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!

Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever

In "Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever," Grumpy Cat is a lonely cat living in a mall pet shop. Because she always gets passed over and never gets chosen by customers, this kitty develops a sour outlook on life until…one day during the holidays, a very special 12-year-old girl named Chyrstal enters the pet store and falls in love with Grumpy Cat. A unique friendship is formed between the two when Chyrstal finds she is the only person who can hear this unique feline talk. In the middle of the holiday rush, Grumpy reluctantly thwarts the kidnapping of an expensive exotic dog she can’t stand and rescues Chyrstal after the mall closes on Christmas Eve. Will Grumpy Cat learn the true meaning of Christmas, or will it be in Grumpy’s words, “Worst. Christmas. Ever?”

Our Two Cents:

We've been clear about our feelings about pet movies. If there is a pet reference in the title, we tend to avoid, avoid, avoid (especially when of the feline variety). But, the Grumpy Cat memes, with their dry acerbic wit, can't help but win us over. So when we saw that they were making a Grumpy Cat movie... we had to check it out. Our expectations were low, which is key to enjoying movies like this. Aubrey Plaza was delightful!--in a grumpy "leave me alone" kind of way, of course. And we really developed a soft spot for Chrystal too. The plot was a bit far fetched, but really, who cares!

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Buy DVD on Amazon  •   Official Site


Trailer:

Have you seen Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever? Tell us what you thought of it!

The Nine Lives of Christmas

Fireman Zachary Stone (Brandon Routh) is a confirmed bachelor who doesn’t believe in love or commitment. When a stray tabby cat named Ambrose shows up at his door, Zachary takes him in and slowly starts to see that a little companionship might not be so bad after all. Zachary’s commitment to solitude is further challenged when he meets Marilee (Kimberly Sustad), an animal lover and veterinary student who teaches Zachary how to care for his new feline roommate. Chemistry immediately develops between the two, but will they find a way together despite themselves?

Our Two Cents:

I don't mean to make our reviews so often based on the attractiveness of the male lead, but... who are we kidding here? This has Brandon Routh and he is highly attractive. We don't really like the pet movies, and we are NOT cat people, but our adoration of this movie goes beyond Superman's good looks. The female lead is very likable and you'll love this movie's take on the mistletoe scenario. Only criticism is the end, which got a little too hokey and awkward for our tastes. But well worth watching (and owning). If we could put an 11th movie in our top 10, this might make the cut.

Side note, we aren't really sure why it's called the Nine Lives of Christmas. No characters in this movie, including any cats or other animals, have anything close to a death or near death experience. It's a little misleading. Not that it matters, just left us scratching our heads.

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

Trailer:

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

A Bride for Christmas

After Jessie Patterson (Arielle Kebbel) calls off her third engagement (at the altar!) she swears off serious relationships. That is, until charming but chronically single Aiden MacTiernan (Andrew Walker) comes along. Unbeknownst to Jessie, Aiden has bet his friends that he can convince a woman to marry him by Christmas (which is only four weeks away) and Jessie is the assigned target of his bet. As Aiden attempts to court Jessie by first hiring her to decorate his apartment, Jessie looks to her sister, roommate and interior design company partner, Vivian (Kimberly Sustad) as her closest confidant. To complicate matters, Jessie is doggedly pursued by her most recent ex-fiancé, Mike (Sage Brocklebank), who still wants to marry her. When Aiden finds himself falling for Jessie too, will he call off the bet and truly pursue her?

Our Two Cents:

Runaway Bride meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days meets Christmas. The movie is way cute. The boy is way cute. Isn't that enough?

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

Links:
IMDB  •   Official Site


Trailer:

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

A Golden Christmas 3

Love for Christmas is the story of two people who have a long history of picking the wrong person. Heather is a charming free spirit whose self absorbed fiancé Roger never seems to hear a word that comes out of her mouth. Bobby is a naval officer who comes home from serving overseas looking to start a new chapter in his life. Both Heather and Bobby long to meet someone who makes them feel like they are at home in this world, but they are starting to doubt that person exists. 

Thanks to two golden retrievers, Bobby’s spirited 11-year-old niece, Myra, and a fun filled theater production of A Christmas Carol, these two unlucky and unlikely people end up falling in love at Christmas. But can they overcome the issues of their past and present in order to build a future together? A heartwarming Christmas romance about love, loss, hope… and how a golden puppy can turn even the most unlikely Scrooge into a true believer.

Our Two Cents:

A Golden Christmas 3??? As in GOLDEN retriever??? YIKES!! ABORT ABORT ABORT!!! Sorry folks, we have a severe abhorrence for the Christmas dog movies. The trailer was painful enough. Watch at your own risk. We wash our hands of it.

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


Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site

Have you seen Love for Christmas? 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!

Farewell Mr. Kringle

Annabelle (Christine Taylor), a widowed journalist, begrudgingly accepts an assignment on Kris Kringle, a Santa Claus impersonator who lives in a small, Christmas-themed town. To her surprise, Anna is enchanted by Kris and the townspeople who love him. As her involvement with the town grows, Anna is able to put the past behind her and open herself up to love again.

Our Two Cents:

This one is really sweet. Sometimes the Santa in these movies is a bit silly and dotty, but as you learn more about Kris, his story makes perfect sense and you really admire him, and it's very sweet how the town honors him. Plus it has quite a cute love story to boot!

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

Links:
IMDB  •  Official Site



Trailer:

Have you seen Farewell Mr. Kringle? Tell us what you thought of it!