Hallmark has kind of helped me in setting my standards of what I'd want in a woman if one ever looks my way. That kind of traditional beauty type.

Other than the Hallmark films, I have fallen way behind on the originals from Lifetime, UP, GAC, and have not yet watched the original that is on the Roku channel. I am so behind that I might just slowly catch up on the these films well into the new year, or depending on how I feel may delete them. I used to treat these films like some folks do Pokemon, gotta catch them all, lol. However, I find that I am quite happy watching the Hallmark films shortly after they air (so I can fast forward the commercials).

Thankfully, Netflix does not go too crazy with putting up originals so have caught them all so far (others can argue whether the films are good not if they so desire, but I have found the Netflix films very easy to watch), and I am watching the Hallmark+ films so that is another reason I am falling behind on films from folks who are not Hallmark.

At one point, UP was putting up an original pretty much every week of the year (they did this maybe 2-3 years back), but they seem to not be doing that anymore which means I can use that time window to slowly but surely catch up in 2025 on the films that are unwatched on my Xfinity box.

This may have already been mentioned but you can get Hallmark+ for free with your public library if your library participates via Hoopla Digital. I get 12 borrows a month with my library and Hoopla. You can borrow individual Hallmark movies on Hoopla or binge movies for 7 days at a time with the Hallmark+ Binge Pass.

Mistletoe Murders with Sarah Drew is exceptionally good!

The wife watches Grey’s Anatomy so I always figure it’s safe to show her the Sarah Drew Hallmarks.

I liked Carol for Two, but I expected I would because of the Broadway angle. Ginna Claire Mason was also in the Rockettes movie, and she and co-star Jordan Litz have both played in Wicked. Charlotte d’Amboise also has plenty of big Broadway roles. The singing was good, and the jokes were nerdy.

Trivia at St Nick’s was a pleasant surprise for me. Tammin Sursok and Brant Daugherty had good chemistry, and

.

I just got Peacock and watched The Finnish Line, but I didn’t realize the new Hallmarks disappear after three days. Also I have the ad version, and it takes longer to wait out those than it does to FF on the DVR. Movie was fine. I certainly learned new things about Finland and about dogsled racing. Kim Matula is cute and Beau Mirchoff is kinda there.

Stumbled upon a Roku Channel exclusive “Hallmark” today, 2023’s How to Fall in Love by Christmas with Teri Hatcher. It was alright.

Trevor, Jingle Bell Love is a 2024 Roku original you might be interested in checking out, I am going to watch it tonight.

Sugarplummed was silly and it felt like Hallmark was making fun of themselves. They can turn that movie into a franchise real easily.

I liked that Janel Parrish is ostensibly going to be a Mary Poppins type character, but then she finds that her mojo is also running on fumes and she has her own lessons to learn while in the real world before she can help Maggie Wheeler's character, a bit of a twist on what I was expecting. Like you Blue, I would also be down for a Sugarplummed sequel.

I watched Leah's Perfect Gift (Hallmark film) last night, and I really enjoyed it. However, the person who reviewed the film for Decider's Steam It Or Skip It review page makes a lot of good points about the characters in the film, but as noted in the review, Emily Arlook's as Leah really does carry the film.

ETA: On the other hand, I always like to say that you can't always rely on my opinion of whether or not a Hallmark film is any good because I tend not to hate on them in general. Search Leah’s Perfect Gift is Horrendously Terrible for a review that well, it kind-of says it all in the title of the film review, lol.

I already rewatched Sugarplummed again and I think I can go ahead and say it's my favorite of the Hallmark Christmas movies this year. It really did feel clever and I liked all the self referencing jokes in it.

I thought from the opening of Christmas on Call that it was going to be like an episode of ER, but it was really just a commercial by the Philadelphia chamber of commerce (including an appearance by football mom Donna Kelce). I like Sarah Canning, but I kinda hate that I thought she looked old (she's 37). There was also a subplot with a secondary couple that was almost totally unrelated.

Tis the Season to Be Irish had Fiona Gubelman and some great scenery.

Gubelman also returns in a small part in Sugarplummed, which was fun but not something I'll watch again. The Hallmark self-references were great, and Janel Parrish was like Amy Adams had dropped in from Enchanted. There was also a cameo for the lead guy in Scouting for Christmas--I knew I had seen him somewhere recently. This is set in Seattle but it's not like the Philadelphia one--they get by with a few establishing shots of the Space Needle and jokes about the rain.

A Novel Noel had Julie Gonzalo and Brennan Perry, and I liked this one more than I expected. There's a reveal toward the end that made me go back and see if it held up through the movie. It kinda does, but it also felt a little like cheating.

I went way back and watched A Very Vermont Christmas from the summer. It has Katie LeClerc, Ryan McPartlin, and a lot of talk about skiing and beer. It's the kind of placeholder that works when they're trying to get something on the board for Christmas in July.

One rewatch so far: My Family Christmas Tree, with Aimee Teagarden. I really like this one for some reason.

This weekend and next are the last weekends for the Hallmark 2024 Christmas movie slate. I'm about to turn on The Santa Class this morning. Kimberly Sustad is almost always good in her Hallmark movies.

A second vote for My Family Christmas Tree, with Aimee Teagarden.

This was my favorite by far. Familiar faces throughout, but a sweet premise and well delivered.

My daughter asked for a rewatch of a Very Brady Christmas from 1988 and we found it on Pluto, it was a fun rewatch. She was probably in the mood after watching Greg/Barry on Dancing with the Stars last season. The Pluto commercials weren't terribly intrusive, only about 20-30 seconds at a clip maybe 7 or 8 times. I haven't watched much on there with all the streamers I have access to right now, but I won't hesitate if I find something interesting.

I watched Dalton in another Christmas in July movie, Falling Like Snowflakes, which taught me more than I ever knew about the science of taking snowflake photographs. Dalton is one of the more appealing current stars.

I thought Leah's Perfect Gift was fine. I'm generally not a fan of the ones that have a constant antagonist, but the ending worked for me. Funny that the Hallmark app doesn't credit the lead but it does credit Barbara Niven.

I watched another Hanukkah one, Hanukkah on the Rocks. Pretty good for establishing a community, and Stacey Farber has been good since she debuted in (I think) Butlers in Love.

I didn't see myself mentioning it before, but Santa Tells Me was cute and used good star power in the three Nicks.

Hallmark is airing extended cuts of Holiday Touchdown (Friday 12/20) and then Three wise men and a boy (sun 12/22) this weekend.

Collider has a post up on the 10 most unwatchable films and I have to admit to it being a pretty good list.

Films like Bedtime Stories and Never Been Chrissed are indeed a couple of turkeys.

I remember the cabin mix up film thinking it would be fun but nope, not a fun watch.

The Campfire Christmas film I had high hopes for but I found it to be rather boring to watch, a cardinal sin for several films on the list.

I watched what I believe were the last two Hallmark Christmas Countdown originals this weekend and enjoyed them both, yes, including Happy Howlidays.

A couple days ago I got to the point I do every year, where we’re almost to Christmas and I realize I’ve been watching so many easy deletes that I still haven’t watched the big ones. So I finally watched Holiday Touchdown, and it was good, though the cameos were underwhelming. I then watched the Lifetime equivalent, Christmas in the Spotlight, in which a pro football player dates a famous pop star, which was pretty pointless.

Deck the Walls (Ashley Greene and Wes Brown) and Christmas Under the Lights (Heather Henmen, Marco Grazzini) were both fine. All of those leads are fine to me. Niall Matter cameos in one.

I decided to pass on both extended cuts, though I guess I could’ve watched Three Men that way instead of the original version.

I just looked at that list, and many were before my time of watching these, and others I simply don’t remember. But I agree that Bedtime Storues was truly horrendous.

Christmas in the Spotlight (Lifetime) - This 2024 movie is a fictionalized account of a certain celebrity couple. Not-Taylor Swift meets and falls for Not-Travis Kelce as they have to hide their relationship from friends and family. I was prepared to be underwhelmed once I realized the subject matter but this is actually a well-written exploration of the difficulties between celebrities in a public relationship. Picture-perfect casting, sticking out how ridiculously good-looking everyone in the cast appears. They just don't cast models anymore in TV movies like Christmas in the Spotlight. The male lead plays an all-pro wide receiver and looks like the part.

A Reason for the Season (Hallmark) - Solid seasonal movie starring Hallmark stalwarts Taylor Cole and Kevin McGarry. They took the heroine in a slightly atypical direction, Taylor plays a spoiled heiress who must play Secret Santa with her wealth in a small town or lose her trust fund. Less romance than usual, the plot mostly concerns her fulfilling people's wishes and learning her purpose in life. I wouldn't call this a classic but Taylor Cole is always a delight and McGarry is great as always.

One of many generically titled films, To Have and to Holiday was about a "wedding boot camp," run by the father of the bride and antagonist to the groom. Like one of the others this year, the constant antagonism was annoying, but the film was ok. With Madeline Arthur in her first lead role and Robert Bazzocchi (uncredited in the Hallmark app).

A Dance in the Snow is an interesting look at neurodiversity but unmemorable otherwise. With Erica Cerra and Mark Ghanime, who have both played lead roles before.

Our Holiday Story has Nikki DeLoach and Warren Christie recounting their meet-cute/You've Got Mail tale of how they met, and is ultimately more charming than annoying. There's a supporting character played by Sydney Scotia who is pretty appealing as a teenager but a bit of a pill as an engaged young adult.

Maybe I can catch up now that we're done with new holiday movies. Unfortunately Vudu never had more than a few of last year's premieres on sale so I'll have to wait to catch up on those later. There's no rush, particularly on the ones I've seen.

I'll mention the Tivo guide data for UPTV's christmas movies is awful - tons of errors with no cast data, wrong years and even marking older repeat films as new for 2024.

That sucks, because I always go by the year when deciding to record something.

The dumb thing was when this summer Hallmark was promoting films on 702 as premieres when they had already played on 703.

Anyone notice this thread is now ten years old?

P. Diddy's ears just perked up.

Our Holiday Story (Hallmark) - Something went awry for me in this Nikki DeLoach and Warren Christie vehicle. Two of my favorite Hallmark regulars, so ultimately a disappointment. A couple shares the tortured process of how they met with the 20-something boyfriend of their daughter while she's stuck getting home. Ridiculous sub-plot of said boyfriend nervous about saying 'I love you' to the daughter and asking her mom for advice. Overly complicated flashback structure which hurts the story and doesn't add any extra juice. You can tell the writer/writers thought they were being super clever coming up with this story. While the 2 stars are fine, neither the daughter nor young boyfriend will be seen again in prominent roles.