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8 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | NOVEMBER 2019 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident What has one of six plots, two of 14 actors and is set in a beautiful, usually snowy location? If you guessed a TV Christmas movie, you would be absolutely right! Up till a few years ago, there used to be a few on every year. They were cute if innocuous, fun to see, with perfect scenery, where the gorgeous people meet cute, break up due to a misunderstanding, and get together in the last five minutes, with Christmas carols playing in the background. This year there will be 40, count them, 40 new movies on Hallmark, not to mention 28 on Lifetime, and 10 on the UP channel. That's 78 new movies, people, not to mention the repeats from the last ten years of Christmas movie proliferation. As I'm writing this (on October 21), they've already started airing, giving us two plus months of movies. Many, many people, men as well as women, enjoy them and revel in the beginning of "the season." For fun, find the Bingo card online and see how long it takes you to get a bingo. Host a friendly competition with friends and award bingo prizes! I wish you nothing but happiness while you watch this year's bumper crop. http://www.sw tblessings.com/2018/12/ hallmark-christmas-movie-bingo.html). Since there are only so many ways you can mix those six plots, 14 actors and snowy locations, I've seen my fill, especially after seeing one starring a couple who have played brother and sister for years on my soap opera. Trust me when I tell you that this one caused me some extremely uncomfortable moments during the obligatory "love" scenes. For those of us who don't intend to watch all 78 new movies, I offer this advice. Check for and re-enjoy the few you've really liked over the years. Watch a few of the new ones starring people you enjoy seeing. And, of course, feel free to join me while I watch multiple airings of White Christmas, the bestest Christmas movie ever! Too Much of a Good Thing DECEMBER MOVIES Holiday in the Wild: 12/7, 1 & 6 pm; 12/8, 5 pm After her husband ends their marriage, Kate embarks on a solo second honeymoon in Africa. There, she and Derek, a pilot, rescue a baby elephant. While nursing the elephant back to health, Kate discovers how much she loves her new surroundings. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: 12/13, 6 pm; 12/14, 1 & 6 pm Actor Rick Dalton once starred in a hit TV Western, but six years after the show's demise, his career has faded. As Rick and his stunt double, Cliff Booth, try to reinvent themselves, all hell is about to break loose at neighbor Sharon Tate's house. It's a Wonderful Life: 12/15, 5 pm It's a wonderful film. Frank Capra's inverted take on A Christmas Carol stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a good man who's spent a lifetime giving up on his dreams in order to keep life in his small town humming. When a guardian angel named Clarence finds a despondent George poised to jump off a bridge, he shows George what life would've been like had he never been born. Overcomer: 12/20, 6 pm; 12/21, 1 & 6 pm This faith-based drama centers on high school basketball coach John Harrison, whose team is disbanded because of local economic woes. But when John grudgingly switches to coaching cross-country racing, he discovers a potential champion. Miracle on 34th Street: 12/22, 5 pm When Santa falls down drunk in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, reluctant Macy's supervisor Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) offers the job to a bearded Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) purporting to be the real Santa! During the Christmas season, he shares a flat with Doris's neighbor (John Payne), who has eyes for Doris. Kris hopes to unite the two while winning over Doris' skeptical six-year-old daughter (Natalie Wood). Ad Astra: 12/27, 6 pm; 12/28, 1 & 6 pm Army Corps engineer Roy McBride has never stopped missing his father, a scientist who vanished on a mission to find alien life on Neptune. Twenty years later, Roy embarks on a galactic search to locate his dad and learn what happened.