Reviews

...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.

How refreshing.

It always makes me glad to see efforts to make Christmas involve the Savior. And it doesn't hurt that they are portraying Christian family life as well.

They just got a lot wrong. For one, it is very unlikely that a divorced Christian woman would be adopting a child as a single mother. Also unlikely that the woman would be saying grace with her husband sitting right there. It was a nice grace though.

MaryAnn and Joe had a nice relationship. I enjoyed the way they moved along at a reasonable pace.

A lot of my favorite supporting cast were present: Amy Groening and Stephanie Sy, both very busy this year, always great.

The one character I did not like was Joe's buddy. This movie just stopped dead whenever he was on the screen.

I would not say this was the movie I hoped it would be, but it's a nice, heartwarming little family movie at Christmas-time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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.

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.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know.

I was curious about this because it's another Great American movie without any big names in the cast. I admit, I thought it was another dud in the first ten minutes. The acting seemed like it was another of those GAF movies where everyone is wooden and unnatural.

Fortunately, I decided to put that aside, and the movie settled into a nice rhythm.

The story itself is kind of sweet. Two employees at a theater (plays, not movies) are reunited years after attending high school together, where he tortured her with practical jokes, and she still hates him.

Can he possibly make up for it after all this time?

This is not Citizen Kane, but the lead actors are pretty good, and have a nice little chemistry, and the story, as I said is rather sweet.

If you can overlook the somewhat spotty acting, this is a nice little movie.

I'm a veteran, but I won't get into all the the military things that were laughable. All the other guys did a fine job of that.

The story about a guy and girl who fall for each other over the course of several Christmases is nothing new.

Kayla Wallace is really pretty, and sweet (looks a little too much like my ex-wife for my comfort). She has a nice appeal, but her acting was a little spotty, I'm afraid.

Kevin McGarry plays an Army captain. I have always heard actors inhabit their roles, but he couldn't be bothered to get a military haircut, and had no military bearing, so I won't be taking him too seriously in the future.

If you're watching a Hallmark movie, you have to be able to let these things go, but that doesn't mean you won't notice them.

For the most part, this was a garden variety Christmas romance and I doubt I'll watch it again.

I watched this movie the other day, and I have to admit I was not impressed.

Part of the problem may be that we watch so many of them, there is a natural tendency to compare them to others. If they were just stand alone movies, we might like them fine.

Part of the problem may be that it was a Cindy Busby movie. She's never been one of my favorites.

But I think the biggest problem for me was reducing Cory Sevier, so brilliant as the grinchy stroke victim in Noel Next Door, into a guy who just grins and says "Me too!" about 40 times.

The story about a road trip where two girls keep running into the same two guys and maybe Santa Claus was a little flimsy to say the least. Supporting cast was so-so, although the Santa and the pastor were good.

Others may enjoy this, I'm sure I'll get thumbs down, but for me it's a pass.

38 year old Kevin Mc Garry plays 32 year old hockey player Scott Briggs. He's stuck playing in Idaho Falls, light years away from the big time he longs for.

Kim Matula is Ashley, a New York real estate agent who is home for Christmas. They have what is pretty much the opposite of a meet-cute, then it is discovered their debit cards were switched at an airport kiosk. Both suffer embarrassment as a result, then discover Briggs is actually staying at her family's guest house.

Matula shines in the Hallmark movies with her strong yet vulnerable characters in addition to her attractiveness. She's every bit as good as she was last year as an angel.

McGarry is well-known to Hallmark fans, but not one of my favorites, although he is good here.

I'm noticing a lot of new faces in the supporting casts this year, probably to fill the gaps of those who have fled to GAC. Some are better than others.

This movie is a step up, if only because Matula is so good. There are some funny moments, especially if you like hockey, and warm ones as well.

It's a 7, but Matula makes it an 8.

Christmas Keepsake is a low-key romance about an Australian widower who relocates along with his preteen daughter to America, where the discovery of a time capsule buried in their back yard leads to new relationships and new traditions.

The acting is much better than some of the GAC movies out there. Old pro Daniel Lissing is excellent as always, although it's a bit of an adjustment hearing him speak in his natural Australian voice. I can't wait for all the reviews saying how bad his Aussie accent is.

Jillian Murray is one of the GAC stable who was brought back this year, and rightfully so. She is improving, as I'm sure many others will too.

The daughter did a fine job as well.

The movie itself was just ok. To be honest, I didn't feel like there was a relationship developing, in spite of the mother's blatant attempts at matchmaking.

Still in all, definitely a step in the right direction.

This was another of those GAF movies that remind us they are not even with Hallmark quite yet.

Wedding planning and the assorted catastrophes is not a new subject, and this was just another one.

The plot itself wasn't so bad: a newly engaged couple decides to marry in two weeks in order to allow the bride to have her dream wedding before the facility is demolished to build condos.

Work and planning issues get in the way of the pair spending time together, and nerves become frayed.

Holly Devaux and Drew Seeley are ok as the couple, but again, the acting seems like...acting Brigitte Kingsley (who also produced) is back in a supporting role, substantially more covered up than last year (see The Art of Christmas), but she still has a scene or two, if you catch my drift.

I record these movies to zap through the commercials, and it seemed like it took forever to get to the end of this.

Not awful, but not my favorite.

It's only year three of the Great American Christmas movies, so you can't expect all of them to be winners. Journey to Christmas will not be among the more fondly remembered of the year by most people.

The plot is at least somewhat original: limo driver taking a famous model across the country at Christmas time until weather forces them to stop, not coincidentally at his boyhood home, where he hasn't been for several years. They naturally fall for each other, until a misunderstanding, well...you know.

The problem here is the acting. Everybody seems so stiff and unnatural at times you think you're watching a rehearsal for the high school play.

A theme among GAF actors I've noticed is they don't speak clearly enough to understand, exacerbated by the fact they talk so fast.

The lead actress is certainly pretty, tall and thin enough to be the supermodel she portrays (although this one actually eats), but there was zero chemistry with her costar.

They're just getting started. I know they'll get better, but I doubt I'll be watching this one again.

Mystery on Mistletoe Lane is an enjoyable, 100% family-friendly movie.

It stars a newcomer to Hallmark Christmas movies Erica Cerra, and familiar face Victor Webster. Cerra is perhaps a bit older than the standard Hallmark lead, but she's the right age for this role: an attractive single mother of preteens who has uprooted her family from Carolina and shipped up to Boston (sorry).

Her new job is manager of a house with historical significance, and she is determined to dust things off and bring some attention to the forgotten old house. In the process, she meets Victor Webster who assists in fixing up the place, but it's what they find in the process that sparks the mystery. Even her snotty daughter wants to join in the sleuthing.

Old familiar face Fred Henderson shows up as Webster's dad, and he has some secrets of his own.

All in all a fun watch, and a good one to watch with family.

I didn't watch this when it came out in '22 because of all the reviews, so this year I decided to give it a chance.

I guess it just goes to show how different peoples' tastes are, because I thought it was great.

Marisol Nichols has never been one of my favorites, but she and Kris Polaha were both great. This took a lot of range to pull this off, but they did: funny, sweet, sad, bitter, all the emotions you go through in life except grief.

Maybe it's just because I'm a grumpy, snarky divorced guy, but I laughed a lot, recognizing my own life and having the same reactions as they did.

There is a homosexual couple in the movie, mostly for comic relief, but they did have a big smooch. That turns a lot of people off. Amy Groening, one of my favorites, as a quirky animal painter was good .

All in all, I'm sure I'll watch it again. To each his own.

I watched this right after Santa Summit, so it was a little like going off the cliff and then hitting the brakes, but it worked out alright.

From Hallmark to GAC, from zaniness and comedy to a low-key romance. Turns out the movies had one thing in common: sweet Amy Groening ( she'll be doing leads soon, mark my words).

This film is about yet another woman (Laura Osnes) returning to her hometown for some soul-searching who has a meet-cute and develops a relationship with local baker (Christopher Russell). She stays at the home of her sister, the aforesaid Groening, who is raising her exceedingly sweet daughter while her Army husband is stationed afar.

There's lots of bonding, lots of baking, and no agendas within a country mile.

The one thing I didn't care for much was the music getting a little sappy at times.

This is the first GAC movie I've seen this year, but while they're still not up to Hallmark, they're getting there, and with more quality cast members like these they won't be far behind for long.

When I heard Hunter King and Stephanie Sy were making a movie together, I was looking forward to it.

I knew there would be an element of zaniness. There was that and more.

The main story of a guy and girl who meet and hit it off, only to lose each other without getting names has been done...recently, but in this case there were so many adventures along the way they almost have to remind you. Everybody is wearing a Santa suit, so identities get mixed up throughout. The girls get together with their pal played by sweet Amy Groening for an evening of dancing and drinking and merriment, and each finds her own misadventure.

It's a little slow to start, but it gets going eventually. It's fullof surprises and builds to a satisfying conclusion.

Grumps probably won't like it, but it's worth a watch.