Tag: #kristofferpolaha

Hallmark Movie Review: Haul out the Holly

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/haul-out-the-holly

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yay! It’s a corny Christmas romcom!! I loved this movie! Here’s a quick recap and my two cents 😉

Quick Recap

Emily breaks up with her boyfriend and decides to visit her parents, but she discovers her parents are leaving for Florida. After they leave, she becomes responsible for all HOA items her parents weren’t able to do in their absence. While participating in the neighborhood activities, Emily rediscovers her enjoyment for the holidays and her childhood friend/crush Jared.

My Two Cents

Lacey Chabert is one of my favorite Hallmark leading ladies. So, I was super excited for this movie! Especially because it was a romcom! But do you sometimes that when you’re really excited for a movie that it doesn’t live up to your expectations? Well, I was pleasantly surprised that this movie beat my expectations!

I love corny romcoms and this one was definitely corny in all the right ways. Wes Brown and Lacey Chabert were both wonderful! So were all the supporting cast memebers. There was a cameo from another Hallmark star too, but I can’t remember the guy’s name. Maybe it was Kristoffer Polaha? Drop it in the comments if you saw him!

Additionally, did you all catch the call out to Christmas in Vienna?!? While it wasn’t my favorite movie, I chuckled because it was one of Lacey’s. Plus, her comment about, “I love this guy,” was fantastic!

Besides all the Hallmark Easter eggs, I enjoyed so much of this movie! I loved how Emily turned from slightly grouchy to full elf. And the neighborhood activities. I wish my neighborhood was like that! Plus, I loved the ending! It’s exactly how I wanted it to end!

I will admit I was a little confused by the parent’s moving to Florida. It seemed like they had everything planned for Emily to take over the Christmas activities, but what if Emily hadn’t broken up with her boyfriend? Would they have called her to house sit? I guess that’s Hallmark for you 😉

Either way, I still loved it! Fair warning…if you aren’t a corny romcom lover, then you’ll definitely want to skip this movie!

Did you watch this movie? Let me know what you thought! Leave a comment!

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Hallmark Movie Review: We Wish You A Married Christmas

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/we-wish-you-a-married-christmas

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

At a solid 3.5 (rounded up to 4 for ease), this movie is another cute and funny romcom. Here’s a quick recap and my two cents 😉 

Quick Recap

Becca and Robby’s marriage is in shambles. After 13 years, they’re ready to call it quits when their marriage counselor recommends a trip to Gracious, Vermont. They try to call it quits again after the first night, but a freak snowman accident keeps them in Gracious a little longer. While waiting for their car to be fixed, they begin to remember what their relationship use to be like.

My Two Cents

I can sympathize with Becca and Robby. I’ve been with my husband for almost 20 years. Sometimes I pause and ask where did the last 20 years go? College, dogs, houses, kids, it’s all made the time pass in the blink of an eye.

It’s true our relationship isn’t what it was when we first met. In many ways it’s better than it was back then. But we both put in the effort. Without that, it’s easy to let things slide and drift apart.

Becca and Robby let it slide too much, but they were willing to put in the effort to bring it back together. Luckily, they had a marriage counselor who knew of a special place they could go to reconnect.

I loved a lot about this movie! The ornament falling on the car, all the little tasks the B&B owners assigned Becca and Robby, becoming locked in the Christmas storage area, llama grams, and so much more! I especially loved the chemistry between the two leads.

My heart melted when Becca and Robby were decorating their stockings and Robby opened up about the baking class and his reasons for taking it. I loved how open and honest he was. Apologizing for what he’s done wrong.

I swear I could listen to Kristoffer Polaha (and Luke McFarlane) all night long. I loved his monologues. Both men should record stories for the Calm app. Not that I’ve used it, but I might if they were reading me stories!

Squirrel!

Not everyone will like this movie, but I think the majority of people who like romcoms will. And if you make it through until the end, the last 15 minutes are totally worth it!

Did you watch this movie? Let me know what you thought! Leave a comment!

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Hallmark Movie Review: A Dickens of a Holiday

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/a-dickens-of-a-holiday

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Oh man 🙁 I’m really bummed about this movie. I have generally liked past Dickens plot movies. Unfortunately, this didn’t do it for me. Here’s a quick re-cap and my two cents.

Quick Re-Cap

Recently divorced Cassie Pruitt is directing A Christmas Carol in the 100 year anniversary of Dickens Days in Dickens, Ohio. Unfortunately, Scrooge comes down with laryngitis and they need to find someone new. They insist on choosing someone from Dickens. They ask big time actor Jake Dorsey to come home and help.

My Two Cents

I’m having one of those, “is it me or the movie?” evenings. I’ve been watching this movie for 1.5 hours and other than the quick re-cap, I haven’t written down ANYTHING about this movie. Normally by now I have at least half my review completed.

As a side note…there was something that gave me a quick thrill and distracted me for a little bit of the movie. Did you see the beautiful Inn where Cassie and Jake are staying? Did it look familiar? It should! I think it’s been in a few different Hallmark movies, but I remember it from Good Morning Christmas! In the video clip below, you can catch it at about the 14 second mark 🙂 I absolutely love this Inn. It’s so beautiful! I’d like to spend a weekend away there.

Okay, back to the actual movie. So, I really like versions of A Christmas Carol like It’s Christmas, Carole! that actually have a real Scrooge, ghosts, tiny Tim, etc. This take on the movie wasn’t really my cup of tea.

Maybe this would have been better if Jake had been more Scroogey and less jerky? I don’t know, but I liked Jake’s story line and how he kind of forgot himself when he became a big time actor and had to go through this process of improving himself so he could land the part of his dreams. The best improvement he made was him repairing his relationship with his family 🙂

Aside from fixing his family relationship, there wasn’t much else that captured my attention with this one. I mean, this movie was so blah that I’m not even gushing over the horse drawn carriage. Probably because Jake made such a big deal about that book being in the carriage instead of the horse driving it. Come on Jake! You’re in a carriage with the woman you’re starting to love! Don’t get all mushy about a book.

On top of not mentioning the carriage ride, I also didn’t mention the adorable small town appeal of the movie. I love small towns. Towns where everyone knows everyone and people help each other when they’re in need. There should have been more small town feeling in this book. There was some with everyone knowing Cassie had been directing Broadway and a few other little things, but I felt it could have been played up more.

Alrighty, so tell me folks, was it just me? Am I cranky tonight? Should I give this movie another try? As of right now, it’s definitely NOT on my Countdown to Christmas must see list for the season. Leave a comment and try to get me to change my mind! What did you like about this movie?

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