Christmas on My Mind

Was nice seeing Ashley,in a Hallmark movie. Also great supporting cast,for the storyline. Had a flaw or two,nothing is perfect but still was good. Hope to see her in,future channel shows. If the dislike comes from it being a Twilight cast member,that is a poor way to rate something.

7/10 - lovely and, for Hallmark standards, unique holiday fare

I really like the actors especially Andrew Walker and the plot was a little better than most Hallmark movies. However, I've had it with the PHONY winters! Actors wear thin jackets that are usually open? They rarely wear hats and gloves and even in the snowman contest, they had bare hands. It's torture to manipulate snow this way. Also, if we look in the background, there are green forests of deciduous trees. Now I lived most of my life in the northeast and winters were COLD and BARE and WET! People who liked winter activities would smother themselves in puffy winter coats, wear warm hats, scarves, gloves and boots AND would rush indoors as soon as their activities ended.I

Now I live in Arizona and even though we have mild weather, people still celebrate the holidays. So, if Hallmark can't film in winter then why not allow their Christmas stories to take place in a warm climate. It could be Arizona or Southern California or Hawaii or even a vacation type place like the Bahamas.

The good thing about film - it respects the recipe of genre. Maybe too faithful. Andrew W. Walker saves good part of story, Ashley Greene is sweets but She can not help her character, the characters itselves are reduced at sketches level and the film seems be only a gray project, without real ambitions of authetic story. But, sure, nice try. And reasonable imitation of romance story. A Christmas stories with delicate veil of amnesia, old love, new fiancee and an art gallery. And , in essence, it is just enough.

Nobody should watch Hallmark films with massively high expectations, their Christmas output particularly. If a Hallmark fan or wanting to see as many Christmas films as possible, expectations would understandably be higher. They are very formulaic with most of them being more of the same narratively and structurally, apart from sporadic attempts at changes of pace like this film. Some are above average and more, others are average and less

2019 was a very hit and miss and generally unimpressive year for Hallmark and their Christmas output, despite some surprisingly good efforts. 'Christmas on My Mind' to me and am not sure how this opinion is going to go down managed to be one of the best from that year and actually among their best Christmas films in general. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, then again is that expected from Hallmark, or flawless. But 'Christmas on My Mind' does show that Hallmark do have a good film in them if given a chance and that they can do something different to usual.

'Christmas on My Mind' isn't perfect. It did get a bit too weird and silly towards the end, which also felt too pat.

There are times where the dialogue could have been better. Parts are for my tastes on the cheesy and forced side. A few slow moments here and there.

However, credit is due though for breaking away from the usual basic formula that most Hallmark Christmas films follow, and not only not wasting it but not doing it half-heartedly. It is done intriguingly and charmingly. In my view, the characters weren't bland, too perfect or annoying and were better developed than most characters in Hallmark's Christmas films. Ashley Greene is endearing to watch and her conflict to me was investable. Andrew W. Walker is completely at ease with his role and brings a lot of charm and empathy to a potentially over-stiff character. Their chemistry is sweet and genuine, not cloying at all.

Furthermore, 'Christmas on My Mind' pleases visually, lovely festive locations attractively and never drably or garishly shot. The music isn't as intrusive as it tends to be with Hallmark while the direction gets the job done well. The script doesn't get too cheesy or sentimental and does have a more natural flow when it becomes more settled. The story is not too heavy while taking itself seriously and is both warm-hearted and has a light touch when necessary.

In summary, good but not great. 7/10