TRANSKRIPTIO 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:17.199
Welcome to FHC Forever Hallmark Christmas, the Hallmark Movie Review Podcast, where we talk about one thing and one thing only.
00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:19.359
That is Hallmark Christmas movies.
00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:22.239
My name is Rich, joined by my Hallmark partner in crime.
00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:24.000
Renee, how's it going, buddy?
00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:25.440
It's pretty good, Rich.
00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:26.800
We survived the weekend.
00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.399
We did, and we've survived week number three of Countdown to Christmas.
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:31.120
Hard to believe.
00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:32.320
We've had nine movies so far.
00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:47.119
Renee, we thought it would be kind of fun to do a quick little recap of what we've seen for so far in weeks one through three and then preview the next couple weeks, weeks four and five leading up to Thanksgiving week, which is too massive to even think about right now with seven movies.
00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:56.000
But it'd be kind of fun just to talk about what we've thought so far in Countdown to Christmas and what we're gonna think about for the six movies coming up in the next, I don't know, 14 days.
00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:56.799
You ready?
00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:58.320
Ready as I'm gonna be.
00:00:58.560 --> 00:00:59.039
All right.
00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.799
So in week number one, we had Tizeth's the season for setups, holiday touchdown, a bear's love story, and Mr.
00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:05.200
and Mrs.
00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:05.680
Christmas.
00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:13.840
Week number two, Winter Wonderlands, followed by Forgotten Holiday on the Saturday night, and then the Sunday night movie that week number two was What If Christmas.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.239
And this past week we had Who's Coming for Christmas?
00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:19.280
Adopting Saint Nick and A Danish Christmas.
00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.920
And Renee, overall, I think this is kind of what I expected.
00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:32.799
I we'd heard there was gonna be a lot of kind of that old formulaic stuff from you know eight, nine years ago, very romance forward.
00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.280
Uh nothing too crazy out of the box.
00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.359
And I think that's what we've gotten so far.
00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:47.120
I think there's been a couple standout movies that have really hit me that's like that is a great, great movie, a couple that fell a little flat, and then a whole bunch just enjoyable middle of the road.
00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:47.840
What about you?
00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:49.359
Yeah, that's exactly it.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:02:01.040
Like two of them for sure were really standouts, maybe even three standouts, and one or two that I thought I'd hoped they would be a little bit better for me, but uh and the rest, as you said, you know, average middle of the road, which is it's okay.
00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:01.840
We like that.
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:04.799
Yeah, I mean, that's kind of that's the Hallmark's bread and butter.
00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:08.000
You that feel good, maybe it's a little bit predictable.
00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:15.039
Comfort food, I always say, you know, this is a Costco chicken pot pie, you know, that big giant chicken pot pie that weighs about 10 pounds.
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.039
Yeah, uh, that is so comforting.
00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:21.599
And yeah, we we look forward to those good, comforting Hallmark movies that we know is gonna happen.
00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:27.120
We know we're gonna get a very cute romance with really good chemistry, and we've got a bunch of those this year.
00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:41.840
So all right, let's talk uh any of these movies that we've had nine so far, any kind of like really exceeded your expectations from when you first read the synopsis of the movie to like saying, wow, that just kind of blew me away versus what I expected.
00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.240
Like I think Forgotten Holiday really I figured it was a good be a good movie.
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:53.439
You know, it's a good writer, good character, good uh good actors, but that movie really surprised me at how much I really like that movie.
00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.759
So far, that's been my favorite out of the year that we've seen, you know, these first uh three weeks.
00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:00.240
So Forgotten Holiday really was a standout for me.
00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.000
Yeah, I think you hit it spot on.
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:08.240
When we did our Hallmark movie draft, kind of fantasy football style with Gary and Amy from Poor of the Wine, it's rom-com time.
00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.159
Go back and listen to that episode, it's a lot of fun.
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:16.479
I put Forgotten Holiday right in the middle, kind of like 17 or 18 when I kind of made my draft list.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.479
Didn't know what to think about the synopsis.
00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:23.520
I knew it was gonna be an amnesia movie, and sometimes those can go right, sometimes they can go a little sideways.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:29.840
But then once we knew that Tracy Andrine had written it, it's like wow, Daniel listening to no incredible performances.
00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.759
Yeah, that to me that was the one that just blew my expectations out of the water.
00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.520
So yeah, I think if we knew uh Tracy Andrine had written, I didn't know at the time.
00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:43.520
Like if I had known that she'd written it, then I I always hold her to a higher standard because she's just hits the standard every time.
00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:44.800
So she's amazing.
00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:48.800
Yeah, and you know, right behind it, Julie Sherman Wolf, we knew she wrote What If Christmas.
00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:54.479
I'm not gonna say that really tweaked my expectations either way because I expected it to be good and it was
Load full transcript
really good.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:04.960
But yeah, I think Forgotten Holiday, I think that was just a sleeper hit for a lot of people this year, going, you know, they said, Okay, wow, it's let's see what this thing's all about, and then all of a sudden, boom, it hits you, and that's gonna be one of the best movies of the year.
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:10.319
Any movies that you had a little bit maybe higher expectations for, but ended up falling a little flat for you.
00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.719
I hate to do this, but we can't we keep it real, we keep it real.
00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:18.160
Yeah, I expected a little bit more from a Danish Christmas.
00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:20.959
I I love the actors, uh I love the setting.
00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:22.639
It's a really good idea.
00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.879
Uh this is playing after we give our reviews, right?
00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.040
So I can tell you what we scored it or not to correct.
00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:28.879
Yeah, yeah, we can talk about what we scored, yeah.
00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:34.240
So I mean we can I gave this a 3.5, which is a solid to me, that's like the middle of the road, kind of a standard rating.
00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.279
I was hoping to get this into the fours when I first heard about it.
00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:38.959
So this one kind of surprised me.
00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:41.439
And I think The Winter Wonderlanes as well.
00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:43.680
I mean, I think I thought that one was kind of silly.
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:53.600
I actually kind of did expect it to be on the on the lower end, but uh so it did outperform, but still compared to the rest of these films, it underperformed for me as well.
00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:56.160
Yeah, for me, it's Who's Coming for Christmas?
00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.480
I saw Rihanna and Fish, Jake Foy.
00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:02.000
Uh, I was reading the synopsis, you know, kind of a dinner feast on Christmas Eve.
00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.240
I really want Rihanna and Fish to get some better scripts.
00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:06.879
I I thought the script was just a little bit thin on this one last year.
00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:08.079
She got the Christmas cup.
00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:09.600
Don't even get me started on that movie.
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:14.480
I don't think I'm alone in saying that was the roughest movie of Countdown to Christmas 2025.
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:16.160
Because I love Rihanna Fish.
00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:20.399
She is so bubbly, that such a great personality just lights up the screen.
00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:26.959
I want to see her get some better scripts, but the movie just it was slow, and I just the plot fell a little flat for me.
00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:29.759
I was really wanted to like that one.
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.079
It went really high in our in our draft.
00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:33.279
That one fell a little flat for me.
00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:36.079
There's someone that kind of just didn't quite meet up to my expectations.
00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.439
It was Who's Coming for Christmas?
00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.560
All right, so that's kind of weeks one through three.
00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.800
Let's talk about what we have coming up, Renee.
00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:48.800
Uh, this coming weekend, I think maybe even the day we drop this episode, uh, we'll have Merry Memories.
00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.279
This is with Lindura and Brendan Morgan.
00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:54.240
It's kind of a scrapbooking, is the central theme of the movie.
00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.839
It's got a military angle to it.
00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.720
That'll be the Friday night movie on November 6th.
00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:02.720
The following night on Saturday, we have Holiday Unplugged.
00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:06.879
This is with Nikki Delosh, uh, Juan Pablo De.
00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:08.240
I hope I said that right.
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:09.600
I heard Pace Depache.
00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:11.040
I'm not sure which way goes.
00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:12.720
I've seen some interviews and heard of both ways.
00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.199
But Nicki DeLosh, we know that's written by Zach Hugg.
00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:19.360
And then on Sunday night, November 8th, we get a season of promises.
00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:24.000
This is Brooke Dorsey, Ali Liebert, and one of your favorites, James Denton.
00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:25.199
Oh, yeah, love him.
00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:29.040
Any of these movies that you're really looking forward to more than the others?
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:42.160
Well, I know that a season of promises is going to be one that, like, you might have to have a box of tissues next to you because James Denton just he picks emotional movies and he's always like making me cry a little bit or wanting to cry.
00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:49.120
And Two of Strange Sisters reunites, like, oh, it's just a beautiful, like anything that's a reunion and people making up is just wonderful.
00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.399
So I think that one really stands out for me, a season of promises.
00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:54.720
So yeah, I was kind of going back and forth.
00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.279
I'm really looking forward to a season of promises as well.
00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:02.959
And by the way, I drafted both the Saturday night movie, Holiday Unplugged, and a season of promises in our draft.
00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:05.439
So of my seven movies that I've chosen, those are two of them.
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.480
So I'm obviously have high expectations for both.
00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.279
I'm really curious about Holiday Unplugged on Saturday night.
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:13.279
Nikki Delosh is one of the queens of Hallmark.
00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:19.680
She's on the Mount Rushmore, probably of our actresses when it comes to Hallmark, incredible, you know, stuff that she's done in the past.
00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.439
I'm a huge Zach Hugg fan and in
his stories, his scripts.
00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:32.639
This is kind of putting technology aside for a time, putting, you know, throwing phones in the bag and just kind of being in touch with everybody else that you're around.
00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.399
I think that's kind of a unique kind of concept that we haven't seen before.
00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:37.600
So I was going back and forth.
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.040
Season of promises, holiday unplugged.
00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.399
I'm going to Holiday Unplugged is the one I have expectations for that.
00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:46.959
I really want to see how they do that, what Zach Hug writes about that script.
00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.319
So yeah, I'm going to go with the Holiday Unplugged as the one I'm looking forward to the most.
00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:52.959
Yeah, Zach Hugg, like, rarely disappoints.
00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:54.560
So I'm stoked with him.
00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.959
All right, and right after that, we have on November 13th, boy, this is a big weekend, Renee.
00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:07.920
We have My Christmas Cowboy, Hallmark favorite Luke McFarlane, and Amy Acker making her first return to the Hallmark channel since Crashing Through the Snow in 2021, a movie that we reviewed.
00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:12.879
Obviously, we know we're going to have Cowboys, we're going to have a ranch setting, probably going to get some country Christmas music involved.
00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:14.720
So that should be a fun one the following night.
00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:16.319
Boy, this is a big one, Renee.
00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.040
November 14th, the nights before Christmas.
00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:21.040
Tyler Hines, Lacey J.
00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:25.199
Maley, kind of a groundhog style Christmas movie written by Russell Hainlein.
00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.839
That's going to be a big one on that Saturday night.
00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:35.360
And then following that Sunday night, another big one: Mistletoe Mimosas, Chris Balaha, Tamara Mowry Housley, again written by Russell Hainlein.
00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:40.720
And you can argue the past few years, there has been no hotter Hallmark writer than Russell Hainlein.
00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:46.960
Although Tracy Andreen with Grand O'Loppery last year and Forgotten Holiday this year, she might make a strong case as well.
00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.919
But three really big movies coming up on week number five.
00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.200
Which one of those three are you most excited for?
00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:59.279
Every time I see a movie with Tamara Maori, Housley in it, I don't expect much.
00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:03.200
And it always, always exceeds my expectation.
00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:04.720
I always like her movies.
00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:06.480
I enjoy that every single one that I've seen.
00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:08.399
And Christopher Palaha's fantastic.
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.159
So while I would normally be like, okay, let's give me like I like Amy Acker and Luke McFarland, awesome.
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.720
Tyler Hines, like the king, Lacey J.
00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.080
Maley, awesome.
00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:27.200
But mistletoes and memosas, I think is gonna be the one I'm most excited about because Tamara always, always surprises me in a pleasant way.
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.399
And I have a feeling she's gonna do so again for everybody this year.
00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:35.440
Yeah, I think that's the movie you predicted would have the best food and beverage as well, Mistletoe and Mimosas.
00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.000
Obviously, we have the name Mimosas in the title, so it should be a good one.
00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.200
I I gotta go chalk here.
00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:40.240
I had the nights before Christmas.
00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:41.600
I mean, Tyler Hines, Lacey J.
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.440
Maley, Russell Hainlein wrote the script.
00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.159
Oh, you know, we got a kind of a groundhoggish day kind of movie.
00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:47.279
Yeah, it's it's tough to pass.
00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:48.720
So I all three are so good, though.
00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.120
I mean, how can you go wrong with any th any one of these movies?
00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:52.000
They're all gonna be great.
00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:59.120
This might be, if not the best weekend of the movies, like, you know, top bet weekends for sure coming up.
00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:01.679
Yeah, and we know the following week, we know Thanksgiving.
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.360
That is when Hallmark usually puts some of their biggest ones, most anticipated movies on.
00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:06.799
So we're gonna have a couple big weeks in a row.
00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:12.399
You and I can't even start thinking about Thanksgiving movies yet because we have so many to watch before Thanksgiving even rolls around.
00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:23.759
But yeah, so we got uh three fun movies coming up here uh in Mary Memories, Holiday Unplugged and a season of promises, probably debuting the night that you uh hear this podcast with Mary Memories on Friday, November 6th.
00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:29.440
And then, of course, the following weekend we just said My Christmas Cowboy, the nights before Christmas, mistletoe mamosas, huge weekend.
00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:34.799
So six really fun movies coming up, and it's gonna be uh a lot of fun to break them all down here on the podcast.
00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:35.840
Oh yeah.
00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:37.360
All right, Renee, that's it.
00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:42.639
So uh follow us on Instagram, Forever Hallmark Christmas, Gmail, Forever Hallmark Christmas at gmail.com.
00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:44.720
Renee let's keep it for the love of Hallmark.
00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:46.960
For the love of Hallmark.