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


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(edited)
7 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Is it not a missed opportunity that Hallmark didn't use my Hallmark boyfriend, Travis Van Winkle, as the time-travelling descendant of Rip?

Niall Matter is not one of my favorite leading Hallmark men but holy cow......I LOVE him in Rip in Time. He has never looked manly and not to mention his irresistible sexy demeanor.

Travis Van Winkle who???? I do see the missed opportunity though but it might have been confusing.

Edited by luvthepros
On 5/23/2022 at 7:41 AM, kirinan said:

I'm going to put this comment in this thread because Rip in Time wasn't a mystery movie, even though it aired on HM&M (I can move it to that topic if necessary). I LOVED it.

I liked this one a lot, too. Will probably rewatch soon. Happy ending. Although, it does have me digging out my Sleepy Hallow series DVDs. Of the two, first season SH still wins!

On 5/23/2022 at 9:20 AM, Miss Bones said:

Another thing I liked was that Torrey Devito's character mentioned she had a "baby daddy", as they were never married.  Always like these little tidbits of HM being more diverse.

I was truly shocked!!! I never thought Hallmark would put a positive spin on an out-of-wedlock child story (sacre bleu!). Maybe they really are trying to get with the times and diversify (still not really diverse, though). Also, smoochies before the end of the movie. What! Are they trying to corrupt our youth with such modern ideas? [/s]

Off to revisit Tom Mison and Sleepy Hollow! 🤩

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14 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Travis Van Winkle who???? I do see the missed opportunity though but it might have been confusing.

image.png.39419ab7340841bcf7b0b3bcd4ca7da2.png

Travis Van Winkle.  This pic is from last Christmas' 'Tis The Season To Be Merry.  So he's already a Hallmark guy (and he's freaking hot.)  I don't dislike Niall Matter but I still think it should have been Travis.  The movie is not playing here until this weekend though, so maybe Niall pulls it off.

(edited)
6 hours ago, bankerchick said:

image.png.39419ab7340841bcf7b0b3bcd4ca7da2.png

Travis Van Winkle.  This pic is from last Christmas' 'Tis The Season To Be Merry.  So he's already a Hallmark guy (and he's freaking hot.)  I don't dislike Niall Matter but I still think it should have been Travis.  The movie is not playing here until this weekend though, so maybe Niall pulls it off.

I was just being silly. I know who Travis Van Winkle is. Wait 'till you see Naill in this movie. You will be surprised just like I was.

There is one scene (and you will know which one when you see it) that melts me to the core. This is a Hallmark movie???? YOWZER! Oh yes, Naill pulls it off.

Edited by luvthepros

It's good that Rip in Time is being mentioned here, because I missed it originally and didn't see it til this weekend.  Really enjoyed it!  And I think one reason was the writing - pretty unique story and good dialog.

I saw that the screenwriter is C. Jay Cox, who also did the very charming Love Strikes Twice a couple of months ago (he's on a time-travel thing right now, apparently).  But also he wrote Sweet Home Alabama --  Excellent.

Also I never ever cared at all for Niall Matter, but in this one - and with the entirely different hair going on - I really did  He played with the dialog in an endearing kind of way, and was much more attractive (to me anyway) than in other work.

6 hours ago, luvthepros said:

There is one scene (and you will know which one when you see it) that melts me to the core. This is a Hallmark movie???? YOWZER! Oh yes, Naill pulls it off.

Well, now I can't wait to see it.  I've already cleared my schedule (ha!  Like I had anything else to do) and set the PVR in case it's so good I need to watch it over and over.  But, you should know that I will be watching while imagining Travis in the role. 😉

39 minutes ago, windsprints said:

IMDB lists him. 

I saw that IMDb lists Jon Cor. What an over site not to have his name in the credits in the actual film. He is the leading man. I looked at the film credits at the end and they just list supporting cast so his name does not appear there either.

On 5/20/2022 at 4:21 PM, twoods said:

I thought Luke had great chemistry with Jaime King in the Mistletoe Promise, and Meredith in Chateau Christmas. He’s a good actor so I don’t mind seeing him in Hallmark movies.

I really liked Luke in Taking a Shot at Love. He had some spark with Alex Pena Vega in that one.

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I'm ok with it actually.  I have recently found out (yes, I'm slow) that even though I ask my PVR to keep the movies until I decide to delete them, it actually deletes everything after 1 year.  So I need to re-record a couple of movies that apparently fell off from Countdown to Christmas 2020 (specifically was distressed to find that Christmas by Starlight and Nine Lives of Christmas [the original, not the kitten one from this past year] are both gone.)  Hopefully they will replay either or both of those, and I now know to re-record anything that ever comes on that I like, even if I already have it on PVR.

Well, tonight is the big premiere of Rip In Time.  @luvthepros has got me all excited about the 'big scene' so I can't wait.  I'm sure I'll be back her afterwards to let you know how it went.

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

I'm ok with it actually.  I have recently found out (yes, I'm slow) that even though I ask my PVR to keep the movies until I decide to delete them, it actually deletes everything after 1 year.  So I need to re-record a couple of movies that apparently fell off from Countdown to Christmas 2020 (specifically was distressed to find that Christmas by Starlight and Nine Lives of Christmas [the original, not the kitten one from this past year] are both gone.)  Hopefully they will replay either or both of those, and I now know to re-record anything that ever comes on that I like, even if I already have it on PVR.

Well, tonight is the big premiere of Rip In Time.  @luvthepros has got me all excited about the 'big scene' so I can't wait.  I'm sure I'll be back her afterwards to let you know how it went.

I'll be waiting to hear. Enjoy the movie.

I really liked Rip In Time.  The story was of course so, so familiar, and I am confused about exactly what was going on at the end with his dad and the cave, but I was invested in the characters and liked the actors.  A few thoughts:

- the lead female character is nice.  Aside from when she thought she was confronting a stranger in her barn she was kind to Rip, not wanting her dad to call the police or send him to a mental hospital.  One of my least favourite tropes is the lead who is so bitchy, it's impossible for me to believe that a handsome, intelligent, funny man would put up with that kind of abuse on the off chance she might suddenly soften.  This made me believe them as a couple.

- he wore those boots into the house??!!

- a guy from 250 years ago is a better dancer than anyone at the festival (seriously, where did they get these 'dancers'?  They move like 5 year olds.)

- I guess you can just call a world renowned scientist out of the blue and she'll be happy to meet with you immediately, and after she is intrigued enough to send you to see a brilliant (other kind of scientist) and he determines it might be possible to time-travel, everyone just drops it.  The scientists don't have any other questions about *time travel* that they might want answered.

- Niall was good.  I'm normally neutral on him but he sold me.  His delivery was funny and I loved his amazement in NYC.

- I admittedly wasn't glued to the tv for the first while, but I'm embarrassed to say that I don't recall any Yowza moments.  I did think he looked great with longer hair, actually his shorter hair from this movie but definitely longer than I'm used to seeing on him.

I will definitely watch this again sometime this weekend.

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(edited)
15 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I really liked Rip In Time.  The story was of course so, so familiar, and I am confused about exactly what was going on at the end with his dad and the cave, but I was invested in the characters and liked the actors.  A few thoughts:

- the lead female character is nice.  Aside from when she thought she was confronting a stranger in her barn she was kind to Rip, not wanting her dad to call the police or send him to a mental hospital.  One of my least favourite tropes is the lead who is so bitchy, it's impossible for me to believe that a handsome, intelligent, funny man would put up with that kind of abuse on the off chance she might suddenly soften.  This made me believe them as a couple.

- he wore those boots into the house??!!

- a guy from 250 years ago is a better dancer than anyone at the festival (seriously, where did they get these 'dancers'?  They move like 5 year olds.)

- I guess you can just call a world renowned scientist out of the blue and she'll be happy to meet with you immediately, and after she is intrigued enough to send you to see a brilliant (other kind of scientist) and he determines it might be possible to time-travel, everyone just drops it.  The scientists don't have any other questions about *time travel* that they might want answered.

- Niall was good.  I'm normally neutral on him but he sold me.  His delivery was funny and I loved his amazement in NYC.

- I admittedly wasn't glued to the tv for the first while, but I'm embarrassed to say that I don't recall any Yowza moments.  I did think he looked great with longer hair, actually his shorter hair from this movie but definitely longer than I'm used to seeing on him.

I will definitely watch this again sometime this weekend.

The YOWZA scene for me was the kiss in the pouring rain that was more passionate than any other kiss I've seen in a Hallmark movie. Sarah ran to Rip and initiated that kiss. There bodies were soaked from the rain which made it even more sensual.

Then there was that little bit with Rip removing his shirt and was embarrassed when he realized Sarah saw him. That was a cute moment.

Then there was the dialogue of Sarah telling Rip that she has a baby daddy and explained to him what that meant. Another first for a Hallmark movie.

Edited by luvthepros
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Thanks for the info, @luvthepros

I definitely remember the kiss in the rain, though I have to admit my thought was, 'holy shit, it must be raining pretty hard.  Look how soaked they are!'

I missed the shirtless scene.  That's kind've what I was looking for.  As time was running out, I kept wondering how they were going to fit it into the storyline.  I finally decided that Rip might have to be naked to go back in time and that's when Sarah finds him.  😉

20 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Thanks for the info, @luvthepros

I definitely remember the kiss in the rain, though I have to admit my thought was, 'holy shit, it must be raining pretty hard.  Look how soaked they are!'

I missed the shirtless scene.  That's kind've what I was looking for.  As time was running out, I kept wondering how they were going to fit it into the storyline.  I finally decided that Rip might have to be naked to go back in time and that's when Sarah finds him.  😉

You're welcome. You are too funny!

On 6/5/2022 at 11:42 PM, DanaMB said:

Trying to get through Romance to the Rescue but it is so bad. The heroine gets a dog because she likes a guy who has a dog. Idiot. And a complete ditz. Just so bad. 

I'm behind on tv watching (Darn this nice weather!!!) and just watched Romance to the Rescue and Hidden Gems.  Hated one and liked the other.  Can you guess which is which?

I feel like I can teach a college level class on Hallmark movies. What makes one movie so bad and the other movie good (not great, just good)? Is it having a fake, smiley actress in one and a decent actress in the other? Is it having the love story actually evolve instead of just appearing out of nowhere? Is it liking the characters instead of being annoyed by one of them? Is it having a plot that makes sense as opposed to having one that just seems to be one cobbled together out of one built on misunderstandings and lies/omissions? Think of the essay potential for my students.

  • Love 9
3 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I feel like I can teach a college level class on Hallmark movies. What makes one movie so bad and the other movie good (not great, just good)? Is it having a fake, smiley actress in one and a decent actress in the other? YES Is it having the love story actually evolve instead of just appearing out of nowhere? Is it liking the characters instead of being annoyed by one of them? YES Is it having a plot that makes sense as opposed to having one that just seems to be one cobbled together out of one built on misunderstandings and lies/omissions? YES Think of the essay potential for my students.

Good questions.  I'd take that course.  In fact, I'd submit the essay here except that it would bore people to death.  So, here is a precis:  To me, I don't really care about believable scenarios (I'm ok with leaving the high powered big city life to save the pumpkin patch or the bookstore) but I want the characters to be likeable (no bitchy for no reason women or intractable men) and a certain amount of chemistry between the leads.  Some actresses are non-starters for me, and some actors generate no heat.  Many of the family members are also hateful, like the dad who doesn't understand you can't/don't want to give up your dreams to run the farm or the mother who meddles in your love life.  I also hate the ridiculousness of 'this is how my dead mother did it and so it needs to be done this way forever' or 'I know I haven't been home to the farm in years, but I still think the handyman who works here every day is doing it wrong' and with the exception of Wedding Every Weekend, I don't think I've ever liked a movie where someone heard half of a conversation, or saw an above the shoulders hug, assumed the worst, and took off back home or broke up the budding relationship without explaining why.

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I'm probably the only one here who was looking forward to and eventually enjoyed Caribbean Summer but it's cool because I hadn't enjoyed a Hallmark movie in a long time so I was glad to see something that brought a smile to my face. Loved Heather's dresses so much that I added some to my "To Make" design pile for the summer. The added twist was nice to see for a change from the normal boy meets girl, gets mad and then gets back together again. I wouldn't mind a sequel since I'd love to see how things worked out between the lead couple and their friends. And Hughes's voice was so melt-worthy. I could listen to him read a phone book and still be dreamy eyed. Will watch this one on my future summer watch list.

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11 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Just got through watching Moriah's Lighthouse. It was tough but I did it. I found this movie so boring and I'm surprised because I really really like Luke MacFarlane.

Props to you!! I barely made it through 20 minutes, and I'm a fan of LM, too.  I rewatched A Shoe Addict's Christmas Friday night and enjoyed it so much more than this one.

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I lasted about half an hour.  I like Luke McFarlane, too; and I have seen the actress before and she is good.  I don't know if it was just me, and maybe I didn't stick with it long enough - but the actress accent kept going from American to a bit of French.  And not in a good way.  Maybe there was a backstory of her growing up in  America, or one of her parents being American.  The movie should have been really good, really fun.  But the scenery was beautiful!

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3 hours ago, Kemper said:

I don't know if it was just me, and maybe I didn't stick with it long enough - but the actress accent kept going from American to a bit of French.  And not in a good way. 

No, it was not you.  The only person whose accent didn't vary from scene to scene was Luke.  At one point, it sounded like an Irish person trying to speak with a French accent.

As a non-fan of Luke MacFarlane as a straight love interest, I was not surprised that I didn't care about the movie enough to like or dislike it.  However, I am surprised that those of you who like Luke didn't care for it either. 

4 hours ago, Cetacean said:

I tried to watch but it was so bad.  I am so disappointed because it was written by Paul Campbell and I expected much better from him.

This.  Having said that, I did try to imagine Paul in this movie and would have to argue that he at least could deliver some of the comedic lines.

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Rachelle was born in Montreal so she speaks French--although I wasn't paying close enough attention to listen to her French accent to know if it was more Canadian than French.  She probably doesn't speak English with an accent normally, though.

I didn't think chemistry was really the issue. I believed their kissing scenes.  The story just was kind of there. 

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5 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Rachelle was born in Montreal so she speaks French--although I wasn't paying close enough attention to listen to her French accent to know if it was more Canadian than French.  She probably doesn't speak English with an accent normally, though.

You're right, if she's from Montreal she's probably completely bilingual with no accent in either language, which would mean she was putting on the French accent.  At least for now.  The Quebec government is doing everything it can to eliminate English from Quebec, though that's a political rant for another time and place.

It wasn't that I didn't believe the romance, I just didn't care about it.  I also watched part of Taking A Shot At Love this morning (still awful) and there was another Luke MacFarlane movie on the weekend.  Maybe it's his birthday or something.

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9 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

Props to you!! I barely made it through 20 minutes, and I'm a fan of LM, too.  I rewatched A Shoe Addict's Christmas Friday night and enjoyed it so much more than this one.

A Shoe Addict's Christmas is on my must watch list during the holidays.

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4 hours ago, bankerchick said:

You're right, if she's from Montreal she's probably completely bilingual with no accent in either language, which would mean she was putting on the French accent.  At least for now.  The Quebec government is doing everything it can to eliminate English from Quebec, though that's a political rant for another time and place.

It wasn't that I didn't believe the romance, I just didn't care about it.  I also watched part of Taking A Shot At Love this morning (still awful) and there was another Luke MacFarlane movie on the weekend.  Maybe it's his birthday or something.

Taking a Shot at Love is one of my favorites from Luke. That movie stays on my DVR for months at a time and I'll play it just for "back round noise" in the house as I do other things such as cooking. I have several Hallmark movies that have that same status on my DVR.

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Moriah's Lighthouse had the Breton scenery going for it, but it was kind of less than the sum of its parts.  The accents weren't what we think of as "typical French" but French accents can be kind of hard to pin down anyway.  I have no idea if they were accurate or not. I assume they had more of a Breton accent than Parisian.  Although Rachelle's accent was, shall we say, inconsistent.

Rachelle, a beautiful woman, tried to go for a French Girl aesthetic but could not pull it off.  And this particularly annoyed me: who does woodworking in an off the shoulder top?  And if that's what she wears for woodworking, she must have some really nice clothes in her closet.

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I'm so glad  to see some notes about Moriah's Lighthouse here.  My issue (and it arose from the previews first) was that the hero was supposed to be some lovable goof (as, that odd way when he said "Oui!")  He was doing the 'goof' thing, getting lost, no idea where to eat, getting hit by a bicycle - when it turned out that he was a professional architect who worked internationally, but hadn't bothered, in this case anyway, to study any French, or even to activate a translating app on his phone.  Did he go into every new work location being that lame ??

Then there were some non-sequitors toward the end about leaving the island or coming back in a matter of minutes.  I can take quite a bit of Hallmark suspension-of-disbelief, but this exceeded that.  Just odd and sloppy writing. 

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2 hours ago, Lugal said:

Moriah's Lighthouse had the Breton scenery going for it, but it was kind of less than the sum of its parts.  The accents weren't what we think of as "typical French" but French accents can be kind of hard to pin down anyway.  I have no idea if they were accurate or not. I assume they had more of a Breton accent than Parisian.  Although Rachelle's accent was, shall we say, inconsistent.

Rachelle, a beautiful woman, tried to go for a French Girl aesthetic but could not pull it off.  And this particularly annoyed me: who does woodworking in an off the shoulder top?  And if that's what she wears for woodworking, she must have some really nice clothes in her closet.

Her off the shoulder blue top struck me as well as being odd for a woodworker.

  • Like 1

Too many Hallmark movies can be described by saying "the story was lacking but the scenery was beautiful". I hope one day in the future that description doesn't have to be used as often because the quality of these movies actually improves. They have been getting some more established actresses and actors yet they still ruin their own movies because of some cookie cutter rules that still seem to be in place.

  • Like 5

Maybe the most perplexing thing about the movie was Luke M trying too hard to be The Absent Minded Professor. And the actress seemed to be sleepwalking her way through the entire thing. This was a movie I was looking forward to; and the first 10 minutes or so were picturesque and somewhat engaging. I have seen the actress in other roles and she is good. But they have been dramas. And better written.

Just watched another Luke MacFarlane movie. His leading lady is Bethany Joy Lenz in A Valentine's Match. I must admit, I was doing other things while this movie was on (mostly cooking) but did pay attention towards the end. This was my first viewing and I don't know how I missed this when it was first aired in 2020. I liked what I saw and that includes the chemistry between Luke and Bethany. They are good together. I believed their devotion to each other in the end.

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4 hours ago, Kemper said:

Maybe the most perplexing thing about the movie was Luke M trying too hard to be The Absent Minded Professor.

No kidding.  He went to FRANCE and was surprised that people speak French and not English?  And he had to be taught 'please' and 'thank you' and 'goodbye?'  Jesus, if you're going to travel to another country and can only learn two or three words, shouldn't 'please' and 'thank you' be the words?

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(edited)
On 6/21/2022 at 11:29 AM, bankerchick said:

No kidding.  He went to FRANCE and was surprised that people speak French and not English

It made no sense that he seemed so shocked (confused?) that France was “different”, yet he presented himself as an experienced world traveler.  Has he only ever been to countries that have English as its predominant language? 
 

I wasn’t paying that much attention, because we all knew there was going to be conflict about the lighthouse keeper’s home as soon as she said she wanted to buy it.  Did he ever say that it was going to be torn down?  All I caught was her meeting the new owner, then her screeching about it being demolished.  Was she just jumping to the usual Hallmark movie unfounded conclusion?

Edited by Mittengirl

Am I the only one who cringes when the (incessantly looped) preview for Two Tickets To Paradise comes on?  Ashley Williams demeanor and doofy delivery of her lines ("I can't believe we're going to Hawaii!"..."Are you following me?") seem better suited for comedy than romance.

And seriously - we're supposed to believe that two very attractive people got jilted at the altar, on the same day and are heading to the same honeymoon destination on their own?  Does anyone even get stood up RIGHT at the altar??

23 minutes ago, ctlady said:

Am I the only one who cringes when the (incessantly looped) preview for Two Tickets To Paradise comes on?  Ashley Williams demeanor and doofy delivery of her lines ("I can't believe we're going to Hawaii!"..."Are you following me?") seem better suited for comedy than romance.

And seriously - we're supposed to believe that two very attractive people got jilted at the altar, on the same day and are heading to the same honeymoon destination on their own?  Does anyone even get stood up RIGHT at the altar??

Sorry, but am I the only one who thinks Ashley Williams is looking like a grandma? No offense to grandmas out there but she is supposed to be a leading lady in a romance movie. Sorry, I'm just not buying it.

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1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

Sorry, but am I the only one who thinks Ashley Williams is looking like a grandma? No offense to grandmas out there but she is supposed to be a leading lady in a romance movie. Sorry, I'm just not buying it.

She's 43 & Ryan is 37 so they are in the same age range. I'm not bothered by movies having people older than 30 finding love.

I agree that her delivery of the dialog in the promos seems too comedic but will have to see the movie to see how it all plays out overall. I'm neutral on her overall. I find her ok in some stuff but not others.

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(edited)
21 hours ago, windsprints said:

She's 43 & Ryan is 37 so they are in the same age range. I'm not bothered by movies having people older than 30 finding love.

I agree that her delivery of the dialog in the promos seems too comedic but will have to see the movie to see how it all plays out overall. I'm neutral on her overall. I find her ok in some stuff but not others.

I love those story lines for older couples finding love. That is not the issue. Ashley is not aging well and she does not come across as a romantic lead, especially to Ryan. That is through my eyes.

Edited by luvthepros
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