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Annuit Coeptis Entertainment II,

Bridget Regan, Victor Webster, Iris Quinn< Imogen Tear, Fred Henderson

A widowed Mom, Lindsey (Bridget Regan) is raising her little girl Hanneh (Imogen Tear) and thinks she is ready to try to ease into Christmas decorating again for her daughter’s sake after the sudden accidental car crash that took her husband. Heading out to get some decorations, her daughter is given an old stocking to add to her decorations. Hannah thinks it is a magic stocking because it occasionally falls off the hanger and produces little trinkets that seem to have significance to the different members of the family. Hannah has her heart set on a dog for Christmas, and when one shows up, she thinks its not an accident, but when the owner shows up she has to return it. Everyone is hoping for a Christmas miracle though to set them back on the right path.

This is a cute little Christmas film;. It was new last year (2015) from Hallmark, and is a really nice story. It’s got sad parts, especially when we learn how Lindsey’s husband died. There are double romances in this film, as Lindsay’s Mom and Mayor Fred who are real life husband and wife, Fred Henderson and Iris Quinn have a fun relationship, and Lindsay meets a cute handyman type Scott (Victor Webster) who tries to figure out how to help Lindsey through this. There are lots of family values here, and being a single Mom isn’t easy, especially around the holidays. I was delighted when this came on and stayed up into the wee hours watching it to see how it came out. This is a worthwhile story.

Here is the Hallmark Channel page for this movie.

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Christmas Wish Productions,

Lacey Chabert, Tyron Leitso, Milli Wilkinson, Audrey Smallman, Brittney Wilson, Keith MacKechnie

Hannah Dunbar (Lacey Chabert) is a celebrated news reporter in New York who has received many awards for her good work. But when a sudden Facebook friend request pops up from Ben (Tyron Leitso) it gets her to pondering over what life would be like if she had married him 10 years ago instead of choosing her career instead. When Santa (Keith MacKechnie) shows up, she denies that she has a Christmas wish, but the thoughts in her mind are strong enough to find her waking up with a husband and two daughters. Chaos ensues as she finds out what her life could have been.

This is a 2015 Hallmark premier that somehow I missed last season. It is making the rounds again, no doubt because of the talent that Lacey Chabert brings to the film. Now this is a very common theme from Christmas films going back more than half a century. This is a lot like Family Man, and even A Wonderful Life. We’ve all sat and pondered over the big (and little) what if’s of our lives, and this is a common human activity to ponder the differences a single choice can make in your life. I think my very favorite of these films is “Comfort and Joy” with Nancy McKeon and one of those I have watched over and over again each year. But this is a little bit different than the rest, and does have a surprise or two. A freak accident allows her to pick up the microphone and throws a wrench into her alternate life. The great performances, and the charming little girls make it a lot of fun. Feminists absolutely hate this kind of movie as it shows the benefits of motherhood and family, and they hate that. But don’t let that stop you. Christmastime is a time when we get to put away the hectic, “I can be everything at once – I can have it all” attitude and relax a little a remember how life used to be before we were all so involved with the day to day stuff that we didn’t have time to wonder “what if”. I found this to be a pretty decent little movie.

Here is the web page for this Hallmark film.

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Hallmark Channel,

Kristin Davis, Eric McCormack, Shirley MacLaine, Daniel Bacon, Lossen Chambers, Keith Dallas, Vincent Gale, Glen Gordon, Lauren Guci, Dakota Guppy, Emily Holmes, Kate Isaac, Alexander Jando, Karen Kruper, Merren McMahon

Eve (Kristin Davis) is a workaholic. She neglects her family and abuses her subordinates making them work on the holidays, and never taking time off for herself. She’s got her sights set on becoming a Partner at all costs. But a sudden accident and she finds out she is in heaven and an angel in training as her boss, Pearl (Shirley MacLaine) sets her on her first trial assignment. She is sent back to Earth to help Max (Eric McCormack) a lonely single Dad and his little niece who he is caring for, but who may be taken away from him due to his inability to care for her properly. But as she spends time with the little family, she finds herself falling in love with him which is highly forbidden.

This movie teaches us that there are more than one kind of angel, and Eve is a Christmas Angel. That means she has to work her magic before Christmas Eve. This is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production premier for the 2016 season. Kristin Davis is very good in this little film. She’s very likeable and moves from Scrooge-like evil to a really sweet person in a short time, and she’s believable on both sides of the coin. Eric McCormack is also very good in his sad sack role, a musician who has lost his nerve. This is a step above most of the other new films due to the excellent job from the cast who bring a lot to the story. Another good film from the Hallmark folks that are killing this year.

Here is the Hallmark page for this film.

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Talmarc Productions,

David Carradine, Wes Studi, Michael Parks, Tim Abell, Sarah Aldrich, Irene Bedard, Mark Rolston, Darian Weiss, Masam Holden, Buck Taylor, Tracy Nelson, Rance Howard, Francine York, Brian Libby

Ike (David Carradine) is a highly prejudiced mean old rancher who has a huge chip on his shoulder because with a hatred for all Indians because of a personal loss that he was never able to get over. Meanwhile an Indian family lives in a little house on a homestead property that used to be owned by Ike. He sets his men to drive them off his land. Meanwhile, his daughter is married to an ex-preacher who was never accepted by Ike who despises him and his family. Times are hard for everyone, and yet when a couple tragedies happen, and all are faced with really tough decisions, they must figure out how to work together for the common good. This Western Christmas themed movie is a good family style Western like used to exist in the old days.

This film has a wonderful cast. Right down the line, they are all really good actors. David Carradine is excellent in this Scrooge-like role, and he plays well with Wes Studi who is wonderful as the Native American chief and grandfather of the family. The values and morals of the 1880’s is awe inspiring, and it’s a good movie. For some, it gets resolved pretty quickly, but it has to fit into a 2 hour TV time spot minus commercials, so they did seem to hurry up the ending a little, but still it was very well done and quite well acted. The Chrismas connection is rather week, and it’s another one that stuck a “Christmas” in the title to hopefully pull some more viewers in, but Hallmark did pick up this 2005 film for release in 2006. This is a film with a good message and well worth watching. The violent parts might be a little too intense for younger kids, but I’m sure anyone over about 10 could handle this, and it’s available for streaming on NetFlix so it’s easy to find. If you miss the good westerns of the past, this is a pretty good one.

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Heyday Films, Warner Bros.,

Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Carmen Ejogo, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Jenn Murray

Newt (Eddie Redmayne) is a wizard and a writer who arrives via ship at New York City to meet with another wizard about some additional fantastic beasts he is interested in. Newt is carrying a leather briefcase with some of these creatures inside. But when some escape, he quickly finds that the wizarding world in America is much more hidden and repressed than it is in England. The Americans have outlawed fantastic beasts of any kind, so Newt is in trouble when first of all he doesn’t erase the memory of a muggle (or No-Maj as they call them in the US) on top of having some of the beasts escape, so he is pulled before the tribunal for punishment. But they don’t realize the danger that they are in, and they may need Newt’s expertise in saving the whole city.

This film is a spin-off of the Harry Potter series of books written by J.K.Rowling and made into an entire series of movies. This takes places decades before Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and tells the story of the writing of one of the text book studied by Harry at Hogwarts. Newt Scamander is credited as the author of one of the textbooks about Fantastic Beasts, and we get to meet him in this film. This was a good extension of the Harry Potter universe and we finally got to see a little about wizarding in the United States as well. It is quite different on this side of the pond, and we get to see what it was like here at the time. The special effects are outstanding, of course, and 3D and IMAX is well put to use in this film, but the story fails a little. First of all, Newt is not someone you really get to like very much. He’s kind of annoying and just not that likeable. Tina (Katherine Waterston) on the other hand is likeable in her role as a demoted Auror in the MACUSA (American Ministry of Magic organization) but the chemistry never gets off the ground and is not that acceptable. Colin Farrel is pretty good as the bad guy, but just not as impressive as the Harry Potter bad guys. All in all, it’s not a bad movie at all, and a must see for Fantasy fans, but be prepared for some really slow parts, and a lot of muttering that is not easy to follow. Boy, Subtitles would have been awesome! Aside from a pressing desire to fall asleep in the middle while things were crawling along, it was worth the effort to stay awake. The magical creatures are revealed to us one at a time and it takes a while to get to know them, but it’s worth the wait as each one appears and gives us his special abilities and features. I really did enjoy this film, so I don’t want to discourage anyone from seeing it, but I also don’t want you to expect it to be as spectacularly done as Harry was. This is a lot more like the later movies in that series where it turned a lot darker and with a lot less hopefulness. This is supposed to be a long series of films as well, and I hope the first one doesn’t turn people off from the rest of them. I know I’ll be there for the next one and hope it will be better.

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