Change Your Image
barefoot_in_the_park
Reviews
To All A Good Night (2023)
Bongo Santa for the win
Probably half of the Hallmark movies I've started watching this year, I didn't end up finishing. This is by far the best one I've seen this year. Kimberley Sustad is probably my favorite Hallmark female lead, and I didn't know Mark Ghanime, but he was great, and they were very good together.
I loved the humor in this one! The creepy Santa was such a nice touch, and all the funny lines about him. The thief dog was very cute, though started a little silly with the woman saying she had seen him in her shed but didn't know what to do. . .uhm, call his owner? Another minor complaint is the stepmother. She was so cold, almost "wicked" stepmother vibe for most of the movie, but then there is a 180 done with her character.
My big complaint about the movie is the moment when the confrontation happens with the letter. I felt Ceci's reaction was really over the top. I would understand her needing some time to process and such, but the way she treats Sam and tells him to go away, felt out of place in the movie. Besides she was incredibly deceptive with him originally. I dislike when Hallmark has those type of moments just to create a conflict in an otherwise good story. Those moments are not always necessary, especially in this movie where the reveal of the letter was enough of a moment on its own.
Overall, there was so much good in this one, and it heavily outweighs my minor complaints, and even my main one. I would rewatch this one again!
A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023)
It was okay, but a bit disappointing
There were too many things that distracted in this one. First, why did they choose Duke/Duchess as the title? It would have been far more believable if it had been Earl or a lesser title. And while it was nice to see Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf together again, their age difference was glaring. I kept thinking, sure they played siblings in Party of Five, but it is just weird here. There are lines that reference "when we were teenagers," implying they're supposed to be, three or four years apart, maybe five? I looked up both of them, and there is a 14 year age difference in real life, Scott Wolf is in his mid-fifties. Along with that, the woman playing their mom didn't seem old enough. And there is always an expected amount of cheesiness in Hallmark movies, but it felt so forced how cheerful and friendly all the Scottish people were. It just seemed so over the top. On that note, I couldn't stand Hamish (I think that was the character's name), man was he annoying, so over-acted. On a positive note, the castle was beautiful, and shots of the scenery were lovely.