The Night Before (2015)

The Night Before (2015)

Director:

Jonathan Levine

Starring:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Seth Rogan

Anthony Mackie

Jillian Bell

Plot:

On Christmas eve, three lifelong friends, two of whom are Jewish, spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

Review:

I love rated R Christmas movies, not sure why but I do. I liked The Night Before, but it wasn’t as good as the Harold and Kumar Christmas movie or even Four Christmases. I thought they should have eased off the serious stuff and just embraced the three friends going on one last crazy Christmas Eve before they accepted adulthood. That would have been funnier. Instead there was a steroids sideline and a whole getting over dead parents thing. The baby thing was actually funny, maybe they should have stayed that light and ridiculous with the other plotlines.

There were several funny moments and it was a nice holiday movie, but I felt like it could have been better.

3.5/5

Caribou’s Gift (Kodiak Point 3.5) By: Eve Langlais

caribous gift

Caribou’s Gift (Kodiak Point 3.5) By: Eve Langlais

Plot:

Damn it, a man had his pride and a caribou a certain majestic presence, all of which could wind up ruined if he abased himself to play a simple-minded reindeer in the town’s Christmas parade. No way was he wearing damned tinsel in his antlers. Like hell was he sporting a red nose and pulling a sleigh. But he changes his mind when he meets the woman in charge of the event. Single mom, Crystal, is doing her best to offer her daughter the best Christmas ever. It’s their first in Kodiak Point, and she’s not about to let some vain jerk ruin it for her little girl. If playing dirty is what it takes…then bring on the Christmas games. As Crystal and Kyle butt heads—and lips—they discover more than goodwill this holiday season. They’re gifted with a second chance at love.

Review:

This was such a cute, sweet story. It was just a novella so the story was fast paced and got right to the point. Kyle fell so fast and hard that I couldn’t help but love him. Crystal was a good single mom and she resisted because of past mistakes but she quickly realized that there was no need with Kyle.

I liked the pacing and that there wasn’t much heming and hawing they both fell quickly and didn’t fight it much.

Gigi was adorable.

There was also a nice little magical Christmas moment that brought the holiday cheer. Love this series.

5/5

Christmas Incorporated (2015)

christmas_incorporated_main

Christmas Incorporated (2015)

Director:

Jonathan Wright

Starring:

Penny Eizenga

Shenae Grimes-Beech

Steve Lund

Plot:

Man inherited a company that has a toy factory in a small town. The town needs the factory to stay open. He goes to decide to keep or close the factory. Finds the meaning of Christmas along the way.

Review:

Okay the intro seems crazy and unrealistic but I’ve been in her same position looking for jobs and it can be exactly like that. Except for when she finally gets a job, that part was pure Hallmark.

Anyway, the movie goes out of its way to show that she has $89 in her bank account yet somehow she manages to deck out a house in Christmas decorations. Mayor is super creepy and the male lead comes off as a total ass, which he’s supposed to in the beginning but he’s a creepy ass. Lots of unintentional creepy in this movie.

Pacing is off and story feels disjointed. Not much chemistry between the actors, honestly all the actors seem really off in various ways.

This is definitely a Hallmark Christmas movie, but it is not one of their best and unless you’re desperate for background noise I wouldn’t recommend.

2/5

Holiday Abduction (Alien Abduction #6) By: Eve Langlais

Holiday Abduction

Holiday Abduction (Alien Abduction #6) By: Eve Langlais

Plot:

Vhyl is determined to acquire a certain lost artifact, but when he lands on the forbidden barbarian planet known as Earth, he finds more than expected. An attractive human female is in possession of the priceless object, and she’s agreed to hand it over—for a price. Apparently she doesn’t know of his reputation…or doesn’t care. Intrigued by her fearless nature—and her luscious cocoa skin—this acquisition expert can’t resist stealing a kiss. But before he can take more, his enemy arrives to stake a claim. It seems Vhyl isn’t the only one interested in Jilly’s treasure—and Jilly herself. On the run not only from Earth forces but his enemies too, they must fight to survive and evade capture. However, he can’t escape the effect the human has on him. In the end, Vhyl has to make a choice—Jilly or the priceless treasure he came for?

Review:

I love how fast paced these books are, and I have no idea why, but purple aliens are somehow super hot.

I eagerly await every installment in this franchise and I have never been disappointed. The story always has a strong female lead, as well as a ridiculously hilarious, macho, male lead that never fails to entertain.

Have I mentioned I love these books?

The addition of the holiday setting did not diminish all the things I’ve come to expect, it just added a nice little festive note. There was also a little present at the end, a short story that was a peek into the first Christmas with the abducted women and their aliens.

Hopefully this isn’t the last installment in the series because I’m not sure if my desire for purple hunks will ever be satisfied.

5/5

The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014)

Nine Lives of Christmas

The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014)

Director:

Mark Jean

Starring:

Brandon Routh

Kimberly Sustad

Stephanie Bennett

Plot:

After a stray cat adopts Zachary, he meets Marliee and realizes the single life is not as fulfilling as he thought it was.

Review:

So if I was ever an actress one of my goals would be to star in a Hallmark movie. That and a Law and Order episode. But I’m weird. What are the odds that Brandon Routh is weird too? I feel kind of bad for him, I thought he was a good Superman, but I haven’t watched him in a movie since then.

A fair amount of product placement going on here. They weren’t in your face about it, so that was nice. But it was still very much there. Hmmm…maybe I need to go shop at Wal-Mart.

The story was cute and not as bad as other made for TV Christmas movies. The relationship moved fast, but then who could blame her? They did kind of push the cliche being in a relationship negatives that Routh was afraid of, but I kind of see what they were going with there.

I liked this Christmas movie but probably not enough to add it to my Christmas routine.

3/5