Ed's Review Dot Com

UPTV Network, Johnson Production Group,

Leah Cudmore, Niall Matter, Lochlyn Munro, Lisa Whelchel, Michael Tiegen, Gracyn Shinyei

Claire (Leah Cudmore) is a professional figure skater who finished Second last season due to an injury, but has her heart set on first place in the golds. But her Achilles tendon is causing her a lot of pain, so her coach sends her to a rehabilitation clinic where she can recover quickly. While she’s there, she keeps running into the local storekeeper, handyman, and former professional hockey play (Niall Matter) and the two hit it off very well. He has a little girl who is a big fan of Claire and as her Mother (Lisa Welchel) and her coach show up to help her, Claire’s Mom tries to slow her down, and the coach is intense on getting her back on the ice and into training. As time passes Claire starts to look closely at her life, and her dream of the gold, and has to determine what is most important to her in the long run.

This is a new 2016 Premier Christmas movie from UP TV. UP has a reputation for bringing uplifting films and this is one of those. Claire is a bit spoiled, but part of it is her intense desire to please her Father. The little girl is the key to opening Claire up to a better way of life. There is a lot of good stuff going on here. The small town in the mountain setting is very nice. The Christmas setting if really beautiful, and there’s a bit of really good figure skating here too. Not a total skating movie, but there’s enough of it to keep it interesting. I enjoyed this movie and thought it was very well done.

Click here for the UPTV web page for this movie.

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Annuit Coeptis Entertainment II,

Genea Charpentier, Emily Delahunty, Miranda Frigon, David Haydn-Jones, Erin Krakow, Jill Morrison, Gracyn Shinyei, Laura Soltis, Alan Thicke

Schoolteachers Christie Reynolds (Erin Krakow) and Penny Miller (Miranda Frigon) have a history. Way back in high school a rivalry spawned that kept them in competition for years and years. Now the school is having a cookie baking contest and the two are at each others throats. When a new student turns out to have a handsome father, who happens to be an excellent chef, he finds himself in the middle of the feud without knowing why.

This is also a new Hallmark Christmas film for 2014. This is another romantic comedy with all the good stuff. Jealous rivalry, dirty tricks and sabotage, and the usual collection of dirty tricks. Personally I simply did not think this new film was as well done as the other two. They tried for a real big redemption in the end, but the payoff wasn’t good enough. These two girls were just too trite and trivial, and downright mean throughout the contest that the change of heart really doesn’t fit well. Granted it’s just holiday filler, but there were a lot of other new films this year that were better than this one. It just didn’t capture my attention. Alan Thicke was a bit funny as the master chef chosen to judge each round of the cookie bake-off, but his efforts alone can’t save it. There’s no reason not to watch it if it’s on, but don’t expect as much out of it as some of the other films that are appearing this year.

[Click Here for the Hallmark Channel page for this movie]

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog