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billcrook
Reviews
It's a Christmas Thing (2023)
It's different! And I liked it!
This is one of the better movies on GAC Family. Christopher Russell is a rom-com veteran with multiple credits on Hallmark Channel and now a few on GAC Family. Ella Cannon did A Maple Valley Christmas last year (2022) on Hallmark and was quite good in that one. I thought they were very good in Peppermint & Postcards. Like others I don't understand why that title ???
So Chet Walters (Russell) is a self-centered, small town TV reporter hoping to get a better job in a bigger market. While seeking to come up with a new idea for a human interest story, he encounters Cara Miller (Cannon) and her young daughter Megan. They end up spending a lot of time with each other and... well, you know how these stories turn out. It's just that this one is different than most and Russell and Cannon had a good chemistry together. Like I said, I liked it and if you're a rom-com fan I think you will too!
Moonlighting: Twas the Episode Before Christmas (1985)
A fun Christmas episode!
Having watched Moonlighting when it was on television in the mid 80's, I was thrilled to find it streaming on HULU. This is a typical episode in that David(Bruce Willis) & Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) fight and yell at each other and do some silly stuff while at the same time there are moments when they show affection for each other. They have a "case" to resolve that involves Miss DiPesto and a cute little baby. The last few minutes is a singing of The First Noel with what looks like the production crew for the show. Plus David & Maddie hold hands and kiss a couple of times. Great show! Glad it's available again. BC.
Caribbean Summer (2022)
This is a good one!
I've been a fan of Hallmark Channel for several years now as it's been difficult to find a TV show that's worth watching. Though Hallmark Channel movies are formulaic with many having the same basic story, they're still better than most network programing. And of course some are better than others with Caribbean Summer one of the better ones! The story here is somewhat original and Heather Hemmens and Ser'Darius Blain do a great job in the leading roles. The supporting cast is very good and the location scenery from Belize is terrific! Definitely one of the good ones from Hallmark.
An Unexpected Christmas (2021)
Good, but could have been great.
I really like Bethany Joy Lenz and Tyler Hynes in their previous Hallmark movies and actually this entire cast was very good. I watched this the night it premiered, recorded it and watched it a second time to see what I may have missed. It's a familiar story of two ex's pretending to still be together and still in love. There are some great scenes with Lenz & Hynes (they work well together) but sometimes you can't understand the dialogue very well so the scene doesn't make a lot of sense and I felt like there were gaps in the story causing it to be uneven and lacking the proper flow. We all know how these movies go - two ex's spend time together, realize they still love each other and then toward the end there's the conflict or misunderstanding that causes yet another break-up. But of course it all gets sorted out and they live happily ever after... Well, it was an entertaining film but could have been so much better. Maybe it was rushed to get finished.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made (2021)
The best series Hallmark Channel has ever shown
I watch a lot of Hallmark Channel programing. It's not that it's great television, but it's better than most other programing available. And occasionally the movies ARE exceptional. SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED is the best thing ever shown on any of the Hallmark channels. Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe and Jeff Gustafson have done a remarkable job developing the characters created by Martha Williamson. From the pilot episode in 2013 up to this latest (and final?) TV movie, it has been a joy to watch truly exceptional and high quality entertainment. Thank you Martha Williamson and Hallmark Channel!
Blood & Treasure (2019)
Great adventure series, with just enough romance!
I recently watched all of Blood & Treasure season 1 and thoroughly enjoyed it! A great cast with Matt Barr & Sofia Pernas in the lead roles. I especially enjoyed the off/on nature of their relationship and the way it works out.
John Larroquette, Oded Fehr, Antonio Cupo, Katia Winter and James Callis were all excellent in their portrayals. And also Michael J. Shaw... can't forget Shaw.
The storyline progressed nicely through the episodes with a few twists and surprises in the last couple of episodes. I really liked the soundtrack... that it added a lot to the series. Cinematography was very good.
For the few folks that wrote bad reviews for this show, they must not like good old fashioned adventure movies. I loved it! I just hope both Matt Barr and Sofia Pernas are back for season two.
Jungle Cruise (2021)
What a Summer blockbuster should be!
I purchased this movie to watch from home and will watch it multiple times. I've liked Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in previous movies and from reading the other reviews decided I would probably like this one. I was not disappointed. This movie is filled with action from beginning to end, lots of jokes from Johnson that are so bad they're funny and the chemistry between Johnson & Blunt is really what makes this a delight to watch! Special effects are everything you would expect for a big budget film, plus the soundtrack by James Newton Howard is top notch! So if you loved the Indiana Jones movies you should love this one as well.
One Perfect Wedding (2021)
Just okay 3rd installment. What happened?
The first two movies in this trilogy were among my favorites on Hallmark Channel. Ben and Cara's story through the first two episodes was very well written and Megan and Sean's story was equally as good! I still can't believe the writers didn't have Sean and Megan kiss in One Winter Proposal. Naturally I was looking forward to the continuing stories of these two couples. So I'm wondering as many others surely are, as to why Dewshane Williams did his scenes from a remote location. There has to be a reason.??? And like many others I didn't like Jack Turner's shaved head look. The story was fine with Ben buying a part of the lodge and Cara looking into the story of resort founders Max & Clara. But again, not having Dewshane Williams there, in person during filming was just a HUGE disappointment.
Twinkle All the Way (2019)
Very good movie... until the end.
I really like romantic Christmas movies and this was a good one right up until the end. I was not familiar with Sarah Drew and found her to be very charming and attractive. I had seen Ryan McPartlin in 2 other films and thought he had done a very good job in both. Of course Lesley Anne Warren was great and still looks terrific at 73. So the two leads are both single parents, their kids are in a Christmas play at school and these two parents are assigned to work together designing the sets. They both have good ideas but their different ways of working result in some conflicts, etc. but eventually they become more than just friends. We've seen it all before and you know they will be in love and kiss at the end. About half way into the movie we learn that two male characters are "married". So at the very end when our two leads kiss (as expected), then the two gay guys kiss also. Ruined the whole movie for me. Otherwise I would have given it 7 stars.
The Legend of 5 Mile Cave (2019)
Really good movie and a little different!
I purchased this on Amazon because I'm fan of the 3 main actors (Baldwin, Sumpter & Wagner) I figured I would like it despite it's low rating and I was not disappointed. Let me just say that the story is unique, not your typical western. It's rather slowly paced but steady, not tons of action but enough and it's a clean movie the whole family can watch. I liked seeing Jill Wagner in a role different from her Hallmark Channel movies. Highly recommended!
Final Days of Planet Earth (2006)
If you like 1950's Sci-Fi movies, you should like this one.
If you're not a fan of science fiction, you should pass on this movie. I think that may be why many others left negative comments about this film and rated it so low. And certainly there are many flaws, but it's a "made for TV" mini-series, not a big budget block-buster. I was somewhat surprised that this was shown on The Hallmark Channel. The title sounds like something that you would find on The Sci-Fi Channel. So with rather low expectations, I started watching it and found it entertaining. Reminded me a lot of Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1956. I thought all the cast did a good job with a very predictable script, especially Campbell Scott. Daryl Hannah's character would have been better played by someone else, but the only movie I liked her in was Splash from 1984. So think of this as a remake of a 1950's sci-fi movie, but with better special effects and a better soundtrack. I gave it a seven rating.