Ed's Review Dot Com

Unity Pictures Group,

Meghan Ory, Andrew W. Walker, Enid-Raye Adams, Dylan Archambault, Aubrey Arnason, Rukiya Bernard, Devina Briggs, Rohan Campbell, Aaron Craven, Kurt Evans

When Ashley Harrison arrives at the airport heading home to Seattle for Christmas she finds that her flight and almost all the others have been cancelled. When she checks the rental cars, she finds that there is only one left at the whole airport, and a handsome stranger, Dash (Andrew W. Walker) steals it from her by bribing the rental agent. But with a spark of Christmas cheer he offers to share a ride to Seattle with her if she’ll pay for the gas. But though the two really bond on the long drive, she has no idea he’s really an FBI agent who’s assigned to follow her.

This is a novel by Debbie Macomber who has done many classic Christmas novels, and many have been made into Hallmark films. This is an awesome Christmas story, but it’s also a really good mystery and suspense story. As soon as we realize what Dash is up to, it’s hard not to be able to tell Ashley. Meghan Ory is most known for her work on “Once Upon a Time” among a lot of other stuff, but she’s a really good actress. She has such a bubbling character here that she’s a delight to watch. Andrew, on the other hand, is very hard to get to know, quite introverted, and very unwilling to give out much information. Debbie Macomber knows how to spin a good yarn, and this is no exception. The suspense and mystery of who Ashley really is keeps it quite interesting. There are a lot of locations along the way from Northern California all the way up to the Northwest. It’s fast paced, but has lots of heart and “aww” moments. The final showdown is quite exciting. All in all this a good all around Christmas film, not overly sugary and sentimental with enough mystery to keep it very interesting. I enjoyed this movie a lot, and am glad Hallmark brought it to us for this Christmas.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Hybrid,

Michelle Trachtenberg, Rick Fox, Sterling Suleiman, Daniel Booko, Marliss Amiea, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Tracy Mulholland

Megan (Michelle Trachtenberg)is a writer. She decides to try to find the person who sent her an anonymous Secret Santa gift when she was a child and write a story about it. When she finally figures out who it is, she tries to meet him and finds a gentle man who runs a shelter for underprivileged children. He is doing good work and they make friends and she is anxious to help, but when an unscrupulous ex boyfriend stick his nose in he makes it look like she is exploiting their friendship to further her career. Things spin out of control until calmer heads can find the truth.

This is a nice little Lifetime Christmas 2015 premier film. It has the name of a John Denver Christmas film from about 1989 that is replayed year after year, so don’t get them confused. This story also deals with a bi-racial couple and to their credit it is completely ignored. There is no mention and no drama about that simple fact which is a nice thing for a change. Kudos to Lifetime for ignoring that issue. The romance works, though not overly passionate, they make really good just a bit more than best friends type of couple. The story is not highly unique, but it’s light and cheerful enough to make it an enjoyable experience to watch.

Here is the home page for this Lifetime Christmas film. If you have cable or satelite service, you can watch this in full right on the mylifetime page.

Active Entertainment,

Larisa Oleynik, Aaron Ashmore, Linda Darlow, Kevin McNulty, Terence Kelly, Karen Holness, Dee Jay Jackson, Winnie Hung, Graeme Duffy, Gabe Khouth, Lisa Chandler

A little boy sends his wish to Santa to bring someone for his Dad for Christmas as he is very lonely. Meanwhile Amelia (Larisa Oleynik) is a gal with the role of coming into divisions of a large companies holdings to trim the fat, issue layoffs, and turn them into a profit. She rides in, dumps a slew of pink slips and flies on to the next organization. But it’s Christmas time and she lands in a familiar little town to find most of the people working for a hand crafted ornament factory run by an old friend of hers, Jesse (Aaron Ashmore). He assumes she’s come to help turn a profit after the company lost one of their biggest customers just before the holidays, and she hides the fact that she’s there to close it down. But Santa may have some bigger and better plans that either of them can understand in order to grant a little boy’s wish.

No, they did not meet on the top of the Empire State Building, but yes it is a lot like “Sleepless in Seattle”. This is so similar to so many others, even some that are new this year like this is, where the evil corporation is looking to close down a major business in the little town that loves Christmas, but it’s still not a bad film. It has some good moments and the actors are really pretty good. The film is filled with Christmas spirit with lots of romance, music, and Christmas themes thrown in. It’s certainly not a barn burner, but it is a nice little time passer if you enjoy the typical Christmas romance. Lifetime has brought a sweet little Christmas film for us this year.

Here is the home page for this Lifetime Christmas Film.

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday December 22, 2015

• Dragon Blade
• Pan [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
• Pawn Sacrifice
• War Room

Hybrid, Mayor Entertainment,

Denise Richards, Patrick Muldoon, Jake Busey, Catherine Hicks, Parker Stevenson, Patricia De Leon, Jon Briddell

Amy (Denise Richards) is a executive in a large firm in New York City. Life is very hectic. But just before Christmas when she gets a phone call letting her know her beloved Aunt Linda (Catherine Hicks) has died leaving half of her bake shop to her. Amy heads back home to take a look at the property and turn it around as quickly as possible. But it gets complicated when she learns that the other half of the baker has been left to Jack Evans (Patrick Muldoon) to whom they had a long relationship way back in the past before she left him and went to New York. Both are a bit bitter, but because it’s the 50th anniversary of the annual Christmas cookie contest that the whole town looks forward to, Amy decides to stay for a few weeks and host the contest with Jack. Then she is faced with the commitments she has with her work, and the charm of the small town life and the bakery.

This is a very predictable little Christmas yarn. It’s naturally a simple holiday romance with some bumps in the road for good measure. Due to the similarity of so many other better films, I was not really impressed with this film. I didn’t feel any real chemistry between Denise and Patrick and they really do seem better apart. There was just nothing really attractive to the two as a couple. The Christmas cookie contest was not that exciting either, and it wasn’t a big part of the story. There was no real drama there. It took forever building up, and then wrapped up very quickly. It’s ok as a thing to pass the time wrapping gifts or something, but there were a lot better Christmas films this year to choose from.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog