gmead-933-493078 Reviews

The Last Bridesmaid (2019 TV Movie)

Great until the last 15 minutes or so.

[5/10 · 23 January 2024]

I really enjoyed this movie. Mostly. The actors are ones I enjoy, the characters I enjoyed, and I thought that the development of the relationship reasonably realistic.

But the last bit kind of ticked me off. Paul Campbell's character EXPLICITLY tells Rachel Boston's character that he doesn't want anyone seeing his video until he's ready. Sure, she was blindsided by her uncle, but in NO WAY is it her right to show him the video. The proper thing to do was to tell him that she can't show him the video. At worst, she should have apologized profusely to Kyle for getting flustered and showing her uncle the video. At best, she should have not shown the video at all.

And then she tries to justify it to Kyle, by telling him that she'll "push" him and "support him" all the time. What she means is that she'll make the decisions for him when a video is ready. What else will she decide for him? If I were him, I would not enter into a relationship with her without setting boundaries, which she clearly doesn't believe in.

This ending really annoyed me and made what could have been a really good movie into something only tolerable. I know that Hallmark MUST make some kind of conflict near the end of the movie, but this is pretty unacceptable. If a guy was making decisions like this for a woman, crossing boundaries, would people think it was acceptable? No? Then it shouldn't have gone this way either.

Love on the Right Course (2024 TV Movie)

Odd decisions making this movie.

[6/10 · 12 January 2024]

Unlike many of the reviewers here, I liked the chemistry between the two leads - it felt natural to me. I liked the slow building of a (predictable) friendship between the father and "Maria", both grieving the loss of their spouses. I also liked the fact that the inevitable misunderstandings come fairly early in the movie, and with one by each of the leads - and that they apologized for the misunderstanding. For a couple getting to know each other, though, I would have expected heartfelt promises not to jump to conclusions again. (Seriously, it seems that a continuing characteristic of nearly all Hallmark leads is that they don't trust their partner and instantly jump to the worst conclusions)

There were some real questions I had, though. First, why shoot this in Hungary? I don't think any of these scenes HAD to be shot in Hungary, as opposed, say, to anywhere else in Europe or North America. There was one scene where the two leads were walking up some stairs past marble sculptures which I assume were classically Hungarian, but other than that, it had me wondering if Hungary is offering big financial incentives to film there.

Second, the 8 million Euro offer for the golf course (a pro course is usually over 100 acres, according to Google) and the massive building seems laughably low. I would have expected something on the order of at least a hundred million Euros.

Not being a ball golfer (disc golf, yeah!) I had no idea whether the golfing scenes were any good, but other reviewers here have said that they were awful. Why can't Hallmark find actors even among their usual stable of beautiful people who are competent? Hallmark has been able to find competent skiers, skaters, musicians, etc., so why not golf, which is a very commonly played game. I did find that their pairing of left-handed (Rosner) and right-handed (Newbrough) players allowed them to face one another when practicing rather than both awkwardly face in the same direction.

Continuity: During the tournament, when Whitney hits the ball into a sand trap, the sand is clearly untouched. When she arrives at the trap, the sand around the ball has all been raked. It's jarring.

Fraud by the real estate agent? Pretty hard to believe of a reputable agent (which she'd have to be for a property like this). She must have been pretty desperate or dishonest. I imagine that if this was real, and we saw a 6-month follow-up, we'd hear that she'd lost her real estate license and was being prosecuted. It felt like this was thrown into the movie just to generate a bit more controversy, and didn't really add anything to the relationships between any of the characters (other than Rosner's character doing a favor for Dad).

Since Hallmark movies are generally pretty formulaic, I'd think that they could focus on some of these issues to make it at least a bit more realistic.

That said, I'll finish up by saying that Ashley in that green dress is stunning!

Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas (2021 TV Movie)

Lots of favorite and familiar Hallmark actors, good acting and chemistry, a bit of a shopworn plot.

[9/10 · 10 December 2022]

The good: Brendan Penny and Jessy Schram are two of my favorite Hallmark actors and they have good chemistry together as their relationship realistically develops. There are quite a few supporting roles for others in the Hallmark stable of actors - Allison Sweeney, Lochlyn Munro, Lisa Durupt, Brendan Zub, Alix West Lefler, April Telek, Camille Mitchell, Azriel Dalman, and probably others I don't recognize. One pleasant surprise is that 3 of them play against type. Lisa Durupt usually plays a charming and pleasant character, but at least starts out shrewishly here. Lochlyn Munro and Brendon Zub usually play pretty sketchy characters but are good guys here. I really liked the short scene with Allison Sweeney. I wasn't sure who she was playing - a lot of her characters seem to be bakers - until she mentioned "her husband" Jack and Will - which told us that she is, in fact, Kat, and that she and Jack stayed together. So this serves as kind of a sequel or coda to another of the Time To Come Home movies. Nicely done!

Loss is a common theme in a lot of the Hallmark movies in general and their Xmas movies in particular. And that's true here. (IMO, this is also something that a lot of people deal with in real life, too, so I like this theme in these movies.) Of course there's the loss of memory, but there are other issues in this movie (that I'll leave out to avoid spoilers) that are dealt with very well here - with realism and sensitivity.

Not so great: Although I think it was dealt with well in this movie, really, another amnesia plot? You'd think that everyone loses their memory at some point. There are at least 5 Hallmark movies I can think of where this is the primary plot element.

I'm getting a bit tired of the song. I know that Blake Shelton is a producer and that he wrote the song, but honestly, IMO it's not all that great, and it's overplayed in these movies.

Last, after I just saw this movie (again), I noticed that despite her character supposedly being a pie lover, in the opening scene, as she's leaving the diner, you can see that she barely touched the pie. Really? (OK, not a big deal, but I gotta mention it.)

Overall, though, I enjoyed the movie, and I'm watching it again as I write this.

The Secrets of Bella Vista (2022 TV Movie)

Not the usual Hallmark

[8/10 · 10 October 2022]

The major relationship here was between the two sisters. That was, IMO, very well done, as was the gradual involvement of the lead's life with that of her extended family in the orchard, and her discovery of their history.

Niall Matter is one of my favorite actors in the Hallmark universe, but he was irrelevant here. If anything, I thought he should have gotten together with the sister, not the lead character. I suppose it was an obligatory part of a Hallmark movie, but in this one it wasn't necessary.

To the whiners who say that they don't like the inclusion of LGBTQ, get over it - they're a part of society now, and in this movie they were introduced as just a normal set of friends of the lead. Nothing was pushed, and they weren't pushed into the closet. Lots of Hallmark movies have hetero couples, and a few have gay couples. No big deal.

To sum up, an interesting movie with a non-threatening mystery, and romance was a side-issue.

A Splash of Love (2022 TV Movie)

Technically bad, and irritating

[2/10 · 1 August 2022]

I'm a Floridian, a PhD, and a geological oceanographer. On all counts, the movie had too many errors and plot holes to even be enjoyable., and I almost always like Hallmark movies.

First, she's from Miami Central College? I understand that the writers want to use a fictional name, but in FL, a school with that name is a community college, which not only don't have PhD programs, they don't even have grad students. And if they wanted to set the original location, why not use the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, a world famous oceanography school that's part of UMiami? Do you really think that RSMAS would object to playing a part in a movie? Well, considering this one, maybe.

Next, the main character herself. My 1st thought was, "great, they're featuring an oceanography student! Good press for our field!" Then I find they have someone completely unrealistically unprepared in any way. Squealing at the ickyness of a crab (that's clearly fake, btw)? Having NO idea how to do ANYTHING in a boat, not even knowing which direction is the bow? Has she never observed her chosen subjects in the field from Miami? Plus (as another person notes) not knowing anything about orcas when she arrives there? Whining when her feet get cold?

I know this isn't a documentary and that I can't expect rigorous scientific reality from a Hallmark movie, but for crying out loud, y'all could have hired SOMEONE to prevent this from being so embarrassingly bad.

My Christmas Family Tree (2021 TV Movie)

Plot was not as good as it should have been.

[6/10 · 15 November 2021]

Characters, actors, and chemistry was good. BUT:

Vanessa would have (should have) told the family of the error the moment she found out. She's a responsible person, and this was a warm, loving family, and would have, at a minimum, have invited her to share their Xmas dinner with them, especially given the obvious chemistry with Kris and the kids. It's very likely that they would have told her something like (especially considering this is a Hallmark movie), "you're a member of our family no matter what". They've done that in other movies, almost word for word. Even if she had run out right after that, they would have tracked her down, probably as they did. Which brings up a couple of other plot holes.

Showing that Vanessa was, after all, related, was in my opinion a big mistake. It was unnecessary, and made the family's love for her seem self-serving. Even though the family SAID that they cared for her after she left, Vanessa doesn't know that. When they turned up at her apt. And announced that she really was his daughter, to her it would have seemed as if they only cared because she was a relative, not because she was a good person.

The idea that the DNA company had made a mistake is barely within the bounds of willing suspension of belief for a movie. The idea that they would have INCORRECTLY thought that they had made a mistake, that there was ANOTHER person of the same name, and notified the customer of that incorrect conclusion, is beyond the bounds of credibility. It's absurd.

If the company had made a mistake and notified her, and she had IMMEDIATELY told the family, even if she had run out, it would have been a great Hallmark moment to find that the family cares about her enough to invite her into the family as they have with Kris. The absurdity of Vanessa's actions, the mistaken mistake, the finding of the photo, and the efforts of the family only after realizing that she really was related really detracted from this movie. I might have given a 10 without those.

One other thing. The trailers all made it seem like Kris was a member of the family. I was expecting that with the great reveal in the trailer (it was obvious that Vanessa's DNA match was mistaken), Kris and Vanessa would be greatly revealed that they weren't having incestuous feelings towards each other. That would actually have been fine, if a little weird. I'm glad Hallmark didn't go there.

Tremors (1990)

As a geologist, I find this hysterical.

[8/10 · 6 October 2019]

Don't expect serious sci fi. Don't expect a sensible plot. Don't expect Oscar winning acting. Just go with the flow. It's enjoyable, and it's fun to see well- known actors playing out-of-character, silly characters.

Well worth watching on a Saturday night with friends.