Ready for a Vacation? No need to pack your bags... Hallmark will take you on a trip this June to exciting and beautiful destinations with their *Passport to Love* themed movies.
You'll see familiar Hallmark stars, like Bethany Joy Lenz, Andrew Walker, and Hunter King paired with other actors/actresses, who may be new to you, or at least new to the Hallmark family.
See all of the movie details below...
HALLMARK CHANNEL
All premieres are at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
For Love & Honey
Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 8/7c
Starring: Andrew Walker and Margaret Clunie
Storyline: Beekeeper Eva uncovers an ancient fresco while rescuing a hive. Austen, a visiting archeologist, thinks it is key to his research, so he persuades Eva to help him on his quest across Malta.
Movie Review:
☀️ Maybe it's just me but I honestly did not enjoy 'For Love & Honey'. Beautiful setting and gorgeous actors/actresses, but I was bored to tears. I did not finish the movie. I hope next weeks new movie 'Savoring Paris' is better. ~Joan
☀️ I agree with Joan. I did watch all of it but For Love & Honey was really blah. If I wasn't walking on a treadmill while watching I definitely wouldn't have finished, but I was part distracted! ~Anonymous
☀️ I agree, the love and honey one was very slow, I continued to watch it because of Andrew and how much I love his acting, but I didn’t feel he had much chemistry with the lead… ~Paula
☀️ For Love & Honey – This movie is about an archeologist and a beekeeper, and unfortunately, even though it stars one of Hallmark’s typical favorites, Andrew Walker, it is Bee…oring!!!
I tried. I really, really tried, but “For Love & Honey” just didn’t draw me in. There was zero comedy in this romantic-comedy, and the romance was completely lackluster.
(SPOILER ALERT)
In the second hour, they discuss Greek mythology; in particular, they discover hidden in an old painting, a drawing of three female bee maidens, called the Thriae. According to the legend in Malta, the maidens were Greek nymphs who had the gift of prophecy and were once worshipped by the people there.
If you are still reading this, then I will assume you don’t mind spoilers.
As Austen (Andrew Walker) and Eva (Margaret Clunie) are searching for what they believe will be gold, they find a shrine, a specific place carved out to worship the three bee maidens. As a Christian, I don’t believe in idol worship in any form. Therefore, this discovery from the past did not excite me the way it did Austen and Eva.
(END of SPOILER ALERT)
Overall, this movie is a one and done for me. Numerous times, I nearly gave up and turned it off, but I waited for end- the kiss. Obviously, for me, “For Love & Honey” is not a (bee) keeper. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!) ~Net
☀️ Hi everyone, so my take on all of this is that for me personally, it’s hard to really get into a new movie when I am not familiar with the main actors. The Love and Honey one, I thought the banter between him and the main actress was cute and of course I loved the scenery, but it was hard for me to really get into it because I didn’t feel the chemistry between them (as I maybe would have if it was him and a familiar actress I love). So it was a one time watch for me, not necessarily bad, just one of those one time watches. It’s hard because it’s nice to have new fresh faces but then it’s hard to believe the chemistry sometimes….for me at least. But I am willing to give all these new movies a try because I am thankful that hallmark is consistently providing us with new movies. ~Paula
Savoring Paris
Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 8/7c
Starring: Bethany Joy Lenz and Stanley Weber
Storyline: Disillusioned with her life, Ella embarks on a soul-searching journey to Paris where she navigates love, self-discovery and cheese amidst the enchanting backdrop of The City of Love.
Movie Reviews:
🗼 My hubby and I enjoyed both "Tipline" and "Saving Paris". I highly recommend both movies. :-) ~Joan
🗼 I thought Savoring Paris was delightful! Joy is always fantastic. She made the movie, for sure, but it was also a cute & fun movie.-Anna
🗼 Review: Savoring Paris -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Not Really -
In my opinion, Bethany Joy Lenz is one of the most versatile Hallmark actresses around. She can play drama (A Christmas Secret), comedy (Five Star Christmas, An Unexpected Christmas), and a mix (A Biltmore Christmas) - these four are among my all-time Christmas favorites! So I was disappointed that in this movie, she was, well, just there - she was good, but the role didn't require her to really show off her acting chops.
Also, I for one am getting tired of all of the movies that are filmed in another country to primarily show off the sites and which therefore make the plot secondary and often uninteresting, like here. (Well, unless you absolutely love cheese!)
Finally, the two male leads were both full of themselves (at least initially) which made me hope that Bethany wouldn't end up with either of them - not exactly what you're wishing for in this kind of a movie! So, maybe this is okay for a one-time watch, but if you don't bother, you won't miss much! ~Mark 25
🗼 Savoring Paris – First of all, I usually enjoy most of Bethany Joy Lenz’s movies, but this one just didn’t work for me. Dare I say, it was too cheesy, at times? Okay, so it wasn’t cheesy in a silly sort of way, exactly; there was just way too much talk about cheese, in my opinion… different varieties and Ella’s (Bethany Joy Lenz) overwhelming desire to eat it on a daily basis. In fact, I was nearly worried about Ella’s digestive system- from eating 5 different cheese varieties EVERY DAY. Eventually, she slacks off to just one. Thankfully.
(Spoiler Alert: The rest of this review may contain some spoilers.)
From the start, there was a great deal of emphasis on Ella’s age. (Note: Some of the dialogue I felt better suited a mature audience.) Ella’s mother spoke about her needing to have her eggs frozen, even saying Ella must be having a mid-life crisis when she seems uncertain what to do next with her life/career. Ella disputes her mother’s claim by saying she’s not mid-life. Then, shortly after Ella arrives in Paris, she meets a younger man, Gaston, and at first, does not agree to date him because of their age difference, but then she relents. The two continue to date on and off throughout much of Ella’s stay in Paris, although, it’s almost certain she’s aware that he is a player. All the women generally flock to Gaston in an overtly flirtatious manner wherever they go. Knowing this, I personally thought this did not speak well for Ella’s moral character.
In the meantime, Ella is also falling for another guy, Serge, a more mature man who is nearer to her age. Most everyone labels Serge as a grump, which is fairly spot on. He owns the cheese shop, so Ella sees him on a daily basis. We learn later on that Serge has been married before; that’s why he’s a bit cynical on love and life in general. Ella eventually works for Serge at his shop, and his walls begin to come down gradually. The romantic spark between the two is intriguing, but I kept longing for Ella to wise up and part ways with Gaston, sooner than later.
Throughout the movie, Ella seems uncertain of what to do much of the time. At one point, she has a disagreement with her mother, who comes to visit her in Paris, and Ella says something very rude to her, and does NOT apologize EVER, as I was hoping she would do. It was brutal to see her mother’s quiet, wounded reaction and crushed spirit. Sure, her mother was a tad overbearing, but I still felt Ella could be more respectful to her and her feelings.
(End of Spoilers)
Overall, the unsettled feel of this movie, notably Ella, just didn’t sit well with me. For me personally, this movie was a miss… not one I will savor. ~Net
🗼 I love honey and cheese, but these last 2 Hallmark movies were so boring. I should have turned them off after 5 minutes but I didn’t. Andrew and Bethany could not save them. Let’s hope they don’t ruined ice cream for me too next week! ~Anonymous
🗼 I thought maybe it was just me, but Savoring Paris had the same effect on me. First, how long did she get off work? 6 weeks or more? Just to eat cheese? I didn’t get that? And, yeah, that mean comment she made to her mother. It was worse than a slap in the face. Her poor mom. I thought Ella was a selfish, self-centered brat for most of the movie. Christie
A Greek Recipe for Romance
Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 8/7c
Starring: Danielle C. Ryan and Rafael Kariotakis
Storyline: After a recent setback, Abby heads to Greece to visit her mom and decide what's next. While there, she meets Theo, and they team up to open a restaurant. But will Abby be able to stay?
Movie Reviews:
☀️ Happy to say that A Greek Recipe for Romance is a clean movie! -Maria
☀️ We did not enjoy "A Greek Recipe for Romance". I don't know...it did not draw me in. Lovely scenery but everything else was a 'Meh' for me. Greece, though, is someplace I have always wanted to visit. :-) Joan
☀️ The acting In A Greek recipe for love was terrible. The only thing that saved this movie was the scenery. I have read a comment that there are going to be three more movies filmed in Greece let’s hope they get better actors ~Bebe
Two Scoops of Italy
Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 8/7c
Starring: Hunter King and Michele Rosiello
Storyline: When an American chef travels to a quaint village in Italy for inspiration, she falls in love with the flavors, culture, gelato, and the Italian gentleman who helps her discover it all.
Movie Reviews:
🍨 Tried, but man, 2 Scoops of Italy is soooo boring! Only notable thing is that is looks clean. –Maria
🍨 My hubby and I tried to watch "Two Scoops of Italy" but could not get invested in the movie. I fell asleep twice in the 1st 30 minutes! :-( Joan
🍨 "Two Scoops of Italy" was clean but so boring! I fell asleep twice in the first thirty minutes!! So suffice it to say, we deleted the movie, from our dvr, without finishing it. For the most part, this year has been seriously disappointing from a quality and entertaining experience with regard to the overall slate of movies across all channels for me. Yes, there have been a few gems, but I find myself wanting to watch older Hallmark movies which were much better. ~Joan
🍨 Two Scoops of Italy - is a wholesome movie, but I agree with the other reviews, it was incredibly slow and boring. I tried to get into the spirit of the movie, but it was unfortunately lackluster throughout. Would a young woman in a foreign country be so free to take off with a complete stranger, a man she barely knows, to sight-see around the countryside? I thought that was either unrealistic or crazy.
The brightest spot in the movie was Giancarlo's desire to create new, exciting flavors of gelato, like his deceased mother did every Summer. That was sweet. However, he is terrible at making them until Danielle (Hunter King) helps create the right blend.
This was a definite one-time watch for me. ~Net
HALLMARK MYSTERY
Premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder
Friday, June 7, 2024 at 9/8c
Starring: Holland Roden and Chris McNally
Storyline: A cryptic call about a planned jewelry heist draws a Detroit Free Press tipline operator, Maddie Moore, into a dangerous homicide case alongside a newly promoted detective.
Movie Reviews:
🔎 Tipline Mysteries was good. I especially liked seeing Holland again. The first time I saw her was Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas, and she blew that one away just like this. Chris was also great, it was nice to see him play someone besides Lucas. ~Anonymous
🔎 Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder Review... This was a very clean and family-friendly mystery I am happy to say!! I had fun watching it. I loved the beginning scene when she switches the hotel room numbers because the customer was VERY insistent on that room even though they are duplicates.😂😂
I would have liked it better if Maddie's character could down play a bit. I could see why the police thought her annoying, but she did grow on me. Chris(I almost typed Lucas ;) did a great job as the detective! He's a good actor.
I hope to see more, it was fun. I love it when the police let the amateur detective help out! ~Abigail
🔎 Tipline Mysteries Dial 1 For Murder is family friendly. I had trouble understanding Holland's dialogue. Speaks real fast. No problem with any of the other actors. Lots of twists and Holland's character takes some really crazy risks as the movie moves along. Fair chemistry between Holland and Chris. Chris does make a good detective. ~Joyce in Carolina
🔎 Tipline Mysteries….I enjoyed this family-friendly movie only not as much as I hoped to. I liked the first half more than the last half. Unfortunately, Maddie got a little annoying. Especially when she kept interrupting the detective’s interviews. She creative and funny, but it was hard to understand her sometimes. I didn’t really understand why she became Beeks’ shadow. It would’ve been better if he could do a few scenes on his own while she went back to her ‘real life’. She totally forgot about the tip line office and almost abandoned the hotel. Still, I would like to see more of these. But I stopped hoping for mysteries to become a legit series long ago. -Anonymous1
🔎 Okay I was finally able to watch the Tipline Mystery movie. I love Chris McNally in everything he does, he was great, the girl was a little erratic in her mannerisms and speaking….i don’t know if that’s just her personality as an actor, but it was kind of distracting at times. I thought the storyline was good, but I found the killer a little predictable at the end. I thought it was going to be the handyman of her hotel, or maybe that couple who had just opened the jewelry store. The husband seemed a little suspicious…either way I thought it was cute & family friendly from what I remember. Wish there was a new mystery every month, they are my fave! ~Paula
Well, the June Weddings theme didn't make the cut this year—again! It's one of those themes that has been off & on through the years. I'm wondering if last years June Weddings movie block didn't quite pull in the ratings they wanted, so they are trying this instead. Or maybe it was difficult to find 4 good wedding themed films. Who knows? I think the destination movies are a good idea for summertime, though, as they get everyone in the mood for vacation time.
UPDATE: The theme for Hallmark's June movies is *Passport to Love*. Ironically, that was also the title of Great American Family's first original movie premiere this year.
As I mentioned above, I find it interesting that these well-known Hallmark stars are paired with others who are less known on Hallmark. It seems this is a purposeful effort to introduce more actors to the network.
I would love to hear your take on these movies! Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Happy movie watching,
Net
