vtrekx Reviews

Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance (2023 TV Movie)

I generally like Hallmark movies -- but I didn't like this one.

[4/10 · 21 September 2023]

I watched this with my wife, and we loved the scenery. We honeymooned in the Smokes many years ago, and have been back since, and loved those mountains and waterfalls.

Sadly, this movie was poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly set up in so many of its actions that we very nearly turned off the movie several times -- but the Smokies kept us watching.

The way the female lead "hiked" in those mountains was dangerous and foolhardy, and the "in cave" portion of the final part was sooooo non-professionally-done for a PhD "archaeologist" that it completely broke the scene.

We didn't come to care about the leads, didn't "feel" any chemistry between them -- see "poorly acted" above -- and she accepted him waaaaay too quickly and easily.

All in all, I think the 4 stars might be an overly positive rating. (sigh) This was an exceptionally poor movie -- not quite terrible (mostly because of the great scenery, actually in the Smokies!) -- but definitely below average.

We still love the Smokies.

The Color of Rain (2014 TV Movie)

A very sweet (with some bittersweet) story made better by being based on a real family

[10/10 · 3 July 2021]

To the naysayers here who complain about "all that's going on" is two families falling in love, and others who complain about predictability -- have you never watched Hallmark movie????? Seriously????????????

Falling in love, trials & tribulations, and some predictability is VERY much "Hallmark movie" ... hallmarks. :-) The best of the Hallmark movies add more. I feel this one did.

As my title says, I think this was/is a very sweet story that actually felt very "real" in its events, acting, settings, and character interactions. There were some bittersweet moments brought on by well-intentioned friends and a mother-in-law, but that, too, is very realistic. I've seen Lacey Chabert in more than a few Hallmark movies, and I won't say all of them were great ... but this one is. This one gives me hope, though my wife and I are long-past the ages of the two main characters, but this movie still gives me hope that my wife could find love again after my death, and that I might, in the event of her passing -- no, this movie didn't leave me feeling morbid, and neither my wife or I are ill ... but still. The movie gives me hope.

The songs that make up the soundtrack are a bit loud at times, but I never noticed a problem with "background" noice, and didn't mind the music when I noticed it. I want to track down several songs to add them to a play list, particularly the song at the end.

This movie's story was made even better by being based on a real family's experiences, who did go through these events, made it through to the other side, and stayed together. (FYI, at the start of the movie, a statement is shown about this being based on a true story.)

Soooooooo ... watch it, if you like Hallmark movies. I do, and I liked this one.