It was made in Independence, MO which is close to Arrowhead. I know there were other places around town where they shot so yes I'll think "hey that's no where near that last location".🤣

Watched Christmas With a Prince, which is probably UP's most successful holiday movie series. They've made 3 in the franchise. A prince breaks his leg and just so happens to be taken care of by a doctor he was linked to as teenagers. The female lead is who sells this movie, she's either great at pretending to be in love or she really does have a thing for her co-star.

Fairly typical commoner-royal romance tropes but a pleasant, enjoyable watch.

I'm still picking off spring movies as I wait for the holiday challenge to start lol.

Hallmark did a trio of international food-themed movies earlier this year, of which With Love and Honey was one. Even more foodie were A Greek Recipe for Romance and Two Scoops of Italy. The first had Danielle C. Ryan as an American helping chef Rafael Kariotakis open a restaurant, and the second had Hunter King as an American chef traveling abroad in search of inspiration. Both were fine, and easy deletes.

Everything Puppies was about the clickbait-iest title ever, but the movie was actually pretty good. Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes has been second banana in past movies, but it kinda shows how Hallmark can train up their talent to the point where they can take a lead role and do fine, unlike GAC. She plays a plucky healthy-dog-treat entrepreneur who takes on the big bad corporate overlord, with Stephen Huszar on her side.

Netflix bought the rights to several recent Hallmark holiday movies and keeps feeding them to me, but I'm pretty sure I've already seen them all. I watched Lonely Planet on Netflix, which felt kinda Hallmark-y, but too edgy and adult (in mild ways) to actually play on the channel.

So cool, one of the films I watched over the past week or so is Christmas with the Singhs on Hallmark, and a podcast I frequent listen too pleasantly surprised me by really liking the film. I did think it was one of the stronger offerings from Hallmark that I had seen in quite some time.

It has become hard to comment on all the films I watch in a given week, as I am working through at least 6 originals starting on Thursdays, not including Hallmark + films and the Netflix originals . Speaking of Netflix, The Merry Gentlemen was a surprisingly fun watch.

I like reading your comments but totally understand the lack of time. I myself watch all the Hallmarks and some of the GACs, but no UPN or Lifetime unless I hear something good about them. It gets even more complicated now that the streamers have jumped in. I’ve seen some good ones on Netflix and Prime but don’t feel compelled to catch them all. I also have Max, Paramount, and Hulu but dropped some of the others due to price hikes.

I liked Christmas On Call. It featured various first responders who have to work over Christmas. The premise was unique for Hallmark, and the script was well done.
Did not at all like A Novel Noel. Super unrealistic and annoying in every way. No one finished a manuscript, goes through 2 extensive edits, and gets a publishing deal all in the 2 weeks before Christmas. Plus I found the lead actress very annoying.
I also liked Christmas with the Singhs and I like Hot Frosty even more as time passes. I've been watching it in the charts at Netflix. It as unseated by Merry Gentlemen but was #1 for a week, I think. I can't help but wonder what Candice Cameron-Bure thinks of Lacey dominating this holiday season while GAF continues to struggle. But I suppose that's just petty.

Watched Christmas on the Rocks, which apparently first ran in 2022 on UPTV. Solid movie, though it was far more a pure romance with almost no Christmas elements incorporated into the story. One twin steps into a job for an important client when her sister can't make it. The female lead who doesn't seem to have been in many things carries the movie.

Randomly gave Under the Christmas Tree on Lifetime a chance while flipping channels for about 25 minutes until I realized it was about a lesbian romance. Not my cup of tea as they say.

My first was The Christmas Charade, which was breezy fun, even though the Christmas setting seemed superfluous. Rachel Skarsten is relatively new (I first noticed her in The Royal Nanny) but has become very reliable. The Kristin Booth cameo was fun too.

Scouting for Christmas had Tamera Mowery as a single mother of a Girl Scout equivalent involved in some light organizational squabbles as her child encourages her to seek a new relationship. The cast is appealing enough to hold interest, but it’s B-grade Hallmark…

…which is still better than GAC/GAF. A Christmas Less Traveled has Candace Cameron Bure in an awkward road trip with a handsome stranger as she tries to unravel a mystery involving her father. Chemistry was weak, script was meh, and I’m not much of a Bure fan.

Five Gold Rings is a HMM drama with Holland Roden trying to track down owners of the title items. Roden is cute but first-time lead Nolan Gerard Funk is a bit wooden. It’s fine.

Jingle Bell Run is The Amazing Race Hallmark-style. Andrew Walker and Ashley Williams bring the star power, but most of the entertainment is from riffing off of TAR.

Christmas Under the Northern Lights is GAF A-list fare with Jill Wagner, but it’s generic and dull.

The Five-Year Christmas Party was an absolute winner and my favorite new movie so far (and the first one I haven’t immediately deleted). The concept felt fresh, and I love Katie Findlay’s wry humor. Kinda amusing to see her taller than her co-lead, and now I want to rewatch The Bridge, and not just because her hair was longer.

Holiday Mismatch was ok. I never watched Sabrina so the aunt reunion didn’t mean anything to me, and it felt more like a trial run for the second-banana young couple. I could see Maxine Denis getting more roles out of this.

A 90s Christmas is wild. I'm watching it right now on Peacock where a lawyer is taken back to 1999 by mysterious ride share driver to redo the mistakes from her past and reconnect with her then boyfriend at the time.

Holiday Crashers with Lyndsey Fonseca was OK. I generally dislike plots that are built around lies, but I did get more into it midway through.

I also watched a couple on Netflix. The Merry Gentlemen used classic Hallmark tropes: City girl returns home and has to save the local landmark. But this one also involved exotic male dancers. I like Britt Roberson so it was fine. Chad Michael Murray was the other lead.

Meet Me Next Christmas had Christina Milian as a big fan of the a cappella band Pentatonix, and when she meets a handsome stranger, they plan to meet An Affair to Remember-style at the Pentatonix holiday concert. I watched it because I'm also a fan of Pentatonix, but this one was just bad--like C-level GAF bad--and it gets even more awkward when the band members have dialogue as themselves. But they do perform a few songs, so there's that.

The Chiefs Hallmark movie is on right now. I started watching it late but I'll watch the full movie tomorrow.

Tails of Christmas was a complete bore despite a solid premise and cute lead. Aired on Great American Family. A veteran having trouble readjusting to civilian life meets the owner of a struggling dog/animal shelter. My biggest complaint is how slowly the romance developed and the completely stiff manner of dialogue. Honestly the dialogue felt better suited for chatGPT-generated robots than humans.

I never watch this stuff. Decided to check this out because I live in Independence. Couldn't make past 10 minutes. I hope this is an example of a crappy one. Hate to think you guys are sitting through stuff worse than this. There's not enough Christmas spirit in the galaxy, the universe even, to get me to sit through one of these.

Absolutely one of the worst I've seen this year.

It's not your thing, and that's fine. Some people enjoy pro wrestling, and I don't, and that's fine too. I just hope you're not saying "These are objectively bad, and you guys are objectively stupid for watching them." Thanks for giving it a try at least.

Rw, I totally respect your decision that these films are not for you, seriously, these movies are not for everyone.

Also, this is actually an example of a Hallmark, or Hallmark type film that is middle of the pack to pretty good, lol.

There are much worse of these type films that I have sat through.

I thought Holiday Touchdown was filmed in more places here in Kansas City but it was really only in Independence, in and around Arrowhead, and then what looked like Crown Center.

This isn't Christmas related, but does anyone watch the Hallmark series "The Way Home" that has Chyler Leigh and Andie McDowell? I didn't make a thread for it because its a cable show and interest would be extremely minimal here.

But, anyway, I read the 3rd season will air exclusively on Hallmark + streaming service around January and the TV airings on regular Hallmark will be many months later in the Fall.

I only saw the very beginning but recognized Independence Square immediately. That's where the two families had their businesses. I understand from the news that some of the historical large homes near the square were used for the character's homes.

I like the show, but I’m still a few episodes away from finishing season 2, so having to wait a bit for the next season won’t be too much of a problem for me.

I understand it's a cult. What are you called "Hallmarkies" On the news they're talking about how the fans of these movies travel the country specifily to visit the locations they were filmed. Several have already shown up here in Independence. The city has begun to print up tour guide site maps for the Hallmark tourist fans.

I have a friend who attended one of the "experiences" in Vancouver BC, where they have snowy sets and cast appearances and such. I have not, but I enjoy the movies and am fine with you stopping the insults any time now.

I admit, the only reason why I bother watching some Hallmark movies is to see an attractive female lead. Most who I am already familiar with. The stories are mostly forgettable and some are super cheesy.

So from the Airport they went to Crown Center and then passed by Arrowhead on their way to Independence? 😂