source: Once Upon a Winter's Date

Moviecut—Once Upon a Winter's Date

Hallmark movies are mediocre most of the time, but this one couldn't even live up to that. From the get go, the acting is so bad that you have no buy-in to care what happens to the main character. I guess they cast for looks alone, she is a pretty girl, but this girl cannot act. Rather see someone who is a bit more realistic that can pull off these poorly written movies.

Kat is an advertising executive who is very uptight and driven...everything from her job to her clothes and hair is controlled and neat as a pin. It is Valentine's Day and she is finally meeting her internet guy in person...everything seems perfect until he finds out she has a dog (you'd think that would have come up during their "chats"!?!?!). Swearing off men for good she goes home only to wake up to discover she is repeating Valentine's Day all over again. She meets a fairy godmother type woman who tells her that she spoke to her soul mate and she just needs to pay more attention. She makes a list and actively seeks each man out...hoping to suss out her soulmate, this is met with failure and more repeated Valentine's Days. She doesn't really work on herself any and it's not until she does that her eyes are opened a bit...is it really all about cat food? Greg Vaughan really makes this romance. If only we all took the time to see the sparkle of delight in people's eyes. Very slow build but decent romance.

Well, sometimes I don't have another option but to watch a film again. But that's not bad. I can discover new things or confirm my previous feelings. The film was enjoyable for me again although I was wondering all the time why the main actress had such horrilble makeup. They should fire the makeup staff.

Favorite scene with Kat Mackenzie (Nicky Whelan) - Purposely screwing up her Work Pitch, telling her Boss off and gladly getting herself fired.

This variation on "Groundhog Day" gets the Hallmark treatment. It varies from the original in that a character---a gypsy fairy godmother---tells the lead character, Kat (Nicky Whelan), why her Valentine's Day is repeating. It has to do with finding the right man. As Kat relives the day, she tries to identify her possible life partner, but no one fits the bill. When she determines who he is, there is no spark. Some viewers may not like the choice Kat has to make for the relationship to work.

Enjoyable movie of a woman caught in a daily time loop until she figures out what her heart needs.

Although the premise is not a new one, with the 'Groundhog Day' story being quite popular in film and television, it is a story that has been done well elsewhere and done to timeless ground-breaking effect in 'Groundhog Day'. It was a nice idea too to base it around Valentine's Day, which is a lovely occasion every year and one where it is understandable as to why anybody would want to relive it more than once. Being somebody who has that mindset with Christmas. 'Valentine's Again' was quite cute and just scrapes the average mark by the skin of its teeth, but there was room for it to have been a good deal better than it turned out. This is a formula that has already been done a lot elsewhere and with much more freshness and to more inspired effect and 'Valentine's Again' could have done a lot more. That sounds as though it is a bad film, but to me it wasn't. Just not particularly good either and Hallmark did do better with their Love Ever After outings, as well as worse. There are good things. It looks pleasing, with once again the scenery being particularly eye catching and one of the film's biggest pleasures. The music is pleasant and doesn't feel overused or spells out the emotions too much. It starts off quite well and quite cute and there are some amusing and heart-warming moments here and there. Nicky Whelan and Greg Vaughan do more than acceptable jobs in their roles, particularly Whelan, and their chemistry seems natural and genuine. Marina Sirtis steals every scene she's in and the easy standout of the supporting cast. Other than her though, the rest of the supporting cast didn't engage that much or seem particularly engaged. They were basically just there and doing the job but with not enough spark. Apart from some bright moments, too much of the dialogue doesn't flow that naturally and tends to be on the corny and tired side. Wished that there was more development with the characters, the supporting characters particularly are genre cliches pretty much and nothing more, and the central relationship plays too much second fiddle to the 'Groundhog Day' gimmick. Which could have been executed better. Due to having seen it done many times before and with nothing new done here, it did feel tired and is never particularly clever. The repetitions also could have had a lot more variety as it was like going round in repetitive circles. In conclusion, has moments but merely average. 5/10.

I love a Hallmark movie with a strong life lesson. I liked this movie because of this. Admittedly I was getting a bit frustrated but it was worth it in the end. I am a giant fan of any kind of Cinderella type movie and that is why I watched this movie regardless of the low rating. I am glad I read the reviews to know this. It's a great reminder of what is important in life.