HALLMARK MOVIES OF THE WEEK

So far this season I have watched 20 Christmas movies.  Twenty!  I can't possibly tell you about all of them, so here are just a few of the ones I enjoyed.


A Royal Christmas (2014)

 

Prince Leopold, heir to the throne of Cordinia, wishes to marry his young love Emily Taylor, a humble seamstress from Philadelphia. But Leopold's mother, Queen Isadora has other plans for her son.  Stars Lacey Chabert, Stephen Hagan, Jane Seymour and Katie Flynn.  (I've seen this last year and this year.  One of my favorites.  Philadelphia, of course, was a draw.)

I'm Not Ready for Christmas (2015)

 

Holly's world is turned upside down when her niece's wish to Santa Claus comes true and she cannot tell a lie. As her career and love life go into disarray, she must learn to judge between the truth and what is right.  Stars Alicia Witt, George Stults and Brigid Brannagh.  (I've seen this three times: 2015, 2016, 2017.  What happens when you can't tell a lie?)

Christmas in Homestead (2016)

An actress heads to the Christmas-obsessed town of Homestead, Iowa, to shoot a holiday-themed movie. She is shocked when a romance blooms with Matt, a single dad. As she gets a taste of small-town life, she discovers the true meaning of Christmas.  Stars Taylor Cole and Michael Rady.  (I've seen it twice 2016 and 2017.  Again, although it's predictable, it's a favorite.)

Christmas Under Wraps (2014)

After unexpectedly moving to Alaska, an ambitious doctor starts a new romance and learns that her small town is hiding a holiday secret.  Stars Candace Cameron Bure, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Robert Pine.  (I've seen it twice 2016 and 2017 and am looking forward to watching it next year.  Such a good story.)

Sleigh Bells Ring (2016)

A busy single mother (Erin Cahill) begins organizing her city's Christmas parade. While prop hunting, she finds a beautiful sleigh that seems to have a mind of its own, and it begins nudging her back to an old flame (David Alpay).  (I want to say I watched it last year and this year but in actuality I fell asleep last year and even though I woke up and rewound it and tried to rewatch it, I must have been missing large portions of it because it didn't make sense to me.  This year, however, I really enjoyed it.  Great story of true love.)

I'll be back next week with some more movies to recommend to you.

Kathy

13 days to Thanksgiving

45 days to Christmas

52 days to New Year's Eve

 

HALLMARK MOVIES OF THE WEEK

The colors of fall -- so pretty.

I have been busy so haven't been able to watch a lot of movies lately.  But I have been catching up today.  At any rate, I thought I would share with you the next four movies that I have watched.

For Better or Worse (2014)




Opposites attract when Wendy (Lisa Whelchel), a wedding coordinator, and Marco (Antonio Cupo), a divorce attorney, find their lives suddenly intertwined. Wendy is finally settling into the single life after struggling with the death of her husband. After a difficult season of grief, she's taken over the family business of coordinating the town's most beautiful and memorable weddings with the help of her friend and co-worker Roseanne (Kim Fields). Wendy's business and values are challenged, however, when the charming and incredibly irritating Marco opens shop as a divorce attorney right next to her wedding chapel. Although Wendy will stop at nothing to promote her marriage business over Marco's divorce business, she must form an alliance with Marco after her son Collin (Edward Ruttle) announces his unexpected engagement to Marco's daughter Sophia (Alicia Josipovic).

"For Better or For Worse" is based on the novel of the same name, by best-selling author Diann Hunt.

It was cool seeing Lisa Whelchel and Kim Fields acting together again.  Remember them from the old TV show "The Facts of Life"?
 
Love By Chance (2016)
 

Claire, the owner of a new restaurant, is too busy to focus on relationships. Her mother decides to fix this by finding Claire the perfect man -- without telling Claire.  Starring Ben Ayres, Beau Garrett and Brenda Strong.

Yes, another food one.  I just can't get away from them.  What would you do if your mom went behind your back to find you the "perfect man"?
 
A Dash of Love (2017)
 

When an aspiring chef lands a dream job at her idol's restaurant, she befriends the handsome executive chef. After they are wrongly fired, the duo open their own eatery to prove their food is better.  Starring Jen Lilley and Brendan Penny.

I've seen this before, knew what was going to happen, and still enjoyed it.  It makes me wonder if the people I admire on TV are really all they're portrayed as. 
 
Appetite for Love (2016)
 

Sparks fly when a woman (Taylor Cole) returns to her hometown in Tennessee to convince her stubborn ex-boyfriend (Andrew Walker) to sell his restaurant.

I can hear you all now.  Three out of four of these movies are about food.  I'm a foodie.  What can I say?  I had seen this before too.  Parts of this were kind of slow, and a lot of it was predictable, but the story is good. Not sure if I would watch it for a third time although I do like the ending.
 
I have been busy getting the house and yard ready for fall and then the upcoming winter.  I am feeling better these days, having more energy, so I am thinking I should listen to my doctor more often.  She actually knows what she is talking about giving me vitamins to offset the medication I am taking for my thyroid condition.

Lots more fall fun coming next week, so stay tuned.

Kathy
 

MOVIES OF THE WEEK -- THE END OF THE SUMMER

Fall is here, but the movies are still summer.  I think these are the last of them.   And they were good ones.  It made me nostalgic for those warm summer days.  (Although it is still in the 80s here.)

Summer of Dreams (2016)

A fading pop star (Debbie Gibson) who is on the verge of losing everything finds inspiration when she relocates to suburban Ohio and begins teaching music to a talented group of misfit children.

I had not seen this one before and thoroughly enjoyed it.  What a good movie showing that there really aren't any "misfit" people.  There is a place for everyone.

It was interesting because I was watching Debbie Gibson on "Dancing With the Stars" just the day before.  I watched the movie knowing that she had suffered with Lyme Disease and had gone through so much. 

Love at the Shore (2017)
  

A mother of two who is an author finds her summer plans disrupted by the annoyingly unconventional but undeniably attractive surfer living next door to her rental.  Starring Peter Porte and Amanda Righetti. 

Another one I hadn't seen.  It was good and kept my interest.  I loved the beach volleyball scenes.  But I was glad I wasn't playing the game because I stink at volleyball.  😊

Summer in the City (2016)  
 

When a small town woman with Midwestern charm is given a big promotion managing a store in the Big Apple, she tries to adopt a big city personality and it leads to disastrous results. Realizing it’s better to be true to herself, she lets her personality shine and it becomes the secret to her success in work and in love. Stars Julianna Guill, Marc Bendavid, Vivica A. Fox, Marla Sokoloff and Natasha Henstridge. 

This was probably my favorite one this week.  It was all about fashion and relationships and trust in others.

Summer in the Vineyard (2017)
 

When Frankie and Nate agree to host an annual celebration, they must make a big splash to ensure the viability of their winery going forward. The paramours will find out if business can be mixed with pleasure.  Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Brendan Penny.

 

The final one was also a new one to me.  So four new movies this week.  I so enjoyed this one also.  I know it seems as if I like them all, but really I will come across one I don't like and I will tell you the truth about that one too.  The end was totally unexpected to me although the clues were all there throughtout the movie.  I just didn't catch them.  I would watch this again.

 

More movies next week.  Enjoy the weekend.  At least what's left of it.

 

Kathy

 

MOVIES OF THE WEEK -- OLDIES BUT GOODIES

Isn't this a beautiful scene?  I've used it on my blog before and I love it as much now as the first time I saw it.  I want to sit on one of those benches just breathing in the cool air and the smells of autumn.  I can actually do that tonight.  The weather has changed dramatically.  It went from the 90s yesterday (33*C) to 55* tonight (13*C).  The humidity is gone too.

I had a completely lazy day today where I did nothing.  I mean nothing.  I didn't even wake up until 10 a.m.  It was a bad night last night where I hardly slept at all, so I guess that's why.  My legs are very swollen and sore so I tried to keep off of them as much as possible.

I'm still trying to catch up on all the Hallmark movies I have recorded.  Last week I watched some that I have seen before, but still enjoy.

On the 19th I watched "The Sweeter Side of Life (2013).
 

Dumped by her husband, a woman (Kathryn Morris) takes a job at her father's bakery.  It's such a funny movie and gave me a lot of chuckles even though I knew what was going to happen.

On the 20th I watched "A Royal Winter" (2017).
 
A woman (Merritt Patterson) flees to Europe for some soul searching and meets a handsome playboy prince who exposes her to a world she has never before known.

This is one that makes me sigh.  I would love to visit the fictional country of Calpurnia, go to the market in the town square and hear the children's choir singing "Lavender Blue".

The 21st I watched "All of My Heart" (2015).
  
After inheriting half of a house, a young woman (Lacey Chabert) develops an unexpected friendship with her co-owner.

I really like Lacey Chabert and enjoy seeing anything she is in.  An excellent actress who makes you believe in her character.  Another one that was predictable but still good.

And finally on the 23rd "Love Locks" (2017).
  

Twenty years after she was last in Paris, a woman returns to the City of Light, where she reconnects with her college boyfriend and first love.  It stars Rebecca Romjin, Jerry O'Connell and Bruce Davison.

I think this was the best Hallmark Hall of Fame done this year.  When I first saw it last January, it made me want to go to Paris.

I haven't had the time to watch any movies this week, but hopefully this weekend I'll be able to see a couple.  Enjoy your Friday!

Kathy

MOVIES OF THE WEEK

Summer is fading away and I don't know about you, but to me it went so quickly.  It is hard for me to believe it is already the middle of September.  How did that happen?

I have had a chance to watch some more movies and I thought I would share them with you.  I had another theme this week -- dogs.  Yes, I watched a lot of movies starring dogs.  All of them are Hallmark movies.  Here's what I saw:


September 9th -  Love at First Bark (2017) starring Jana Kramer, Natasha Burnett, Anna Van Hooft, Jaime Callica, Kevin McGarry and Reese Alexander. A single woman with a new, out of control German shepherd turns to a handsome dog trainer for help. As they make progress with the dog, she realizes she may be developing feelings for the trainer.  You know from the beginning what happens, but it's a good clean mindless movie.  Just right to knit to.


September 11th I watched Like Cats and Dogs (2017).  It starred Cassidy Erin Gifford and Wyatt Nash.  Cassidy Gifford was also in the movie God's Not Dead if you saw that one.  Spencer and Lola couldn't be more different. He's a cat person, and she loves dogs. When a reservation mix-up lands them -- and their pets -- in the same vacation house, they have to find a way to get along without killing each other.  This was cute and some parts had me laughing out loud.  The cat and dog got along better than the humans did.

  
 September 15th the movie was Eat, Play, Love (2017) with Jen Lilley, Lucie Guest, Jason Cermak, and Carey Feehan.  Veterinarian Dr. Carly Monroe secretly loves Dan, the owner of a dog shelter. Unfortunately, Dan is about to marry his glamorous girlfriend and move to New York.  Another good one.  I really liked it.

  
And today I watched Unleashing Mr. Darcy (2016) starring Ryan Paevey, Cindy Busby, Elizabeth McLaughlin, and Frances Fisher.  When Elizabeth decides to show her dog in competition, she clashes with the arrogant, complicated judge Donovan Darcy.  And of course you know how that ends.  But this had more twists and turns than the usual movie.  I had a bit of trouble keeping all of the characters in order.  I kept getting all of the names mixed up.  Even so, I would watch this again.  It was good.

If you like dog movies, you might want to check these out.  Some of them are on youtube so they aren't hard to find.  What have you been watching?

Kathy