Joy & Hope

While I heartily agree with the other viewers who gave this a 2-star rating, I really don't have much more to add but that it was worse than a high school drama class table read. I gave it 2 stars because it was a sweet story, just so poorly executed with pathetic acting and miserable music that it makes you wonder how such awful movies like this get released. I felt sorry for Andrew Rogers who played Ethan, the writer. He has really been good and memorable in other movies I've seen. Huge waste of his talent for sure in this otherwise talent-less waste of time. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it at this point and as soon as I've finished this review, I'm going to watch something else.

Absolutely abysmal. Acting, story, soundtrack, props, and camera work. All of which needed to be improved upon and feels like something I could've shot in school for a project than an actual movie available for streaming. It's very memorable and not in a way that is to its advantage. Definitely was not worth the time or even patience it took to get through this movie. The camera work is amateur. The lighting is neglected. The audio is lackluster. The script is quite boring and predictable with many, and I mean many, filler shots and time lapses to meet the time it shows. I'm actually blown away.

The acting, direction, production, soundtrack, storyline are all non existent . I am not sure how this ever made it to production, and I don't have any high expectations. Dumbfounded.

This movie was by far one of the worst cheesey Christmas movies ever, from the acting, writing, music, hair cuts, and fake snow that blew in front of the camera during one scene. There were a few points in this show that seemed like they were trying to act poorly. What the heck was Gabe thinking to propose to Hope before they even dated?! That is just one of many plotlines that are beyond a bad hallmark movie. Whoever gave this movie a 10 was smoking something or apparently worked on site.

I admit I Ana Christmas romance movie junkie. I Watch them all and I know they have the same plot just in different settings. All very sappy but hey it's Christmas. This however was just bad Bad writing Bad acting Bad sound track The characters had no chemistry, interactions seemed strained. As silly as it may seem people don't talk like this! " Hi Hope!" "Hi Gabe" " what are you doing Hope?""I'm just getting the horses ready Gabe". " Ok Hope I have to go get a few things done." "Bye Gabe" "Bye Hope" Honestly the local high school productions are better.

I don't think I've ever seen a recent movie on TV that's this amateurish. It looks like it was made with a tiny budget and with actors and a director with no experience. Even the singing on the soundtrack made me cover my ears. This movie really made me appreciate how well other movies are made. But I have to admit I found it really fun to watch.

Even though my girlfriend cried. She always cries when she watches that kind of movies.

There's a certain scene in here that I'm sure many may find insightful. I worked as a 2nd Unit PA the second to last day of shooting. Story Time: So two years ago, I had an experience unlike any other in my life at the time, I wasn't particularly established or even unionized at the point where I decided my passion would be in assisting in any way I could without ruining interpersonal integrities and shared dignities in our passion for creating memorable content, that one day, changed the course of my life because in this very moment I knew a team effort was the best effort, and never to sleep on opportunities that become a shared experience, a genuine little flair that if you were there, you could only hope in post it would be illuminated, sure you have your monitors, you have your soft and hard lighting, your aperture and focus set to manual, one crank could change the outcome of the final image, the lasting image. The unforgettable moment. A final touch into such a simple gesture became a staple of what humanity in its most productive can achieve if there's enough collaborative effort when spirits are high. Stink and Andrew were professional, Candice was deeply entranced, Nelson clutching the warm, beaming C-Stand, Nicholas huddled behind a door left ever so slightly ajar, but not off-putting in his demeanor, we all took a breath, even Gabrielle did. A soft break (maybe not even ten minutes) for Jess to get adjusted, Renzo had lit the hallway just enough for us to get a clear image without creating a massive leak of light from the door of the establishment. Before action-and-speed was called, we made the general agreement something had to make this scene stand-out and be what I suppose could be best described as a "Hallmark Moment" something to really sell the scene as a heartfelt moment that would invoke a positive, yet at times unspoken emotional response within viewers especially taking Nielsen ratings into consideration, the consensus was that Stink would have to place down his prop at Point A, and walk away off-screen to Point-B, not just bare-handed but bearing just enough of dust particles that if we all adjusted properly, and took a deep breath that felt like the most crucial of voluntary-function that would demonstrate a level of practical-effects that even a production-designer like Juliette would enjoy and probably did. We created this moment together as a team, and I'll cherish it for the rest of my life. It was then I knew.. Movies. Are. Magic.

This movie has a fairly engaging plot, however most of the acting feels roughly equivalent to a high school play. Entertaining if you're looking for something that doesn't require your full attention.

"Joy & Hope" is more of a dramatic romance set during the Christmas holidays than a true Christmas film. It tells the story of sisters Joy and Hope McGregor (Alix Kermes and Ashley Brinkman respectively) who run Two Sisters Ranch with their dad Frank (Stink Fisher) in Evergreen Valley, NY. Also working on the ranch is Gabe (Cody Calafiore) and Eddie (David Eggers II). Romance writer Ethan Dulane (Andrew Rogers) is sent to the ranch by his publisher Amanda Parkington (Vivica A. Fox) to get inspiration for a new book. Ethan reluctantly heads upstate, after leaving his cousin Denise (Abigail Hawk) to cat sit. While the film is predictable - as virtually all Christmas movies are - it has a lot of heart. The ensemble cast is terrific, and there is great chemistry between the couples. It's a feel-good movie for the holidays that the whole family can watch.