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

[Cetacean]

20 hours ago, twoods said:

Hallmark is totally going to ruin the Nine Lives sequel aren't they? I have zero faith in them after the dreck they have shoved down our throats this year.

Unfortunately I think you will be correct.  They will shoehorn a decent relationship into their vapid formula. 

[twoods]

I finally am getting around to Her Pen Pal and I don’t know if it’s because I liked the actors on Galavant or because of beautiful Paris but I am enjoying it so far. Joshua Sasse is definitely bringing the hotness and Mallory’s acting is pretty good. 

[Guest]

On 8/11/2021 at 9:16 PM, twoods said:

Hallmark is totally going to ruin the Nine Lives sequel aren't they? I have zero faith in them after the dreck they have shoved down our throats this year.

Hopefully not. Kimberly Sustand is involved in the development and the movies she is heavily involved with tend to be better than most. 
 

 

[ShelleySue]

Nothing on the new Wedding March 6 movie?  That says a lot about how interesting it was for all of us.  I guess that I'll start (yawn).  I'll go with the obvious two issues.  (1) What about continuity?  Where were Mick and Olivia's daughters?  Where was Mick's sister? We know that Mick practically raised his sister but did we know he had a brother?  They said that Duke was in Ireland but geesh!  (2) Mick and Olivia are usually in the background of someone else's story.  That's the way this series is.  But this is THEIR WEDDING MOVIE. It's THE LAST MOVIE. Couldn''t it have focused on their story a little more? I didn't watch the whole movie to see the movie star/children's writer decide at the last minute to move-up their wedding and then have Mick and Olivia have their dream wedding.

BTW I do realize that movie star and children's writer were supposed to remind us of earlier Mick and Olivia. The advice that Olivia gave to Autumn/children's writer was what made Autumn become so accommodating and resulted in her nearly breaking off the engagement.  I felt like something was missing and if I cared I'd go back and rewatch the advice again and see if Autumn misunderstood or exactly what Olivia told her.

[WhyAmIHere]

7 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

Nothing on the new Wedding March 6 movie?  That says a lot about how interesting it was for all of us.  I guess that I'll start (yawn).  I'll go with the obvious two issues.  (1) What about continuity?  Where were Mick and Olivia's daughters?  Where was Mick's sister? We know that Mick practically raised his sister but did we know he had a brother?  They said that Duke was in Ireland but geesh!  (2) Mick and Olivia are usually in the background of someone else's story.  That's the way this series is.  But this is THEIR WEDDING MOVIE. It's THE LAST MOVIE. Couldn''t it have focused on their story a little more? I didn't watch the whole movie to see the movie star/children's writer decide at the last minute to move-up their wedding and then have Mick and Olivia have their dream wedding.

BTW I do realize that movie star and children's writer were supposed to remind us of earlier Mick and Olivia. The advice that Olivia gave to Autumn/children's writer was what made Autumn become so accommodating and resulted in her nearly breaking off the engagement.  I felt like something was missing and if I cared I'd go back and rewatch the advice again and see if Autumn misunderstood or exactly what Olivia told her.

I agree with your two main issues. They really couldn't get any of the actors who played Mick and Olivia's daughters, Duke, or Mick's sister?  I really enjoyed the first Wedding March movie because the focus was on Mick and Olivia.  Then they faded more and more into the background with each subsequent movie.  I watched each movie, but I couldn't tell you anything about 2-5. They didn't need another couple in this one. The focus should have been on Mick and Olivia since it was the last one.  

I don't think Autumn misunderstood Olivia's advice.  It wasn't good advice.  

Also, Autumn and her fiancé had not settled on where they were going to live?  I feel like that's a major issue to discuss before the wedding day. 

[Cetacean]

19 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

That says a lot about how interesting it was for all of us.

Fifteen minutes in, called it quits.  Ugh.

[WinnieWinkle]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:15 PM, Dani said:

I was looking at a list of the Christmas movies planned and was surprised to see they are adapting the last Mrs. Miracle book. The plot of that book isn’t a romance. It would be nice if they do something different rather than butchering another book. 

With the exception of Mr Miracle I've liked the Hallmark adaptations of Debbie Macomber's books,  They do take a few liberties, usually dropping some characters and changing things a bit but mostly the movies are recognizable.  I agree with you about the last Mrs Miracle books - I can't remember any romance in that.  If memory serves the main plot is a couple who want a baby and end up (spoiler in case anyone wants to read the book)

Spoiler

adopting a baby who is the result of a teen pregnancy

 

[ehall1052]

Fun observation: I was watching an episode of Reba on Hallmark channel, dated 2005, and a guest star was a very young Andrew Walker! 

[MerBearHou]

14 minutes ago, ehall1052 said:

Fun observation: I was watching an episode of Reba on Hallmark channel, dated 2005, and a guest star was a very young Andrew Walker! 

Thanks for this!  Just this once, I quickly switched over to Reba a few minutes ago to see young Andrew -- he was wonderful and looks so great, of course!!  

[WinnieWinkle]

5 hours ago, ehall1052 said:

Fun observation: I was watching an episode of Reba on Hallmark channel, dated 2005, and a guest star was a very young Andrew Walker! 

Recently I was watching an older episode of  Big Bang Theory dated 2008 and realized that Andrew Walker was the very briefly shown date of the week for Penny,  He only had a line or two but I kept thinking "where do I know this guy from" - thank god for IMDB!

[Cetacean]

OK, I realize How To Fall In Love was filmed almost 10 years ago.   So does Hallmark think that only old geezers will watch?  Umpteen ads for botox, incontinence pads, Life Alert, diabetes, wrinkle cream, arthritis?  Sheesh!

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

OK, I realize How To Fall In Love was filmed almost 10 years ago.   So does Hallmark think that only old geezers will watch? 

Well, I'm an old geezer and I love that movie (except when the kid says, 'you're the man of her dweems.')

I have watched two Christopher Russell movies over the last few days and there was no shirt removal in either one.  I thought that was in his contract, and honestly, was about the only thing making him watchable.

[WinnieWinkle]

10 hours ago, Cetacean said:

OK, I realize How To Fall In Love was filmed almost 10 years ago.   So does Hallmark think that only old geezers will watch?  Umpteen ads for botox, incontinence pads, Life Alert, diabetes, wrinkle cream, arthritis?  Sheesh!

I'm probably their target audience if they think the audience is over 60 and those commercials bug the hell out of me too.  I always know I'm watching a show the advertisers expect to veer towards the old geezer set when I see a ton of commercials featuring Kurt Browning trying to sell me on getting a CHIP mortgage (not sure if the US has a similar thing - "Access Up To 55% of Your Home Equity in Tax-Free Cash") My husband now officially hates Kurt Browning!

[Kemper]

9 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Well, I'm an old geezer and I love that movie (except when the kid says, 'you're the man of her dweems.')

I have watched two Christopher Russell movies over the last few days and there was no shirt removal in either one.  I thought that was in his contract, and honestly, was about the only thing making him watchable.

I would rather watch Christopher Russel then Ryan Paevey. C Russel does have a bit of charm so I will give him the wee nod.

[bankerchick]

9 hours ago, Kemper said:

I would rather watch Christopher Russel then Ryan Paevey. C Russel does have a bit of charm so I will give him the wee nod.

I don't disagree that CR has some charm, in fact, I watched a movie with Cindy Busby (Love In The Forecast) because he was in it.  I think that was the one where my TV screen happened to freeze just as he was taking off his shirt, and it took me a while to get around to starting it again - uh, I mean fixing it.

 

[Luckylyn]

I find I am biased in favor of Ryan Paveey because I like to look at him.  He started out stiff, but I think he’s improved.  He also has chemistry with most of his co-stars.

The funny thing is with Christopher Russell is when he’s a supporting character I like him but I never like him as the lead.  I never see chemistry between him and his co-stars.

Meanwhile I think Brandon Penny can act well but I never see sparks with him and his love interests so he’s an actor I don’t enjoy.

I think I can forgive weak acting skills if I think there’s good chemistry between the leads.

The ones for me that are whole package of good acting and chemistry are Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell, Luke Macfarlane, Chad Michael Murray(which is a surprise because I went through a phase of being bored of him).

 

[Cetacean]

A Little Daytime Drama should be renamed Zero Drama of Any Kind and Boring as Hell.  Just horrible on all fronts - no chemistry, no decent dialog, dreadful writing.  Major snoozefest, I nodded off multiple times.

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, Luckylyn said:

I find I am biased in favor of Ryan Paveey because I like to look at him.  He started out stiff, but I think he’s improved.  He also has chemistry with most of his co-stars.

The funny thing is with Christopher Russell is when he’s a supporting character I like him but I never like him as the lead.  I never see chemistry between him and his co-stars.

Meanwhile I think Brandon Penny can act well but I never see sparks with him and his love interests so he’s an actor I don’t enjoy.

I think I can forgive weak acting skills if I think there’s good chemistry between the leads.

The ones for me that are whole package of good acting and chemistry are Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell, Luke Macfarlane, Chad Michael Murray(which is a surprise because I went through a phase of being bored of him).

 

I agree with every word of this post with the exception of Luke Macfarlane having any chemistry with any actress, ever.

It is certainly a long list of eligible characters, but I have determined that the most maddening, frustrating, out-of-touch lead character is the woman in Love Is A Piece of Cake.  'No, I can't make a change, a single change to this place, it was started by my grandmother 65 years ago and needs to be run exactly the same way, even if I can't pay the bills anymore.'  'I can't move the bakery to another building!!!  It wouldn't be the same!'  'No, it's ok, I can do it myself.  Everything.  Making all the extra cakes for the grocery store, baking wedding cakes, doing all the dishes myself.  Then I will get together with the possible love interest and tell him that it's hard to have to do it all myself.'  'Mom, you must be so disappointed in me, I wasn't able to keep up Grandma's bakery.'  I'm quite sure it will all work out, including getting together with the love interest and his adorable (though I find her insufferable) little daughter, but I can see why people who are not strangely addicted to this stuff find it intolerable.  ETA:  message to the potential love interest:  how does it bode well for a future happy relationship when she automatically jumps to conclusions, yells at you, refuses to let you explain, won't take your calls and then when it turns out she's in the wrong, she apologizes and expects that all be well?

Edited August 22, 2021 by bankerchick

[kirinan]

3 hours ago, Cetacean said:

A Little Daytime Drama should be renamed Zero Drama of Any Kind and Boring as Hell.  Just horrible on all fronts - no chemistry, no decent dialog, dreadful writing.  Major snoozefest, I nodded off multiple times.

Maybe after a rough workweek I needed something that didn't challenge my brain, but I actually liked this. Didn't love it, but was okay with it, and didn't feel the need to flip to another channel; it kept my attention. Jen Lilley looked really beautiful, and just as I liked her and Ryan Paevey (that photo of him they kept in the studio hallway was 😍, btw) together in Harvest Love (the one about the orchard), I liked them together in this. Not much more to say about it than that, but it was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours for me.

Edited to add: It made me very happy that Pearl in Paradise was on immediately after this. Now THAT'S one I love and will watch whenever it's on!

Edited August 22, 2021 by kirinan

[Cherpumple]

13 hours ago, kirinan said:

(that photo of him they kept in the studio hallway was 😍, btw)

His blue eyes looked amazing in that picture!

I liked this one too, mainly because of the actors, and because the premise reminded me of Soapdish (one of my favorite movies), so I kept laughing at all the little similarities, which were probably unintentional. I wish they would've have leaned a little more into how goofy soap operas can be (just like Love, For Real made fun of reality dating shows), but the way they did it was fine. However, I did laugh when they were brainstorming ways for Ryan's soap character to come back on the show after being killed off the previous year and he suggested "vampire".

[Luckylyn]

I found A Little Daytime Drama a little boring.  I wished they had more fun with the soap opera genre.  There could have been some humor to liven things up.

[ShelleySue]

Why was Ryan Paevy a better actor when he was playing the soap actor acting in the soap than than when he was playing  the soap actor not acting in the soap? Does anyone know what I mean?

[Irlandesa]

Paevy is one of my "nopes."  I've tried and tried again with him but nope.  So I didn't even bother trying even though I thought there was potential in the daytime drama set up.  Sounds like wasted potential, though.

@ShelleySue has come the closest to convincing me it's worth watching just for the description of Ryan Paevy's character being a better actor than he is.

[Scarlett45]

I got rid of Directv, so now I only see Hallmark films at my Mom's house (just downstairs)- I havent seen anything upcoming that peaked my interest, I do tend to like the fall movies though.

I like Ryan Pavey- I think he is really cute. I liked him in Harvest Love and Christmas at the Plaza. The Darcy movies were kind of bland.

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I like Ryan Pavey- I think he is really cute. I liked him in Harvest Love and Christmas at the Plaza. The Darcy movies were kind of bland.

Cindy Busby was the movie-killer in the Darcy movies.  Plus, I know she is just the actress and not the writer, but Elizabeth Bennett was never rude and dismissive of Mr. Darcy until he was that way with her (he started it!) whereas the Darcy movies have the typical Hallmark 'bitchy for no reason right out of the gate' lead female.

Edited August 23, 2021 by bankerchick

[Irlandesa]

Oh those Darcy movies were where my Paevy hate began.  I don't recall Busby bothering me that much in them but she may have been bad.

But oh I resent what he and the writers did to Darcy in those movies. 

[SusanwatchingTV]

On 8/22/2021 at 9:34 AM, bankerchick said:

I agree with every word of this post with the exception of Luke Macfarlane having any chemistry with any actress, ever.

I totally agree with you there!  He seems likable enough, but he's just cringeworthy with the ladies. All of them. I can't think of one movie where he sold me on being in love.

Kristoffer Polaha on the other hand, always seems to be totally in love with his co-stars. In fact, in one of the movies I was thinking if I was his RL girlfriend I'm not sure I'd trust a word he said, he's that good at playing at being in love. haha

[bankerchick]

1 hour ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

I totally agree with you there!  He seems likable enough, but he's just cringeworthy with the ladies. All of them. I can't think of one movie where he sold me on being in love.

He is totally the gay best friend (he is openly gay IRL.)  He seems like a wonderful guy, great to hang out with, probably a lot of fun, but definitely no sexual attraction.  We spoke about him earlier in the thread where someone mentioned he was doing a same sex Christmas movie for Netflix.  I'm willing to bet he'll be great in it, totally believable and I will likely watch it just like every other Christmas movie (mostly so I can snark on the premise, actors, tropes etc.)

[SusanwatchingTV]

23 hours ago, bankerchick said:

He is totally the gay best friend (he is openly gay IRL.)  He seems like a wonderful guy, great to hang out with, probably a lot of fun, but definitely no sexual attraction.  We spoke about him earlier in the thread where someone mentioned he was doing a same sex Christmas movie for Netflix.  I'm willing to bet he'll be great in it, totally believable and I will likely watch it just like every other Christmas movie (mostly so I can snark on the premise, actors, tropes etc.)

Ah. That makes sense.

[luvthepros]

On 8/24/2021 at 12:03 PM, SusanwatchingTV said:

I totally agree with you there!  He seems likable enough, but he's just cringeworthy with the ladies. All of them. I can't think of one movie where he sold me on being in love.

 

I really liked the chemistry between Luke and Alexa Pena Vega in Taking a Shot at Love. It was believable to me and I am aware he is gay IRL. That is one of those movies that remains on my DVR for months at a time and I put on for back round "noise" if you will while I do house cleaning or what not.  Crazy that I put on Hallmark movies and not music.

Edited August 25, 2021 by luvthepros

[SusanwatchingTV]

1 hour ago, luvthepros said:

I really liked the chemistry between Luke and Alexa Pena Vega in Taking a Shot at Love. It was believable to me and I am aware he is gay IRL. That is one of those movies that remains on my DVR for months at a time and I put on for back round "noise" if you will while I do house cleaning or what not.  Crazy that I put on Hallmark movies and not music.

I liked that move fine, but I didn't buy them being in love. Good friends, yeah. They seemed to like each other...I just didn't get the "smitten" vibe.  There are some other actors that seems that way too me, too...and some that really sell it for me.  But we're all different, so I'm happy that it works for you.

The same is true for some actresses.  I can always buy that Lacy Chabert is in love. Cindy Busby on the other hand never really sells me on it.   I don't hate her. I just don't see the squee the way I do with others.

Edited August 25, 2021 by SusanwatchingTV

[ShelleySue]

17 hours ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

 

The same is true for some actresses.  I can always buy that Lacy Chabert is in love. Cindy Busby on the other hand never really sells me on it.   I don't hate her. I just don't see the squee the way I do with others.

I agree with you.  I don't follow the actors in real life, so I have no idea what sort of person she is, but Lacy Chabert seems to bring a sweetness to her characters.  The characters come across as genuine.  I just can't get past Cindy Busby's voice though. I haven't read anyone else complain about it so it must just be me.  I'm not sure what it is, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. So I just find her characters annoying and it has nothing at all to do with her acting.

[maggiegil]

https://people.com/tv/kimberly-williams-paisley-and-sister-ashley-williams-star-together-two-hallmark-christmas-movies/

"The two actresses are teaming up to play sisters in two original Hallmark Channel Christmas movies later this year: Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday and Sister Swap: Christmas in the City, PEOPLE reveals exclusively. Williams-Paisley, Williams, and Williams' husband Neal Dodson all serve as executive producers."

"In the two Sister Swap films, Williams-Paisley and Williams play Jennifer and Meg Swift, two sisters "who couldn't be closer despite living hours apart," according to the release from the network. "Jennifer is in Salt Lake City, running a successful restaurant she started with her late husband and raising her teenaged son Simon (Jacob Buster, Ballers), Meg stayed in their hometown of Hazelwood, helping their parents run the local bakery." 

The two films will be connected, with one movie focused on the story of Jennifer returning to her hometown, while the other tells Meg's tale of traveling to Salt Lake to help Jennifer's restaurant staff prepare for a Christmas competition among local restaurants. "

[Clawdette]

I'm looking forward to the Williams-Paisley and Williams movies because I think it will be fun to observe their interactions with each other.  I know they'll be in character but am hoping to see their connection as real sisters, too.

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, maggiegil said:

The two films will be connected, with one movie focused on the story of Jennifer returning to her hometown, while the other tells Meg's tale of traveling to Salt Lake to help Jennifer's restaurant staff prepare for a Christmas competition among local restaurants. "

Whatever, whatever.  Who are the actors??  That is really the only thing that interests me.

[SusanwatchingTV]

9 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I agree with you.  I don't follow the actors in real life, so I have no idea what sort of person she is, but Lacy Chabert seems to bring a sweetness to her characters.  The characters come across as genuine.  I just can't get past Cindy Busby's voice though. I haven't read anyone else complain about it so it must just be me.  I'm not sure what it is, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. So I just find her characters annoying and it has nothing at all to do with her acting.

Oh, no. You’re definitely not alone. I’ve always hated her voice.  I’ve gotten over it (mostly) because I enjoy romances so much, but her nasal whine is awful.

[Woopwoopkitty]

On 8/22/2021 at 7:34 AM, bankerchick said:

I agree with every word of this post with the exception of Luke Macfarlane having any chemistry with any actress, ever

The one exception for me is his pairing with Erin Cahill - who many consider to be the most wooden of the Hallmark actresses- in the faked Chopped show contest.

i don’t generally care for Cindy Busby but I make an exception for the prince movie where James Brolin plays her dad a Montana rancher. The story line and other characters made her annoyingness less prevalent.  And yes I did just make up my own word.

i recently watched Dater’s handbook and wow Kristopher was super hot with his shaggy hair and I was surprised at how pretty Megan Markle is on screen.

the other one who radiates chemistry is Marc Blucas.  He could make me believe he’s in love with a telephone pole. A rock. Anything.  I wish it was me.

[Scarlett45]

8 hours ago, Clawdette said:

I'm looking forward to the Williams-Paisley and Williams movies because I think it will be fun to observe their interactions with each other.  I know they'll be in character but am hoping to see their connection as real sisters, too.

I didn’t know they were sisters! (Williams being a common last name, I never thought about it.)

These movies should be fun. 

[chitowngirl]

13 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I didn’t know they were sisters! (Williams being a common last name, I never thought about it.)

These movies should be fun. 

When you see them together, you’ll notice immediately that they are sisters. They sound alike and have similar features that when you see them in different projects, you might not realize the connection. I’m looking forward to seeing the movies! 

[Cherpumple]

I just love the idea of having connected movies. I've been saying for years that it would be fun for Hallmark to lean into the idea of their movies having a shared universe, if only to give some winks to their longtime fans. For instance, I would love to see someone casually mention that they spent their Christmases in a town called Evergreen when they were a kid, or say that they went to college at the place Jill Wagner's character teaches in Murder 101.

[Clawdette]

Speaking of connectedness:  I saw a tee-shirt that read “I survived Sunnydale and Hudson University,” linking two of my fandoms.  Hilarious!

[twoods]

My must watch actor that always has chemistry with their lead besides Kristoffer is Michael Rady. I think I have enjoyed every movie he’s done on Hallmark. Hoping he’s in some upcoming movies.

[mikeb]

On 8/21/2021 at 8:56 AM, WinnieWinkle said:

I'm probably their target audience if they think the audience is over 60 and those commercials bug the hell out of me too.  I always know I'm watching a show the advertisers expect to veer towards the old geezer set when I see a ton of commercials featuring Kurt Browning trying to sell me on getting a CHIP mortgage (not sure if the US has a similar thing - "Access Up To 55% of Your Home Equity in Tax-Free Cash") My husband now officially hates Kurt Browning!

The U.S version is multiple Tom Selleck commercials pitching reverse mortages ... "this is not my first rodeo ..."

[bankerchick]

Currently watching Sailing Into Love featuring the 'never gonna win an acting award but totally hot nevertheless' Chris McNally, my first Hallmark crush.  If I have to hear 'we need to save Blue Island' one more time, I might sail out there and build the hotel myself.  I am doing a lot of muting during this movie but Mr. McNally is too handsome for me to turn away completely.

[MerBearHou]

11 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

Currently watching Sailing Into Love featuring the 'never gonna win an acting award but totally hot nevertheless' Chris McNally, my first Hallmark crush.  If I have to hear 'we need to save Blue Island' one more time, I might sail out there and build the hotel myself.  I am doing a lot of muting during this movie but Mr. McNally is too handsome for me to turn away completely.

Agreed about Chris McNally - he is impossibly handsome.  

[Lugal]

On 8/8/2021 at 8:01 AM, Luckylyn said:

Autumn Reeser and Andrew Walker are favorites of mine so I was looking forward to The 27 Hour Day.  They had chemistry, but I found I was a bit bored.  I fast forwarded through parts of it.  Maybe my expectations were too high because I am a fan of the actors? 

I like both actors and that's what made me watch because the guide was so generic it was ridiculous: something like "An entrepreneur reexamines her life."

Despite cramming in every irritating branding buzzword in the first ten minutes and that her 27 hour day philosophy is a recipe for a psychotic break, it struck me how this really hit on the existential emptiness of modern life, particularly that overhead shot where Autumn Reeser is on her balcony, disconnected from all her tech as she says: "I'm scared."  And the fact we see the older guy who is like many people never really cultivate any identity outside of work and after retirement find themselves adrift in life.

But this is still Hallmark after all, so don't expect to spend too much time in the desert of the real.  It's not about just getting things done it's about getting the important things done.  Optimization!  The old guy finds a new thing to throw himself into, Autumn Reeser learns to use what she discovered here to build her business and no one ever decides to just be.  And of course Andrew Walker comes to the city for his career in the end, close to Autumn Reeser.

The leads were charismatic enough and the scenery was gorgeous, but it didn't feel like this one ever really got out from under the existential crisis that it started with.

[twoods]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Currently watching Sailing Into Love featuring the 'never gonna win an acting award but totally hot nevertheless' Chris McNally, my first Hallmark crush.  If I have to hear 'we need to save Blue Island' one more time, I might sail out there and build the hotel myself.  I am doing a lot of muting during this movie but Mr. McNally is too handsome for me to turn away completely.

Ooh I may check that one out because I like Chris as well and the actress Leah is decent, despite her annoying breathy voice. Her partner is also Nick Zano so I may be a little jealous of her life.

Edited August 28, 2021 by twoods

[kirinan]

I saw a 2014 movie last night on Hallmark Drama, Midnight Masquerade. I wasn't going to watch it, but I saw Autumn Reeser was one of the leads—Christopher Russell was the other—and she's my favorite Hallmark actress, so I got sucked in. It was a different kind of take on a Cinderella story, with her kind of in the prince position and Christopher Russell as Cinderella. It was cute! I really ended up enjoying it. They were good together, and there was one flash of CR without a shirt (kind of a nice surprise). I would watch it again. 

ETA: Eek! I just saw the commercial for Roadhouse Romance, Tyler Hynes' fall movie with Lauren Alaina. Saturday, Sept. 11. It looks good...Oh, who am I kidding, I'd watch it even if it didn't, LOL.

Edited August 29, 2021 by kirinan

[norcalgal]

On 7/4/2021 at 8:14 AM, kirinan said:

Just finished watching Cooking With Love, from 2018, with Ali Liebert and Brett Dalton. Another movie I really enjoy rewatching whenever it's on. It's not perfect, but it always leaves me smiling.

My husband thinks it's funny that Brett, who ended up playing a bad guy (or an alien; I forget which, maybe it was both) in Agents of SHIELD, is a Hallmark leading man, but I have to say, I think he's another reliable lead actor they don't use enough. It probably helps that I stopped watching AoS before his evolution into badness. I really liked him in Just My Type with Bethany Joy Lenz, which I also happened to catch just a few days ago.

Ali is one of my favorites, too, but I'm not sure how she feels about Hallmark these days, given the ham-handed way the channel has handled same-sex representation over the last couple of years. I would love to see her again in a new project, though.

GOOD MOVIE ALERT: I just happened to see on my guide that the Hallmark Channel is showing Christmas by Starlight next Saturday, 7/10, at 5 p.m. (Eastern).

The only reason I'm chiming in here is to say @kirinan, I love your avatar!  Too bad the Agent Carter series is no longer considered "canon" but I don't care - I'll still rewatch my two seasons of Agent Carter DVDs...

[norcalgal]

On 7/22/2021 at 5:19 AM, Cetacean said:

And I can count on one hand the number of Hallmark I can stand to watch more than once.

For me, the ones that immediately come to mind are: Bridal Wave, Lucky 7, Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, A Very Merry Mix Up, and Crown for Christmas. I know, I know....Danica McKellar, but I have a soft spot for the male lead since I saw him way back in the day on the show MI-5 (called Spooks in the UK).

Edited August 29, 2021 by norcalgal