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

[EyewatchTV211]

19 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I can only think of one Christmas/Chanukah movie (the Joey Lawrence one) but you're right, it has been a while. I'm curious if there were any more movies made after or around that time.

There was also a movie Will You Merry Me? I don't think it was ever repeated after the first holiday season it aired, so I don't think it got much attention. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1237962/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt

[MissyPoo]

16 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

There was also a movie Will You Merry Me? I don't think it was ever repeated after the first holiday season it aired, so I don't think it got much attention. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1237962/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt

Oh right! I think that was a Lifetime one, yeah? I see it pop up on streaming via different places but I never gave it a look. I may check it out next time I see it.

 

Btw, Hallmark finally brought back some oldies but (imo) goodies. A Carol Christmas, Ms. Scrooge, and A Diva's Christmas Carol are all on the movie channel with upcoming November showings if they aren't on demand right now.  Waiting to see if other oldies make it on the channel.

 

1 hour ago, Kaoteek said:

(so, just to be sure, and because every year, it gets kind of messy as Christmas draws near and the movies multiply - are we keeping all Hallmark talk, including Christmas movies, here, and the rest/other networks in the Holiday thread, or are we spreading the discussion over both topics ? What's the consensus ?)

Good q. I'm game with wherever or whichever is easiest for everyone.

[Tony44]

I`ve decided to Boycott Hallmark - starting now....Why you may ask?, Well I`m a Gay man from the UK & I`ve reached the point where I`m offended & even upset by Hallmark`s attitude to the gay community. I like many others have spent a lot of money to view Hallmark movies/ series & later on to buy the actual DVDs . I`ve enjoyed the pleasure In watching quality movies, that leave you with that warm glow afterwards!

 

I`ve also long supported the advancement of seeing more black people etc to be featured more In films, rather than just being the `token black female / male` shoehorned Into the story.

 

However as a gay man, I find It deeply offensive, that there are no gay characters...not one! What`s worse Is that Hallmark employ gay Actors / Actresses as long as they `play straight`, they are cast. There are also probably gay people `behind the scenes`, but that Is where they will stay It seems. It Is as offensive to me as, to what happened years ago, where white actors would `black up` to play black.

 

I`m not asking for the world, but when people like `me` are Ignored / airbrushed out of society, It hurts you know?!. It was never my `choice` to be `gay` It happened, yet to be excluded totally, It`s nasty. I know Hallmark claim they provide `family friendly` entertainment, yet can they say hand on heart, that not one of those `families` doesn`t contain a `gay member`?

 

For me, I suppose It`s the realisation that, despite being a Hallmark fan, Hallmark will never be a fan of me, or any other gay people & that does hurt. I don`t want to spoil any other people`s enjoyment of this season of Christmas movies, It`s just for me, Hallmark has lost It`s glow & sadly, also this viewer.

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

(so, just to be sure, and because every year, it gets kind of messy as Christmas draws near and the movies multiply - are we keeping all Hallmark talk, including Christmas movies, here, and the rest/other networks in the Holiday thread, or are we spreading the discussion over both topics ? What's the consensus ?)

Ha.  I have this niggling feeling this has come up before but talk never seems to gravitate towards one or the other permanently so I just check both.

16 hours ago, kirinan said:

For my fellow Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade fans, it's on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this Saturday, November 3 at 1 a.m. (ET). And three more times, if you click the "Showtimes" link in the upper right corner.

It was also on Sunday morning.

[AnnaRose]

16 hours ago, kirinan said:

For my fellow Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade fans, it's on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this Saturday, November 3 at 1 a.m. (ET). And three more times, if you click the "Showtimes" link in the upper right corner.

All is now right in my holiday world.

Thanks so much for mentioning that!  I looked for it last year, after reading it was a favorite, but was never able to watch it.

6 hours ago, Kaoteek said:

(so, just to be sure, and because every year, it gets kind of messy as Christmas draws near and the movies multiply - are we keeping all Hallmark talk, including Christmas movies, here, and the rest/other networks in the Holiday thread, or are we spreading the discussion over both topics ? What's the consensus ?)

I usually just watch Hallmark because there are so many movies already, and it's just too overwhelming for me to try to sort out the worthwhile ones on the other channels too, and even more challenging to keep track them and make room on my DVR.  I'm still catching up on the  Hallmark movies from previous years.  So I usually just post here, but I also read the Holiday Movie thread too, just in case there is something interesting... and it seems like that one is mostly movies from all the non-Hallmark channels.  (With a little bit of Hallmark discussion here and there.)   It's not up to me, but that seems to work pretty well.

[AnnaRose]

On 11/24/2017 at 1:25 AM, Irlandesa said:

While I liked the actors in With Love, Christmas, I am sick of movies that are so focused on the specifics of Christmas.  On the surface, it was about creating an advertising campaign, but really it was about getting the male lead to love Christmas so he could help her create the campaign.  They wasted so much of the movie liking Christmas cookies and lights and so many things that have no narrative value. 

To top it off, the ad they came up with for Christmas (even though it's too late to actually do a Christmas campaign) sucked.  It wouldn't make me want to buy a phone; it'd make me want to buy a snow blower.

The above post is from last year, but I just watched With Love, Christmas last night and I totally agree with the criticism above.  Their winning ad campaign totally sucked, and if I recall correctly it was another of those silly last minute Christmas ads that they wouldn't have been pitching in the weeks right before Christmas.

I'm also not a fan of that apparent requirement that all characters must love all things Christmas.  Although I enjoy seeing the pretty lights and decorations, within reason, I lean more toward being a non-decorating, non-cookie baking Scrooge... so too much forced Christmas cheer in these movies leaves me cold.  

I guess I mostly love these movies because of the stories featuring good, kind, decent, loving people being good, kind, decent and loving to each other. Even when they don't start out that way, they almost always come around and see the light.  I also like the eye-candy aspect of watching pretty people get together. ;)

I only started watching these movies last Christmas season, and I only saw one other Hallmark movie before then, I think.  It was Remember Sunday starring Zachary Levi and Alexis Bledel.  It was very touching.

I wonder if movies set outside of the Christmas season generally have more reasonable timelines for the characters falling in love?  It seems like the holiday movies often have to rush getting the main couple together because it all has to take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas day.  Perhaps the non-holiday movies have a better chance of being more realistic? 

[Irlandesa]

4 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

I wonder if movies set outside of the Christmas season generally have more reasonable timelines for the characters falling in love?  It seems like the holiday movies often have to rush getting the main couple together because it all has to take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas day.  Perhaps the non-holiday movies have a better chance of being more realistic? 

No.  They don't have more realistic timelines.  They aren't all that different from the holiday movies in terms of plot.  If it's a failing Christmas Tree farm in Dec, it's a failing tulip farm in June and a failing pumpkin farm in the fall.

The movie you saw and liked is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Those tend to have better source material and more money spent on them--and most of those were made  a few years ago.  There are also good non-Hallmark Hall of Fame movies but they're harder to find with all the massive production.

[Cherpumple]

7 hours ago, Tony44 said:

I`ve decided to Boycott Hallmark - starting now....Why you may ask?, Well I`m a Gay man from the UK & I`ve reached the point where I`m offended & even upset by Hallmark`s attitude to the gay community.

I support your decision. I still enjoy Hallmark movies (mainly because I can turn off my brain for a while), but with each passing year their rigid worldview looks more and more antiquated. Some of their decisions are unrealistic in a laughable and relatively harmless way (e.g., no mention of sex, ever), but as you say, deliberately ignoring/erasing entire sections of the population is harmful and hurtful.

I doubt anything will change unless they take a financial hit, and even then I imagine progress will be slow. I only follow Hallmark stuff on this site, so I have no idea what kind of feedback they get from viewers on other platforms, but I hope there are more rumblings of discontent out there. Everyone deserves to kick back and enjoy some warm, fuzzy entertainment, and I hope that Hallmark drags itself into the 21st century soon, before they lose more viewers like you. 

[catrice2]

So are we at the point now where I am going to get Christmas movies on the Mystery channel until January?

[EyewatchTV211]

1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

So are we at the point now where I am going to get Christmas movies on the Mystery channel until January?

Did I miss the newest movie from the mystery series with Wendy Malick? I know there were commercials for it. If it hasn't already aired, I guess we still have that, too....

[catrice2]

20 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

Did I miss the newest movie from the mystery series with Wendy Malick? I know there were commercials for it. If it hasn't already aired, I guess we still have that, too....

I thought one was coming with allison sweeney. Did I miss that?

[Irlandesa]

40 minutes ago, VMepicgrl said:

Did I miss the newest movie from the mystery series with Wendy Malick? I know there were commercials for it. If it hasn't already aired, I guess we still have that, too....

Are you talking about Darrow & Darrow?  It aired on Oct. 14. 

 

2 hours ago, catrice2 said:

So are we at the point now where I am going to get Christmas movies on the Mystery channel until January?

Yep.

22 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

I thought one was coming with allison sweeney. Did I miss that?

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has started advertising upcoming new mystery series (presumably series of movies) that will start airing in the new year. Allison's is one where she's a mystery podcaster.  Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliot team up again in a crossword mystery movie and Danica McKellar is in a matchmaker mystery series.

None of those have aired yet.

[catrice2]

Thanks. Did they discontinue the Jewel movies?  I did not like her supporting cast. 

[mikeb]

6 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Thanks. Did they discontinue the Jewel movies?  I did not like her supporting cast. 

According to this wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hallmark_Channel_Original_Movies , a new Fixer Upper Mystery movie was announced, but the source claimed it was scheduled for this fall.  So either it got pushed back or cancelled.

On the topic of mystery movies, I recently discovered that Jessy Schram, who is starring in this weekend's new Christmas movie "Road To Christmas" and who starred in "Royal New Year's Eve" last year, co-starred as Lea Thompson's teen-age daughter in the mystery channel "Jane Doe"  movies in 2005 - 2008, which still occasionally get shown on weekends.

[kirinan]

On 10/29/2018 at 4:17 PM, MissyPoo said:

Ha Bride for Christmas. I went back and forth for a few viewings wondering if she was being facetious or serious but the consensus seem to be serious. Hallmark took a little more chances back in the day.

I watched A Bride for Christmas yesterday (I'd seen it before, but that was a couple of years ago, before I developed a love for Andrew Walker). Not only were there several mentions of the word "gay," but Andrew Walker's character talked about "getting lucky," and Arielle Kebbel's character used the word... <gasps, clutches pearls> "hell!" And you know what? I enjoyed the heck--no, HELL--out of this movie. I would go so far as to say I would include it with my favorites, like Love at the T-Day Parade, Love on the Air, etc. 

I wish Hallmark would get back to this kind of flavor in their movies. Even a mix of some sugar-sweet movies (and I do truly enjoy several of those) and some that take place in a slightly more adult and realistic world where not everyone is white, straight, and small-town would work for me. I would hope their foray into more inclusiveness would help with that, but I'm afraid the Facebook uber-fan contingent who squees that every movie is perfect will kick up too big a fuss. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by kirinan

[MissyPoo]

1 hour ago, mikeb said:

On the topic of mystery movies, I recently discovered that Jessy Schram, who is starring in this weekend's new Christmas movie "Road To Christmas" and who starred in "Royal New Year's Eve" last year, co-starred as Lea Thompson's teen-age daughter in the mystery channel "Jane Doe"  movies in 2005 - 2008, which still occasionally get shown on weekends.

Such a good series. I really wish they would have continued it. It's funny, I think that series is the first I saw her in and now I can't see her as anything but! All her movies are like what would have happened when she grew up and left the house heh. Even Harvest Moon which is one of my faves. One cute tidbit, I think I saw a shoutout to her from Lea Thompson (Jane Doe herself) congratulating her on her newest movie and how she is proud of her onscreen daughter. Made me want more movies from that series.

[AnnaRose]

On 11/6/2017 at 12:17 PM, sistersledge said:

Reposting from the Christmas movie thread...

 

Hallmark has a ton of terrible movies but I really think last night’s ice sculpting one was the worst. The storyline was terrible! 22 year old (?) moves back home (in what looks like a rundown town) and decides that ice sculpting is her life’s work? I mean? There’s a definitely learning curve with going from School to real-life work but everyone is okay with her just deciding not to be a lawyer? After all that money? Ughhhhh! Sometimes you need to pay the bills, not be happy all the time. Dad was terrible too- “I’m sure she’ll throttle through”- lying to the mom. Please. She needed to get a job in a big city for a few years and then move back home and change her career. And the Nick was terrible too, not even cute. I could barely understand him. Bah!

Quoting from quite a ways back because I just saw this movie - Christmas Festival of Ice - and it was probably the worst Christmas movie I've seen so far.  (For many reasons, particularly all the reasons mentioned in this quote.)  I ended up having to fast-forward through the middle of it because it was so awful.  I only recorded it because I thought it was Ice Sculpture Christmas which, even though I don't get the appeal or fascination of ice sculpting, at least had other elements to it. (If I recall correctly the lead in that movie was a chef and their was an interesting story about her boss.)

I watched a really good one last night though - The Christmas Secret - which was very well done and, even though I could see the plot twist coming a mile away, it still made me cry at the end.

[MissyPoo]

Goodness me, I can't agree more about Christmas Festival of Ice. I freakin' loved Ice Sculpture Christmas so I had reservations going in (doubly so because I'm not a fan of DR whenever he is the hero of the movie--thanks to Midnight Masquerade). You probably lasted longer than I did because I had to stop the madness early. If I remember correctly, I think they left a huge plot thread dangling freely in the wind at the end of it.

[LexieLily]

From that Wikipedia link there seems to be a sequel this Christmas to last year's Christmas in Evergreen. I know I watched Christmas in Evergreen but they all blend together after the New Year and I don't know what that one was about!

[mikeb]

27 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

From that Wikipedia link there seems to be a sequel this Christmas to last year's Christmas in Evergreen. I know I watched Christmas in Evergreen but they all blend together after the New Year and I don't know what that one was about!

Christmas in Evergreen starred Ashley Williams as a veterinarian who ends up with a visiting doctor with a young daughter.  She is listed in the cast of the sequel Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa along with co-stars from the first movie like Holly Robinson Peete and Barbara Niven, but from the plot description, the sequel is centered on a new character played by Jill Wagner.   Given Ashley Williams is scheduled to star in another new 2018 movie Northern Lights Of Christmas, my guess is she will have very little screen time in the sequel.

[EyewatchTV211]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Are you talking about Darrow & Darrow?  It aired on Oct. 14. 

Shoot! I don't know how I missed it!

[mikeb]

I came across an article from March https://ew.com/tv/2018/03/21/hallmark-christmas-movies-2018/ that said Kellie Martin was going to be starring this year in an HMM Christmas Movie tentatively titled "Vet" about a military veteran.  Plans must have changed since I don't believe she is starring in any Christmas movie this year.  I wonder if this movie became "A Veteran's Christmas" starring Eloise Mumford which is airing November 11th or if was an entirely different movie.   They seem to be doing one military-themed Christmas movie a year, but this upcoming one is the first one I recall where the lead actress was in the military vs being widow, wife, or girlfriend of service member.  Or am I forgetting an earlier one?

Also interesting that back in March, they were still branding the HMM Christmas movies as "Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas" like last few years.  They have subsequently changed that to "Miracles Of Christmas", which has forced them to shoot new commercials with some of their stars that explain the difference between Hallmark Channel and HMM movies.

[LexieLily]

Marrying Father Christmas is on this Sunday. I'm recording it. But I haven't seen the first two. I get burned out on Christmas movies and only end up watching 80% or so of the ones I record. I see that Engaging Father Christmas is on sometime in November and I have that set, but what about the first one?

[kirinan]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Marrying Father Christmas is on this Sunday. I'm recording it. But I haven't seen the first two. I get burned out on Christmas movies and only end up watching 80% or so of the ones I record. I see that Engaging Father Christmas is on sometime in November and I have that set, but what about the first one?

I just saw a commercial that the first one is now on that Hallmark movie streaming service. I'm guessing that means it won't be on TV anytime soon?

[AnnaRose]

I set my DVR to record both Engaging and Marrying Father Christmas, but I didn't realize those seem to be sequels to another one, right?  Finding Father Christmas is the first in the series, correct? 

Should I just wait until I see the first one?  Are these good enough to waste so much time on?  I'm assuming enough people liked the first two enough to even bother with sequels.  Are they a cut above the standard Hallmark Christmas movie?

[redpencil]

A lot of people didn't seem to like the first one, at least, but I really loved both of them. For me, it's primarily that the romance is a cut above. They feel like real people falling in love, they actually kiss multiple times and before the very end of the movie, and they don't have stupid misunderstandings. It happens quickly in the first movie (in terms of the in-movie timeline), which is no different than other Hallmark movies, but it still feels natural and they both acknowledge that it was quick. I believe they're also based on a book series, so the storylines outside of the romance are well-written.

I'm bummed that they're not showing Finding Father Christmas again before the other two. I might have to do a trial of the streaming service so I can watch both of the first two again before the new one. I think you'd be able to pick up on the romance aspect quickly, but there are a decent amount of other storylines surrounding the families (and backstory) that you may miss by not watching the first one.

ETA: Just found both of the first two on Amazon for a good price and decided I like them enough to just buy them.

Edited November 3, 2018 by redpencil

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I set my DVR to record both Engaging and Marrying Father Christmas, but I didn't realize those seem to be sequels to another one, right?  Finding Father Christmas is the first in the series, correct? 

Should I just wait until I see the first one?  Are these good enough to waste so much time on?  I'm assuming enough people liked the first two enough to even bother with sequels.  Are they a cut above the standard Hallmark Christmas movie?

Honestly, even though I like the stars, I found the first one boring and I think I ended up skipping ahead.  Because of that, I didn't watch the 2nd and won't watch the 3rd.

[AnnaRose]

On 10/3/2015 at 3:30 PM, TVFan17 said:

The interesting thing about these movies is that Hallmark could take one actor from their family of regulars and one actress from the family and put them together -- and it could fail miserably.  They could be dull as dirt together and the movie suffers because of it.   But if they take a totally different actor and actress and put them in the same exact story it might be a great success because the actors just seem to click together, making it easier to overlook any flaws with the actual story.

I was thinking along these lines when remembering last year's new Christmas movie "The Christmas Parade."  That is an example of a lead couple that had zero chemistry whatsoever.  Zilch.   It wasn't even believable that they would be a couple in real life.  The main actress -- AnnaLynne McCord -- was fine at playing the type of uppity, high maintenance, glamorous character she was supposed to play.  But she was almost too much of a bombshell for Hallmark.  I think she had a little too much sex appeal for a Hallmark movie.  She looked more like she walked out of the pages of Playboy magazine.   She didn't have enough down to earth, accessible, relatable charm.  The viewers lambasted her on Hallmark's Facebook pages because they just didn't take to her.

However, if Hallmark had put, for example, Brooke Burns and Cameron Mathison in the roles for the same movie, the viewers would have been much kinder and the movie probably would have been better.

 

This is a post from way back in this thread which I found because I wondered if anybody else watched The Christmas Parade.  I watched some of it today - I fast-forwarded through a lot of the middle of the movie because it had a bunch of elements that generally don't work for me in these movies:

I usually find stories featuring a big city celebrity who gets stuck in a small town and suddenly finds love unappealing at best.

My bigger dislike is when there's a huge emphasis on a town Christmas celebration like a festival or a parade that is such a huge deal that the whole town is depending on it.  Well, in The Christmas Parade there was at least a little more to it in that there was an art center for kids that needed to win the prize for best parade float ($15,000 prize for best float in a small town parade??!!) while some underhanded people were trying to prevent it.  Which brings me to another overdone plotline in these movies - there's so often a home or building or business or festival that has to be saved from greedy developers etc... with a Christmas deadline of course.

I agree with the post I quoted above about the casting.  The actress in The Christmas Parade was too much of a bombshell type that just wasn't very believable with her co-star with whom she just didn't seem to have any chemistry.

I have seen a number of other Hallmark Christmas movies recently in which the attractiveness of the two leads are just too far apart, and it makes it even more difficult to buy into the true-love at first sight (or first few days of knowing each other) factor.

Hallmark probably has a large ratio of female to male viewers and I think they are sometimes particularly prone to casting male leads as eye candy who then come across too wooden.  It also makes it harder to believe when the lead looks like a male model and he's instantly smitten with an average but pretty-enough girl next door type.   

They sometimes make this casting error the other way around with a way too attractive female lead... but it seems like I've been seeing more of the male model types in movies I've watched lately and it usually just feels like I'm watching an attractive actor rather than a believable character.

Anyway... all that said, I think I have to be way more careful about the Christmas movies I choose to watch because after seeing only a few sub-par ones, it really started to turn me off to the whole genre. (Then I watch a recording of a favorite like Naughty or Nice, which was my first Hallmark Christmas movie, and I start thinking maybe it's still worthwhile to suffer through some frustrating movies to find the hidden gems.)  I really need to make a spreadsheet to keep track of the all of these crazy, redundant titles though.

I've already rambled too much, but I also wanted to mention that I watched Christmas at Pemberley Manor the other night, and even though it featured two of the things that bug me the most - a Christmas festival and trying to save something by Christmas (in this case a house) - I still really kind of loved it. (Which totally shocked me, I expected to hate it.)

I think that's largely due to the cast. I found both of the leads quite charming together and I enjoyed their movie-long flirtation.  I thought they were well-matched and really sold the chemistry between them.  The actor Michael Rady who played William Darcy looked so familiar to me, and it wasn't until I looked him up that I realized he played Lachlan on Jane the Virgin.  

The supporting cast was also very appealing - old college friend George the mayor was cute and a lovely person, and the assistants Jane and Travis were adorable together.  

They pretty much had me from the coffee/limo scene at the beginning of the movie onward.

It definitely had some flaws - apparently not having a large enough budget to hire enough extras for the big festival, and the unrelenting background music that was way too obtrusive. That's a huge problem in a lot of these movies.  I wish they would tone that down.  A lot!

Edited November 4, 2018 by AnnaRose

[Crs97]

Caught A Gift to Remember and ended up really enjoying it.  I liked how the relationship grew.  I thought they had good chemistry and there was even an inter-racial relationship brewing.  I know that relationship was between supporting characters, but it still must be a Christmas miracle!

[MissyPoo]

1 hour ago, AnnaRose said:

Hallmark probably has a large ratio of female to male viewers and I think they are sometimes particularly prone to casting male leads as eye candy who then come across too wooden.  It also makes it harder to believe when the lead looks like a male model and he's instantly smitten with an average but pretty-enough girl next door type.   

Paging Ryan P. hehe. Yeah, I know what you mean and I kind of agree about this and definitely about the rest of your post. Looking at some of my faves, the good ones lose me in the characters and the bad ones keep me focused on the actors. Like watching 'Mix-up' for the 90th time, I sometimes forget that I'm watching Alicia W cause the movie is so good and she sold me on her character so well. Most of the newer actors are just trying hard to 'act' and feel like they are trying too hard to emote while reading a script out loud (Kellie Pickler felt like this in the clips from her movie). I remember The Christmas Parade and how the actress got reamed on the FB page and I kind of agree that the movie didn't quite sell me. It is one of my laundry movies that I don't mind leaving on in the background.

In the past, I usually leave my tv on and just watch whatever movie is on at the moment and I make sure to catch all the new ones, but I'm cutting the fat this year. I'm glad Sling lets me go back a few days so if I see a few I don't mind rewatching (or laundry movies to have on in the background), I let that block play and skip the ones I don't like. As for the new premieres, thankfully, Hallmark has employed a lot of people who annoy me so it makes it easy on me that I can cut most of the titles off my list. 

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

Paging Ryan P. hehe. Yeah, I know what you mean and I kind of agree about this and definitely about the rest of your post. Looking at some of my faves, the good ones lose me in the characters and the bad ones keep me focused on the actors. Like watching 'Mix-up' for the 90th time, I sometimes forget that I'm watching Alicia W cause the movie is so good and she sold me on her character so well. Most of the newer actors are just trying hard to 'act' and feel like they are trying too hard to emote while reading a script out loud (Kellie Pickler felt like this in the clips from her movie). I remember The Christmas Parade and how the actress got reamed on the FB page and I kind of agree that the movie didn't quite sell me. It is one of my laundry movies that I don't mind leaving on in the background.

In the past, I usually leave my tv on and just watch whatever movie is on at the moment and I make sure to catch all the new ones, but I'm cutting the fat this year. I'm glad Sling lets me go back a few days so if I see a few I don't mind rewatching (or laundry movies to have on in the background), I let that block play and skip the ones I don't like. As for the new premieres, thankfully, Hallmark has employed a lot of people who annoy me so it makes it easy on me that I can cut most of the titles off my list. 

Haha!  That's so funny but so true!  I already have a pretty good list of criteria for choosing to skip Hallmark movies. And a shorter list of actors and actresses that I really like and look for.  

A Very Merry Mix-up is still one of my absolute favorites.  I have it recorded again this year, but I've been saving the best movies for later while trying to watch the ones I think I will want to delete right away (to open up some space on my DVR.)  The downside has been that my Christmas movie viewing this past week has mostly been less than satisfying.  I have to periodically throw in a Crown for Christmas or Nine Lives or The Most Wonderful Time of the Year as a reward. ;)

I did just watch another good one though.  The Christmas Ornament, which was new to me but released back in 2013.  It stars Kellie Martin as a recent widow left to run her husband's bike shop and Cameron Mathison as a Christmas tree lot owner. This was a very touching and well made movie.  Cameron looked so familiar to me.  I don't know if it's because I watched Window Wonderland last year or because I saw him as Ryan on All My Children 20 years ago.  Probably Window Wonderland, but he wasn't the lead in that  and I can't figure out who his character was in that movie.  I don't know... maybe he just looks familiar because he reminds me of somebody else.  I saw his name mentioned in this thread a number of times, so I'm guessing he is a favorite leading man.

Edited November 4, 2018 by AnnaRose

[MissyPoo]

6 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

Haha!  That's so funny but so true!  I already have a pretty good list of criteria for choosing to skip Hallmark movies. And a shorter list of actors and actresses that I really like and look for.  

A Very Merry Mix-up is still one of my absolute favorites.  I have it recorded again this year, but I've been saving the best movies for later while trying to watch the ones I think I will want to delete right away (to open up some space on my DVR.)  The downside has been that my Christmas movie viewing this past week has mostly been less than satisfying.  I have to periodically throw in a Crown for Christmas or Nine Lives or The Most Wonderful Time of the Year as a reward. ;)

I did just watch another good one though.  The Christmas Ornament, which was new to me but released back in 2013.  It stars Kellie Martin as a recent widow left to run her husband's bike shop and Cameron Mathison as a Christmas tree lot owner. This was a very touching and well made movie.  Cameron looked so familiar to me.  I don't know if it's because I watched Window Wonderland last year or because I saw him as Ryan on All My Children 20 years ago.  Probably Window Wonderland, but he wasn't the lead in that  and I can't figure out who his character was in that movie.  I don't know... maybe he just looks familiar because he reminds me of somebody else.  I saw his name mentioned in this thread a number of times, so I'm guessing he is a favorite leading man.

Oh, that's a good idea. I need to clear out my DVR of TCM classic horror flicks to make room for more Christmas flicks. I'll probably do the same and save the good ones that appear like unicorns in the wee hours of the night. I'll have to save the ones I don't have on my collection in case they disappear forever. 

Speaking of late at night stuff, A Diva's Christmas Carol is coming on Hallmark on Monday around 2 am (ugh). I can't remember if there were any fellow fans here but it's one of my faves. I was hoping to see It's Christmas, Carol this year, but that was sent to the app. Sigh.

Oh! Cameron Mathison played the jerk boyfriend to whatchamacallit Van Doren. He basically dumped her after she introduced her family to him and told her who she really was. He played that role pretty well to me which is tough when I see him appear as a leading guy (the DR affect haha).

I agree with you about the schedule. They've been showing a lot of repeats lately while ignoring most of their catalog. They have a pretty big one, too, and most of the classics only have a few showings, start later this month, or have disappeared to the app. Bah. 

[In2You]

I love A Divas Christmas Carol but I'll wait until it's on a channel that wont cut scenes to water it down. 

[AnnaRose]

5 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

...Oh! Cameron Mathison played the jerk boyfriend to whatchamacallit Van Doren. He basically dumped her after she introduced her family to him and told her who she really was. He played that role pretty well to me which is tough when I see him appear as a leading guy (the DR affect haha)...

Last night I realized that I had Window Wonderland on my DVR, so I watched it again.  I couldn't believe how different Cameron Mathison was as the jerk boyfriend compared to the other movie in which he was the lead.  If I didn't already know it was the same actor, I never would have realized it.  He was very believable as a jerk.

And I forgot how much I loved Window Wonderland with Paul Campbell as the lead.  He was so cute and funny throughout the whole movie.  Just delightful.  That might even be one of my top five favorites, even with the lame window designs and adult food fight, if I had to put them in some sort of order.

[CherryAmes]

5 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

And I forgot how much I loved Window Wonderland with Paul Campbell as the lead.  He was so cute and funny throughout the whole movie.  Just delightful.  That might even be one of my top five favorites, even with the lame window designs and adult food fight, if I had to put them in some sort of order.

I saw this one last year and I hope it shows up an a channel I get this year too.  Really enjoyed it a lot.  I thought both leads were great.  I prefer the more lighthearted movies as opposed to the ones that strive to be a little too 'inspirational'.

[ehall1052]

On 10/30/2018 at 7:03 AM, mikeb said:

I know they have tight budgets so probably can't afford to pay for many extras, but I thought the size of the crowds at the different nights of the festival in "Christmas at Pemberly Manor" were laughable - especially since there was dialogue about big turnouts.  There have been more people at some of my family's parties.  Maybe it is especially hard to get folks to show up as unpaid extras for Christmas movies when filming in June.

I agree.  With CGI nowadays they could take a handful of people and make it look like thousands. It looks so silly when they have the town’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony and only 30 people are there, when, in reality, you know the whole town would turn out!

[NYGirl]

Interesting article on Cameron Mathison:

 

https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/g22975620/cameron-mathison-hallmark-home-and-family-host/

[In2You]

Came to post about the newly release Hallmark novel. Surprised this wasn't made into a movie yet.

They’re from two different centuries,
but they’re perfect for each other.

Megan Turner is in love with the past. As a tour guide at a beautiful historic mansion, she tells visitors about its original owner, Charles Whitley. An inventor and businessman in the early 1900s, he rose from poverty to wealth…only to disappear without a trace.

Charles was always intrigued by the future. He just never expected to go there. But when he repairs a mysterious clock he bought on his travels, he’s transported to the twenty-first century, with his home decorated for Christmas and overrun by strangers.

Charles is determined to find a way back to his own era, especially when he learns about what happened after he left. But as Megan introduces him to the wonders of smartphones, pizza, and modern holiday traditions, they both feel a once-in-a-lifetime connection. Could it be that, somewhere in time, they belong together?

This magical holiday romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Stuffed Crust Italian Pizza.

[Stuffy]

On 11/3/2018 at 10:44 AM, AnnaRose said:

I set my DVR to record both Engaging and Marrying Father Christmas, but I didn't realize those seem to be sequels to another one, right?  Finding Father Christmas is the first in the series, correct? 

Should I just wait until I see the first one?  Are these good enough to waste so much time on?  I'm assuming enough people liked the first two enough to even bother with sequels.  Are they a cut above the standard Hallmark Christmas movie?

A somewhat rough version of Finding Father Christmas is on YouTube. The dialogue drops a couple of times which is annoying.  I'd say it's standard definition quality instead of HD.  Either Hallmark doesn't know about it, or they don't care that it is on there.  It comes up right away when you search the title. 

I swear I watched Engaging Father Christmas on YouTube last year too, but now I can't find it. Maybe it was rerun on regular Hallmark because I don't have the movies and mysteries channel. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Stuffy

[AnnaRose]

29 minutes ago, Stuffy said:

A somewhat rough version of Finding Father Christmas is on YouTube. The dialogue drops a couple of times which is annoying.  I'd say it's standard definition quality instead of HD.  Either Hallmark doesn't know about it, or they don't care that it is on there.  It comes up right away when you search the title. 

I swear I watched Engaging Father Christmas on YouTube last year too, but now I can't find it. Maybe it was rerun on regular Hallmark because I don't have the movies and mysteries channel. 

Thanks!  I may look for it if I have a chance.  Maybe Hallmark doesn't care if it's on youtube because it's the first in a series and they want people to tune in to the second and third installments?  They would be smart to leave it on there.

[mikeb]

There was a scene early in "Christmas Joy" that puzzled me.    When Joy arrived at her aunt's empty house after visiting her at the hospital, the Christmas decorations both inside and outside the house were all lit up - maybe could be convinced that the outdoor lights were on a timer, but skeptical that an indoor Christmas tree would be.  Also was confused about the fact that when folks came over to help make more cookie dough after some stored in freezer had gone bad, they ended actually baking cookies instead of just making more dough to freeze.  Ignoring those nitpicks, I thought overall it was enjoyable, mainly due to Danielle Panabaker's performance.   Checking IMDB, this was her first Hallmark movie since 2014, and first Christmas movie,  I thought she did a good job of making the character likeable without being too sweet.  This was another movie where one of the lead characters was divorced - seems to becoming more common in recent Hallmark movies.  In the past, the character would have been wary of 'city women' due to a broken engagement instead of a divorce.

[VartanFan]

I thought "Christmas Joy" was ok also.  I got annoyed by the product placement (3D card by Hallmark, Southern Living magazine for the aunt, and Balsam whatever for the decorations).  Also, did they finally pay Apple?  I noticed that they're now obviously on Apple products.  Sigh.

My dirty not-so-secret is that I really don't like Christmas.  I watch these movies because I can't stop myself and my bff and I watch them many miles apart (me in MA, her in FL) and we laugh our butts off discussing them.  I'm super annoyed that Sirius xm has always ditched one of my favorite channels on November 1st.  For 2 months it becomes a Christmas music channel.  It used to be called 'Holly' or something like that and now it's actually Hallmark music...complete with commercials from Candace Cameron Bure.   I have unreasonable anger about this.  Oh well.  

[kirinan]

8 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

I'm super annoyed that Sirius xm has always ditched one of my favorite channels on November 1st.  For 2 months it becomes a Christmas music channel.  It used to be called 'Holly' or something like that and now it's actually Hallmark music...complete with commercials from Candace Cameron Bure.   I have unreasonable anger about this.  Oh well.  

I'm SO with you on this one, VartanFan! I get testy when I lose my love songs for two solid months. I have Sirius XM in my car because I have an hour drive to work each day, and the Love channel keeps me calm in bad traffic. I generally last about a week, two at the outside, with the Christmas music. Then I'm snapping, "Oh, shut UP already!" at the radio because I've already heard most of the songs over and over and over again. And I think they said there will be something like 12 different holiday stations this year. Ugh--I wish they'd pick on a different channel to replace for the holiday season. 

ETA: Even the re-branding of Holly as Hallmark doesn't make it less annoying.

Edited November 5, 2018 by kirinan

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, VartanFan said:

My dirty not-so-secret is that I really don't like Christmas.  I watch these movies because I can't stop myself and my bff and I watch them many miles apart (me in MA, her in FL) and we laugh our butts off discussing them.  I'm super annoyed that Sirius xm has always ditched one of my favorite channels on November 1st.  For 2 months it becomes a Christmas music channel.  It used to be called 'Holly' or something like that and now it's actually Hallmark music...complete with commercials from Candace Cameron Bure.   I have unreasonable anger about this.  Oh well.  

I don't really like Christmas either, VartanFan.  I think that's why the Christmas movies I like best have a good story that happens to take place at Christmas time rather than a movie all focused on Christmas itself.  If that makes any sense.

[AnnaRose]

I watched Christmas Joy, and it was very pleasant but not particularly compelling.  I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.  The lead actress was cute though and the lead actor was very good-looking.  Also, the cookie crawl sounded very good to me and made me want to go and bake some cookies.  The aunt's home was HUGE, but I figured that was probably because it makes it a lot easier to film in and enabled them to use the same set for the large group of people attending the crawl.  The heroine's home in DC looked much more reasonably sized.

I also watched the 2016 movie A Christmas to Remember starring Mira Sorvino as the television personality with amnesia.  I enjoyed this movie very much.  The widowed dad was played by Cameron Mathison who was excellent in the role, and the three kids were pretty adorable.  I am a sucker for the widower with cute kids finds love, stories.

Edited because I watched this again and I think I was way too harsh in my original assessment of Mira's acting.  Her character seemed overwrought in her first scene and I think that negatively influenced my opinion of her entire performance the first time I watched.  It was much better the second time around.

Edited November 6, 2018 by AnnaRose

[mikeb]

I still have Road to Christmas on my DVR unwatched, but I read on twitter that it actually has an 'apparent though implicit' gay couple among it's supporting characters.  Can anyone confirm?

[Mountainair]

I've tried to watch Christmas at Pemberly Manor about five times now and each time I can only make it about five minutes in. There's no obvious reason why but sometimes these movies grab me or they don't.

I'm also going through some major family drama right now and am facing my first Christmas without my pets and Grandpa so I'm feeling a bit like a scrooge so I'm hoping these movies start to pull me in soon. 

I did really like Christmas Joy. My nit pick for that movie was that I live in the NC Mountains and we've had a white Christmas twice in 10 years. Charlotte is about 2 hrs. North East of us- ain't no damn way there's snow on the ground in fictional Crystal Falls, NC right outside of Charlotte anytime in the month of December- at least not how it was depicted in the movie. 

As a long time Carolina Panthers fan though I liked that one couple made the stadium out of gingerbread and got 3rd place! 

[Jenniferbug]

26 minutes ago, mikeb said:

I still have Road to Christmas on my DVR unwatched, but I read on twitter that it actually has an 'apparent though implicit' gay couple among it's supporting characters.  Can anyone confirm?

I really loved Road to Christmas! Jessy Schram and Chad Michael Murray had really good chemistry. Really, all the cast was pretty terrific. I loved that the brothers were adopted so there was diversity and I also appreciated that each had a distinct personality despite 2 being supporting players. I'm surprised this one hasn't been discussed yet!

Yes, it's never stated but one of the brothers owns a pet rescue with another guy and both kind of give off vibes that they may be gay. I've adopted them being a couple as my head canon.

This one was my favorite of the new movies so far and I'd definitely look for it again!

Christmas Joy was pretty decent too, but didn't really grab me. 

I also just finished Marrying Father Christmas, and didn't really enjoy it. I didn't get why there was such drama about her long lost uncle suddenly appearing and the rest of the plot was kind of bland.

[MerBearHou]

For me, for Hallmark movies to be worth my time to watch, it's all about the leads.  I get a feeling about 10 minutes in if I can spend two hours invested with these people.  The plots are fairly repetitive so that's not the deal-maker for me -- it's the leads.  The setting is a draw as well.

What is it about Erin Krakow?  I cannot warm up to her in the slightest.  I tried to watch the Father Christmas movies but she annoys me so much.  Same with Jessica Lowndes.  I tried to watch the Pemberley movie (love Pride and Prejudice, of course) and couldn't take 2 hours of Jessica. Shallow as it sounds, Jessica's "look" creeps me out.  Way too plastic, way too much makeup. 

[AnnaRose]

33 minutes ago, Mountainair said:

I've tried to watch Christmas at Pemberly Manor about five times now and each time I can only make it about five minutes in. There's no obvious reason why but sometimes these movies grab me or they don't.

I'm also going through some major family drama right now and am facing my first Christmas without my pets and Grandpa so I'm feeling a bit like a scrooge so I'm hoping these movies start to pull me in soon. 

I did really like Christmas Joy. My nit pick for that movie was that I live in the NC Mountains and we've had a white Christmas twice in 10 years. Charlotte is about 2 hrs. North East of us- ain't no damn way there's snow on the ground in fictional Crystal Falls, NC right outside of Charlotte anytime in the month of December- at least not how it was depicted in the movie. 

As a long time Carolina Panthers fan though I liked that one couple made the stadium out of gingerbread and got 3rd place! 

Aw, sorry about your Grandpa and pets!  {{Sending you cyber-hugs!!}}

I know what you mean about movies either grabbing you or not.  For some reason Pemberley Manor did and I even watched it twice, but on the other hand I just deleted a bunch of movies after watching 10 or 15 minutes because I just couldn't get into them and didn't want to waste any more time.  I even deleted Rocky Mountain Christmas instead of sticking with it for the eye-candy that is Kristoffer Polaha.  I just couldn't take another movie star finds love in a small town at Christmas story.

I also agree with you about Christmas Joy and Charlotte although I would think they get an occasional freak snow storm.  We even had them when I lived in Atlanta and had one storm with snowdrifts almost up to my waist.  Still, it would have been more believable if they had said Asheville instead of Charlotte... but I don't think the writers and producers usually know much about US climate and geography.

17 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

I really loved Road to Christmas! Jessy Schram and Chad Michael Murray had really good chemistry. Really, all the cast was pretty terrific. I loved that the brothers were adopted so there was diversity and I also appreciated that each had a distinct personality despite 2 being supporting players. I'm surprised this one hasn't been discussed yet!

Yes, it's never stated but one of the brothers owns a pet rescue with another guy and both kind of give off vibes that they may be gay. I've adopted them being a couple as my head canon.

This one was my favorite of the new movies so far and I'd definitely look for it again!

Christmas Joy was pretty decent too, but didn't really grab me. 

I also just finished Marrying Father Christmas, and didn't really enjoy it. I didn't get why there was such drama about her long lost uncle suddenly appearing and the rest of the plot was kind of bland.

Was Road to Christmas a brand new movie?  I missed it, but it sounds like it's worth looking for.

And thanks for the review of Marrying Father Christmas.  I still haven't gotten around to watching any of the movies in that series.