November 29, 2015

The Christmas Gift

When ten-year-old Megan receives a Secret Santa gift, she is touched by its contents which end up having a huge impact on her life. Now a driven young journalist, Megan can’t shake her desire to thank the person who sent her that heartfelt gift over a decade ago. Determined to prove herself to her editor, she goes on the search for the perfect Christmas story, and in doing so, she finally discovers who her Secret Santa is. Inspired by a true story.

Our Two Cents:
We wanted to like this one. The premise sounded cute, the commercial looked good, but sadly we just found it a bit boring. Zzzzz. We might have “rested our eyes” a bit in the middle, and weren't really invested enough to go back and watch what we missed. 

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site


Have you seen The Christmas Gift? Tell us what you thought of it!

November 28, 2015

A Gift Wrapped Christmas

Personal shopper Gwen's newest client, Charlie, is a high-rolling, workaholic, single father. When Gwen meets his 8-year-old son, Owen, during a package drop, she is saddened to see just how little time Charlie spends with him. Determined to get Charlie to appreciate his family, Gwen makes it her Christmas mission to get him into the festive spirit. As she gets closer to Charlie and Owen, she also discovers what she wants for the holidays.

Our Two Cents:
We watched this the next day after the disappointment of 12 Gifts of Christmas. The plot summary sounded basically the same. Instantly we could tell it was FAR better than the other one. The movie was more funny, the leads had far more personality and were likable. It’s really the little things that the actors to do to either create a cardboard reading of a dull script, or a real person that you want to be friends with. We definitely wanted to be friends with Gwen.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site


Have you seen A Gift Wrapped Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Christmas Detour

Two New York City-bound travelers find themselves inextricably linked when a snowstorm reroutes them to an airport hotel in Buffalo. Ever the eternal optimist and hopeless romantic, Paige desperately needs to find a way back home to meet her fiancee’s parents before her forthcoming wedding. And it’s somehow up to fellow passenger Dylan MacKenzie, who is permanently soured on romance following a recent heartbreak. Yet Dylan somehow rises to the occasion to become Paige’s chivalrous helpmate. The pair are joined on this misadventure by a married couple named Frank and Maxine trying to get to Connecticut. As their madcap journey ensues, our foursome will find plenty of surprises in store.

Our Two Cents:
We didn’t dislike this one, but did find it a bit mediocre. We were glad it wasn’t Candace Camerone Bure’s typical plot—a goal oriented work obsessed woman who gets sent to a small town and learns the true meaning of life (see Mistletoe & Moonlight, Let It Snow, Christmas Under Wraps, Finding Normal…). Fully predictable and full of your classic Christmas movie cliches, but, isn’t that the charm?

So… here’s our problem with it. The male lead had a weird personality. Weird might not be the right word, but it just didn't seem to all fit together. Half cynical, half happy-go-lucky, and has the same back story that all male leads seems to have—he got dumped in a big way. They could have had more cute moments in building the romance. It felt a bit forced at times. We might have liked Frank and Maxine's side story even more than Paige and Dylan's.

But that being said, it’s worth watching. Not the best, but CERTAINLY not the worst.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

Have you seen A Christmas Detour? Tell us what you thought of it!

November 27, 2015

Crown for Christmas

After getting fired from her job as a maid at a ritzy New York City hotel, Allie reluctantly accepts a temp gig as the governess to a young girl who is part of a powerful family in Europe that lives in an actual castle. After arriving, Allie learns the girl is named Princess Theodora and her father is Maximillian, the King of Winshire. The King informs Allie that the Princess has a tendency to terrorize authority figures, a predilection that has grown worse since her mother’s death. Yet governess and Princess wind up hitting it off while at the same time a spark forms between Allie and Max. However, Countess Celia is expecting to wed the King. Will Max take a stand for his feelings for Allie and make it truly a merry Christmas for all (or at least, most)?

Our Two Cents:
Classic tale of the governess and single dad falling in love with a Christmas twist. So far, this might be one of the best of the 2015 movies. Can't say that the, ahem, casting doesn't have anything to do with it. There's something about English men named Rupert. Look it up. They tend to be attractive.

Anyhoo, cute movie, great grand gesture at the end... Don't miss this one.

Side Note: We greatly appreciated the authentic English accents in this movie.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★  •   Acting ★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★  •  Overall ★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

 

Have you seen Crown for Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it! 

November 25, 2015

Once Upon a Holiday

All she wanted was one hour to see the art gallery, but since, as a princess, every minute is accounted for, Katie decided the only way to get a much needed a vacation from being royal was to sneak away. Now in the big city on her own, she meets Jack, a good Samaritan who catches some con men stealing her purse. Keeping her real identity a secret, Katie enjoys seeing what life is like as an ordinary person, and enjoys getting to know Jack too! But secrets can't stay secret forever, especially when the Royal Guard is hunting for you.

Our Two Cents:
A princess wants a day off so she runs away. This movie is kind of a hybrid of Roman Holiday and The Prince and Me. We’ve enjoyed Paul Campbell in his other movies, as he’s great at creating real characters. He did a good job in this too, but the story wasn't as strong as it could have been. It wasn’t bad, but could have been better.

There's a few places where they dropped the ball. She didn’t have that undefinable princess quality. She kind of just wasted the time she had away from the rigorous life of a princess. There are so many cool things to do and see in NYC. Especially at Christmas! Lastly, she never seemed to mourn (or care at all about) losing her mother's camera, and it sounded like it had a lot of sentimental value.

However, all of those are nitpicky critiques, because as a whole, it's a cute and enjoyable movie.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★  •  Overall ★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site


Have you seen Once Upon a Holiday? Tell us what you thought of it!

November 22, 2015

Merry Matrimony

Brie, an advertising executive, lands her dream assignment organizing the perfect Christmas wedding for a fashion magazine. If she succeeds, she will make partner at her firm. The only catch is that she unknowingly has been paired up with a certain high powered fashion photographer who just happens to be her estranged ex-boyfriend.

Our Two Cents:
First time watching this, we had to stop it. We found her somewhat unlikable (especially on her date with Jared), and he seemed a bit dull. But then we each went back and finished it another time. Ironically, just after where we'd stopped it is where it starts getting better. Notwithstanding the slow start, the two characters bloom and hit their stride.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site



Have you seen Merry Matrimony? Tell us what you thought of it!

November 15, 2015

Christmas Incorporated

Sometimes, life just seems to hand you exactly what you need – particularly at Christmastime. In this new yuletide tale, Riley is scraping bottom when she miraculously lands a job with a wealthy New York City entrepreneur. He’s a bad-boy socialite type who is poised to play Scrooge by closing one of his factories just before Christmas, which would devastate and entire town. It’s left to Riley to talk him out of it and turn him into a man of virtue rather than shame. But will a case of mistaken identity ruin the whole plan?

Our Two Cents:
Three times we tried to record this. Though the schedule said Christmas Incorporated, it played a different movie two times! But third time was the charm. And it was worth the wait. Great banter and chemistry between Riley and William.
The end was a little rushed and abrupt, but… we can forgive that. Overall, thumbs up!

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★  •   Acting ★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★  •  Overall ★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site


Have you seen Christmas Incorporated? Tell us what you thought of it! 

November 12, 2015

I'm Not Ready for Christmas

Holly lives in a world where lying has become common place for her. However, she finds after telling a few too many fibs and disappointing those around her that her life it about to change. Holly's niece, Anna, asks Santa Claus to make Holly incapable of telling a lie as her Christmas wish. What follows is a tale of how telling the truth changes Holly's life in ways she could never have anticipated before.

Our Two Cents:
Ok, here it goes. This one was a bit of a disappointment. I'll start with the most superficial complaint. I don't understand why it was called "I'm Not Ready for Christmas." It didn't have anything to do with the plot. Such a waste of a great title. They didn't really take as much advantage of the truth telling as they could have when it comes to creating comical situations (especially when you compare this movie to Liar Liar). The chemistry... there was none! I really didn't care about the love story at all. And lastly, everything seemed to work out too nicely for her in the end. Don't want to give spoilers, but it all wraps up in a big bow, drizzled with chocolate sauce and glittler and marshmallows and was a little too unrealistically perfect.

Now we can appreciate a guilty pleasure for what it is, there are lots of them on this blog (Eve's Christmas, anyone?), but we had a hard time with this one.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

November 07, 2015

Ice Scupture Christmas

After starting her first job at a country club restaurant, Callie – an aspiring chef – reconnects with her childhood friend David, whose wealthy family is a member of the club.  When David enters Callie into the club’s annual Christmas ice sculpting competition without her knowledge, she’s forced to go head-to-head with her boss, Chef Gloria. Even though ice sculpting is cold work, sparks are ignited between Callie and David as they prepare for the competition as a team. Callie’s passions for cooking and ice sculpting are met with romance and Christmas spirit as she works to create the perfect sculpture.

Our Two Cents:
We were a bit hot and cold with Ice Sculpture Christmas. After finishing it, we found that we ended up liking it more than we thought we were going to after the first 30 minutes. Still, it had the potential of being a lot better than it was. Callie started off being very giggly and happy go lucky. Towards the middle we start to see a bit more depth from her, but there wasn't quite enough realistic conflict to carry the story. But hey, at least she wasn't named Holly, Carol or Eve. Not good enough to be a favorite, and not bad enough to be a guilty pleasure. But we'll take it for what it is.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★  •   Acting ★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★  •  Overall ★★★

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

Have you seen Ice Sculpture Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!