OHBelle
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 118
Jamie --
I kept getting distracted in Angels and Ornaments whenever Harold was onscreen because, at certain angles, he reminded me of Matthew Broderick. His mouth kept forming a sort of Matthew Broderick smirk!
Lori --
So far, Cameron Mathison is not in any Christmas movies this year (again, so far -- the season is young, though, so anything can happen!). Last year he was in 3 of them (2 for Hallmark and 1 for ABC Family), so maybe he is tapped out on making Christmas movies for a couple of years. He has also done assorted Lifetime movies (non-holiday) and I even saw him in a non-holiday movie on UP not long ago.
I do love, love, love The Christmas Ornament, though. Such a good movie. It has grown on me more over time. When I first saw it last year I was so-so about it, and with more and more viewings it has become one of my all-time Hallmark favorites. Some of those movies I like because they have a bit of fantasy to them. Other movies I like because they seem more rooted in reality -- and The Christmas Ornament seems more realistic. It seems believable. It's not based in fantasy, or set in any kind of extravagant location. The characters aren't doing outlandish things to win each other over. There are no wacky hijinks that ensue. There's no villain. It's just a simple, mature story of overcoming grief and finding happiness.
As for One Starry Christmas -- I keep thinking that it should have been a movie I enjoyed. It really didn't stray too far from the usual Hallmark/Lifetime/ABC Family/UP/Ion formulas, but I just didn't like it. I really think that the casting messed it up. The actors don't have to be A-List actors, but they have to mesh in some way. Maybe the same actress with a different leading man would have been better. Maybe a totally different actress would have been better. I think that those 2 particular actors were wrong for the roles, or wrong together. The cowboy was as dull as dirt.
I'm glad Northpole has already debuted so we don't have to see anymore ads for it -- too much hype.
As for Nine Lives of Christmas, it had some genuinely funny moments -- like the shopping cart in the parking lot and the mistletoe scene. Hopefully you will watch it in full. I don't think you have to be a cat person to like it -- Tracy/OHBelle said she is not a cat person at all, but she really enjoyed it!
I was very surprised that I enjoyed Nine Lives of Christmas, as I am not a fan of cats. So far, it is my favorite movie of the new season of Hallmark Christmas movies.

Jamie -- Don't miss recording The Christmas Ornament, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Let it Snow and A Very Merry Mix-Up, all of which are airing over the course of the next few days. They are 100 times better than some of this year's new ones!
Have a great trip!
I'll be back in a short bit to comment on recent posts that have come in, but I just had to give a quick Hallmark movie review/commentary for my other Hallmark Christmas movie-watchin' peeps out there...
Angels and Ornaments (which I finally just watched this morning) ......
What a special little movie this was/is. Its is not a comedic romantic story, and it has a bit more of a serious tone (though not in a depressing, somber way), but it is wonderful. It has a couple of slow sections in it, and it takes some patience to get through those slower moments. Plus, the Harold character (who, for some reason, reminds me of Matthew Broderick) is a bit quirky -- and he takes some getting used to. Also, the woman's singing voice (which we get to hear quite often) is merely pleasant, but not great -- although the music in the movie is beautiful.
But if you can stick through the slower moments, the awkwardness of Harold and the not-great singing voice of the lead actress, the movie pays off overall. I guess that I must not have been expecting much from it because I was not thrilled with Northpole, nor was I thrilled with One Starry Christmas, and I was not tremendously impressed with A Cookie Cutter Christmas. So when a certain twist/development in Angels and Ornaments began to reveal itself mid-way through, I was actually surprised! It wasn't a smack-you-in-the-face sort of twist like in The Sixth Sense or anything, but it was a nice subtle development that I didn't see coming because I was thinking the movie would go in a different direction.
Much like The Christmas Ornament from last year, Angels and Ornaments is a quiet movie that kind of grew on me as it went along, and I wasn't sure what my ultimate feeling would be... but I ended up liking all of the lead characters -- even awkward Harold -- and by the end of the movie I decided I loved it!!
So, my current rankings of the 2014 Hallmark movies (and there are still 8 more new ones coming up through December 14th) are:
1. Nine Lives of Christmas;
2. Angels and Ornaments (this would have tied with Nine Lives for the #1 spot if it didn't have the slower moments in it);
3. A Cookie Cutter Christmas (A fairly distant 3rd place position, I should add -- it wasn't anywhere near as good -- for me and my tastes -- as the first 2 on the list, and it could have been a lot better);
4. One Starry Christmas (with different actors it could have been better -- and this one only gets a very slight edge over Northpole); and
5. Northpole (I neither loved nor hated this movie, but it was pretty to look at in certain spots and I think that a lot of other people might love it -- it was hyped and promoted too much and that annoyed me, but I think it would be a good family film... It seemed more like an ABC movie than a Hallmark movie to me).
I just got done watching Angels and Ornaments. I really enjoyed it. I found Harold's "awkwardness" endearing. I think I liked the quietness of it, after all the bells and whistles of Northpole. I had to grab for the tissues a couple of times. It was really sweet movie. I did not have the issue with the lead characters singing that you did Sherry. I thought she was quite good (but that could be because I can't sing a lick!

So my rankings so far this season are:
1. Nine Lives of Christmas
2. Angels and Ornaments
3. Northpole
4. Cookie Cutter Christmas (my second viewing of it really downgraded my opinion.)
5. One Starry Christmas
Spots one and two are far above spots 3, 4, and 5. Hallmark is 2 for 5 this season in my opinion. Here's hoping to more top notch movies the rest of the season.
