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

[In2You]

Posted this in he race thread but forgot to post it here. Hallmark is working on a project with Holly Robinson Peete.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/entertainment/television/Holly-Robinson-Peetes-Hallmark-project-has-Scandal-connection.html

[Maelstrom]

I enjoyed Love Locks well enough, mostly because I'm a fan of Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell is still as likeable to me as he was on Sliders all those years ago. Also, I got a kick out of RR's scenes with Bruce Davison because I kept picturing them as Mystique and Senator Kelly. (Yes, I'm a nerd that way). And it was nice to see some scenery besides Vancouver for a change.

[emjohnson03]

Anyone excited for "An Uncommon Grace?" airing next week? I'm a sucker for these types of stories. If you haven't read or seen the movie "The Outsider" run to it! Very similar. 

I also read the book and thought it was excellent so I have high hopes for this one. The cast looks good and I'm hoping because it's on Hallmark Mystery channel there is a little more meat to it and more angst. Don't get me wrong, love happy ending but I want to see some trials along the way to make it a little more fulfilling in the end. Here's the link if anyone is interested.

http://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/an-uncommon-grace

[susannot]

OK ,I am a sap and a sucker for the Hallmark Mystery movies.  Just watched Death Al Dente (dvr'd) tonight and loved it.  My favorites in order in the Hallmark mysteries:  1.  Gourmet Detective.  Devastatingly attractive leads, good mysteries.  2.  Murder she baked.  Great food, good mysteries.   3. Jewel.  The contractor mysteries. 4.  Aurora Teagarden, although I dislike Candace.  5. Brooke Shield mysteries, though I have never seen one.  6. Kellie Martin mysteries.  I dislike her intensely.

 

What does everyone else think?

[chitowngirl]

I like all of these and am going to add Garage Sale Mysteries. I'd probably put these at #2.

[susannot]

Are those the ones with Lori Loughlin?  Yes, I forgot to include them.  Would put them 3 or 4-ish.

[Valentine]

I love the ones with Brooke Shields. Brennan Elliott is cute as her co-star, and they have fun chemistry. I also like Aurora and Garage Sale Mysteries. The one with Jewel didn't really hit me. I actually like Kellie Martin, but her mysteries bore me. 

[GaT]

I think I like Garage Sale Mysteries best, not sure I like Jewel at all (especially if they're going to have her sing every movie & keep her in that same bad wig) I like the Kellie Martin ones, but I've seen them so many times (and I guess they stopped making them) that I'm bored.

[Irlandesa]

So I watched three Hallmark romantic movies yesterday.  First, I happened to catch A Taste of Romance in the morning with Teri Pola and James Patrick Stewart.  I forgot how much I liked it. Sometimes I watch movies once and like them but don't know if they're rewatch worthy until I actually rewatch.  This one was.  Then I rewatched Loving Leah because I saw Adam Kaufman in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and it reminded me that it had been a while since I'd seen it. 

I also watched Walking The Dog last night. There's a lot I liked about it.  Cute dogs.  Sam Page and Jennifer Finnigan made a good duo. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous.  And it was nice to see the little shout out to 9 Lives of Christmas with Kimberly Sustad playing the friend, Delia, who had a cat.  I have to admit, Delia and Bill were the couple I was actively rooting for in this movie.  I would've liked to see more of them and less of the mother's story. 

As for the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries rankings--\

1) Do the Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies count?  They'd be my #1
2) I think I'll put Murder She Baked here because I pretty consistently enjoy these and she has chem with both of her love interests.
3) The Gourmet Detective is next.  Good chemistry.  Good leads.  And nice consistency in writing.

Those are my top 3.  Then come the rest.

4. Garage Sale Mysteries.  I don't always love the mysteries but I do like the cast.
5 Next I'd go with Aurora Teagarden.
6.  Hailey Dean Mysteries is my next favorite.  I thought the first movie was pretty good and I like Kellie. I don't like Nancy Grace, though.
7.  I like Colin and Jewel (as a singer) but I found the FIxer Upper mysteries so boring.

The final two have only aired one movie, though, and they could get better.  I didn't love Garage sale Mysteries at first but they grew on me.

[Crs97]

Remember when Hallmark Hall of Fame meant you got movie stars and compelling stories, like James Garner,  Lawrence Fishburne, and Ruby Dee in "Decoration Day?"  Good times.

[susannot]

Have never watched Signed Sealed Delivered.  What are they about?

[EyewatchTV211]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

Have never watched Signed Sealed Delivered.  What are they about?

"Not all mail makes it to its intended recipient, so what happens to undeliverable mail? Several postal workers work as detectives to track down the people who never got letters and packages that were sent to them. The workers head out of their office to deliver mail that can save lives, solve crimes, reunite old loves and change futures. The group includes leader and charming postal detective Oliver O'Toole, technophile Shane McInerney, free-spirited Rita Haywith, and master researcher Norman Dorman. Together, they work to get the mail to its destination, and although late, in some respects it often gets there at just the right time."

The first movie I absolutely LOVED. It went on to become a TV show for awhile, with 1 hour eps. Then it went back to being movies that aired less frequently. They're enjoyable, but the first is still my favorite.

Edited February 6, 2017 by VMepicgrl

[In2You]

I don't follow anything Hallmark related on Pinterest but Love at First Glance is being promoted by them on my  homepage among my suggested pins

[kirinan]

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

1) Do the Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies count?  They'd be my #1

The Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies are my absolute favorite of anything I've ever seen on both channels (even more than Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is saying something). I loved the series, and was so unhappy when they cancelled it and sent it to HMM as movie specials because I didn't have that channel at the time. Now I have HMM, I've caught up on all the movies, and life is good again.

I'm thrilled there's another one coming Sunday, February 19. 

[twoods]

I really enjoyed Walking the Dog. Adorable dogs, leads that I enjoy, and secondary characters that I could root for. I liked that the lead actor was a vet in last year's Valentine's Day movie, and hope we see more of him. I also loved seeing the best friend have a cat since she was a vet student in Nine Lives. This movie had a lot of ex veterinarian actors in it, along with current bf vet. Don't know if it was deliberate.

The only thing that I can't stand in these movies is the same trope of the female lead getting all huffy over a misunderstanding and the male lead going out of his way to play nice at the end without a single "I'm sorry for overreacting." The only movie that didn't have any misunderstandings and the leads actually talked it out like adults was the Pumpkin Pie Wars movie. I know it's to delay the inevitable, but I would have rather seen another cute scene between the ex and best friend (maybe them dancing?), or the mom and her boyfriend.

Excited for next week's movie.

Edited February 6, 2017 by twoods

[kirinan]

So I watched A Dash of Love and it was...a way to pass two hours without throwing something at the TV. Of course, I was on my laptop at the same time, so I wasn't paying full attention and might have missed anything egregious. My main takeaway is that the lead actress has the largest eyes I've ever seen, and they're beautiful when she's not widening them even more, which can get a bit spooky.

I'm more excited about the Amy Smart/Adrian Grenier movie on Tuesday, and I may have squealed just a bit when I saw that Victor Webster is in next Saturday's movie, Love Blossoms (dumb name, but then most of Hallmark's movie titles are). Already set on the DVR! 

[StaceyNotStacie]

I enjoyed A Dash of Love. I thought that the leads were good and it wasn't too over the top. I usually enjoy their cooking themed movies (Recipe for Love is one of my favorite Hallmark movies).  It also helped that I liked the leads in other roles. 

[Irlandesa]

I liked A Dash of Love too.  I liked both of the leads.  It won't go down as one of my favorite romances as I need to feel the yearn until it burns (kind of like A Taste of Romance or Loving Leah or Love On Air which reaired last night) a little more but the story outside of the romance was pretty entertaining.  

I am looking forward to While You Were Dating as I kind of love the story of old loves finding one another again as long as that love didn't happen as a teenager or something silly like that.  

[susannot]

I liked Unleashing Mr. Darcy.  It was fun trying to match the characters with the Austen characters in Pride and Prejudice.  Frances Fisher was appropriately loathsome as the Lady Catherine character.  And the actor who played Donovan Darcy--whoa mama, what a hottie.

Edited February 13, 2017 by susannot

[Misslindsey]

I liked A Dash of Love as well. I liked both of the leads. I like Jen Lilley in these type of movies. I really liked her in Lifetimes A Spirit for Christmas a year or so ago too. The ending was a bit rushed, but so many of these movies have that problem. I would have liked a time jump to see them run their restaurant or something.

[RedRockRosie]

4 hours ago, susannot said:

I liked Unleashing Mr. Darcy.  It was fun trying to match the characters with the Austen characters in Pride and Prejudice.  Frances Fisher was appropriately loathsome as the Lady Catherine character.  And the actor who played Donovan Darcy--whoa mama, what a hottie.

He's on General Hospital (ABC Daytime)...plays Detective Nathan West. You'll get to see him in some shirtless scenes! ;-)

Edited to add...I really enjoy watching Jen Lilley (who was also once on GH & most recently on "Days of our Lives".) I think she is very likeable. Really liked "A Spirit for Christmas" last year as well....nice supernatural touch to that one.

Edited February 13, 2017 by RedRockRosie

[Valentine]

On 2/6/2017 at 4:53 PM, twoods said:

I really enjoyed Walking the Dog. Adorable dogs, leads that I enjoy, and secondary characters that I could root for. I liked that the lead actor was a vet in last year's Valentine's Day movie, and hope we see more of him. I also loved seeing the best friend have a cat since she was a vet student in Nine Lives. This movie had a lot of ex veterinarian actors in it, along with current bf vet. Don't know if it was deliberate.

The only thing that I can't stand in these movies is the same trope of the female lead getting all huffy over a misunderstanding and the male lead going out of his way to play nice at the end without a single "I'm sorry for overreacting." The only movie that didn't have any misunderstandings and the leads actually talked it out like adults was the Pumpkin Pie Wars movie. I know it's to delay the inevitable, but I would have rather seen another cute scene between the ex and best friend (maybe them dancing?), or the mom and her boyfriend.

I liked it, too. I wish the lead in Nine Lives would get more lead roles. She's too good to play the second banana. I also wish they'd have produced a movie as good as Nine Lives this past Christmas season!

I also agree about the overreactions to a misunderstanding (and also the lack of apologies). It's such a time waster. I would rather see the happy couple happy together. I hate that so many of them end with a first kiss. I do find it funny that it's so often in public or surrounded by family members, especially after the relationship has been so chaste.

[againstthewind]

11 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I liked A Dash of Love as well. I liked both of the leads. I like Jen Lilley in these type of movies. I really liked her in Lifetimes A Spirit for Christmas a year or so ago too. The ending was a bit rushed, but so many of these movies have that problem. I would have liked a time jump to see them run their restaurant or something.

A Spirit for Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas movies, along with Snow Bride. The male lead in A Spirit...oh man.

Jen Lilley is very likeable.

[Karen885]

I watched An Uncommon Grace last night. I really liked it. It was different then then the usual Hallmark movie.  It was nice to have a break from the same old rom com I've seen 100 times.

[scenicbyway]

I found While You Were Dating, really boring.  And kind of a rip off of "You've Got Mail" 2017 edition."

I think it's funny that they recycle plots.  Last year there was a restaurant/chef themed movie, so there's a new one this year.  Last year we had a dog movie, this year let's have a dog movie...

[kirinan]

45 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

I found While You Were Dating, really boring.  And kind of a rip off of "You've Got Mail" 2017 edition."

I was going to watch it, but then I saw that the Baldwin brother who creeps me out was in it (William, I think? The only one I know for sure is Alec, who for some weird reason doesn't creep me out, even though he probably should). So I knew I couldn't watch it. I don't understand why Hallmark uses him so much; he is so not a romantic lead, sorry. And it's not his age; it's him. He's...creepy. 

[Irlandesa]

I liked it, although I would have preferred more of them setting each other up before serious ex came back in the picture.

I was amused at some things like it was pretty clear they were using wedding pictures from Billy's wedding to Chynna Phillips for this couple's old wedding photos.

And then the woman he dated a while sounded a lot like Alec's current wife.  Yoga instructor and pretty strict diet.

[scenicbyway]

I was also shocked that "Love Locks" was a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.  Sure, they were on location, in Paris, so it probably was expensive to make.  But they've shot other movies in Romanian castles and they were HHF.  The story was so boring again.  The only thing cute about it was that the actors are married in real life.  The art was down right bad that they used and the plot was no better than any other Hallmark movie.

[ShelleySue]

I finally got around to watching Walking the Dog.  It was cute, but I had a problem with the "ethics" of it.  I'm an attorney and have been a municipal employee in the past.  Just so that everyone is clear, there are laws about whom an attorney can represent and other boring things like that.  For example, you can't work for the town and then the next week represent a developer who is applying for permits from the town.  Now that that's out of the way . . . I did like that the original boyfriend (veterinarian) wasn't a bad guy, but just wasn't the right guy.  

[twoods]

Dash of Love is definitely a winner. Good leads who don't bicker, a decent plot with good secondary characters, and no weird misunderstanding (the lead's beef with his dad seemed legitimate). Looking forward to the movie tomorrow night. 

Edited February 13, 2017 by twoods

[ehall1052]

I just watched An Uncommon Grace and thought it was very good, even if the ending seemed a little rushed.  It was much more the caliber of a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie than Love Locks ever was.

[Irlandesa]

I only made it through about 30 minutes of An Uncommon Grace which was disappointing for me.  I liked the lead actress a lot but it just wasn't grabbing me the way I hoped it would.  Maybe I'll give it another chance if I get the opportunity. 

Love At First Glance was cute in many ways with charming stars.  But I wish they hadn't gone to both of them being in love.  They just met.  Can't they both just be intrigued by one another after their texting and story writing? 

[kirinan]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Love At First Glance was cute in many ways with charming stars.  But I wish they hadn't gone to both of them being in love.  They just met.  Can't they both just be intrigued by one another after their texting and story writing? 

I know! This x 100, Irlandesa. When he gave her the valentine at the end, it was vaguely uncomfortable to me. She'd had a chance to kind of get to know him (but not enough to be in love with him, IMO), but he hadn't really had the same chance to know her. So when he handed over the card, I said out loud, "How can you be in love with her? You don't even know her!" I know, the name of the movie was Love At First Glance, but they just hadn't done enough to convince me.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in this movie. Not because of Amy Smart and Adrian Grenier; they did the best they could with the material they were given. The story had so much potential, and I don't know if I blame the writers or the director for squandering it. The dialogue was very stilted and exposition-y--the nurse who married Adrian's great love a prime example, but Mary's parents, and the former dates, and even her best friend (who I know from somewhere--was he once on Dancing With The Stars?) just seemed stiff. And the little boy who played James as a child seemed lost--not the character, the poor little actor. Even John Shea, who I think is a good actor, seemed like a stock character. Mary's final monologue, when she started crying to the bartender, was kind of cringe-inducing to me. Again, not because of Amy's delivery, but because of the stilted words.

The best way I can put it is that much of the dialogue seemed like it had been lifted straight out of someone's very first attempt at writing a romance novel, one that they published themselves because the publishing houses turned it down. I promise, I'm not dissing self-publishing--just trying to encapsulate my mixed feelings about this movie. There were a lot of cute parts, but it wasn't quite enough to create a "thumbs up" whole for me.

Edited February 15, 2017 by kirinan

[Kemper]

I like Lori Laughlin..like the Garage Sale series.  But.  Does anyone else love the actress who plays her partner in the antiques business?  She is gorgeous..plus, she doesn't have the soap opera hair going on.  Wish they would give her a series instead of Jewel (sorry, just cannot watch due to her unfortunate hair)..or Candace Cameron Bure.  

Are there going to be anymore Brooke Shields flower-shop movies?  Gourmet Detective?  At least the actress in the Detective series has straight hair.  And it doesn't seem to be a wig.  I seem to have a fixation with the hair on these actresses...they are approaching middle-age (most of them, anyway)..why the outdated hairstyles?  By the way, my hair is always a work-in-progress.  On a good day.

[MissyPoo]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

I like Lori Laughlin..like the Garage Sale series.  But.  Does anyone else love the actress who plays her partner in the antiques business?  She is gorgeous..plus, she doesn't have the soap opera hair going on.  Wish they would give her a series instead of Jewel (sorry, just cannot watch due to her unfortunate hair)..or Candace Cameron Bure.  

1

If it's who I'm thinking, I'd be such a happy bunny if she and the Good Witch played sisters in a mystery series. I'd watch the heck out of that!

[susannot]

Please let there be more Gourmet Detective movies.  There are eight books in the series by Peter King.  Surely there are several more good movies.

[Irlandesa]

13 hours ago, Kemper said:

Does anyone else love the actress who plays her partner in the antiques business?

It's Sarah Strange and I do like her a lot in movies whenever she shows up.  In fact, she and David Lewis (who shows up as the friend or soon-to-be-ex in a lot of these movies) as the bickering married duo in A Christmas Detour were nearly my favorite thing about the 2015 holiday movie season.

7 hours ago, susannot said:

 

Please let there be more Gourmet Detective movies.

 

Another one was announced in a press release at the beginning of the year.  In fact, I think all of the mysteries are getting another entry so the flower shop mysteries likely will as well, although I don't remember seeing it mentioned.  (And I totally let it out of my rankings.)

[emjohnson03]

On 2/14/2017 at 9:11 PM, ehall1052 said:

I just watched An Uncommon Grace and thought it was very good, even if the ending seemed a little rushed.  It was much more the caliber of a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie than Love Locks ever was.

Goodness, I just LOVED this movie. It's not so Hallmark rom-com and romantic, in the traditional and cliche sense. The book is also amazing and has a little more meat to it. When Grace returns the cow to the farm, so much amazing in the book.

I seriously just can't get enough of this movie. Probably the forbidden love part was what drew me, but I thought the two leads were great and I always enjoy a slow burn that makes sense and is believable.

Seriously, you have to watch it and give it time because the scenes between Levi and Grace are *sigh.

Big WIN and hope they do another in this similar vein! Don't worry, I have tweeted them like crazy!

Can you tell I just can't get enough of this movie? hehe!

[Me Too]

Me too.  It did start out slower but I liked how they developed the story and found the leads had good chemistry.  Besides, it was fun to see Kelly McGillis again (the grandmother who was the hot Top Gun babe back in the day)  

[susannot]

Kelly McGillis as a grandmother? Meanwhile, Tom Cruise  is still playing romantic leads with women 20 to 30 years younger.

[Unraveled]

Kelly McGillis also played an Amish character in Witness, also starring Harrison Ford. I believe there was a taboo romance between the two. (Harrison Ford played a cop investigating something her young son witnessed.) It was a full-feature movie, and I think it did well in the theaters. I had wondered if it was a call back to that. I haven't seen her in awhile in anything recently.

[susannot]

On 2/5/2017 at 10:58 AM, chitowngirl said:

I like all of these and am going to add Garage Sale Mysteries. I'd probably put these at #2.

Really liked All that Glitters.  Evil (and good-looking) villain, excellent mystery involving a diamond heist, and our girl bravely defeats the villain, who has a gun, with a vintage baseball bat!  Plus there is a heart-warming ending that caused my eyes to get moist.  Very happy to see an ad on Hallmark that 4 more Garage Sale Mysteries are coming in August.

[MissyPoo]

On 2/17/2017 at 11:40 AM, Unraveled said:

Kelly McGillis also played an Amish character in Witness, also starring Harrison Ford. I believe there was a taboo romance between the two. (Harrison Ford played a cop investigating something her young son witnessed.) It was a full-feature movie, and I think it did well in the theaters. I had wondered if it was a call back to that. I haven't seen her in awhile in anything recently.

 

 

I think so because they tend to give her a lot of Amish roles lately. She was also one of the Amish aunts in Love Finds You in Sugarcreek which was another really good movie. I feel like she was in a few more, but not sure. I need to grab that and watch it again.

On 2/15/2017 at 7:31 PM, Irlandesa said:

It's Sarah Strange and I do like her a lot in movies whenever she shows up.  In fact, she and David Lewis (who shows up as the friend or soon-to-be-ex in a lot of these movies) as the bickering married duo in A Christmas Detour were nearly my favorite thing about the 2015 holiday movie season.

 

Yeah, that's her! I loved her and David in A Christmas Detour. They had me in stitches with their banter.

[walnutqueen]

I liked An Uncommon Grace well enough, but what is it with all this seeming fascination with Amish themes?  ;-)

[JasmineFlower]

Did anyone catch Love Blossoms? The way it started off made me stop and want to ask before I continue if Shantel's character calms down a bit. She had a very intense energy that is at odds with my calm and lazy Sunday. But also, the cafe owner made a joke asking about if she was a crazy and all I thought was, no seriously, cause you're coming off a bit unhinged and stalkery, honey. I'm hoping she takes a breath at some point and calms down, because I could like this one I think, but the intensity was riding high 20 minutes in.

Not affecting the quality from what little I saw, but still standing out to me - I've never seen Callum Blue looking more ordinary and blending into a scene in my life. That's on any show or movie I've seen him in, which are decent number at this point. Given how much I've loved him in other roles, I don't like the general idea of him being in this type of role. And he looks like himself, but something about him being this ordinary didn't scream Callum immediately that I was thinking he looked familiar but couldn't pinpoint him until like the 3rd scene he was in. He was a regular in 3 shows that I loved, so it's a bit odd to have any delay in recognizing him.

Now Victor? Still looking good.

[Irlandesa]

I watched Love Blossoms and I liked it a lot.  Even though the 'offspring tries to do parent good' story has been done before, having it be around perfume was new.  Therefore, it felt fresh.  I especially liked the details it provided about the different notes to a perfume's scent.  That added a feeling of authenticity even if their whole Valentine's Day deadline was typical plot contrivance unrealistic to the world of retail.  

I wish they would have called the scent L'heure bleue instead of Heaven On Earth.  HoE is a cheesy title.  So was the packaging.  I also didn't like the flash forward to a year later.  We don't need to see the proposal, against a cheesy green screen, in order to know that there is going to be a happily ever after.

As for Shantel, the character stopped being so clumsy, although I think there was an intensity to her character throughout.  It worked for me, though.  She was a good actress and the writing really supported why that intensity was there.  And Callum Blue did look different but he did a good job.  They were careful to build up why he did what he did and I felt there was more depth and nuance to their break up scene than we normally get. 

The chemistry was good but I did feel like the romance was a bit underwritten.  Still a good movie, though.

[twoods]

Once I got over the fact that the leads in Love At First Glance would not meet until the end of the movie, I really enjoyed it. It was different than the usual Hallmark formula, and loved seeing all the General Hospital alumni. Ted King needs to be the lead in an upcoming movie- even though he is older he is still smoking and wished we saw more of him being the Gazette boss. 

I was also surprised that how sad it was (James' life). The ending with her freaking out was not necessary, but I will take it.

Edited February 21, 2017 by twoods

[sacrebleu]

Quote

Mary's parents, and the former dates, and even her best friend (who I know from somewhere--was he once on Dancing With The Stars?)

 

Yes he was! That's Jonathan Bennett (notably Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls) Has he started with botox already? His forehead was distractingly shiny smooth and immobile, I couldn't focus on much else in his scenes. 

[kirinan]

1 hour ago, sacrebleu said:

Yes he was! That's Jonathan Bennett (notably Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls) Has he started with botox already? His forehead was distractingly shiny smooth and immobile, I couldn't focus on much else in his scenes. 

Ah! Thank you, sacrebleu. He wasn't listed on IMDB when I looked, and I knew I'd seen him somewhere. He did look a bit Botoxed, didn't he? He seems way too young for that.  

[tvchick]

I looked around a bit online for info on a fourth Gourmet Detective movie and came across Dylan Neal's Facebook page.  Bottom line:  it's coming, probably later this year, and he sold another food-related rom-com script to Hallmark:

Gourmet Detective 4 news