The Sweetest Christmas

When struggling pastry chef Kylie Watson (Chabert) learns she’s made it to the finals of the American Gingerbread Competition, she thinks her competitive spirit has finally paid off and hopes the publicity will help her jumpstart her new café. There’s just one problem — the oven she’s supposed to use breaks down right before the contest. Determined to enter, she reaches out to Nick Mazannti (Coco), her old boyfriend from culinary school who gave up his dream of being a pastry chef to take over his family’s pizzeria. Nick allows her to use his industrial pizza oven at night to craft her ambitious gingerbread confections. As the two reminisce about the dreams of their youth, their romance is rekindled. But just as Kylie is on the cusp of taking the grand prize—and embracing true love—things get complicated when her ex-boyfriend takes drastic steps to win her back. Kylie realizes she must embrace the Christmas Spirit or risk losing both the contest and her new love.

Our Two Cents:

Oh, Lacey Chabert, Lacey Chabert. I hate to say it, but I do not care for Lacey Chabert. (If you pronouce Chabert the way I think it's pronounced "SHA-bear" then that should be a nice little Dr. Seuss rhyme for you from me. Merry Christmas and you're welcome.) Seriously, her acting is okay, but she has the same dry sugar toast personality in every movie--which is actually NO personality. Sadly, the same goes for her costar in this one and the love story fell flat. 

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

Miss Christmas

Nicknamed “Miss Christmas,” the official tree finder for Chicago’s renowned Radcliffe Tree lighting is left desperate to find the perfect tree. A letter from a young boy promising his tree is perfect sends her to a small town where she learns the young boy’s dad isn’t willing to part with his tree. While sparks fly, she’ll be forced to confront what she’s really been missing for Christmas.

Our Two Cents:

This has everything you want and expect. The Christmas fanatic meets the Scrooge, the sugar sweet love story that gets a brief dose of vinegar, and of course the “surprise” ending that you see coming a mile away.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

Marry Me at Christmas

Organizing a Christmas wedding is a true treat for bridal boutique owner Madeline Krug. She loves the challenge of finding the perfect dress for the bride and orchestrating an exquisite event. What Madeline didn’t expect was to be swept off her feet by the bride’s gorgeous brother, movie star Jonny Blaze. Jonny came to the quirky town of Fool’s Gold to support his sister — not to fall in love. Yet Madeline is the most extraordinary woman he’s ever met. Planning the perfect wedding leads to candlelit dinners and strolls through snow-covered streets. Madeline finds the real Jonny even more captivating than her celebrity crush. Will the action star be brave enough to take on the role of a lifetime?

Our Two Cents:

So our biggest problem with this movie was hair. Her hair and the fake curls (thankfully at the end, she wore it straight and it suited her much better), and his fake Zach Morris blonde hair. You might think those are petty complaints. We agree. Our conclusion: a movie where the biggest complaint is about the hair, can't be all that bad! Marry Me at Christmas is definitely one that you don't want to miss!

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Marry Me at Christmas? Tell us what you think!

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

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Christmas List

Isobel Gray (Witt) plans a storybook Christmas with her boyfriend, including a snow-covered cottage in the Northwest, and a carefully composed bucket list of classic holiday traditions. But when the boyfriend goes AWOL, the list proves challenging and a tempting new romance turns her life upside down. Will Isobel have a White Christmas ending under the mistletoe?"

Our Two Cents:
The Christmas Movie Amateur will mention Melissa Joan Hart as a repeat offender for these movies. She's actually not even much of a contender. Candace Cameron Bure (6 movies), Lacey Chabert (6 movies) and even Haylie Duff (5 movies) are some obvious candidates for the Queen of TV Christmas Movies. This movie stars Alicia Witt (5 movies) and Gabriel Hogan (6 movies!). The black horses in the competition for the crowns of King and Queen! (Ironically, this is their second movie together. Their first was Christmas at Cartwright's.)

The problem with that is, we are beginning to find her annoying. She kind of jumped the shark in this one. Her typical doe-eyed, childish innocence was a bit too much to take in this movie. We may have liked it better with a different actress. The movie itself wasn't bad. Gabriel Hogan tends to play the same buttoned-up nice guy (you know, the kind that moms want(ed) their daughters to date and marry) and we were hoping he'd be a little more loose in this one. It's all perfectly encapsulated in his hairstyle. We were hoping for a little more dishevelment. Nope, same hairstyle. BUT his character's personality was much more loose and easy going so, we'll take it.

So, to sum up, if Alicia Witt doesn't bother you, you'll probably like it.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Christmas List? 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!

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!

Guess Who's Coming to Christmas

Jaded rock star Dax (Drew Lachey) is found by New York paparazzi passed out in his car with a frozen holiday turkey in the passenger seat. In order to repair his tarnished image, Dax publicly agrees to grant a fan’s “Dear Santa” Christmas wish. To his dismay, his manager Jason drops Dax off in Cedar Grove, a Midwest small town, where he’s committed to spend a week and perform in a local holiday Christmas concert.

At first, Dax is horrified to be stuck in the Reverend Harding  family’s home with strict rules and a curfew.  In spite of himself, he soon becomes charmed by the Reverend’s wife Lynne, and very surprised contest winner and daughter Kelly (Mackenzie Porter), a sassy, unemployed book jacket writer.
Between the family’s backyard collection of llamas, quirky Christmas traditions and their overall kindness, Dax starts to appreciate what the Hardings have as a family – love, caring and an uplifting holiday spirit.

Our Two Cents:

We literally just finished watching this movie. We heard about it a while back though suggestions on Amazon, and have been watching for it to come on TV, so when it started a bit rough, we were a little worried. But after the first few scenes it started improving dramatically and we ended up loving it!

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

Links:

IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen Guess Who's Coming to Christmas? 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:

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The Christmas Ornament

Newly widowed Kathy (Kellie Martin) plans to skip out on decking the halls and trimming the tree this Christmas, trying to avoid anything that will bring back memories of her late husband. The only Christmas tradition she will observe is baking cookies for her friends, a passion since she was a child. When Kathy meets handsome Christmas tree shop owner Tim (Cameron Mathison), their undeniable chemistry - along with an ornament Tim gives her that symbolizes hope - helps Kathy open up to the joys of the season again. With the support of her best friend Jenna (Jewel Staite), and the budding relationship with Tim, Kathy begins to embrace the hopeful message of the ornament.

Although Kathy wants to take a chance on Tim, she struggles to find the balance between preserving the memory of her husband and moving on with her own future. Is the Christmas ornament a sign that she can have a hopeful future?

(Summary from Hallmark)

Our Two Cents:

The Christmas Ornament is jam packed with holiday movie cliches (you know them well: the Christmas baker, holiday retail store/ Christmas tree lot owner, ice skating, the widow with painful Christmas memories) but it somehow manages to pull it all together into a pretty darn cute movie with a really sweet story.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★
Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site


Trailer:

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A Very Merry Mix-Up

Shop owner Alice Chapman (Alicia Witt) is nervous to meet her future in-laws at Christmas, especially because she is arriving ahead of her new fiancé, Will Mitchum (Scott Gibson). Alice's trip becomes more stressful when her luggage is lost and her phone is damaged, leaving her no way to find Will's family! As fate would have it, she meets her future brother-in-law, Matt Mitchum (Mark Wiebe), at baggage claim and is happy to get a ride home with him. As Alice meets Matt's doting family, mom Penny (Susan Hogan), dad Joe (Richard Fitzpatrick) and Grandpa Charles (Lawrence Dane), she falls in love with their festive holiday traditions and warm welcome to their home. And when unexpected romance comes calling as Christmas approaches, Alice must decide if her “Merry Mix-Up” will actually turn out to be her destiny.

Our Two Cents:

Last year, we started this and didn't watch the whole thing. I don't know what it was that turned us off, but we weren't getting it. We'd heard from others it was good so it surprised us that we weren't into it. This year we decided to give it another chance and found it delightful! We love the chemistry between Alice and Matt--and his whole family!

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★
Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site


Trailer:

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The Thanksgiving House

When Boston lawyer Mary Ross (Emily Rose) inherits a house in Plymouth from her late aunt, she has no idea she may have inherited a historical treasure. Mary's initial desire to sell the house is supported by her slick boyfriend, Rick (Adam Kaufman), but she is shocked to discover local historian Everett Mather (Justin Bruening) has evidence that her house is located on the site of the first Thanksgiving! With the house turning into an unexpected tourist attraction, putting Mary in the media spotlight at the prying of unscrupulous gossip blogger Ashleigh Mulligan (Cerina Vincent), Everett tries to prove his theory and Mary tries to prove anything that will keep the house in her hands. Suddenly, Mary clings to the house as an artifact of her own history before her happy childhood memories were tarnished by her father's abandonment.

Ultimately, Mary must decide if it is more important to preserve the house’s historical ties or make it the site of many happy Thanksgivings to come. What will she choose?

Our Two Cents:

While this isn't really a CHRISTMAS movie, per se, it still has all the great nuances that you love, as you can see by the labels below. So this is why we like The Thanksgiving House. First, it's nice to give Thanksgiving it's own movie. Second, it has a sweet love story which is why we watch these movies, right? And third, it has a great message about family.

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

Links:

IMDB  •  Official Site


Trailer:

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!

Matchmaker Santa

As a little girl, Melanie Hogan (Lacey Chabert) wished to find her own prince charming just like her parents found true love. Now an adult, Melanie is running her own bakery and dating a handsome but distracted CEO, Justin (Thad Luckinbill). Things seem perfect when Justin asks Melanie to spend the holidays together at his beautiful lake house upstate—and meet his mother. However, Justin's plans seem to have more to do with his career aspirations than his relationship with Melanie. Melanie finds herself spending more time with Justin’s best friend and loyal assistant, Dean (Adam Mayfield), who just might be harboring a secret crush on her. When complications arise that throw Melanie and Dean together over the holiday, thanks to a matchmaking Santa and some conspiratorial townsfolk, will the two realize that their true love is in each other?




Our Two Cents:

This one is a pretty cute movie. It has some some not so good moments. Spoiler alert: Melanie's "secret ingrdient" is pure vanilla been extract. Isn't that in like every cookie recipe ever? It's some kind secret because it's "pure" rather imitation?  I'm going to assume they meant to make it vanilla bean paste and it just never got fixed in the script. Ok, it really isn't a big deal, but as bakers, this just drives us a little bonkers!

Last thing: this movie probably has one of the more awkward endings we've seen. But it has some cute moments too and they kind of make up for all the other stuff that doesn't work as well.

Ratings:
Storyline/Writing ★★★★★  •   Acting ★★★★★  •   Chemistry ★★★★★  •  Overall ★★★★★ 
Links:
IMDB   •   Official Site


Trailer:

 

Have you seen Matchmaker Santa? Tell us what you thought of it!

12 Dates of Christmas

12 Dates of Christmas is a romantic comedy that follows Kate (Amy Smart), a young woman who re-lives the same first date on Christmas Eve over and over again. In an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Kate ends up ruining her blind date with Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), a handsome guy she's been set up with. In a strange twist of fate, Kate is given the chance to re-live Christmas Eve twelve times! Kate decides to embrace what Christmas Eve has given her--a loving family, great friends and Miles, who turns out to be a great guy! However, just as she seems to think she has gotten it right, the clock strikes midnight and Kate must live Christmas Eve once again. Under these weird new circumstances, Kate learns to take risks and enjoy what she's been given. Thanks to the gift of Christmas Eve, Kate finds happiness by finally trusting fate.

Our Two Cents:
12 Dates of Christmas is sort of a Christmas Groundhog Day. But in Groundhog Day, you see the real need for Phil Connor to go through that experience. This movie it isn't so clear why. She had some pretty good days in the middle that you'd think would do the trick to stop the curse. Also in the end, I'm not sure how she got all that done in one day... but that's the magic of the movies, right? Don't think about this one too much, just take it for what it is, and you'll find it a pretty enjoyable movie.

Note: Be sure to watch for the hidden 12 gifts of Christmas each day (partridge in a pear tree, 2 turtle doves, etc).

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


Links:
IMDB


Trailer:

Have you seen 12 Dates of Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) is a single, working mom who has become somewhat of a Scrooge when it comes to the Holiday season. Even her six-year-old son Brian is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. When Jen’s Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler), a retired police officer, comes to visit for Christmas, he brings along a new friend, a nomad and Jack-of-all-trades named Morgan Derby (Warren Christie). The two met on a flight, and Morgan’s plans to continue on to Denver are cancelled when he finds out the city is completely snowed in. Jen is wary of the stranger, but at Ralph’s request, agrees to let him stay the night. She warms up to Morgan, especially when she sees how he interacts with Brian. Uncle Ralph approves of Morgan, too, but Jen’s boyfriend Richard isn’t nearly as receptive. Meanwhile, Morgan has started to really like Jen, but if she can’t manage to make Christmas about anything more than business, Morgan will be on his way to Denver, and she’ll have missed the opportunity that was right in front of her. Uncle Ralph has done what he can to keep Morgan around, but it’s going to take something more than that to get him penciled into Jen’s long-term plans. Jen just needs to learn “how to do Christmas,” and it turns out Morgan is the perfect one to teach her.

Our Two Cents:

Jennifer starts out being a bit unlikeable, but don't let that turn you off. It takes a little while, but she does go through a bit of a transformation and by the end, hopefully, you will be rooting for her. Henry Winkler co-stars as our meddling matchmaker. It's a fairly predictable story (it seems to be a common Christmas movie plot) with a few odd moments and but some that we find effectively funny.

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

Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site



Trailer:

Have you seen The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Tell us what you thought of it!