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Reviews
A Midnight Kiss (2018)
Lead actress flops it.
Were we all watching the same movie here? Adelaide Kane's portrayal of the party planner protagonist was cringeworthy at best, uncomfortable to watch at worst. There was not an ounce of believability in what she was bringing to the table. Maybe she isn't used to these types of scripts (she's not a Hallmark regular, after all), but then again, you don't exactly need to be an Oscar-worthy actress to tackle the complexities of a Hallmark romance. She was lacking real feeling, any emotion, and also didn't even seem all that comfortable in her own skin.
On the plus side, it's a nice holiday movie with a great New Years atmosphere, and all the holiday decorations everywhere really set the mood well. The acting needed definite help (Carlos PenaVega isn't off the hook either, but he still was better than Adelaide Kane), and the script was a bit amateur, but the movie is fun to watch (when you have nothing better to do) regardless. I do think last year's New Years movie was a huge cut above this one, though.
Love on the Slopes (2018)
Love (and implausibility) on the slopes.
Yet another movie in Hallmark's Winterfest that delivers amazing views, picturesque snowy scenes, and gorgeous mountain shots---but fails to deliver much else.
Ke$ha-lookalike Alex is a copy editor longing to break into the world of writing, and is sent on assignment by her boss to tackle extreme sports. She is a complete novice, but not in a way that is at all endearing, considering that she has done absolutely zero research ahead of time and arrives with inappropriate clothing for the occasion and has zero clue what equipment to use. She turns to her love interest, photographer Cole, who somehow manages to keep his business afloat even though he does little more than run a website and a hut full of his photographs that's near the ski resort that Alex is staying in, and has eschewed all forms of social media as means of advertising. Somehow, this has given him the illustrious title of being an elusive, interesting focal point for an article, never mind that were this at all realistic, no reader would turn heads for a photographer who has virtually no online presence and longs to stay as quiet and unpopular as possible with his work. Still, Alex's boss, upon learning that she has inadvertently tracked Cole down, demands that she worm him into the article.
Before all this can come to a head, however, Alex must first convince Cole, who is the only available person in the entire resort, to teach her extreme winter sports. He is reluctant, but soon agrees. One would think that this would encourage Alex to be accomodating and open-minded, but she proceeds to whine and complain at every turn, whether it be about proper winter clothing, crossing bridges, or partaking in literally any winter sports whatsoever, never mind that this was the entire point. No worries, though, because soon she will be clamoring her boyfriend to take her heli-skiing, because a few days on the prowl with Cole has changed her entire being. There were several points in the movie when I had to vocally announce my complete disbelief that whoever wrote this screenplay has any idea what a fear of heights actually looks like, because Alex, who is presented to us as someone too terrified to even try a zipline without five minutes worth of coaxing, suddenly squeals in delight as she soars over treetops (rather than, say, shut her eyes and pray for it to be over). She does such a complete 180 that it's impossible to take her as a character seriously.
To add fuel to the fire, Alex has a Ken-doll boyfriend waiting for her back home who comes at exactly the right moment to ruin everything. Cole, although reluctant to help Alex at the beginning, soon takes every opportunity to spend all the time he can with her, from lunches together, to shopping for clothes, to dancing in a country bar with her, and all this building romance of course has to be popped by Alex's boyfriend making an appearance. His presence (and entire existence in the movie) is pointless, and his misplaced proposal ends very blandly, with him admitting to her with no semblance of emotion in his voice, after her rejection, that he agrees that they're on separate paths. He leaves never to be seen again. Since this movie is built on the premise that the employee who writes the most compelling article at Alex's company wins a first-class ticket to the city of their choice, I would have much preferred to see the role of Alex's boyfriend be replaced with a competitive coworker aching for the same prize and therefore urging Alex along in her goal.
After believing himself to be a pawn in Alex's road to writing glory, Cole ends all relations with Alex. This does not stop him, however, from plastering up humongous photographs of Alex enjoying the winter sports he introduced her to up in his photography hut. The pictures are a hit, never mind that they look like the generic photography that one would find in a frame from a dollar store and then promptly remove because you don't know who the person pictured is. Alex is similarly heartbroken when she returns home, but lucky for her, her workday begins later than everybody else's, allowing her to sift through old childhood memories while everybody else is already busy at work. Her article wins the coveted prize of a paid plane ticket, although what we see of this article is nothing more than an opening paragraph riddled with meaningless fluff words about how she learned to fly, etc, etc, and gives us very little clue as to what she did actually learn on this grand adventure.
Both leads had little chemistry, although this could easily be chalked up to inexperienced acting. It was hard to believe that Cole, after first regarding Alex so coolly, wanted to spend as much time with as he did, just as it was equally hard to believe that Alex went from someone who struggled to hike up a cleared, straightforward path on a mountain, transformed into an adrenaline junkie. Once the believability factor was diminished, it was hard to get back into the storyline.
One Winter Weekend (2018)
The weekend falls flat.
Much like what some of the other reviews have stated, this movie's saving grace is the side couple of Megan and Sean, who have great chemistry and are enjoyable to watch. On the other side of the spectrum is our main pair, Cara and Ben, whose story is riddled with completely unnecessary drama.
Taylor Cole, who plays Cara, is undeniably beautiful, but lacks dimension in seemingly all her Hallmark characters, who all come across as the exact same woman, just with different occupations and names. Her characters all share the same characteristics of being driven career women, having a fairly smooth personality, and absolutely no warmth whatsoever---one other reviewer referred to as an "ice princess," and this is directly on the money. Her flat portrayal of Cara the romance journalist was uninspired.
She also shares very little chemistry with Ben, the good-hearted philanthropist who gives needy children access to snowboards (a worthy cause, of course), who for whatever reason, she snipes with at every given opportunity (until this suddenly turns around after one well-placed lunch together). He spends the majority of the movie apologizing to her for things that are not his fault, such as the misunderstanding that led the four of them to sharing the chalet, or excusing himself to have a quick chat with the woman who arranged an auction for his snowboards (Cara leaves in a huff when this happens, because Ben speaking to other women is apparently a crime).
This drama all comes to a head when a picture of the two of them at the auction surfaces on the Internet and comes to the attention of Cara's boss. Cara is unexplainably burned upon learning that a man she knows for all of two days did not disclose his job title to her (CEO) and feels snubbed; Ben, in turn, smells a rat when he learns that Cara is a journalist, which his publicist immediately informs him of because taking a photo with a woman at an auction showcasing his good fortune is apparently bad publicity. But just in case this isn't enough drama, after patching up the aforementioned misunderstandings, Ben leaps to yet more conclusions upon seeing a text from Cara's boss encouraging her to write an article about Ben. He storms off with his friend, although comes to his senses in the last two minutes of the movie in a rushed, quick resolution in which they reunite in a coffee shop.
A few moments of utter ludicrousness also pepper throughout the story, such as assistant Megan taking interview phone calls on the middle of a snowboarding hill instead of retreating inside, or then being forbidden from taking phone calls after injuring her hands (apparently speakerphone isn't an option?). It's also worth remembering that all of this occurs in under two days, yet our protagonists act as though months of heart-wrenching drama has just affected them at every turn.
On the bright side, the movie did make me want to book a trip to a snowboarding/skiing resort. The atmosphere was wintery, adventurous, and the views were sensational. The chalet as well painted a very cozy picture with its wooden interior, outdoor fire pit, and comfy furniture. It definitely evoked a sense of enjoying winter to the fullest, which was most likely the movie's intent---a shame that the plot did not match the atmosphere in pleasantness.