Ed's Review Dot Com

Muse Entertainment Enterprises,

Lori Loughlin, Bailee Madison, Dermot Mulroney, Ava Telek, Marcia Bennett, Lisa Berry, Ella Rose Coderre, Arthur Holden,
Christine Lan, Jake Manley, Derek McGrath, Donovan Scott, Paul Stewart, James Thomas

Mackenzie (Lori Loughlin) inherits the Northpole Inn from her Aunt. It’s the place that she spent every childhood Christmas. The Inn is very important to the folks in the town, but Mackenzie is planning on selling it. The local handyman Jack (Dermot Mulroney) is very attached to the Inn and tries to persuade Mackenzie that it would bring a bigger price if they fix it up a little bit as it’s lost a lot of its luster. But with the help of a team of elves led by Clementine (Bailee Madison) she learns to love the place and perhaps she will keep it in the family.

We met Clementine in last years premier of “Northpole” and it was so well received that they brought her back in this year’s “Northpole: Open For Christmas“. Bailee is so charming. It makes sense that they’d bring her back for a follow-up to last year’s film. This is better, I think, than last’s year’s movie. The Inn is a character by itself, and everyone in this film is just so “nice”. It really is a charming story and brings back the memories of small town Christmas magic like many of these holiday films. I think we all wish we could spend our holiday in a place like this. This is certainly one of the highlights of Hallmark for Christmas 2015. This is one you should try to catch for sure, as it’s a charming story full of warmth and heart.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Chesler/Perlmutter Productions,

Kate Boland, Neil Whitely, Penny Eizenga, Shenae Grimes-Beech, Steve Lund, Miranda Millar, Jane Moffat, Hannah Spear

Riley Vance (Kate Borland) is hired as the personal assistant for William Young (Neil Whitely) who just recently inherited the corporation from his father who recently passed. His first big decision is to close a small town toy factory that their company owns as it is currently losing money. But Riley convinces him to visit the plant first before making a decision. The problem is that William just doesn’t like the holidays and a small town Merry Christmas is driving him nuts. Plus Riley has a very big secret that is bound to get found out sooner or later.

This is not the greatest of Hallmark Christmas movies, but it’s a typical cute little Rom-Com. The problem is that there is such a demand for new Christmas stories, and just so many stories to tell. They’ve all been used up. Perhaps this is why this one was put on so early in the season. But the little town is charming, and the Christmas decorations and atmosphere are stunning. Trouble is that the chemistry between the leads is not so great. It’s hard to believe that they really belong together. But it was a pleasant holiday tale, and the townsfolk are pretty nicely done. The mayor is a bit of a character who understands that saving the toy factory is critical to the survival of the town. The others are also very well played. It’s light and charming, and it’s new, so I don’t see why not to enjoy it. But if time is limited, check out one of the others.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday December 1, 2015

• 90 Minutes in Heaven
• Amy
• Cooties
• Desert Dancer
• Goodnight Mommy
• Grace of Monaco
• Jerusalem
• Mississippi Grind
• Mistress America
• Roger Waters: The Wall
• Some Kind of Beautiful

Hallmark Entertainment,

Julie Benz, David Sutcliffe, Daniel DeSanto, Paul Hopkins, Ashley Leggat, Vanessa Matsui, Catherine McNally

Here is the home page for this 2015 Hallmark Holiday Film.

Meredith Rossman (Julie Benz) is the executive of her family’s department store, Rossman’s. Her parents are thinking of retiring and turning things over to her, but she loves the business, but she has big plans for the future. A financier has an offer to buy the store, keep the family in charge, but to open other franchises to expand the store to other cities. They need to hurry, as the investors want to close the deal before Christmas, but as Mom and Pop think it over, Mom comes up with a plan. In her younger years Meredith’s mom was the Mrs. Claus in the annual Christmas town, and she wants her daughter to have the opportunity of working with the children to see their faces. Meredith thinks she’s too busy, but decided to take the deal where she works with the store’s Santa, Nick (David Suthcliffe) who really believes in his role as Santa. Meredith’s view of the holidays starts to change as she sees the joy in the children’s eyes and good relationship they have with their community.

This is a really fine Hallmark film. There is a charm to the old Department Stores at the holidays. They are decorated so cheery and festive. I remember as a child making the drive into the city to shop (once a year) at the Kaufman’s in downtown Pittsburgh. Spanning many floors, riding the escalators was a real thrill since we didn’t see them anywhere else, up and down, floor after floor. Heading out to see Santa was something that was really special, and we generally only got one chance a year to see him when we were little. This film brings back those old days and the feel of Christmas in the city. The family is really well played, and Julie does a great job as the lead. Basically there is a lot of heart in this film, and though it’s direct and to the point, it has all the charm that a Hallmark Christmas film should have. I really enjoyed the time watching this, and this was one of the earliest films I was able to watch this year. I nearly forgot to do the review on this one. I am glad I remembered, as I really enjoyed this one. Set your DVR for “Charming Christmas” as it will be on many more times before the end of the season. Catch it if you can.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog