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Reviews
The More Love Grows (2023)
Boring and no romance
This movie was not romantic. It was about moving on after a divorce - in a few weeks. I thought it would have had some romance but there was none. There was no usual kiss at the end. But then again it was missing a lot.
Frankly I don't want to see a people going THROUGH a divorce when I am expecting to be entertained with a romance story. I thought the whole movie was one big bore. The whole part that focused on the daughter at college was so unnecessary. I thought I was watching lifetime or something.
I would not recommend this movie you want romance. There is none - just folks working through various issues.
Abducted Off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Story (2024)
Mixed Performances
I thought the story was interesting but the writing and casting was bad. It was too ambitious maybe. It seems like the film makers wanted to shine a light on the lack of attention from the media and the police when black girls and women go missing. In fact, they shared some staggering stats at the end of movie.
But they also wanted to tell the story about the abduction. Their compromise was to try to do both. But they ran out of time. They ended up sacrificing character development, which would have resulted in better performances, if they had the right cast.
Unfortunately, I could not connect with any one of actors: the victims, the police, the perp, the fam. But I was not the only one with this problem. The fam had no connection with each other. It seemed the mother and daughter were very distant during the "party". I thought maybe there was some backstory there. The father was like an after thought. He was very distant from his wife. I am not sure about the relationship between the grand-mom and the mom. Are they mother and daughter or Is grand-mom the husband's mom? I thought there was some conflict between her and the mom.
What about the random kids? Who did they belong to? The two black police women - what was up with them? What happened to the witness who seemed to care so much about the abducted girl?
The police in general was depicted as bias and inept, which they probably were, but I noticed that there were only a few shown -maybe about 10, which for a PD in Philadelphia is not realistic.
In conclusion, all performances were bad. That is unfortunate because I have liked the lead actress Rielle Downs in past roles. So I rated this movie a bit higher because I think she tried.
Flipping for Christmas (2023)
Just OK
I didn't really expected much from this movie but I have watched the lead actress in other movies and found her to be tolerable. So I got my popcorn and settled in for some basic entertainment. And it was basic and totally predictable; well how many times have we seen the fixer upper romance plot?
I think so far in this season of Hallmark movies this is the second movie I have watched where the characters are fixing old houses. The other movie had a ghost living in the house so at least that added a new dimension. No ghost here except for the missing originality in the plot. Basic movie with basic characters delivering basic performance.
Never Been Chris'd (2023)
Confusing movie
I was looking forward to watching this movie because the previews made it seem like lighthearted comedy. It started that way and was really enjoyable. Then halfway through it became a drama about abandonment. At first I thought it would revert back to a comedy. But it never did. So I found the rest of the movie confusing.
Needless to say, the ending was not great because of the new serious plot. I was disappointed with the changes to the two friends' relationship and really found the romance between the one friend and the guy totally unbelievable. I thought he had better chemistry with the other friend. I rated it based on the first half and will not watch it again.
A Merry Single Christmas (2022)
I enjoyed it
I had no expectations for this movie but ended up really enjoying it. I liked the cast and the idea of going to cute little inn for a single's Christmas was ok. I thought the cast was good.
But there were some inconstancies with the guests. I noticed there was a lady that showed up in a couple of scenes but had no lines and then she disappeared. I saw her when they were playing charades and in one more scene. I was also puzzled about the parking. Where did everyone park? When they were leaving the cars just magically appeared in front of the house.
Yes the lead actress looked a bit puffy in the face but the story was so interesting to me that I didn't care about that. I also liked the soundtrack. Overall I would watch it again.
A Royal Christmas Crush (2023)
Same old boring story
I had recorded this movie when it came out but just watched it a month or so later. Within the first 5 minutes I thought it was boring. I almost hit the Delete button but had second thoughts.
I was hoping it would get better. But it didn't. Still by that time I figured I might as well suffer to the end. I agree with some reviewers that the cast was totally unbelievable. But more importantly the story was not well-written. No real character development. Where are the female lead's parents? Why does the uncle walk with a cane? Why did they need the hot tub screen? What happened to the aggressive daughter of the obnoxious woman who was so set on marrying the prince?
I had many questions which were not addressed and made it difficult for me to really enjoy the movie. I also hated the ice castle - they have used that setting in at least two other movies. Yawn.
Love at First Lie (2023)
Obvious
This movie was very predictable but also frustrating. The dialogues between the main characters seemed a bit silly because it was clear the male character was lying and scamming the female lead. Clearly she should have been less desperate and trusting of this total stranger but she hooked up with him within hours of their meeting. It was hard to believe that she selected a random guy on a dating site and got him a credit card with a $15k credit line just because he asked her to do it.
I also felt the casting was a bit off. The lead actress looked really young and the male lead looked at least 10 years older than her. He had zero charm which made it even more puzzling to me that she fell so hard for him on the first date.
Oh well it was still somewhat interesting because I ended up watching it intermittently over a span of three days. I would have given it 3 stars but for the fact that I watched the lead actress on the soaps when she was younger and thought she did ok.
The Nanny Knows (2022)
Really Bad
It is too bad that they felt the need to show this movie at all. It was really awful. The plot was pretty cheesy which is the usual for Lifetime movies. But the acting was really really horrendous. I cannot think of one scene that was not cringe- worthy.
I gave it one star because there was nothing else on TV and I chose to watch this movie. It was predictable and not scary because of scenes like when the killer revealed herself and spent like 5 minutes explaining why she is the killer😂
The stupid want to be boyfriend who seemed cagey to me, lunging at the killer while she was holding a sharp knife, which she of course used to stab him- just a flesh wound. He was able to make out with the damsel seconds after the wound, in front of the killer's sister, who just happened to be in area and walked into the scene just in time to pick up the murder weapon from the floor and point it at the unconscious killer. SMH.
The Love Club: Tara's Tune (2023)
Real surprise
I was ready to dismiss this movie because after watching Nicole, the first movie, I was unimpressed. I tried to watch Sydney and lost interest. I didn't bother to watch Lauren. I failed to see the connection between any of the characters, including the leads, in the other movies. I thought the male leads in those movies were miscast.
I know they were trying the wedding veil thing here but it just didn't work for me. I didn't buy into the premise of the four women being in a love club. From the first two movies I suffered through, they were more like 4 strangers who got drunk together on New Years and shared too much information about themselves.
Although the "club" was annoying in this movie, the story was more interesting. The male and female leads had real chemistry. They complimented each other. The songs and the singing were really enjoyable. Although the fake marriage plot was not original.
Overall this movie was good enough to have been released by itself and not tethered to the other three "love club" movies. In this movie, the "club" was a distraction and had too many scenes. They were so awkward they made me feel uncomfortable watching them. I have to mention the mom who turned out to be an interesting character and should have had more screen time.
How to Live Your Best Death (2022)
Predictable
This movie was ok but silly. The acting was good but it was predictable. When people try to get away from the disturbed life coach they always end up doing silly things like running to the dark basement or the woods instead of to their car.
There were some loose ends that left me wondering. What happened to the boyfriend who was left comatose? He decided to confront the coach by himself in an deserted park and she stuck a needle with some poison in his neck.
What happened to the sister? Did she die? It looked like it but there were only 20 or so pics of her on a board to explain her fate. I think they ran out of time in the movie because the last scene was of the coach talking to herself in a prison cell. Her makeup looked great but she was clearly not in her right mind.
You Can Never Go Home Again (2022)
Definitely not worth the time
There are no words to describe this movie. But I will try. The plot was silly. The actors had no chemistry. They seemed miscast for their roles. There was no relatable interaction between them. The scenery was quite depressing.
So anyway, the teacher who was obsessed with the lady's life and husband, should probably consult a psychiatrist and maybe move out of that depressing town. The husband is a total jerk to have sex with the needy woman. Can't believe these women were fighting over him.
The plot also involved the lead actress, who is an artist struggling to get her mojo back. In one scene, they showed samples of her mother's work, supposedly renowned, stolen by the needy lady, the art was terrible. To tie that plot together, they added an art exhibit scene at the end where they unveiled a new watercolor painting of the family. It didn't look much like them and was totally unnecessary.
Love Triangle Nightmare (2022)
Needy and creepy
This movie was frustrating. The signs are in front of this lady who plays the lead and she acts like a fool over a man who is a stranger to her. She came across as clueless and dumb. But most of the Lifetime movies are silly. I guess I watch them to see if they will get better.
Anyway, back to the signs that the guy pursuing the lead actress is a weirdo stalker. After he kills her bff because he thought the friend was the reason he could not get the woman to date him, he shows up at the funeral uninvited and again asks the woman to go out with him. Totally weird because I don't think he knew the friend. The lead actress even comments on that yet she still agrees to go out with him. Inappropriate, and by the way, she is not yet divorced from her husband.
The weirdo guy comes across as desperate and needy. After the husband shows up because he actually knew the friend, strange guy pretends to leave but stays to stalk her and listen in on her conversation with her husband. Throughout the entire movie weird guy turns up everywhere she goes. So he is basically in most of the scenes. But the lead actress unbelievably acts like she doesn't get it. No one can be that stupid!
Is it possible that Lifetime is deliberately producing movies that make their lead female characters appear stupid or do they think the viewers are stupid? Hmm🤔
House of Deadly Lies (2023)
Pretty awful
I sat through this movie for an hour and it was painful to watch. I was channel surfing and ended up on the Lifetime channel. At the beginning I was curious. The husband character made a point of discussing a birthmark he shared with his son during a cookout. The wife's best friend also in attendance was pregnant. So I was suspicious and within the first 10 minutes I guessed the dark secret. The rest of the time I watched, the movie just got worse.
There were so many things wrong with it. I didn't like ANY of the characters. The husband who I liked in other movies was a lying and violent jerk. The wife was just plain stupid and reckless. The wife's best friend was helpless and clueless. The wife's mom was bizarre. The cop, bartender, pawn guy, motel guy and so on - all same. It seemed like it was just a bunch of people parroting lines with no connection to their characters.
Anywho I surfed to another channel and returned for the final predictable scene. Nothing to see here. Bad acting bad script bad movie.
Three stars cuz the baby was cute 😊
Home, Not Alone (2023)
Creepy and Frustrating
I watched the whole thing even though I thought the mother was a complete idiot. How can she be so stupid? She is so quick to trust a complete stranger over her own child. I kind of think she is so desperate for a man that she is willing to throw away her common sense. She may have low self esteem. She is bending over backwards for this weirdo dude she just met.
Furniture being moved and thuds in the middle of the night and she still stays in the house. Lifetime movies are so predictable. I have nothing better to do with my time. They are somewhat entertaining and not traumatizing like some other movies out there so...
Memories of Christmas (2018)
Loved it
I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a good story with good actors cast in the right roles. I loved the homey togetherness of the townsfolk. I wish I could live in a town like that with happy and helpful neighbors, baking cookies, decorating, gathering together.
I loved the chemistry between the leads. How cute are they together? Super!! Also liked the positive messages about family, Christmas, good will etc.
This movie was truly a joy to watch. Although it is a few years old, it will be one of my favorites for awhile. I hope Hallmark makes more movies like this one. I also hope they cast these lead actors in other movies.
Identical Love (2021)
Boring
I watched this movie in stages of boredom. GAC plays the same movies all the time and it was also on Prime.
So I started watching it on Prime got bored 15 minutes into it and stopped. I forgot about it for awhile until it showed up on GAC a few times months later.
One night when there wasn't anything on that I was interested in watching, I forced myself to watch another 15 minutes of this movie. Got bored again and did some cooking. I returned about 10 minutes before it ended to watch the ending. That was boring too.
I think the story behind how the lead actress got to the seaside location was riddled with flaws. The guy who dumped her has a twin who happens to be at that location. This twin is a "free spirited" doctor who looked really scruffy and bored; like I was watching the two of them.😂
The good thing about the movie was the location - it is gorgeous. I also liked that they were helping to care for those who could not get medical care. But even the people playing the extras in those roles looked bored. Yawn.
Beauty and the Billionaire (2022)
Okay
This movie was ok. I thought the actors did a good enough job. I liked the storyline. Sure there were some inconsistencies but overall it kept my interest.
The relationships depicted were ok. I found the dynamic between the leads worked well. It reminded me of the romance stories I used to read which I don't have the time for anymore.
In any case I always appreciate movies that are filmed in nice locations. This one met my expectations in that regard.
It was the usual ending. I think overall it met my expectations. I could watch it again, if it comes again, months from now or next year. I did not save it.
A Royal in Paradise (2023)
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this movie. I liked the story and think it really worked.
But I agree with the other reviewer. There was too much cleavage going on with the lead actress and her BFF. I know they had to dress them for the island life but there was a snorkeling scene where lead actress wore a low cut swimsuit that barely kept her bosom covered. The BFF also showed as much if not more cleavage. I for sure thought there would be a wardrobe malfunction!
However in the scenes where that was not a wardrobe distraction, I thought the actors performed well, even the deadbeat ex-boyfriend.
Overall I felt the characters really evolved as the story went on. This led to a pretty good ending. All loose ends were tied up. Just the way I like it.
Love in Glacier National: A National Park Romance (2023)
Inconsistent story lines
I was really disappointed about how they handled the story lines in this movie. I think they were trying to make this into a movie that had something for everyone and they failed.
Like some of the reviewers here I didn't understand why there was no further mention of the IVF treatments. The sister seemed devastated when the last treatment failed and she already said she had no more money to continue. So while she is devastated in one scene, they cut to the dance scene where the other sister is partying it up with the guy. They never resolved the story.
Then the crazy co-worker story was also never resolved. Oh there was the swimsuit scene. Sure it is nice that the leads can show skin but geez that bikini was barely there! And the scene was unnecessary to the story. We didn't need the spa scene or the crazy co-worker scenes.
So overall I was disappointed with this movie. It didn't help that the ending was even more unbelievable than the other Hallmark movies I've watched. I didn't think it made sense at all.
What I noticed was a lot of kissing, which is fine. But it was all done in front of the kid and the resort manager. Weird. Where was the sister who was so invested in bringing them together? Sigh 😔
Romance Retreat (2019)
Hilarious movie
I don't know if they meant for this movie to be as funny as it turned out to be. I was chuckling throughout the entire movie.
So the lead actress is dating a guy who is a yoga enthusiast. She is totally stressed with work and can't even relax in a practice yoga class. She was on her laptop the whole class. So he dumps her the day they arrive at the retreat.
From there it just gets funnier. Loved the yoga scenes - they were so funny!! Watching the lead actress try the yoga poses had me in stitches!!
She didn't pack the right clothes and had to wear these lost and found sweatshirts with funny messages on them the entire movie. The other yogis on the retreat were just hilarious.
Overall I thought this movie was well-written and the cast did a great job. I liked the subplot about the tech investigation. I would watch it again.
And thanks to this movie, I'm back to practicing yoga. 😀
Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas (2022)
Solid performances by lead actors
I liked this movie. The story was engaging because it involved a mystery and that kept me interested. So I enjoyed it until they solved the mystery.
Then I felt really sad. For a Hallmark movie, the subject matter was serious. There was a good level of depth and detail in this story. When it was revealed that their dear friend who had dreams of a future, died because of a stupid misunderstanding that could have been avoided if the two lead characters had just spoken to each other about how they felt, I also felt cheated and upset.
However, I loved the chemistry between the lead actors. There were solid performances by the supporting actors. Although I would not watch it again because it was such a downer, it was a good movie.
Hearts of Winter (2020)
Weak story weak acting weak movie
This film tried to hard. First there is the lead actress who is overly giddy in most of the scenes. She basically takes over a grief-stricken man's home and throws out all his memories of his wife. I was shocked that she acted like she owned the place as soon as she entered the home, yelling orders at her staff to remove things. Of course, the man was upset with her - at first. But a few scenes later, strangely and suddenly, he was fine with her basically erasing his and his daughter's memories of his late wife after he takes the pushy and giddy woman out for lunch or something. This quick attitude change seemed so unbelievable to me.
Second, I found the movie to be too formulaic. The writers had many opportunities to make the story richer. For example, at least give us some background info on these characters. What was the situation with the dead wife? How did the male lead end up managing that ski resort? To me, it just didn't seem to fit the character he was playing. The quick decision to select the little girl's letter for the home makeover was just too convenient. I also wondered what was up with the lead actress's brother. Doesn't he have a home and wife? He was always over at her house, eating dinner, in one scene they went out for ice cream. And in every one of those scenes, he functioned like her therapist.
There were two notable supporting characters who gave better performances - the little girl was good and so was the assistant who suddenly became the lead actress's BFF. Unfortunately they were not enough to save this weak movie.
By the way the ending was quite stupid. There was the typical misunderstanding but I noted the lack of emotion from the man when he found out he had overreacted. Then there was his silly speech on a talk show to redeem himself and that was all it took to get to the kiss. But I had questions-How did he get on the show that quickly? Did they repair his dead wife's favorite bowl or just throw it away like everything else that was in the house?!! Yeah now that I'm reading my own review I wonder why I sat through this entire movie.😂
Finding Love in Big Sky, Montana (2021)
Good enough
I have to admit I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I'm not a huge fan of western movies and it looked boring. So it took me a few weeks after I recorded it to watch it. Then one day I needed to delete some movies, I decided to watch the first 5 minutes of it before deleting it.
I was surprised - pleasantly. I ended up watching it to the end! I thought the two lead actors gave decent performances. I liked the diverse cast. I thought the story was heartwarming.
But I think the ending was a little bit weak. There were a couple of loose ends that could have been addressed. Despite these unresolved subplots, I still thought this movie was good enough for at least a one-time viewing.
Christmas Catch (2018)
Fun to watch
I enjoyed this movie. It was amusing to watch the lead actress try to be flirtatious. There were some hilarious scenes that had us laughing out loud. The partner and mom were excellent in their roles.
The plot was interesting and I thought the lead actor and supporting cast were great. I found the FBI lady a bit off putting. She was downright rude but that is all explained later in the plot twist.
I gave it a 10 because overall I enjoyed this movie but personally I think all the guys needed to shave. There were so many scruffy beards. I also thought the ending was a bit weak. But I liked all the action.
Christmas Takes Flight (2021)
Wasted time
Wow this was the dullest movie ever. Where do I begin? The actors the plot the dialogue all missed the mark. I don't think it was the social messaging that was the problem; the movie was just dull.
The lead actors were so mismatched. In fact , none of the actors made sense in the roles they were cast in. There was no chemistry whatsoever.
CBS has been trying with these Christmas movies. They only had one movie that I liked and it was from last year!
I don't know why I hung in there till the end. I guess I was hoping it would get better. Waste of two hours of my life I will never get back. They should have paid me to watch this mess!!😂