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

[mikeb]

Disappointed to read that the Ruby Herring movie wasn't very good - DVR-ed it to watch later this week.  I have not been impressed with most of the new mystery series that were introduced recently, especially the Emma Fielding and the Morning Show Mysteries, and was hoping they were going to get back on track with them.  I was shocked to learn they have 3 new Morning Show Mysteries scheduled for this year given how bad the first two were - guess shows how much they are trying to push Holly Robinson-Peete (just wish they would drop the Rick Fox character, who adds nothing to them).

[twoods]

Yes to all the above @ShelleySue. I also enjoyed Winter Love Story. Loved their chemistry and the way they looked at each other (especially those cute pictures the friend showed Cassie before she started to cry). They got to bond and fall in love, and the storyline made sense.

The only two things that really bothered me was her practically forcing him to give up his big room for her “small one” (come on, it wasn’t that small) when he has a dog, and how she rushed out rudely during his speech. He won a big award and she acted like a child instead of being supportive and listening to his speech, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the usual misunderstanding and angst. Despite that, I loved it and hope they are in other movies together.

[AnnaRose]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

Yes to all the above @ShelleySue. I also enjoyed Winter Love Story. Loved their chemistry and the way they looked at each other (especially those cute pictures the friend showed Cassie before she started to cry). They got to bond and fall in love, and the storyline made sense.

The only two things that really bothered me was her practically forcing him to give up his big room for her “small one” (come on, it wasn’t that small) when he has a dog, and how she rushed out rudely during his speech. He won a big award and she acted like a child instead of being supportive and listening to his speech, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the usual misunderstanding and angst. Despite that, I loved it and hope they are in other movies together.

Thanks for mentioning those two criticisms.  I agree with both of those, especially the second one.  She was so childish walking out of the award dinner at the beginning of his speech.  Other than that, I liked it... although I missed the first half hour or so.  Oh, and I'm sorry to say that I thought that dog was ugly (and looked like the type that slobbers gross drool over everyone and everything)... but that may be because it looked like a cross between two extremely aggressive dogs with which I had bad experiences.

On an unrelated note: what the heck is up with Hallmark's "Countdown" scheduling/marketing ploy?  I've never seen it before and I couldn't believe my onscreen TV guide didn't have any of the movie titles listed.  I didn't even bother watching any of them because of that gimmick.  The whole thing seems crazy to me!  Does that actually get them more viewers?  Enough to make up for people like me who just skip all of it since there's no movie information listed?

[catrice2]

Apprehensive to watch Ruby after reading these comments...just started and not surprised to see the same black woman who was in the Wedding Planner, Murder She Baked, the Jewel series, etc. within the first 10 minutes.  Is Canada really that lacking in minority actors who want to get paid? I think I could go up there and show up for a few scenes in their Hallmark movies just for some variety.   I am too lazy to look it up but I cannot remember off the top of my head which soap opera Shawn Christian was in....help?!   He looks good...knee jerk says One Life to Live or As the World Turns?? 

Edited January 22, 2019 by catrice2

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, AnnaRose said:

.

On an unrelated note: what the heck is up with Hallmark's "Countdown" scheduling/marketing ploy?  I've never seen it before and I couldn't believe my onscreen TV guide didn't have any of the movie titles listed.  I didn't even bother watching any of them because of that gimmick.  The whole thing seems crazy to me!  Does that actually get them more viewers?  Enough to make up for people like me who just skip all of it since there's no movie information listed?

 

They are simply showing movies that they have already shown repeatedly -- some have been shown every year over the last few years.   Most of them -- if not all of them -- have already been shown this month, prior to today, and they will be shown again, either this month or this year, before the Christmas movies kick in. 

So if they did not withhold the titles and you looked at the schedule, it would look like the same old schedule with the same old movies they would be showing on any other weekend or night in January.   When they withhold the titles, it adds some mystery to it.  In other words, without the mystery it would just be another day of showing Frozen In Love, Love on the Slopes, Winter Love Story, One Winter Proposal, etc.

But there is no basis for the rankings (that anyone knows).    Hallmark has never said how the movies are ranked, so it seems like it's just a way to package up their frequently repeated themed movies for a holiday weekend marathon.   I don't think the rankings are based on anything concrete.

I would expect that there will be another marathon/Countdown of their frequently repeated Valentine movies over Presidents' Day in February.   They did this for their Summer movies last year, and for their Fall Harvest movies, and now the Winter movies.  So, apparently the suspense is getting some people to tune in.

Edited January 22, 2019 by TVFan17

[Irlandesa]

32 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

 I am too lazy to look it up but I cannot remember off the top of my head which soap opera Shawn Christian was in....help?! 

I know he was on DOOL for quite a while.  And looking at his IMDb page, he was on both of the soaps you mention. 

4 hours ago, twoods said:

He won a big award and she acted like a child instead of being supportive and listening to his speech, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the usual misunderstanding and angst. Despite that, I loved it and hope they are in other movies together.

I actually kind of forgave her for that because she was feeling hopeful and then felt foolish.  But also childish is him not asking her outright to come to the event instead of keeping it a secret and have the invitation go through her representatives.

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

Apprehensive to watch Ruby after reading these comments...just started and not surprised to see the same black woman who was in the Wedding Planner, Murder She Baked, the Jewel series, etc. within the first 10 minutes.  Is Canada really that lacking in minority actors who want to get paid? I think I could go up there and show up for a few scenes in their Hallmark movies just for some variety.

Don't they shoot a lot of these movies in the Vancouver area?  I think the black population there is about 1 in 100 people... so yeah, I'm not surprised that they have to reuse a lot of the actors.  Same with their background actors... It seems like they have such a tiny number of people of African decent who are available to work as extras, that it can be very noticeable the way they frame each background shot to make sure one such person is included in each camera angle.  There have been times where it seemed like they made such a concerted effort in framing their shots with that objective, that it actually becomes distracting.

I think they put a lot of effort into making their locations look more diverse than the the populations of their filming locations actually are.  The extreme lack of competition must be a goldmine for black actors who live in the area and want to work in the industry.  You should go up there and try to get in some of these films and then report back.  It would be like having a mole on set. :D

Then again, Hallmark reuses so many of their white actors too.  It seems like they like working with certain people, and it's kind of cool that if they hire somebody and they do good work, with a good attitude and are easy to work with, they are loyal and hire them for other projects.  Rehiring the same actors/actresses is also probably a natural outcome of shooting movies in Canada instead of Hollywood where they have a huge pool of talent to choose from.  They work with a lot of the same leads in different movies, but the actors/actresses who play the secondary characters show up repeatedly in various movies.  I often wonder how many of them live in Canada full time.

1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

They are simply showing movies that they have already shown repeatedly -- some have been shown every year over the last few years.   Most of them -- if not all of them -- have already been shown this month, prior to today, and they will be shown again, either this month or this year, before the Christmas movies kick in. 

So if they did not withhold the titles and you looked at the schedule, it would look like the same old schedule with the same old movies they would be showing on any other weekend or night in January.   When they withhold the titles, it adds some mystery to it.  In other words, without the mystery it would just be another day of showing Frozen In Love, Love on the Slopes, Winter Love Story, One Winter Proposal, etc.

Well, that's lame.  I would have liked to have watched Winter Love Story from the beginning, assuming they showed it during the countdown, but I wasn't able to watch it since they kept the time a secret.

On 1/15/2019 at 3:25 PM, MissyPoo said:

Just noticed Surprised By Love aired yesterday. :-/ For those who haven't seen it, definitely put it on your watchlist. It's super hilarious and (imho) Paul Campbell's best. It's what made him one of my fave comedic Hallmark guys. It looks like another airing is coming up this Sunday so yay!

I'm excited to see Bridal Wave is on! Love this movie so much. I wish I could get more Arielle and Andrew movies in the future. I hope it shows up on demand for folks who may miss it.

Wedding Bells is on Thursday which another fave of mine. I wish Hallmark had more character development like this in how they explain the leads' current relationship with food and how it relates to their past which adds a nice layer.

And I see some classics are coming up Saturday with Elevator Girl & A Taste of Romance. Rewatching them now seems like they may have been a few of the templates current Hallmark likes to reuse but not as well depending on the execution.

Love By Chance is on Sunday which, for some reason, I never tire of watching whenever it comes on.  On paper it seems like a run of the mill Hallmark movie but when watching it, it's a pleasure.

The original (and best) All of My Heart comes on before a marathon of the Winterfest countdown which seems really weird. I didn't think there were that many to warrant a countdown but do you, Hallmark. Do you.

I hate when that happens. :-( I did a quick search and surprisingly it looks like they'll show it on Thursday Jan 31st. I can't remember if they're in order or not.

MissyPoo, my Hallmark Guru!!  I just watched A Taste of Romance and LOVED it!  The acting was terrific, especially Teri Polo and Bailiee Madison who played the young daughter of the male lead, played by James Patrick Stewart - he seemed to be a bit of a jerk at the very beginning of the movie, but that was very quickly remedied and I ended up enjoying this one so much.  I loved the story, the acting, the French food and language, the romance, some of the funny shenanigans, and especially the relationship between Teri Polo's character and the young girl who lost her mother.  Bailee just killed in those scenes.

I also watched Elevator Girl the night before and loved that one too.  I probably would have skipped it because Lacey Chabert didn't particularly appeal to me... but her character and the lead male character were both so great. This movie was from way back in 2010.   I also loved Rosemary, the lawyer's assistant who was kind of a sweet mother figure to him and played a role in helping him get together with Lacey's character.

I also really enjoyed Wedding Bells!  I think the only (very slight) annoyance was the reaction of the two protagonists and their best friends when they arrived at that gorgeous inn and acted like it was so awful.  I wonder if the barn they used for the wedding was the same one they used in Country Wedding?  It looked to me like it could have been.  That was another recent MissyPoo recommendation that I loved, and otherwise never would have watched.

I have one more of these recommendations already recorded that I haven't had a chance to watch yet - I think it's Surprised by Love, if I'm not mistaken. 

I missed recording Love by Chance and All of My Heart, but they will be aired again this Wednesday and Tuesday the 29th. respectively. 

[TVFan17]

18 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

Well, that's lame.  I would have liked to have watched Winter Love Story from the beginning, assuming they showed it during the countdown, but I wasn't able to watch it since they kept the time a secret.

 

You'll have many other chances to watch Winter Love Story, though.  So there was literally nothing about today's showtime that was any different from the one that is coming up on Saturday, or in February, etc., except that it was kept a surprise as far as where it ranked.    

Hover over the Showtimes buttons on this page to see the next 5 airdates -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/winter-love-story

Edited January 22, 2019 by TVFan17

[twoods]

@AnnaRose I also love Elevator Girl. It was back when I wasn’t annoyed with Lacey Chalbert yet so I could enjoy the movie. The chemistry was great and I liked the storyline. 

Snowmance looks terrible, but that’s probably my bias towards the lead actress because I tend to not like the movies she is in. I do have high hopes for the one that Sam Page and Maggie Lawson are in. Speaking of Maggie Lawson, I was thinking about the wedding movie she was in with Paul Greene and liked that one a lot as well. 

[TVFan17]

18 minutes ago, twoods said:

@AnnaRose I also love Elevator Girl. It was back when I wasn’t annoyed with Lacey Chalbert yet so I could enjoy the movie. The chemistry was great and I liked the storyline. 

Snowmance looks terrible, but that’s probably my bias towards the lead actress because I tend to not like the movies she is in. I do have high hopes for the one that Sam Page and Maggie Lawson are in. Speaking of Maggie Lawson, I was thinking about the wedding movie she was in with Paul Greene and liked that one a lot as well. 

You mean SnowComing?  It's a bad title -- there's no way around it -- and I was really expecting Hallmark to change it.  I was surprised when they didn't change it!   I like Lindy Booth, but I am not expecting her to have any chemistry with Trevor Donovan.  I hope I'm wrong.

Hallmark is doing this odd thing now of dubbing February "Unconditional Love Month."   They only have two "official" Countdown to Valentine's Day movies (the 2 that air pre-February 14th), and then another 2 that air post-February 14th.  But they are piling 3 different animal-oriented specials into the month too (which, I guess, is not a new thing, but this is the first time they have kind of lumped the animal shows together with the Valentine movies as part of one big event).   

I know that a lot of people love animals (I am one of them), but I don't know how many people are interested in watching the Kitten Bowl, the Cat Bowl and the dog special they've got.

However, one benefit to the heavy animal focus in Unconditional Love Month (February) is that there will be a special showing of Nine Lives of Christmas on February 15th -- and that is a delightful surprise!

Edited January 22, 2019 by TVFan17

[Chippings]

Just watched much (but not all) of One Winter Proposal (Number One movie on the XX-standard, nobody knows what it is) ..  Very nice, handsome people etc.  I came away feeling much cheated by not having a solid resolution of the relationship between Megan and Sean -- ?? ?? --    One interrupted kiss (check), called away to help with the romantic finale for the main couple, and then they're shown together, and Megan nods mysteriously ... which probably means "We worked something out."  Really ??  They really had me caring, after two entire movies, about this couple and we get a 'nod' as their resolution.  Poor screenwriting, it seemed to me.  (Maybe this was discussed when it first aired - sorry.)

[AnnaRose]

24 minutes ago, twoods said:

@AnnaRose I also love Elevator Girl. It was back when I wasn’t annoyed with Lacey Chalbert yet so I could enjoy the movie. The chemistry was great and I liked the storyline.

Yes, I was so surprised I liked her so much in Elevator Girl.  Actually the only movie I saw her in was A Royal Christmas, which I really enjoyed, but I felt like she was kind of a weak link.  She also stars in All of My Heart, which I'm planning to watch.  That was from 2015.  Have you seen that one?

Edited January 22, 2019 by AnnaRose

[TVFan17]

10 minutes ago, Chippings said:

Just watched much (but not all) of One Winter Proposal (Number One movie on the XX-standard, nobody knows what it is) ..  Very nice, handsome people etc.  I came away feeling much cheated by not having a solid resolution of the relationship between Megan and Sean -- ?? ?? --    One interrupted kiss (check), called away to help with the romantic finale for the main couple, and then they're shown together, and Megan nods mysteriously ... which probably means "We worked something out."  Really ??  They really had me caring, after two entire movies, about this couple and we get a 'nod' as their resolution.  Poor screenwriting, it seemed to me.  (Maybe this was discussed when it first aired - sorry.)

I think there is another sequel coming, so we will find out more about Sean and Megan then.   It sounded as though Sean was going to give up his new job and move to be closer to Megan.   Didn't he say something like that?  

[twoods]

Yes, it is very good. The two sequels are not as good as the original movie. 

[Chippings]

11 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

I think there is another sequel coming, so we will find out more about Sean and Megan then.   It sounded as though Sean was going to give up his new job and move to be closer to Megan.   Didn't he say something like that?  

I remember he did, but it was a little vague - she didn't have a chance to say 'Oh yes that'd be great' or anything else.   But I did get that suggestion.  So, a good sequel would be very welcome.   Their characters were entirely as much fleshed out as the main characters, so I do miss a good solid resolution for them.  Fingers crossed!  Thanks for the news.

[Crs97]

I am assuming next year will be One Winter Wedding and Megan and Sean’s relationship will be fleshed out then.  I found myself wondering where he would work after the ski season was over so am not bothered that he would go back to Seattle.

 

ETA: Irlandesa, I love that we both named the newest sequel!

Edited January 22, 2019 by Crs97

[Irlandesa]

31 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

I think there is another sequel coming, so we will find out more about Sean and Megan then.   It sounded as though Sean was going to give up his new job and move to be closer to Megan.   Didn't he say something like that?  

At the beginning of the movie, he said he was moving for another job.  Then during the movie we find out that the other job is at the ski resort.  At the end of the movie, he says that they haven't filled his position in Seattle yet so he can go back to it.  Basically, he had his new job for like a week.

But the movie did feel like it was being set up for a One Winter Wedding movie.

[Ms Lark]

15 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

Now I'll share my opinions on Winter Princess.  I lost interest in the story when I heard Natalie Hall's voice.  To me at least, it was like chalk on a blackboard.  I watched it while playing solitaire on my phone.

Thank you! That was my reaction, too! Couldn't take 2 hrs of that one!

2 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I know that a lot of people love animals (I am one of them), but I don't know how many people are interested in watching the Kitten Bowl, the Cat Bowl and the dog special they've got.

A lot of people do love these and I'm one of them. I couldn't give a rat's ass about Super Bowl or any other ball sport, but I loves me some Kitten and Puppy Bowls thankyouverymuch. They keep expanding the franchise and there's a reason why: ratings and sponsors!

2 hours ago, twoods said:

Yes, it is very good. The two sequels are not as good as the original movie. 

That is true for many of their movies and series. If the first one (or season) is good or interesting or fun, it gets the "Hallmark treatment" (you know what I mean) and spins down into treacly crap with simpering leads (I'm being nice here). It's a pity, but they know their core demographic and I'm definitely not it.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Ms Lark
grammar!

[mikeb]

7 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Then again, Hallmark reuses so many of their white actors too.  It seems like they like working with certain people, and it's kind of cool that if they hire somebody and they do good work, with a good attitude and are easy to work with, they are loyal and hire them for other projects.  Rehiring the same actors/actresses is also probably a natural outcome of shooting movies in Canada instead of Hollywood where they have a huge pool of talent to choose from.  They work with a lot of the same leads in different movies, but the actors/actresses who play the secondary characters show up repeatedly in various movies.  I often wonder how many of them live in Canada full time.

 

In addition to the reasons you list, I'm guessing the fact they use the same casting directors over and over leads to the same actors being cast.  Since everything about the production of these movies seems to be rushed, I am sure they don't spend much time casting the smaller roles so keep reaching out to the actors they have used in the past.  One casting director I looked up on IMDB is Jackie Lind, who has 207 Casting Director credits, mostly Hallmark movies, including over 30 in 2017 alone. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511208/

[Koalagirl]

I didn't mind the Ruby Herring movie.  I like Taylor Cole because she isn't one of those stick skinny actresses who look like they haven't had a cheeseburger in a few years.  Not that Taylor has a weight problem, far from it, but she looks like a normal, relatable woman.  I had to look up Shawn Christian's age because I also thought he seemed to young to play her father and he is only 19 years older than Taylor Cole.  I couldn't find the age of the actress who played his wife.

[AnnaRose]

10 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I know that a lot of people love animals (I am one of them), but I don't know how many people are interested in watching the Kitten Bowl, the Cat Bowl and the dog special they've got.

However, one benefit to the heavy animal focus in Unconditional Love Month (February) is that there will be a special showing of Nine Lives of Christmas on February 15th -- and that is a delightful surprise!

What is the Kitten/Cat Bowl?  Is that just a marathon of Hallmark movies that include cats, like Nine Lives of Christmas you mentioned, or is it something else?  I'm also wondering about the dog special you mentioned.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, AnnaRose said:

What is the Kitten/Cat Bowl?  Is that just a marathon of Hallmark movies that include cats, like Nine Lives of Christmas you mentioned, or is it something else?  I'm also wondering about the dog special you mentioned.

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/kitten-bowl-vi

The Puppy Bowl will be on Animal Planet

Both are annual events featuring animals from shelters participating in games (mainly being cute) that air opposite the Super Bowl.  They're pretty cute and totally silly and do an excellent job of reminding people that shelter pets are the best.

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

What is the Kitten/Cat Bowl?  Is that just a marathon of Hallmark movies that include cats, like Nine Lives of Christmas you mentioned, or is it something else?  I'm also wondering about the dog special you mentioned.

The Cat Bowl is totally new this year, but the Kitten Bowl has been going on for several years. Here is the Cat Bowl page -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cat-bowl

The dog special that I mentioned is the American Rescue Dog Show -- it's going on for two nights in February -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/american-rescue-dog-show

Edited January 22, 2019 by TVFan17
corrected name of Dog show!

[doodlebug]

48 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

The Cat Bowl is totally new this year, but the Kitten Bowl has been going on for several years. Here is the Cat Bowl page -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cat-bowl

The dog special that I mentioned is the American Dog Rescue Show -- it's going on for two nights in February -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/american-rescue-dog-show

Thanks for the info, need to set the DVR!

[JenMD]

Regarding A Winter Princess, does anybody recognize if we've seen either the "Aspen" hotel the brother worked at or "Snowden Peak" locations in other movies?  Both looked familiar (and were gorgeous).  I was miserable with a cold this weekend and I think my natural defenses were down because I didn't mind this one.  Natalie Hall kind of grew on me as the movie went on.  She was way OTT Disney princess to start and either she calmed down or I just got used to her because she eventually stopped bugging me.  Lead guy was adorable and yay to no bad guys (a trend I like).  I didn't even mind the Cinderella-blue ballgown at the end (subtle, they are not).  But that Dollar Store tiara and mess they made of her hair were a travesty (hair should have been up).  Oh, and they needed to skip the waltzing, I was suffering secondhand embarrassment for the actors.  The other ladies looked fantastic, though.

And add me to the chorus who really enjoyed Winter Love Story for all the reasons detailed.  Yes, Jen Lilley's character starts off kind of a pill, but I think her natural charm helped offset any sharpness so she came off a lot milder than another actress might have.   Also, how fabulous is Jen Lilley's hair?   Loved her and Kevin McGarry's chemistry and enjoyed the whole road trip aspect.  Sure, at the end she was being a baby leaving during the speech, but there's got to be a bump in there somewhere (it's a rule, it's probably written down somewhere). 

[EyewatchTV211]

On 1/21/2019 at 5:10 PM, twoods said:

Yes to all the above @ShelleySue. I also enjoyed Winter Love Story. Loved their chemistry and the way they looked at each other (especially those cute pictures the friend showed Cassie before she started to cry). They got to bond and fall in love, and the storyline made sense.

The only two things that really bothered me was her practically forcing him to give up his big room for her “small one” (come on, it wasn’t that small) when he has a dog, and how she rushed out rudely during his speech. He won a big award and she acted like a child instead of being supportive and listening to his speech, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the usual misunderstanding and angst. Despite that, I loved it and hope they are in other movies together.

The one other thing that bothered me is something they do in so many of these movies. I know I need to suspend reality for these movies, but I still wish they wouldn't throw in the "I love you"s when there is such a short timeline in the movie. I respect the few movies where you can tell there are deep feelings but the couple only verbalizes a desire to date or deep feelings of like or something after the short time. I could even handle if they said something like, "I'm starting to fall in love with you." But to already be there? Of course there are some examples of whirlwind romances in real life, but those are the exception, not the rule.  

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, JenMD said:

Regarding A Winter Princess, does anybody recognize if we've seen either the "Aspen" hotel the brother worked at or "Snowden Peak" locations in other movies?  Both looked familiar (and were gorgeous).  

I’m not sure about the “Aspen” hotel but “Snowden Peak” was Big White Ski Resort in British Columbia. 

[JenMD]

Thanks, @Dani!

[In2You]

2 hours ago, JenMD said:

Regarding A Winter Princess, does anybody recognize if we've seen either the "Aspen" hotel the brother worked at or "Snowden Peak" locations in other movies?  Both looked familiar (and were gorgeous).  I was miserable with a cold this weekend and I think my natural defenses were down because I didn't mind this one.  Natalie Hall kind of grew on me as the movie went on.  She was way OTT Disney princess to start and either she calmed down or I just got used to her because she eventually stopped bugging me.  Lead guy was adorable and yay to no bad guys (a trend I like).  I didn't even mind the Cinderella-blue ballgown at the end (subtle, they are not).  But that Dollar Store tiara and mess they made of her hair were a travesty (hair should have been up).  Oh, and they needed to skip the waltzing, I was suffering secondhand embarrassment for the actors.  The other ladies looked fantastic, though.

Forgot the mention her hair. In addition to the hideous blue Cindrella gown her hair should not have been left down with that cheap tiara. They should've done a nice updo. 

[Woopwoopkitty]

If there is a worse Hallmark movie than The Sweeter Side of Life I can’t name it.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Woopwoopkitty

[kirinan]

14 hours ago, Woopwoopkitty said:

If there is a worse Hallmark movie than The Sweeter Side of Life I can’t name it.

 

Oh, so much AMEN. I loved Kathryn Morris as Lilly on Cold Case, but romantic comedy is NOT in her wheelhouse. Plus the whole movie was just badly written. And over-directed. And badly acted. And I have never watched a second of it since the first time I saw it a couple of years ago. 

Edited January 23, 2019 by kirinan

[TVFan17]

Strangely, I have never seen The Sweeter Side of Life in its entirety.    I have only seen a couple of scenes from it, and I know that part of it was filmed in Romania -- but the small bit of it that I saw did not rope me into watching the full movie.    From maybe 2010 - 2014, I was only watching Hallmark's Christmas movies, and avoiding most of their non-Christmas movies.    I have since seen a lot of the non-Christmas movies that premiered prior to 2015, of course, but Sweeter Side of Life is not one I have ever wanted to watch from beginning to end.  I mean, who knows?  I might like it, as I like a lot of movies that other people don't like.  But it just doesn't look interesting to me, and never has.

[Luckylyn]

18 hours ago, Woopwoopkitty said:

If there is a worse Hallmark movie than The Sweeter Side of Life I can’t name it.

Help For the Holidays is my vote for worst movie.  It’s shockingly sexist and judges the Mom so harshly.  There’s a scene where she’s rushing through traffic and trying hard to get to her son’s basketball game but misses it.  They are so nasty to her for that meanwhile the Dad who made no effort at all to show up gets no anger from anyone .  Both parents work long hours in their store but the movie treats the mom like the bad guy.  I like the cast but despise the movie.

[Starscream]

On 1/21/2019 at 9:10 PM, AnnaRose said:

Don't they shoot a lot of these movies in the Vancouver area?  I think the black population there is about 1 in 100 people... so yeah, I'm not surprised that they have to reuse a lot of the actors.  Same with their background actors... It seems like they have such a tiny number of people of African decent who are available to work as extras, that it can be very noticeable the way they frame each background shot to make sure one such person is included in each camera angle.  There have been times where it seemed like they made such a concerted effort in framing their shots with that objective, that it actually becomes distracting.

I think they put a lot of effort into making their locations look more diverse than the the populations of their filming locations actually are.  The extreme lack of competition must be a goldmine for black actors who live in the area and want to work in the industry.  You should go up there and try to get in some of these films and then report back.  It would be like having a mole on set. :D

Then again, Hallmark reuses so many of their white actors too.  It seems like they like working with certain people, and it's kind of cool that if they hire somebody and they do good work, with a good attitude and are easy to work with, they are loyal and hire them for other projects.  Rehiring the same actors/actresses is also probably a natural outcome of shooting movies in Canada instead of Hollywood where they have a huge pool of talent to choose from.  They work with a lot of the same leads in different movies, but the actors/actresses who play the secondary characters show up repeatedly in various movies.  I often wonder how many of them live in Canada full time.

Considering that most of these movies are set in Seattle or Seattle-adjacent locations, the demographics are pretty fair.  Setting those Hailey Dean movies in Atlanta?  That's more of a challenge for Hallmark casting people and one they pretty much fail.

I'm constantly remarking to anyone who'll listen that watching these Hallmark movies is like watching old Hollywood movies from the studio era with all the same actors in movie after movie.

[chitowngirl]

14 hours ago, Starscream said:

I'm constantly remarking to anyone who'll listen that watching these Hallmark movies is like watching old Hollywood movies from the studio era with all the same actors in movie after movie.

They churn them out as quickly as Old Hollywood did.

[MissyPoo]

On 1/20/2019 at 1:34 PM, VMepicgrl said:

When I first read this, I assumed you were talking about the Michael who was the other lead in the movie with Brooke in Jingle Around the Clock and was confused since google showed that his wife is definitely someone else. I actually just listened to that episode of the DTH podcast today. I slowed down my listening to try to save some for walking my dog (listened to some sports podcasts and TV podcasts in between instead). Anyway, after listening, I now realize that it was a different Michael who co-wrote it and produced it, not the actor Michael Cassidy. Though it looks like he has acted in other things - think he is Michael Traynor. I ultimately did not like this movie as much as the DTH guys, despite them being right that it was nice that they worked out the misunderstanding about the other male friend right away. 

How funny! I didn't realize her co-star was named Michael until later (I probably should have differentiated, sorry about that! :-).) 

I have to agree though. I started it but never went back and the mister was quick to abandon ship a few minutes in. A shame because I was hoping it'd be a good one. 

On 1/20/2019 at 3:21 PM, Kaoteek said:

Winter Love Story : this one was fun. A bookish, anxiety-ridden lead, some fun snarky banter, decent chemistry, a doggo, a road trip, Laura Miyata as the publicist, a more laid-back Kevin McGarry than in Winter Castle, and an overall light-hearted and enjoyable tone... I liked it.

(also, funny how those Winterfest movies seem to have proper opening titles/fonts... whereas the HM Christmas movies tend to be so rushed into production - and renamed again and again - that they always get basic, generic last-minute titles and credits)

I'm watching this one and digging it so far. Though as a spec fan, I was a bit annoyed she called his dragon books "nerd novels". I know there'd be a crapstorm if he remarked anything bad about her romantic comedy memoir (and this is coming from someone who enjoys both romance and spec fic) but instead he continued bending over backwards for her while she is being kind of a brat. Will continue to watch though.

After watching it, I thought it was cute but not a fave. I think if I were to watch this last year, I would definitely dig it more but I'm not sure if I'm still burnt out on Hallmark movies or just wishing for more with their productions because I'm not really eager to see it again anytime soon. I'll probably watch this in the future to see if I feel any different.

 

On 1/21/2019 at 9:10 PM, AnnaRose said:

MissyPoo, my Hallmark Guru!!  I just watched A Taste of Romance and LOVED it!  The acting was terrific, especially Teri Polo and Bailiee Madison who played the young daughter of the male lead, played by James Patrick Stewart - he seemed to be a bit of a jerk at the very beginning of the movie, but that was very quickly remedied and I ended up enjoying this one so much.  I loved the story, the acting, the French food and language, the romance, some of the funny shenanigans, and especially the relationship between Teri Polo's character and the young girl who lost her mother.  Bailee just killed in those scenes.

I also watched Elevator Girl the night before and loved that one too.  I probably would have skipped it because Lacey Chabert didn't particularly appeal to me... but her character and the lead male character were both so great. This movie was from way back in 2010.   I also loved Rosemary, the lawyer's assistant who was kind of a sweet mother figure to him and played a role in helping him get together with Lacey's character.

I also really enjoyed Wedding Bells!  I think the only (very slight) annoyance was the reaction of the two protagonists and their best friends when they arrived at that gorgeous inn and acted like it was so awful.  I wonder if the barn they used for the wedding was the same one they used in Country Wedding?  It looked to me like it could have been.  That was another recent MissyPoo recommendation that I loved, and otherwise never would have watched.

I have one more of these recommendations already recorded that I haven't had a chance to watch yet - I think it's Surprised by Love, if I'm not mistaken. 

I missed recording Love by Chance and All of My Heart, but they will be aired again this Wednesday and Tuesday the 29th. respectively. 

Hey that rhymes nicely haha. Glad you enjoyed them! I think that's probably my fave Bailee Madison movie. She really impressed me in that one. And yes! I love Elevator Girl! The only thing that bugs me is how they cut the commercials. It's jarring on Hallmark but if you ever catch it unedited on Pixl, it has a much better flow with the music and everything. Fun fact about Rosemary. Do you remember the old horror movie, The Bad Seed? That's her! It blew my mind when I discovered that because I would have never noticed.

Good point about the Wedding Bells cabin. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same one. I always have Country Wedding flashbacks during their cleaning scene heh.

Hope you enjoy the others when you get to them! I think I'll rewatch Love By Chance this week myself.

 

On 1/21/2019 at 9:28 PM, twoods said:

Snowmance looks terrible, but that’s probably my bias towards the lead actress because I tend to not like the movies she is in. I do have high hopes for the one that Sam Page and Maggie Lawson are in. Speaking of Maggie Lawson, I was thinking about the wedding movie she was in with Paul Greene and liked that one a lot as well. 

 

I feel like you're in my head haha. I feel the same way. Which is sad because I really like Trevor Donovan but I haven't liked his co-star pairing since Love Finds You in Charm (love that movie). I don't know what it is but I've been let down ever since. And I also am not a fan of LB so I skipped that one though I would have liked to have seen him. Sadly, I feel the same way about Maggie Lawson who I can't really get into but I love Sam Page so I was torn with that upcoming one.

 

On 1/22/2019 at 8:26 PM, Woopwoopkitty said:

If there is a worse Hallmark movie than The Sweeter Side of Life I can’t name it.

I have a few on my list! One of which is that christmas cookie cutter thing one with Erin Krakow and Miranda whatshername from the Aurora Teagarden movies as elementary school teachers one upping each other over a man the whole movie. And the other one with Erin Krakow being lured to meet a man only to find out it was his son/little brother who wrote her the whole time (Erin K is cool but I just can't get into her stuff). Oh, and the Santa Suit er, Switch one with Sean Astin as the elf executive who helps a father after he is turned into Santa for a few days. The father is working hard for his family but his wife keeps giving him crap while spending time with her boss who's trying to muscle in on the family and his kids ignore him and roll their eyes at him because he's not around. Just horrible characters I couldn't stand. Though early Hallmark had some gems there were a good amount of stinkers that I'm glad they tend to hide. My Christmas Dream got under my skin because of how bratty the kid and the father were and how Danica had to chuck her dream in the end. It felt like they manipulated her throughout the movie. 

I'm not sure if you meant production wise or ones we can't stand, but those stand out at the moment for me. The Sweeter Side of Life was kind of shoddily made though.

[Woopwoopkitty]

19 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

 

I have a few on my list! One of which is that christmas cookie cutter thing one with Erin Krakow and Miranda whatshername from the Aurora Teagarden movies as elementary school teachers one upping each other over a man the whole movie. And the other one with Erin Krakow being lured to meet a man only to find out it was his son/little brother who wrote her the whole time (Erin K is cool but I just can't get into her stuff). <snip>

 

19 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I'm not sure if you meant production wise or ones we can't stand, but those stand out at the moment for me. The Sweeter Side of Life was kind of shoddily made though.

For me, as cheesy as most of these movies are, I can usually find something redeemable.  Pretty people, chemistry, good cinematography, one or two enjoyable sidekicks even if I don’t like the stars.

In the cookie cutter movie I hated the bitchy woman, but Erin’s relationship with the dad and kid, and the Alan Thicke and Erin’s mom budding relationship saved it.

There was a mediocre PenaVega couple movie that was boring, but in the last 10 minutes the kids danced dressed up in little reindeer costumes and makeup and it was adorable! Didn’t love the movie but just 3 minutes of cuteness made this one redeemable.  Didn’t save it to DVR, but didn’t hate it.

Sweeter Side had nothing.  Unpleasant people, bad story line, bad acting, I just couldn’t find any reason to like it and every reason to hate it.

My most recent pet peeve is footwear.  After watching endless Christmas movies of women tromping through the snow in heels or cute non-winter boots, i’m Now subjected to women in high heels strolling through uneven cobblestone streets, farms and vineyards, and even African safari lands. There are so many things to nit pick on and I can let most of it go but this is the one triggering me now.

[In2You]

Why is Hallmark airing Christmas movies in February?

[beadgirl]

I’m halfway through the Ruby Herring movie and it is terrible. The dialogue is stilted, the exposition is too heavy, the tertiary characters are silly, and it’s absurd how often the writers have a character praise Ruby to high heaven. Also, is it an original or based on a novel? Having one of the characters named “Bluth” was jarring. Although maybe that’s just me.

I’m disappointed; I love mysteries, and cozy, pretty mysteries are great for a weekend. But just because they are light and predictable doesn’t mean they can’t be well-made.

Thanks to you all, I’ve set my dvr to record A Winter Love Story (or whatever it’s called; do better with the naming, Hallmark!). I hope I enjoy it as much as you all did!

[kirinan]

1 hour ago, beadgirl said:

I’m halfway through the Ruby Herring movie and it is terrible. The dialogue is stilted, the exposition is too heavy, the tertiary characters are silly, and it’s absurd how often the writers have a character praise Ruby to high heaven. Also, is it an original or based on a novel? Having one of the characters named “Bluth” was jarring. Although maybe that’s just me.

I’m disappointed; I love mysteries, and cozy, pretty mysteries are great for a weekend. But just because they are light and predictable doesn’t mean they can’t be well-made.

I recorded it, but haven't been able to bring myself to watch it yet due to all the awful reviews. I don't want it to taint my like for Taylor Cole. 

I'm hoping this doesn't portend an equally bad result for the Kristoffer Polaha/Jill Wagner movie tomorrow night. I've been looking forward to that one a lot. And I'm not even that much of a mystery fan; I just like them both, and enjoyed them so much together in Pearl in Paradise. 

[AnnaRose]

44 minutes ago, kirinan said:

I'm hoping this doesn't portend an equally bad result for the Kristoffer Polaha/Jill Wagner movie tomorrow night. I've been looking forward to that one a lot. And I'm not even that much of a mystery fan; I just like them both, and enjoyed them so much together in Pearl in Paradise. 

Oh, thank you for mentioning that.  I didn't realize that was tomorrow.  I have to set my DVR.

I have been wanted to see Pearl in Paradise, but haven't caught it yet.

Last night I did watch the similarly titled Love in Paradise though, with Luke Perry as an actor who is famous for starring in Westerns.  He agrees to leave his safe, cushy, boring life in NYC for a weekend to do a promotional appearance at a dude ranch in Montana.  Luke was quite funny in this film, and it just flew by compared to many Hallmark movies I've watched.  I really liked Emmanuelle Vaugier also - she played his love interest - and the rest of the cast including Tom Butler as her cowboy father and Matt Frewer as the large animal vet.

[GaT]

6 hours ago, In2You said:

Why is Hallmark airing Christmas movies in February?

Why do they show them in July? They're obsessed with the stupid things.

[Guest]

On 1/15/2019 at 3:09 PM, Jenniferbug said:

 

If anyone notices Cooking with Love on soon, please let me know. I missed it recently and would like to DVR it since it seems unlikely to ever be on DVD and I love it. 

Cooking with Love is on next week. Late Friday or Early Saturday depending on your time zone. 

 

10 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Oh, thank you for mentioning that.  I didn't realize that was tomorrow.  I have to set my DVR.

I have been wanted to see Pearl in Paradise, but haven't caught it yet.

Pearl in Paradise is going to airing on Monday night if you haven’t had a chance to record it yet. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Guest

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, AnnaRose said:

Last night I did watch the similarly titled Love in Paradise though, with Luke Perry as an actor who is famous for starring in Westerns.  He agrees to leave his safe, cushy, boring life in NYC for a weekend to do a promotional appearance at a dude ranch in Montana.  Luke was quite funny in this film, and it just flew by compared to many Hallmark movies I've watched.  I really liked Emmanuelle Vaugier also - she played his love interest - and the rest of the cast including Tom Butler as her cowboy father and Matt Frewer as the large animal vet.

I remember surprisingly enjoying that movie too.

[JenMD]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

Why do they show them in July? They're obsessed with the stupid things.

Christmas in July has been a thing for ages, not just for Hallmark.  It's also when they do their annual ornament premiere. I'm not surprised they tie it in to their Christmas movies since they have 600 billion to show. 

[In2You]

1 hour ago, JenMD said:

Christmas in July has been a thing for ages, not just for Hallmark.  It's also when they do their annual ornament premiere. I'm not surprised they tie it in to their Christmas movies since they have 600 billion to show. 

Yep ABC Family had Christmas in July on lock well before Hallmark

[Veronica]

I got an email from Hallmark Mysteries & Movies about a Christmas 2019 movie. Wanted my opinion on the title, synopsis, etc. 

I love Trevor Donovan if for no other reason than his love of dogs and my residual love for, “Merry Me at Christmas.” 

[kirinan]

Okay, like Baby’s dad in Dirty Dancing, when I’m wrong I say I’m wrong. And I was wrong about Snowcoming. I had no intention of watching it, but nothing else was on, and I turned it on, saw Ed Marinaro (old Hill Street Blues fan here)...and two hours later I am very pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it! No, it wasn’t Academy Award material or anything, but I would definitely watch it again. 

It’s still a stupid title, though, Hallmark.

[TVFan17]

51 minutes ago, kirinan said:

Okay, like Baby’s dad in Dirty Dancing, when I’m wrong I say I’m wrong. And I was wrong about Snowcoming. I had no intention of watching it, but nothing else was on, and I turned it on, saw Ed Marinaro (old Hill Street Blues fan here)...and two hours later I am very pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it! No, it wasn’t Academy Award material or anything, but I would definitely watch it again. 

It’s still a stupid title, though, Hallmark.

One of the worst titles, for sure!  

2 hours ago, Veronica said:

I got an email from Hallmark Mysteries & Movies about a Christmas 2019 movie. Wanted my opinion on the title, synopsis, etc. 

I love Trevor Donovan if for no other reason than his love of dogs and my residual love for, “Merry Me at Christmas.” 

I got the same email -- the movie was "Holiday for Heroes," right?  Is that the one you got? 

There is a movie that is going into production sometime in the near future (not sure of the dates) with that same title, so I guess that one is for Hallmark.  Seeing that it has a military theme, I wonder if they might try to premiere it on HMM around the 4th of July.  They did that with "Home for Christmas Day" in 2017.

[AnnaRose]

7 hours ago, Dani said:

Cooking with Love in on next week. Late Friday or Early Saturday depending on your time zone. 

 

Pearl in Paradise is going to airing in Monday night if you haven’t had a chance to record it yet. 

Thanks so much for letting me know!! :)