Change Your Image
Jackbv123
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Gifted (2017)
How have I not seen this til now?
McKenna Grace was amazing and probably 90% of what makes this film great. Cute, with missing teeth just like my granddaughter. Precocious as all get out. And fun. She does the sad parts well also.
I take it back. The script was 90% of what makes this film great. OK, so my math isn't as good as Mary's. The script was funny, sentimental, sad, thoughtful. What did I miss? Here's what makes me sure I liked it - I laughed out loud, more than once. I watch a lot of TV and movies. I'm in the over 1000 club on this site. I laugh out loud at less than 1 in 20 shows I watch. Then there is the story. Predictable? Maybe to a point, but getting to that point, not even close to predictable. I had a prediction and it didn't pan out.
The cast was good. Several A listers even though I've only seen Jenny Slate in a major role once, in Venom. She and Evans had some chemistry, but their relationship was not one of the top threads in the story.
Another reason I know I liked this movie is it had two things I hate in movies. A court battle, and custody issues where the system has its rules. I guess the two are tied together. Anyway, I still walk away loving the movie.
Haven (2010)
Declines
Season 1 9*
Season 2 8*
Season 3 6*
Season 4 4*
Season 5 2*
Good SciFi and/or Fantasy creates a Universe with rules and limitations and sticks to them. Twists are hinted at earlier in the plot. I don't know so much about Horror or whatever you call Stephen King's genre, but it should be similar. Otherwise it's just a jumble.
Haven starts out well. Rules progress in succeeding episodes but they are building toward an endgame which the writers had clearly in mind. At least I assume so. Even Season 3 is still holding on to most of the original assumptions, mostly. Did the showrunners plan past the first 2 or 3 seasons. You have to be optimistic if you expect the original premises to hold that long.
With Season 4 they start revising the original rules. They start introducing characters with fewer and fewer limitations. I lost count of the new progenitors/creators/gods in the last two seasons. And Season 5 was just too long. Too much rehashing and repeating. The Audrey character with her associated ones started changing rules and personalities. Even the basic Audrey character did more than evolve. At times she regressed.
I hate plot threads that involve possession resulting in a new personality that in many ways is opposite of the original protagonists. Several of the characters undergo such personality contradictions.
Antagonists were often cardboard characters, even the main ones representing their group, although not as much in Season 1. Driscoll was a complete cliche and not even consistent. Jordan's character devolves into a one dimensional one and makes two severe personality shifts that are almost explainable, but not quite. So many others. Vince and Dave make some of the biggest changes over the 5 seasons and I'm pretty sure many of those were afterthoughts (again due to the show running over 3 seasons).
So many TV series depend on love triangles and Haven definitely uses one. Like so many shows that do so over multiple seasons, it is hard for the viewer to keep up with the evolution of Audrey/Nathan/Duke. The ongoing story teases the viewers seeming to give what they want, then taking it away.
My advice is stop at the end of Season 2.
God's Country Song (2023)
Fair amount of Country music singing
I agree there was too much crammed into a TV movie. I would have like to have seen more development of Noah's relationship with JJ and Leane if you are going to have those in the story. Noah had a drinking problem. We get that. Pretty stupid, but then that can be blamed on his relationship with his dad and the event that torpedoed that. Probably should have left out the Leane part. The screen time spent on that was trite and cliche. What in the world did she see in him and why did she give him JJ so easily? When they were dating he didn't treat her that great. He was happy to have her around without putting in a lot of effort.
Except for overdoing Noah's downward spiral given the screentime constraints, the movie does have some good moments on the serious side. This is a faith-based movie, but seems like his journey to repentance was rushed also. It almost seemed like his dad's awards were what brought Noah around.
Not a bad movie, but it had some problems especially rushing everything.
The Engagement Plan (2024)
The message got through to me
The movie starts out with a lot of silliness, about like you'd expect. Wade is a Planner. I think he said every hour of every day and at times it seems like. He plans a proposal down to details that rank up there as above and beyond.
You might get some laughs over his early times on the farm. Of course they had to overplay the city boy on the farm. He runs into an electric fence and looks like a cartoon version for a few seconds. He gets out of a pickup and lands in about a two foot square pile of manure. Later he falls in it and then gets covered in it. He has a couple of shining moments. He delivers a calf by himself.
This is a faith based movie, but there appears to be a hypocritical villain trying to break up Wade and Kayla. At times Cam doesn't seem very Christian. One thing in particular was very bad.
But there are a lot of serious moments and many of the circumstance were true to life, even for Christians. Obstacles that discourage and appear to derail all hope. Wrong choices and actions followed by repentance. Man plans and God just does his thing.
For me personally, some of the "funny" things and some of the deviousness really didn't appeal to me. I think that's just me, and many will enjoy it making this a good movie as a whole. Even if you are like me and dislike some of that, the serious moments make this movie worth sticking with.
Finding Faith (2024)
Why?
Why do bad things happen to good people? I expected the marriage trouble between Victoria and Billy to be something else. The real reason is pretty well buried until time to reveal. It was a problem many couples face and the casualty rate to their faith is high in general.
This is definitely a faith-based movie, but I think fitting more for those who already are Christian rather than messaging to those who aren't.
I saw Ashley Bratcher in Unplanned about Abby Johnson. I think she did well in that and this. Both of the characters are not your ordinary people.
I fully resonated with Victoria's desire to remain anonymous. Extraordinary advice like seemed to be Victoria's forte comes only from God and no human person should step in front of that. I am still not sure why she even considered going with Samantha's company, not am I completely sure how that turned out.
John Schneider was excellent and his character of John was compelling.
His & Hers (2024)
Familiarity
This is a very light hearted offering that almost seems like it is not taking itself seriously. I wondered at times if there was some parody, but I wasn't sure of what. Married professionals? Reality stars? I can't imagine why everyone wanted them to oppose one another in the case because it didn't seem healthy for either couple to have Dana and Mark as opposing counsel. So many things seemed even more unrealistic than you come to expect in this genre.
Chabert and Elliot did look like their characters had been married awhile, especially their kisses. They kissed like "an old married couple" with a glancing peck. Not like stories where a couple is having a first kiss and each goes in with vigor and ... tongues.
I wondered where the story was going and definitely did not see that one coming despite the clues. It didn't seem like any great highs or lows or even tension until ... Surprise!
Our Dream Wedding (2021)
Definitely not the usual stuff
I will lump this story in with all those movies where the protagonist can see her life in an alternate timeline based on different life choices. This is a bit different than most where the protagonist is not the same age as before the switch but viewing the resulting different life choices. In this case, she travels to a future she has never lived based on a possibly different life choice.
I'm not a fan of the inevitable confusion of her not having memories of her new life. There is a little of that here, but they don't overdo it with constant embarrassment. The writers play with it a little. There is a cute sequence where Natalie is trying to explain her dilemma to her mother and for a few seconds you think mom is going to admit she had the same experience with the veil, but then that bubble bursts. At least Mimi of the future knows what is going on. Another nice sequence is a date away from the kids with future Scott where Natalie can pump him for info without arousing suspicion. There are a few more cute sequences.
There are also some more serious sequences. The movie explores some of the family drama that occurs when two parents aren't on the same page exactly on issues involving their children. In this case, Natalie wouldn't know whether they ever discussed those things previously or not. Even so, the tension in the story never gets to be a lot.
The acting is good and there is some good dialogue. Natalie is appealing enough but a little neurotic about making decisions both with Scott and her professional future. She is also not great at really communicating. Proposing Scott is presumptuous, but future Scott seems like a good husband and parent.
Overall I think the script is fresh. I found most of it, after the jump forward, to be hopeful. It presents a surprisingly positive marriage where the few obstacles that pop up seem to be solved by reaffirming of love for each other.
Clockstoppers (2002)
Nickelodeon
This is a sci-fi spy movie for kids. As such the story, dialogue and acting are not the same as I usually watch. There is plenty to appeal to the younger crowd including a nice sequence at a DJ contest. In addition to the style of audio, the time stopping duo put on a show of manipulating the body of their buddy who is one of the contestants. No amount of scientific mumbo jumbo will explain the physics of what they do with him, or for that matter themselves throughout the movie, but the sequence is fun.
There is some teenage romance which is very tame for what's usual for the age of these kids.
I imagine the movie fits for kids but it was on the juvenile side for me.
Planning on Forever (2022)
Wedding Planning?!
Is that enough for a story? But they weren't high school sweethearts who split when one went off to college. No, their past is limited to a failed blind date. Still somehow Liam seems to know a lot about Emma. This is another story where the bride and groom completely leave town for the full six weeks leading up to the wedding so Emma and Liam have to "stand in". She keeps saying she is not a wedding planner even though she is a corporate event planner. She keeps telling her sister it will be "the wedding of your dreams." The writers sneak in a couple of "we are not together" disclaimers by the not-couple. But another deviation from the usual rom/com story about an employee is that the boss keeps telling her to stop working, not work faster. The story is relatively thin with the usual wedding planning things. It seems too good to be true that there are no disasters until... lets just say they stole one from the common Christmas pageant disaster. There is a very small side story where Emma's widowed mom meets someone.
I think Emily Tennant comes close to saving this. She is likeable with few faults. She and Alec Santos have quiet chemistry.
Every rom/com needs a conflict to throw a kink in the lead romance. This one revolves around the usual wrong assumptions but didn't seem that big a deal.
When Love Springs (2023)
Stick with it
Rhiannon Fish's Rory is a contradiction but I think that is the point. On the one hand she can be a confident mover and shaker, but on the other hand she panics easily. And yes, the scene where she falls apart in front of her ex is definitely cringeworthy. It was way overplayed. Was it supposed to be funny? I might have been tempted to laugh if I hadn't been shuddering over the stupidity of it. I suspect some viewers were laughing at how bad it was. All of that to set up the fake boyfriend act. Fish continues for just a bit longer to spew out a combination of blabber and good advice while she sounds like a voice recording played at double speed. Good luck to Noah trying to figure out which is which. Actually Noah is quick to figure Rory out. He is also a bit of a contradiction where he sees through Rory's facade yet also has insecurities over his position as innkeeper.
If the fake boyfriend isn't enough of a cloud hanging over Rory's peace of mind, we quickly get a hint of another pitfall looming for her down the road.
It was seeing Rhiannon Fish's name in the credits that attracted me to this movie, so I have seen a few of her efforts on Hallmark. This may be the worst of those in terms of acting, or rather it is for almost half the movie. This part of the movie seems completely unnatural for her. Rory's hyperactivity softens a little toward the middle, especially her rate of speaking. The story settles down also as we watch the couple bond. While Act 1 was a silly disaster, Act 2 and beyond is more like a typical Hallmark movie. Both story and acting.
The common stories about one lead being jilted by a selfish ex often have her acting in desperation in the middle of starting something new with someone worthwhile, as is the case here.
Up to a point near the middle I was thinking to myself how unfortunate was Fish's appearance. With her hair up and the professional attire, even outdoors, Rory was almost austere. I knew Fish had a softer, more appealing side to her. Either by accident, or more likely by intention, the director changes all that suddenly. The transformation of Rory, both visually and emotionally, has taken place.
The evil boss pops up and echoes back to cringeworthy Act 1. Once again, overdone. Her scene in itself is important to the story, the problem is the overacting.
Well all stories have a conflict or obstacle. Three things come together to bring that about, one coming out of one of the others. Rory's insecurity temporarily blinds her to the obvious and it makes sense for the Rory we have come to know.
Once you get past Act 1, this movie fits right into the genre and is well done. If Act 1 had been toned down, this could be a very watchable movie. Even with that, the viewers can grit their teeth and persevere. Deduct 1 to 2 stars for the beginning.
The Heiress and the Handyman (2024)
It's been done
Spoiled heiress loses fortune and her life gets totally downgraded. The good news in this movie was that going from luxury to nothing took 9 minutes including opening credits. Some movies with this premise stretch that out in the hopes of earning humor points. June learns some humility almost as quickly, so there is not a lot of time to really hate her character. From there we go into the phase of learning about the work ahead (but that never actually manifests). No blue jeans yet. But the competition challenge complete with trash talk comes pretty quickly. And so we have another Hallmark movie where someone enters a contest with experienced competition but she is a totally novice in the required skills. And not just one category, but several.
This movie takes an interesting approach to how June's new neighbors adjust to her. They are far more sympathetic to her than in the usual stories where a high society person meets small town folk.
The pacing in the middle is laid back and some might consider it stagnant. One would expect the arrival of the fair contests would be the climax, but it seemed a little early and then there was a complete turn of direction with a few unexpected things before the obvious ending. While there were some unexpected things, this part was rushed a little.
The acting is OK, but unrealistically upbeat, which for me wasn't necessarily negative. The dialog has good moments. There isn't much heavy tension. The approaching contests were about all in that category. In the category of makeup, there was at least one scene where Sweetin didn't look good in close ups.
Jodie Sweetin's June is pretty much what you would expect from Jodie. There is little character development of June other than what takes place in the first 10 minutes. Corey Sevier fills the part of her romantic interest but doesn't add much of a counterpoint.
Divine Influencer (2023)
Not a rom/com? Starts like a lame one
Before the movie started on the GAF network there was a screen of text saying that Pure Flix movies aren't your typical rom/com. Well you couldn't tell that from the first third or so. The lead character is just what you'd expect from a rom/com image of a privileged, rich, "influencer". I could not stand Olivia. She is arrogant, rude, clueless and takes advantage of whomever she can. And she has no job skills. Of course this is the set up for the character transformation which, like many rom/coms, takes place so quickly it gives you whiplash. From the way things are developing, it would be easy to assume that Olivia is going to romantically connect with the shelter manager, Ryan. Later the story transitions into preparation for a Gala to save the shelter, just like so many other rom/coms. I wonder who is going to work with Ryan to make the Gala successful?
But this really is a faith based movie. Olivia's realization of her spiritual need takes a little longer than for her to develop humility and along with it more become likeable.
The intentions and message behind this movie are laudable. The way the movie works into that was cringeworthy for me. I'm sure the writers wanted to show her miraculous changes, but it was done too clumsily. Somewhere around half way, the story becomes a little easier to stay with. In fact there are several touching moments. One nice scene has Olivia staring at a beautiful night sky and asking "Do you see me?" She posts interviews with several needy residents. She writes her parents telling of the changes God is bringing into her life. There is even a message about following Jesus. Unfortunately the message doesn't explain why she needs redemption or how Jesus makes that possible.
Every movie has a conflict that leads into the climax. This one is ridiculous. The circumstances make no sense. Many of the things they are judging are at least partially their own faults and their actions are deplorable. To explain would be spoilers but the actions by these "Christians" are highly questionable.
Let me summarize everything about. This script is terrible which is so bad it negates any positive message.
Reagan (2024)
Another case of ballot box stuffing (for the movie)
It's not surprising that politics has affected both the release of this movie and fan reviews and ratings. 61% of the ratings at this writing are either a 1 star or 10 stars. All but two of the 18 written reviews are 8, 9, or 10. One is a 1. Usually clumps like that at the extremes reflect a lot of emotion and bias. Several of the higher written reviews reflect at least some thought and explain their reasoning, but many also reflect at least some bias. I saw this movie in an early afternoon showing on the first Saturday. There could not have been more than 20 in a theatre that holds 10 times that.
This is at least partially a faith based movie since Reagan's Christian faith is expressed on several occasions and at least two prominent actors including Quaid are known for Christian roles. Reagan mentions at least once a Calling to become what he was. Nothing is mentioned, that I could tell, about Nancy's reported beliefs in things a little less orthodox.
I thought there was a underlying Message to the movie which seemed to reflect winning the war against Communism. The is emphasized by using the device of an old Soviet Cold War analyst describing how he followed Reagan's career. That this character started tracking him as early as he did allows this device to follow much of Reagan's life, but seems a little far fetched to me. I found a theme of defeating Communism to be odd given that it is still thriving in a least a couple of countries at the time of the movie's release, not to mention the political indoctrination in our schools which appears to have won over many of our younger generations. The movie holds up free speech a few times and yet an increasing number of young people favor the elimination of disinformation, not to mention a couple of European governments. I often think that Kruschev's prophecy is coming true.
By the end of the movie, Quaid's mannerisms were such that it was easy to think we were looking at Ronnie. He did a decent job of delivering several of Reagan's more famous witticisms.
I have studied a lot of history, especially American. The movie isn't terrible as a historical piece but it is a little sensationalized in the sense of making Reagan look good.
Because of the release timing, one can't help but wonder what is the desired impact on our current election. I will leave it to you to decide what was intended, but I think the results are mixed. Neither candidate reflects Reagan's values completely. There are some serious inconsistencies if one in particular is intended, but there may be at least a couple of valid comparisons.
The Magic of Lemon Drops (2024)
Just enough different
The story is just a little bit different following the almost magic that has been part of several stories on Hallmark lately. The alternate reality is not unusual in a rom/com, but in this one there is more than one. I especially liked that those alternate realities didn't get overly hung up on the difficulties of the protagonist being dropped into a situation she has no memories of life leading up to that moment. There is a little bit, but Lolly isn't made to look like a total fool not knowing those things.
I especially like the second drop, but I won't describe it.
Lyndsy Fonseca and Ian Harding are great and have chemistry. It is easy to identify with them. The acting is good and so is the dialogue even without it being unusually sparkling. Instead both acting and dialogue seem natural. Ian Harding is growing on me.
There isn't a lot of heavy negative tension. And I like it that way. There was something about the ending I really liked. Was it because it was shorter and more to the point, less drawn out?
A Costa Rican Wedding (2024)
Emily!
I like Rhiannon Fish but Emily may be the most unlikeable Rom/Com lead ever. She is clumsy, but that can be cute. She is a total moron, arrogant, and refuses all help, much to her detriment. But when she gets really desperate, she starts manipulating Ryan. For literally half the movie Emily screws up one thing after another. Ryan is an OK guy, but Emily was so frustrating it didn't help him look good. Phoebe's parents are totally mean to Emily and even though she probably deserves it, that doesn't make the movie fun to watch.
Their search is totally hopeless despite the importance of what they lost. But since it's Hallmark, I assumed the impossible will happen, but you'll have to see.
As in many of these movies, the whole tone of events changes so quickly the viewer gets whiplash. In this case, at the half way point (with commercials) the relationship settles down and the calamities get a little less depressing. Also like most of these movies, there is a conflict based on a misunderstanding toward the end, but this one comes and goes so quickly, it might as well have been skipped.
There is some great local scenery. And I was a little surprised to find this swimming "scenery" in a Hallmark movie. Not that revealing, but more than the usual.
The midpoint recovery was enough to take this movie from avoid-at-all-costs to almost watchable.
My Dreams of You (2024)
A Bit Different
The movie puts me in mind of a cross between In My Dreams (2014) and Ghosts of Christmas Always (2023). The first is obvious and probably better than this movie. The mechanics behind the Dream making and the ensuing screw ups echoes the latter movie. It is this totally unusual approach that lifts this movie slightly above the same old Saturday night stuff on Hallmark.
I'm not familiar with either of the leads. Someone really screwed up the credits on this website because Sklyer Samuels is listed at this writing as Emily. She is actually Grace.
Most of the acting is decent, at least for the real characters. The supernatural characters maybe not so much, but the whole operation behind the dream making has a Bush League feel. They are using VHS tapes for storage. The office has a pedestrian feel and maybe dated also.
Samuels and Kapil Talwalkar have chemistry. Their characters and relationship are appealing and for me this was where any hook was.
It seemed to me like the theme of chasing your dreams was pushed a little too hard, where "dreams" in this case is like "hopes and dreams" rather than what you do while asleep. It's not uncommon for Hallmark, but it can be carried a little too far. I thought it interesting that the story set up the idea of Grace as a struggling artist barely making ends meet, even to the point of having to borrow money. But when she went chasing Michael she seemed to have a lot of money to spend.
My rating acknowledges the somewhat unusual story and quirkiness of it, but I'm not sure if this is one I will want to watch again.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters (2024)
Not the most fun of the series
When I saw the preview that the Postables would be back, I inwardly cheered and joyfully told my wife. After watching it, my excitement is somewhat muted.
There were excellent aspects of the story. The most obvious theme centers around the reality that marriage is not all the simple HEA that Hallmark rom/coms usually promise. Emphasis on the word simple. There is always potential for the HEA, but it is rarely simple. In the case of Oliver and Shane we have two people who have lived alone for much of their adult lives and that makes a new marriage even more complicated. I thought this movie did well to make that clear, although I felt there was a bit of our heroes being out of character.
My enjoyment was sapped a little by this pervading negative tone. I struggled to find the moments of quirkiness that these characters are so known for. In fact, one moment stood out with Norman. We usually see Norman come up with something extremely profound, but usually it comes as an apparent contradiction to his usual quirkiness. In this case, I was struck by his demeanor looking as profound as the advice he gave. This was a nice touch.
It's not a spoiler to say that many viewers will need their box of tissues as we get toward the end, but it seemed to me that in this episode, those moments were not sprinkled as much through the entire story.
I was glad to see Rhiannon Fish truly be a fifth member of the central group. Charlie seemed to be a better developed character than in the last one.
Magic in Mistletoe (2023)
Faries, but magic?
For me the premise seems common with several others and the story doesn't really stand out. There are no great highs or lows or surprises.
What does stand slightly apart is Paul Campbell. He is not your soft cuddly leading man. "Prickly". Yes that describes Harrington and Campbell fits the part. So the relationship with Lyndie Greenwood's April is not quite typical. It is in some ways, but a little more complicated. The biggest difference is that the antagonism lasts throughout much of the movie. For a while it gets suppressed and things look good. The conflict that all romance stories need comes not so much from secrets or misunderstandings as from the character himself.
I found the movie a little slow at times. Or maybe I should say deliberate. There is a place for that, but in this case, it didn't work for me personally. When the movie's story doesn't have any big hooks for me, I look to the relationship. In fact, in this genre, the relationship is always important. Because of the things I describe above, I didn't get invested in the relationship. Did I really want this for April?
BTW pet peeve: no texts, but at least two significant handwritten notes are too small and too quick to read for anyone without great eyes or without pausing. Why is this fault so common?
Operation Nutcracker (2024)
Lots of moving parts
I found this movie delightful even though it followed similar lines to other movies where the protagonists are trying to find something throughout the story only to have many near misses. The viewer sees these misses but since it's Hallmark, we know the pieces will all fall in place eventually. I don't think it is a spoiler to say that almost too many things fall into place in happy ways.
Against the backdrop of the search we also have the very common trope of the two romantic leads thrown together to plan a big Christmas event. There is also the secret that the viewer knows will come out a bit too soon and hurt the protagonists. In many ways, this movie might have been a rehash of all the same old stuff, but it wasn't. Or maybe I should say it was so much more. It is fun to watch the near misses and start to imagine how the writers will bring it all together. I think that most viewers will start to come close to figuring it out even if only slightly before it happens.
Ashley Newbrough and Christopher Russell have chemistry and watching them together is part of the fun. The acting is all good and the dialogue has some good moments.
This is one to watch again.
Cinderella in the Caribbean (2023)
Power under control
In trying to decide whether to watch this, I sampled other reviews. One of the bad ones almost scared me away, but then based on two of the better ones, I decided to watch it.
As evil step-family goes, they were evil, but Ashlyn was able to tough it out partly because the abuse was mild compared to many Cinderella stories, including another by this director and writer. The step-fam had her doing some menial and inconvenient chores but it wasn't constant. The worst of it leads into the climax and backfires as you would expect for most versions of this classic.
One reviewer calls Ashlyn a wimp, but I didn't see her that way. For me she was self-controlled resisting against striking out. As the pressure rose, she finally had to do what was necessary, but even then it was power under control. True forgiveness is not wimpy. Maybe a little sappy though in how it came down.
The nominal romance with Noah wasn't much to write home about.
In a story like this, there is always a tendency to overplay the step-family members. In this case, their faults were not overplayed as much as could have been. The acting of the other three main characters was basically fair. I thought the necessity to play Ashlyn so restrained made Emma Reinagel seem stiff at times, even once or twice with Conor McGee.
After seeing it all, I do not agree with either the reviewer that totally dissed it or the two the praised it but I'm left in the middle. This isn't that good a movie, but neither is it horrible.
Dater's Handbook (2016)
About what you'd expect
The premise is that Cassandra (Meghan Markle) finally realizes that her current boyfriend doesn't appreciate her and will never commit to her so she turns to, you guessed it, the Dater's Handbook. The handbook focusses on reliable traits in a man. The writer gives pointers that if taken with a grain of salt are usually pretty good. Right off the bat, the writer says "It's not him, it's you." And there is a valid principle there, but Cass takes this, like everything in the book, a little too literally with a lot of help from her sister.
Soon after setting about on this new course she begins to date two guys. George is reliable and maybe a bit stiff. Robert is fun and spontaneous. Cass, her sister. And her mom start rating the men. The ladies convince Cass she has to choose.
I think most viewers will figure out who Cass chooses in the end long before it plays out.
The acting is decent all around. Kristoffer Polaha can be the sophisticated guy, but in this case he is the more spontaneous. He does it well without being silly. He and Markle have definite chemistry.
The movie is very predictable. It has quirky moments without being over the top.
When Sparks Fly (2014)
Ballot box stuffing
I have rated nearly 2500 shows and movies and reviewed over 1500. The majority are in this genre or Christmas movies. Read other reviews of this movie. Many don't ring true. Several of them are expansive with sophisticated wording far more than average reviews. In other words, several of them are too similar. Look at profiles. There are some definite Megan Markle haters. One of the really negative ones don't even accurately describe this movie or the actors and still receives more helpful votes than not.
Don't get me wrong. This movie is not good. But it is not "the worst" of Hallmark or in any category. Markle is not great, but she is a cut above some of the newbies that show up occasionally from production companies like Reel One.
Markle is playing a part of a character that is caught in the middle often or caught in a situation where she has to appear neutral even though her real opinion is negative. That character reaction is going to be uncertain and ambiguous. Almost always in this type of movie, the reaction is going to appear lame to the viewer. The actor has to show the viewer that her reaction is false and/or hiding something, but the other characters accept the reaction as real. In countless movies of this type, I have seen almost identical reactions when the character is almost caught out. Markle isn't great, but she doesn't stand out, especially not negatively.
Sammie is ridiculous. She is supposed to be. That is one of the consistent themes in the movie until her crisis. It is almost funny and some will laugh at how bad it is.
The movie follows many of the usual tropes and is predictable. As soon as Phil starts meeting people, you can see what is going to happen and you already knew how it was going to turn out for Amy. Lochlyn Munro has done several almost similar roles and usually comes off as a jerk, but there is nothing wrong with Phil in this one.
I thought it was hilarious that there was a watermain break. I used to joke that they happened in every Christmas movie to threaten some pageant. In this case it leads to a trope similar to many of those other movies.
Chemistry between the two actual leads? Yeah there is some, but it isn't sizzling.
I'm not a fan of moves that have one main character demolish a relationship between fiancés, and even more so at the last minute. I'm also old school in thinking you don't date your bestie's ex. Do they cancel or double? Not sure, but I lean toward double. Probably not a good idea to have your fiancé's ex as bride's maid. Even so, this movie may not be good, but it is more middle of the road.
A Christmas Eve Miracle (2015)
Creepy moments that were supposed to be funny
Bad acting, bad dialog, cardboard characters who are also unrealistic, too many platitudes.
In act 1, before the wish, we have the ideal family despite the workaholic mom who rightly denigrates herself as a terrible mom. Yet somehow, she manages to spend quality time with her kids. And her teenage girl has none of the usual tension with her mom. Both kids act like the workaholic mom is a hero. In this section, the acting isn't great but it isn't as horrible as what's to come.
Act 2 made me wonder if this was a parody. This Dustin is the most one dimensional of all the characters. He acts like the only thing in life is to spend outrageous sums of money on his wife. All of these movies where a wish is granted to change a life path presents the main character with the problem of having the old memories and thought patterns despite a completely changed circumstance. In this case Sharron becomes creepy as like a stalker of other people's kids. Of course, to her, they are her kids, but not to them. The fact is that these same kids have become spoiled in this other family and that is supposed to be part of the morale of the story. In this act, all the acting is terrible.
I won't say much about Act 3 other than that the acting goes back to being only slightly poor.
Falling Like Snowflakes (2024)
A story about snowflakes?
Rebecca Dalton has had at least one real bomb but also a couple I enjoyed. Her appearance makes me think she is a model, but I can't find that in her bio. For me she is strikingly beautiful. I won't say that she is a great actress. Marcus Rosner is a veteran for Hallmark, but I have never thought he stood out.
Put them together in a movie that follows the usual lines and you get a middle of the road product which some will love and others not so much.
I will say the snowflake angle is a new one. I looked it up and found one article saying there are at least 30 types. Hmm.
The writers try to liven the story by having another photographer compete with Teagan to have an entry in the auction that one benefactor has already promised big bucks for if the lot includes that rare 12 sided snowflake. This might have added to the story if the competitor hadn't been so obviously inept. Her shady side must have been the intended hook, but just irritated me.
Everything Puppies (2024)
Puppies rule
This movie seems to prioritize the following themes in this order: 1) Cutthroat business wars; 2) Puppies and dogs; 3) Work/life balance; 4) Scarlett and Alex's relationship. The ranking is subjective as I saw it. Regardless of that, my point is that this rom/com spent a LOT of screen time on the business wars including unethical conduct behind the scenes. I don't tune in to Hallmark to watch a cliche portrayal of cutthroat business. I suspect most people who tune in to this channel do so more for relationship development.
The theme of work/life balance has been popular on Hallmark for a while now. There is nothing wrong with it, but it gets a lot of play.
The puppies are definitely cute and are a definite plus for this movie.
Scarlett's dog treats were almost magical in the way dogs reacted so instantly and so strongly. And they are healthy too!
Acting. Something was off at times. Rather than the acting, it may have been something else. Transitions were rough at times. Dialogue seemed trite at times. And the brand Pup Chuck. I did a web search on those two words and off to the right, but at the top of the page was a definition section for the word "up-chuck". The similarity is probably intentional since the guy pushing the Pup Chuck brand was the movie's cardboard villain. He didn't have a handlebar mustache though. Maybe the thing that seemed off to me was the humor which seemed to be based on parody but didn't seem to be invested in it.
Stephen Huszar is 40 this year. The only thing I could find about Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes was somewhere between 22 and 28. That's a notable age difference for a romance story. Scarlett's character seemed youngish in the way she approached things.
For story and acting, I would probably not watch this again. The puppies and dogs made it watchable for one time through.