Its a Wonderful Movie - Your Guide to Family and Christmas Movies on TV: May 2024

Christmas in July

is Coming!!!

Santa is back to work this July after his vacay!

The Hallmark Channel revealed an early sneak peek of their Christmas in July event, with an early promo (frankly, I felt like a kid- peeking at my Christmas gifts early!), but now the network has fully unwrapped their schedule - see below!

Plus, I've added the new Hallmark Mystery July movie premiere - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" - to this post!

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HALLMARK CHANNEL PREMIERES:

“Falling Like Snowflakes”

Premieres: Saturday, June 29, 2024

Stars: Rebecca Dalton, Marcus Rosner

A photographer (Dalton), determined to complete her exhibit by capturing a rare photo of a 12-sided snowflake, enlists the help of a childhood friend (Rosner) and they go on a mission they’ll never forget.

Movie Reviews:

📷❄ Falling like Snowflakes is clean, and so adorable! -Maria

📷❄Review: Falling Like Snowflakes -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Keeper? No -

The word that comes to mind for this movie is, unfortunately, bland. A rather boring plot (trying to find a 12-sided snowflake) together with Rebecca Dalton's sub-par acting, just didn't do anything for me. And on top of that, there were some major problems in this movie (Note: SPOILERS AHEAD):

* Didn't Rebecca look a little too nice for venturing out into a heavy snowstorm? Perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect clothing...it looked like she was going to a magazine shoot.
* When Suzanne is out in the cold, you can see her breadth, but never when Rebecca and Marcus are out in the cold.
* And the whole plot with Suzanne seemed unnecessary and anticlimactic. She never really seemed to be a threat. And she misses out because her photos are blurry? Really?
* For someone who wanted to find and take a picture of the rare snowflake, Rebecca sure seemed to give up quickly on finding her camera (and she didn't even seem all that upset over losing it...or was this just the subpar acting I mentioned before?).

So, this is a skipper for me! ~Mark 25

📷❄ Falling Like Snowflakes was so bad. A major snow storm and it is snowing with blue skies and the sun out. The snow plow looks like it just came from thd factory. He hits black ice and hit the brakes which is some you never and get stuck in less than an inch of snow. The music was so loud. ~Anonymous

📷❄ I really enjoyed Falling Like Snowflakes! It was family friendly, the scenery and Christmas decor were very nice and I thought Rebecca and Marcus were super cute together. I agree with Mark25, they should have drew it out a little further with Suzanne, like maybe her stealing the photo or sabotaging in some way, just because it drew me in not knowing who would get to the snowflake first, and then I was left wanting more from that aspect. I liked the daughter and friend/coworker in the film, I would watch again come Christmas time. ~Paula

📷❄ I watched Falling Like Snowflakes, and it was just ok....I'm glad I watched it, but it was a one and done. I thought Rebecca and Marcus were cute together, but yeah the plot holes were a little bit much. The whole plot with the other photographer didn't make much sense. Also based on what they were talking with needing to be in the "eye" of the blizzard to get this photo of a 12 sided snowflake, they were not ever in a "blizzard". It just felt like it was rushly made. ~Sarah

📷❄ Falling Like Snowflakes - As for the "Falling Like Snowflakes" movie, my suggestion is to watch the promo and skip it. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have that special warm feeling and it actually feels more wintery and less Christmassy! Some of the acting is even a little stiff from supporting cast members. ~Net

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“Three Wise Men and a Baby: Extended Cut” – television premiere

Premieres: Saturday, July 6, 2024

Stars: Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, Margaret Colin

Three brothers (Campbell, Hynes, Walker) get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays.

Movie Review:

🎄 FYI - I did watch the extended versions of A Holiday Spectacular and Three Wise Men and a Baby on Hallmark Movies Now. While the extended version of A Holiday Spectacular included a subplot about one of the other dancer's relationship to her parents (which neither improved nor weakened the original version, which I consider one of the best of the '22 season), I couldn't tell what new scenes were added to Three Wise Men and a Baby." ~Mark 25

🎄 Still watching Three Wise Men and a Baby right now, but was surprised to see the grocery store scene. The 2 Brothers are walking through with the baby and a girl walks by and congratulates them on their sweet family...didn't think I saw anyone mention that in the reviews. Maybe it's only in the extended cut? ~Anonymous

🎄 I’ll be deleting the extended cut of Three Wise Men and a Baby and sticking to my dvd of the original presentation. I just read this on tvinsider website where they list all the slight differences in the extended version: --- “One of the movie’s iconic scenes is the one in which Stephan and Taylor brave a superstore to buy Thomas diapers. However, the extended edition adds in a completely new scene in which the pair is mistakenly identified as a gay couple by a fellow shopper who Taylor was attempting to hit on.” ---
In my opinion, that scene has Paul Campbell’s name written all over it; and thankfully someone cut it out in the original movie. The other 4-5 briefly extended scenes sound like they’re not objectionable, but they also don’t sound like they add anything important to the movie. ~~Jane

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“Rescuing Christmas” – television premiere

Premieres: Saturday, July 13, 2024

Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Sam Page

Erin (Cook) is granted three Christmas wishes – with her final wish being that Christmas would just disappear. And to her bewilderment, it does! Can potential suitor Sam (Page) help her bring back Christmas?

Movie Reviews:

🎄 Rescuing Christmas is clean, and so, much, fun!!! Seriously, what was Hallmark thinking shunting this delightful flick to it's streaming service?! I hope they decide to air it like they've done in years past. Everyone deserves to see this! –Maria

🎄 Review: Rescuing Christmas -
Family-friendly? A couple of d____its, but otherwise, yes -
Recommend? No -

This movie was just too "out there" for me. While it has some fun - and funny - moments, and the message of putting others before yourself certainly is a right-on one, the two adult elves were way too ridiculous and tiresome, and I have a problem when someone talks about finding the "true meaning of Christmas" without referencing Jesus. Rachel and Sam were okay in their roles, but nothing exciting. One to skip. ~Mark 25

🎄 Rescuing Christmas - This movie is wholesome, fun, and family-friendly and the leads, Rachael Leigh Cook and Sam Page, are both delightful, but I agree with Mark, the real meaning of Christmas is unfortunately never recognized. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a religious movie here, but when the characters keep saying over and over again they are searching for the real meaning of Christmas, I found myself wanting to shout at the TV - it's Jesus!!!

The movie can be rather silly, at times, but if you like a little North Pole, Santa-type magic, then this movie is for you! The romance is sweet, sprinkled with lighthearted humor. Some of the characters are eccentric and quirky, too, but that also adds to their charm. Overall, if you like magical Christmas stories, then you’ll likely enjoy this, but if the standard classics based in reality are your style, then you’ll want to skip it. ~Net

🎄 Rescuing Christmas. Such a waste of Talent. I wonder how much choice actors and actresses have in the films they appear in. ~JoCo

🎄 Rescuing Christmas. Agree with Net and Mark 25 on this one. I’m not a fan of Santa movies or magic movies but I really, really like the two leads in this one and, even though the movie was way more than a bit odd and too silly for me, I kept going with it because it was still kind of cute and fluffy and fun and I could see a sweet romance brewing. But I chose to hit the brakes when they were desperately trying to explain “Christmas” to people who had never heard of it before (since Rachael had wished it into non-existence – eye roll – as if!!). I think secular Christmas movies are fine, fluffy, warm things, but when this one blatantly went out of its way – over and over and over again – to ignore/erase the True meaning of Christmas, that’s when I decided this movie was not worth watching. At one point they even have a huge blackboard with all kinds of things written about Christmas to maybe jog people’s memories, things like Santa and reindeer names. Below the word Christmas they write “Kris – mus” and “Krist – mahs” and talk about Kris Kringle and St. Nick. This is the point where I actually did yell at the tv: ‘It’s Christ Mass. A celebration of the birth of Christ. A celebration of Emmanuel, God with us. A celebration of spiritual communion and reconciliation with God. It is NOT about Santa!!!’ ..... and then I hit the delete button because I couldn’t take it anymore. This movie kind of parallels our current society in its wish to erase Christ. Thankfully, that will never happen but it makes me sad for people who don’t know the true hope and meaning of Christmas. (Btw, when I looked up the writers for this movie, I was actually a bit surprised. The one gentleman has actually been a writer and producer on some good movies such as “A Christmas for the Ages”, “My Christmas Hero”, “A Christmas… Present” and other CCB movies, including the new “Ainsley McGregor Mysteries”. So, I wonder why this movie was so deliberately anti-Christian?) ~~Jane

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“A Very Vermont Christmas”

Premieres: Saturday, July 20, 2024

Stars: Katie Leclerc, Ryan McPartlin

A local champion skier (Leclerc) and Vermont brew master (McPartlin) teams up with an unlikely match to create a seasonal microbrew, in order to save her family’s business by Christmas.

Movie Review:

🎄 A Very Vermont Christmas is clean, and quite interesting. –Maria

🎄 Was an ok movie but really didn’t have a Christmas feel for me. ~JoCo

🎄 Same for me, JoCo. It just didn’t excite me and too much talk about beer. ~Allie B

🎄 I couldn't make it through this movie! A boring plot (with, as Allie said, too much talk about beer) with poor acting by both Katie and (especially) Ryan made me turn this off after about 30 minutes. ~Mark 25

🎄 Same Mark! I was so bored, deleted after like 30 min as well. ~Paula

🎄 A Very Vermont Christmas – This movie just didn’t excite me. It is rather slow throughout. The meet-cute on top of the ski slopes was probably the best moment, but for me, it was downhill from there.

I agree with others above, it was boring and in nearly every scene there was either drinking or discussion of beer. Somehow, I made it through the whole movie. The conflict was lackluster along with the resolution at the end. I just didn't feel the chemistry between Katie Leclerc and Ryan McPartlin. This was a one-time watch for me. ~Net

🎄 A Very Vermont Christmas. I haven’t deleted it yet but I did quit watching. I found it to be just kind of blah (and not having much of a Christmas feel). The lead actress seems like a weird mix of haughty/cold and childlike/simple. The lead actor is okay but I wasn’t feeling much romantic chemistry. The beer-brewing and save-the-family-business storyline is just not grabbing my interest. And the ex-boyfriend was rather odd. However, I do love to ski, so I might continue watching just for the slope scenes?? But it’s more likely I’ll just hit delete. So far, the first half of the movie was family friendly. ~~Jane

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“An Ice Palace Romance” – television premiere

Premieres: Saturday, July 27, 2024

Stars: Celeste Desjardins, Marcus Rosner

A journalist (Desjardins) faces old fears when she returns to her hometown ice rink to cover a story. With the help of the owner (Rosner) and his young daughter, she begins to reevaluate her life’s purpose.

Movie Reviews:

🎄 Just letting you all know, that the HMN streaming movie ,Ice Palace Romance is not family friendly. Within the first ten minutes, an over the top gay coworker discussing his fabulous first date with another man. I couldn't get past that scene and quit watching. Very disappointing as I was looking forward to watching it. Sad but not surprised anymore! ~Anonymous

🎄 An Ice Palace Romance - did not like the main actress. She looked very self absorbed throughout the movie and it was distracting. I usually like movies with Marcus but this one i am definitely deleting. ~Anonymous

🎄 I was finally able to watch “An Ice Palace Romance” and I thought it was very cute. Aside from the coworker/friend speaking about his date with another male and then then going to the event together at the end, it was a cute movie. I absolutely loved seeing Mary Long in this movie, she is in my group of favorite older women who they have play moms/aunts/grandmas etc. ~Paula

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HALLMARK MOVIES NOW ORIGINAL PREMIERE:

“Operation Nutcracker”

Premieres: Monday, July 1, 2024

Stars: Ashley Newbrough, Christopher Russell

When an antique nutcracker set to be auctioned at the Warby family Christmas charity goes missing, a demanding event planner (Newbrough) and the heir to the Warby dynasty (Russell) try to track it down.

Movie Reviews:

🌟 Operation Nutcracker was incredible! Hope Hallmark decides to air it later this year. -Maria

🌟 Review: Operation Nutcracker -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes -

Not a great movie, but the pluses far outweigh the negative. First, I enjoyed going along on the adventure of Ashley and Christopher trying to find the missing nutcracker. I had no idea where this adventure was taking me, and that made it so enjoyable. What really won me over was the ending - I am not going to spoil it, but let me say it was very heartwarming! And Christopher must have gotten the message - his performance was very low-key and spot-on, and the smiling was limited! (In fact, this may be my favorite performance of his!) The major downside for me was - what is becoming too common - the constant near-misses in finding the nutcracker. Tiresome! Anyway, it is a fun ride, so I recommend it, at least for a watch or two. ~Mark 25

🌟 Operation Nutcracker—I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie, but immediately, I was drawn in by the plight of finding the priceless Nutcracker, which was the main auction piece for the Christmas charity function benefiting the local Children's hospital. The Nutcracker goes missing at the airport when two passengers mistakenly swap their luggage.

Ashley Newbrough portrays Lottie Morgan, an event planner who is planning the Warby Charity Auction given by Evelyne Warby. Christopher Russell portrays Evelyne's son, Tristan Warby, who is in charge of transporting the Nutcracker. When the Nutcracker goes missing, Tristan convinces Lottie to help him search for it! It's hilarious to watch these two scheme and work together; I could definitely feel a connection between them.

My only qualm was - several times we hear comments about believing in or trusting in the universe. Otherwise, this was a lighthearted, delightful Christmas movie ideal for all ages. Even younger viewers might enjoy the mystery of looking for the Nutcracker. Plus, there's an adorable little girl in the story who is key to finding it! ~Net

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HALLMARK MYSTERY PREMIERE:

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters”

Premieres: Friday, July 12, 2024

Stars: Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe, Geoff Gustafson, and Rhiannon Fish

The POstables are back identifying the intended recipients of a trio of dead letters, which have a surprising, personal impact on all of them.

Movie Reviews:

📫 Tale of 3 Letters- WOW!! Just, not enough words to say how fantastic this is!!! So thankful we're getting another 1! -Maria

📫 This new SSD movie was very sweet and I enjoyed seeing how both married couples have been doing as newlyweds. The movie was more about Oliver & Shane’s first year of marriage, which was very realistic. I definitely could relate to all that they went through. My husband and I had to go through marital counseling when we were engaged, it was a requirement by our pastor/church before we could be married in the church and I can vividly remember that first year and just learning how to live together for the first time. I enjoyed seeing those scenes, and of course Rita and Norman’s journey as well. But I wanted to see more mystery in the movie. I know I shouldn’t compare to the older ones, but I missed all of the traveling to different places to find clues, going undercover/in disguise, etc. Hopefully there will be more mystery and sleuthing in the next SSD movie. Also, all of Oliver’s faces when he was annoyed, overwhelmed, trying to keep everyone compliant etc were hilarious! ~Paula

📫 I’m still not over the SSD movie last night. Usually every hallmark movie is about finding romance, so it was nice to have this married perspective. I’m going to rewatch with my husband tomorrow. Christie

📫 A Signed Sealed Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters Review... Family friendly...SPOILERS!!!!!

Wow, so good! This was better than I thought it would be. The very beginning was perfect when Oliver almost trips over Shane's shoes. I laughed so hard. And also when Oliver said he would ask the committee about the window in their home, so casually. Loved Norman's married advice about his experience, no "old, historic" stamps on the coffee table. And how sweet them adopting a baby with heart conditions. They'll have so much love to share with the little one!

But the best was by far the ending... Oliver's memory items that he saved were so romantic and touching, and he was wearing a green tie!! And absolutely LOVED the way Shane told Oliver the baby news. And to think, we have another SSD coming as well!! Yay!!!!

Definitely one to buy to add to the SSD collection! ~Abigail

📫 Oh my absolutely yes the latest SSD movie was sheer perfection! I loved EVERYTHING about it! It was pure magic!!!

There was only one trivial thing that we didn't quite like (more about that later) but overall this movie was superb! My hubby and I are such fans of this wonderful movie series and what an amazing viewing experience this was on almost every single level. I felt like I was home again watching my old friends adjust to married life which was an excellent and realistic representation of two people coming together who really loved each other but had lived alone for a long time. It can be hard coming to terms with the reality of married life but I thought everything was handled beautifully. I told my hubby, they need to start over in a 'their' home and not 'his' home. Which is what they are doing but still bringing their own histories, memories and belongings with them. We also enjoyed Rita and Norman in their journey to adoption of a special needs baby. The teacher and the former student story was heartfelt but the mystery behind the other two letters wasn't as impacting as I had hoped. Not sure why but that storyline felt the least 'fleshed out to me' and we figured out the mystery very quickly. Anyway, the SSD movie made us feel some wonderful emotions. ~Joan

📫 "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters" - Every "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" movie is an absolute treasure! We used to have to imagine what life would be like for our newly married couples - Norman and Rita and Shane and Oliver, but now we don't have to wonder anymore. "A Tale of Three Letters" takes us viewers on the journey of Shane and Oliver's honeymoon - and through their return to day-to-day life back working together, side by side, with Norman and Rita, of course, at the dead letter office!

While Shane and Oliver are working through some difficulties of being newlyweds, Norman and Rita are still longing to adopt and begin their family. The movie does seem to focus more heavily on the various relationships in this movie and less on the mystery of the letters. Overall, there are marital ups and downs, but mostly, there are many joyous times that supersedes any of life's little annoyances.

It was wonderful to see our POstables back working together, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next movie, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To the Moon and Back"! ~Net

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Note: I'll be updating the Christmas TV Schedule soon with all of this news - stay tuned!

I hope you enjoyed this Merry, Wonderful News Today!

Joy to the World!!!

Net🎄

images: Hallmark Media

Friday, May 31, 2024

🎬 Movies Return In June on Great American Family - SEE HERE:

🎄 The Hallmark Channel Fully Unwraps Christmas in July 2024 and More 🎄 SEE HERE:

✈🛅 Go On An Adventure With Hallmark Channel's Passport to Love + NEW "When Calls the Heart" ❤️ SEE HERE:

Friday, May 31, 2024

🎬 Movies Return In June on Great American Family - SEE HERE:

🎄 The Hallmark Channel Fully Unwraps Christmas in July 2024 and More 🎄 SEE HERE:

✈🛅 Go On An Adventure With Hallmark Channel's *Passport to Love* + NEW "When Calls the Heart" ❤️ SEE HERE:

✈🛅 Go On An Adventure With Hallmark Channel's Passport to Love + NEW "When Calls the Heart" ❤️ SEE HERE: