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Showing posts from December, 2020

REVIEW: The Hallmark Sequel "Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up" Is as Silly as the First One

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Emily and Jared are looking forward to celebrating the holidays together as a couple, and they prepare to work with their neighbors on Evergreen Lane to make this year's Christmas celebrations the best yet.  When a house on the block goes up for sale, the soon-to-be-neighbors are holiday royalty, but they are so competitive that they nearly ruin Christmas for everyone. Starring:   Lacey Chabert, Wes Brown, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ellen Travolta, Melissa Peterman, Seth Morris, and Jennifer Aspen Image:  Hallmark Media Haul Out the Holly:  Lit Up Has a Moral When the residents of Evergreen Lane learn that their new neighbors are the Jolly Johnsons--famous holiday reality stars--they are thrilled to welcome them to the block.  Everyone assumes the Johnsons will fit right in since they share their same affinity for elf culture. Emily, Jared, and the rest of the holiday crew quickly realize that the Johnsons aren't interested in joining in on the fun--they plan to take over. Image:  Tw
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Which Hallmark "Godwink" Movie Is Your Favorite? Vote!

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What Are Godwinks? Hallmark fans love movies that are inspired by real-life stories, and Hallmark has delivered four Godwink movies based upon the true tales penned in books by SQuire Rushnell and Louse DuArt. What are Godwinks? Godwinks are defined as a coincidence that isn't a coincidence, but is thought to be of divine origin.  The term was first coined by Rushnell when writing his first book, When God Winks .   He substituted the word "Godwink" for "coincidence" throughout his manuscript, and it fit.  Today, it is used as a synonym for " answered prayer ."   If you've ever thought to yourself, "What are the odds of THAT happening?" then you've undoubtedly experienced a Godwink! Why does Rushnell write about Godwinks?  He shares his mission:  "To lift the spirits of our readers and viewers with powerful and true-life Godwink stories, providing hope and encouragement." A Godwink Christmas  The first Hallmark Godwink mov
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Did You Figure Out Who "Angel" Was in Hallmark's "The Angel Tree" Before It Was Revealed?

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Starring:  Jill Wagner and Lucas Bryant Released:  2020 Summary:  A writer seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend. Jill Wagner and Lucas Bryant play the perfect couple in Hallmark's The Angel Tree .   Image:  Crown Media A Little Christmas Mystery At Christmastime, some kids make a wish on Santa's lap while others write him a letter or leave him a wish list--picture Sally from A Charlie Brown Christmas dictating her list.  She says, "Please note the size and color of each item and send as many as possible.  If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself:  just send money.  How about tens and twenties?"   Santa always seems to know what a kid really wants, no matter how long the list, and he's been delighting kids on Christmas morning for eons.   Pine River is where Rebecca McBride grew up, and it's a place where granting wishes at Christmas d
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It's No Wonder Hallmark's "Christmas Waltz" Was the #1 Most Watched Original Movie Premiere for 2020!

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Starring:  Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp Released:   2020 Summary:  After a woman's storybook Christmas wedding gets cancelled, a dance instructor helps her face her fear in life by fulfilling her dream of learning how to dance.   Lacey Chabert & Will Kemp wow fans with their beautiful dance performance in Christmas Waltz  Image:  Crown Media Jilted at Christmas Getting dropped like a dense fruitcake during the most wonderful time of the year would ruin Christmas for most of us.  Each subsequent, annual celebration would be marred by the memory of heartbreak.   Right after Avery (Lacey Chabert) decides on a Nutcracker-themed wedding cake and pays for 10 ballroom dancing lessons, she learns her fiance, David (Jeremy Guilbaut) has accepted a job in Boston and will be leaving New York.  Despite David's feeble attempts to keep their relationship alive after the devastating blow, Avery calls off the wedding and ends things with him for good. You must admire Avery's spunk.  To
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Would Charles Dickens Have Approved "A Nashville Christmas Carol?"

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Starring:  Jessy Schram and Wes Brown Released:  2020 Summary:  A TV producer becomes forced to work with the man who broke her heart on a country music Christmas special, but she gets interrupted by Christmas spirits. Jessy Schram and Wes Brown star in this spin on the Dickens' classic.  Image:  Crown Media Imitation Is the Highest Form of Flattery Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to address social issues of his day.  After reading a government report on child labor in the United Kingdom, he was stricken by how people, particularly kids, were treated less like humans and more like commodities.  Their value was determined by how much work they could accomplish in a day.  To put it in modern terms, each person was only a number. Dickens battled against the popular notion that the solution to dealing with the poor was to allow them to starve and thus decrease the population.  His argument in the novel places the responsibility on employers to tend to the well-being of their e
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The Seven Types of Cozy Christmas Romances

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We know you love those cozy, slightly cheesy, made-for-TV Christmas movies and so do we! They might seem like they’re all the same - but we’ve identified the seven main subgenres, that is, the different kinds of Christmas movies that play on Hallmark, Lifetime, UPtv and other networks. Let’s take a look!     Find out at the end of the post how you can order this book! 1. HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS This is the most consistent subgenre in the Christmas Movie world. A successful city girl must go to, or return to, a small town to accomplish some Christmas-related task. In the small town, she meets the Guy who will show her what life is all about. The obstacle, or thing that’s keeping them apart, is usually that they live in different towns and have different priorities. Eventually, though, she will realize that she has been missing something, that he is her other half, and that they are better together than apart. Example movies:  Jingle Bell Bride,   Christmas She Wrote,   Heart of the Holidays
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Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Merry Movie Week 2023 Printable Schedule

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For those of us who are crazy about Christmas and eagerly anticipate a healthy dose of holiday cheer during the summer months, the wait is almost over! Hallmark Movies & Mysteries continues their annual tradition of bringing us Merry Movie Week 2023 , leading up to Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July event. Merry Movie Week kicks off the evening of June 23 and runs through June 30. Hallmark's Merry Movie Week 2023 Details If you're hoping Merry Movie Week means 24/7 Christmas movies for an entire week, you may be disappointed.   You can expect round-the-clock festive movies on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 & 25, but for the rest of the week, it's regular mystery shows during the day and twinkly lights and tinsel from 5pm-11pm Eastern.  No new premieres will be featured during Merry Movie Week, but Hallmark Channel will unveil two new Christmas movies in July. Hallmark's Merry Movie Week 2023 Printable Schedule Hallmark Movies & Mysteries currently has
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Did MacFarlane & Patterson Really Play Their Instruments in "Chateau Christmas?" Find Out!

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Starring:  Merritt Patterson and Luke MacFarlane Released:  2020 Summary:  A world-renowned pianist returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and try to find her passion for music again. Chateau Christmas.  Image:  Crown Media Luke MacFarlane Is Julliard-Trained Julliard, located in New York City, is the world leader in training students in the performing arts--dance, drama, and music.  Luke MacFarlane's dad was a cellist, which inspired MacFarlane to start playing the cello by the time he was four years old.  He set his sights on attending Julliard, and he graduated from the prestigious institution in 2003, afterwards finding success off-Broadway, then on Broadway, and eventually on screen. The script for Chateau Christmas  originally cast MacFarlane playing the violin, but when he asked the writers to change his instrument to the cello, they quickly made the adjustment.  Luke MacFarlane really does play the cello.   While in quarantine before filming, Mac
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REVIEW: Why Hallmark's "Never Been Chris'd" Is Such a Flop

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Home for the holidays, BFFs Naomi and Liz reconnect with high school crush, Chris Silver.  A complex love triangle forms, forcing them to take stock of their lives and find the value of friendship. Starring:  Janel Parrish, Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes, and Tyler Hynes Image:  Hallmark Media What Is Never Been Chris'd About? Chris Silver (Hynes) was the most popular guy in high school.  Like most girls, Liz (Lamothe-Kipnes) and Naomi (Parrish) both had crushes on him, but he never seemed to notice them. Whenever a lucky lady became Chris' girlfriend, she instantly catapulted into popularity.  Liz and Naomi dubbed this phenomenon being "Chris'd." The tables have turned.  Thanks to the innovative "Best Pals" app that Liz and Naomi have created, they are now local celebrities. The two are acknowledged by former classmates when they come home for Christmas and finally experience being the "cool kids."  Chris is a former marine and an English teacher at t
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Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July 2023 Printable Movie Schedule

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Everything is on an app these days, including the Hallmark Christmas in July 2023 movie schedule. Many of us, however, still prefer a paper checklist that allows us to see everything at once without swiping through screens.   Some like the Hallmark app since they can set reminders to alert them about the movies they plan to watch.  The rest of us love pouring over a tangible copy so we can make notations and highlights.  We can also share the document on social media and with our friends and family who look forward to the Christmas in July movie slate.  Hallmark's Christmas in July 2023 --What You Need to Know Contrary to what many people assume, Christmas movies are NOT playing 24/7 on Hallmark Channel during the Christmas in July 2023 event. Don't despair!  According to Hallmark Channel's website, there are 5-7 Christmas movies on tap for each day of July. In between Christmas movies, you can expect the usual sitcoms:  Golden Girls , Frasier , Cheers , and Reba .  Hal
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Review: Hallmark's "Joyeux Noel" Is a Good Story with a Bad Casting Choice

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When a romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor, Lea, she is sent to France with a moody reporter, Mark, to uncover the mystery behind the artist. Starring:  Jaicy Elliot and Brant Daugherty Image:  Hallmark Media Joyeux Noel Combines Romance & Mystery Joyeux Noel was written by Brant Daughtery and his wife Kimberly and tells the tale of a copy editor and aspiring journalist (Elliot) getting the break she's been waiting for.   After visiting an antique store and purchasing an old jewelry box, Lea opens it to find a journal.  While she's deciphering its contents, she tunes into the news where journalists are raving about a new painting featuring an unknown artist known only as "F." Lea is shocked to notice that a sketch in the journal matches the newly unveiled painting.  She reads on to discover that decades earlier, Mon Fleur had met and fallen in love with a woman at a Christmas market in a small French village.  The two s
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Hallmark's "Haul Out the Holly" Is Simultaneously Entertaining & Disappointing

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Haul Out the Holly Plot Summary When a woman unexpectedly spends the holidays alone at her parents' house, their homeowner's association insists that she participates in its many Christmas festivities. Starring:  Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown Image:  Hallmark Media Fans' Response to  Haul Out the Holly is Divided A new Lacey Chabert movie each Christmas is always the season's icing on the sugar cookie.  Until recently, every Chabert romcom has been pure gold in terms of ratings and enjoyment.  For the first time in Chabert's Hallmark career, not everyone is raving about her latest movie.  One camp finds Haul Out the Holly  a sheer delight.  It's Chabert's first Hallmark comedy, and the emphasis is heavy on humor and light on romance.  Many love the change-up.  After years of the same recycled plot lines and cookie cutter tropes, fans are relieved to watch something new and fresh.  Life is too serious, so it's fun to laugh and be entertained. The other hal
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Review: Hallmark's "Where Are You, Christmas?" Is a Shot at Creativity that Falls Short

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When Addy wishes for a year without Christmas, she wakes up in a world of black and white.  She must work together with the town mechanic to restore Christmas. Starring:  Lyndsy Fonseca and Michael Rady  Image:  Hallmark Media Hallmark Tries Something New with Where Are You, Christmas? As much as fans love Hallmark movies, most of us are growing bored with the same recycled plots.  In response, Hallmark enlisted the talents of seasoned writers Michael Reisz and Timothy Kuryak to deliver something fresh. Where Are You, Christmas? inventively imagines a world in which Christmas doesn't exist.  It's an interesting concept.  Without Christmas, the world is dull and colorless.  People have no joy. Christmas is a season of hope and a time for miracles.  Without it, people miss the chance to find healing from the things that are hurting them, which makes them angry and a little bitter. Addy's high-pressure job in branding means Christmas is her business every day of the year.  Af
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Hallmark's "Mystic Christmas" Starts Off Great Before Taking a Hard Left Turn

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Juniper Jones travels to Mystic, Connecticut during the holidays to work at the rehabilitation center and aquarium.  While there, she reconnects with Sawyer, the owner of the pizza shop and the man she once loved. Starring:  Jessy Schram and Chandler Massey  Image:  Hallmark Media A Movie That Pays Homage to Mystic Pizza Mystic Pizza is a coming-of-age movie from 1988 that gave a young Julia Roberts the career breakthrough she needed.  The story followed three friends who worked together at a pizza shop in a seaside Connecticut town. Hallmark combines nostalgia with a modern love story to bring us a 2023 Christmas movie based in the same fishing town of Mystic, Connecticut where we visit a pizza shop and a planetarium, just like in the original, though the aquarium is the setting for a chunk of the story. Juniper Jones and Sawyer Adams were in love 10 years ago, but when Juniper shared her heart in an e-mail, she never received a response.   Now things are awkward as Juniper returns to
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It's No Wonder Hallmark's "Christmas Waltz" Was the #1 Most Watched Original Movie Premiere for 2020!

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Starring:  Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp Released:   2020 Summary:  After a woman's storybook Christmas wedding gets cancelled, a dance instructor helps her face her fear in life by fulfilling her dream of learning how to dance.   Lacey Chabert & Will Kemp wow fans with their beautiful dance performance in Christmas Waltz  Image:  Crown Media Jilted at Christmas Getting dropped like a dense fruitcake during the most wonderful time of the year would ruin Christmas for most of us.  Each subsequent, annual celebration would be marred by the memory of heartbreak.   Right after Avery (Lacey Chabert) decides on a Nutcracker-themed wedding cake and pays for 10 ballroom dancing lessons, she learns her fiance, David (Jeremy Guilbaut) has accepted a job in Boston and will be leaving New York.  Despite David's feeble attempts to keep their relationship alive after the devastating blow, Avery calls off the wedding and ends things with him for good. You must admire Avery's spunk.  To
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Review: "Ms. Christmas Comes to Town" Is Sad but Poignant

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A shopping channel host known as Ms. Christmas receives a terminal diagnosis, which inspires a multi-city excursion set to spread Christmas cheer before her farewell broadcast. Starring:  Erica Durance, Brennan Elliott, and Barabara Niven  Image:  Hallmark Media Barbara Niven Delivers Top-Notch Performance Move over, Santa, because MS. CHRISTMAS is coming to town! Barbara Niven is stellar in her role of Gale Storm--the woman who, for 24 years, has been selling merchandise every holiday season on HSC (Holiday Shopping Channel). Ms. Christmas oozes more sweetness than a hot chocolate bomb, even when she receives bad news about her declining health. While many of us might be tempted to wallow in despair following a terminal diagnosis, Ms. Christmas decides to focus on making it the best year yet for her loyal viewers by taking her show on the road.  Think of that--using time wisely to do good deeds in the time you have left.  If only we approached everyday life with this kind of attitude!
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