Enchanted Christmas

Interior designer Laura returns to Utah to spearhead the renovation of an old hotel in time for the annual Christmas Eve show run by Ricardo, her ex-boyfriend and dance partner. When Laura steps in to dance in the finale with Ricardo, she is pulled between her job, her family, and her reawakened feelings for Ricardo.

Our Two Cents:

You know we love the dancing movies! The chemistry in this movie better be good because it stars real life husband and wife Carlos PenaVega and Alexa PenaVega. Of course it's predictable, but aren't they all?

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

Christmas in the Air

Lydia, a successful professional organizer, is constantly trying to grow her business, but even her ambition takes a back seat to love when she meets Robert, a frazzled widower with two young children. A toy inventor, Robert is asked to present his new Christmas toy line to a superstore. His challenge is he only has 12 days to get his life and his business in order. Talk about a Christmas rush! Lydia shows Robert that this task goes way deeper than messy junk drawers and encompasses every aspect of his life. While she’s intent on helping him straighten out details he had long ignored, Robert teaches the buttoned-up Lydia that messiness can be a delightful part of life.

Our Two Cents:

This one did not meet our approval. We can forgive a lot of plot and continuity problems and even bad acting, but if there’s no chemistry… no bueno. It wasn’t the worst, but it was a bit of a chore to finish. I think I'll only remember it because of the reality-defying toys.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Christmas in the Air? Tell us what you thought of it!  

Looks like Christmas

When two type-A single parents battle it out for control of the Christmas holiday at their kid’s middle school, they get more than they bargained for when they learn a little something about the true meaning of Christmas, while opening themselves up for the possibility of a new romance.

Our Two Cents:

Fairly typical in it's plot, however we can't help but like this one. Great movie to play to you in the mood for decorations and Christmas cookies.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

A Dream of Christmas

Be careful what you wish for! Penny doesn't really want much: just a promotion and for her husband, Stuart, to be home for once, especially it being so close to the holidays. But when everything seems to go wrong, Penny makes a wish that she might regret. While in line to see Santa, she wishes out loud that she had never gotten married. A Christmas Angel grants her wish, but Penny soon realizes what is lacking in her new "single" world and tries to win back the husband and life she had before. Now Penny must figure out how to turn her life back to the way it was.

Our Two Cents:
No complaints with this one. It was just too cute! Make sure you catch it!

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

Broadcasting Christmas

When her on-air partner decides to depart America’s favorite morning show, Veronika Daniels announces that she will be choosing her new co-host from a handful of candidates that includes Charlie Fisher, a local NY newscaster who is the son of a broadcasting legend. However, when Emily Morgan, a human interest reporter for the local Connecticut station, makes an impassioned on-air plea to be considered for the job, the game changes for everyone as video of Emily’s declaration goes viral and the network brass decide to put her in the running. Veronika delights in the healthy competition she sees brewing, and encourages the candidates to bring their A game in the segments and stories they do between now and the Christmas Day Telethon, when she will announce her choice. As the competition narrows, and it becomes clear that either Charlie or Emily are going to get the job, they begin to rediscover a spark between them that started long ago.

Our Two Cents:

While Dean Cain is notorious for bad Christmas movies, Melissa Joan Hart usually doesn't disappoint. Luckily her good vibe outweighed his bad! Cute and fun and totes predictable, this is one not too miss.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

A December Bride

Layla is dreading the Christmastime wedding of her cousin who’s marrying Layla’s ex-fiancé. Although Seth is the one responsible for introducing the bride and groom, she begrudgingly accepts his offer to be her date as she’s out of options. Things get more complicated when Seth's association and reference get her a dream career opportunity she couldn't achieve on her own. Helping her save face with the bridal couple and guests, Seth begins to brag about their relationship and really put on a show as a loving and devoted boyfriend. Layla really appreciates his efforts until Seth gets carried away at the reception and announces they’re engaged. Because the fake engagement benefits both of them--for her it creates a dream career opportunity, and him, getting his house decorated to impress his boss, they decide to keep up the act. But as Christmas gets closer and the need for the fake relationship comes to an end, both start to wonder if it really is an act!

Our Two Cents:

This is our biggest complaint. If you are going to cast an actor with a perfectly lovely Australian accent that could have totally worked in the story, let him use it!

Now that we got that off our chest, we have to say we don't have any real complaints about this one. In fact there were a few things we especially loved, like the fact that her brother saw through their lies right away. Why doesn't anyone ever figure it out in these movies?

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen A December Bride? Tell us what you thought of it!

The Mistletoe Promise

This is the story of two unlucky people who both have negative views of Christmas. Elise Donner (Jaime King) is the creator, founder, and co-owner of a travel agency known as World Bright Travel Agency. He co-owner is none other than her ex-husband, Dan (Lochlyn Munro), who switched up the Christmas presents one year and accidentally gave her a gift meant for his car show model mistress, Drew (Ashley Ross). Then there is Nick Derr (Luke Macfarlane), a divorce lawyer who is up for partner at his law firm and needs a longtime girlfriend by the end of the week in order to prove that he is a serious family man like all the other partners before him.

The two meet at a food court over their mutual hate for those treacherous Christmas carolers and create a mistletoe promise guaranteed to make him partner at his firm and give her an opportunity to get rid of the burden of her ex and his girlfriend. The promise is intended to be solely business but the spirit of the holidays and the amount of time spent pretending to be in love might just be enough to actually feel something for each other.

Our Two Cents:
So this movie was delightful enough, has everything you expect from holiday movies. As long as you realize it's one of these TV movies, (and of course, this goes for all these movies because there is always something in all of these movies that warrants a groan or a "come on" remark as you watch them), it might just end up a favorite.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen The Mistletoe Promise? Tell us what you thought of it!

Married by Christmas

Ever since her father's retirement, Carrie has been successfully running her family business. When her sister teases a surprise announcement at the upcoming Thanksgiving family dinner, it is no surprise that she and her boyfriend are getting married. However, her mother has another quite unexpected announcement. Her grandmother, who was quite the traditionalist, added a clause to her will that the family business can only be left to a man, and that whichever sister provides a son in law first will have the business left to her husband. After years of inquiry, the clause is proven to be ironclad. With her sister's plan to have a Christmas wedding, if she wants to keep her spot as the head the family business, she'll need to get married by Christmas. Will she have a white Christmas AND a white wedding?

Our Two Cents:

We gotta say, we were pleasantly surprised by this one. All the things you are thinking, they cover. Wait, what? Is this the 50's? How can anyone think that's okay??? Yes, they adequately express the absurdity of the premise and in a satisfying way. Well, why don't her sister and fiancé just give her the business??? Not so easy to give up power when it's handed to you. So in just 4 weeks, during the busiest time of the year, she finds her true love and gets married??? I think they wrap it all up quite nicely and quite plausibly (for a holiday film of course--let's not kid ourselves!) actually.

Usually UP movies are the Donder the Dopey Reindeer of the holiday movie crop, but this one proved they are capable of better.

So if you couldn't tell, we loved it.

Note: This movie is also known as The Engagement Clause. A better title perhaps. Why some movies have two titles is beyond me.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

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!

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!

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! 

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



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!

Christmas at Cartwright's

With the holiday season at hand, single mom Nicky Talbot is unemployed and struggling to afford a nice Christmas with her 8-year-old daughter. Hearing that Cartwright’s Department Store is hiring temporary holiday help, Nicky rushes in to apply, but is rejected by Senior VP Fiona Aldrich, who considers Nicky a threat to the relationship she hopes to have with Bill, a charming and handsome store manager. In a whimsical turn of events, Harry Osbourne, claiming to be a consultant from corporate headquarters, encourages Nicky to dress up and begin working as Cartwright’s store Santa Claus. With the magical help of Harry, Nicky keeps the job, but nobody knows Cartwright’s Santa Claus is a woman. Will she be able to keep her job if her secret gets out?

Our Two Cents:

Our only real complaint with this one, because it was pretty darn cute, is that we wished the main character had a little more backbone and didn't wilt under pressure from Fiona (who obviously has a vendetta against her) quite so easily. But otherwise it was a fun movie, and we recommend it!

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •  Official Site

Trailer:

Have you seen Christmas at Cartwright's? Tell us what you thought of it!

Let It Snow

When Falcon Resorts acquires family-owned Snow Valley Lodge from retiring owners Karla (Gabrielle Rose) and Paul (Dan Willmott), driven executive Stephanie Beck (Candace Cameron Bure) must spend the week before Christmas in Maine preparing a proposal on the property's renovations. Determined to impress Falcon's president, her detached father Ted (Alan Thicke), Stephanie reluctantly departs her warm Arizona home to immerse herself in the lodge's property and decide how to change it to fit the hip, young Falcon brand. While preparing to rebuild the Snow Valley Lodge from the ground up, Stephanie butts heads with her property guide, Brady Lewis (Jesse Hutch), Karla and Paul's son, who has decided to leave his family's business over creative differences with his dad.

A self-defined Grinch, Stephanie begins her stay at Snow Valley Lodge immune to Christmas sentiment. But as the lodge's festive traditions provide the Christmas Stephanie never had growing up with her distant father, Stephanie finds herself enjoying every minute. To complicate her professional duties even further, the combative feelings she felt toward Brady turn into romantic ones. With Stephanie's newfound Christmas spirit and unexpected holiday romance, she begins to question Falcon's overhaul. As her Christmas Eve deadline approaches, she's faced with a decision: should she transform the lodge into a new winter hot spot or embrace tradition and let it snow?

Our Two Cents:

Besides being mildly offended/disappointed with their not-quite-how-we-do-it Feast of the Seven Fishes, we found this one pleasantly enjoyable. And if you feel tempted to mimick the Swedish tradition on the night of the Feast of St. Thomas to dream of your future spouse, we won't judge.

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

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site



Trailer:

Have you seen Let It Snow? Tell us what you thought of it!

Holidaze

Melody, a high powered corporate workaholic for a retail conglomerate, is happy to spend the holidays jet-setting with her girlfriends. However, she's in for an unpleasant surprise when her boss sends her to her sleepy hometown to convince the reluctant townspeople to allow them to build a new discount store. Now, forced to reconnect with her family and her childhood sweetheart Carter, her task is not so simple, as all are vehemently opposed to everything Melody's company stands for. Desperate to get out of town and back to her real life, Melody takes a spill and wakes up in an alternate universe where she never left home and is married to Carter! Once determined to leave her small town life behind, Melody must make sense of her new life and decide if you truly can go home again.

Our Two Cents:

Another silver screen rip off--this one is like The Family Man. There are a few things about this movie that leave us shaking our heads, inwardly saying "really?" to the TV. But it has some really good moments too. We like it for the good moments, and it's just a teensy bit a guilty pleasure for the bad ones.

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


Links:
IMDB


Trailer:

Have you seen Holidaze? Tell us what you thought of it!

Window Wonderland

It's no holds barred when two Manhattan department store employees vie for the same job during the busy Christmas season. Sloan Van Doren is a driven young woman determined to become the next window dresser at McGuire's department store and to uphold a 95-year-old artistic holiday tradition. Serious and professional, she's the polar opposite of the happy-go-lucky Jake Dooley, who also wants the job. When Mr. Fitch, the head of advertising and promotion, gives them a challenge, the competition is on: each will create a series of seasonal storefront windows twice a week until Christmas. The creator of whichever window display gets the most attention from passersby will get the job.

As they go through their paces, with Jake's obvious talent grabbing the public's attention, a silent but mutual attraction develops between the pair, hampered by the contest and the presence of Kenneth, Sloan's blueblood boyfriend, who can't understand the importance Sloan is placing on this job. Supporting the efforts of the window dressers are McGuire's veteran window washer Mac (Terence Kelly) and brassy bathroom attendant Rita who have eyes for each other but haven't done anything about it yet. Love is in the air at McGuire's, but things aren't exactly what they seem. Who will win in this love triangle?

(Summary from IMDB)




Our Two Cents:

More like Window Wonderful! Cute, funny, and full of surprises and great banter between lead characters. It's just good. Don't miss this one because it's not available on DVD.

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


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

Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen Window Wonderland? Tell us what you thought of it!

The Mistle-tones: A Musical

Holly, blessed with an amazing singing voice, is all set to audition for the newly vacated spot in a legendary local Christmas group which was founded by her late mother years ago. Shocked and upset when the slot goes to the barely talented best friend of the group's leader, Marci, Holly sets out to create her own musical group, The Mistle-Tones. After challenging their rivals to a sing-off on Christmas Eve, Holly finds herself on a journey to the real meaning of Christmas with some new friends and a new love thrown in for good measure.

Our Two Cents:

Ok. How do I say this... I loved it! This movie totally embraces that it's both a cheesy Christmas movie AND a musical, and it holds nothing back. The music does not disappoint and yes the soundtrack IS available on iTunes. Check it out and enjoy!

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


Links:
IMDB  

Trailer:

Have you seen The Mistle-Tones? Tell us what you thought of it!

All About Christmas Eve

After pulling off a risky but fabulous party, party-planner Evelyn Wright (Haylie Duff) celebrates at her best friend's New York City bar and club. A friendly conversation with a handsome stranger (Chris Carmack) leads her down a path that will change her life.

As a reward for her job well done, she is awarded a big last minute client--none other than last night's handsome stranger. Unfortunately this new client's party is scheduled for Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, meaning Eve will have to cancel her holiday plans with her boyfriend Darren (Stephen Colletti).

The morning of her trip, Eve misses her alarm and has to rush to LaGuardia Airport in order to make her flight. The movie splits showing two story lines, one where Eve makes her flight to Los Angeles, and the other where she misses it.

As her two stories go into very different directions, will we find that if some thing is meant to be, it will find a way to be?




Our Two Cents:

There are many movies that while watching them, Marisa and I feel like if the writers had just consulted us, the movie could have been really good, rather than just ok. This is one of those movies. A holiday version of Sliding Doors? So much potential! This movie didn't quite live up to it, but you know we'll watch it every year anyway!

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

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen All About Christmas Eve? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Christmas Wedding Date

After being fired from her high-powered job, Rebecca heads back home to see her mom, Shirley, and attend her friends small-town wedding on Christmas Eve. Initially convinced that the trip is a terrible mistake, especially her botched romantic conversation with former beau, Chad, Rebecca soon learns that, indeed, you can go home again, and, again--until you get it right.

Our Two Cents:

Yikes. I mean, I can appreciate a good guilty pleasure like the next girl, but this movie was a chore to get through. The main character's transformation was erratic and made little sense. In fact, the whole plot was erratic and made little sense.

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


Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site

Trailer:

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