Christmas Movie

A Princess for Christmas (2011)

A Princess for Christmas (2011)

Director:

Michael Damian

Starting:

Katie McGrath

Roger Moore

Sam Heughan

Plot:

At the invitation of an estranged relative, a young woman travels with her niece and nephew to a castle in Europe for Christmas, where she unwittingly falls for a dashing Prince.

Review:

Christmas and royalty and romance, a combination I’m only now realizing I enjoy.

Snow and pretty horses, check.

Snobby, grasping blond, check.

Cheesy dialogue, longing glances, and a complete castle transformation for Christmas, check.

Last, but not least, a misunderstanding that almost ruins it all, check.

I love the predictable nature of these movies. I don’t even mind the fact that the actress occasionally lost her American accent. Or that the teenage boy had a really creepy/pervy look several times throughout the movie. It was exactly what I was looking for and I hope I’m able to find more.

Oddly enough, or maybe not, it’s really very similar to A Christmas Prince which I watched earlier. Honestly, it might end up making my yearly rotation, I don’t know why I liked it just a little bit more than A Christmas Prince, even though Rose McIver was really great in that version.

4/5 

A Christmas Prince (2017)

A Christmas Prince (2017)

Director:

Alex Zamm

Starring:

Rose McIver

Ben Lamb

Alice Krige

Plot:

When a reporter goes undercover as a tutor to get the inside scoop on a playboy prince, she gets tangled in some royal intrigue and ends up finding love – but will she be able to keep up her lie?

Review:

I was not expecting to see a Netflix Original Movie like this one, though, I should have been. Cheap Christmas movies are perfect for Netflix, they should make more because this one seemed like it had a slightly larger budget than a Hallmark movie and Rose McIver was a much better actress than we normally get. However, it still had all the things I love about cheesy Christmas movies.

Sweet romance, check.

Snow and Christmas decorations, check.

Misunderstandings that lead to an almost horrible ending, check.

A sweet child and an American woman that saves Christmas and an entire countries political future, um, check.

Really enjoyed this movie, though, I don’t think it’s going to become a yearly tradition. I might end up watching it again though. If you’re a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies then you’ll love this one.

3.5/5

Christmas Mail (2010)

Christmas Mail

Christmas Mail (2010)

Director:

John Murlowski

Starring:

Ashley Scott

A.J. Buckley

Lochlyn Munro

Plot:

In this holiday romantic comedy, a mysterious woman who works at the post office answering Santa’s mail captures the heart of a disillusioned postal carrier

Review:

This wasn’t bad, the actors were all fine, but the story was kind of lacking. I think it needed more holiday magic and less drama. The dude was a single parent raising his niece, he had a job he didn’t like, and his boss wanted him to spy on the chick, oh and he wanted to return to his rock band.

The girl was maybe the daughter of Santa, not sure if that was ever confirmed I zoned out a few times. I think she should have channeled more Catherine Bell in her witch movies.

This was better than the last few Christmas movies I’ve watched, but nothing amazing.

3/5

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

Classic Christmas Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

It's a Wonderful Life

Classic Christmas Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Director:

Frank Capra

Starring:

James Stewart

Donna Reed

Lionel Barrymore

Plot:

An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.

Review:

Out of all the Christmas movies in the world, this is my favorite. When I was little, back in the days of VHS tapes, I wore two copies out. Two. That’s how many times I watched it. You can take your Christmas Vacation and your Home Alone, both great movies to be fair, but the Christmas movie I look forward to watching every year is It’s a Wonderful Life.

It’s got the nice supernatural element I love in Christmas movies, there’s the amazing acting of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, and a bald villain in a wheelchair. There’s so much hope and love and an intense feeling that they can overcome everything. It’s beautiful.

It’s a Wonderful Life is everything I love about the holiday season.

5/5

Merry Christmas!