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Reviews
The Longest Ride (2015)
Loved this wonderful movie!
My wife and I see a lot of romantic movies (daily). This one tops all we have seen in recent years. The two stories really enhanced the romance, the suspense, and kept us engaged 100%. Alan Alda did a great job in his role, and the young actress who played his wife did a fantastic job in her role. The two main characters also did an excellent job and had plenty of chemistry. I hope we can find more productions like this one. And the surprise ending was really worth watching!
Love on the Air (2015)
Perhaps the best Hallmark has ever produced!
My wife and I watch Hallmark movies everyday. I do not know how we missed this
2015 production until now, but we loved it! The actors did a fantastic job with their lines, and the back and forth banter was hilarious, keeping us wondering how they would ever connect romantically in the end. Lots of chemistry! I agree with another reviewer that this is a class act production that could have been on the silver screen. We never repeat-watch Hallmark movies, in part because they are so predictable. However, we are going to watch this one at least twice again. It seems like some of the older Hallmark movies from a few years past are much better productions than what we have seen of those produced in the past 1-2 years. Perhaps one of the worst Hallmark movies was "Love in the Sun", which had some terrible acting. In fact, the leading male actor was pretty much as stiff as a board, with no emotion or chemistry with his girlfriend. I hope Hallmark keeps up these romantic productions, but with better quality acting and storylines.
Summer in the City (2016)
Wonderfully Different!
My wife and I watch Hallmark movies everyday! We love the romance and all that leads up to the final kiss. The majority of these movies, however, have a predictable theme...small town, festival or wedding, love wins out over potential life-changing career change. However, "Summer in the City" kept us guessing from beginnng until the end.
This movie was very refreshing compared to the predictability of so many Hallmark movies. In fact almost all Hallmark movies have only one kiss...in the last 10 seconds of the movie. I do not know how we missed this movie made in 2016, but it is an outstanding production and even had a kiss early on! We do not live anywhere in NY state, but it was very intriguing to see how a Midwest girl could make her way in NYC, where life is very different from other big US cities. We would love to see more Hallmark productions with unique and unpredictable happenings, but with the build-up of romance in each production. In fact, the 3rd-party actors with their romantic comments along the way keep the love theme going really well.
I hope Hallmark keeps going with these romantic movies, but hope they put more pizazz into their characters, their settings, and their romance (more than one kiss at the end).
The Great Raid (2005)
Great Story
What a very uplifting story! I enjoyed the movie very much. It was pretty true to the story in the book "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides. I read the book before the movie, and was glad I did. That book is superb with many more details than the movie about all three aspects of the story, i.e., the POWs, the underground in Manila and the countryside, and the raiding party. Just the scene alone about crawling up to the compound is full of details and suspense in the book. The trip back to friendly lines was also very good with many details about problems encountered, including a separate group of bad Phillipino rebels that hindered their return. I thought the acting and rescue scenes in the movie were excellent. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the real-life film footage just before the credits. The book covers that well in the epilogue. Also, the rangers took a film crew with them during the operation, but the film crew could not film the rescue operation itself due to darkness. You could see some of the film taken when they were returning to friendly lines and afterwards.
The Valley of Light (2006)
Very nice
Good old-fashioned romance with a post-WWII setting. Like those "good 'ol days" when much of what is said is in the facial expressions and body movements, not the dialog. In those days, dignity and well manners ruled in rural America, so you did not see the kind of emotional violence, 4-letter words, and action common to some of today's movies, and that's OK! Romance ruled here...not the shallow passion you sometimes see today. Good job by Chris Klein (playing Noah) as the WWII vet with post-war anguish. You could see that in his face, but he brightened up well with his interaction with Matthew (played by Zach Mills). Gretchen Mol also did a good job as Eleanor. Perhaps her best scene was the scene when Noah was leaving. Zach Mills as the young boy was very good, even without one word of dialog. I guessed on my own that Hoke was an angel, and it fit in very well. I enjoyed the good old-fashioned bantering and teasing among the characters, and the fact there was no violence. Hallmark was the sponsor, and is the only sponsor I see on TV where I usually cannot miss the heart-warming commercials.
Fallen Angel (2003)
Heartwarming and Inspirational
Enjoyed the movie very much, but had some reservations: 1-Plot-wise--Why would a father who loved his daughter so much, simply disappear after the car accident in the snow? 2-Joely Richardson (playing Katherine) did OK until the end when she found out that Terry McQuinn (played by Senise) was the boy in her past, and especially after she found out that her dad was still alive. Her reaction was not strong enough (not enough emotion)! The makeup scene at the end over the phone was not especially credible.
3-Gary Senise, with his trademark look, was pretty stone-faced, but that did not detract from the movie because it sort of fit in well with his dad, who had a pretty cold personality.
4-The acting by Jordy Benattar (as Olivia), Dave Nichols (as Charles Wentworth), and Gordon Pinsent (as Warren Wentworth) was very good!