Ice Sculpture Christmas

Ice Sculpture Christmas

Ice Sculpture Christmas

Ice Sculpture Christmas

The Christmas season is probably the narrowest specific genre of filmmaking. And that makes it the toughest for originality, new angles and interesting stories. There can be and usually are comedy and drama within it. Some Christmas-themed movies have been set in wartime, some in Westerns, and some as musicals. The most prominent genre within the genre though is romance, followed closely by family. The holiday films that are the best are those that have different and interesting plots, and that have good screenplays and a cast that performs spot on. I always look for DVDs around the end of the year with Christmas themes. Most are watchable, even those that are so much alike. The casts, settings, and details are always different enough that they are watchable. For me, only about one in about seven score as very good movies - those I would rate 8 or higher. So, I was pleased to come across one such movie already this year. "Ice Sculpture Christmas" fits the bill all around. It's set in a northern or western city with a private club - a quite fancy and large country club of sorts. Callie Shaw's dad, Frank, has been the property manager who every year wows the members and patrons with his seasonal decorations of the place - especially at Christmas. Callie has just returned from three years of studying and graduating from culinary school in Europe. She is happy that her dad was able to land her a dishwasher job in the club kitchen. She just wants a job to be around Chef Gloria, a prominent chef there. David Manning is working for the investment firm of his dad, Ellis Manning. They are members of the club. Each year, this club hosts a big ice sculpture competition, with a big cash prize for the winner. It's for teams of two to compete. That forms the basis of the plot after Callie and David meet at the club. This is the second time - they had met there when they were young children. Callie's mother died when she was 15, and Frank still misses her especially around the holidays. But his work at the club, and having Callie back home, and with a plan to make his late wife Anna's dream come true -- Anna's Angels, keep him buoyed. All of this comes together with some humor, and some devious and devilish behavior by the one villain in the film. But this time it's not a guy, but an aid to Chef Gloria, Jen. The screenplay is excellent and the two leads are so genuine and believable that one can't help but enjoy the film and get into their story. Rachel Boston and David Alpay are so natural that they never come across as acting. There's not a stiff moment for either one. The rest of the cast are good, but the only other one who has a natural persona as though she's really living in this story is Brooke - David's associate numbers cruncher and planner in his dad's firm. Aliyah O'Brien handles that role superbly. It's not hard liking Callie's dad, Frank, or Chef Gloria, after getting past her suspicious first scene, but Paul McGillion and Brenda Strong have twinges of acting about them. Leanne Lapp plays the conniving Jen, and she's okay, but almost hammy in her expressions. The rest of the cast, in smaller parts, are very good and natural. This is a good story with a very entertaining and fun plot and some amusing and fun scenes - carried mostly by Rachel Boston's Callie and David Alpay's David. The whole family should enjoy this 2015 Hallmark TV film over the yearend holidays. Here are some favorite lines. Chef Gloria, "Then I remembered something my grandmother used to say. Things come to us not when we want them, but when we're ready." Brooke, "Zack, listen, I am type A and you are type... apathetic at the moment." David Manning, "What happened?" Callie Shaw, "I forgot who I could trust. And it won't happen again."

Really liked the idea for the story and setting, which at this time was different for Hallmark and their 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 seen Rachel Boston and David Alpay in other things and liked them. Just like here. While 'Ice Sculpture Christmas' is no classic, of Christmas and overall, it does its job very well and has a lot of charms. Of the Hallmark Christmas films, 'Ice Sculpture Christmas' is one of the better and more refreshing of theirs. The sculpture setting would be used again with them two years later with 'Christmas Festival of Ice', but 'Ice Sculpture Christmas' does the setting much better and is the far better film by quite some way. 'Ice Sculpture Christmas' doesn't succeed in every area. A lot more agreed could have been done with the business conflict subplot and the co-worker character is too cartoonish (a shame too that after the film made a big effort to do things differently to have a character so over the top cliched). Some of the dialogue could have flowed more naturally and been less corny and some of the music is a little too intrusive (other Hallmark films did this far worse though). However, 'Ice Sculpture Christmas' looks very nice. The scenery has a real charm to it and it's beautifully photographed. The music generally has a pleasant nostalgia and a lovely Christmassy quality. Boston and Alpay are both strong presences in the lead roles, wholly succeeding in making their characters not just have personality but also likeable ones at that. The supporting cast are well chosen and looked as if they were having fun. The characters, apart from the co-worker, are engaging and worth caring for, also feeling more than typical Hallmark cliches. Another big selling point here was the chemistry between Boston and Alpay. It was immensely charming and there was nothing lukewarm or disconnected about it, there was no doubt that the two characters cared for each other and the relationship grew at neither a too fast or too slow pace. The direction didn't feel routine and was at ease and in control of the material. The script is light hearted and heart-warming, over-sentimentality being kept at bay. Did appreciate that there were less cliches (i.e. No other halves with unappealing character traits) and that there were attempts to do things differently. The ending is also not too pat, which is a common Hallmark problem but not here. Overall, well done. 7/10.

Callie (Rachel Boston) has always longed to be a successful chef, since childhood. Her father was the main handyman at a posh country club near their home and, each year, he would take his family to view their ice sculpting contest. One year, Callie was even given an extra block of ice to carve and was admired by a little boy, David. Now grown up, Callie has finished culinary school and recently landed a job as a dishwasher in the country club kitchen. It's a start. In fact, the job is a stepping stone to food preparation and each underling gets to view the top chef in action. The holiday season is starting and the sculpting contest is still going on. As luck would have it, Callie literally runs into a grown up David (David Alpay), now a very thriving businessman. His family has always been wealthy, Callie's middle class. Yet, David is charmed by this brief encounter and wants to get to know her better. In secret, he signs Callie up for the ice contest, something she was reluctant to do since her boss has won the last three events. But, its a go. With David helping as her partner and her boss gaining admiration for her underling who pitches in on the cooking line when needed, will Callie win a prize and become a sous chef? Not if the current and very mean sous chef can wreck the prospects! This is quite an usual film for Hallmark, as ice sculpting is not a well known skill. Who knew it went hand in hand with cooking, as chefs are often required to carve a figure as part of food presentation? Its not a likely subject for ten future films but this one is quite nice. The two leads do their jobs well and the supporting cast, plus fine scenery, costumes, direction and a sweet script move the flick along nicely. As still another offering in the growing repertoire of dear Hallmark holiday movies, fans of the genre should seek it out.

The movie overall is great. The main difference between this movie and other Hallmark ones is that the plot line isn't blatantly predictable. The chemistry between the two leads is great, and the entire movie was completely realistic. One of my favorite parts of the movie was the relation of the beginning, where the lead characters are shown as kids, to the present day. It really gets the viewer thinking about what would transpire between them, which will come later. It also shows the good side of humanity with the character of David. There is little hostility in the movie among characters, as this is replaced by self vs self conflicts sprinkled around. I would certainly recommend if looking for a fun and slightly romantic Christmas movie to remind us all about the spirit of Christmas.

Overall a great Christmas movie with excellent performances and storylines

First off, we love Rachel Boston and the extreme perkiness she brings to her movies in this genre. This movie was well written, very well cast and acted and a real team effort to produce a quality film within it's category. Highly recommend

It is a correct Christmas film in Hallmark formula. The love story, the spirit of Christmas. And the precious legacy, the social work, the mix of food and art of ice are, in same measure, real good points. A beautiful film, sure, not different by many others under same mark but source of good feelings and giving a nice story and reasonable performances.