Showing posts with label Christmas movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas movies. Show all posts
Friday, September 22, 2017
A Christian Mom's Thoughts on The Star Movie 2017
I was browsing through the October issue of CBA Christian Market online magazine and saw this cute animated movie announcement for The Star: The Story of the First Christmas. I was about to promote it on my website, but then I looked at the above trailer and now feel very mixed about it: think Shrek landed in Biblical times and you get what I'm talking about.
While I know other Biblical events have been portrayed in a lighter way (Prince of Egypt), the birth of our Savior should be treated with greater reverence than that. Silly camels, birds shaking their booties, Mary offering to give the donkey a belly rub, etc. feel out of place to me.
Maybe I'm taking this too seriously. If this portrayal of the first Christmas brings more people into the Church, who am I too complain? It's just that a Christian's journey is a big commitment. It's a conscious choice. It's not a joke. While there is much joy, faith doesn't take away your hardships. It doesn't always even make them easier to handle--it should if you're able to have 100% faith, but that's not always the case. Faith is a journey of growth. It's slowly learning to give up control of your life to God and knowing that He will bring you through your trials just as much as He brings you blessings. If we draw people in with this half way approach, will they have the strength to stick with it when the times are tough?
Is it wise to trivialize faith? Is it fair to trivialize it? And again, am I'm making too big a deal out of this? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
TV Movie Review: A Christmas Detour (2015)
Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) and Paul Greene (Wicked Wicked Games, CSI) star in this romantic comedy about an anxious bride-to-be and a broken-hearted guy who join a married couple on an emergency road trip to New York City during a blizzard.
Paige Summerlind (Cameron Bure) is on a flight to New York City to meet her fiance's parents for the very first time. While on board, she meets the handsome and irritating Dylan (Greene) along with Frank and Maxine (David Lewis and Sarah Strange), a couple whose marriage has seen better days. As a blizzard moves in, the plane is grounded and Paige is afraid she won't make it to her fiance's house in time for Christmas. So Dylan rents an SUV and agrees to get everyone home for Christmas, giving this odd group of friends a chance to get to know one another.
I love this time of year if for no other reason than the sweet, romantic comedies that Hallmark Channel produces. Cameron Bure is the perfect actress for this channel and it's wonderful to see her back on screen. In Paige, she captures that peppy, anxious go-getter viewers saw in 2013's Let It Snow. This is definitely a character type that plays well to her strengths. Greene is realistic and funny as the romantic lead who is intrigued by Paige as she writes articles about the perfect husband and carries around her vision board. He's got a story all his own that slowly unfolds as Paige gets to know him better.
Frank and Maxine's relationship makes for a wonderful side story. Married for decades, they no longer sleep in the same bed and find fault with one another constantly. Their characters add a great deal of humor and some heartwarming moments to this movie.
Viewers will enjoy the journey as each character learns a great deal about life, love, and happiness.
This movie will air again on Tuesday, December 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern. It is also available on DVD from third party sellers at Amazon.
I watched this show on Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Less Than 50 Days Until Countdown to Christmas
Now I know the holidays are approaching because I just received an email that there are less than 50 days until Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions: watching Christmas movies on Hallmark. Some of them are old and some of them are new, but all of them warm the heart and capture the spirit of the season. Hallmark Channel's Countdown To Christmas starts on October 31 (another of my favorite holidays).
Monday, December 16, 2013
This Week's Countdown to Christmas Schedule
I've been enjoying some of the great seasonal movies that are part of Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas. Here is this week's schedule.
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Thursday, December 12, 2013
TV Movie Review: The Christmas Spirit (2013)
Picture credit: IMDB
In this magical story of Christmas, Nicollette Sheridan plays renowned journalist Charlotte Hart. She is visiting her family over the holidays when a real estate developer shows up in Laurel Springs with an enticing offer to transform Main Street. Skeptical and looking for the real reason Daniel Huntsman (Bart Johnson) is making such a lucrative offer, she is en route to see the developer when she is involved in a horrible car accident.
Charlotte awakens in the hospital to find she is in a coma, but her spirit is very much alive. She also meets the spirit of Daniel Huntsman, who happened to be on his way to see her when their cars collided. With only a few days left before the townspeople vote on whether to accept Huntsman's offer, Charlotte must find a way to change her friends' minds. The problem is they can't see or hear her.
You can blame The Christmas Spirit for making supper late last night. I had recorded it on my DVR when it first aired and sat down to watch it yesterday. My poor hubby came home in the middle of it and had to wait to eat because I had to see how it turned out.
Considering this is the Hallmark Channel, you know some heartstrings will be pulled. And they are--up to the very end. Plenty of surprises and magic fill this seasonal movie of one woman's crusade to save her hometown. While the acting was superb by all, and it was great to see Sheridan on screen again, Olympia Dukakis gives a moving performance as Gwen Hollander, Charlotte's family's next door neighbor, who happens to be able to see and talk to spirits. She offers help to Charlotte and Daniel as they work their way through trying to get back to their lives again, which is interesting since they are after different things.
A touching, magical story awaits you in The Christmas Spirit, another new seasonal movie from Hallmark Channel. Catch it next on Sunday, December 15th at 12/1c.
I recorded this movie through my cable provider. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
TV Movie Review: Let it Snow (2013)
Picture credit: Hallmarkchannel.com
Stephanie Beck (Candace Cameron Bure) is a driven executive working for Falcon Resorts. When Falcon acquires the family-owned and -operated Snow Valley Lodge from a retiring couple (Gabrielle Rose and Dan Willmott), Stephanie must spend the week before Christmas on-site drafting a proposal for renovations. Arriving in Maine, Stephanie quickly butts heads with the couple's son, Brady, played by Jesse Hutch, who has decided to leave the family business over creative differences with his father.
Though not one to celebrate Christmas, Stephanie finds the festive traditions shared with the lodge's guests provide a special touch and sense of belonging she hasn't felt from her detached father (Alan Thicke), president of Falcon Resorts. As the magic of Christmas wiggles its way into Stephanie's heart, her relationship with Brady develops from friendship into love, and she begins to question Falcon's planned overhaul. With her Christmas Eve deadline approaching, Stephanie must decide if she should transform the lodge into a hip hot spot for Falcon's single and married professional clientele or embrace the family traditions that make Snow Valley Lodge so special.
Let It Snow is a heartwarming story of two people who learn more about themselves and what they want for the future in one short week than they did for years before. At the beginning of the movie, Brady and Stephanie don't have any Christmas spirit. Stephanie's father has buried himself in his work and she has become a workaholic right alongside him, hoping to at least get a tiny bit of his attention and approval. Brady had big plans for Snow Valley Lodge once, but his dad refused to make any changes to what his grandfather and father had built, so Brady lost heart and wants no part of the family business. Watching the transformation of these two people, and others, makes this a special movie you won't want to miss. Seeing favorite actors (Bure and Thicke) definitely adds an even nicer tough to a lovely story.
The next airing of Let It Snow is on Sunday, December 15 at 6/5c.
I recorded this show through my cable provider. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
Monday, December 2, 2013
This Week's Countdown to Christmas Schedule on Hallmark Channel
Schedule of Movies and Specials
Check out the complete 2013 schedule of holiday movies and specials from Hallmark Channel. Enjoy our Countdown to Christmas!
Week Five: Monday, December 2 - Sunday, December 8
Monday, December 2
12a/11c: Catch a Christmas Star
2a/1c: An Old-Fashioned Christmas
4a/3c: The Santa Suit
6a/5c: Farewell Mr. Kringle
8a/7c: Gift of the Magi
2/1c: The Christmas Ornament
4/3c: The Santa Suit
6/5c: A Princess for Christmas
8/7c: Farewell Mr. Kringle
10/9c: The Christmas Card
Tuesday, December 3
12a/11c: Gift of the Magi
2a/1c: Love's Christmas Journey Part 1
4a/3c: Love's Christmas Journey Part 2
6a/5c: The Christmas Card
8a/7c: A Christmas Wedding Tail
2/1c: Love's Christmas Journey Part 1
4/3c: Love's Christmas Journey Part 2
6/5c: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
8/7c: Help for the Holidays
10/9c: Hitched for the Holidays
Wednesday, December 4
12a/11c: Snow Bride
2a/1c: A Town Without Christmas
4a/3c: A Christmas Wedding Tail
6a/5c: Help for the Holidays
8a/7c: Once Upon a Christmas
2/1c: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
4/3c: Hitched for the Holidays
6/5c: All I Want for Christmas
8/7c: Snow Bride
10/9c: Fir Crazy
Thursday, December 5
12a/11c: Once Upon a Christmas
2a/1c: Twice Upon a Christmas
4a/3c: Karroll's Christmas
6a/5c: All I Want for Christmas
8a/7c: Fallen Angel, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
2/1c: Karroll's Christmas
4/3c: Twice Upon a Christmas
6/5c: Moonlight & Mistletoe
8/7c: Let It Snow
10/9c: Window Wonderland
Friday, December 6
12a/11c: Fallen Angel, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
2a/1c: Christmas Magic
4a/3c: Moonlight & Mistletoe
6a/5c: Lucky Christmas
8a/7c: Santa Jr.
2/1c: Meet the Santas
4/3c: Christmas Magic
6/5c: The Christmas Spirit
8/7c: The Three Gifts
10/9c: Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus
Saturday, December 7
12a/11c: Meet the Santas
2a/1c: Santa Jr.
4a/3c: The Three Gifts
6a/5c: Battle of the Bulbs
8a/7c: Come Dance With Me
10a/9c: Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus
12/11c: Let It Snow
2/1c: The Christmas Spirit
4/3c: Window Wonderland
6/5c: A Very Merry Mix-Up
8/7c: Santa Switch, a Hallmark Channel Original Premiere!
10/9c: Let It Snow
Sunday, December 8
12a/11c: A Season for Miracles, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
2a/1c: A Very Merry Mix-Up
4a/3c: Christmas Dance
6a/5c: Silver Bells, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
8a/7c: A Season for Miracles, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
10a/9c: Jingle All the Way
10:30a/9:30c: Jingle and Bell's Christmas Star
11a/10c: hoops&yoyo Ruin Christmas
11:30a/10:30c: Jingle All the Way
12/11c: Fir Crazy
2/1c: Santa Switch
4/3c: Christmas With Holly, from the Hallmark Hall of Fame
Friday, November 1, 2013
Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas Starts This Weekend!
I'm so excited that the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas starts this weekend. Here's the schedule for the first week of movies and specials. I've seen a few of these and can't wait to catch all the new ones.
What will you be watching?
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
TV Movie Review: Naughty or Nice (2012)
Pardon the lack of a photo for this review. This is a new release from the Hallmark Channel, and I didn't feel comfortable swiping a photo off their website. You can see photos from this movie at http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/naughtyornice .
Hilarie Burton plays Krissy Kringle, an ad executive who lives on Candy Cane Lane. Having worked her tail off to get new business for her company, she doesn't have time to worry about participating in the neighborhood's house decorating contest. When she is unexpectedly fired by her boss, Helen (Michelle Hurd), she's also not in the mood for the misdirected pile of mail intended for Kris Kringle.
As she's plowing through Santa Claus's mail, she discovers a package that contains his "Naughty or Nice" book, which he had left behind while visiting a child. She soon discovers the book is magical and allows her to see the bad deeds of those around her. But when the naughty list hits too close to home, it causes problems between Krissy and her long-time boyfriend, Lance (Matt Dallas) and one of her neighbors.
This is a fabulous movie. While funny, dramatic, and romantic all in one, the subtle theme behind this movie is the danger of jumping to conclusions. Krissy makes a lot of mistakes along the way, but eventually turns things around.
It was great to see Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross together again as Krissy's parents, Carol and Walter Kringle. I loved them on Family Ties, and it was like no time had passed for the actors as they fell into that sweet, loving chemistry they portrayed when they were the Keatons.
My favorite character, however, is Marco (Gabriel Tigerman). Once Krissy loses her job, her mother secures her a place at the local mall working as an elf in the gift wrapping area, which is where she meets Marco, who's also playing an elf. I was wondering where they were going to take their relationship, but you'll just have to see the movie to find out. You can catch is again on Saturday, December 29th at 6 PM Eastern. I'm hoping they will release this one on DVD, because I would buy it tomorrow.
Release Date: 24 November 2012 (USA)
I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.
TV Movie Review: Trading Christmas (2011)
Emily Springer (Faith Ford) has been a widow for three years, but she's still trapped in the past. Upset when she learns her daughter Heather (Emma Lahana), who is in college in Boston, won't be coming home for Christmas, she calls her best friend Faith (Gabrielle Miller) in California for sympathy.
Charles Johnson (Tom Cavanagh), a Scrooge-type college professor and writer, lives in Boston, not far from his brother Ray (Gil Bellows). Charles's publisher is pushing him to make edits to his latest book before the deadline, but he's experiencing the worst writer's block of his life. He needs somewhere quiet where he can concentrate without distractions.
Emily decides to surprise her daughter in Boston. So, she and Charles swap houses for the holidays. Imagine Emily's surprise when she discovers that Heather has taken off to Arizona with her boyfriend Jason (Andrew Francis). Meanwhile, Faith, who feels bad for her friend being all alone for Christmas, makes plans to travel to Emily's to spend Christmas with her, not realizing she isn't there.
Trading Christmas is the perfect blend of sweet romance and humor. Emily and Charles are both out of their elements when they travel to opposite sides of the country during the Christmas season. Emily meets Ray. Charles meets Faith. Heather, who is so excited to do something different for Christmas, realizes she misses all the things she does with her mother.
While I felt the opening of the movie was a bit jumbled, moving from Washington to Boston to California, once each character was settled in their part of the country, the storyline flowed nicely. Faith Ford and Gil Bellows, and Tom Cavanagh and Gabrielle Miller had excellent chemistry as they interacted with each other. You couldn't help but root for them to get together. The storyline with Heather and Jason really isn't much. Heather's decision not to come home is the reason everything played out the way it did, but she's not vital to the story otherwise. When the movie switched to college in Boston or where she and Jason were in Arizona, it felt like they were just putting the characters in there so you wouldn't forget about them.
Placing a grump like Charles, who doesn't like Christmas, in a town--and specifically a house--where Christmas is unleashed full-throttle, is hilarious. Cavanagh plays this grouchy, anti-social, nervous guy to a tee. His banter with the character of Faith is great. He's not too keen on women. She's not too keen on men. It makes for some funny conversations. It's touching to watch Emily and Ray get to know each other. Their lives are so different, even how they grew up. And, yet, they are perfect for each other.
The ending of Trading Christmas was sweet and predictable, but you come to expect that of a Hallmark movie. You can catch this one on Saturday, December 22nd at 2 AM Eastern on Hallmark Channel if you would like to see it. Like many of these movies, it's also available on DVD.
Release Date: 26 November 2011 (USA)
Run time: 88 minutes
I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
TV Movie Review: Farewell Mr. Kringle (2010)
This heartwarming tale of the season is a must see. Christine Taylor stars as Annabelle Wahl, a jaded journalist who is sent on an assignment to cover the 50th anniversary of Mistletoe's own Kris Kringle. After being widowed on Christmas Eve, Annabelle doesn't celebrate Christmas. She begs to get out of this assignment, but her editor and friend, Zoe Marsden (Vivica Fox), insists she blog about her experiences in Mistletoe for the next month.
The town and its people are overwhelming to a classy girl from the city. She can't stand their quaint ways, and she thinks the way they have embraced John Wilson's decision to be Kris Kringle (William Morgan Sheppard) is a bit too quirky, going so far as to rename the town and all its streets to holiday names. But when she hears Kris's story from the townsfolk and learns of all the good he's done, she's eager to interview him.
Slowly the town of Mistletoe works it's magic on Annabelle. But meeting Mark Stafford (Christopher Wiehl) throws her for a loop. A former cutthroat divorce attorney, he returned to his home town and now owns the local bed and breakfast. Still hurting from the loss of her husband, Annabelle isn't sure she's ready to open her heart again.
This is a fabulous movie. A classic Hallmark Channel movie that includes drama and romance, Farewell Mr. Kringle is a must see this holiday season. You'll definitely need a tissue or two while you watch this one. Little did Annabelle know when she arrived in Mistletoe that she and Kris Kringle share a hardship: both of them lost their spouses close to Christmas.
Watching Mark and Annabelle's relationship unfold is so touching. Both have reasons not to open up their hearts, but Mark is willing to do it if she is. Annabelle is just harder to convince.
Between the small town feel of Mistletoe, the celebration of Christmas, and the romance, you really can't go wrong with this one. All the characters were delightful. Make sure you catch this one on Hallmark Channel on Friday, December 21 at 4 PM Eastern.
Release Date: 4 December 2010 (USA)
I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.
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