michael_sluka

My wife dragged me to this....and believe me, she now owes me at least 3 action movie picks in compensation. This is nowhere near as good as Silence of the Lambs....it is not even as good as any of Alfred Hitchcock's 20 minute short horror stories he wrote for his 1 hour weekly tv show way back when. It is neither scary nor graphically horrific. It is a painfully slow-moving, overly long, dimly lit dismal piece of video. The actual acts of killing are shot just outside of frame so you see the axe swinging, but not the impact. There is no cleverness to the protagonist's crime solving....she just sort of inexplicably knows things and figures the rest out through her intuition and studying some case similarities. The main plot twist at the end is hardly going to cause you to gasp in astonishment. Getting all these reviewers to see this movie was a superb coup by the advertising team.

I prefer my Christmas movies to be merry and bright. This one, as far as the basic story and the two leads together go, was neither merry nor bright. While Nikki Deloach is a favorite Hallmark actress of mine for her sweetness and charm, this script worked against typecast. Not that she shouldn't accept any forlorn character roles, but forlorn Christmas stories tend not to become seasonal nor general romance classics unless you have an author like Charles Dickens. It did not help that the male lead was uninspiring both in character and in acting. Oddly, all the other supporting characters were upbeat and classic Hallmark. The 'big kiss' at the end was telltale of the lack of chemistry the leads had for each other. I think I have kissed my grandmother with more zeal and affection.

I second the tenor of a number of the reviews made before mine. Successive seasons going from a 10 to 7 to 4. I just finished S3, E10. While many of the individual scenes are gritty, gripping and well-acted, when you look at the story arc as a whole (through end of S3), it seems to me the series is heading into a black hole from which it won't/can't escape. The show is quickly running out of characters to meet their demise or send to their ruin. How screwed up can one prison get or one town get, before the Governor declares state of emergency, sends in the National Guard and replaces everyone with any degree of authority? Maybe that is Taylor Sheridan's plan, have the town and the show implode through its own devices. Season 4 better start off with one helluva figurative sunny day in Kingston to turn things in another direction or watching this will require a prescription for Zoloft. I will also buck the review sentiment regarding Iris....she's kind of hot and her character personality reminds me of a girl I used to date.

I watched this the first time awhile back and remember it as a rather blah romance. However, I just watched again, this time with an eye towards finding what I didn't like. While Pascale Hutton doesn't do much for me, I realize now the script called for her to be reluctant to engage romantically with Paevy because Paevy's agent sold her a bill of goods back in college. Now that I caught this, I think her character acting was fine as she was scripted. If anything this second time, I thought Paevy was too low key on the romance angle. His style is always laid back but with engaging charm, which I usually find enjoyable, but this time, he didn't bring enough charm to make it work. I have a feeling this role, the casting match and a rather lame script caused this to be one of his lesser outputs.

I am a reluctant veteran watcher of Lifetime, Hallmark and recently, GAF Christmas movies at around 40 or so of these. I've stopped evaluating the individual storylines ,quality of sets and plot tropes. Even as they change locations and plot specifics, these all introduce our hero lead...most typically a female...and then present our hero-ine with an obstacle to her enjoyment of Christmas. Also, around this same moment, we are introduced to the romantic pairing. Our heroine wrestles with the obstacle for the bulk of the rest of the runtime, with or without assistance from the romantic counterpart. I find the better ones establish a mutual attraction sooner rather than later, and if there is logic to the physical match-up of the actors, the audience can get into it, suffer through the stereotypical romantic conflict at about 10 minutes left and then root for the inevitable closed mouth kiss right before the credits roll.

You know the story from other reviews. What made this watchable for me was that the female/male casting was of equal attractiveness quotient. The male did not have to act inept or wooden or say stupid things in front of the female. The supporting cast added, rather than detracted or distracted, from enjoyment of the movie. That's all I now ask and this movie delivered that.

Once again we have the family business being squeezed by big business....but also a prodigal sister too. Big business is actually rather ethical throughout this rendition, but the sister is an over-the-top antagonist. Our leads fall into the ubiquitous slow-burn romance once again, but since this is Lifetime, not Hallmark, I was disappointed the romance elements were so hesitant and G-rated. The leads were featured in another series called Confessions. While a much grittier, darker drama, the same leads' romance was much more intense and palpable. However, for a fluff piece movie, their acting was still engaging and we get our somewhat surprise happy ending.

I have not read the book...and I feel no compulsion to do so. Whatever pieces of this tv series came from the book, congratulations to the author. Whatever was not true to the book, congratulations to the screenplay adaptors. The entire thing was riveting and well done, so kudos to both. I found this solely because I was looking for movies featuring Ryan Cooper. I enjoy his onscreen persona. I binge-watched the 7 episodes because each episode left me wanting to see what happened next. Call it a movie-version of a page turner...I have no doubt the book has the same pull for people who read that. Both the leads were great in their acting...their feelings, emotions were palpable. Even though some of the main supporting cast were semi-villainous, they certainly acted their roles quite convincingly as well.

I have learned something about Hallmark movies....the further back in time you go, the better the movies. In this one, there was no stupid scripting, the lead actors fit together well, the story was charming. Compared to what is being produced 10 years later (now), this is a gem. My guess is that the screenplay writers from the early era have all retired or gone elsewhere. The casting directors who previously asked themselves...do these 2 leads look like they would be a credible match in real life? Is the male taller than the female? Clearly, those casting directors are nowhere around for today's productions. I'm glad these older gems are still findable.

Rarely do I find a Hallmark movie where the script is not made of cheese...this was a welcome exception. The dialogue was witty and engaging for the most part and sincere when required. Both leads acted their scripted characters well and the supporting cast were good actors too. Walker's boss was made too bossy, but her role was not large. This struck me more of a well-acted business story than a romance story. Chabert and Walker were both very credible and engaging as business foils, but failed for me romantically. Their pairing looks like a 30-something guy and a college sophomore after putting on her freshman-15. But, I did not require a strong romance element to enjoy this watch.

It's 2024, so I am writing this review 9 years after release and seeing the 20 reviews preceding mine. I fully agree the scripting is weak as usual for Hallmark and the famous Hallmark lovers' conflict used in this movie was unrealistically phony. I have come to expect both of these flaws as part and parcel in these movies. However, I have seen Russell and Lowndes several times before, both together and separately. Their individual acting styles are consistent in this movie as elsewhere. Russell is always sort of too laid back in his romantic approach, but also has a natural charismatic warmth to his onscreen characters.....but I can't blame him for the script writing. Lowndes has a smoke show face although I am not a curvy figure aficionado.. She is quite good at scenes where she gets to be happy or sing and play piano. She has a great singing voice. She does seem to not be as good when pressed to be forlorn or standoffish as she was most of this movie. She tends to come across as petulant. So, in this case, while the romantic chemistry does not seem to have that perceptible undercurrent of electricity, I am inclined to blame the script/screenplay more so than the actors.

Christopher Russell is one of the few Hallmark males that I find to look like a romance movie lead and generally acts credibly as such, so I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 new movies back to back with him in the lead. I thought the chemistry and physical match was better with Ashley Tinsbrough in Operation Nutcracker (also just released), but this match with Ms. Fish was not bad. The scenery was fantastic, the storyline hasn't been done before and both leads acted their scripted roles well. My 2 negatives were 1) the getting lost part seemed to last longer than necessary and despite writing in a variety of obstacles to overcome, still seemed to drag a bit. Secondly, while Ms. Fish is cute enough, her scripted character was too overdone to be fully attractive. Nonetheless, more watchable than a lot of what Hallmark cranks off the assembly line.

This is sort of a modern day Cinderella story with a lot of both physical and situational comedy added in. The female lead delivers well both comedic forms and was well casted for the transformation from bespectacled nerd into reasonably hot looking babe. There are a couple of scenes with overt sexual innuendo, so I imagine it would be a PG-13. But, by mature standards, quite tame. Some additional comedy with the protagonist's father and nephew was also featured. Beyond the good acting of the female lead, the film features the teenage heart-throb looks of Robbie Amell and Shenae Grimes. Their roles are not overly featured, but always nice to look at them at this age. I'm not a fan of Cindy Busby, but she delivers a good foil character against the female lead.

1. Leading actors that seem well-matched (plausible in real life) with a romance that grows steadily throughout and not just in the last 5 minutes.

2. While all Christmas-theme movies will have some overlap with each other, make each storyline have some discernible uniqueness.

3. While the supporting characters can be cheesy or a bit over the top, keep the leads from coming across in such ways. We should want to admire and root for them, not want to laugh at them.

4. Don't produce a storyline that is fully predictable.

5. Don't insert a romance conflict that is overdone or illogical in its occurrence.

Most every Hallmark production fails one or more of the above (I've seen about 40), this is the first time I have watched one that avoided all 5, therefore my first 10 rating of a Hallmark.

Everyone knows Hallmark and other Canadian production houses rarely shoot their films at the scripted location other than some introductory footage...it doesn't affect my ratings. Everyone one knows the romance elements will be G rated fare. I now only rate on 2 aspects....did the story hold my interest and were the actors credible in their parts. In this case, the story was good and with a fair degree of unpredictability. I thought the entire cast did a good job on their assigned characters and delivered their lines credibly. Sean Faris always tries his hand at accents...he doesn't always nail these, but I respect the attempt. Nice to see Shenae Grimes in a fully dramatic role.... I think it suits her better than fluff movies.

I found this (on YouTube) solely because I have enjoyed watching Robbie Amell's acting inventory. From high school heart-throb to serious drama to stupid Hallmark rom-coms, the guy has a commendable range of character portrayals. In this tv movie, he portrays a sort of cub-reporter assigned to the police beat with a nice mixture of expected naïveté and unexpected smarts. This is a pretty gritty drama, but with 3 charismatic protagonists. Madsen and Stringfellow also deliver credible characters in this very no nonsense drama. The storyline keeps the viewer engaged in the crimes and crime-solving each step of the way. A good watch.

While this Hallmark Christmas story is not overly complicated, it is somewhat original. Fortunately, the two leads look like they could be paired in real life and the scripting allowed for the chemistry to be evident early on, without the usual Hallmark stand-off-ness until the magical last 5 minutes. Therefore, the final kiss was seamless and not just injected into the final minute as so often happens. The usual required conflict was minor and not overdone. I think this was my first cringe-less Hallmark movie.....Christopher Russell was not scripted to act bumbling, stupid or unmanly the entire movie. This is the first time I've watched the female lead....she is very attractive and an engaging actress. She resembled Denise Richards in quite a few scenes. I enjoyed this one from start to finish.

As a dozen reviews already posted have noted, this is another story of the big bad developer/company taking over the small town store/diner. The Hallmark writers are clearly rarely creative, so I believe they sit back and recycle a pile of about 8 storylines and just tweak these around a bit. As a dozen reviews already have noted, the location is not Nantucket...I don't know why they just don't admit their stories are usually based on someplace in Canada BC unless they clearly fly the cast and crew to a different shooting location. As a dozen reviews have already noted, mistakes abound in Hallmark movies. Why don't they hire somebody for $20/hour just to watch the first take of each scene to eliminate the set gaffes before the final take? Here are a couple more....why do all Hallmark toy stores only stock rag dolls and wooden toys? Wouldn't it be just as easy to buy up a bunch of modern day toys in their boxes and put those on the shelf? When the male lead is fixing the toy store breaker box, why do they have him splicing 20 gauge wire like he is fixing a thermostat? Breaker boxes require 12 gauge wire and splicing would require a wire nut, not just two fingers. During the first outing to Mermaid Cove, the female lead mocks the male lead for coming out to the stone-strewn beach in dress oxfords...yet, in the finale visit to the same beach, he is wearing the very same oxfords. So, given all the set flaws/repetitive tropes/predictable storylines we have all mentioned in our reviews, why do we watch Hallmark movies?

I assume we want to see a decent romance played out in a satisfying manner. Here is where lead chemistry and acting ability come into play. I haven't seen this female lead before, but she delivered a decent performance of her role. While she isn't quite as attractive as Taylor Cole or Jessica Lowndes, she beats Lacey Chabert and Jodie Sweetin, so she was fine by me. I think Trevor Donovan has a good look and build for a male lead, but sometimes his scripts make him too bumbling around females and sometimes his facial expressions are downright goofy. In this movie, he managed to seem a bit more competent and mature. So, in this regard, the romance was reasonably credible and satisfying except for those terrible closed-lip kisses....i think I've kissed my mother with more feeling than what these two leads came up with.

I think Ryan Paevy brings some capable acting to Hallmark as opposed to so many of the other bad acting/unattractive males taking up space on this channel. His Mr. Darcy and his time traveler character were very good portrayals. Not so much here, and I am going to blame the lame script. The female lead is an attractive woman (and not a 'girl' actor) so the 'casting fit' was there, but again, I think the female's scripting made her come off a little too wooden and therefore, what could have been a good casting romantic fit was subverted by a poorly written screenplay and script. That's my beef with Hallmark....for a channel that holds itself to be one of romance, they sure haven't gotten the hang of writing romance movies. Either they screw up the male/female casting matches or they write a script/screenplay under which no reasonable person would find themselves swept into romance. I give the casting match an 8 and the script a 4.

The basic plot was not unique from other movies previously done, but the writing was great. The suspense was well-crafted and woven into every few minutes. It's a screenplay where you just want to start another episode as soon as the current episode ends. The writers made the storyline and characters complex enough that even though the fundamental plot is revealed fairly early on, there are complexities and surprises added along the way that keep the final events from being guessed. There is a fair amount of action...and violence. Even though the protagonist is not the most charismatic actor out there, it's not hard to find yourself rooting for him through the myriad obstacles he faces. Should satisfy both suspense and action fans alike.

The story is riveting, although the screenplay just bit too drawn out in places. I think the 3 hour run time could be shaved by a skillful editor by deleting a couple of scenes here and there without losing any of the drama or suspense. After a couple of hours in, the viewer knows where the climax is headed to and I felt myself saying to the tv, let's get on with it. Every single actor did superb work in their roles...it was far superior than most made for tv productions. The only other flaw would be something for trial attorneys. The defense attorney does a great job shooting holes in the key eyewitness testimony, but does not even cross-examine the final 'clothing' witness for offering what is only circumstantial evidence. Then, in summation, the defense does not even mention the prosecution's wholly circumstantial case (clearly reasonable doubts were on the table) but rather gives only a brief appeal to character. The final, final scene, although delivering great shock appeal, would likely be unnecessary to the outcome if the defense attorney was scripted to be more adept at courtroom defense.

I discovered this mini-series just this year after perusing Lee Horsely's filmography here and I promptly procured the DVD from one of the online old-movie vendors. I'm now ending my second viewing. I guess this 1986 offering is old-school now, but it makes current day romance movie offerings from Hallmark seem like 3rd grade productions. The sets are so much more expansive and the actors are in a totally different category of skill. The longing glances cast by Cheryl Ladd feel palpable even on a two-dimensional screen. Jane Seymour's various facial expressions tell the viewer more than 10 lines of dialogue. Lee Horsely came off like a man's man gentleman in every scene. If you want a palpable romance story interwoven with some WW2 classic war drama, give this a watch.

As some other reviewers noted, the storyline moved along well. While the bakery theme is not too far off the usual themes, the perfunctory "conflict" moment was not too contrived. I find Christopher Russell to almost always deliver a likable, charming character and manages to avoid coming off looking like the bumbling idiot in front of the girl which is such a staple of this Hallmark type genre. The romantic chemistry was there, although Laura Osmes actually delivered that better than Russell. Why didn't he kiss her upon leaving after the family dinner? When she says 'I love you' at the end, why didn't he actually say that too? I sometimes wonder if these HM screenplay writers have any firsthand knowledge of how a normal male reacts under feelings of sexual attraction? One thing we don't do is just stand there, not saying or doing anything.

As the trivia comments to the movie reveal, this started out intended to be a theatrical release, but ended up going straight to video. It does offer Paul Walker in his tragically abbreviated heyday, an Olivia Wilde at the peak of her smoke show looks and long actor resume Laurence Fishburn. On the flip side, the storyline is simple except for the last 15 minutes or so when the plot twists reveal themselves. The scenery is mostly boring desert and except for the periodic action scenes, moves along a bit on the slow side. So, unless you are a fan of Walker and/or Wilde, you may not find it engaging. In my case, I think Paul Walker had a talent for delivering an engaging character no matter the role given....he can play a less than perfect character role, yet you still root for him. As for Wilde, it looked like she was being cast for not much more than 5 minutes in a bikini and another 5 in lingerie, but stick with it until the end and her character develops. It is not highbrow fare, but Walker's character draws you in more the longer you watch. Not the action level of Fast and Furious, but enough to scratch that itch if you have it. It ultimately is an 'against-all-odds' happy ending flick.

I am always pleasantly surprised when Hallmark story writers gives us something other than their over-decorated Christmas set, a pumpkin patch or an old-school diner. The same goes for a plot line that doesn't have one of the leads returning to their hometown for some reason. So, credit for something different. As for a cheesy beginning, well, Hallmark does cheese for a living. Better the beginning than the end. As for the end, it wasn't cheese, it was cringe. Andrew Walker and Shenae Grimes make for an attractive couple and while the 'romantic' progression was well-paced during the main part of the film, the final minute was bad even for Hallmark. There is the trademark kiss to end the movie, but if it is to be believed that Shenae Grimes is ready to postpone a Hollywood career for a high school teacher, the kiss needs to be a bit more passionate and longer than what was scripted. I thought the leads did a good job evolving the chemistry until this final shot....which looked like minimal chemistry between actors and subjected to a director's stopwatch.

And apparently got cancelled right when the love triangle arrives at the doorstep. It is a very slow moving screenplay.....the 9 episodes could easily have been only 6 without losing any plot line. But it is quirky and campy, as is the female lead. It is easy to root for her as she faces her relocation and career obstacles. Beyond our 'heroine', there are 2 male suitors and one girlfriend confidante. They all seem to act out their assigned characters credibly. The plot line could have easily developed in a number of directions, but alas this abbreviated series 'died on the vine'.....pun intended.