Tag: #ryanpaevey

Hallmark Movie Review: A Fabled Holiday

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

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was in a funk when I started watching this movie and didn’t give it a fair chance. I’m really glad I gave it a second chance! I re-watched it before writing this, because I had a feeling my original low rating was a me issue. I was right.

The first 15 minutes of this movie are very important, so make sure you pay close attention to the story or you’ll have to do what I did. Here’s a quick recap and my two cents 😉

Quick Recap

As a child, Talia and Anderson use to read a story about a town called Wunderbrook. It was magical town where people would go who lost their way and forgot who they were. When Talia was 10 her father passed away. Talia and her mom moved away to be closer to other family, and Talia gave her copy of Wunderbrook to Anderson as a reminder of their time together.

As an adult Talia moved back into her childhood home and opened a bookstore while trying to be a writer. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to find a publishing company interested in her work. Feeling down about where her life is going, she’s looking forward to some time away from her store.

At the same time, Anderson is going through some issues at work and decides to take a break from work. They both wind up on a journey in the mythical Wunderbrook.

My Two Cents

I really enjoyed the fairy tale feeling of this movie. From the narrator to the hand drawn looking book pages and chapter introductions, this movie took it’s name to heart. Which I found endearing during my second viewing!

I can’t continue reviewing this before squealing like a little girl over this being the FIRST RYAN PAEVEY movie of the season!! EEEK!!! Elf Ryan was the highlight of my evening!!

Sadly, I think it’s his only movie this Christmas season. But I’m glad it’s a good one. I know I scored it the same as Coyote Creek Christmas from last year, but I enjoyed this one more! It’s more on par with A Timeless Christmas.

I also really enjoyed Ryan’s pairing with Brooke. If this isn’t the first time they’ve been paired together, then you need to tell me which other movies I need to add to my watch list! I hope we see them together again in the future!

Okay, enough about my guy and girl crushes. Lets get to the actual movie!

In some ways, this movie reminded me of the old ABC series Once Upon a Time. All these people are in a mythical town. Some of them know what’s really going on, while others are there for another purpose.

Mildred was like the Evil Queen, Judy was like Snow White, and Talia was like Henry, the believer/writer. I suppose all fairy tales are similar with the good, bad, and people who need to learn something or overcome an obstacle to move forward in their life. At least these people aren’t cursed to never be able to leave Wunderbrook 😉

Anyhow, I liked that this movie had the other couple and Charles who also had issues to overcome instead of the movie solely focusing on Talia and Anderson. It added substance instead of taking away from the main characters.

It feels like Hallmark is branching out a little more from their usual plots this year. I enjoyed this movie and would like to see more like this in the future. If you aren’t a fairy tale lover, then this definitely isn’t the right movie for you. If you love fair tales, fate, and general magic, then give this movie a try.

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

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Hallmark Movie Review: Two Tickets to Paradise

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/two-tickets-to-paradise

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

FULL DISCLAIMER: I have a thing for Ryan Paevey. This entire review is probably slanted because of this. Please keep that in mind as I give a quick recap and my full two cents. 😉

Quick Re-Cap

Josh and Hannah are both dumped on their wedding day. They run into each other outside the church and encourage each other to go on their honeymoons. They wind up honeymooning in the same location and continue to run into each other until they decide to spend their vacation together.

My Two Cents

I loved everything about this movie! Hawaii, turtles, dolphins, an adorably funny meet cute, frequently shirtless RYAN freaking PAEVEY, ASHLEY WILLIAMS, and so much more. Even a bit of magic 😉

Of course, I’m not talking about actual magic. I’m talking about the magic of fate. I loved the data driven and statistically sensible actuary becoming speechless and spontaneous around Josh. By the end, even Hannah couldn’t deny there’s sometimes a higher power helping two people come together.

Beyond the magic of fate, I really liked how this movie explored what it means to love someone and be in love with someone. Also, how it’s okay to have conflicting emotions. Someone told Hannah, “You have the right to be really mad and really sad, sometimes at the same time.” – I really loved this advice. It’s so true. Sometimes we feel so many emotions at once and they’re all okay.

There’s no right or wrong with emotions, but there is an actress who is spectacular at displaying her emotions! I love Ashley’s over the top facial expressions and reactions paired with Ryan’s solidness. I was worried these two wouldn’t be a good match, but I was very pleasantly surprised! They were so cute together!

I’ve waited this whole review to have this freak out…Ryan Paevey with his shirt off on a beach!! 100,000% yes! I would see that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. If there was no other reason to like this movie, that would be it!

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

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Hallmark Movie Review: Coyote Creek Christmas

Image via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/coyote-creek-christmas

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m a total Paevey lover! He is so handsome and plays this role expertly. Who wouldn’t have fallen for those blue eyes and that little bit of gray he’s showing on his temples. 😉 I’m also a huge Janel Parrish fan!! I’ve liked her ever since Pretty Little Liars. Now Ryan + Janel in the same movie. Yes please! Here’s a quick re-cap and my full two cents.

Quick Re-Cap

Paige is spending Christmas at her family’s Coyote Creek Inn. She’s planning the annual Christmas party, because her family doesn’t feel like doing it this year. She’s unaware that her family is considering selling the Inn until she’s been planning for a while and see how happy her parents are traveling instead of running the Inn. Dylan’s company is interested in purchasing the Inn, but he’s been asked to keep it secret from Paige.

My Two Cents

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this movie! I already mentioned that these are two of my favorite leads, but I didn’t mention the outstanding supporting cast! I loved Quinn and Mia crushing, George and Julie being mischievous fun-loving characters, and Noah was so adorable! I haven’t seen such a good supporting cast in a long time!

Besides the cast was the Coyote Creek-isms. Charlotte the Marmot is sooo cute!! I love that a place called Coyote Creek has a marmot as a mascot. C’mon who doesn’t like a game of hide and seek with a wooden statue? I know I want to find Charlotte and give her a piece of Christmas clothing! Plus, the story about how a marmot became the town mascot was so sweet.

I think I’ve mentioned a time or two that I enjoy a good small town romance. This kind of had that feel, because we met a few townspeople. There were also a lot of small town traditions, like leaving little gifts for people.

While I enjoyed most of this movie, there was a major part of this plot I didn’t understand. The Inn wasn’t sold yet and Paige’s parents didn’t NEED to sell, so why didn’t they offer to stop the sale? If Paige really wanted it, then they should have been able to work out a deal with her and stop the sale.

The sale of the Inn was really the biggest issue I had with this movie. If I look past that, then I really enjoyed this movie. I’m not sure if I’d put it on my must see list, but if it’s on again, I’ll definitely watch it. Especially to see Charlotte the Marmot again. 🙂 I hope you watch this and enjoy it. Happy movie watching y’all!

Have you seen it? What did you think? Leave a comment!

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Hallmark Movie Review: Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

Image Via: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/dont-go-breaking-my-heart/

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Trés harsh breaking up with your girlfriend in the opening scene of the movie! Then walk outside to retrieve your car and unknowingly walk into the break-up boot camp mogul Miranda.

Ben’s situation doesn’t get any better when he sticks his foot in his mouth while trying to convince Miranda to go eat a piece of pizza instead of attending the boot camp 🙂

Ben shortly realizes who Miranda is, but stays in the boot camp anyway. What a trooper! Later, he’s asked by his boss to write an article for the magazine about the boot camp.

My Two Cents

I’ve tried for two days to find a fun/interesting way to write this post. I haven’t succeeded. I’ve even watched the movie twice. So, what’s the deal?

There’s a lot of good in this movie…

The Cast

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while, you’ll know how much I. LOVE. RYAN. Or as one of my friends says, I’m a total Paevey Freak. He can do no wrong. His acting is always on point. I love the salt and pepper thing he has going on with his hair. And his voice has enough gravel that I swoon just listening to him.

Besides Ryan, Italia Ricci is one of the leading ladies I enjoy. She’s super cute! Sadly, she doesn’t make me swoon quite as much as Ryan though 😉

The other supporting actors and actresses were all good too. I really enjoyed the boot camper who was on her second boot camp session. She would be a super fun girl to hang out with! Overall, the casting was really well done!

The Boot Camp

I loved the boot camp idea. Miranda created the boot camp to help heal her own broken heart. She empowers people to take control back of their own lives and begin their healing journey.

Along this journey, they meet other boot campers and do fun activities together. I wanted to join this group just to do the activities alone. Escape room, boxing, ropes course, etc. Yes please!

The Funny

There are a lot of cute and funny moments. I literally laughed out loud during the kick boxing session. I feel like that was an unscripted event and I totally loved it!

Miranda introducing the escape room to everyone was so dramatic! I jumped at first, but then I started giggling at her antics. Plus, while locked in the escape room, Ben and Miranda had the “vanilla ice cream” discussion. Ever since 50 Shades of Grey, I always get a kick out of these conversations 🙂

Boot Camp Miranda

I said earlier that I like Italia and I like a lot about the character Miranda, but I’m drawn to romcoms that are lighthearted and fun. I’m not even sure what to classify this movie as. I don’t think there are enough jokes to make this an actual romcom, but it’s not solidly in any other categories either.

Miranda feels sad and serious throughout most of the movie. And it’s not just Miranda. There are a lot of sad moments from other boot campers over coming their own broken hearts.

I think that’s what kept me from really enjoying it. I felt like the whole movie had this sad undercurrent. Miranda supposedly created this program around the process she took for healing her broken heart, but her heart was broken until it found Ben. Sure, she was living and thriving in her career, but she wasn’t whole. The only truly happy person in this whole movie was the 2nd time boot camper.

Overall

I wanted to like this movie a lot more than I actually did. The underlying sadness was too much for me. If you can overcome the sad aspects of this movie and enjoy the jokes and sweet romance, then this will be a good fit for you. If you’re looking for something funnier or sweeter, then look for something more like Chasing Waterfalls, It was Always You, or Taking a Shot at Love. Happy movie watching y’all!

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Movie Review: A Timeless Christmas

4.5/5

Oh Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. I could really watch and listen to you all day. We need more summer movies of you on a beach shirtless. And I wouldn’t mind taking that portrait from the Whitley mansion and hang it in my house.

Stop drooling Jamie! Write your review! Ugh, fine…here we go…

Have you ever seen Kate and Leopold? If not, you totally should. It was better than this and has the same concept. A man who was about to marry someone he didn’t love comes to the future to meet his real love.

Ryan plays Charles, our time travelling man, who abandoned his fiance, Eliza. He comes to the future where he meets Megan, played by Erin Cahill. 

Charles and Megan had great chemistry throughout the movie. I loved watching them fall in love, because they were so believable. I especially loved that Megan was Rosie’s (Charles’ housekeeper’s) great great grand daughter.  

I also need to give a shout out to Megan’s parents. I think Megan’s mom literally swooned when she met Charles. I can totally sympathize with her reaction to him! But beyond her initial reaction, I loved how Megan’s family treated Charles as part of the family immediately.

I would have given this movie 5 stars, but the ending irked me a little. To be honest though, if the ending had been different, it would have probably irked me too. I don’t think there’s ever a perfect way to end a time travel romance movie. I feel like someone always loses. The people in the past will lose Charles without knowing what happened to him or Megan’s family will forever miss her and not be able to see her anymore. I’ll let you watch it to see which way this movie went.

If you’re a Ryan Paevey fan, I think you’ll enjoy this, because he was absolutely swoon worthy with all his 1900’s manners and such.

**SIGH** Ryan kissing my hand as he meets me for the first time, then that blue gaze meets mine…Ryan’s scruff rubbing…JAMIE!! Get back to the review!

Anyhow, if you don’t like fantasy / time travel romance, then I don’t think this is the right movie for you. Otherwise, give it a shot! There’s so much more to like than the basics I included here. Happy movie watching y’all!!