We Just Saw A Movie

Would you trust a maid who lets a random chimney sweep into your child's bedroom?  Everyone in this movie apparently did! We're back with a review of Mary Poppins Returns! 

It's our first episode of trailer talk of 2019! In this episode, we're joined once again by our buddy Kate to talk about the trailer for the Bryan Cranston/Kevin Hart comedy, The Upside. 

We're back with our first episode of 2019!  After a month of nothing but the Hallmark Channel, a big budget superhero movie for dummies was almost a relief. In this episode we're joined by our buddy (and Jason Momoa superfan) Kate to review Aquaman. 

Merry Christmas! We close out this year's 25 Days of Christmas with the Hallmark Channel movie Mingle All the Way. We review the movie plus we sneak in a mini-review of The Polar Express. This is our last episode of 2018, but we close it out with a quick preview of what's to come in 2019 (rest assured we'll be back and better than ever!)  Here's the IMDB description for Mingle All the Way: ""Mingle All the Way" is a new networking app designed to pair busy professionals together for upcoming events, without long-term romance. Molly, founder of the app, is determined to prove to her family that it is a success. Therefore, she joins the app, and meets another busy professional, Jeff. When Molly and Jeff are matched, they are both horrified to realize they've already had not one, but two disastrous previous encounters. Nevertheless, they agree to stay matched for all their respective upcoming holiday engagements. As the pair gets closer, perhaps their business arrangement might turn into something more this holiday season." We hope every single one of you has a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holidays and/or a Happy New Year! 

We're back for our first episode as an officially married couple to review our next-to-last Christmas movie of 2018's 25 Days of Christmas, the Hallmark Channel's Merry Matrimony. We review the film plus talk about the wedding crasher we had at our wedding.  Here's the description of today's movie from IMDB: "An ad exec for a fashion magazine lands her dream assignment to organize the perfect Christmas wedding. Just one thing. The photographer she's been partnered with is her ex-boyfriend. She's got to bring her A game, while working through unresolved feelings." 

Another day, another Hallmark Channel movie about a woman falling in love with the prince of a fake country at Christmas. Here's the IMDB description of the movie we reviewed today, Christmas at the Palace: "Katie, a former professional ice skater (Patterson), is hired by the king of San Senova, Alexander, to help his daughter in a Christmas ice skating performance. As Katie spends time in the castle and with the king, she and Alex begin to develop feelings for each other and ultimately fall in love. But will the tradition-loving people of San Senova allow their king to make a foreigner their queen?"

As our 25 Days of Christmas roll on, we've got our first Hallmark Channel movie where punctuation plays an important role in the title. Today we review "It's Christmas, Eve" starring LeeAnn Rimes. Here's the description from IMDB: "Interim school superintendent Eve Morgan finds herself in a tough spot when she is assigned to shut down a school's failing music program and must come to terms with her musical past." 

The horrors of shoe addiction are on full display in this Hallmark Channel Christmas movie called "A Shoe Addict's Christmas." Starring Candace Cameron Bure, the shoe addiction barely plays a role in the movie.  Here's the description from IMDB: "Noelle, a holiday hater who toils in a department store in which she is accidentally locked on Christmas Eve. There, she meets a woman who identifies herself as Noelle's guardian angel and introduces her to several "ghosts" of Christmases past, present, and future."

In the three years of doing our 25 Days of Christmas, we have our first Hallmark Channel sequel. In today's episode we review Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa. Here's the description from IMDB: "When Lisa (Wagner) takes a last-minute Christmas trip to her hometown of Evergreen, she finds that the historic general store has been closed. Using her skills as a professional retail designer, Lisa decides to keep local tradition alive and help the good people of Evergreen bring the store back to life. As Lisa charms a local contractor named Kevin (Deklin) into working with her, the pair find themselves facing one surprise after another as they restore the store to its former glory. When the staff at the Kringle Kitchen temporarily accept the store's beloved 'Mailbox to Santa' for safekeeping, the townspeople find and rally around a mysterious 25-year-old letter that never made it to the North Pole. As old traditions are made new again, Lisa finds herself falling for Kevin, the traditions, and the town of Evergreen." 

In today's episode we review Christmas in Love, another Hallmark Channel movie that explores two elements often ignored in these films: baking and love.  Here's the description from IMDB: "Ellie Hartman is an aspiring crafter working in her small town's bakery making famous Christmas Kringles. When the new, big-city CEO Nick Carlingson visits the bakery, he arrives filled with modernization ideas destined to lay off many employees. During his visit, Ellie is to teach Nick how to make a Kringle, and determined to show him it's the people who make the business a success, not machines. Nick meets more of the employees and townspeople, visits the food bank and begins to see all the kindness that is shared, and he begins to soften - though not convinced automation isn't better. Struggling with chasing her own entrepreneurial dreams, Ellie begins to fall for Nick but not before feeling betrayed when she inadvertently sees Nick's laptop filled with automation plans. When Nick finally tells the employees his future ideas for the company, Ellie must decide if she should trust him, but more importantly, whether to take a leap of faith in making her own dreams come true."

How long would it take to bake cookies for something known as a cookie crawl? A few hours, tops, right? Even not knowing what a cookie crawl is, that would be your guess wouldn't it?  FORGET THAT.  According to today's movie we reviewed from the Hallmark Channel, cookie crawl prep would take weeks on end. In today's episode we review Christmas Joy. Here's the description from IMDB: "She's a corporate market researcher, gunning for a promotion within her firm. Just as her company's CEO is taking notice, Joy finds out her Aunt Ruby has broken her ankle and will be undergoing surgery. Despite the less than opportune timing, Joy makes her way back home to Crystal Falls, NC to be with her Aunt. Stars seem to be aligned as Joy sees her former crush, Ben Andrews, while at the hospital. At first, Joy is focused solely on helping her Aunt heal; even taking over her position as chair of the local Cookie Crawl competition. Eventually, she begins to let Ben in and remembers there's no place like home for the holidays. The pair work together on the Cookie Crawl to make the event a success."

Today's episode finds us following the tradition of the "Road to.." movies of Hope and Crosby in the form of Michael Murray and Schram. We review the Hallmark Channel's "Road to Christmas."  The description, from IMDB: "A TV producer is producing a Christmas Special for the 5th year but she is then told to co-produce it with the host's son. Initially, she's not too happy about it but - Christmas brings friends and families together."

In the latest episode of our 25 Days of Christmas, we review Christmas at Pemberley Manor, another Hallmark Channel classic. Here's the description from IMDB: "Loosely based (editor's note: you ain't kiddin') on Pride and Prejudice, event planner Elizabeth Bennet is initially at odds with Mr. Darcy, the owner of Pemberley Manor, which she intends to be the venue of her next event, but soon finds herself irresistibly attracted to him."

We take a break from the mind-numbing monotony of the Hallmark Christmas movies to review The Grinch. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a green dog-like human who can't seem to meet a man who likes Christmas but has 25 days to find one who likes to bake cookies and decorate trees and OH MY GOD THIS ONE IS ALSO LIKE A HALLMARK MOVIE SOMEHOW!  Just kidding. It's just another adaptation of the Grinch, this time without the horrifying Jim Carrey prosthetics. 

This...was a weird one.  "A Bride for Christmas" is a 2012 Hallmark Christmas movie about a woman who leaves guys at the alter being courted by a guy who can't commit. Aside from the guy getting teased by his guy friends for an inability to commit (a conversation that's never happened in the history of guys hanging out), but one of the character jokingly says she's gay in the first ten minutes. That may not be odd for real life or even a normal movie, but in the Hallmark universe, this sort of thing is rare. They never say whether she was being honest or joking and this really bothered Elizabeth for some reason. She goes on an Internet crusade mid-episode to figure out whether or not the character was actually gay.  Do we ever get to the bottom of a single supporting character's sexual orientation? Tune into find out.