Ed's Review Dot Com

CanWest MediaWorks, Christmas Town Productions, Insight Film Studios

Nicole de Boer, Patrick Muldoon, Gig Morton, Gary Chalk, Jocelyne Loewen, Gabe Khouth, Karin Konoval, Peter Ruginis, Tony Alcantar

Mason (Gig Morton)’s Mom doesn’t have much of the spirit of Christmas.  She uses holiday decorations to spur sales in her Real Estate business, but she thinks it’s a bother since people do not buy over Christmas, and it’s hard to reach the bankers and escrow people.  Mason talks her into taking a Christmas week visit to Grandpa who moved to a little town called Hollyville that is not on any map.  Out in the middle of nowhere, Hollyville is full of the holiday spirit!  Her Dad, a former banker is now a short order cook in the Egg Nog Cafe in town.  Grandpa is full of the holiday spirit.  But the strangest thing is the secretive business NP Enterprises that is certainly strange out in the middle of nowhere.  Turns out it’s a loading point for Santa’s round the world flight.  Mason, along with a little help from some other firiends, do their best to help Mason’s grandpa into winning over his mother and helping her to remember and to believe.

This is a new movie to me.  I have not seen this one before, even though it came out in 2008.  But it’s certainly a fun, feel good movie.  It’s light and fun, and doesn’t require a lot of emotion or downers.  Just a relaxing view into Santa’s world.  I think any of us would hesitate to move to H9llyville if we could.  I know I’d love to be there!

RHI Entertainment

Marla Sokoloff, Mark Webber, Gary Hetzler, Clelia Maurphy, Thomas O’Sulleabhain

A modern twist on the O’Henry classic short story, this is the modern update on Della and Jim Young, two newlyweds with two prized possessions.   Jim has his 55 Chevy Bel Air Convertible that he’s restored, but is missing the original steering wheel.  Della has a classic Nikon 35mm camera and is a budding photographer, but cannot take close up pictures because she’s lacking a zoom lens.  The two have decided there will be no Christmas presents this year because they are financially strapped, but each cannot bear that the other is missing the thing they prize the most.  So in secret, Della pawns her Camera to afford the original steering wheel for Jim’s car, while Jim sells the car to get the money for the zoom and wide angle lenses for Della’s camera.

When you take a short story and pump it up to a full length film, you have to think of side stories and develop other characters and sides stories to fill in the time.  This is a blessing and a curse to this movie.  In one, Della is trying to fix up her friend with another guy with a little boy.  This definitely adds to the story and the relationships between Della and her friends and Jim and his friends is an add.  But there is a whole sub plot where Jim thinks Della is cheating because she’s not where she says she is, and is always disappearing on short notice.  He even sees her meeting an older man and walking into a hotel with this man.  We know where she is and why, but her over reaction to his questions to force a break up to make up is just a cheesy plot device to extend the movie.   One of the nicest things about O’Henry’s story is that these two love each other above all else through all the hard times and sacrifices.  This is a great feeling.   This little side plot cheapens the movie for me.  However, I understand that they needed to add some time, and it was resolved in a pretty good way.   It’s nice to have a new film for the holidays this year, and this is a really nice one.  Enjoy!

Dolphin Entertainment, Island Heat Productions

Charlotte Ross, Colin Ferguson, Devon Werkheiser, Aria Wallace, Kenton Duty, Marta Martin, Josie Loren

Two families head out on a cruise to Puerto Rico to spend the holidays in San Juan.  Dan Casey (Colin Ferguson) is a divorced dad with two daughters and Dana Marino (Charlotte Ross) is a single widowed mom with two sons.  While there, the two meet and become very close.  Everything is going well, and it looks like a Brady Bunch holiday until Dan’s ex-wife shows up and wants to make up.  She works on the daughters and offering very expensive gifts, tries to win them over.  The younger girl is especially won over with the idea of Mom coming home.  But the older daughter is able to realize that Mom is just trying to bribe them into accepting her, and is not sincere.  She hasn’t changed.  This is very sad for Dana, as she watches their new relationship flounder and it looks like Christmas alone.

This was a really decent story.   The ex-wife is a perfect villain.  The scenery is beautiful.  It’s naturally low budget and they’re doing the best they can with the script, but the contrast between the two Christmases and between a loving Dad and the kids as opposed to a spoiled witch of a mom who gives pictures of expensive gifts that she’s going to give them is touching.  The ex is so desperate.  If you’re in mood for a holiday in a tropical paradise, this will do nicely.

Alpine Medien Productions, Hallmark Entertainment, Larry Levinson Productions

Kelli Williams, Patrick Muldoon, Charles Durning, Bruce Thomas, Shannon Wilcox, Martin Mull, Bridget White, Maeve Quinlan

Holly (Kelli Williams) isn’t looking forward to the annual trek to Mom and Dad’s for Christmas.  Her brother is bringing a wife and kids, and she’s all alone since her boyfriend Ted broke her heart when he was transferred out of town and dumped her.  Holly’s friend Diane (Maeve Quinlan) promises to pick up her spirits with a very special Christmas present.  On Christmas a knock at the door and a handsome guy shows up with a Christmas Tree.  She assumes he is there with her for the day, so they make up a story and she takes him to Mom and Dad’s as her boyfriend.  But in the morning he is gone.  About this time, Ted is back and wants to marry.  Holly has some serious thinking to do.

This is a clever story, a little far fetched, but a typical Christmas story.  You can suspend your reasonability a bit when it’s Santa Claus and a mysterious stranger and only a few days before the window closes and all chance will be lost forever.   I enjoyed this story just the same, and it is really cute.  Martin Mull as the father was a pleasant blast from the past as well.  We don’t see Martin so much these days.   This is not the greatest of the Hallmark flicks, but it’s certainly in the middle there somewhere, and worth the time.

Warner Brothers Pictures, Donners’ Company, Village Roadshow Pictures

Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gia Mantegna, Quinn Shephard, Paget Brewster, Rob Corddry

Every day there are children and teens flying alone.  These the airlines call Unaccompanied Minors.  In a large Midwestern airport, a snowstorm arrives on Christmas Eve stranding a bunch of UMs in the airport.  They have a UM room, basically a bunker, to keep the kids out of trouble, but they soon trash this and break out to wreak havoc on the entire airport.     And boy do they know how to do that!   Oliver Porter (Lewis Black) is an airport executive, just about to leave for Hawaii for Christmas when he also gets stranded  at the airport.  He hates kids and does not want to be put out by sharing the airport with a bunch of kids.  Unfortunately, they’re everywhere.  This evolves into a cat and mouse movie where the kids try to stay one step ahead of the security guards.

Not a great film.  This has all been done before, but younger folks are going to like it.  After all, the adults are stupid and clumsy and the kids can outsmart them on every turn.  This is every kid’s dream to be able to run free and outsmart all the dumb older people and authority figures.  The kids are good and they do a good job.  It has some funny parts and they try really hard.  In the end, the kids come together and make a real Christmas for themselves after the adults manage to louse everything up.   Nice film for the Nickelodeon crowd!