Tis the Season to Be Irish

Absolutely breathtaking scenes of ireland and who wouldn't want to be romanced by sir Gwaine (Eoin) It really was heartwarming and family friendly. Eoin's acting as always is wonderful and he has been missed on screen. Movie shows the beauty of ireland and it's magical scenery especially of cliffs of mohr. It also shows the kindness of the Irish. I will be rewatching this movie for a bit . The actress was obscure and she no no chemistry with Eoin but still he made the movie work. More movies with Eoin and ireland works be a welcome change. One familiar character was from Christmas from castle hart she is wonderful.

This was disappointing and like many of the new Hallmark Christmas movies during this 2024 season, it is just a series of scenes in which the performers just talk on and on and nothing really interesting happens. Plus, this has very little to do with Christmas - if you are looking for a film to put you in the holiday spirit, this won't do it. It's a shame really because the Ireland scenery is beautiful and it is nice to see that this was filmed at real locations. Also, these are very good performers whose talents are just wasted here. Fiona Gubelman was excellent in "The Good Doctor" series and Eoin Macken is a very likable, interesting actor, but they just can't save this from being a rather pleasant bore. So, if you are looking for something to watch while you just relax and "veg out," this will work. Otherwise, there is nothing here to excite you much.

The male lead was fantastic as grumpy Irish love interest in this hate to love Hallmark holiday romance set in the lush green of Ireland. Home flipper Rose buys an as-is Irish cottage sight-unseen. When she arrives she meets local know-it-all Sean, who turns pretty grumpy when he finds out she wants to just fix-it and flip-it. As the preservation society's preservationist, Sean has to approve all renovations of Rose's historic cottage.

Rose and Sean have great banter, which ends up being my favorite part of this film. I really liked the actor Eoin Macken who played Sean, but I thought the character of Rose was written a bit cold. I did appreciate that Sean didn't want to kiss her when he thought she wasn't interested in commitment or settling down. As a romantic I was thrilled with the conclusion and I'm glad it went the route it did...and lamb chop was cute!

Some of these movies turn into travelogues, and that's okay. Sometimes they don't do enough with the local color, but Tis the Season to Be Irish includes plenty of local color and local characters. Whether or not it truly captures the feel of living in an Irish village, it sells what it delivers, both in scenery and characters.

Here the romance between the "Yank" house flipper and the local real estate agent/preservationist is a gentle sort with little real drama, and even the early hint of the antithetical romance doesn't last long.

Just as a note, we have friends in the UK who own and live in a listed property, and the hoops they had to jump through to make upgrades to the building, which was only a Tudor farmhouse, was much more involved than depicted in this film. It really doesn't go far enough on that account. The major difference is here the approval comes from one man, when normally it would go before a council which would vote on the proposed changes.

6.1 stars.

Is Christmas 2024 the year of bad attitudes? I cannot figure out the charm of this movie, no pun intended. It jumps around and the two leads hate each other, he is full of endless dry sarcasm and she is disdainful beyond all limits. The whole viewing experience is flat.

Of course they have to fall in love at some point, that's the plan. But suddenly they have an affinity for each other and I don't know where it came from, because they fully disliked each other about 30 seconds ago, and suddenly the next day there is some attraction?

Hallmark loves filming in Europe, but most of the plots are fluff and pointless. The story should always come first, the setting is secondary.

This film is not realistic and it certainly doesn't flow. Why does this unfortunate lead female get stuck with such poor roles. I like her as an actress.

Positive note: the last 15 min (8.0 stars) was wonderful,!endearing and nice, as if they replaced the writer, but it was a tough road getting there. Not good enough to elevate the movie above a 6.1.