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Trading Up Christmas (2024 TV Movie)
5/10
Well-intended
5 January 2025
Trading Up Christmas is a movie about a sister who reads a story about a kid who, through trades, turned a rubber band into a house.

When her sister is forced to move several times, she decides to try to do the same to get her sister a house.

I really like Italia Ricci. The only other place Ive seen her was Catch Me if you Claus last year. That was a much better movie.

They have softened her look since then, and her character, Michelle, is sweet and sunny and warm-hearted.

Michael Xavier plays Dan, a journalist who is assigned her story and reluctantly follows her in her quest.

They really both turned in pretty good performances, but I'm not buying them as a couple.

I actually thought the movie got off to a pretty good, if unusual start, but things kinda fell apart about halfway through and stumbled to a standard Hallmark finish.

Meredith Forlenza as sister Kerri was a high point, and the supporting cast was generally good.

Not the greatest end result in the world, but I remain a fan of Italia Ricci. Hopefully they give her something better to do next year.
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Tails of Christmas (2024 TV Movie)
5/10
Wow. That's a lot of Tens!
28 December 2024
I actually watched this a month ago, but I held off reviewing. Then I saw all the tens and thought I had the wrong movie.

No mistake.

Well, we're all entitled to our opinion. Mine is this movie is barely a five.

It stars Ash Tsai as a young woman who operates an animal shelter, and Eric Guilmette as an embittered veteran who begins volunteering there.

There's not a great deal of story here, but it is, unfortunately, one of those GAC movies in which the actors are stiff, wooden and amateurish...at times painfully so.

You really have to be able to get past that to watch some of these. Clearly several people did.

I can understand that. Ash Tsai was in another movie last year I gave a similar review and doubted I would watch it again. But I was wrong. I did watch it.

I don't see an Academy Award in her future, but she does have an appeal that's hard to describe, and an ever-present sweet smile that makes it ok that she's not yet a great actress.

Guilmmette was much the same. I have seen worse actors refine their craft and become very good, so I will hold out hope for both of them.

All in all not the best year for the Christmas movies, but GAC is getting there. In fact, I think I liked them better than Hallmark this year. First time for everything.
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Following Yonder Star (2024 TV Movie)
7/10
Nice
17 December 2024
Following Yonder Star is the story of a popular actress who discovers that everyone is the press in the social media age when a minor run-in with a store clerk blows up into a big scandal.

Brooke D'Orsay as Abby retreats to Vermont to let it blow over and winds up in a bed and breakfast run by John Brotherton as Tom.

He, among other things, is directing a children's Christmas play that includes his young daughter, but he is out of his element. Abby offers to help.

Commence bonding and all the usual Hallmark stuff.

D'Orsay is her usual sweet, vulnerable self. Brotherton has a nervous energy, totally appropriate for the part, but it made me uncomfortable.

Supporting cast is good, and as always, I really appreciate the inclusion of faith and the Nativity story in these movies.

Jack was right about the Astronomical stuff, that was silly. Made me laugh, Jack.

All in all, not the greatest ever, but very watchable.

Seven.
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All I Need for Christmas (2024 TV Movie)
7/10
I liked it
16 December 2024
This is actually not far from being a really good movie. The script got a little wonky here and there, but for the most part, I really enjoyed it.

I particularly enjoyed the performances of Dan Jeanette as Archer, and Mike Dopud as Ed, both new faces to me.

The story centers around a singer, Mallory Jensen as Maggie, who is having trouble making headway in her career. Her manager suggests utilizing newfangled technology to create new music, to which she reacts angrily.

Retreating to her family Christmas tree farm, she encounters Archer who is trying to recreate the one happy Christmas he can recall. Unfortunately, he is a bigwig at the very technology company Maggie despises.

Archer is also trying to escape an extremely adversarial relationship with his sister, Emily Tennant as Piper (as a redhead no less).

It's an interesting plot, in that virtually every character needs help, and is able to offer help to each other in various ways.

Excellent supporting cast. I would particularly commend the performance of Veronica Long as Clara, who was so good as Mariah, the sweetheart actress in Lights, Camera, Christmas a couple years ago.

I have mentioned before that I am a retired musician, and I always appreciate it when I see an actor performing music for real. Kudos to Mallory Jensen for that.

Seven.
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4/10
Disappointed
1 December 2024
Well...I am a Chiefs fan; I am a Hunter King fan, and I am a Tyler Hines fan.

But sorry, this was a dud.

I wish I could just stop there, but alas, I must elaborate.

If you're not a Chiefs fan, I don't know how you make it to the end of such a movie. They really laid it on thick.

I didn't find the chemistry between Hines and King very strong at all. The writing was so-so, and the general plot was a little strange.

I did like the supporting cast, and Ed Begley, Jr. Was pretty good as the crotchety old guy.

I thought it was interesting that there was a scene in which the entire family was all getting hammered on eggnog in a Hallmark movie.

I wish I had better things to say. But I don't.
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A Novel Noel (2024 TV Movie)
8/10
Not really novel
30 November 2024
A Novel Noel is a story about a book editor who is getting burned out. She asks her boss for a leave of absence, and then finds out she has been selected as a temporary resident bookstore employee.

She jumps at the chance, and is greeted with a grumpy store manager, pretty much like every other Hallmark movie.

Over time, he lightens up as she brings a different perspective, but he doesn't know she's an editor, and she doesn't know he's also a writer.

Other reviews have pointed out this plot has been done before, but really haven't they all?

Julie Gonzalo is very good as the editor who is always sunny (maybe even a little too sunny). I've never been a fan of Brendan Penny, but he is very good here, striking the right tones in situations that might have proved tricky for a lesser actor.

I also thought Kaitlyn Bernard as the bakery employee/pseudo little sister deserved a mention. She was very good and I think we'll be seeing her again.

Also, there are some homosexual supporting characters. Some people like to be made aware of that.

Overall, I thought it was well done, although the end was a perhaps little silly.

Eight.
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Christmas Under the Lights (2024 TV Movie)
6/10
Smell the goats
28 November 2024
Christmas under the lights is a movie about a marketing executive who is persuaded by her brother to return to the family farm to help run a holiday event after the passing of their mother. I feel like I've typed that before.

Anyway, she is reluctant to return because she's still carrying baggage from her troubled relationship with her mom.

She does so, and on the way has a meet-hostile with a man she later learns is an artist staying at the farm as a refuge following a bad breakup.

There are several things that stand out in this movie: for one, the leads are prettier than people have a right to be. I have to say it's nice to see some actual masculinity in one of these movies, and they have a little fun mocking it from time to time.

They also manage to get in a couple jabs at the Hollywood/social media types.

This movie is very dialogue-heavy. Some of it is very well-written, but some not.

Supporting cast is good, although again, another movie with mostly unfamiliar faces.

Not a bad job, I think many will enjoy it. I do not happen to be a big fan of all the heavy conversation, and really didn't care for the flashbacks.

Six.
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A Little Women's Christmas (2024 TV Movie)
7/10
Not so bad
27 November 2024
After reading some of the other reviews, I didn't know whether to expect the greatest movie ever, or the worst.

Well of course it was neither.

I never read the Alcott books, or any of the other "chick" stories, but I am familiar with some of them. People have been making movies loosely based on them forever.

They put in things they think are clever (Alcott Grove, a waitress named Louisa May) that really just make it irritating.

This movie is a modern retelling, and while not a significant achievement in film, is not as bad as some of the reviews I've read.

I agree there could have been a stronger lead, but I haven't seen Trevor Donovan even mentioned, and he was very good.

The whole four sisters thing was overdone, and they didn't really look or feel like sisters. They basically had four lead actresses jockeying for position. That never works.

I do like the GAC is making a concerted effort to include the Lord in all the movies I've seen this year.

I thought this movie was fine. To me that's good enough.

Seven.
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To Have and to Holiday (2024 TV Movie)
6/10
Better than I expected
26 November 2024
To Have and to Holiday is another of the Hallmark movies this year featuring a cast of people who are virtually unknown to me. With the exception of the lead actress' parents, I'm not sure I've seen any of them before.

That said, the acting was better than a lot of movies you see this time of year.

Madeleine Arthur and Robert Bazzochi are excellent as a young couple who become engaged after dating briefly, prompting her father, who is also a pastor, to insist on putting them through his marriage boot camp in order to gauge their compatibility.

We've seen these things before, even this year, and this part of the movie didn't really work.

Fortunately, there was enough of a plot to make it worth a watch.

Arthur is cute and sweet and pretty, and has excellent chemistry with Bazzochi, and both turned in strong performances as the young couple navigating issue after issue on the way to the altar.

We'll be seeing them again.

There's a million choices at Christmas time. This is not great, but there are worse choices.

Six.
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Coupled Up for Christmas (2023 TV Movie)
8/10
This was good
15 November 2024
Great American is really making strides with their Christmas movies, and in some ways they've caught and passed Hallmark. It's early yet, but this movie is better than anything Ive seen on Hallmark so far this year.

Sara Canning and Marcus Rosner play two people who love others, but in both cases the others have shown up with new love interests.

In a moment of desperation, they concoct a scheme to pose as a couple in the hopes that they will cause their loves to become jealous and reunite with them.

The resulting hijinks are humorous and warm and touching.

I had never seen Rosner play for laughs before, and he was great. Sara Canning was the perfect partner for him, as that's her forte.

In addition, the supporting casts are getting better, the writing is better, and if I may be forgiven saying so, the girls are getting more attractive.

I would definitely recommend this movie if you're in the mood for a light, traditional rom-com.

Eight.
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Five Gold Rings (2024 TV Movie)
5/10
So so
14 November 2024
I watched this for Holland Roden, who was so good in Time to Come Home a couple years back. She has an endearing quality about her.

Here she plays Audrey, an artist of some note who returns home after her grandmother passes, only to be sent on a quest to return 5 rings her grandmother found beachcombing.

To assist her in her task she enlists the aid of Finn, a private investigator, played by Nolan Gerard Funk.

I was about 30 minutes in when it occurred to me Funk reminded me of a smart-ass, murderous kid in one of the first episodes of Castle. Checked his bio and sure enough, it was him.

He has a lot of credits for a guy who acts like Spock.

One thing that stood out to me in this movie was the almost complete lack of familiar faces among the supporting cast. I guess there's been an exodus to another channel.

Along the way snowmen are built, office supplies are turned into Christmas decorations and art is created. People are appropriately thankful when their baubles are returned.

Nothing out of the ordinary for a Hallmark movie, but still pretty forgettable.

Five.
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8/10
Really liked this
1 November 2024
I am so happy to see sweet Amy Groening finally get a lead. I've been saying she deserves one for quite a while, and I've been vindicated: she really knocked it out of the park.

The story was fun too: a woman wants to preserve the Christmas traditions she has enjoyed with her very eccentric family, so she invents a boyfriend, finding someone on a dating app to pass along.

She brings him to the family Olympics, which is a series of zany Christmas themed competitions.

There's plenty of fun, and a lot of heartwarming situations as the family bonds with her new "boyfriend" only to discover he's actually a stranger.

This is the first of the Hallmarks for me this year, and they're off to a nice start.
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Heaven Down Here (2023 TV Movie)
5/10
It's not a 1...
27 December 2023
...but neither is it a 10.

This is why I like reading the reviews: we're all different.

And it doesn't really matter whether it's a great movie or not. We all have favorites that wouldn't get much of a score, but we like them anyway.

This one was not something I'd be interested in watching again, but it clearly spoke to quite a few people.

It involves a widowed waitress who is going through difficulty as she and her kids face their first Christmas without their husband/father. An uncaring boss forces her to cover a shift anyway. There she encounters a desperate minister, and a woman trying to pick up a cake for her daughter. A blizzard forces them all to hunker down in a diner, and they all come to understand each other better.

I did not care for it, but others think it's the best think they've ever seen. Who knows: maybe it'll be younew favorite.
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6/10
Didn't hate it
16 December 2023
It's probably because I've got a soft spot in my heart for sweet, little girls like Erin Agostino, but I was able to get to the end without yawning or eye-rolling.

The story here involves a a city manager who returns to his hometown and encounters an old school mate when he registers his son for school. She's now a schoolteacher who has invented a way for students to regift presents to people in need.

As there is a shortage of donations to the city's charity gift-giving program, the two devise a plan to take her program city-wide.

The story moves along at a reasonable pace. There is a plotline that each of them dates other people before realizing the obvious.

This is not a front line movie, but if you're looking for something to watch, there's worse choices.
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8/10
Meghan Ory is back
16 December 2023
I gave this an 8.

I'm not sure it deserves an 8, but I'm so happy to see Meghan Ory back in a Christmas movie.

I never understood why she wasn't doing them. She's so perfect for them and after a fantastic movie in Dashing through the Snow, she vanished from the genre.

Well, she's back, here playing a bubbly personal shopper with a flamboyant style all her own, tasked with working her magic on a gruff building contractor played by Christopher Russel.

It seems like every other movie has had Russell in it this year, but he's really shown his development as an actor as all the roles are very diverse.

This movie was probably not the greatest Hallmark movie of all time, the chemistry maybe not the best, etc., but it was fun to watch, and I would definitely recommend it.

Welcome back Meghan.
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Peppermint and Postcards (2023 TV Movie)
8/10
Better than average
14 December 2023
I'm not sure why it's called Peppermints and Postcards, but whatever you call it, it was pretty good.

Christopher Russell has been a busy guy this year. Here, he is a pushy small-town reporter looking for his ticket to the big time.

Ella Cannon plays a single mom so meek she is spending the Christmas holidays hosting her ex-husband and his new Parisian fiancee in her home. She says she is happy being single, but it's clear she is not. She bonds with the fiancee.

When her daughter's letter to Santa asking for a love for her mom somehow goes viral, our reporter seizes on the opportunity. He is still licking wounds from a previous relationship, and has no interest in another one, only his ambition.

The movie has a slightly tongue-in-cheek feel, but the feelings of the characters are evident to the viewer almost before they occur to the character. This is a step forward for GAF.

Russell has developed quite a range between this, his baker earlier this year and last year's colorblind schoolteacher.

Ella Cannon was the witchy sister in last year's A Maple Valley Christmas. Here she is very much more copacetic, and aims an acerbic wit at the reporter from time to time. They each become adept at administering the needle.

The chemistry develops slowly, through a sometimes convoluted plot, perhaps the weakest part of the story.

In all, it's a little different, but definitely worth a watch.
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Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (2023 TV Movie)
3/10
Run away, Jeff
12 December 2023
I wasn't going to watch this one, but then I saw the ratings were pretty high. I'm now wondering what those people were thinking.

Plot involves two real estate rivals forced to work together to sell a home.

We know where that's going.

From the previews, it appeared Eva would be sweet, and she is...when she's not being bat-poop crazy.

Jeff looks like a deer in the headlights at times.

Supporting cast consists of a 16-year-old who looks 25, and a couple selling the home who seems to be in every Hallmark/GAF movie ever.

I'm thinking the more people who watch this the lower the ratings will go.

My thought is to spare you.
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Mystic Christmas (2023 TV Movie)
5/10
Third time's a charm
8 December 2023
I say that because the first two times I tried to watch this movie, I literally fell asleep. Seriously. Twice. That's never happened before.

So let's see how many thumbs down I can get: I have always liked Jessie Schram. She's very talented. I just didn't happen to like her in this. I think it was the dialogue. Trying to hard to be cute. Not her fault.

I didn't find her chemistry with her co-star that compelling either.

Earlier this year, I had complimented Hallmark on dialing back the agenda. I hadn't seen this yet. The secondary romantic relationship was a homosexual one, and they were very in your face about it. This is not something I care to watch.

I did like some things: I grew up in a town with Christmas boat parades, and they're a lot of fun. Also, the ambitious pizza parlor employee was very well done.

I would not, however, recommend this movie on its merits, and I will not watch it again.
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Christmas on Windmill Way (2023 TV Movie)
6/10
Save the windmill!
6 December 2023
Or the farm; or the plaza; or the outhouse.

This is another save movie, and quite run-of-the -mill (sorry) It stars Chad Michael Murray and Christa Taylor Brown. Just typing their names gets me halfway to the character requirement.

I gave it a six, but virtually all of that is on Murray. He's the anchor holding this whole thing together.

The story involves a cherished local windmill which is being threatened with demolition by the development company Murray works for. He rekindles a former relationship with Brown that ended in misunderstanding (naturally), and begins surreptitiously working with her against the interests of his company.

There really isn't much new here. Brown is very pretty, if she's not a model she should be. Her acting is better than some we've seen on GAF, but there is still room for improvement.

I would not recommend against watching this movie, but again, it's just ok.
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Christmas in Notting Hill (2023 TV Movie)
5/10
Meh
1 December 2023
I watched this for Sarah Ramos. She earned it by being the only redeeming feature in last year's Kismet Christmas where her love interest was...er...Rock Hudsonesque.

I don't have a lot of interest in these movies set in Europe. Canada is already a foreign country.

This movie is about a woman from Indiana who goes to the UK to spend Christmas with her little sister ( kind of a hottie if you ask me). She has what passes for a meet cute these days with a famous soccer player, though she has no idea who he is.

He's also the brother of the guy who's about to propose to her sister.

Both are facing life crises, but somehow manage to pair off in the process.

It's not a terrible movie, it's just not terribly interesting.

Five.
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A Biltmore Christmas (2023 TV Movie)
9/10
Wonderful
29 November 2023
I just recently mentioned in another post my fascination with the 40's. A Biltmore Christmas is another movie that pays homage to that era and the glamour days of the movie industry.

Writer Lucy, seeking an appropriate ending to a remake of a 1947 movie, visits the original shooting location is transported back to 1947 when she turns over an hourglass. There, she meets Jack Huston, an actor in the original movie.

I did not expect Joy Lenz to have much chemistry with Kris Polaha, but I was wrong: they were great together. Polaha was letter perfect as the up and coming 40's actor. They even sing a song together, though as good as it was, still doesn't match her duet with Andrew Walker in Snowed Inn Christmas.

All supporting cast is excellent, especially Annabelle Borke as movie star Ava.

Definitely recommend a watch. Great movie.
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Catch Me If You Claus (2023 TV Movie)
8/10
This was great
29 November 2023
I had a lot of fun with this one.

I've seen Luke McFarlane play a lawyer, a tutor, a stuffy businessman and a tree farmer, but now all of a sudden he's Santa Claus' son. He plays this over the top (the New Yo-uk) accent was inspired) and provides laughs all through.

I've never seen Italia Ricci play anything, but she was the perfect choice as they had excellent chemistry and bounced zingers off each other throughout.

The plot involves a news anchor on the eve of her big break, who believes she is capturing the Santa Claus burglar, a local criminal who has been in the news, but in reality she's captured the son of Santa Claus during his first night taking over for dad. His pleas fall on deaf ears until she realizes things don't add up, and the two determine to solve the mystery before sunup.

This is a well-written, well thought out story, fun for teens and up. There's some bad guys that might scare little kids.

This will make a nice addition to the Hallmark lineup in the next few years.

Thankful that Hallmark has gotten back to what made them so good and the agenda has been dialed way back this year, although the commercials....
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8/10
Really nice
28 November 2023
Christmas in Maple Hills starts out as another save the farm movie, but quickly turns into a search for family roots, and then a love story within a love story.

When a farm girl goes to the bank to fund an expansion to her business, it is discovered that her farm is not in her family's name, but a mysterious organization no one has ever heard of. The search is on, assisted by the doctor who has designs on our lovely farm girl.

Flashbacks reveal a WWII romance involving her grandmother, and the mystery continually deepens.

Emily Alatalo and Marcus Rosner do a nice job as farm girl and doctor, but gorgeous Amanda Jordan, with her amazing blue eyes, and Adrian Spencer as a soldier she encounters are perhaps the real hilight of the movie.

I'm a sucker for 40's and WWII era nostalgia, so I really like this kind of movie and I'm happy to say it was quite well-done.

The nurse was particularly appealing as the best friend who always has a sparkle in her eye.

Nicely done.
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Paris Christmas Waltz (2023 TV Movie)
7/10
I don't think I'm the target audience for this one
22 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So why review it, you say?

Well, mostly because this is clearly where GAC put a disproportionate amount of their budget, and they've been promoting it accordingly.

Meg Lilley is a good-hearted accountant who attends a dance competition. She is so impressed, her best friend buys her dancing lessons for Christmas.

Her company announces a layoff, and she sacrifices herself to save the job of a co-worker with a family.

One day, she just happens to run into the dancer who inspired her on the street, and he is in need of a new partner for a new contest in Paris.

Guess who is chosen.

The mini tour of Paris is nice, and you really do get a pretty good feel for the city. From there, we meet the legendary dancing coach, and the unscrupulous and vengeful ex-partner who is also in the competition.

There is much dancing, of course, and Matthew Morrison and Lilley even break into song in the streets of Paris at one point.

Morrison was an amiable sort, and Lilley was her usual self, if a little whiny.

Look for an inside joke about her big eyes.

This was fine. Just not something I'd watch again. Maybe someday.
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Holiday Hotline (2023 TV Movie)
8/10
I don't know how, but they pulled this off
20 November 2023
If you had read me the script before I watched this movie, I'd have made a hefty bet it would be a disaster. There's probably quite a few who think it was. But I thought they made it work.

You can't tell the players without a scorecard as people are using interchangeable names and accents and somehow two people become two couples.

Emily Tennant is a tiny, little ball of gorgeousness who plays a British chef treated shamefully by her boyfriend/boss, so she comes to Chicago for Christmas. She somehow winds up working at a turkey cooking helpline.

Niall Matter is an architect in Chicago who wants to make a Christmas turkey for his daughter. It all gets very convoluted from there.

Erik Athavale was really funny in Santa Summit, and is very good here too.

Myla Volk as the daughter is a child actor new to me. She's going to be gorgeous in ten years, and does a nice job as well.

I can only say this is the kind of movie some love and some hate.

I gave it an 8.
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