Christmas Festival of Ice

Emma made it through 7 years of school and studying for the Bar Exam and now is back home in time for the Christmas Festival. The scenery is great. It is clearly set in the winter.

We have a Christmas Tree farm, but outside from the beautiful sculptures, there isn't much other Christmas-y stuff. There is a "tragic" backstory with our hero that he needs to get over in order to enjoy the holidays. Didn't really see the chemistry between the two, though.

Ending doesn't sit right with me. Another reviewer called it "First World Problems". This is not a movie I would have my teenage daughter see without pointing out all the things the heroine did wrong, presumably with her parents money.

5/10 - Christmas flick that didn't really connect to me or bring me any more holiday cheer

Enough about Ice Sculpting already!!

Let me say that Damon Runyan is a real professional to try and power through this one. He was trying his best...but there is no chemistry in this movie at all. Let's face it Taylor Cole is not suited for the Christmas movie genre. I kept hoping for more screen time for Teagan Vincze.

Right...."Mom, I don't want to be a lawyer; I want to be an ice sculptor"...Stupid. It's a small town! How would they not know each other? Dumb. If Mom had been in a car crash on the way home, now that would have been a plot turn.

Take out everything about Ice Sculpting and Emma and it's a good movie..

IMDb gives away a little too much in the Storyline. But I was probably not paying enough attention to the clues about Emma's feelings. I was thinking that Taylor Cole's acting was off in how she was almost irresponsible in her lack of attention to her mom's legal practice. In reality Cole did a good job of showing that her attitude toward law was complicated. The other acting was OK, but I can't say Joey Belfiore was overly convincing in courting Emma. Neither Emma nor Jason made it seem that their romance was highest on their minds.

The story had a small mystery which I thought had a nice solution. There was also a little twist, maybe less so if you paid attention.

For a Christmas movie, I thought it was a little lacking in the usual piling on of Christmas traditions because it was more focused on the ice sculpture.

I give this film a 5 just for the fact that it was filmed in Mississippi Mills - in the winter! People actually looked cold and are wearing real winter clothes and boots, no high heels in sight. OMG. As for the plot, it's just as silly as every 2nd Hallmark film - you know, where they give up their careers to move to the small town to work in businesses that don't actually exist anymore because they make no money in today's world. I am still waiting for the one where someone moves to the city for a job...you know, reality! But no, it's Hallmark so don't expect more. Just chill out and enjoy the beautiful scenery in this one.