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gettingallthestuff
Reviews
A Murder in Mind (2019)
Needs some re-casting!
Holly Peete is fantastic! Her team at the TV station is excellently cast. Her aunt is great too- a nice balance to holly's character. Maurice is alright as well.
That said- Fox is... Not great. He's just very one note and not nearly charming enough to play opposite of Holly. Then there's David Paetkau. Oh my goodness does he need to go!! He's AWFUL! Could we please get ANYTHING out of this character other than cranky, snarky, and rude? Its do BORING! I can't tell if its the actor or the role but its horrendously played. Like he's trying to be a tough guy from a 1980s cop show.
The story lines need a little work. A lot of leaps in logic. Like.. Banning a dog from a restaurant for nothing? It doesn't work that way and it didn't even make sense. Kind of foolish writing. Holly Peete deserves better!
The Christmas Promise (2021)
Love Torrey, great premise- awful execution
This movie tried but just couldn't commit.
The side characters: Jesse Moss is WONDERFUL, Matt Dowden is great. Sadly Karen Holness- usually a lovely actress- is given such a horrendous character to play that it ruins multiple scenes. She's a terrible friend, obnoxious as a person could ever be, self centered, loud, etc. Really unpleasant character that flatlines some of the biggest scenes and leaves you wondering how this group could possibly stay friends.
The text messages- this is such a cute twist on the old you've got mail story BUT the texts are waaaaay too fortune cookie. They're cheesy, patronizing, etc. If someone laid it on this thick when I was grieving, Id block their number!
Like is so often an issue in Hallmark movies- the writers seem to fail miserably at the reality of grief. Can we STOP with this "everyone pushes the widow(er) into dating a year after their spouse dies" trope? Can we STOP with the main character getting pushed towards blind setups after REPEATEDLY saying they don't want that? Its genuinely sick. And her friends and sister guilting her into a party on the anniversary of her fiancé's death? Come on!
Id love a remake of this movie with a better script. These poor actors deserved better.
Christmas Together (2020)
An incredible disservice to Rylie Coe
WOW. There is no other word for it. Just... Wow.
Rylie is great. The leading lady and the neighbor are fine. The leading man is HORRENDOUS. Absolutely flat. No lenses in his glasses. NO. LENSES. IN. HIS. GLASSES. I just.. Can't.
There is a conversation very early in the movie between the lead male and his best friend. He sits there and stares blankly as his friend talks. Completely lacking emotion. Dead eyes. Just awkwardly grinning and staring. The film cuts are so awkward in this scene and I actually wondered if the 2 actors weren't even in the same room when this was filmed. That also might explain why the lead appears to be staring at a wall rather than another human being. Its horrible.
Then there is a scene where the father and daughter interact for an extended time. Rylie Coe is wonderful through the entire scene. The dad.. He's horrible. And he seems NOTHING like a dad. More like... An awkward teenage brother. Uncomfortable doesn't even begin to cover it. Yikes.
Secrets in the Water (2021)
Cerina Vincent is the only win in this terrible movie.
Cerina Vincent does a wonderful job in her role. Her next door neighbor is alright. No one else in the movie can act AT ALL. It's honestly embarrassing to watch. Emily Skinner *might* have done alright but she is given such horrible lines that it's impossible to tell.
I had forgiveness for the film at first because it said it was based on true events. It's full of ridiculous and completely unbelievable lines, motivations, and details but I thought.. oh well maybe it's just an actually insane story. After researching I came to find this: "Albeit the inspiration isn't drawn from specific characters, several stories alluding to murders, like that of Mia, have erupted in the past, giving creators the creative liberty to create a storyline along such lines." So, in other words, when they say it's based on true events they are COMPLETELY LYING.
The premise was good. Unfortunately it was incredibly predictable and full of insanely unbelievable details including: a sheriff running a homicide investigation instead of a detective, a sheriff giving an unchecked cell phone back to a parent a week after a crime, yet hanging onto the body for weeks, a tiny town being completely unaffected by a teenagers murder, 2 teens in a tiny town being last entry & runner up for the same fancy French art school, a child that is supposedly poor and seen as "trailer trash" living in a massive Hawaiian home, a restraining order against a grieving mother being issued in a matter of an hour or so after two contacts, a sheriff handing evidence to a grieving mother to read and declaring the case closed while still later forensically analyzing said evidence because the case was apparently not closed, etc. Then there is the confession. Just.. what? The dialogue in this seen is unparalleled. It's shockingly bad. I cannot believe this script was approved or that this poor actor/ actress (to avoid spoiler) was actually expected to split this drivel out. No one would say this. No murderer is this instantly self aware. It's... annoying.
And then there is the knife. The cardboard, spray painted knife. Why???
Christmas on My Mind (2019)
Two really awesome leads... And then nothing.
I was excited for this movie because I am a fan of both leads. Unfortunately, the movie falls flat in almost every way. The writing is simply ridiculous. A woman falls on the sidewalk, gets up literally 1 second later, and somehow has lost her memory for the last 2 years. Then the doctor tells her she'll be fine and releases her from the hospital almost immediately. The lines go like this:
Dr: do you have any family?
Woman: Nope. Just me.
Dr: ok well bye.
No observation. No concern for the fact that she doesn't know where she lives, or works, or how to pay her bills, or if there is a pet to care for, or anything else. She's just sent off and about.
Then in pops her boyfriend. "Oh hey. I know you just lost your memory of literally my entire existence but we've got an important work party to get to. Lets go shmooze some big wigs." Just so dumb and unrealistic. Their breakup later is similar. Its been maybe 5 days since she lost her memory and they break up because amnesia girl's temporary life just isn't working for either of them. The mental gymnastics are so phoney that I found myself wanting to fast forward multiple times.
Worst of all- there is zero chemistry between the leads. And I mean zero. Both roles were played very... Sleepy. You simply don't believe they are, or Ever were, in love.
A Christmas Melody (2015)
LOL What in the world was that?
A sort of cute story. Lacy and Brennan were great as always. The actress playing Lacy's daughter did a great job. The aunt was actually likeable- which contradicts many hallmark movies with unbearable secondary parental figures.
This COULD have been a sweet movie. Perhaps a bit predictable but that's just the way these movies are so that's ok. The storyline of Brennan being completely forgotten by Lacy's character was a nice addition.
Then they... Uhm... Green screened in Mariah? I've never seen anything quite like this before and it absolutely destroyed the movie lol. Straight up embarrassing.
Also- can we stop pretending that people can survive with a part time waitressing job? Even with a free house and a small town- there is still electricity, heat, gasoline, the random hundreds of dollars in Christmas decorations and events they go to, groceries, etc. This is a designer with a failed business- she doesn't have thousands in the bank.
Just one more thing: FOLGERS COFFEE.
When you know you know lol!!
A Winter Princess (2019)
A big yawn
Ill admit it- I'm usually kind of a sucker for a "hidden royal" movie. It might be a plot that's been done a thousand times but it's a *sweet* plot that's been done a thousand times. This movie completely bored me though. Predictable from the get-go. Painfully fake accents. No chemistry between the leads at all. A simply lazy script. I found myself rooting for the characters to fail just do I wouldn't be so bored.
The Princess is normal and endearing enough .. Until everyone finds out she is a princess- then she's suddenly INTENSELY fake. She becomes an instant airhead. Floaty. Airy voice. Over the top "cringe grace." Its a weird and antiquated view of what royalty is. Have the writers never even so much as watched a video of Princess Kate? Princess Sophia? Etc. They are classy and kind.. But they are business women. They are NOT phoney and not some kind of 1950s Disney character on helium.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test (2023)
I wanted to love this so bad!
What exactly were they going for here?
This show tries to fool viewers and it just... Doesn't work. We all know its not legit SF training. First of all- no one goes directly into special forces training raw. You go to regular boot camp FIRST. Meaning by the time you get to SF training you already have some significant physical and mental strengthening. You already know how to regulate water intake. You're in shape. You are used to carrying packs and running in boots. Etc. Kicking out Dr. Drew because he was dehydrated when they never taught the group how to properly hydrate is just dumb.
Then you've got how they treated Jamie Spears. Her reaction to the fall CLEARLY indicated a PTSD response. They're military- they certainly know this. They know how to coach someone through those moments and how to give them the tools to overcome monetary PTSD reactions and develop internal contractions to triggering situations. Instead their response is entirely insulting to anyone and everyone who has PTSD: "Get over it- its in the past and you're not dead." This is beyond a disgusting response. Its not how its handled in the actual SF either- which made it that much more dumb. This could have been a really strong moment. It could have been an incredible opportunity to address PTSD. They completely missed it.
It really just seems like they were so dedicated to filming this quickly and in reality tv fashion that they skipped really necessary things that would make the show believable. Instead it ends up feeling extraordinarily phoney. A bunch of out of shape people declaring how real this is and how this is actual training is just insulting.
The More Love Grows (2023)
Truly awful.
What went right in this movie? Well.. The lead actors are likeable. (But not their characters...) There's also some cute dogs. That's it. Thats all.
Everything else is ridiculous or aggravating. Lets see... You've got a mom who is abusive and gaslights like crazy. Of course she never gets called out or put in her place. Mid movie a single sort of stern comment is made to her and the switch flips: now she's somehow a loving and kind mom. Gross.
Then you have a weird and pointless side story with a daughter. An 18yr old played by a 26yr old and it couldn't be more obvious. Not a single one of the college kids in this movie look anywhere near 18. I literally thought she was going to grad school at first. This girl has zero self awareness and zero gumption. Easily walked on by her caricature of a roommate. The story is nothing but filler.
On to the main story- you've got a woman who's completely shocked her husband is leaving her yet she doesn't seem to care. She moved on in LITERALLY one day. Feels nothing. Finds herself a man-hating artist friend who doesn't care in the least about what she might want or feel bEcAuSe ThE pAtRiArChY. She comments on wanting to fix her marriage and her friend SCOLDS HER for it! Its just random and weird.
There is no chemistry between the lead and her husband. (But don't worry- he begs to come back home). There is also no chemistry between the lead and her new love interest. (But don't worry- he wants to pounce on this newly single and vulnerable woman). They only have 1 conversation that isn't about the dogs. This woman is separated. NOT EVEN DIVORCED. Only apart for a matter of days before this weirdly predatory guy is trying to date her.
Oh yea... Then there is the dog. Which shows up on her doorstep. And she claims it. She doesn't call the police to report the lost dog. She buys hundreds of dollars worth of supplies and toys for the dog before she even puts up lost dog posters online. Then she somehow knows less about dogs than your average 5 yr old. She feeds him chocolate cake and makes him instantly ill. Don't worry though.. Her new vet boyfriend and rocker gal pal have it covered. In fact... They train him to sit in 3 seconds.
Lol. This is honestly the most cringeworthy HMM I've ever seen.