HALLMARK CHANNEL'S APRIL and MAY 2021 “New Movies In Bloom”

Lots of well known Hallmark stars will be on our screens in April and May - Jocelyn Hudon (When Hope Calls), Steve Lund (Unlocking Christmas), Lacey Chabert (Christmas Waltz), Tyler Hynes (It Was Always You), and Cindy Busby (Chasing Waterfalls).

*The May movies are under the new Hallmark Channel theme - “New Movies In Bloom!”
Stay tuned for any future updates and see all the current movie details below...


HALLMARK CHANNEL'S 2021 APRIL and MAY MOVIE PREMIERES:


Hearts Down Under

Starring: Cindy Busby and Tim Ross

Previously Titled: Romance on the Menu

Premieres: Saturday, April 24, 2021 at 9 p.m. PT/ET.

Storyline: New York restaurateur Caroline (Busby) inherits a café in Lemon Myrtle Cove, Australia. While there, she begins to fall in love with the place and its people, particularly Simon (Ross), the café’s charming local chef.

Reviews:

☀"I just saw hearts down under and thought it was very cute!" ~Anonymous

☀"Hearts Down Under is family-friendly. I don't have time to give a detailed review, but overall I enjoyed it with just a few eye-roll moments of silliness." :-) ~Alicia


☀"We had held off from watching Hearts Down Under as there were a good number of poor reviews of it. In retrospect most of these seem to have come from Australians for why I don't know. Really loved this movie. For me the most important aspect is the interaction between the leads and they were a great couple here, they fit together so well. This was one of Cindy Busby's best roles and Tim Ross whom I have never heard of before was superb. (Loved the dog!) I really enjoyed the Australian setting and scenery and the fact that the secondary actors were all mostly Australian (it was filmed there) made the movie authentic. Although it wasn't initially filmed as a Hallmark movie it flowed seemlessly as their best ones do. There were some different and interesting situations too - a few oddball ones which however were mostly amusing. Right at the end they kept teasing us - a couple of times you thought the denouement was about to happen but something intervened. SPOILER ALERT When Caroline kept the cafe operating and flew home to the US to her own business promising to return the next month I had it all sussed out - she would arrive back having kissed goodbye to her old life and decided to make a new one in Australia with Simon but no..... This is where the movie went off the rails - we've gone back over the ending several times and it's defiitely unambiguous. Simon follows her to New York and this what he says to Caroline in their last scene: "I know it's insane - I don't know how it can work with you over here and me over there but.... If you're interested I'd like to try" How on earth could a relationship like that work? What is with these endings? - a major disappointment after what was for me a delightful movie." ~Anonymous


☀We watched Hearts Down Under again this weekend - it has turned out to be my favourite movie to date this year. It's one of the best roles Cindy Busby has played. Given that Tim Ross is Australian and Hallmark bought the movie in it's unlikely we're going to see him again which is unfortunate since I think he is my new leading man! Just wish Hallmark could give him a chance maybe as an Australian over in the States on business - selling breeding racehorses maybe? What about it, Hallmark?!! - Florence

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

“New Movies In Bloom”


Baby, It's Cold Inside

Starring: Jocelyn Hudon and Steve Lund

Premieres: Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 9 p.m. PT/ET.

Storyline: When a travel agent up for a promotion is directed to forgo her tropical vacation to instead visit the world-famous Ice Hotel, she discovers her sacrifices are more than compensated.

Reviews:

❆"Just wanted to stop by and let everyone know that Baby, It's Cold Inside is family-friendly! I like both leads, and seeing more ice hotel wonders was delightful, and the story was nice, yet it didn't deeply draw me in like I like. I thought maybe I'm just becoming grumpy and picky, but, then I watched several of the new movies you told us about on BYUtv, Net. One of a Kind Love, Seasoned with Love, and You May Kiss the Bridesmaid all completely charmed me! Somehow, for me, they were more real and natural and engrossing. Glad to know I'm not just broken and unable to enjoy our wonderful, pleasant, cheesy movies anymore!" ;-) ~Alicia

❆"I love both stars in this movie (particularly Steve Lund) but they did not warm up to each other. It isn't surprising to me the ratings were low. First Steve Lund movie that did not hold my interest." ~kitkat

❆ "BABY ITS COLD INSIDE This fell flat for me honestly. The way the story ended was just awkward for me (trying not to spoil, but how Brigitte acted as antagonistic and then switched to changing her mind was just super odd). I didn’t feel the chemistry between the leads. The whole thing just felt “forced”. Steve Lund was the only highlight of this movie for me. Overall, it was very forgettable and uninteresting, although it was family friendly (nothing questionable that I noticed)." ~CH Mom

❆
"Baby It's Cold Inside I'm a big Steve Lund fan and think he is underused by Hallmark. I thought he was looking really well in this movie but I'm afraid the only word to describe it is dull. It was almost as if it was a travelogue - yes the scenery was nice but nothing much happened although the scenes about glass-making were interesting. Jocelyn Hudon is very pretty but she just seemed to go about with a big smile on her face the whole movie and I didn't feel any sparks between her and Steve. There needed to be a bit of oomph - perhaps the receptionist could have been a lot more "evil"? - her role really didn't amount to much. I'd regretfully have to say this was my least favourite Steve Lund movie to date." - Florence

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

Sweet Carolina

Starring: Lacey Chabert and Tyler Hynes

Premieres: Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 9 p.m. PT/ET.

Storyline: Josie (Chabert) is a successful New York marketing executive who returns to her small hometown. While there, she becomes the unexpected guardian of her niece and nephew and reconnects with Cooper (Hynes), her high school boyfriend.


Reviews:

🌹 "I want to caution that "Sweet Carolina" is a story about tragedy and loss. Due to this storyline, it's not a movie I would recommend for young children. I have a feeling this emotional story will pull at our heartstrings and hopefully, be a help to those who are going through a time of grieving." ~Net

🌹 "I watched and enjoyed Sweet Carolina and Cooking Up Love." ~Denise

🌹 "Sweet Carolina was a great blessing to me, even though in the beginning, the tears flowed. I felt the emotions in that family. What a beautiful story! Lacey was outstanding! All the actors were at their best! When actors are so good you feel you are living the story, they have done their jobs well. Would love to see more Hallmark movies with substance. I won't say anymore about Sweet Carolina because so many have not watched. The kids in this are exceptional in their roles. Once again, we see the little girl from The Angel Tree. I agree Net. Would not recommend for young children. That is a must have DVD! This movie is old Hallmark type. Thank you Hallmark!" ~kitkat


🌹  "kitkat, I agree with you all the way with Sweet Carolina. Very emotional at the beginning, and the whole movie is much more dramatic than most Hallmark movies. I thought Lacey and Cassidy Nugent (the little girl) were simply outstanding - very touching performances! And yes, I would love to see more movies like this!" ~Mark 25


🌹  "Sweet Carolina I'd have to say that I prefer the light-hearted RomComs that Hallmark can turn out so seamlessly.

I wouldn't say that I didn't quite enjoy this but Lacey in particular has made some outstanding movies recently and this doesn't just hit the same mark.

Yes there was chemistry between Lacey and Tyler but certainly not to the same extent as in Winter In Vail.

The romance between them was lacking in definition and a bit low-key - I suppose because of the extra attention on the family drama, it needed more depth.

It was nice to see several secondary Hallmark actors here.

If you asked anyone who Peter Benson was they'd probably look at you blankly but you instantly recognise his face - I wonder if in total he might have appeared in more Hallmark Movies than any other actor?

I didn't really like Gregory Harrison as the father - I thought he was unnecessarily cruel to Josie for most of the movie. I didn't buy into the whole "I love you, I always have" speech towards the end. Im afraid I just thought he was selfish and always wanted his own way.

Some of the situations were a bit cringe-worthy - the one for example where Josie took her nephew's new girlfrind to task at the dance when she just happened to be talking to another guy. I can see that they were trying to convey her inexperience at parenting - no wonder the girl looked at her as if she'd gone mad, it was just so embarrassing and suspended belief.

I notice that Peter Benson was the director. I wonder if this was his first experience? - it was a reasonable effort but I felt it was a bit loose in places and could have been tightened up.

It wasn't a bad movie at all just not exactly my cup of tea. As others have pointed out you wouldn't want younger children to watch this." ~ Florence


🌹 "Thank you, Florence (comment above), for sharing your review for "Sweet Carolina." I've been feeling rather mixed on this one. Your review really spoke to a lot of my own concerns with the movie: Josie talking to the girl about liking her nephew, Ben (totally strange & awkward), Josie's father constantly giving her the cold shoulder (even after the death of his other daughter), and generally the way the entire family seemed to rush into returning to everyday life after unexpectedly loosing two very special young people in their close-knit family.

It seemed strange to me how the children immediately went back to school, the girl playing basketball and the boy, playing in his band for the school dance. I know normalcy is good, but it seemed rather quick for them to be out having fun after just loosing both parents, especially so suddenly.

According to IMDB, this is Peter Benson's 6th directing credit. I knew he had done one of the "Aurora Teagarden" movies (Heist and Seek), but I wasn't sure about how many others. His other Hallmark directing credit is "Crossword Mysteries: Terminal Descent."

I also felt the relationship between Josie and Coach Cooper was not fully developed. Even the end final scene between the two seems a bit uncomfortable. After the kiss, just before the credits roll, if you look close, Lacey seems to pull away, but Tyler is still holding on and she seems almost forced to stay in the embrace. It's not cringe-worthy, but it looks uneasy and a bit strained. You kinda just want someone to yell "Cut!"

I've also heard plenty of comments about Tyler's hair, mostly people not liking the slicked back look. I would have to agree there, as I prefer the cleaned cut look best - like how his hair was in "Falling for You."

While I like Lacey and thought her acting was excellent, especially her reaction after receiving the awful call, I must say, I also prefer her in lighthearted type Hallmark movies. Instead of feeling sad, I just like a movie that leaves me feeling good inside." ~Net


🌹  "SWEET CAROLINA I liked this one. I didn’t love love it but it was a good movie. It was definitely different than regular Hallmark offering, in a good way. It was a tearjerker in the beginning for sure. I felt for Josie (Lacey’s character) and how she was trying her best to help but kept failing. This was more of a family movie than romance though. The storyline was definitely focused more on the family’s relationship dealing with grief and loss, as opposed to Josie and Cooper’s love story. Tyler Hynes was amazing as always but I wished that the love story was more developed." ~CH Mom

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

Hope you're looking forward to the new movies premiering in April and May!

If you want to share a review - please do so in comments below.

Update: I have seen "Hearts Down Under" - it is very sweet and family friendly! I especially loved the adorable dog, Spats (short for Spatula)! Also, see reviews for "Baby, It's Cold Inside" and "Sweet Carolina" above.

Blessings, Net

*images via: Hallmark Crown Media & Romance on the Menu Facebook Page