Ed's Review Dot Com

Wulf / Gourley Productions,

Luke Perry, Ariana Bagley, Taylor Negron, Jake Ben Suazo, Adam Johnson

Kassie (Ariana Bagley) and her Dad, Paul (Luke Perry), have moved to a new town where Kassie doesn’t know anyone. She rescues a police dog whom she names Scoot, and throws herself into raising money for needy Children. But there are a couple bumbling thieves who are out to steal all the money they raised, and it’s up to the her and the schoolmates to foil the thieves and to make sure the money gets where it’s supposed to go.

This is a very heartwarming movie with a lot of random things going for it. It’s very like the old 60’s Disney live action movies. There were many of these, “Apple Dumpling Gang” comes to mind, but there were many. Later this idea was borrowed by “Home Alone”. But what this movie has is Luke Perry for the gaggle of fans he has accrued over the ages, and it’s a dog story for all the dog fans. Seriously though, this is not in any way a big movie. But it’s a really nice family film very reminiscent of the afore mentioned Disney films. It’s a nice family film, and an enjoyable and satisfying Christmas story. Way off the beaten path, this is easy to find, and would be a great addition to your family’s Christmas cheer.

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ABC Family, WWE Studios,

Francia Raisa, Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, April Telek, Chelan Simmons, Aleks Paunovic, Will Greenberg, Michael Hanus Michael Hanus Sidika Larbes

Tara Bell (Francia Raisa) is the daughter in a family of bounty hunters. She’s cleaned up her act, though, and has left New Jersey to Manhattan and her very rich boyfriend who has just proposed to her. They’re planning on visiting with his family, when she gets a call from one of the gangsters she put away who has just gotten out of prison and theatens to kill her and the whole family. But Tara has never told her fiance about her past, so she has to go home and help the family track him down and put him back in prison before he gets them first. But her excuses for leaving at Christmas sound a bit fishy, so he guy follows her and gets caught up in the middle. The best place to capture him is at his sister’s wedding, and as luck would have it, all the gangsters of New York are at the wedding.

Come on Disney! WWE Studios??? Really??? Really??? This was a drastically silly movie. This has the feel of a bad Ninja Turtles or Inspector Gadget cartoon. How this chick thinks she can pull off being a Manhattan socialite with her low-life background is beyond me. The fighting, and thousands of gunshots, tear up the set, but are so far fetched it’s crazy. I found it dreadful, and really don’t know how this got on the prime time lineup even for ABC Family. The story is ludicrous and just plain annoying. The boyfriend was a pansy twerp and the ex-boyfriend a rude jerk. So what are we left with? Not funny, not exciting, simply not very good. Not sure how this one got green-lighted. I’m sure there must be a market for this kind of movie, WWE fans maybe, but it left me wondering why! Now I’m not blaming the actors, for they gave back what they were given, but the script. Oh, my.

[Click here for the ABC Family page for this film]

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Muse Entertainment Enterprises,

James Brolin, Josie Bissett, Gage Munroe

George (Gage Munroe) is a little boy who lives with his grandparents, Bo (James Brolin) and Jill (Josie Bissett), because he recently lost his father and is dealing with his loss. After a neighbor asks him to watch over his dog, Tucker, George builds a strong bond with the dog. When the man returns, George is heartbroken to give Tucker back to his owner, and sets out to buy the dog, but the neighbor does not want to sell. But his personal issues make it seem like Tucker would be better off with George. George has to deal with another loss as he learns life is rough some times, but character is important.

This very heartwarming story is really full of old fashioned moral values. The story reminds me a lot of Lassie in a way, where the dog is smart and able to rescue Timmy from the well. In this case Tucker rescues George from a fall from a tractor while trying to plow snow. But this really shows the results of bad choices, the importance of forgiveness, and the virtues of honesty and truth. But it also shows the love of a dog toward it’s owner, and is a sure hit for dog lovers out there. Tucker steals the show, for sure. All in all, this is a really nice little Christmas film. I truly enjoyed the story. James Brolin is a wise and kind grandpa here, as Gage Munroe sure did a good job as a really nice kid trying to do the right thing. This is a good film for kids, as they will learn a lot from the values of the story, but really like the boy/dog part of the story as well. It’s got excitement and adventure, and is really well told. This is the kind of childhood we all wish we could have had. This is a very nice new Christmas story for 2013 and available from Hallmark all through the season.

[Click here for the Hallmark page for this movie]

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ABC Family,

Tia Mowry-Hardrict , Tori Spelling, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Andy Gala, Megan Kathleen Duffy, Jason Rogel, Tammy Townsend, Reginald Veljohnson

Holly (Tia Mowry) was blessed with a beautiful voice. Years ago her mother founded a legendary singing group and now there’s a vacancy. But this group is headed by Marci (Tori Spelling) who is jealous of Holly and gives the spot to someone with very little talent. Holly forms her own signing group which they call the Mistle-tones and challenge Marci’s group for the top spot in the Christmas contest at the mall.

This ABC Family film from Christmas 2012 has a plot familiar to “Bring it On”, but with singing. This is a Disney style movie that doesn’t surprise anyone in the results. I mark it down as very predictable. However, I think younger teens, the Disney Channel crowd, are going to like it, and the singing groups and music in the movie are pretty good, so there is a group of people who will probably really enjoy this movie. As for me, It was a little too much Disney Channel and not enough ABC Family for my taste, but I do see the benefits of this movie for the intended audience, so I don’t want to bash it. It’s a genre that didn’t suit my taste, but the for the under 14 crowd, it’s probably a great deal of fun. If you’ve got kids, give it a shot and I’m sure they’ll like it. It’s good “Mean Girls” stuff, for sure.

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Baby Steps Entertainment, Marvista Entertainment,

Samaire Armstrong, Matthew Lawrence, Julie Brown, Jim O’Heir, Ben Gavin, Paul Dooley, Channing Chase, Gabe O’Mara

Jen (Samaire Armstrong) is a single mom with a young son who still believes in Santa and wants a special toy from Santa. Jen has lost the Spirit of Christmas, but reluctantly takes him to see the mall Santa to ask for his wish. Santa miraculously knows a lot about their family and their situation due to the fact that he is the real Santa’s son, and preparing himself for the job of handling Christmas, but he’s looking for the right person. He is smitten with Jen, but must convince her of who he really is, and bring back her spirit so that he can gain the powers he needs to be Santa.

ION TV has always been one of the lightweights for Christmas movies compared to the big guys like Hallmark and Lifetime, but they have 5 new premiers for 2013, and this is one of them. It’s a cute and very light little Christmas film that is reminiscent of many other films. You’ll see many other films influence on this one, but that doesn’t make it any less fun, actually. This is definitely not a heavyweight in long lasting Christmas classics, but it’s what it tries to be. Some new faces in a new Christmas film that is true to the season. I didn’t dislike it at all, and found it easy to watch. Likewise, there is no syrupy stuff here either. It’s a typical rom-com where everything seems to be going right until problems arise that make the match look impossible. Just a light little Christmas romantic movie that couldn’t hurt anyone. Watch it or not, it probably depends on what else is on, but it’s a good enough effort for me.

[Click here for the home page for this ION film]