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

A Novel Noel | 2024 Christmas Movies

You know, I still hate when the movies on Hallmark Mystery don’t have a mystery in them. A Novel Noel is another non-mystery on the Mystery channel. Why must they do this?

Harper (Julie Gonzalo) is a book editor that has lost her love for her job. When she gets an offer from Sawyer (Brendan Penny) to work at his bookstore in Maine for the month of December, she jumps at the offer. Hopefully, this will help her find her passion again.

I wanted to like A Novel Noel so much. There was so much they could have done to make this an interesting movie. They could have gone deeper into the cute Christmas events the town was running. Or they could have gone deeper into the secret-editor-helping-writers plot. She basically ignored all of the other writers, including the one that inspired her to start the writing group, to solely focus on Sawyer. Blech. Like every other Hallmark Mystery movie, it’s fine. I just wish there was more.

Rating: WHAT DID BETH WRITE?!

Jingle Bell Bride | 2020 Christmas Movies

Christmas weddings aren’t a new thing, especially in movies. Jingle Bell Bride isn’t actually about a bride though. It’s about her wedding planner.

Jessica (Julie Gonzalo) is a wedding planner for a famous singer, Renee (Donna Benedicto), who is a bit of a Bridezilla. Two weeks before her wedding, Renee insists that Jessica find the rare jingle bell flower for her. The only place that currently has this flower is a remote town in Alaska. Can Jessica make it back to New York City before Renee’s wedding?

While Jingle Bell Bride has a very stupid premise, the movie itself isn’t that bad. I wish there was a different reason for Jessica to go to Alaska. The best parts of the movie were when Jessica was spending time with the townsfolk. Everything else felt crammed in, including the parts with her sister (Alison Araya) and niece (Pietra Castro). I think I would have liked it more if Jessica was simply visiting the town. She could still step in to help when the town’s festival ball loses their venue at the last minute but she wouldn’t be held back by her event planning boss.

They could also give the jingle bell flower more meaning. That way Matt (Ronnie Rowe) would have a reason to spend more time with Jessica. Sure, he spends time with her now but the reasons feel forced. He only spends time with her because she’s stuck staying at his family’s house since there is no hotel in town. I think I would have liked it more if Matt had a little more passion for the flowers that could have shown through.

If you have the ability to look past all of the stupid wedding planning parts in the movie (there aren’t that many really), then this is definitely worth a watch. And if you watched The Christmas Yule Blog, you’ll recognize Alison Araya as Caroline’s boss. It’s the circle of Christmas movies.