if Hallmark would go with an all day and all night deal again, but I thought they would at least go with the kind of schedule they use for Christmas in July, which involves 3 or 4 movies each weekday and sometimes a slightly more extended schedule for the weekends.

 

If Hallmark sticks with this 'one movie at 8 p.m. each night' business for the weeknights, it means they are actually giving us a shorter schedule than what they do for Christmas in July!

 

I wonder why they cut the 2 weeks of Valentine's Day movies back so drastically (assuming nothing changes and this plan sticks)?  They got good ratings for the event last year, compared to what they would normally get in February.  Could they have cut back the number of hours in the Valentine event that drastically because too many people grumbled and complained about the 2 months of all day and all night movies for Christmas? 

 

Or, if Hallmark has to deliver a certain number of programming hours devoted to holidays or special events each year (I think they are bound to a certain number of hours with the cable and satellite providers), could they have cut the Countdown to Valentine's Day event back so that they can, essentially, add in extra hours to another event and make it longer (maybe Christmas in July, maybe Fall Harvest, maybe the Countdown to Christmas)??

 

They don't have anything else going on during the week other than Home & Family and a bunch of reruns of  TV series (most of which are very old and not Hallmark originals), so the extended movie marathons infuse a bit of much needed life into a channel that can seem very "old fashioned" if it shows one too many old series.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Sherry67

[twoods]

Finally caught Love in Paradise and it was pleasant enough, but not great. The ending was a bit jilted and didn't flow well. Suddenly he makes a movie then buys the ranch and all is good. It felt rushed like most Hallmark endings.

[TVFan17]

For the fans of "The Walking Dead" out there (and I am one of them) who worried that they would never again hear Beth Greene singing a sweet siren song (usually in the middle of a prison, forest or some other dangerous place)...... you will be happy to know that one of Emily Kinney's songs will, indeed, be playing in the background of at least one of the scenes in her new Hallmark movie, "Love on the Sidelines" (which debuts tomorrow night, 1/16/16)!

Here is an article that mentions it -- http://www.channelguidemag.com/tv-news/2016/01/15/emily-kinney-new-single-hallmark-love-on-the-sidelines/.

I saw Emily on the "Home & Family" show a couple of days ago, and even with make-up and styled hair, she still looks so sweet and young. I think she has one of those faces where, no matter how old she gets, she will always look like a teenager. None of us who watch TWD are used to seeing her as a romantic lead. Sure, there were whisperings of some possible "Bethyl" action looming on the horizon, but Beth was gone before that ever happened. Beth always seemed too young for Daryl and too old for Carl. She had some random prison boyfriend, but no one remembers him and he was gone before we even knew he was there.

So it will be very different and interesting to see Emily Kinney as a Hallmark leading lady, and I wonder if they will begin to use her in a variety of projects like they do their other actors.

Also, this coming Sunday, 1/17, the Brooke Shields-Brennan Elliott-Beau Bridges movie, "Flower Shop Mystery: Mum's the Word," is debuting on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.

[chitowngirl]

I'm looking forward to Mum's the Word and I like Brooke Shields, but she's not Abby Knight! Abby is a freckled, curly red head who's in her late 20's, maybe early 30's. She's not 50. It wouldn't bother me if there weren't 16 books in the series and it's a pretty big thing in the book about her red hair and freckles.  I have the same nit picky details about the Murder She Baked series. Hannah has a little 2 person cookie shop, not a big bakery with lots of workers making all kinds of baked goods. And none of the bakers are wearing gloves! At least Hannah puts her hair up when she's baking. If these were original stories it wouldn't matter, but these are established series and these details stick out.

[Enero]

Did anyone else watch Love On the Sidelines ? I actually thought it was a pretty good movie. However, Emily Kinney came off very junior as the leading lady to all of her very grown looking co-stars. I know she's 30 but she still looks 18 or 20, which is great for her but at times didn't work when she had scenes with her leading man.

Her acting in this was descent enough. I actually liked her character better with the best friend. They had spark, rather than the guy she was working for. He was okay too but they had no chemistry. The scene when they first kissed was awkward. I didn't know if it was due to the lack of chemistry, somewhat off acting or bad directing but it just came off rather strange? In spite of all that, overall, the movie still worked for me.

[TVFan17]

Did anyone else watch Love On the Sidelines ? I actually thought it was a pretty good movie. However, Emily Kinney came off very junior as the leading lady to all of her very grown looking co-stars. I know she's 30 but she still looks 18 or 20, which is great for her but at times didn't work when she had scenes with her leading man.

Her acting in this was descent enough. I actually liked her character better with the best friend. They had spark, rather than the guy she was working for. He was okay too but they had no chemistry. The scene when they first kissed was awkward. I didn't know if it was due to the lack of chemistry, somewhat off acting or bad directing but it just came off rather strange? In spite of all that, overall, the movie still worked for me.

 

I watched it.  As I was saying here yesterday (when I posted about her song being in the movie), I think that Emily is one of those actresses who is always going to look like a teenager, even after she gets older.  Her face and voice are very youthful in comparison to many of the other Hallmark actresses.  Plus, no one who watches The Walking Dead is used to seeing her as a romantic lead, so that's a weird thing to get used to.

 

I thought the movie was cute.  It was okay.  It was not my favorite of the new Winterfest movies.  I agree that the chemistry between Danny and Laurel was lacking.  Also, Danny's friend was interested in Laurel a week or two earlier, and then all of a sudden he is tied up with Danny's sister, which was convenient for the story.

 

This was a case of a Hallmark movie where the leads did not wait until the end of the movie to kiss.  They kissed earlier, in the middle of Laurel yelling at Danny.  However, the camera cut away during the kiss.   The next scene is the next day, when they address the awkwardness post-smooch.  So... what happened right after they kissed the night before?  Did Laurel run out?  Did they say nothing to each other?  Did they just stand there like statues, frozen in time?  These movies gloss over a lot of things and I am usually okay with it, but, for some odd reason, that particular detail bugged me -- they had this passionate (for Hallmark) kiss and then we are supposed to fill in blanks about whatever happened or was said between then and the next day.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

I'm looking forward to Mum's the Word and I like Brooke Shields, but she's not Abby Knight! Abby is a freckled, curly red head who's in her late 20's, maybe early 30's. She's not 50. It wouldn't bother me if there weren't 16 books in the series and it's a pretty big thing in the book about her red hair and freckles.  I have the same nit picky details about the Murder She Baked series. Hannah has a little 2 person cookie shop, not a big bakery with lots of workers making all kinds of baked goods. And none of the bakers are wearing gloves! At least Hannah puts her hair up when she's baking. If these were original stories it wouldn't matter, but these are established series and these details stick out.

It also takes place in MN and the latest installment took place in Feb. I can maybe pretend that there would be a weird weather pattern that there'd be no snow and it'd rain but leaves?  Greenery?  Nope. 

 

But these movies aren't written for the book readers.  They're easily, readily-made properties that can keep getting adapted if they're successful.  Some of these will take more liberties than others...like from what I understand of the Gourmet Detective books, there is no female detective recurring in each book.    But then again, I've never been overly invested in preserving the details of character descriptions in books  I may be the one person who read a Jack Reacher book or two and had no problem that the uber short Tom Cruise was cast as the lead who was supposed to be this monster of a man.

 

So that red hair that's such a focus of these cozies?  It'll just disappear. 

 

I thought the movie was cute.  It was okay.  It was not my favorite of the new Winterfest movies.  I agree that the chemistry between Danny and Laurel was lacking.  Also, Danny's friend was interested in Laurel a week or two earlier, and then all of a sudden he is tied up with Danny's sister, which was convenient for the story.

I was so disappointed in the chemistry.  The rapport was okay but I thought there would be so much more chemistry than there was based on the commercials.  Football weekend was so disappointing for me.  One thing that I didn't love is that the only reason any of the women knew anything about football was because of dudes.  C'mon. 

[EyewatchTV211]

Very interesting...I am currently watching Mum's the Word on DVR and saw a preview for The Bridge: Part 2. They must have gotten a lot of unpleasant feedback for breaking it into 2 parts and leaving part 2 to air all the way in December 2016. The preview said due to popular demand, they are airing it in March.

 

ETA: Yep. Definitely got the message that people were not happy. http://tvruckus.com/2015/12/09/hallmark-channel-issues-facebook-apology-to-viewers-of-karen-kingsburys-the-bridge/

Edited January 18, 2016 by VMepicgrl

[twoods]

I'm tired of girls not knowing anything about football on tv. Aren't 40 percent of NFL fans women? Only in Snow Bride was there a throw away line about the lead loving football.

I tried watching the movie but ffed a lot of it because there was zero chemistry between the leads. What a disappointment. I'm sure Unleashing Mr Darcy will be the same because the male lead is so wooden on General Hospital so will probably be the same in this.

[TVFan17]

It also takes place in MN and the latest installment took place in Feb. I can maybe pretend that there would be a weird weather pattern that there'd be no snow and it'd rain but leaves?  Greenery?  Nope. 

 

But these movies aren't written for the book readers.  They're easily, readily-made properties that can keep getting adapted if they're successful.  Some of these will take more liberties than others...like from what I understand of the Gourmet Detective books, there is no female detective recurring in each book.    But then again, I've never been overly invested in preserving the details of character descriptions in books  I may be the one person who read a Jack Reacher book or two and had no problem that the uber short Tom Cruise was cast as the lead who was supposed to be this monster of a man.

 

So that red hair that's such a focus of these cozies?  It'll just disappear. 

 

I was so disappointed in the chemistry.  The rapport was okay but I thought there would be so much more chemistry than there was based on the commercials.  Football weekend was so disappointing for me.  One thing that I didn't love is that the only reason any of the women knew anything about football was because of dudes.  C'mon. 

 

Irlandesa -- Did you see that Loving Leah is on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tomorrow (I think it's tomorrow -- Monday)?  I thought of you when I skimmed by the listing in my onscreen menu, as I remembered that you like that movie.

 

Yes, the chemistry was disappointing between Laurel and Danny, indeed.   I think the story itself had a bit of potential, but it just fell flat somewhere.

 

Very interesting...I am currently watching Mum's the Word on DVR and saw a preview for The Bridge: Part 2. They must have gotten a lot of unpleasant feedback for breaking it into 2 parts and leaving part 2 to air all the way in December 2016. The preview said due to popular demand, they are airing it in March.

 

ETA: Yep. Definitely got the message that people were not happy. http://tvruckus.com/2015/12/09/hallmark-channel-issues-facebook-apology-to-viewers-of-karen-kingsburys-the-bridge/

 

Oh, people have been carrying on and on and on and on about The Bridge being split up into 2 parts and separated by almost a year, as though it was a life-altering event.  Ever since Part 1 aired up until now, people have been carrying on wherever they could, whether it was on the assorted Hallmark Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, random sites like It's a Wonderful Movie (which is not owned by Hallmark and has nothing to do with its programming), complaint boards that are not Hallmark-specific, etc. The complaints ranged from people implying they wouldn't live long enough to see the next installment, to getting angry, to accusing Hallmark of not caring for the elderly, depressed and infirm, etc. 

 

The complaints were out of control.  Personally, I think people were making way, way too big of a deal out of the separated Part 1 and Part 2.  No one enjoys having to wait to see the continuation of any series, season, movie, story and so on, but people have to wait for sequels and follow-up installments all the damn time.  I didn't like having to wait for the second half of Breaking Bad's final season -- which aired a year after the first half of its final season -- but I had no choice.  So I waited.  I didn't carry on and on about it.

 

I thought that Hallmark might cave in and air Part 2 during Christmas in July.  I was very surprised to learn that Part 2 of The Bridge is going to air in March... BUT it is airing on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  Part 1 of the story premiered on the regular Hallmark Channel, and then it quietly sneaked over to HMM towards the end of the holiday season.  People who don't have the HMM channel -- and there are plenty of them, based on assorted comments I have read -- will then be upset because the movie is not airing on the channel where they originally saw it, unless Hallmark premieres it on HMM and then moves it over to the regular channel.

 

I'm tired of girls not knowing anything about football on tv. Aren't 40 percent of NFL fans women? Only in Snow Bride was there a throw away line about the lead loving football.

I tried watching the movie but ffed a lot of it because there was zero chemistry between the leads. What a disappointment. I'm sure Unleashing Mr Darcy will be the same because the male lead is so wooden on General Hospital so will probably be the same in this.

 

I am hoping that Unleashing Mr. Darcy is not bad but, even if it ends up not being too good, at least we don't have to wait more than another week for the next new movie, Dater's Handbook.

[Irlandesa]

Irlandesa -- Did you see that Loving Leah is on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tomorrow (I think it's tomorrow -- Monday)?  I thought of you when I skimmed by the listing in my onscreen menu, as I remembered that you like that movie.

Thanks for letting me know.  I also see that The Color of Rain is airing right before Loving Leah.  I really enjoyed The Color of Rain. **

 

**And actually, when I raved about the movie Lacey and Brennan starred in together, I thought it was this movie when, in fact, it is not.  So everything I said about that movie, All of My Heart, should just be ignored. 

 

The complaints ranged from people implying they wouldn't live long enough to see the next installment, to getting angry, to accusing Hallmark of not caring for the elderly, depressed and infirm, etc.

O.M.G. 

I kind of get why they're a tad upset about having it split into two parts a year apart because it's unlike anything Hallmark has done before.  Unlike Hallmark Movies and Mysteries which does have movies with ongoing plots.  Are they going to complain about not knowing who Hannah ends up with in the Murder She Baked mysteries because that's continuous?   

 

I am hoping that Unleashing Mr. Darcy is not bad but, even if it ends up not being too good, at least we don't have to wait more than another week for the next new movie, Dater's Handbook.

The Dater's handbook does not look very intriguing to me so I hope Mr. Darcy is good.  Maybe the Dater's Handbook will surprise me but I'm uncertain.

[dcinmb]

I can't stand the character that the Unleashing Mr. Darcy lead actress played on Cedar Cove (the assistant D.A.) so I'm adjusting my expectations accordingly.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I enjoyed Love on the Sidelines.  I thought the leads were good.  It was somewhat predictable. As soon as the lead's sister mentioned that she hadn't talked to her brother's friend in forever, I knew they would end up together.  I remembered the lead from a HM&M Christmas movie; I wasn't familiar with the female lead.  She reminded me of the actress who was in the Lifetime Christmas movie with the personal shopper.  

 

I'm looking forward to the Mr Darcy movie.  I regularly watch General Hospital, so I'm curious to see if the lead has more personality in this movie than he does on General Hospital.  

[EyewatchTV211]

O.M.G. 

I kind of get why they're a tad upset about having it split into two parts a year apart because it's unlike anything Hallmark has done before.  Unlike Hallmark Movies and Mysteries which does have movies with ongoing plots.  Are they going to complain about not knowing who Hannah ends up with in the Murder She Baked mysteries because that's continuous?   

 

The Dater's handbook does not look very intriguing to me so I hope Mr. Darcy is good.  Maybe the Dater's Handbook will surprise me but I'm uncertain.

Yeah, it definitely sounds like people have gone overboard. But the reason I kind of understand is because, unlike other television shows or movies where people have to wait for sequels, people didn't go into this movie knowing it was broken into two parts. 

 

Agree with your early thoughts on the next two movies. I know all of these movies follow the same formulas, but come on: will she pick the steady guy or the fun guy? Really? We all know the fun guy wins in these movies. I guess the surprise would be if the reverse happened....

[TVFan17]

I can understand reasonable complaints about a split story to an extent, especially if people really had no idea that the story was being split up.   At the end of the day, a movie is a movie, though.  It's just a piece of entertainment.  So although it is annoying and frustrating to have to wait a while to see Part 2 of The Bridge (if it had been saved until November or December), some of the people who were carrying on and on and on about it in various places were making it sound like it was a huge, life-altering issue.  It was way over the top.   Also, even people who follow the It's a Wonderful Movie website -- where Net, the nice lady who runs that site, had mentioned in more than one blog that the story would be split into 2 parts before Part 1 ever aired -- were complaining as though it was a shock, even though the information had already been posted on that very website that they follow.

 

What I have learned in observing the people who overreact, stomp, pout, rant, rave, threaten and carry on and on to Hallmark about how angry and disappointed they are over all sorts of programming choices, are usually people who don't know what they are talking about half the time (meaning their information is all backwards and they clearly have not bothered to learn the facts), or they are people who act as though Hallmark is a friend or family member who has deeply let them down, personally ruined their daily routines and offended them.  Very few of the truly constant complainers to that channel seem to understand how TV works, and that networks can do anything they want at any time. 

 

For the last couple of weeks, most of the ongoing, overly dramatic complaints on the assorted Facebook pages and Twitter feeds have been about The Waltons -- a show that is 4 decades old -- not returning to the Hallmark Channel as soon as the Christmas movies ended.  Some folks are handling their complaints in a reasonable way. Others are using the 'Hallmark doesn't care about the old, sick people who have no family and won't be alive in a year' approach.  A lot of them are saying things like, "You promised, and you broke your promise!  Bring back The Waltons now, like you promised, or you will lose all of your viewers!"

 

I could barely contain my outburst of laughter when (a couple of weeks back) one astute, drive-by commentator observed the outrage over The Waltons not being brought back to Hallmark and said something along the lines of, "People have lost their damn minds over some John-Boy."

Edited January 20, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

I could barely contain my outburst of laughter when (a couple of weeks back) one astute, drive-by commentator observed the outrage over The Waltons not being brought back to Hallmark and said something along the lines of, "People have lost their damn minds over some John-Boy."

This is like people losing their minds that Mariah was doing a Christmas movie this last year because does she really embody the "type" of people who should be doing wholesome Hallmark movies.  Well she did one and we all survived.  While her acting left a little to be desired, her movie wasn't a disaster.

 

I watched The Floral Shop mysteries.  I didn't hate the mystery but I just couldn't figure out what Brooke Shields was trying to do with her character.  Nothing about the vibe of the show or the writing screamed madcap yet I think that's what she was trying to do with the character.  Or flighty.  I don't know what the word is to describe it but it felt like she was acting in a different movie than everyone else.  It's a style I could like but just didn't here. 

[TVFan17]

This is like people losing their minds that Mariah was doing a Christmas movie this last year because does she really embody the "type" of people who should be doing wholesome Hallmark movies.  Well she did one and we all survived.  While her acting left a little to be desired, her movie wasn't a disaster.

 

I watched The Floral Shop mysteries.  I didn't hate the mystery but I just couldn't figure out what Brooke Shields was trying to do with her character.  Nothing about the vibe of the show or the writing screamed madcap yet I think that's what she was trying to do with the character.  Or flighty.  I don't know what the word is to describe it but it felt like she was acting in a different movie than everyone else.  It's a style I could like but just didn't here. 

 

Oh yes -- people were all in a tizzy about Mariah being in a Hallmark movie.  Many of them were swearing to not watch the movie because they couldn't stand her.  They were making slams against her as a person and the type of person they assume she is.  They were calling her names and slamming the way she dresses.  There was a lot of vitriol and venom spewing from the complainers.  I mean, I don't think that any of us thought that she would deliver an Emmy Award-caliber acting performance but in terms of her directing, it was fine.  It still felt like a Hallmark movie with Mariah at the helm.  So I have no doubt that the next 3 movies she is going to direct for the channel (one of which will be another Christmas movie) will still feel like Hallmark movies, but with a slightly higher budget.

 

I never read the books upon which the Flower Shop Mystery series of stories is based, so I have nothing to compare to the actual movie.  In reading the online complaints about the movie, it sounds like people are in a huge uproar because they have read the books and the movie is apparently nothing like the books.  Brooke is neither the age nor the physical type of the lead in the stories.   Some people were complaining about her look and what they assume is a lot of plastic surgery.  One person said Brooke looks deranged.  I've seen several comments stating that Brooke looks exactly like Caitlyn Jenner, or vice versa.  Really harsh stuff.

 

I haven't yet watched the movie -- which reminds me that I forgot to record it -- so I am now especially curious.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Sherry67

[ShelleySue]

Why are the latest cozy mystery "detectives" such idiots?  Jessica Fletcher had people dropping dead all around her, but she never acted so stupidly.  We have a librarian, a baker, an antique shop owner and a florist who have absolutely no common sense.  No matter how curious I was, if my brake lines were cut I'd be scared.  If I thought that someone was a murderer I wouldn't go to the suspected murder's business asking questions about her (and no, a box of cookies doesn't make it all right).  But I guess that it really doesn't matter because no matter how incredibly stupid these people are they know that the police will always rescue them with just seconds to spare.

[ShelleySue]

Not sure why this triple posted.  Sorry.

Edited January 21, 2016 by ShelleySue

[In2You]

I try to stay away from the Hallmark facebook page because some of the people who post on there with their overdramatic complaining really need to get a life. I saw the posts about The Waltons and they were ridiculous!  I bet half those people have INSP and can just go watch it there anyway. And some people are way too conservative. I saw complaints about Last Man Standing from people who have never seen an episode. Yet they claimed the show didn't fit in with Hallmark's values.  

 

I'm actually getting bored with Hallmark movies lately. Sometimes Sesame Street is more interesting. They really need to embrace some diversity and stop trying to cater to just one demo only. It would be nice to see some African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American leading ladies. And no I don't people like Meghan Markle who are half but can pass for white/racially ambiguous to be an African American lead. Suits even poked fun at her look when the character's didn't believe Rachel was half black. Its like they believe their non Caucasian viewers don't want to see themselves represented. People of color can be quirky and have meet-cute stories as well.  And for the most part  they only seem to focus on late 20s to mid 30s characters as well. As someone in their early 20s sometimes the movies are just too sappy even for my friends who are mid 20s with kids. You can show an entertaining movie featuring two people falling in love that showcases values and is fine for the kids to watch without watering it down to the point where there's no angst whatsoever. 

[Luckylyn]

Unleashing Mr. Darcy didn't quite work for me.  I really was looking forward to it but it was a disappointment.  I didn't buy the "I love you" from either of them.  All I could think was how they barely know each other.  Very little interaction between them was substantive enough for me to believe they were in love.  Also I felt like the hostility between them was unbalanced.  She was extremely hostile from early on and maintained that too long.   He softened so soon that  it made her hostility make her look bad.  I didn't understand why he'd be interested in someone who basically judged him harshly for being rich.  That letter talking about how she doesn't care about his money was ridiculous.  His  money was the only thing she cared about but not in a "gold digger" way but in a "because you're rich I'm going to assume you are a bad, shallow person who's self-centered" way even though she knew nothing about him.  Really it never occurred to her why his sister was living with him, and they had no parents around? He needed to be more high handed, and she needed to show she was interested in him as a person and not just a wallet for her use as a punching bad because she was mad at another rich person who was the real bad guy.  The final kiss at the end looked really awkward like he didn't know what to do with his arm.,

[EyewatchTV211]

Unleashing Mr. Darcy didn't quite work for me.  I really was looking forward to it but it was a disappointment.  I didn't buy the "I love you" from either of them.  All I could think was how they barely know each other.  Very little interaction between them was substantive enough for me to believe they were in love.  Also I felt like the hostility between them was unbalanced.  She was extremely hostile from early on and maintained that too long.   He softened so soon that  it made her hostility make her look bad.  I didn't understand why he'd be interested in someone who basically judged him harshly for being rich.  That letter talking about how she doesn't care about his money was ridiculous.  His  money was the only thing she cared about but not in a "gold digger" way but in a "because you're rich I'm going to assume you are a bad, shallow person who's self-centered" way even though she knew nothing about him.  Really it never occurred to her why his sister was living with him, and they had no parents around? He needed to be more high handed, and she needed to show she was interested in him as a person and not just a wallet for her use as a punching bad because she was mad at another rich person who was the real bad guy.  The final kiss at the end looked really awkward like he didn't know what to do with his arm.,

Agree with all of this. Unfortunately, the lack of interaction was not helped by the lack of chemistry between the leads, either. I think the Darcy actor was trying to balance the polite aloofness with the friendliness once he softened, as you said. But the effort to balance the two got in the way of the chemistry, I think. I know it isn't fair to compare this Hallmark stuff to the real deal, but he wasn't able to do what Colin Firth did in terms of visibly portraying the passion that was locked inside him for Elizabeth. It was more like, "Oh, she's amusing and nice. Guess I like her." And she spent too long disliking him for no good reason and then superficially liking him a little. They even didn't show enough of the sister/Henry to make me buy that they liked each other so much, and I didn't see chemistry there either.

 

I did love all the cute doggies! So that was nice. And the few minor twists away from the original story were somewhat interesting, like making the student's father the evil Wickham character with Elizabeth as the victim.  

[TVFan17]

Count me in as another one who didn't really like Unleashing Mr. Darcy that much.  I don't expect a lot from these movies at all.  I always know what I am going to get from them, and I often like movies that other people don't like.  But sometimes the movies work for me and sometimes they don't. 

 

This was just one of those movies that -- despite having all of the Hallmark bells and whistles that I enjoy in other movies -- just didn't work for me.  Aside from the cute dogs, I found myself bored.  I didn't see any true chemistry between the leads at all.  A bit of Moonlighting-esque combative banter can be fun if the leads have chemistry and if it is understood why they are clashing.  In the case of this movie, I didn't understand why Elizabeth was so hostile towards Donovan from the beginning, and why he liked her despite that behavior. 

 

There were too many peripheral characters in the movie for my liking too -- which might have been okay if they were interesting.  But they weren't.  I found myself continually asking the TV screen, "Wait... who is that person again?"  And then, half the time when Donovan was talking I had to turn up the volume to hear what he was saying because he always spoke in such low tones.

 

Because I am usually so lenient and accepting of these movies, when I don't really like one of them too much I wonder if I would have liked it more with different actors, or if it was just my mood that influenced my enjoyment of the story.  Sometimes it is my mood, and sometimes I can re-watch a movie when my mood is different, and when I am more focused, and end up liking the movie much more upon second viewing.  This time I just don't even feel like giving it a second chance.

 

So, my ultimate verdict on this year's Winterfest movies is that I liked the first 2 (Love in Paradise and Love's Complicated) more than the last 2. 

 

Now, onward to the Countdown to Valentine's Day.  Next weekend there are 2 new movies -- Dater's Handbook and All Things Valentine.    Jonathan Scarfe (from Love on the Air and Angel of Christmas) is in Dater's Handbook, and his hair appears to be shorter -- which gives him a different look. 

[In2You]

I read Unleashing Mr. Darcy( the book they based this movie off of) awhile back and I felt the movie lacked what made the book good and that was the sexual chemistry between the leads. The movie would probably have been better as a Lifetime production and with different actors. 

 

Also Ryan Paevey is bland and wooden as a lead and was struggling with some of the dialog. And Cindy Busby was just far too brittle in this role and Elizabeth's nitpicks felt like that of a school girl. 

Edited January 24, 2016 by In2You

[Irlandesa]

Because I am usually so lenient and accepting of these movies, when I don't really like one of them too much I wonder if I would have liked it more with different actors.

I'm about to go all "Hallmark Facebook Commenter" on this movie but I am almost just a little bit pissed at what Hallmark did for this movie.  I've never read the book Unleashing Mr. Darcy so I'm not upset about them changing the book.  But I have read (okay not really more like seen numerous adaptations of) Pride & Prejudice and I've enjoyed them all.  It's a timeless story that a lot of people can't get enough of.

 

Basically, it's a can't miss story. And I do feel like this movie had better bones than most Hallmark movies.  Where it really fell apart was with casting.  Why Hallmark? Why go with unknowns or unprovens for THIS story?  Why not, knowing you're likely to have a movie with a story that has stood the test of time be more careful?

 

I was thinking back to A Crown For Christmas and how much casting Rupert Penry-Jones helped make his aristocratic character compelling.  Could you imagine how much better this movie would have been with someone with his talent as the lead? Like Scarfe? And a better female lead too?

 

So as far as I'm concerned, they absolutely blew it with the casting.  And that's to be expected with Hallmark movies but it bothers me more when it ruins good stories.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Irlandesa

[twoods]

Thank goodness I didn't waste my time watching this movie. The previews looked terrible- even their intimate movie in the promo had the lead with a pissed off face. I agree that the actors sometimes make a movie better than it should be (Crown for Christmas, Nine Lives), so the actors seemed disappointing.

[TVFan17]

Forgive me for commenting on a Hallmark movie that premiered 4 months ago -- which I finally got around to watching in its entirety tonight -- but I just needed to give Hallmark credit for a specific movie they got right (unlike the disappointing Unleashing Mr. Darcy). 

 

I can't recall why I only saw bits and pieces of it back in September and didn't watch the whole thing, but I am so glad I decided to make myself sit down and watch Love on the Air tonight!  What a gem!  For a Hallmark movie, and by Hallmark's standards, this was practically a masterpiece.  This was a case where the witty banter was actually witty -- I laughed out loud several times -- and where it lent itself well to the chemistry between the 2 leads (Jonathan Scarfe and Alison Sweeney).  Bonus points go to the casting of her mismatched fiancé -- who was played by the same guy who played the amusing husband (in the funny older married couple) in A Christmas Detour!

 

Also, while Love on the Air followed the same formulas and tropes that we expect from our Hallmark movies, it somehow felt more... adult, maybe?  More mature?  It didn't seem like the leads were innocents who had never experienced anything.  And at the end of the movie no one proposed marriage or promised eternity to the other one.

 

LOTA was the first movie Jonathan Scarfe did for Hallmark, but his second movie -- Angel of Christmas -- was the first one I watched all the way through.  I liked AOC, and I liked him in AOC, but he was basically a toned down version of his LOTA character.  I liked him even more in LOTA.  Now I am especially curious to see what kind of role he plays in Dater's Handbook -- because I don't think he is the one who gets the girl, sadly.  I can now see why Hallmark has latched on to him and used him in 3 movies in under 6 months.  He's a good addition to their family of actors, and he has a certain kind of offbeat charm.

 

I liked Love on the Air so much that when it came time to delete it from the DVR -- which was the whole reason I sat down to watch it, so I could clear it from the DVR and make more room -- I couldn't bring myself to delete it yet.  I also looked up the writers of LOTA to see if they had written anything else I knew.  There are a few writers, but one of them also wrote a few other Hallmark movies that I liked, including the recent Love in Paradise and Window Wonderland from 2013 (with Paul Campbell, another one who is good with witty banter).

 

Also interesting to me is the fact that Hallmark seems to suddenly be using the "radio DJ" angle in movies.  Unless I am forgetting something, they have used that plot device in 3 recent movies (Love on the Air, On the Twelfth Day of Christmas and Love's Complicated) -- and I must admit, I have liked all 3 of those movies.  Maybe they are onto something.  Maybe if Donovan Darcy had been a DJ I would have liked Unleashing Mr. Darcy better!

Edited January 25, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

I remember loving Love On The Air too.  (And Scarfe won't get the girl?  Why do you hate me Hallmark?  Why?  For me, this is like when they re-paired Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo in another movie to have him be the jilted fiance/antagonist.)

 

It was a well crafted movie but I think the performances really took it to a new level.  And it helped that the leads had chemistry.  And it felt like there was some actual sexual tension too. Even when the couple has good romantic chemistry, it's pretty rare for that to sneak into the movies.

[TVFan17]

I remember loving Love On The Air too.  (And Scarfe won't get the girl?  Why do you hate me Hallmark?  Why?  For me, this is like when they re-paired Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo in another movie to have him be the jilted fiance/antagonist.)

 

It was a well crafted movie but I think the performances really took it to a new level.  And it helped that the leads had chemistry.  And it felt like there was some actual sexual tension too. Even when the couple has good romantic chemistry, it's pretty rare for that to sneak into the movies.

 

Lol. Yes, sadly, it looks -- from previews and promo posters -- as though Jonathan Scarfe's character in Dater's Handbook is not going to be the one who ends up with Meghan Markle, which might end up being a big mistake for the story.   And Lord only knows what kind of character Antonio Cupo is playing in Anything for Love, but I don't think he gets the girl either. 

 

You're right -- there was a bit of sexual tension in Love on the Air, and that only creeps into Hallmark movies once in a great while.

 

Love on the Air is a prime example of a Hallmark movie with most of its aspects working well and working in harmony -- good casting, decent script, snappy dialogue, more mature feel to it, a bit of appeal for men and for women, etc.  If 2 different actors had been cast in those roles, it could have been a disaster.  If even one of the actors had been different it could have had a totally different energy to it that wasn't as effective.

 

I think that movies like LOTA are why we -- or at least I -- stick around for Hallmark's various seasonal "fests" and holiday celebrations, other than the fact that we are guaranteed many new movies in rapid succession.  A lot of the movies are just so-so -- average at best, or mildly entertaining.  A few of them are clunkers all the way around.  But every so often, here and there, the planets align and there is a winner in the bunch.  We may have to sit through 10 so-so movies and a couple of clunkers to get to that 1 gem, but it always turns up eventually.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

Lol. Yes, sadly, it looks -- from previews and promo posters -- as though Jonathan Scarfe's character in Dater's Handbook is not going to be the one who ends up with Meghan Markle, which might end up being a big mistake for the story.   And Lord only knows what kind of character Antonio Cupo is playing in Anything for Love, but I don't think he gets the girl either. 

Oh he's not even featured in any of the promos so of course he doesn't get the girl.  Based on the movie's description, I think he might even play Paul Greene's father.  I don't think the ages really work for that but I don't see another role he could play unless there's someone who has been left out of the discussion.

 

I think that movies like LOTA are why we -- or at least I -- stick around for Hallmark's various seasonal "fests" and holiday celebrations, other than the fact that we are guaranteed many new movies in rapid succession.  A lot of the movies are just so-so -- average at best, or mildly entertaining.  A few of them are clunkers all the way around.  But every so often, here and there, the planets align and there is a winner in the bunch.  We may have to sit through 10 so-so movies and a couple of clunkers to get to that 1 gem, but it always turns up eventually.

Me too.  I do like lighthearted romantic comedies that used to come out in the 80s and 90s but that genre has sort of been abandoned by mainstream movies which makes me sad.  Now if we get a romantic comedy, it tends to be more "edgy."  I'm not anti-edgy at all but it hits a different happy spot than the lightheared ones.   While none of the Hallmark movies are quite Ephron levels of romcom, they fill that hole a little bit.  

[sacrebleu]

 

Also Ryan Paevey is bland and wooden as a lead

Heh. That's why many GH fans have taken to calling his character Detective Plywood. (he's pretty though, to be sure)

Edited January 25, 2016 by sacrebleu

[Suck It Trebek]

Love on the Air was surprisingly good! Glad I caught it on repeat.

[TVFan17]

An interesting thing I noticed, which probably will amount to nothing but is worth a mention...

 

You know that promo/ad on Hallmark that started running towards the end of last year or the very beginning of this year?  It's the one with that song -- "Best Day of My Life" -- playing throughout it, as a montage of scenes from random Hallmark movies flashes by, along with captions for the Countdown to Valentine's Day, June Weddings, Countdown to Christmas, etc.??  I guess the ad is supposed to show us the events and special occasions that Hallmark celebrates throughout the year through their movies.

 

When that promo first hit the Hallmark Channel, I think the first caption shown was Winterfest.  Then it transitioned into the Countdown to Valentine's Day, June Weddings, Fall Harvest and finally the Countdown to Christmas.  As the Winterfest movies progressed, the Winterfest title/caption was removed from the ad.

 

And now that WInterfest is over, the captions/event titles that appear in the ad are Countdown to Valentine's Day, Spring Fling, June Weddings and the Countdown to Christmas.  Notice what's missing all of a sudden?  Fall Harvest.  I just saw the revised version of the ad today, and I even rewound/replayed it to be sure I didn't miss Fall Harvest.  Lo and behold, the Fall Harvest title was missing from the promo.

 

I don't think it means anything.  My guess is that, since Spring Fling is a new gimmick on the channel, Hallmark wanted to include it in the ad, as well as show the viewers the next few events that are coming up.  Most likely due to a lack of time in the ad, they cut out Fall Harvest.  I am assuming that either after the Countdown to Valentine's Day is over, or after Spring Fling is over, they will put Fall Harvest back in the ad. 

 

I can't think of any possible reason for Hallmark to suddenly decide to eliminate the Fall Harvest event this year, especially since it was popular last year.  It can't be that hard to just throw some pumpkins into the scenes of 3 or 4 movies and then air them in October, can it?  The only even remotely possible thing that I can think of interfering with Fall Harvest is the premiere of that new series with Kimberly Williams-Paisley -- "Darrow and Darrow."  If that debuts sometime in the fall, which it probably would, maybe Hallmark would want to keep the spotlight on it for the first season instead of running a Fall Harvest event at the same time.

 

But that's not likely.  I think the promo was just edited and one of the titles had to be removed for time, so Fall Harvest was it.  It's something to keep an eye on, though -- especially after the Countdown to Valentine's Day event ends on 2/14.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Sherry67

[Rock73]

I think I read that they are eliminating Fall Harvest so that they can start their Countdown to Christmas on Columbus Day this year...and then I believe in 2017, the Christmas movies will start on Labor Day weekend!

[TVFan17]

I think I read that they are eliminating Fall Harvest so that they can start their Countdown to Christmas on Columbus Day this year...and then I believe in 2017, the Christmas movies will start on Labor Day weekend!

 

Funny joke, but no.  That's not happening (which I am pointing out just in case anyone sees your comment and thinks it's true). 

Edited January 26, 2016 by Sherry67

[In2You]

Why did they eliminate Thanksgiving movies? They should at least play some Thanksgiving week.