A Christmas Angel Match | 2025 Christmas Movies

While there are usually a few religious Christmas movies released every year, they aren’t usually on Hallmark and they don’t usually involve angels. Needless to say, that made A Christmas Angel Match sound very interesting. Now to figure out what a Christmas angel match is…

Monica (Meghan Ory) is an angel that brings together human soulmates during the Christmas season. She has been doing this for hundreds of years and is the most successful Christmas angel. But recently, a new angel, Michael (Benjamin Ayres), has been matching many more soulmates. With a rumor of their department being downsized, Monica is forced to work with Michael to complete their new assignment: to get humans Daisy (Lindura) and Patrick (Francesco Filice) together before the end of the year.

I actually enjoyed A Christmas Angel Match, for the most part. While I easily figured out what the big twist would be early on (I won’t spoil it here), I found that twist to be boring. I would have loved to have seen Monica and Michael working on different couples together because that is when the angels were at their best. But this is a Hallmark romance movie, emphasis on the romance.

It also would have have been interesting to see the Valentine’s angels. There’s a reference that the Christmas angel department would be merged with the Valentine angel department but we never actually see a Valentine angel. We just see the Christmas angels outwardly cringing at the idea, which doesn’t feel very angelic.

A Christmas Angel Match may not be a perfect Hallmark Christmas movie. But it does come pretty darn close.

Rating: 4 hot chocolates out of 5 - I want to do cloud yoga

A Royal Montana Christmas | 2025 Christmas Movies

It’s our very first Christmas movie of the 2025 season and it’s a royalty movie! Thanks, Hallmark, for starting us out….strong? Let’s see if A Royal Montana Christmas lives up to our royal expectations.

Princess Victoria (Fiona Gubelmann) of Zelarnia is about to take over her mother’s royal duties. However, before she steps into her mother’s shoes, she decides to take a vacation to Peaceful Pines Ranch, a ranch in Montana that she visited as a child with her father. Upon her arrival in town, she meets Huntley Blaylock (Warren Christie), the son of the owners who are about to retire. As the pair works to bring back the ranch’s Christmas Holly-Day Dance, they begin to fall in love. But Victoria must go back to her royal duties and Huntley must stay in Montana to run the family business, right?

I’m not going to lie, this movie was so boring. There wasn’t anything interesting that happened. We don’t learn anything about Victoria’s family or country. We barely learn anything about the ranch or Huntley. This was two people walking around together and petting some horses. Oh, I guess they did argue about what type of tree they should cut down for the dance. Otherwise, I’m really not sure what they saw in each other.

Well, this isn’t the best start to the season. I hope that they can sprinkle in some really good movies in between the boring stuff. I need something to look forward to.

Rating: 2 wooden horses out of 5 - maybe someone should be surprised when the guest is revealed to be royalty

Christmas Is Coming!

Hello again! I was planning on getting some Halloween reviews out this year but I was having problems motivating myself to write anything. But you know what does motivate me? Christmas movies reviews! That’s right. I love watching terrible movies and talking about them. So get ready for this year’s batch of Christmas movies. Here is the rundown on what I’ll be watching:

• movies on the Hallmark channels, Lifetime, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon will all definitely be reviewed

• Great American Family (AKA Great American Christmas) has been removed from the lineup, UPTV remains on the banned list

• I will make every effort possible to watch theatrical releases as well as movies on OWN, BET, Hulu, Roku…and whatever other Christmas movies I come across

There may not be enough movies to cover all of November and December but I will do my best. Let’s make the 2025 Christmas movie review season the best one ever!

Hello Kitty Island Adventure | Video Game Review

Back in 2022, I told you about Disney Dreamlight Valley, a game that I highly enjoy. Almost three years later, I still enjoy it - even though a bit of the shine has worn off. I used to blaze my way through all of the quests but now some of the newer quests are difficult, meaning I have to look up a walkthrough to finish it, or tedious, meaning I grow bored of trying to find x number of gemstones. Thankfully, Hello Kitty has arrived to help quell my boredom.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure started out as an Apple Arcade game in 2023. This year, it has been released for the Nintendo Switch and Windows computers via Steam. (Playstation 4 and 5 versions are supposed to come out later this year.) I currently have 64 hours of playtime logged so it is about time I tell you my thoughts.

To start off, I would like to inform you that this is not Hello Kitty’s game. She may be the face of the Sanrio brand but this is My Melody’s game. The entire reason the Sanrio gang drags us to this island is so My Melody can open a shop in a theme park. She is, in fact, the main character. I’m OK with this. Someone besides Hello Kitty deserves the spotlight. If only the game was named after My Melody.

With that said, I do thoroughly enjoy this game. Each of the Sanrio characters has a distinct personality and usefulness on the island. Chococat is a scientist that can help you with puzzle rooms. (More on puzzle rooms later.) Hangyodon is a fish character that runs the underwater comedy club. Cinnamoroll flies around the islands, helpfully delivering you to various locations as a fast travel feature. And so on. These characters have their own quests and storylines. You give them daily gifts to level them your friendship with them. Higher friendship levels results in more quests and their assistance in various tasks.

As for the gameplay, there is a ton of stuff to do. The basics include gathering materials (sticks, pineapples, iron ore, etc.) that will be used to craft items. These items can be gifts that you give to the characters, furniture to decorate houses, or clothing for characters to wear. When you get certain houses decorated properly, friends and family of the main group of characters will come to visit. After a certain number of visits, those characters will also become island residents. Currently, four of these characters have moved to my island. There are so many more I have to convince to live here.

But gathering materials and crafting isn’t the only thing you can do. Each of the locations on the island has a number of puzzle rooms. These are special rooms where you have a solve a puzzle in order to obtain a treasure chest. The chests can contain special furniture, crafting blueprints, or materials. While some of the puzzles can be frustrating, it’s exhilarating when you get that chest. And the doors to the rooms light up when you finish them. It’s pretty cool to see a bunch of glowing doors around the island.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is pretty comparable to Dreamlight Valley, with the exception that the quests aren’t usually as time consuming. If you enjoy Dreamlight Valley or games like Animal Crossing, this would be right up your alley. You can spend as much or as little time on this game as you want with no consequences. Be careful, though, it can be addicting!

Love of the Irish (2025)

Love of the Irish was supposed to be the finale for the February Valentine’s reviews. Thankfully, it was not a Loveuary release because I had a very difficult time getting through this one. I rolled my eyes so hard I was afraid they might stay that way!

Fiona (Shenae Grimes-Beech) is a ballet dancer having trouble landing a role. In an attempt to fix her bad luck, she goes on a trip to Ireland with her mother, Helen (Moira Kelly). Helen’s goal on the trip is to reunite with her birth mother, who she believes lives in Ireland. Thanks to some helpful locals, and a single dad named Liam (Stephen Hagan), the women may just find what they are looking for.

I have a few problems with this movie. Just to get this out of the way: Fiona is supposed to be a dancer yet we never actually see her dance. No, the fancy turn when she’s playing darts doesn’t count. And no, “teaching” children how to hold their arms doesn’t count either. They could have given her any career in the world. Why did they choose ballet if they weren’t going to do any actual ballet?

Next, the writers really needed to pick one storyline to stick with. Every time a scene started to get interesting with Helen and her mother, they switch over to Fiona and Liam. WHO ARE BORING. They are boring people. They do nothing. This movie would have been a lot more interesting if they made it more of a mystery-type movie where they spend more time tracking down Helen’s mother with a big happy reunion party at the end. Liam could have been their guide around Ireland that Fiona falls in love with. His daughter is completely unnecessary, Fiona’s ballet is completely unnecessary, the rest of the movie is completely unnecessary.

I’m sorry that this review didn’t make it into February. On the plus side, an Irish movie fits in with a March St. Patrick’s Day theme, right? Well, either way, stay away from this one. It’s dull.

Rating: 2 out of 5 hearts or clovers

Sisterhood Inc | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

Strangely, the final movie of Hallmark Channel’s Loveuary releases, Sisterhood Inc., is not about romance. Depending who you talk to, it isn’t really about love at all. A weird choice to end your month of love.

Megan (Rachel Leigh Cook) is a successful corporate executive who just got fired from the company she founded. Her sister, Izzy (Daniella Monet), is a bit of a mess. When Izzy begs Megan to help her get her life together, Megan decides to run Izzy’s life like a business. She forms a board of directors with successful people from Izzy’s life to make all of Izzy’s important decisions for her. Since the board needs an impartial third party, psychology professor Dominic (Leonidas Gulaptis) steps up to the plate. The board can make Izzy successful but can they make her happy?

As I said before, this movie isn’t about romance. It’s about the broken relationship between Megan, Izzy, and their mother Lois (Judy Kain). Megan seems to have the perfect life, except that she pushes everyone who cares about her away. Izzy has a chaotic irresponsible life but she makes Lois happy by giving her someone to care for. Lois is a helicopter mother to Izzy, who is about to turn 30 and really shouldn’t need a parent hovering over her. While turning Izzy’s life into a business wasn’t the best idea, it did serve it’s purpose. After the Big Conflict, the women are able to begin to repair their broken relationship. Oh, and Dominic exists as a sort of love interest for Megan, even though he really isn’t necessary.

I found Sisterhood Inc. rather sweet and endearing but that is mostly because Monet is perfect at playing a woman living in chaos and Cook is a good offset to that. Sure, there should have been a little more meat to the story - the Dominic and Megan relationship appears out of nowhere and is never really built on, we don’t get to spend a lot of time with any of the board members teaching their specialty to Izzy, and Megan spends a lot of time trying to sell an app that would never really be successful. But it is still cute and it’s a decent break from cheesy romance movies. And I could always use more Daniella Monet in my life.

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts

My Argentine Heart | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

My Argentine Heart isn’t one of the Loveuary releases but that is only because it was released in January. So let’s see if it would have been a worthy addition to the Valentine’s Day releases.

Abril (Julie Gonzalo) is a half-Argentinian woman living in Boston. When her family’s ranch in Argentina is in danger of being sold to her ex, Diego (Juan Pablo Di Pace), she quickly flies in to save it. However, there was an old loan taken out on the farm and now it may be sold to a local banker instead. Abril and Diego must team up to really save the farm.

This was probably one of the most boring movies I have ever watched. Abril makes awful decisions and, instead of fighting for what he wants, Diego is a pushover. I’m not sure how either of them get anything accomplished. And, while I can understand Abril being reluctant to sell the ranch, she hasn’t been there in fifteen years. She doesn’t even talk to her cousin, Belinda (Valentina Frione), who lives there. To top it off, Abril has been having a difficult time getting a new job thanks to a failed deal at her last job…which she doesn’t really want to talk about.

As for Diego, he didn’t like his job in the big city so he came back to the ranch to work. His family has been working on the ranch for generations so coming back wasn’t a problem. But Abril, who is a part owner of the ranch, didn’t even know he was there. Yes, no one told one of the owners who is working on the ranch and, since she wasn’t talking to Belinda, she didn’t ask. This movie feels like the definition of “failing upwards.” Everyone is terrible at business but they are very successful.

Rating: 2 out of 5 hearts

Return To Office | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

Winter is, honestly, a terrible season. Recent storms have completely messed up my planned viewing schedule, which is why I missed a review last week. But thankfully, I didn’t miss any of the Loveuary movies. The next one up is Return To Office. Because that is all what we really wanted, right? To go back to our corporate offices instead of working from home.

Liv (Janel Parrish) is an executive at a tech company that has just acquired an artistic social media company owned by Tom (Scott Michael Foster). When the head of the tech company forces everyone to go back to the office, Liv points out that there are not enough desks for everyone. The solution is to have all of the employees share desks. One group of people will use the desks on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the other will be in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Liv and Tom, unknowingly, end up sharing a desk. They leave each other messages via post-it notes. Eventually, they end up falling in love.

Return To Office had it’s cute moments. But most of these are solely when Liv and Tom are talking via post-it note/text app. When they are actually in the room together, they are a little annoying. Granted, this is the trope. People who hate each other in real life unknowingly fall in love. I think the problem is that Parrish and Foster don’t really have any chemistry. They are perfectly fine as separate characters but they should not be in a relationship.

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts

The Wish Swap | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

The Wish Swap is Hallmark’s second Loveuary movie of the year. My wish would be for Hallmark to change the word Loveuary. I don’t know why it bugs me, it just does.

Casey (Emily Tennant) and Henry (Jake Foy) happen to share the same birthday. While they are celebrating at the same restaurant, Henry finds that his family never ordered him a cake while Casey’s co-workers ordered her a giant cake. So Casey offers to share. The two blow out the candles on the cake, making their birthday wishes. Amazingly, the wishes come true. Only Henry has Casey’s wish of completing the list of things she wants to do for her birthday and Casey gets Henry’s wish of owning a farm. Now they will have to work together to make each of their dreams actually come true for them.

This was a pretty cute movie but it also felt a little empty. Casey’s first (of three) item on her wish list was to perform in Dance Your Heart Out, a Dancing With The Stars type television show where random couples perform a dance on live TV. While the theater was empty during their rehearsals, of course, it was also empty when they were actually performing. It was just the dancers, the host, and a camera. It felt eerie to me. On top of that, very little seemed to be happening at the form. Sure, Casey collected some eggs from the chickens and she fed some goats but that was it. Most of the rest of the time Henry spent dancing or talking to Casey. He was the least farmery farmer ever. I get that production probably didn’t want to deal with all of the animals but then make it like Christmas On The Alpaca Farm, a specialized farm with only one type of animal that we see more often. Film all of the goat scenes together so you can get the goats out of there.

If you can look past the emptiness of the scenes, they movie itself wasn’t bad. Tennent and Foy didn’t have a ton of chemistry together but they did seem to have fun. The script could have used a little beefing up. Maybe that would have made the movie feel a little fuller as well. Overall, it was fun but it felt like a nicely made amateur movie where the only actors are the directors’ friends. Hallmark could do better.

Rating: 3/5 out of 5 hearts

An Unexpected Valentine | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

The first movie of Hallmark’s 2025 Loveuary releases is An Unexpected Valentine. I don’t think I’ve watched any of Lacey Chabert’s non-Christmas Hallmark movies. Her Christmas movies are rather hit-or-miss. Let’s see if she does any better with Valentine’s Day.

Hannah (Chabert), a chocolate designer about to launch a Valentine’s Day line of chocolate purses, finds an engagement ring in the backseat of her rideshare driver Finn (Robert Buckley), a photographer who has a big exhibition at a local gallery. Together, they race around the city to find the owner of the ring before Valentine’s Day ends.

So, this wasn’t as good as The Perfect Setting. Then again, I didn’t think it could fit those shoes. But it wasn’t a terrible movie. Chabert is charming, as always. Buckley is a bit boring but fine, overall. I think maybe my issue with the movie was it lacked a conflict. The closest we come to conflict is Will They Find The Owner Before They Propose and Will They Both Make Their Events. Neither of which are particularly interesting as conflicts. The only reason Hannah had to go to the chocolate purse, which is a stupid idea anyway, event is because her marketing friend is too incompetent to do the marketing herself. And Finn only has to go to his event because his gallery owner friend is too incompetent to sell Finn’s photos without him. If both of these people could do their actual jobs, Hannah and Finn could have had the whole night to themselves…which was their plan in the beginning of the movie.

If you can get over the lack of anything happening, there are some fun scenes to be found. Hannah and Finn trying to deliver a much-too-large balloon bouquet was a little funny. Crashing a drawing class, only for Hannah to be mistaken as the model of the evening…also chuckle worthy. But, alas, there wasn’t anything to make me want to really tune into An Unexpected Valentine. I guess you can’t win them all.

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts