Sister Swap: Hometown Holidays

 

Why?

After Finding Santa was a bust, I decided to just watch this movie instead. It's another Hallmark Christmas movie so that just adds to the appeal.

What in the world?

Two sisters swap cities for the holidays so they can process their grief.

Personal thoughts

I'm kind of glad that these two were not on screen at the same time a lot. They're actually sisters but when they were on screen it kind of felt like forced dialogue between two people who know each other really well. It was a really strange dynamic. It mainly focused on sister 2 because she had a son and she was doing the most interesting stuff. It never really showed sister 1's activities which I thought was strange. There might be a movie where it just focuses on her but I doubt it. Nothing seemed to happen that was life changing for either of them when they called so that was interesting.

Score

I have to give this movie a 3 out of 10. The plot was kind of interesting to follow but not more than any other Hallmark plot. I mean the whole thing was kind of predictable, but following the family grieve kind of got to me. Overall though, the whole thing was kind of normal and the ending was kind of obnoxious. SPOILER: The sisters start a business together combining the restaurant of the dead husband and the movie theater of their dead uncle. I don't know really how that is going to work but whatever.

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Your fellow film watcher

Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen

 

Why?

The title was the main selling point of this movie. I mean that sounds like a stupid movie that I would want to watch let's be honest.

What in the world?

It's a rip off of sense and sensibility with apparently none of the characters lining up. I think the names of people getting together were the same, but their character traits were switched between them. Very confusing for my mom and grandma who were trying to figure out who was who and what was similar.

Personal thoughts

I think this movie was fine even though I have never read or seen Sense and Sensibility. I mean the whole thing was kind of weird and I barely remember it. I know that they never said the name of hot chocolate though. That was interesting. They just called it "The Delicious Beverage". Ok I'm sorry but just call it hot chocolate. You have no right to call it whatever that is. The main characters weren't that bad. The main guy even had an expanding house. It was very strange because it probably shouldn't have been as big as it was on the main floor, but whatever.

Score

I have to give this movie a 4 out of 10. It was vague and forgettable. So this is a pretty average score for a Hallmark Christmas movie. I really don't remember this movie enough to say much of a rating.

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A Mystic Christmas

 

Why?

When we had found this movie, we were kind of tired and the preview picture for it was just really funny. It's also a Christmas movie from Hallmark so that had a huge reason to watch it.

What in the world?

A seal vet expert or whatever she is goes to her best friend's hometown to take care of a seal that needs to be released by Christmas. She meets up with her ex-boyfriend/her best friend's brother and they get to know each other.

Personal thoughts

This movie man. I wanted to like it I really did. The seals and sea lions carried the movie and I have nothing negative to say about them. The main characters however were two of the most annoying people I have ever watched. Ok that might not be entirely true, but they were very annoying. They got into fights about nothing and then would pretend that nothing happened. Honestly some of the dumbest things. Oh, and the main guy was probably the worst. He was supposed to be the super friendly guy of the town but for some reason it just came off really poorly on screen and made it hard to watch.

Score

I have to give this movie a 3 out of 10. Seals and sea lions are to thank for that. Peppermint was the name of the main seal. I don't think that's her in the picture though. Oh I have to talk about the disgusting pizza they featured multiple times in this movie. I mean the freaking thing was half green and half pizza color. It looked so disgusting and they ate it multiple times. I mean the thing had spinach which is I think a normal pizza topping but having half of your pizza be spinach is a bit much.

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Never Been Chris'd

 

Why?

A love triangle in a Hallmark movie. Count me in! That's about the whole appeal of this movie. That and my grandma likes the guy that plays the main love interest in this film.

What in the world?

Two best friends go home for Christmas and reunite with their high school class. They were also both crushing on the same person and so crazy antics ensue.

Personal thoughts

This movie was actually pretty interesting. Until we all got distracted near the end of the movie. Ok so lady on the right in the picture gets with the main guy and he just lies about being vegan. WHY?!?!??! There's no reason to lie about being pescatarian. It's never even explained why he lies about it because the movies focus on the two girls but we deserve an explanation. Oh and the lady on the left's father was great. He would just try to steer clear of confrontation when he would enter a room and that's a valid thing for him to do.

Score

I have to give this movie a 3 out of 10. I thought the main story with the two best friends was really nice except my goodness were they both dependent on each other. I mean the one didn't go to their dream college because the other one's dad had just died. That's a nice thing to do but I mean the regret that came with it seemed to have taken a strain on their relationship that was bound to break any minute they would find a minor inconvenience with each other. I still don't know why the guy lied about being pescatarian but that's alright I suppose.

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A Royal Christmas Crush

 

Why?

My family when watching Hallmark movies love one with royals. I'm starting to think it might be because of the horrible accents.

What in the world?

An architect gets hired by her uncle to help build an ice lodge/castle/home for the royal family of some made up land. She then gets with a prince. 

Personal thoughts

I don't know what the thought process behind this movie was. It was horrific when the villain of the movie changed her tune because of the servant guy. Nothing led up to that redemption and it didn't deserve to be in the movie. Like what was the point of all that if everyone can be redeemed with a little bit of regret. I also didn't like how she called her uncle, Uncle Karl, every time she met up with him. Who goes around talking like that? The whole thing was just weird but it actually looked like it had a decent budget since they had real snow and the ice castle/lodge/home looked like it was ice.

Score

I have to give this movie a 1 out of 10. I mean it was pretty painful to get through but it had its moments. Wait no it didn't. I can't think of a single thing that happened that was interesting. Ice slide was pretty stupid.

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Cranberry Christmas

 

Why?

It's that time of year where watching Hallmark Christmas movies is semi-acceptable. That also means that Hallmark bingo can happen and this is the movie that kicked off bingo this year. Well official Christmas bingo that is.

What in the world?

A married couple are having trouble in paradise both personal and occupational. They have to rediscover their passions and why they loved each other in the first place I suppose.

Personal thoughts

This movie was already a disappointment when it started off. I mean the two main people are already together in a sense. There was no drama of them trying to get together and having meaningless spats. All their arguments came from valid places and they always were hiding things from each other. I mean tell your wife or husband that you put in a bid on some land. Oh or tell your wife or husband that you were offered a TV show spot on some weird lady's channel. How did that lady get her own channel. I mean she's got to be super rich or something because she wasn't the most interesting person in the entire movie.

Score

I have to give this movie a 2 out of 10. There were some ok characters in the film, but none of them were actually any good. The guy's mother was super annoying because she just fangirled over the TV channel lady. She deserved to have something bad happen to her. 

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A Christmas Karen

 

Why?

My goal was to find the worst Christmas movie on Tubi. I ended up stumbling on this gem(?).

What in the world?

First off let us define a Karen. A Karen is a woman that is usually white and acts entitled and that they are very right in their ways. Alright so on to the plot. It's like a Christmas Carol but with the ghosts trying to change a Karen instead of an old miser. Karen is the old miser.

Personal thoughts

This movie was not my style if I am being honest. Most of the jokes were crude and went off how Karen is racist and discriminatory against those that do not fall into her views. They might have been funny for other people but my sister and I did not laugh at many jokes. The ghost of Christmas future was probably my favorite. He had the best line of the movie which was, "All I have is the void". That's a pretty great line because you can use that in any context.

Score

I have to give this movie a 2 out of 10 just for the ghost of Christmas Future really. I mean the ghost of Christmas Past was good too. He was pretty valid in his views and if I remember correctly, he just kind of gave up on her. He was also with her the longest which checks out. I would have given up on her too. I don't even remember the ghost of Christmas Present. The rest of the movie was ok. The tiny Tim of the movie didn't really show up and the weight of it was pretty heavy. I mean that makes sense but it just didn't seem like it had the same weight as in other renditions.

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Christmas Island

 

Why?

My mom had found this movie in the line-up of yearly Hallmark releases and we just had to give it a watch.

What in the world?

A private pilot is stranded with a rich family on Christmas Island in Nova Scotia. She starts to make friends with an air traffic controller who teaches her about Christmas. 

Personal thoughts

I did not like the main lady for this movie. She was just rude the entire time and made everything about her. She did not deserve to get with the air traffic controller because he deserves better. I mean it is a small town though so of course he was enamored with a new single lady in town who needs to learn the joys of Christmas for some rich kids who haven't celebrated Christmas in forever. The family story was easier and better to follow than the actual movie. 

Score

I have to give this movie a 4 out of 10. It's just the main character was insufferable. This movie probably could have been great if the lady had a better personality. The family plot was rich people problems sure but it hit harder than rude pilot lady and air traffic controller. Another thing that desperately helped this movie was the lobster trap tree memorial lighting. It is sad when someone you love gets lost at sea and that scene was nice. The tree was really cool and the whole thing is real. That was something I found really interesting.

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Christmas in Evergreen

 

Why?

It's that time of year where Hallmark Christmas movies are an essential. This movie was originally just going to be background noise, but I ended up watching it anyway.

What in the world?

A magic snow globe strands a family and makes a veterinary nurse stay in her home town and all for Christmas. 

Personal thoughts

This movie was interesting. I mean the old man was probably the best and the worst part of the movie. He was kind of creepy because he was so obviously supposed to be Santa, but he would just lurk around and tell characters really personal things about their lives. The bad love interest was really weird and had a helicopter drop him off in the really weird small town. Also the snow globe and Santa man have to be the same person or something. The one road in and out of town has a rock slide and everyone is stranded even more. I am not sure how a snow globe could do that but Santa can. It's all a weird scheme I would think.

Score

I have to give this movie a 1 out of 10. It was really boring overall and the very confusing old man just made the movie even stranger than it was. Apparently this movie is a series, but I don't think I'll end up watching any of them because I was not too interested in the entire thing. Oh the transitions between scenes need to be talked about. So the movie was clearly made for live TV with ads and everything because they would have postcards transition to the scene. What made no sense, was the fact that the postcards looked nothing like the scene it was introducing us to. Very weird stylistic choice.

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Available: A Modern Day Fairy Tale

 

Why?

I have had this movie on my list of things to watch for a while and that's just because the trailer was insanely weird. I figured it was time to give it a watch.

What in the world?

A college student loses her parents and inherits a billboard company. While in her hometown, she meets a local pizza boy and they pretend to date. She also teaches him business because he wants to be someone. His words not mine.

Personal thoughts

This movie was really bad. The dialogue was strange and the acting was atrocious. Dave was weird. Dave was the guy that broke up with the main lady at the beginning because he didn't want to try long distance. I mean fair enough, but he had such awkward pauses before he delivered any of his lines that it made me uncomfortable. He also was creepy and followed her after her parents died. I don't know what was up with that. You broke up with her dude. Anyway, the main guy's family was Italian and they were very stereotypical which was so sad. The dad had a heart attack, for no reason mind you, and blamed it on eating too many calzones. They just really wanted to hammer in the point that he is Italian.

Score

I have to give this movie a 2 out of 10. While I wanted to be anywhere else while watching this, the movie had a small, small bit of charm. I did not like the ending however. It leaves us off on a cliffhanger which is a problem. I mean why would you leave us with hopes of a sequel. Nobody has hopes for a sequel. Oh well, I can't complain too much. I'm not going to watch a sequel if it happens.

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Your fellow film watcher