Four Christmases and a Wedding

When event planner Chloe is hired to plan the local Christmas Festival, she is beyond thrilled to embrace the challenge. Professionally, everything is going great, but much to the dismay of her mother, Chloe confesses she has given up on ever finding Mr. Right. That all changes the night of the opening of the festival when she meets Evan. The two begin a whirlwind romance, but as Christmas Day nears, Chloe learns that Evan is being transferred overseas for work. What follows is three more Christmases where Chloe and Evan cross paths at the annual festival, but each year something, or someone, stands in the way of true love. Will a touch of Santa's magic on their fourth Christmas Eve finally bring them together?

Our Two Cents:

Ugh. We hate writing negative reviews, but we gotta be honest... There wasn't much we liked about this. Poorly written. Poorly acted. No chemistry. Lots of large sheets of cotton polyester blankets laid down over fake bushes and sidewalks that we are supposed to believe is snow. We say skip it.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Four Christmases and a Wedding? Tell us what you thought of it!

A Very Merry Toy Store

Connie Forrester (Melissa Joan Hart, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), a young single mom, and Will DiNova (Mario Lopez, "Holiday in Handcuffs") each run their small, family-owned toy stores in Connecticut. Similar to their families, Connie and Will have been business rivals for year, until both of their livelihoods fall into jeopardy when the big box toy store "Roy's Toys" has its grand opening right before Christmas. In order to save their businesses, Connie and Will band together to save the stores that have defined their families for generations, and in the process, might just find love in time for Christmas.

Our Two Cents: This was a HUGE disappointment! We generally love Melissa Joan Hart. And her first collaboration with Mario Lopez 10 years ago, Holiday in Handcuffs, was such a ridiculous and AWESOME movie that we had high expectations. This was just awkward and boring and lame. We wish we could list some redeeming qualities about this one, but the commercial with the squeaky dog toys creating the tune of Jingle Bells was more entertaining than this movie. 

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

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site



Have you seen A Very Merry Toy Store? Tell us what you thought about it!

A Bramble House Christmas

While settling his father’s estate, Finn Conrad becomes suspicious as to why the man left a nurse $50,000. His dad knew her for less than two months before he died. Just before Christmas, Finn wants what to reclaim what he considers his family’s money, going undercover to investigate the bed and breakfast the nurse has recently taken over. When Finn meets Willa, he discovers she’s not a conniving gold digger at all, but a woman in need who put the money to good use. When she discovers his true identity, will it keep Willa from ever trusting him again?

Our Two Cents:

After several duds and a few movies that were only okay, the holiday movie season has finally begun with A Bramble House Christmas. We found this movie to be delightful, especially the exceptional location shots! Of course there was that certain level of predictability you expect in our beloved holiday movies, but this one had a twist that kicked it up a notch and left us quite satisfied.

Now that the praise is done, we must ask: Were we the only ones who noticed Willa wore the same style skirt in different colors throughout the entire movie? 

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

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

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!  

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!  

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!  

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!

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!

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!

Dashing Through the Snow

Stranded at an airport at Christmastime, Ashley Harrison accepts a ride from Dash Sutherland, who has just rented the last car in town. As the pair heads north, their adventures include car trouble, adopting a puppy and being secretly tailed by federal agents, who believe Ashley is up to no good. With a hint of romance gradually filling the air will these two fall in love or will their journey bring about an unexpected road bump to romance? 

Our Two Cents:

Our 10 year old niece perfectly summed up one of our biggest problems with this one in three words: She was weird. 

We feel like the writers kind of stretched to make some things work in this one that could have easily worked out better with minor changes in the story. 

She used a brown scarf to try to bribe her way onto a flight. I get that it's pure angora wool, but it was brown. At least try to bribe the lady with a better color. Thankfully as the movie progresses she tones down a bit because her over the top enthusiasm and weirdness was a bit much.

The movie does have some cute moments. Enough to make up for the stuff that didn't work so well we think. Love the references to It Happened One Night. Great movie. The original source of many movie cliches especially including the stuck traveling with someone I hate and have to fake being married/in a relationship so we can share the last hotel room and get a good night sleep and then oops we fall in love for realsies bit.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Dashing Through the Snow? Tell us what you thought of it!

Last Chance for Christmas

When Prancer injures his hoof, Santa's stable hand John must find a fill in to ensure Christmas deliveries go off without a hitch. His mission gets complicated when he discovers that Frankie, the perfect substitute reindeer, belongs to a precocious 8-year-old girl and her mother Annie. As he races to get Frankie up to the North Pole, he realizes that he's actually falling in love with Annie and has to find a way to win her over and save Christmas at the same time.

Our Two Cents:

Usually movies with Santa and the North Pole and elves are… well, we don’t typically like them. Santa and Mrs. Claus usually get under our skin. There are exceptions to it, and this is definitely one of those exceptions. Mrs. Claus was sharp and sassy, and we kinda loved her! 

We like pretty much all of Hilarie Burton’s Christmas movies. The girl that plays her daughter was adorably precocious. And John’s awkwardness was pretty adorable too. Flowers and chocolates…

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site
 
Have you seen Last Chance for Christmas? Tell us what you thought of it!

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! 

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!

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!

12 Gifts of Christmas

When Anna, an unemployed painter, is unable to make ends meet, she is hired to become a personal Christmas shopper for Marc, an uptight corporate exec. As they work together, Marc learns that Christmas giving has less to do with the amount of money spent and more to do with the importance of the gift, while Anna discovers she might find success as an artist in a way she never expected.

Our Two Cents:

The plot sounded so cute. We had high hopes. It wasn’t really bad, but partway through we realized, we were plain bored. The characters didn't have much personality and sadly, not enough chemistry. Sorry, a hot guy isn’t enough to make the movie.

Ironically this year had another movie about a professional personal shopper helping soften a uptight corporate exec. Check out A Gift Wrapped Christmas. It was much better.

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


Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site

 

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

The Santa Con

Small-time con man Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson) is ordered by his parole officer to take a minimum-wage job as a department store Santa during the holidays...and he hates it. Near the end of his first shift, he hastily promises a young boy, Billy (Tucker Meeks), that Santa will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. When his sister Rosemary (Melissa Joan Hart) hears this, she is livid and can't believe he would break a little boy's heart with an empty promise. After a long night of soul searching--and with the help of an insightful female pastor (Wendy Williams)--Nick decides to make good on his promise to the child, somehow.

Our Two Cents:

This movie surprised us. We actually found ourselves not quite sure how the movie was going to end, and for these TV movies, that is rare. Usually, with in the first 15 minutes, you can make a pretty accurate guess on the plot of the entire movie. But as a whole, we enjoyed this one, especially the little nod to Ocean's Eleven (in which Barry Watson played himself) in the opening scenes.

Side Note: Hate that this is the only poster for the movie--featuring minor supporting cast rather than main characters.

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

Links:

IMDB  •  Official Site


Trailer: 

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