New romantic comedies are coming to the Hallmark Channel in the New Year!
All four of the new movies take place internationally, and will star Shenae Grimes’Beech, Laci J. Mailey, Markian Tarasiuk, Julie Gonzalo, Rhiannon Fish, and more. Get ready for your *Winter Escape* with Hallmark.
See what's airing this January, 2025...
HALLMARK CHANNEL:
Love Of The Irish
Premiere Date: January 4, 2025
Starring: Shenae Grimes-Beech, Stephen Hagan and Moira Kelly
Storyline: Tired of her bad luck, Fiona takes her mom on a trip to Ireland to turn things around where she meets a charming single dad who helps her make her own luck.
Movie Reviews:
🍀 Love of the Irish is decent enough for a 1 time watch. (Ali Liebert cameos as well). –Maria
🍀 I agree with Maria. "Love of the Irish" was a decent movie. Good enough for a one time watch. It had some bittersweet parts and some cute parts. Overall the quality of the acting was good. But, I didn't love it enough to watch it again. ~Joan
When Call the Heart - Season 12
Premiere Date: January 5, 2025
Starring: Erin Krakow, Kevin McGarry, Pascale Hutton, Kavan Smith, Jack Wagner, Chris McNally, Viv Leacock, Natasha Burnett, Andrea Brooks, and Kayla Wallace
This January, Melissa Gilbert guest stars on the all-new season of When Calls the Heart.
Click here for episode details and images for Season 12.
Polar Opposites
Premiere Date: January 11, 2025
Starring: Rhiannon Fish and Markian Tarasiuk
Storyline: Emma needs to get to Antarctica to reach her father and travels to South America but can't get on a boat for the last leg. She sneaks onto a cruise ship and meets engineer Andy.
Movie Reviews:
❆ Polar Opposites is safe, cute, and a lot of fun! –Maria
❆ Polar Opposites is super cute and family-friendly from what I saw. ~Allie B
❆ "Polar Opposites" had it's moments. Rhiannon and Markian had good chemistry. Rhiannon has great comedic timing. The location was amazing. But, I felt the storyline was thin and contrived in parts. I guess I am in the minority here, but I found myself bored at times. It was clean and family friendly, which was wonderful. However, I just didn't enjoy the movie overall, so it was definitely a one-time watch for me. ~Joan
❆ Joan-I completely agree with your assessment of Polar Opposites. Rhiannon did such a great job, the chemistry was good, the penguins were cute--but the story felt so thin to me and I actually fast forwarded a few times which is rare for me. Overall it was sweet, but not a whole lot there. -LR
❆ Joan, those were my feelings exactly on this movie! Rhiannon was her usual adorable and funny self, she and Markian had good chemistry together, and the views of Antarctica were spectacular. I enjoyed the first part of the movie - the more comedic part - with her becoming a stowaway, but the latter part with the penguins, especially after her father is found, dragged. I agree that this is a one-time watch. -Mark 25
My Argentine Heart
Premiere Date: January 18, 2025
Starring: Julie Gonzalo and Juan Pablo Di Pace
Storyline: Abril goes to Argentina to save her family ranch from being bought by her ex. But when outside forces threaten the ranch the pair must come together, rekindling their love in the process.
Movie Reviews:
❤️ My Argentine Heart is safe enough for a 1 time watch. –Maria
❤️ I agree with Maria. "My Argentine Heart" was safe enough for a 1 time watch. It was just an 'okay' movie. Nothing really memorable happens. The chemistry, between the leads, was average at best. The location was beautiful. ~Joan
The Perfect Setting
Premiere Date: January 25, 2025
Starring: Laci J. Mailey & David Elsendoorn
Storyline: An aspiring jewelry designer returns to Belgium to visit her grandfather and hopefully win the Valentines Day Diamond Contest.
Movie Reviews:
❤️ The Perfect Setting is safe and lovely. Good slate of movies to start the year. –Maria
❤️ The Perfect Setting is family friendly about an aspiring jewelry designer named Abby Vandenrick returns to Belgium to visit her Grandfather & Hopefully win the Valentine’s Day Diamond Contest ~Anonymous
❤️ Oh my gosh! We loved everything about "The Perfect Setting". What an incredibly sweet and endearing movie. It was just lovely. Great chemistry, good storyline, amazing location and nice backstory. I especially liked the scene in the stunning cathedral. I have such a soft spot for religious places and no matter where I travel, I make time to visit churches, chapels and cathedral's. That scene was especially poignant, for me, because "Amazing Grace" is one of my favorite hymns. And, it was my Aunt Mazie's favorite hymn. They played it at her funeral. You know how music can transport you and stir up memories. Well, that scene did. It was truly special. Also, I especially loved the relationship between Laci and Hans 'her bompa'. It was my favorite part of the entire movie. I thought Laci was excellent, in her role. She was the perfect lead. And, I did like her relationship with David. I definitely recommend this movie. Well done! ~Joan
HALLMARK MYSTERY:
The Jane Mysteries: A Deadly Prescription
Premiere Date: January 9, 2025
Starring: Jodie Sweetin and Stephen Huszar
Storyline: Jane seeks justice for a teenager who’s wrongfully imprisoned for murder. She and Detective John work together to prove the teen’s innocence and help reunite him with his mother.
Movie Reviews:
(This movie first premiered on Hallmark+)
🔎 Review: The Jane Mysteries: A Deadly Prescription -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Nope -
I did not watch the Jane Mystery from last year, so maybe there was something in that movie that would have made me appreciate this one a bit more. Or maybe not. Anyway, I am starting from scratch with this series. And it is a big No for me. Because...
* The mystery is boring, and it is not too difficult to solve. Also, the culprit is shown about 2/3 into the movie.
* The acting is bad. Jodie Sweetin may be okay in some romcoms, but in a more serious role like this, she is in over her head. She overacts and simply cannot be taken seriously. Stephen Huszar, on the other hand, was too low key and seemed like he was never into his role. And there is absolutely no chemistry between these two.
* The script has too many cringe-worthy subplots and one-liners which make Jodie's character come across at times as silly or careless or unknowledgeable or rude.
* And what is with the songs? Jodie must have in her contract that she is to sing a few songs in these movies, because, while yes she is a very good singer, they are uncalled for and stop the flow of the movie.
Here's an example that includes some of the problems I have mentioned: Jodie and Stephen enter a nightclub where they are to be inconspicuous. The owner tells Jodie the singer can't perform and can she step in(?!), and the next thing you know she is belting out this song on stage like she has been singing it her whole life!
Okay, I guess you can tell that I didn't care for this movie at all. I will not be bothering with the other two movies in this series, so. sorry, I won't be doing any other Jane Mystery movie reviews. -Mark25
🔎 The Jane Mysteries: A Deadly Prescription - This is the second film in The Jane Mysteries, and I’m still not feeling that certain spark between Jodie Sweetin and Stephen Huszar’s characters.
The relationship I appreciate the most is the one between Jane (Jodie) and the woman who plays her aunt. Since her aunt has been going through a hard time since her husband’s passing, it’s nice to see Jane being there for her and continuing to search for clues to his cold cases.
Which gets me to my next point… this is a murder mystery; therefore, the movie is best suited for pre-teen age and up. Otherwise, it is a family-friendly movie.
The mystery itself is fairly intriguing with a number of suspects.
If any of you are fans of the Christmas movie, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (you know, the one with Uncle Ralph), then you might recognize one of the suspects as the guy Jen is supposed to marry, Richard (the guy with the shiny shoes). His hair is a little longer in this, so he looks a little different, but yeah, it’s him. I did a quick check of his IMDB, and it looks like this is his first movie with Hallmark since TMWTOT. Interesting, huh?
Anyway, if you really enjoy mysteries, then you might want to check this one out. ~Net
Besides this line-up, hopefully, there will be some good films coming our way in 2025!
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Blessings to you all, Net
*images via: Hallmark Media
