Il sogno di una vita

Having not seen each other since they were kids, aspiring chef Callie (Rachel Boston) and rich man's son David (David Alpay) are reunited and fall in love while working together to win an ice sculpture competition. Enjoyable Hallmark movie that benefits from very likable leads and a pleasant tone without some of the more irksome parts of the Hallmark formula. Don't get me wrong, this is a routine Hallmark movie in many ways. But having seen so many of these things I really appreciate the ones that try to mix it up even a little. For example, the guy in this one does not have a witch of a fiancée and the girl does not have a fiancé that focuses too much on work. Those are two of the more common Hallmark tropes and I was happy to see neither present here. In fact, there is no love triangle in this, save for a brief point where Callie is given the wrong impression about David's relationship with a friend of the opposite sex. That alone is a refreshing change in the made-for-TV romcom landscape. But there are some elements you will have undoubtedly seen in other movies like this. For example, David's subplot about not wanting to take over his father's business is pretty trite and the ambitious and jealous coworker of Callie's is a walking cliché. But the movie needed a villain, I suppose.

I actually think one of the reasons it works so well is that there isn't much of the usual romcom cartoon villainy, outside of that one character (and maybe David's dad in one or two scenes). The plot provides some bumps in the road for the couple but never any major roadblocks. To some, that might sound boring, but to me it's one of the reasons I like Hallmark movies. This is feel-good entertainment that's easy to digest. Rachel Boston is a delight and David Alpay has an easygoing, gentle quality about him. Their chemistry is believable, which is half the battle. It's a good way to pass the time for a couple of hours. If you're a fan of Hallmark's usual output, you'll likely enjoy this.

Overall a great Christmas movie with excellent performances and storylines

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.

This is a slightly above average Hallmance which at least did keep my interest. I liked the ice sculpture theme and the setting in an acclaimed kitchen of a master chef both of which I found educational and interesting. The touch of villainy and rivalry with the sous-chef was balanced by the lack there of with the boyfriend and the wisdom, fairness, and niceness of the head chef. Her romance with our heroine's widowed father added a further touch of piquancy. Rachel Boston is always reliable, though I find her giggle distracting. Her romance with the boy she met briefly in childhood but never forgot was rather dull. Her misunderstanding of his relationship with his work partner was not understandable, so thank-goodness, it was brief. I guess the reason I did not like the romance much was because I did not like the hero. First of all, his lack of height and too handsome face bothered me. I thought his behavior showed a lack of character. He let his partner shoulder all of the responsibility of meeting the very important proposal deadline while he was romancing Rachel. The romance should have waited. She wasn't going anywhere. His stupid arrogant move in entering Rachel in the ice sculpture contest in the first place was just incredibly clueless (and she told him flat out not to and why!). After writing this, Maybe I didn't like it as much as I thought I did!

I fell in love with this Movie the minute I watched it. It just grabbed me in a way that made me feel Love had blossomed from the beginning to the end; so much so, I had to special order it from WalMart.

I have watched and purchased a lot of Hallmark Films. With the Christmas Season in the air, they are playing non-stop. A few others I have purchased and I hope you love are: A Boyfriend for Christmas, Snow Bride, A Very Merry Mix-up, A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride, 12 Men of Christmas, The Christmas Shoes, Home by Christmas,Debbie Macomber's: Trading Christmas, and The Holiday.

These all may not be Hallmark Movies, but are great Holiday Movies to help you enjoy your Christmas.

These are just a few I wish to mention.