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

[Cetacean]

2 hours ago, Pegasaurus said:

I know this is Hallmark but come on!

I totally agree but I knew by watching the commercials that that would be a totally implausible but Hallmark Happy Ending.  They have no interest in their products having a base in reality, continuity, or logic.  I think they throw darts at a How to End Two Hours of Drivel dartboard and there is the wind up ending with a kiss.  I have sworn off most of them until I read something positive here.  Can't take it anymore.  I need to up my insulin it's so saccharine.

[geekgirl921]

On 10/30/2022 at 7:34 PM, Irlandesa said:

I agree.  Ghosts of Christmas Always was really good.  It had multiple twists on the Scrooge tale.  The leads were good.  I especially liked Ian Harding.  I don't know if these two are one-offs for the network but I'd love to see more of them.

I watched this last night. Thanks for the recommendation. I really liked it~

[Mittengirl]

So, Marlo Thomas… Cosmetic surgery gone wrong or a medical issue?

[Cetacean]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

So, Marlo Thomas… Cosmetic surgery gone wrong or a medical issue?

Is that who that is?  Holy crap, all I could think of was that somebody's plastic surgeon deserves to be shot. I couldn't figure out who she was!

[Chippings]

I just looked it up.  Marlo Thomas is turning 85 later this month.  The movie hasn't come on here yet, but I'll check her out.  That she's working at all is impressive.  

[luv2lurk]

6 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

So, Marlo Thomas… Cosmetic surgery gone wrong or a medical issue?

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Is that who that is?  Holy crap, all I could think of was that somebody's plastic surgeon deserves to be shot. I couldn't figure out who she was!

Definitely NOT That Girl anymore. And it's a shame.

[Cetacean]

9 hours ago, Chippings said:

Marlo Thomas is turning 85 later this month.

What a shame that women have to mutilate themselves to get work in Hollywood. 

[norcalgal]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:30 AM, anniebird said:

I think Ghosts of Christmas Always will be the jewel in this year's crop of holiday movies. Other than its clunky title, the movie had everything most Hallmark movies don't - a well-written, well-acted script that was both smart and funny. The actors who played the leads were both appealing but I was especially fond of Lori Tan Chinn who played the grumpy Ghost of Christmas Past.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie and liked that the male lead wasn’t a jerk (who came good from holiday spirit or luuurrvve). He was also an anti alpha male, so that was refreshing.

The chemistry between both leads was fine, and I liked the other ghosts, but Reginald’s character really had very little to do (at least actively on screen; passively, I guess he was a part of Kat and Peter getting together).

As for the two leads getting together, it makes no sense - none, zero - that Kat returned in her original body carrying all her memories! Soulmates sure, but her soul should have gone into a present day character, not someone who died decades ago and can’t account for her history to anyone who asks, without sounding cray cray.

[Scarlett45]

On 11/2/2022 at 9:33 AM, ShelleySue said:

As I said, I hated Christmas Bedtime Stories. One of my issues was that it was totally implausible. I'm not talking about the stories she told her daughter having morsels coming true the next day. I'm talking about things like him being held prisoner for three years and then escaping and showing up at the dance the next day looking healthy. The Department of Defense/US Government not notifying a family that an MIA person was found -- does happen -- I don't' think so. On the other hand, there being ghosts who show up once a year to show people the meaning of Christmas, which is implausible too, does not bother me in the least. A woman who has been dead for years, coming back to life and then living without any identification in the real world -- I am ok with that. Ghosts of Christmas Always is now one of my favorite holiday movies along with The Nine Lives of Christmas, The Christmas Card, The Most Wonderful Time of Year, and The Christmas Contract (not Hallmark). 

I loved Robert Buckley (The Christmas Contract) in The Christmas House, I have not seen the second one. But I was a fan of him from his OTH and his iZombie days. He could be a next Hallmark leading man- he's got an easy way about him, he's super handsome but not "stuffy".

On 11/3/2022 at 11:15 AM, twoods said:

Hilarie Burton is in one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies Naughty or Nice, and in Summer Villa which was very good, so I would love to see her back. I miss high quality movies from Hallmark.

Naughty or Nice was so good! She has some good Lifetime ones with other OTH people that are fun.

[bankerchick]

4 hours ago, Cetacean said:

What a shame that women have to mutilate themselves to get work in Hollywood. 

I would question why Hollywood thinks this is better than what she might look like without the work.  I couldn't help thinking that her disaster of a face (apologies, Marlo, I loved That Girl but the truth is the truth) didn't come from just one procedure, and doesn't anyone love her enough to have prevented the subsequent mutilations?  How does she even breathe out of that nose?

I did actually enjoy A Magical Christmas Village, despite not usually liking either of the leads.  It was funny and sweet and the characters were likeable, even though there was no heat between them at all.  I won't belabour why I think that is.

The Erin Cahill (not) dead soldier movie is on tonight and I will be skipping that based on comments here, but Lights, Camera, Christmas with Kimberly Sustad is also on, so I am holding out hope for that one.  The lead actor is new to me and pretty cute, so, fingers crossed.

[luvthepros]

On 11/1/2022 at 1:12 PM, norcalgal said:

More and more, it seems like Peacock is a streaming service worth paying for (or obtaining in some other manner - no judgment!).

Because we subscribe to Comcast, we get Peacock for "free". 

I haven't done the math, but it almost seems like if someone has a majority of the streamers (Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Peacock, Paramount, HBO, etc.) it almost adds up to the cost of an average monthly cable bill. 

I cannot live without my talking remote that comes from Xfinity AKA Comcast. I will not give it up to stream everything.

[twoods]

Mingle all the Way us on tonight at 1am if those that enjoyed it like I did want to DVR it- same with Crashing Through the Snow tomorrow at 7am which has some pretty hot (by Hallmark standard) scenes between the leads.

Edited November 5, 2022 by twoods

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I have not seen the second one. But I was a fan of him from his OTH and his iZombie days.

I highly recommend the second Christmas House movie.  I thought it was even more fun than the first.  The rare Hallmark sequel that equals or betters the first.

I liked A Magical Christmas Village in that it was pleasant.  Not super interesting.  Not something I'd watch over and over again but LM and AS are pros.  I appreciated that it was a pretty straight forward romance from asking each other out to let it develop naturally.  More tension was between the daughter and mother. But I look forward to rewatching A Christmas In My Heart.  I thought Luke and Heather had some great chemistry in that one which helped raise the enjoyment factor.

The preview for tonight's movie looked intriguing.  If nothing else, it looks like Sustad and Brotherton are going to have good chemistry. 

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Mingle all the Way us on tonight at 1am if those that enjoyed it like I did want to DVR it- same with Crashing Through the Snow tomorrow at 7am which has some pretty hot (by Hallmark standard) scenes between the leads.

Mingle made zero impression on me but I did like Crashing Through The Snow. 

6 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Soulmates sure, but her soul should have gone into a present day character, not someone who died decades ago and can’t account for her history to anyone who asks, without sounding cray cray.

Did she have all her memories? I couldn't figure that out.  But I just assume that, by making her choice, Christmas magic happened and she was brought into existence. 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Irlandesa

[twoods]

I also liked Ghosts of Christmas Always- because of your guys’ recommendation it’s the first one I’ve watched this year. Nice story and no stupid tropes. 

[norcalgal]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Did she have all her memories? I couldn't figure that out.  But I just assume that, by making her choice, Christmas magic happened and she was brought into existence. 

Re: Ghosts of Christmas Always, I thought she did have her memories when she returned to life. 
Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but having her return to her old body with memories intact is stupid because how does she answer basic questions about her life to other people?

Q: where’d you grow up?

A: Hartford

Q:  How come no one remembers you from school/church/Girl Scouts/your job/etc.?  Hey, how come Mrs.Smith remembers a Katherine X (I can’t remember her last name) who died decades ago and says you look a lot like her…?

sorry I’m being a downer about these details because overall, it was a good movie except for the ending which fails all logic 

[absnow54]

8 hours ago, bankerchick said:

The Erin Cahill (not) dead soldier movie is on tonight and I will be skipping that based on comments here, but Lights, Camera, Christmas with Kimberly Sustad is also on, so I am holding out hope for that one.  The lead actor is new to me and pretty cute, so, fingers crossed.

I loved the lead, John Brotherton, when he was on One Life to Live, but now he’s always mugging through all of his performances. I think his time on Fuller House killed whatever talent he had. 

[anniebird]

43 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

I loved the lead, John Brotherton, when he was on One Life to Live, but now he’s always mugging through all of his performances. I think his time on Fuller House killed whatever talent he had. 

That suits this character perfectly.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked A Magical Christmas Village in that it was pleasant.  Not super interesting.  Not something I'd watch over and over again but LM and AS are pros.  I appreciated that it was a pretty straight forward romance from asking each other out to let it develop naturally.  More tension was between the daughter and mother.

I agree. The plot wasn’t anything special but it didn’t get in the way of LM and AS being charming. One thing that I did really like about the plot was that they both were type A personalities without being obnoxious or rude. 

I really didn’t like the mother though. The toxic positivity, everything will be alright in the end plot just irritated me. 

[Cetacean]

I wanted to like Lights, Action, Christmas - I really did.  I normally love anything with Sustad.  But, man, what a total snooze.  I kept drifting off making mental lists in my head of groceries and chores only to snap back without a single regret about what I might have missed.  It did nothing at all to hold my attention.

[kirinan]

I really liked Lights, Action, Christmas. Kimberley Sustad is an automatic watch for me, and she delivered as always. This is the first time I’ve ever seen John Brotherton, and while he was a little over the top, it fit the character and made me laugh. And I thought their chemistry was great. The B story, about the battling couple, kept my interest too. Was it great? Probably not, but it was a very enjoyable two hours for me, which was all I wanted tonight. I’d watch it again.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I loved the lead, John Brotherton, when he was on One Life to Live, but now he’s always mugging through all of his performances. I think his time on Fuller House killed whatever talent he had. 

Well, he had the mugging down for this movie for sure, but when he became more normal he was sweet.  Though I couldn't stop thinking that Paul Campbell would have been better.  I also laughed at their rattling off all the tropes, like when she couldn't remember which movie with the word Christmas in the title that she had just watched.

[anniebird]

I'm watching Five More Minutes  - if there actually were this much snow in Fayetteville NC no one would stop talking about it. 

Edited to add: If you multiply the title of that movie by 24, that's how much time I wasted watching it. It was pretty bad - it wasn't only the snow that was unrealistic.

Edited November 6, 2022 by anniebird

[DanaMB]

Watching A Maple Valley Christmas. The heroine just met the hero and 20 minutes in kisses him. I think I’m actually proud of a Hallmark for allowing this scandalous behavior. 😂

We’ll see how the rest of the movie goes. 

[Irlandesa]

On 11/5/2022 at 7:56 PM, absnow54 said:

I loved the lead, John Brotherton, when he was on One Life to Live, but now he’s always mugging through all of his performances. I think his time on Fuller House killed whatever talent he had. 

He was in CCB's last Christmas movie for Hallmark and I think he helped elevate it.  I found myself liking it more than I usually like her movies.

40 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

Watching A Maple Valley Christmas. The heroine just met the hero and 20 minutes in kisses him. I think I’m actually proud of a Hallmark for allowing this scandalous behavior. 😂

We’ll see how the rest of the movie goes. 

Yes.  That was scandalous.  I like that they added Peyton List as she's fresh blood in these movies.  Unfortunately, the movie devolved for me.  Her relationship with Andrew's character was fine but I thought her character in relation to her neighbors, her sister and her mother made her so unlikable. 

[bankerchick]

9 hours ago, anniebird said:

I'm watching Five More Minutes  - if there actually were this much snow in Fayetteville NC no one would stop talking about it. 

Edited to add: If you multiply the title of that movie by 24, that's how much time I wasted watching it. It was pretty bad - it wasn't only the snow that was unrealistic.

Nikki DeLoach.  Enough said.

I just finished Ghosts of Christmas Always.  I really liked it.  The ending was a little confusing but I'm ok to go with it.  I don't recall seeing either of the leads in anything before but will gladly watch either again.  

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, DanaMB said:

Watching A Maple Valley Christmas. The heroine just met the hero and 20 minutes in kisses him. I think I’m actually proud of a Hallmark for allowing this scandalous behavior. 😂

We’ll see how the rest of the movie goes. 

I swear, I almost turned it off, and then she kissed him, and I was like, “Well that’s something new!” Unfortunately it was a total snoozer. I’m holding out hope that Andrew Walker’s other movie this year Three Wise Men and a Baby will be better. I mean, it’s Paul Campbell, Tyler Hines, and Andrew Walker in the same movie, it’s like it was generated in a Christmas Lab to be enjoyable. 

[DanaMB]

35 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

I swear, I almost turned it off, and then she kissed him, and I was like, “Well that’s something new!” Unfortunately it was a total snoozer. 

I’m an hour and ten minutes in and I’m so bored. 

[maggiegil]

I just watched Lights Camera Christmas! and I enjoyed it but I felt like they really missed a trick by not having the film they were shooting be an actual hallmark film. I think that would have been good if we had first seen a proper Hallmark Christmas film and then the next night we see the behind the scenes film of a couple working on the film falling in love like in Lights Camera.

[norcalgal]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I just finished Ghosts of Christmas Always.  I really liked it.  The ending was a little confusing but I'm ok to go with it.  I don't recall seeing either of the leads in anything before but will gladly watch either again.  

I’ve never seen the male lead in anything except this Hallmark movie, but the female lead used to be on Bold and the Beautiful. She played Hope for many years. 

[Irlandesa]

If you're up late, Love At The Thansgiving Day Parade is on now on HMM.  And it'll be reaired 11/14 in the morning.   (It's also available for free on streaming services but there's just something about catching it live.)

[DanaMB]

7 hours ago, maggiegil said:

I just watched Lights Camera Christmas! and I enjoyed it but I felt like they really missed a trick by not having the film they were shooting be an actual hallmark film. I think that would have been good if we had first seen a proper Hallmark Christmas film and then the next night we see the behind the scenes film of a couple working on the film falling in love like in Lights Camera.

I thought the same thing when watching it. 

[ECM1231]

On 10/29/2022 at 2:28 AM, Dani said:

Yes. She is in Lifetime’s first Christmas movie this year. The horribly named Merry Swissmas (originally Christmas in Switzerland). Unfortunately, it wasn’t filmed in Switzerland. 

I just saw this the other night on Lifetime and quite enjoyed it. I know we have a thread for Lifetime movies here, but is there one specifically for their Christmas movies?

Edited November 7, 2022 by ECM1231

[Door County Cherry]

4 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

I just saw this the other night on Lifetime and quite enjoyed it. I know we have a thread for Lifetime movies here, but is there one specifically for their Christmas movies?

The following thread is for holiday movies (Lifetime, UP, ION...etc. and even Hallmark if you'd like to discuss it in there. )

[Cetacean]

Wear your Halmark love on you feet. Personally, I pass.

[ctlady]

I am cringing with dread whenever I see the ad for Our Italian Christmas Memories   As an Italian-American whose both sets of grandparents immigrated over here from the 'old country', I don't feel very hopeful seeing a bunch of anglo/non-Italians appropriating the culture just because they serve a pasta dish and spout off a few Italian phrases like  "buon natale".  I mean - imagine the outcry if this was being done to hispanic or black culture?  It's the reason I refused to watch Unthinkably Good Things - just....no

Now....maybe the late mother in this movie was pure Italian so I'm holding off benefit of the doubt.  But when I think of Italian culture, the last thing I think of is Beau Bridges.  

[Bethany]

19 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I just finished Ghosts of Christmas Always.  I really liked it.  The ending was a little confusing but I'm ok to go with it.  I don't recall seeing either of the leads in anything before but will gladly watch either again.  

Just watched this one and I loved it.  Definitely going on my list of "movies I will watch again and again".  I loved the ending, agree it was confusing, but still loved it!

[ECM1231]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci0Asu0ALyF/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

[MerBearHou]

17 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci0Asu0ALyF/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

OMG I AM DYING!!!!!!  I watched this at the office twice and am cracking up -- who IS this guy?!  Brilliant!

[Cetacean]

59 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci0Asu0ALyF/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Hallmark movies in less than a minute.

[Bronx Babe]

,Welcome to Garland, Alaska and stay at the ugliest inn ever, then when you get hungry walk around the corner to Hattie's Diner where you can order Cocoa Cornbread Stuffing -- whatever on Gods's green earth that is -- as an entree, plus pork belly braised in......egg nog.

Do not tell me the scriptwriters are from this planet.

[norcalgal]

4 hours ago, ctlady said:

I am cringing with dread whenever I see the ad for Our Italian Christmas Memories   As an Italian-American whose both sets of grandparents immigrated over here from the 'old country', I don't feel very hopeful seeing a bunch of anglo/non-Italians appropriating the culture just because they serve a pasta dish and spout off a few Italian phrases like  "buon natale".  I mean - imagine the outcry if this was being done to hispanic or black culture?  It's the reason I refused to watch Unthinkably Good Things - just....no

Now....maybe the late mother in this movie was pure Italian so I'm holding off benefit of the doubt.  But when I think of Italian culture, the last thing I think of is Beau Bridges.  

I haven’t seen any ads for this, but Beau Bridges!?  Yikes!  If Antonio Cupo was in it, it might partially salvage the Italian heritage part of the movie, since he is of Italian heritage and speaks fluent Italian. 

[Bronx Babe]

More insanity:  (I don't remember the name of this one)  We all (those of us on planet Earth) know how evocatively it smells like Christmas when we immediately walk onto a lot selling Xmas trees, but not this particular Hallmark heroine, who finds one she especially likes, breathes in the aroma and exclaims  "You even smell like Xmas!"  What do the others smell like, chopped liver??

[Bronx Babe]

Lights, Cameras, Christmas -- Hallmark spoofing it's own image.

Why Carrie turned down the New York designer job is beyond me, especially since she missed her chance all those years ago in that city to expand her creative horizons. 

[Bronx Babe]

So many wtf moments -- what's the one where the male lead shows our heroine how to fully enjoy a decorated live Xmas tree by having them lay on the floor AND PUT THEIR HEADS UNDERNEATH THE TREE, where hopefully no pine needles drop down into their eyes.

Marlo Thomas is I believe over 80 years old and has a very good plastic surgeon.

[luvthepros]

2 minutes ago, Bronx Babe said:

So many wtf moments -- what's the one where the male lead shows our heroine how to fully enjoy a decorated live Xmas tree by having them lay on the floor AND PUT THEIR HEADS UNDERNEATH THE TREE, where hopefully no pine needles drop down into their eyes.

Christmas List with Alicia Witt and Gabriel Hogan.

[anniebird]

3 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

So many wtf moments -- what's the one where the male lead shows our heroine how to fully enjoy a decorated live Xmas tree by having them lay on the floor AND PUT THEIR HEADS UNDERNEATH THE TREE, where hopefully no pine needles drop down into their eyes.

Haven't you ever done that? It's really cool!

[Guest]

On 11/6/2022 at 4:36 PM, DanaMB said:

Watching A Maple Valley Christmas. The heroine just met the hero and 20 minutes in kisses him. I think I’m actually proud of a Hallmark for allowing this scandalous behavior. 😂

We’ll see how the rest of the movie goes. 

I was only half watching this and was in such disbelief I had to rewind to make sure that was what this were talking about. 

On 11/6/2022 at 5:16 PM, Irlandesa said:

Yes.  That was scandalous.  I like that they added Peyton List as she's fresh blood in these movies.  Unfortunately, the movie devolved for me.  Her relationship with Andrew's character was fine but I thought her character in relation to her neighbors, her sister and her mother made her so unlikable. 

I agree she is a good addition. Too bad they stuck them in such a generic plot. 

[ctlady]

15 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci0Asu0ALyF/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

15 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

OMG I AM DYING!!!!!!  I watched this at the office twice and am cracking up -- who IS this guy?!  Brilliant!

And this isn't the only one on his IG page.  I watched about 10 of this this morning.  Absolutely hysterical.  Halloween ones.  Valentine ones.  Christmas ones.  Thanksgiving ones.  Fall ones.  The earlier videos are a little raw, but the recent ones have better editing and a little longer.  

[absnow54]

On 11/7/2022 at 4:30 AM, Irlandesa said:

If you're up late, Love At The Thansgiving Day Parade is on now on HMM.  And it'll be reaired 11/14 in the morning.   (It's also available for free on streaming services but there's just something about catching it live.)

I finally (FINALLY) caught this one after years of seeing it recommended in this thread. It was such a gem! I love Autumn Reeser, especially as Taylor Townsend on the OC, and her character in this movie was very Taylor-esque. I wish they still made Hallmark movies like this one. 

[ehall1052]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I finally (FINALLY) caught this one after years of seeing it recommended in this thread. It was such a gem! I love Autumn Reeser, especially as Taylor Townsend on the OC, and her character in this movie was very Taylor-esque. I wish they still made Hallmark movies like this one. 

I loved all the vintage clothes that Autumn wore, especially the replica of Jackie K’s famous strawberry pink suit. I read a book about the dressmaker who made that suit and it was fascinating.