Christmas Festival of Ice

Ok movie that had me interested to see the end. Emma, the lead, comes to her home town to work for her mother's law firm, but she really only seems interested in fundraising to get the ice sculpture competition back. She seems annoyed when work gets in the way As the story develops It comes to light that he is the town's best 'ice sculptor' but stopped doing it because he could not handle the pressure partnering with his now ex as she was very competitive. She ends up leaving him near a prior Christmas and it has tormented him ever since. Emma and Nick's love connection isn't really there for a Hallmark movie as it begins way too late in the movie. I have never seen so much ice sculpting though and for this one small town to have so many talented sculptors at the ready for a competition. Lots of good winter scarves as always.

May be I was expecting to much but I think this could have been way better but I will say it is still well worth watching, James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 12/07/2020

First off, I simply didn't believe that Emma Parkers had any ice sculpting talent whatsoever. Her dad gathered a group of amateurs to compete with while her mother funded 10k to hold the contest at all. Talk about privilege. What kind of sick joke is this. I've busted my tail for 25 years participating in ice sculpture contests all across America. This isn't handed to me like little miss Parkers win was. I hope my fellow ice sculptors don't watch this film, as it totally misrepresents the community and what we are all about. Just for once I wish Hollywood would show the adversity that us ice sculptors truly encounter and suffer through. Do better Hallmark, do better!

She is too stiff, blah. Not realistic. No electricity between her and her co-stars! Should have gotten a different actress to do red herring. Mistake!

I give this film a 5 just for the fact that it was filmed in Mississippi Mills - in the winter! People actually looked cold and are wearing real winter clothes and boots, no high heels in sight. OMG. As for the plot, it's just as silly as every 2nd Hallmark film - you know, where they give up their careers to move to the small town to work in businesses that don't actually exist anymore because they make no money in today's world. I am still waiting for the one where someone moves to the city for a job...you know, reality! But no, it's Hallmark so don't expect more. Just chill out and enjoy the beautiful scenery in this one.

This is the second ice sculpture related movie we've seen from Hallmark and it hits about the same as the first. Emma is a small-town lawyer that doesn't wanna be a lawyer anymore: she wants to sculpt ice. I'm not really sure why she wants to sculpt ice AFTER SHE PASSES THE BAR EXAM, but she has a need for sleet. Her mother, the angel, spends $10k to teach her daughter a lesson she already knew. That's not a lesson, that's a bad investment. The falling-in-love in this film happens off camera. All we know about the newly beloved is that they share the same hobby. There are other more enjoyable Hallmark movies that you should watch (including the first ice sculpture movie). Jinglin' and Jolly, The Misletoe Secret Podcast.

Actually liked the idea of the story, which had a setting that set itself apart from a lot of Hallmark's festive efforts. Even if it still sounded formulaic, which is pretty much what one expects from Hallmark anyway. The title was quite cute, refraining too much from being too cheesy like film titles from Hallmark can be in game attempts to be cute and catchy. Have liked Taylor Cole in a few other things, though she is a relatively new actress to me, so she was not inexperienced in this type of role. One would think though that she was if judging her performance in 'Christmas Festival of Ice' without seeing some of her other films beforehand. 'Christmas Festival of Ice' as an overall film is not awful and it has its moments. There are also far worse Hallmark Christmas films as well as worse Christmas films in general. On the most part, to me it was not a good film, does very little with its potential and basically should have been much better. 'Christmas Festival of Ice's' best aspect is the acting, which is mostly acceptable and even good. The best performance coming from Wendy Crewson, who brings vitality and heart to her role and the film. Damon Runyan is an engaging enough male lead, the character is cliched but Runyan at least doesn't look bored or ill at ease. The second best aspect is the production values, which are also quite good. Lovely festive locations slickly shot. The music has its moments, it sounds Christmassy and some of the choices of soundtrack have a nice nostalgia. The film starts off quite well. However, Cole didn't work for me. She seemed rigid and like her heart wasn't in it, things that have not been there in some of her other performances. She and Runyan have very little chemistry together, almost disconnected and under-rehearsed, which made it very hard to invest in the romance which never properly develops. Very few of the characters are likeable or interesting, Nick and Carol are minor exceptions and that is because of Runyan and Crewson's acting skills rather than the character writing. Moreover, the script is very cheesy and soapy with a very stop-start flow to it. The story is as thin as black ice (sorry) and crawls along at a snail's pace, so the film feels very dull. As well as not easy to take seriously, while the ending on top of being too convenient strains credibility beyond the limit. The music has moments but has the problems that a lot of Hallmark festive films have in being used too much and being too loud. Concluding, very lacklustre but with sporadic good things. 4/10

5/10 - Christmas flick that didn't really connect to me or bring me any more holiday cheer

I really liked this film for a number of reasons. First off, the scenery, the scuptures, the snow were an excellent backdrop. I'm obviously not a big fan of California Christmases. Then, there was the wonderful omission of cranky, super stressed out women which for me does not feel appropriate for a feel good Christmas movie; in fact, every character was likable, or more importantly, there were no ones that you'd hate. This is a very laid back movie that you can simply enjoy. I liked that there were a few stories going on...not enough to get complex or confusing and not too little to seems bland. Next, the romance aspect was adult...not like so many of the sophomoric silliness that too many of the seasonal movies that get cranked out have. Lastly, I found the beauty and charisma of Taylor Cole particularly refreshing. Definitely recommend. A good relaxing watch.

Emma made it through 7 years of school and studying for the Bar Exam and now is back home in time for the Christmas Festival. The scenery is great. It is clearly set in the winter. We have a Christmas Tree farm, but outside from the beautiful sculptures, there isn't much other Christmas-y stuff. There is a "tragic" backstory with our hero that he needs to get over in order to enjoy the holidays. Didn't really see the chemistry between the two, though. Ending doesn't sit right with me. Another reviewer called it "First World Problems". This is not a movie I would have my teenage daughter see without pointing out all the things the heroine did wrong, presumably with her parents money.