Tag: #hallmarkchristmasmovies

Movie Review: Christmas in Vienna

Christmas In Vienna
Movie Rating
3.5/5

Instead of Christmas in Vienna, this movie could be called Christmas on Rinse & Repeat. The whole movie can be summed up as: Jess and Mark meet in the square, someone asks someone if they speak English, Jess steps out of her comfort zone, Mark shoots her down, Mark asks Jess’ opinion, Jess gives her opinion, Mark gets mad, Mark apologizes…RINSE & REPEAT.

Ahhh!! Christmas in Vienna…I don’t know what to think of you. You’re such a mixed bag, because there is so much I did enjoy, but Jess continuing to put herself out there and open her heart while Mark continued to shut her down got to me after the third or fourth time. She gave him so many opportunities. Granted, he did finally come around, but should it have really taken that many times? I’m just not sure. 

Let’s take a minute to talk about the mistletoe scene. A kiss on the hand?! Come on Hallmark! That was a serious missed opportunity. I would have loved at least a kiss on the cheek. It’s mistletoe after all!

Now that you know what really bothered me about the movie, let’s get to some of the good stuff. Despite my frustrations, there was still lots to enjoy with this movie.

I loved Jess’s character! She’s adorable and quirky and, like me, can’t pronounce any German. Sprechen sie English? Yup, that’s about as much as I can say too Jess! I even butcher that. 

More than the main story line of Mark and Jess, the story of Vincent and Tory is adorable too. I loved watching their chemistry. And how can you not like someone who references Gremlins in regard to taking care of children?! I’ve done that so many times in my life. 

    • Don’t feed them after midnight
    • Don’t get them wet
    • Don’t expose them to light

Speaking of the children. How cute were they?! Jess helped each child grow a little throughout the movie. The youngest learns how to play violin, the son learns to “hang his hat,” and the oldest performs her song at the end. 

As you can see, Jess really made this movie shine through her amazing heart. Her speech to Summer was pure gold. I wish I could write down the whole thing and put it here, but it’s really something you need to watch. Plus, the presents she gave at the end of the movie. Each one was so perfect. It proves that cost doesn’t matter with a present – thoughtfulness does.  

Without Jess, this movie wouldn’t have even made the 3.5 stars. Mark’s character was just blah. He didn’t make my heart say awww – except for the stocking scene – and I didn’t hold my breath hoping to see him come into the room so I could watch the chemistry. It could have been a movie about Jess and the kids and it might have been better than the romance movie it was suppose to be.

Should you watch it? I’ll leave that in your hands. Maybe you’ll enjoy it more than me. Good luck! Happy movie watching y’all!

Movie Review: Christmas with the Darlings

This movie has so much to love! Hot chocolate (huge Hallmark theme this year), tree decorating, building snowmen, a carriage ride, and so much more. Let’s dissect the movie a little – I’ll start with our leading characters…

Our leading lady, Jessica “Jess”, is played by Katrina Law. I loved her in Snow Bride! If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s one of my favorites. She was fantastic! In this movie, she plays a list making, closed from love, yet very lovable woman.

Our leading man, Max, is played by Carlo Marks. He was in Moonlight in Vermont with Lacey Chabert. It’s another good movie! He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite leads and in some ways, reminds me of Andrew Walker. In this movie, he first comes off as a free spirited, partying, very non list making man.

Don’t they sound like the perfect polar opposite pair?? Yup! They sure are!

I’m sure you’re asking…how do two polar opposites come together?

Max and his brother Charles become guardians of their orphaned nieces and nephew and Charles wants to send them to boarding school, but Jess steps in and volunteers to watch them before they need to go to boarding school. Of course, Max offers to help! Combine this with Max wanting to do more at the family company and Jess wanting to change jobs and you have a wonderful mix of character growth to add to the movie.

As you can imagine, putting two polar opposites in a house together during Christmas yields interesting results from the very beginning when Jessica asks the kids to make lists and Max says to do things as they feel like doing them. 

As the movie continues, we see Max and Jess grow as characters – Jess becomes less structured and Max becomes a little more. We also see Max and Jess come together as co-guardians and love interests.

This is Hallmark, so you know there’s a happily ever after, which I won’t ruin for you, but it ends in the best way possible for everyone!

Now that we’ve covered the basics on the movie, let’s get down and dirty in the feels department.

There were some wonderful quotes in this movie! 

    • “Home feels like family” – one of Max’s Nieces
    • “Christmas has a way of bringing up a lot of memories” – Jess
    • “You should never settle” – Charles
    • “Wow! You just went down the analogy rabbit hole” – Jess

These quotes help show the character of the movie. It was fun, generally funny, and very sweet. There are some serious/slightly sad parts when talking about death, but they weren’t sad enough to bring me to tears.

With all this good, I didn’t feel an overwhelming amount of passion between Max and Jess. It seemed like they were more best friends than love interests. This left me torn, because I know that love isn’t always like my romance books where people are pulling off their clothes and jumping into the first empty closet, but I also feel like there should be MORE than what these two had.

Even though there was this lack of passion, there was still so much to love. I mean, this movie has a CARRIAGE RIDE! In other words, there was a HORSE in this movie. That almost guarantees movie success in my book.

All my Goodreads books get rated, which makes me feel like this needs stars too. So, are you ready?? Please keep in mind that I’m giving this a Hallmark rating, which CANNOT be confused with a romance novel rating. Okay Jamie, enough rambling, let’s get to it!

4.5/5

I’m taking off a half star for some of the slow spots in the movie that had me reaching for my phone instead of being actively engaged. The end of the movie had a super passionate kiss, so I’m letting them keep a star for that.

This is a super solid, cute, and funny Hallmark romance that will hit you in the feels and if you’re bored one night, I would put on your Hallmark movie watching sweatshirt, grab your cozy blanket, cup of hot chocolate, and settle in for a good movie.