Hallmark Movies ❤️ comfort & joy

I liked the Ashley Williams movie better than her sister's but I do wish they had not separate their stories the way they did. Hard to imagine the women wanting to be the star of their own movie so I doubt it was something they chose.

I skip the royalty movies as I stated previously. So far, I believe my favorite if A Dickens Christmas but I adore Kristofer Palaha and Brooke D'orsay so that may have a lot to do with my opinion of the movie.

I did enjoy Nine Kittens and thought it was pretty funny when Marilee called Zachary a "Superhero" - may be a play on the actor's previous role of Superman. He wasn't a popular Superman but I liked him.
 
Remember this movie from last year with Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes, where he's a prince stuck in town due to a snow storm and her family owns the inn he stayed at?

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This is pretty much the only royalty movie I like. With all the other ones, the parental monarch is the one causing problems and won't let their child marry a commoner. In this movie, though, the queen is really down-to-earth. It's the prince that has the problem.
 
ETA: We mostly stream, so we haven't seen most of the newer movies. We were on vacation when we started watching them, so we saw our first couple on the condo's dish service. That caused us to come home and start searching out Hallmark Christmas movies.


@Twilight Sparkle I totally forgot, there is also the Frndly TV app. (Not a typo.) It starts at $6.99/mo. $8.99/mo gives the ability to DVR unlimited movies and save them for 90 days. The $10.99 plan saves saves movies for 9 months.. If you get the $8.99 service you can start recording all the Christmas movies now and take 90 days to watch them all. By then, you and your daughter will probably be over the holiday mood. :lmao:

https://try.frndlytv.com/

The Frndly TV app has all 3 Hallmark Channels. Only 2 have the all the Christmas movies: the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Different movies on each channel. (Hallmark Drama only has really old TV series like Little House on the Prairie. NO newer content at all. Same for Hallmark's own streaming service called Hallmark Movies Now - NOT really current movies now or live TV.)

The Frndly TV app also has the new GAC Family channel which streams more Hallmark-ish new movies. The former CEO of the Hallmark Channel started GAC Family about a month ago. Many Hallmark actors are now filming movies for GAC Family. More movies for everyone! :cloud9:
 
I liked the Ashley Williams movie better than her sister's but I do wish they had not separate their stories the way they did. Hard to imagine the women wanting to be the star of their own movie so I doubt it was something they chose.

I read about a year ago that they were in the works to create a Hallmark project together. That was the first time I found out they were sisters, and of course, was floored. :eek:

I wonder if Hallmark couldn't pay their salaries to star in a movie together? :scratchin So they split up the movie, thinking this way, if each one starred in their own movie, they could make the money back later via all the commercials and re-runs.
 
I read about a year ago that they were in the works to create a Hallmark project together. That was the first time I found out they were sisters, and of course, was floored. :eek:

I wonder if Hallmark couldn't pay their salaries to star in a movie together? :scratchin So they split up the movie, thinking this way, if each one starred in their own movie, they could make the money back later via all the commercials and re-runs.
They did produce them, along with Ashleys husband, so I am sure they had a lot of say in how the movies were made.
 
There's several full movies on YouTube. The free YouTube, not the paid YouTube TV service. Just type in Hallmark movie in the search. Some of them are misnamed, named simply or missing the opening credits. And the time length is usually 1:40:00 or something like that, so you know it's a full movie.

Also YouTube has some Hallmark movies that are free with ads.
Thank you! I'll have to read through this thread to see which movies were the favorites and then search for them. I appreciate the tip!
 
@Twilight Sparkle I totally forgot, there is also the Frndly TV app. (Not a typo.) It starts at $6.99/mo. $8.99/mo gives the ability to DVR unlimited movies and save them for 90 days. The $10.99 plan saves saves movies for 9 months.. If you get the $8.99 service you can start recording all the Christmas movies now and take 90 days to watch them all. By then, you and your daughter will probably be over the holiday mood. :lmao:

https://try.frndlytv.com/

The Frndly TV app has all 3 Hallmark Channels. Only 2 have the all the Christmas movies: the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Different movies on each channel. (Hallmark Drama only has really old TV series like Little House on the Prairie. NO newer content at all. Same for Hallmark's own streaming service called Hallmark Movies Now - NOT really current movies now or live TV.)

The Frndly TV app also has the new GAC Family channel which streams more Hallmark-ish new movies. The former CEO of the Hallmark Channel started GAC Family about a month ago. Many Hallmark actors are now filming movies for GAC Family. More movies for everyone! :cloud9:
Thank you! That is a new app to me. I've never heard of it before now. I'll check it out!
 
My favorite royalty movies are still the original older ones Hallmark made:

Crown for Christmas with Danica McKeller. (Not to be confused with a new Lifetime movie out this year that has a similar title, Christmas with a Crown.)

A Royal Christmas with Lacey Chabert & Jane Seymour

A Princess for Christmas with Katie McGrath and Sam Heugan (who is now in the Outlander series.)

A Royal Winter with Merritt Patterson.


Honorable mentions:

Royal Matchmaker with Joy Lenz and Will Kemp
She was hired to be a matchmaker for the prince and falls for him herself.

Once Upon a Holiday with Briana Evigan and Paul Campbell
She "escaped" her security detail to just be "ordinary" for a while.

Royal Hearts with James Brolin and Cindy Busby
Brolin turned out to be the ornery, reluctant new King.
 
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If you have Peacock (there's a free tier), they've gotten into the Hallmark-esque movie thing now. Watched Jingle Bell Princess last night and it was pretty good. Typical royal out of water story, but Peacock did manage to poach Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan away from Hallmark for it.


Ooo! I didn't know Peacock has a free tier. :tongue: Off to get it!
 
If you have Peacock (there's a free tier), they've gotten into the Hallmark-esque movie thing now. Watched Jingle Bell Princess last night and it was pretty good. Typical royal out of water story, but Peacock did manage to poach Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan away from Hallmark for it.


I'm looking at Peacock's free tier to see what they have. :magnify:

I was a bit confused when you said they have Jingle Bell Princess with Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan, because that's a new GAC Family channel movie. Turns out the two networks, (Peacock is NBC,) must have made a deal, as almost ALL the new GAC Family movies are available on the free Peacock tier! :teleport: :woohoo:

No credit card required to sign up for a free Peacock account. Just an email address to verify your account. (I used a spam account I have, in case they inundate me later with emails. :headache: )

Only one GAC Family movies seems to be missing from the Peacock free tier, (listed near the end.) I haven't seen the first movies I listed. And I gave my opinions/reviews of the ones I saw. However, as always, your tastes may vary. :) I find these movies better than Lifetime movies. So, my recommendation is to watch them first over Lifetime movies. And they are all known Hallmark actors.


Royally Wrapped for Christmas starring Jen Lilley & Brendan Fehr.
Description: While interviewing for a job with the royal family of Veronia, Lindsay falls in love with a prince.

Christmas is You starring Becca Tobin, Matthew MacCaul.
Description: Emma Bloom's record label boss gives her an ultimatum: convince her ex-boyfriend and recording star Tyler Thorn to leave his label and join theirs, or find another job.

A Christmas Miracle for Daisy starring Jill Wagner and Nick Bateman
Description: An interior designer is excited to begin a new project in her adopted hometown. Her enthusiasm is tested as she discovers that her clients are an ex-boyfriend and his daughter.


Jingle Bell Princess with Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan. (Kutos to @Disneefun for bringing all this to our attention. :flower3: )
Description: Princess Amelia's royal jet is grounded due to a snowstorm, and she finds herself spending the holidays with an airline employee and her son.

(I found Merritt too reserverd. And she kept falling in and out of her accent. I prefer the warm, open, bubbly Merritt in her other movies. So, while she got to play a different type of character, it wasn't one I liked her in. The movie itself was alright. Typical royal movie.)

The Great Christmas Switch starring Sarah Lind & Dillon Casey.
Description: Twin sisters who live in different towns agree to switch lives.

(I liked this movie. I thought Sarah Lind did a good job.)

Christmas Time is Here
starring Rukiya Bernard, Dewshane Williams.
Description: (Rukiya), a successful small-town realtor, has her heart set on closing a big sale on a new resort for her client, (Dewshane) in her hometown just in time for Christmas. There is one hitch. No matter how many properties she shows Dewshane, he keeps coming back to the one resort she doesn't want to sell…the one belonging to Nia’s widower dad - one she can't let go of.

These two were previously paired in a Hallmark trilogy starring Taylor Cole, where she and BFF (Rukiya) were spending a week at a ski lodge, only to find half the lodge was booked by the male lead and BFF (Dewshane.)

(I like this pairing. I think they did well in this movie of the big, bad corporation wanting to buy and destroy the local inn. They both played their roles very intelligently.)


A Lot Like Christmas
starring Maggie Lawson and Christopher Russell.
Description: A small-town Christmas tree lot owner finds her business in jeopardy when a big-box store moves into town.

(I watched. It was okay. The mother was annoyingly stupid. )

A Kindhearted Christmas
starring Jennie Garth and Cameron Mathison.
Description: Jennie owns a sightseeing company in a small town. Watching TV, she learns about a high school’s fundraising effort and makes a big anonymous donation. Her town catches the giving sprint, and the TV station’s anchorman (Cameron) drops in trying to find who the Secret Santa is.

(As much as I love to watch Cameron Mathison in anything, I found Jennie kind of wooden in this one.)

Much Ado About Christmas starring Susie Abromeit & Torrance Coombs.
Typical cookie cutter, royalty Christmas movie, but with the female lead as the "royal" one.
(I recommend skipping through the first 35 min until after the snow ball fight. The beginning is way over acted, and badly. It does get better after that. But, it is still only an "okay" movie in my opinion, compared to GACs later movies and some better Lifetime movies.)


The GAC Family movie free Peacock currently doesn't have:
Angel Falls Christmas with Chad Michael Murray & Jessica Lowndes. I wonder if Chad's contract forbids his movie being streamed. And if it is, he gets mega bucks. So this might not be shown on Peacock on the free tier but on the paid tier? :scratchin


Also, Peacock has a some Christmas comedy movies. Definitely NOT Hallmark-type "family oriented" movies. They seem geared toward the 20s - 30s crowd, with a younger, hipper, more adult subject vibe. One preview showed college kids on spring break, and a girl later finding out she's pregnant. In another movie, a girl made a salad dressing laced with marijuana and it was accidentally given to the wrong people at a dinner by her unknowing father (Tom Arnold.) So, watch the previews carefully to see if they are family appropriate for watching with your family. :eek: :blush: :headache:
 
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I'm looking at Peacock's free tier to see what they have. :magnify:

I was a bit confused when you said they have Jingle Bell Princess with Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan, because that's a new GAC Family channel movie. Turns out the two networks, (Peacock is NBC,) must have made a deal, as almost ALL the new GAC Family movies are available on the free Peacock tier! :teleport: :woohoo:

Huh. We don't have GAC so I didn't know about that, but I did get curious and apparently GAC is owned by the former president of Crown Media, AKA, the parent of Hallmark Channel. Evidently he's taken his time at Hallmark (he left after some controversy that's too political to get into here) and applied it to GAC and is making movies, plus poaching their stars. This article (https://www.tvinsider.com/1020450/what-is-gac-family-channel-where-to-watch-movies-shows-stars/) says this:

"Several Hallmark Channel alumni are making their way to the new family network, including Danica McKellar, who signed an exclusive deal with the channel to star in and executive produce four new movies through 2023. Hallmark’s Home & Family hosts Cameron Mathison and Debbie Matenopoulos will now host the Welcome to Great American Christmas special, along with Loughlin and many others.

Other familiar Hallmark faces fans can expect to see in this year’s GAC Family holiday lineup include Nick Bateman, Rukiya Bernard, Cindy Busby, Sara Canning, Dillon Casey, Torrance Coombs, Trevor Donovan, Brendan Fehr, Jennie Garth, Maggie Lawson, Jen Lilley, Sarah Lind, Daniel Lissing, Jessica Lowndes, Matthew MacCaull, Chad Michael Murray, Sam Page, Merritt Patterson, Christopher Russell, Becca Tobin, Jill Wagner, and Dewshane Williams."


Ah, Hollywood. Such a small world after all. According to this tweet, the deal must be between the studio that makes the movies and peacock, not GAC and peacock.

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic...pecials/page/63/?tab=comments#comment-7091884

Well, that was an interesting deep dive into the murky waters or Hollywood production.
 
Ah, Hollywood. Such a small world after all. According to this tweet, the deal must be between the studio that makes the movies and peacock, not GAC and peacock.

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic...pecials/page/63/?tab=comments#comment-7091884


Interesting. GAC probably didn't want to pay for the streaming rights. But, that little loophole left the opening for Peacock to stream the movies the same day they air on GAC Family.

Their mistake is our (free) gain this year. I suspect, by next Christmas season, they will secure the streaming rights or switched studios to film with. Although, I don't see it as a loss for them right now. As you said, many of us don't get the GAC channel to watch the movies and whether they are of quality to pay for the Frndly app or other ways to watch. This gives us a month's worth of movies to watch and decide.

Next spring, when the Christmas movies are over and there are only a couple new movies on Hallmark each week, and Lifetime has gone back to it's serial killer neighbor movies, for me, the GAC movies are turning into a decent addition for Hallmark-type movies.
 
Tis the Season to be Merry with Rachael Leigh Cook looks like it has potential.

Rachael Leigh Cook was just on Entertainment Tonight. She said they finished filming the movie literally only a few weeks ago. (Hallmark movies usually take 3 weeks to film.)
 












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