Nice chemistry from Hallmark fave Niall Matter and his costar put the cherry on top of this one. Good story with some tension and suspense and the bad guy turns out out to have some comic potential as well. Lisa Whelchel is charming as the Mom and her secondary romance with Niall's brother? Uncle? fills the time nicely. Fits in with the Hallmark ethos without the usual themes of saving the (fill in the blank),town v. country, or royal imbroglio.

Christmas films can go either way, which has been my experience watching overtime the festive output of primarily Lifetime and Hallmark. They can either be well-meaning, charming, warm-hearted and don't feel too heavy. Or they can be too over-sentimental, cheesy, contrived and bland. There have been many films of theirs that have fallen in both camps and in the camp where there is a bit of both. And 'Snowcapped Christmas' did have the sort of premise where the execution could have gone either way.

Despite the concept not making me go wow, 'Snowcapped Christmas' did sound very cute. The setting also sounded nice and have liked Niall Matter in other things. 'Snowcapped Christmas' turned out to be a lovely if unexceptional watch, nothing blew my mind and very little frustrated me at the same time. There are better Christmas films out there, but also far worse. This is a high middle effort as far as my recent Christmas film viewings go.

'Snowcapped Christmas' isn't perfect. Its biggest and most glaring problem being the ice skating, which shows real lack of research and is very basically choreographed and danced. For such a high goal, it did seem unrealistic that the ice skating is as basic as it is and inaccurate.

Expectedly, 'Snowcapped Christmas' is pretty predictable and has some slow stretches early on. Much of it was easily telegraphed early on and is played a little too safely. The conclusion is too neat for my liking as well.

However, there is a lot to like here about the film. It is very nicely shot with the scenery having a cosy charm. The music is not over-bearing or syrupy and is quite nostalgic. There are enough amusing and sweet moments in the writing, even having a nice and not too preachy message, and the film is hardly without soul. Actually found much of it still very charming and heart-warming, as well as easy to like. The direction didn't in my mind come from somebody who didn't care, the character interaction was not stiff or static and the spirit of Christmas is handled just about right.

Furthermore, the characters were investable and are neither too perfect or over-flawed. Leah Renee and Matter are immensely charming leads, especially Renee, and Lisa Whelchel sparkles in her role. The daughter is also played very endearingly, no cutesiness or brattiness and actually comes over as relatable.

Concluding, nice film despite the ice skating and that there is not much new. 7/10.

In a romance for me, whether it be Christmas or not, I put a lot of value in how much time the leads spend together. Leah Renee and Nial Matter have good chemistry. Gracyn Shinyei is just right as the daughter. She is just cute enough but not too much.

I was pleased with the ending partly because it didn't tie absolutely everything neatly in a bow.