Take 3: Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Christmas Everlasting Review

On November 25, 2018 By 18cinemalane1 Comment

If you have visited 18 Cinema Lane before, then you would know that Hallmark’s Hall of Fame’s Christmas Everlasting has been one of the most talked about movies on this blog. I have been looking forward to this movie ever since it was announced during the sneak peek commercial that was shown after the premiere of The Beach House. For about five months, Hallmark had kept their Christmas Hallmark Hall of Fame movie under wraps, even refusing to share any information about the project at their Summer TCA Event. It wasn’t until September when details about this movie were finally revealed. In a Word on the Street story, I mentioned that Ron Oliver, the director of Christmas Everlasting, shared some information about the film, such as the potential title and the film’s production location. In that post, I speculated that the movie could be based on Marie Bostwick’s novel, The Second Sister. In another Word on the Street post, published four days later, I talked about my reasoning for why the film could be based on Marie Bostwick’s novel, referencing photos from Ron Oliver’s Instagram feed as clues to support my speculation. As more of the film’s details were revealed, my anticipation for this movie grew. In fact, it became my most anticipated Christmas movie of 2018! Now that Hallmark Hall of Fame’s newest entry has finally arrived, the time has come for me to review the movie that I have looking forward for quite a while. Let’s get started with this review of Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Christmas Everlasting!

HHoF Christmas Everlasting poster — Hallmark Hall of Fame’s *Christmas Everlasting* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Christmas+Everlasting

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of Christmas Everlasting was one of the strongest casts I have seen in a Hallmark movie this year! Everyone in this movie gave a very good performance, portraying their characters with as much believability as possible. I was really impressed by Tatyana Ali’s performance, as she brought so much emotion and versatility to her role! I also liked Dondre T. Whitfield and Dennis Haysbert’s performances, with both of them giving everything they had, talent wise, into the portrayals of their characters! Before learning more about who would star in this movie, I had no idea that Patti LaBelle was an actress, as her singing career is primarily the reason why I’m familiar with Patti as an entertainer. After watching Christmas Everlasting, I think she did a great job with the acting material she was given! If Hallmark ever decided to cast these actors in more Hallmark productions, I would whole-heartedly agree with that decision!

A compelling story: Two months ago, when I speculated on which book could be the source material for this movie, I mentioned that the synopsis for Marie Bostwick’s novel shared some similarities with The Beach House. While there were some parts of the movie that reminded me of Hallmark Hall of Fame’s previous entry, there were several differences that brought uniqueness to this story. An example is Mr. Freckles, Alice’s cat. The incorporation of Alice’s beloved cat featured a type of pet that is not often seen in a Hallmark movie. Mr. Freckles was also incorporated into the story to help the protagonist and the audience learn a valuable lesson about how certain situations take time in order for them to be dealt with.

The humor: When I first watched the trailer for Christmas Everlasting, I knew there was going to be a certain amount of humor featured throughout the film. However, I did not expect the movie to have as much humor as it ended up having. I believe there was a good balance of comedy and drama in this film. The inclusion of comedy helped give the audience a break from the sadness associated with this story, while the drama helped bring a sense of realism and relatability to the film.

Great messages and themes: There are lots of Hallmarks movies, including those from the Hallmark Hall of Fame branch, that have great messages and themes woven into their stories. While I was watching Christmas Everlasting, I found several messages and themes that were not only relatable, but also worth sharing long after the film’s end credits had appeared on-screen. One example is when one of Alice’s friends compares life to a quilt. This message made me look at quilts differently and gave me a new perspective on life itself.

The mystery: In a Word on the Street post, when I first shared my thoughts on the Christmas Everlasting trailer, one of the things that I was looking forward to was figuring out the mystery surrounding the quilt. I won’t spoil anything for those of you who haven’t seen the film yet, but all I will say is that this specific part of the story was very well-written, leading to a really good plot twist!

OI2OX60 — Essential items of Christmas image created by Moonstarer at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/christmas-elements-collection_994917.htm’>Designed by Moonstarer</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/christmas”>Christmas vector created by Moonstarer – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

Patti LaBelle’s limited on-screen presence: Because Patti LaBelle was cast in this film as the main supporting actress and because her picture is prominently featured on the movie’s poster, I expected Patti’s character to have a recurring presence throughout the film. Also, I was excited to see Patti’s performance in this movie, as this was the first time I had ever seen any of Patti’s acting performances. When I watched Christmas Everlasting, however, Patti was only in two scenes within the movie’s last thirty minutes.

stylish snowflakes background for christmas holiday season — Christmas and New Year snowflake banner image created by Starline at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/stylish-snowflakes-background-for-christmas-holiday-season_1384882.htm’>Designed by Starline</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Starline – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

In this review’s introduction, I said that Christmas Everlasting was my most anticipated Christmas movie of 2018. When I look back on this movie, I can honestly say that this film lived up to my expectations! Christmas Everlasting had everything I could want in a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie and was definitely worth the wait! In fact, Christmas Everlasting is, so far, the best Hallmark Christmas movie I’ve seen this year! During the sneak peek commercial that was shown after this movie, however, there was no mention of the next Hallmark Hall of Fame production. I’m guessing that Hallmark is trying something new when announcing their movies within this particular branch, keeping these projects under wraps and preventing the element of surprise from being spoiled for their audience. If you look at the history of Hallmark Hall of Fame, an upcoming movie would usually be advertised during the end credits of a particular film. Whatever Hallmark has in store for the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 2019, I will definitely be looking forward to them and await the arrival of those announcements!

Overall score: 8.3 out of 10

Have you seen Christmas Everlasting? Which Hallmark Hall of Fame movie is your favorite? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe Review

On November 24, 2018 By 18cinemalane5 Comments

I will be one of the first people to admit that, this year, I have been failing at keeping up with Hallmark’s Christmas movies. So far, I have only seen three of Hallmark’s newly released Christmas offerings. But, by reviewing Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe, this short list will have grown to four movies. Because of this review, I have now seen both of the Hallmark Christmas movies that feature a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice. What got me interested in seeing this film is the character reversals that take place within this story. For example, instead of Mr. Darcy, we have a female protagonist named Darcy. This role reversal reminded me of one of my favorite Hallmark movies, Midnight Masquerade, so I was willing to give Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe a chance. Do I think this movie was better than Christmas at Pemberley Manor? I’m glad you came to this review because you’re about to find out!

Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe poster — *Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Channel. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=142&FeedBoxID=845&NodeID=302&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Pride%2c+Prejudice%2c+and+Mistletoe.

Things I liked about the film:

Lacey and Brendan’s performances: Whenever Lacey Chabert is cast in a Hallmark movie, you know she, more often than not, is going to bring her A game when it comes to her performance. Her portrayal of Darcy Fitzwilliam was no exception, as Lacey brought the right amount of sweetness to this role in order for her character to be likeable. I’ve seen Brendan’s lead performances in ‘Tis the Season for Love, Autumn in the Vineyard, Summer in the Vineyard, and Chesapeake Shores, so I knew he would have what it takes, talent wise, to lead his third Hallmark Christmas movie. Not only did Brendan pull off a really good performance, but he added the right amount of charisma for his on-screen presence to be as delightful as possible.

The Fitzwilliam’s house: I don’t know where Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe was filmed (probably somewhere in Canada), but wherever the production location was, the Fitzwilliam’s house was magnificent! The architecture was great to look at and showcased well on-screen. What was also great about this house was how it was decorated for Christmas-time. All of the decorations that were seen in this movie really complimented the features of this particular house!

The idea of auctioning off Christmas trees: When Darcy’s mother mentioned the idea of selling customized Christmas trees at the annual action, I thought it was a really creative concept. While auctions, especially charitable ones, have been featured in Hallmark movies before, the idea of selling Christmas trees at an auction is something I haven’t really seen in a Hallmark Christmas movie before. This idea’s originality is what carried my interest in that aspect of the plot. Maybe this idea could, one day, lead to a Hallmark movie about a Christmas tree decorating contest.

186734-OXNN2F-951 — Merry Christmas banner created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/merry-christmas-decorative-vintage-background_1359013.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A slow pace: While watching Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe, I noticed that the pace of this film was slower than most of the Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel. This caused the plot to feel more drawn out than it might have been intended.

The performances of the supporting cast: While Lacey and Brendan’s performances were really good, the performances from the actors in the supporting cast were weaker. The quality of these performances ranged from ok to less-than-stellar. There were even times when some of the actors appeared to be going through the motions, making it appear as if Lacey and Brendan were carrying the majority of the film on their shoulders.

The character of Carl: In my review of The Christmas Card, I talked about how I didn’t like the character of Paul, Faith’s boyfriend, because it felt like he was placed into the story just for the sake of adding something to the plot. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe had a similar problem with the character of Carl, Darcy’s boyfriend. Not only was his presence in the movie very limited, but the only time this character added conflict to the film’s overall plot was in the last twenty minutes of the movie. The character of Carl could have been written out of this story and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Not so strong on-screen chemistry: While Lacey and Brendan had on-screen chemistry, I don’t think it was as strong as it could have been. To me, it didn’t feel like a romantic relationship was developing between Darcy and Luke. Instead, it appeared as though Darcy and Luke’s friendship was growing over the course of the film.

Little resemblance to the Pride and Prejudice story: In my Christmas at Pemberley Manor review, I said that the only thing I didn’t like about the movie was how few resemblances to Pride and Prejudice were found throughout the film. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe had the exact same flaw, with even fewer characters being given the names of characters from Jane Austen’s book. If you remove the fact that this movie was supposed to be a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice with a twist, it would have come across like just any other Hallmark Christmas movie.

20181124_192613[1] — Yes, a new Hallmark movie was announced during the premiere of a new Hallmark movie. Isn’t that ironic? Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

20181124_192649[1] — Based on the title and the apparent month of release, I’m guessing this will be a Valentine’s Day themed movie. Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

My overall impression:

Before the start of Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups, I knew there would be at least one movie that wasn’t good. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe is the first Christmas movie, that I’ve seen so far, from this year’s line-ups that I didn’t like. As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I watch every movie with low expectations and an open mind. However, there are times when a movie just can’t reach those levels of expectations, no matter how low they are. On paper, the idea behind Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe sounded creative and interesting. But, in practice, this concept was not as compelling as I had hoped. During this movie, there was an advertisement for a Hallmark movie titled “Love, Romance & Chocolate”, which is supposed to premiere next February. This film will also star Lacey Chabert. Whoever stars in this new movie as the male lead actor, I just hope “Love, Romance & Chocolate” is better than Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe was.

Overall score: 5.7 out of 10

Have you seen Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe? What 2018 Hallmark Christmas movie do you like so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

I won the The Blog Complainer’s Appreciation Award!

On November 23, 2018 By 18cinemalane3 Comments

Now that Thanksgiving leftovers have been stored away in the refrigerator and Christmas shopping has officially begun, it’s time that I share some good news. Last week, I was nominated for The Blog Complainer’s Appreciation Award! This prize was created by The Blog Complainer (a.k.a. Cameron), who nominated me as well. Thank you, Cameron, for not only creating this award, but also for nominating me! Here is the link to where this award began:

https://theblogcomplainer.com/2018/11/16/ive-been-nominated-for-the-versatile-blogger-award/

For this award, there are a set of rules that must be followed. These rules are:

Mention who made this award and who picked you
Name your top 5 (insert topic here)
Mention something about yourself
Complete a small Challenge
Nominate 4 people for this award

Since I’ve already completed step #1, I’ll now move on to step #2. Instead of talking about snacks (an example that was used in the original post), I’m going to share my Top 5 Best Hallmark movies I have seen this year (so far). Here is my list:

Royally Ever After
Cooking with Love
Wedding of Dreams
Love, of Course
Christmas at Pemberley Manor

For step #3, I will say that I am planning to create a special movie awards on my blog! These awards will correlate with 18 Cinema Lane’s first anniversary, so stay tuned! I’m also planning on hosting a blogathon in 2019! I will probably make an announcement in April or May of next year.

From December 3^rd to 9^th, Zoe, from the Youtube channel Readerbee, and Georgia, from the Youtube channel Reading Euphoria, are hosting a readathon called Cosyathon! My small challenge for this award will be to read two books for this readathon! These two books will count for three of the readathon’s challenges.

We have now arrived at the last step! The four bloggers that I will nominate for this award are:

Kaycee from Hallmark My Words
DM from Pointless Overthinking
The Soundtrack Man from Soundtrack Alley
K from K at the Movies

For steps 2 through 4, they have to be something movie related. If you need suggestions or questions answered, you can share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: The Christmas Card Review

On November 18, 2018 By 18cinemalane10 Comments

For Moon in Gemini’s The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon, I put a lot of thought into what film I would review. When I thought about which movies I had never seen up until this point, one of the first films that came to mind was the Hallmark movie, The Christmas Card. Since the movie’s premiere in 2006, it seems like a significant amount of Hallmark fans love this movie. The Christmas Card is so beloved that it almost always is included into one of Hallmark’s Christmas movie line-ups. This film also won Hallmark Channel’s first Christmas movie March Madness contest last year! Since 2006, fans of The Christmas Card have asked Hallmark on numerous occasions to give this film a sequel, wishing and hoping that their dream of revisiting this story would come true. Because of my participation in this blogathon, I was finally given the chance to not only watch this movie, but to see if it was truly as beloved as people had made it out to be. So, take a seat on this sleigh ride as we travel through this review of The Christmas Card!

20181118_212816[1] — Thank you, television of mine, for reminding me that I watched this film. Screenshot taken by me, Sally Silverscreen.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: For the most part, the acting in The Christmas Card was fine. However, the three stand-out performers in this film were Edward Asner, Lois Nettleton, and Peter Jason! Their performances were so lively and animated when it needed to be, but also contained the emotions required for the film’s dramatic moments. It was always a delight when these three actors came on-screen, with the interactions involving their characters being enjoyable to watch. Because of their ability to provide the right amount of versatility to their roles, Edward, Lois, and Peter brought a good amount of believability to their performances, even more than the other actors in this cast.

The scenery: Any time the characters went into the forest, the setting surrounding them was beautiful to look at. The story’s natural landscape were showcased very well in the film and really captured the spirit of the season. Whenever the Spelman’s “special place” was featured in the movie, it was absolutely breath-taking. The natural beauty of the film’s snowy environment was definitely a highlight to this film!

The reverence and respect toward the military: Hallmark usually does a good job whenever the military or military families are incorporated into their stories. The Christmas Card is no exception. When the subject of fallen military members was brought up in the film, the creative team associated with this movie not only made sure the right emotions were featured in those moments, but that those moments were presented in a respectful and appropriate manner. During the Christmas Eve Service, the pastor said a prayer where he hoped the members of the military would stay safe during the Christmas season. I thought this prayer was well-written and handled by the film’s creative team with great care.

78758-OFLC5Q-374 — Christmas card image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/christmas-card-with-watercolor-mistletoe-decoration_965555.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/watercolor”>Watercolor vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A weak and drawn-out plot: The main plot of The Christmas Card is Faith (one of the main characters of the film) writing and sending a card to Sgt. Cody Cullen (the film’s protagonist), which causes him to travel to her hometown in order to thank her for the card. Because Cody doesn’t thank Faith for the card until the last ten minutes of the movie, it made the plot feel weak and drawn-out. Before I watched The Christmas Card, I was hoping there would be two interesting subplots to complement the main plot. Sadly, the only plot in this film was the main plot, with the story being filled with “filler” material just to keep the movie going. The scenes that show Cody working at the Spelman family lumberyard, one of the film’s “filler” material, were the most boring scenes in this movie.

The character of Faith’s boyfriend: The incorporation of Paul, Faith’s boyfriend, into this story was meant to add conflict for the protagonist. However, I found this conflict to be just as weak as the main plot. It felt like Paul and the conflict he brought were included in this story just for the sake of adding something to the plot. If Paul had been written out of this story, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Being forced to suspend more of my disbelief than I wanted to: More often than not, Hallmark asks their audience to suspend their disbelief when it comes to their movies (which, as a Hallmark fan, I am more than willing to do). However, there were moments in The Christmas Card where I felt Hallmark was asking me, as an audience member, to suspend more of my disbelief than I had wanted to. For example, I thought Faith’s card, while written with the best of intentions, was very unrealistic. I’ve participated in several activities that required me to write a letter or card to a military service-member. During my participation in these activities, I was always told that the only information I could share about myself was my first name. The idea of Faith not only sharing her full name, but also sharing other personal aspects of her life, such as where she lived and photos of what her family’s house looked like, seemed so ridiculous to me, that, to a certain extent, I was taken out of the film.

Greatest Film I've Never Seen blogathon banner — The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon banner created by Debbie from Moon in Gemini. Image found at https://debravega.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/announcing-the-greatest-film-ive-never-seen-blogathon/.

My overall impression:

At best, I thought The Christmas Card was ok. While there were a few good things about the film, it wasn’t enough to sweep me off my feet, as it did for some Hallmark fans. When I reflect on this movie, I can think of Hallmark movies with similar themes that are better than The Christmas Card, with Operation Christmas and Home for Christmas Day being two good examples. While I was watching The Christmas Card, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “this won Hallmark Channel’s very first Christmas movie March Madness”? Over the twelve years that this movie has existed, I feel that it has been over-hyped. I don’t think this movie is bad, but I do think it could have been stronger. I’m glad that Moon in Gemini created The Greatest Film I’ve Never Seen Blogathon because I now have an honest opinion about one of Hallmark’s most beloved films.

Overall score: 6.2 out of 10

Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts on The Christmas Card? What Hallmark Christmas movie do you cherish the most? Please let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Word on the Street: Movie production updates, a speculation, and a new trailer for upcoming Hallmark movies!

On November 15, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

For this week, I contemplated on what my next blog post should be about. Realizing I haven’t published a Word on the Street story since last month, I decided to write November’s first Word on the Street post. To my surprise, there were a lot of news worthy material relating to upcoming Hallmark movies! So, I thought it would a good idea to share these pieces of movie news with my readers and followers. Within this post, I will talk about almost all of the Hallmark movie news I could find. As the title states, there will be several movie production updates that will be discussed, plus speculation about a potential Hallmark movie and a new trailer for one of Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” films!

Cinema Festival Poster — Movie night image created Macrovector at freepik.com. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Macrovector – Freepik.com</a>. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/cinema-festival-poster_2875637.htm’>Designed by Macrovector</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

On the website, Creative BC, there were several titles listed on their “In Production” page. What caught my attention is how many of them were Hallmark related. Three of these listings were for movies that are a part of an established Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series. According to Creative BC, the first movie on this list is “A Clue To Kill”/ “Aurora Teagarden 10”, which started production on November 3^rd and will wrap up on November 23^rd. The next title is “Hailey Dean Mysteries 7” and the production for this movie will start on November 28^th. The third title is “Morning Show Mysteries: Murder Most Fair”, where production started on October 29^th and will end on November 16^th. One title that caught my eye was “Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness”. Because of the way the title sounds, I’m guessing this could be the start of a brand-new Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series. However, Hallmark has not made any official announcements about this project. Another title that was listed on the website was “Wedding In The Vineyard”. This project will not only be in production from November 19^th to December 7^th, but is highly likely a continuation of the “In the Vineyard” series starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Brendan Penny. As of November 2018, Hallmark has not made any confirmations about this project.

OKLG790 — Detective work image created by Photoroyalty at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/investigation-background-design_1041877.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Photoroyalty – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

There were two titles on Creative BC’s “In Production” page that allude to what could be in store for next year’s “Winterfest” line-up. The first title is “Snowcoming”, which has already been confirmed to be a Hallmark movie! According to International Business Times, the movie will star Trevor Donovan and Lindy Booth. “Snowcoming” will be production from November 19^th to December 7^th. The second title is “Snow Princess”, which, as of November 2018, has not been officially announced by Hallmark. All that is known about the project is the title, the filming location, and the production dates (which are from November 13^th to December 1^st). Because “Snow Princess” also has the word snow in its title (like “Snowcoming”), I’m guessing that this movie will also be a part of Hallmark’s “Winterfest” line-up. The story could either be another “royal” movie or it could involve a pageant.

80585-OG0LO2-734 — Snowy mountain image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/landscape-background-of-snow-track-and-mountains_968656.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

This week, Hallmark released their official trailer for the Hallmark Hall of Fame film, Christmas Everlasting. As I’ve said before on my blog, I have been anticipating this movie since it was first announced back in April. After seeing Truly, Madly, Sweetly, it increased my level of excitement for Hallmark’s newest Hallmark Hall of Fame entry. Now that I have finally watched this trailer, I can honestly say that I couldn’t be more excited! This movie looks like it has a lot of potential; from the mystery surrounding the quilt to the potential balance of humor and dramatic emotions. To me, the marketing campaign for Christmas Everlasting is much better than The Beach House’s marketing. November 24^th cannot come soon enough!

What are your thoughts on these pieces of movie news? Which project are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to visit the sources I referenced in this post, you can go to these links:

https://www.creativebc.com/crbc-services/motion-picture-services/in-production/films.php?type=mow

https://www.ibtimes.com/trevor-donovan-lindy-booth-tapped-new-hallmark-winterfest-2019-movie-2732199

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas-everlasting/videos/preview-christmas-everlasting-hallmark-hall-of-fame

Take 3: Lawrence of Arabia Review

On November 11, 2018 By 18cinemalane16 Comments

For Maddy Loves Her Classic Films’ blogathon, The World War One On Film Blogathon, I had originally planned on reviewing the movie, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero. However, because the film changed its DVD release date several times, with December 11^th being the latest date, I had to come up with a different movie to review. Remembering MovieBabble’s list of the Top 10 Best World War I Movies, I visited this post to see what options were available at such short notice. I decided to pick Lawrence of Arabia because a) I’ve never seen it before and b) I’ve heard a lot of good things about the movie throughout the years. In fact, until I read MovieBabble’s aforementioned list, I had no idea that Lawrence of Arabia had anything to do with World War I. Despite the change of plans, I was looking forward to finally seeing this movie. Was it truly as good as almost everyone says it is? Let’s find out in my review for Lawrence of Arabia!

Lawrence of Arabia poster — *Lawrence of Arabia* poster created by Columbia Pictures. Image found at http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4455/Lawrence-of-Arabia/#

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: The cast of Lawrence of Arabia was really good! Everyone on-screen brought a significant amount of believability to their roles. Peter O’Toole gave such a great performance, bringing the emotional depth that made his performance so memorable. Two of the stand-out performers in this movie were Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn! Both of their performances were so good, it felt like their characters were truly coming to life as the events played out on-screen. The acting overall was definitely a highlight to this film!

The scenery: The scenery in this film is great to look at! Any scene that took place in the desert was filmed very well, making that environment appear beautiful. I also liked the architecture that was featured in the film. My favorite building in Lawrence of Arabia was the British offices in Cairo because that facility looked majestic and breath-taking.

Seeing World War I from a unique perspective: Whenever events from World War I or World War II are depicted in film, either characters are shown fighting on the European front or the conflicts of World War I or II are shown affecting various European countries. In Lawrence of Arabia, however, the effects of World War I are shown through the eyes of those stationed in Arabia. Like a lot of war movies or movies discussing the subject of war, there were several shared ideas in Lawrence of Arabia, such as looking out for fellow comrades, questioning the ethics of war, and individuals from various backgrounds coming together to reach a common goal. There were also ideas in Lawrence of Arabia that added uniqueness to this perspective, such as religion and the characters’ views on the two Arab tribes that were amongst Lawrence’s troop. These shared ideas and unique views of World War I make Lawrence of Arabia an interesting and compelling war movie!

2018 WWI on Film Blogathon — The World War One On Film Blogathon banner created by Maddy from Maddy Loves Her Classic Films. Images found at https://maddylovesherclassicfilms.wordpress.com/2018/06/23/announcing-the-world-war-one-on-film-blogathon/

What I didn’t like about the film:

An interesting four minutes: During the first four minutes of this movie, the screen was blank while the film’s score played. I was so caught off-guard by this, that I thought something was wrong with my television.

Some scenes feeling more drawn out than others: While watching Lawrence of Arabia, I noticed that some scenes were drawn out more than others. The scenes that were drawn out were any of them that involved the characters traveling in the desert. Because these scenes didn’t involve a lot of action or intrigue, this affected the continuity of my interest in the film.

A limited amount of battles: When one thinks of a war movie, the idea of the characters fighting in at least one battle is almost always expected. Before I saw Lawrence of Arabia, I thought it would contain two smaller battles and one big, climatic battle. However, this movie contained several military confrontations and political negotiations. While these things made the film interesting, I was expecting a little more action.

Seamless pattern with chamomile and poppies flowers — Poppy and chamomile pattern image created by Klyaksun at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/seamless-pattern-with-chamomile-and-poppies-flowers_1308007.htm’>Designed by Klyaksun</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Klyaksun – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

One three-hour movie and a film review later, I can honestly say that Lawrence of Arabia was a good movie! However, I, personally, feel that it’s not as great as some people have made it out to be. Over the years, I think it has become a bit over-hyped. But, I can definitely see why people like it as much as they claim to. This film does have its merits and has stood the “test of time” for good reason. Lawrence of Arabia is a film that is worth checking out, whether it’s your first time seeing it or if you’re re-watching it for the billionth time. Looking back on it, Lawrence of Arabia does make a good war movie. Its unique perspective and cinematic qualities set this movie apart from all the rest.

Overall score: 7.7-7.8 out of 10

Have you seen Lawrence of Arabia? What’s your favorite war movie? Leave your thoughts below in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to check out MovieBabble’s post that I mentioned in this review, you can visit this link:

https://moviebabblereviews.com/2018/08/22/top-10-best-world-war-i-movies/

I won the Versatile Blogger Award!

On November 8, 2018 By 18cinemalane3 Comments

Four days ago, I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by DM from Pointless Overthinking! This is my very first time winning a blogging award, so it’s really exciting for me! Thank you, DM, for the nomination! If you want to visit their blog, here’s the link:

https://pointlessoverthinking.wordpress.com/

When you get nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, there are four simple rules you must follow, which are the following:

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you
Include a link to their blog in your post
Share 7 facts about yourself
Nominate 15 bloggers of your choosing

Since I completed rules one and two, it’s time for me to follow rule number three. All of the seven facts about myself are listed here:

7 Facts:

The movie that has had the biggest influence on my life is the Disney Channel movie, Phantom of the Megaplex
I attended my very first Comic Con this year
My dream is to compete on Screen Junkies’ Movie Fights
I have lived in the same area for the majority of my life
My favorite quote is from Albus Dumbledore: “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”
My goal is watch every single Shirley Temple movie ever made
I consider myself a charitable person and like helping charities/non-profits

So, now that rule number three is finished, let me announce the fifteen nominees who will receive this award! They are:

Jason from Jason’s Movie Blog
Emma from The Hallremark
JustSoYouDon’tHaveTo from JustSoYouDon’tHaveTo
Kerry from I’ve Seen It On Hallmark
Ruth from My Devotional Thoughts
Cameron from The Blog Complainer
The Sklogs from Bad Movie Twins
Annlyel from Annlyel Online
Rachel from Reviewing All 56 Disney Animated Films and More!
DBMovies from dbmoviesblog
Tiffany and Rebekah from Pure Entertainment Preservation Society
Uzuri from 2 SISTERS ONLINE
Graciemobile from Reellifebygrace
Brooke from Brooke n Burritos
Jen from Bookworm

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

Take 3: Marrying Father Christmas Review

On November 6, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

Back in February, when I published my Word on the Street story about Marrying Father Christmas going into production, I never thought it would be as successful as it ended up being. As of November 2018, this Word on the Street post has received 2 likes and 303 views! Since my readers are, apparently, interested in this film, I have decided to write a review for Marrying Father Christmas! Before this movie premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, I had seen Finding Father Christmas and Engaging Father Christmas. I found both of these movies to be really enjoyable! When Hallmark announced that this series would receive a third film, I was definitely excited to see it. Did this movie live up to my expectations? Take a sleigh ride through my Marrying Father Christmas review in order to find out!

Marrying Father Christmas poster — *Marrying Father Christmas* poster created by Crown Media Family Networks and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Image found at https://www.crownmediapress.com/Shows/PRShowDetail?SiteID=143&FeedBoxID=986&NodeID=307&ShowType=&ShowTitle=Marrying%20Father%20Christmas&IsSeries=False.

Things I liked about the film:

The acting: I thought the cast was solid in Marrying Father Christmas! From the child actors to the leading stars, everyone put all the talent they had into their respective roles! All of the performances in this movie appeared so natural, that it made the characters and their situations seem realistic. Because of the believability of the performances, every time characters interacted with one another made it seem like there were real-life conversations going on in the film. These performances helped elevate the emotion during dramatic scenes and bring in joy and humor when it was needed for light-hearted scenes.

The on-screen chemistry: One of the best parts of the Father Christmas series has been watching Miranda and Ian’s relationship grow over time. What makes this part of the series great is the on-screen chemistry between Erin Krakow and Niall Matter. Their performances appeared so natural and believable, that it looked and felt like Miranda and Ian truly got along with and cared about each other. Erin’s and Niall’s performance helped make the scene of Miranda and Ian’s wedding special, as the moment where Miranda and Ian exchanged their wedding vows was emotional and heart-felt.

The reveal of Miranda’s wedding dress: In wedding themed Hallmark movies, the audience is, usually, given the opportunity to see the bride wearing her wedding dress before the groom. In Marrying Father Christmas, however, Miranda’s wedding dress wasn’t revealed until the day of her wedding. I thought this creative choice was very clever, as I can’t recall Hallmark ever having a bride not reveal her wedding dress until the wedding itself. In terms of the dress, I thought it was simple yet classy. I also thought that Erin looked beautiful wearing that particular wedding dress!

204659-P02UXR-453 — Christmas family image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/nice-family-christmas-scene-singing-together_1458033.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

What I didn’t like about the film:

A slower pace: In Marrying Father Christmas, the pace was on the slower side. It didn’t make the movie boring or dull. However, it did make the movie as a whole feel more drawn out.

The omission of the plot from Kissing Father Christmas: In my Word on the Street post where I talked about Marrying Father Christmas going into production, I wondered if the story from Kissing Father Christmas, the third book in the Father Christmas series, would be omitted from Marrying Father Christmas or if it would be included as a subplot. Sadly, this story was omitted from the movie. This made me feel bad for the fans of this book series, as this movie didn’t seem to follow the continuity of that specific series.

Some characters getting stronger subplots than others: While watching Marrying Father Christmas, I noticed that some plots were stronger than others. For instance, the subplot of Thomas and Margaret’s relationship was good. However, it wasn’t as strong as the subplot of Miranda trying to refuse Margaret’s plans for the wedding, for example. This caused the movie to not have the same amount of consistency as the other two movies.

75628-OEJ0NK-229 — Wedding cake image created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/enjoyable-wedding-card_953556.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/frame”>Frame vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

My overall impression:

While Marrying Father Christmas was a good movie, I don’t think it was as strong as Finding and Engaging Father Christmas. Despite this, I would still like to see this story continue. As a whole, I enjoy this series. The quality has been, for the most part, consistent and they have been a joy to watch. Father Christmas is a special series that has brought some great acting, good stories, and wonderful memories. Just like Christmas at Pemberley Manor, Marrying Father Christmas was a good start to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “Miracles of Christmas” line-up! It’ll be interesting to see which movie from this particular line-up ends up being my favorite.

Overall score: 7.9 out of 10

Have you seen the Father Christmas series? Do you want to see this series continue? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

My Halloween Double Feature: A Conclusion

On November 4, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalaneLeave a comment

173549-OW976O-997 — Cute Halloween border created by Freepik at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/halloween-background-with-fun-style_1310632.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background vector created by Freepik</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Now that Halloween is over and the Christmas decorations are starting to get set up, it’s time for me to look back on this double feature to see what I’ve learned and whether my goal was accomplished. If you remember from my double feature’s introduction, my goal was to answer the following question:

When one watches a film purely as a film, not as an adaptation, can that film contain its own merit and entertainment value?

As I reflect on The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire and Queen of the Damned, I can honestly say that I did get my question answered. Even though I have never read any of the source material associated with these films, I ended up liking both movies. What I noticed is these films received a score in the 7 out of 10 range: The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire got a 7.6 and Queen of the Damned got a 7. This is really interesting because I hadn’t expected to score these films within the same range. While both films did have their flaws, they did have a good amount of merit while also being entertaining. I was really impressed by the creativity I saw in both films. It was so memorable that it stayed in my memory long after I saw these movies. Now that the mystery behind this question is solved (see what I did there? I think Sherlock Holmes would be proud), I’ll wrap up this post with one final thought and a lesson learned from each film.

The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire

Lesson learned: What I can take away from this film is the many different elements that can be featured in a Christmas movie. I know this double feature is Halloween themed, but The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, surprisingly, took place during Christmas-time. I learned that Christmas, especially when depicted in a Hallmark movie, can look and feel different to the voice of that particular story.

One final thought: As glad as I am that Hallmark puts a good amount of emphasis on their Christmas movies, I would really like to see both networks make more creatively interesting choices and think outside-the-box more when it comes to their movies. When I heard the synopsis for Hallmark’s 2018 Christmas movies, most of them sounded the same to me. There were very few movies within this year’s line-up that seemed creative or unique from the others.

Queen of the Damned

Lesson learned: What’s so great about the movie blogging community is being given the opportunity to help people find movies that may bring them joy or movies that they may want to avoid. However, when I watched Queen of the Damned, I realized that it’s important to give yourself a chance to form your own opinions when it comes to movies. If it hadn’t have been for the positive responses I heard about this film, I probably wouldn’t have seen this movie. But I’m glad I did because now I can have an honest opinion about it.

One final thought: In my review for Queen of the Damned, I mentioned that I thought the acting was really good. This is especially the case for Stuart Townsend’s and Marguerite Moreau’s performances. Because of this movie, I would like to see Stuart and Marguerite star in a Hallmark Hall of Fame (HHoF) movie together. I don’t know if there’s anything preventing them from working on a Hallmark project or if they’ve gotten along well enough where they would want to work together again, but I would be interested in seeing if they have what it takes, talent-wise, to help carry a project like a HHoF movie. Since the Hallmark Hall of Fame branch moved to the Hallmark Channel in 2014, the network has made a conscious effort to try to cast at least one actor who’s a HHoF alumni and one actor who’s never appeared in a HHoF movie into their films (a good example of this is The Beach House). Since Marguerite starred in The Locket, a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie from 2002, and since Stuart, as far as I know, has never appeared in a Hallmark affiliated project, this would be a good balance for Hallmark; of recruiting new talent and welcoming back familiar faces.

Autumn forest. — Sunny autumn landscape picture created by Kotkoa at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/autumn-forest_1436222.htm’>Designed by Kotkoa</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/background”>Background image created by Kotkoa – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

If you want to read all the posts associated with this double feature, visit any of the links below:

My Halloween Double Feature: An Introduction

Take 3: The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire Review (Halloween Double Feature Part 1)

Take 3: Queen of the Damned Review (Halloween Double Feature Part 2)

On October 31, 2018November 7, 2018 By 18cinemalane12 Comments

Happy Halloween! Just to let you know, there will be spoilers in this review. If you want to read this Double Feature’s introduction, visit this link:

My Halloween Double Feature: An Introduction

Queen of the Damned poster — *Queen of the Damned* poster created by Warner Bros. Pictures. Image found at https://www.warnerbros.com/queen-damned

In your introduction for this double feature, you mentioned that both Queen of the Damned and The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire were released in 2002. Can you think of anything from around that time period that could have influenced the creation of this film?

I think there are three things that influenced the creation of Queen of the Damned. The first is the character of Malcolm from Jurassic Park. As I mentioned in my Jurassic Park review, Malcolm is a rock-star-esque mathematician. However, Malcolm appeared to be a likable character. In Queen of the Damned, Lestat was a rock-star-esque vampire. Despite these characteristics, Lestat, for the most part, comes across as a likable character. The second thing is the 1998 film, Blade. I’ve never seen this movie, but I know that it’s a darker and more violent comic book film that, to a certain extent, discusses the subject of vampires. Because this film was successful enough to receive a sequel (that was, ironically, released exactly a month after Queen of the Damned), I’m speculating that Blade inspired the creative team behind Queen of the Damned to make their movie darker and more violent than their predecessor, Interview with the Vampire. The third and final thing is, interestingly, Interview with the Vampire. I’ve never seen this film either, but based on this film’s trailer, it appears to be a gothic film in the old-school sense. Queen of the Damned focuses on the new-school/modern gothic style, which is very different from the first film. Most movie series try to do something different with each new film, so I think this film’s approach was rather creative.

2. Were you able to follow along with the story and understand what was going on in the film despite not having read the source material?

For the most part, yes. I did some research about this film before I saw it, so I was aware of certain aspects of the film that some casual movie-viewers might not understand. For instance, in the film’s climax, there are various characters that are introduced. One of these characters is Pandora. If I didn’t know that she is a character from a spin-off book series that Anne Rice wrote, I would have no idea who Pandora was in this film.

3. Were your pre-movie questions answered?

Well, two out of my three pre-movie questions were answered. The only question that wasn’t answered was how Lestat survived being burned in the previous film. Honestly, I wasn’t as bothered by this as I thought I would be. Because this movie focused more on Lestat’s present and origin story, re-capping the first film would have felt like Queen of the Damned had too much content.

As for the two questions that did get answered, the reason why Lestat appeared like he was trying to pursue a romantic relationship with Akasha is because, in the movie, Akasha kidnapped Lestat and forced him to in be in relationship with her. Speaking of Akasha, she did reveal that the reason why she loved Lestat was because he reminded her of her deceased husband. As for Jesse, it appeared, in the movie, like she truly loved Lestat. Because she’s a vampire scholar, Jesse wasn’t as fazed by the vampire aspects of Lestat’s world. Also, because her aunt is a vampire, it seemed like Jesse truly appreciated the subject of vampires and the world surrounding them.

4. Were you right or wrong in your pre-movie prediction?

I guess I was kind of right in my pre-movie prediction {shrugs with a confused look on my face}. While Lestat was forced into a relationship with Akasha and Jesse wasn’t aware of this until the climax of the film, there is a moment during the film’s climax where Lestat pretends to drink more of Akasha’s blood then he should have. This allowed the other vampires present in that scene to defeat Akasha.

5. In this double feature’s introduction, when you talked about your reason for choosing to review Queen of the Damned, you said that the movie clips featured in the MsMojo video, ‘Top 10 Movies Based on Books That Need a Do-Over’, appeared bonkers to you. Was this movie bonkers or do you think these movie clips were taken out of context?

I definitely think these movie clips were taken out of context. To me, Queen of the Damned was not as bonkers as the clips within this video made it seem. The only thing I found bonkers in this movie was Lestat and Akasha’s “relationship” because of how problematic it was.

Old castle in the mountians. — Castle photo created by Photoangel at freepik.com. <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/old-castle-in-the-mountians_1286237.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>. <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/tree”>Tree image created by Photoangel – Freepik.com</a>. Image found at freepik.com.

6. In a post from The Blog Complainer titled “How To Make A Good Movie Sequel”, there were several steps listed as if the article were a how-to for making sequels that are good. When a sequel successfully followed these steps, it means they passed the “Good Movie Sequel School for Dummies”. Because Queen of the Damned is a sequel, do you think it passed this school?

Well, yes and no. On the one hand, Queen of the Damned is based on two books from The Vampire Chronicles series. On the other hand, some stories were explored more than others because of this choice. Also, there were no references to Interview with the Vampire besides Lestat being a protagonist in the sequel. Lestat also had different characteristics than he did in the first movie, such as being less self-centered. However, the creative team behind this movie tried to do something different from the first movie. Lestat’s backstory was further explored and there were new characters that were introduced. If Queen of the Damned were enrolled in the “Good Movie Sequel School for Dummies”, it would probably receive a grade of somewhere between a B to C+.

7. Did you acquire any new thoughts and/or questions while watching this film?

Yes, lots! Because this post is already long, I will only list a few of these questions and thoughts.

What is Lestat’s net worth?

Why is there a small amount of security at Lestat’s concert? Since his band was aware of Lestat encouraging other vampires to show up at his concert to try and hurt him, wouldn’t they want to have more security at the concert?

Why would Jesse and Lestat return Lestat’s journal to David? It’s Lestat’s journal, so why wouldn’t he want to keep it?

How did Akasha know about Marius and Lestat’s conversation about Lestat needing a companion? Shortly after she kidnaps Lestat, Akasha tells him that she wants to grant his wish of a companion. However, Akasha was not a part of that conversation nor did anyone tell her about that conversation.

As I’ve already mentioned, I think that Lestat and Akasha’s “relationship” was problematic. The reason why I put the word relationship in quotations is because Lestat and Akasha were not together for a long period of time and their relationship didn’t develop over a significant amount of time. The way I would describe this “relationship” is with an analogy: the “relationship” is a car and Akasha is driving it. All Lestat is able to do sit in the passenger seat and take orders from Akasha. Honestly, I think this “relationship” is one of the most problematic relationships I’ve ever seen in a movie.

I really liked the sets and scenery in this film! For the most part, it made the environments in the movie feel inviting and appealing. I also thought the acting was really good! Everyone portrayed their characters so well and all of the performances were memorable. Something that I didn’t like in this film was most of the music. While I liked the violin music and the music that played during Akasha’s demise, I was not a fan of the goth rock music. When Lestat sang at his concert, he sounded unnecessarily angry. I would rather hear him play the violin than sing.

8. In Queen of the Damned, did anything stand out to you, whether for better or worse?

I liked the techniques in story-telling that were used in Queen of the Damned. There were several times when voice-overs from Jesse and Lestat were included to show the film’s story from their specific point-of-view. I think these voice-overs added depth to the story that we wouldn’t have gotten if they weren’t there. Most movies have one main plot and a few subplots. Queen of the Damned was told through several subplots that were all connected to Lestat in some way. I thought this was a very interesting approach to cinematic storytelling that I haven’t really seen before.

To me, the biggest flaw of Queen of the Damned is the run-time. This movie combines elements from two novels into one movie. However, the movie itself is one hour and forty-one minutes. Since the creative team knew they were going to incorporate so many story elements into their film, I think this movie either should have been a two-part over-arcing story (like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) or the run-time should have been longer. Because of this, some plots were explored more than others. For example, Lestat’s relationship with Akasha and Jesse seemed to move at a very quick pace, not giving these relationships enough time to develop and grow. I believe that any of my aforementioned solutions could have solved this issue.

9. According to the BMeTric charts in the Queen of the Damned Preview from Bad Movie Twins, it appears that interest in this film is rising. Why do you think that is?

Well, I think there’s two reasons for that. The first is negative reviews that the film has received. After hearing these reviews and seeing the 17% it has on Rotten Tomatoes, some people might choose to watch this movie out of curiosity, like I did. The second reason is Aaliyah’s involvement in the film. Some people might choose to watch this film as a way to respect her memory. Others may choose to watch this film because they want to learn more about who she was as a person and entertainer.

10. After watching Queen of the Damned, what is the one thing you can take away from this movie viewing experience?

While I think Queen of the Damned could have been a stronger film, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people have made it out to be. To me, this film is decent and I do think it has its merits. After watching this film, I started to notice a very sad pattern. I’ve only seen six vampire movies in my life, including Queen of the Damned. Out of those six, most of them feature at least one problematic relationship that is meant to be romantic. I can’t say if this is a norm in vampires movies or if this is just a pattern in the vampire movies I’ve seen. However, I was happy to see Lestat and Jesse pursue a romantic relationship with each other because, to me, they seemed like they truly loved and cared about each other. Their relationship also appeared to be a healthy one, where Lestat and Jesse loved one another for who they were and appreciated each other’s worlds.