Archive for December, 2017

** A Joyous Christmas

The Hallmark Channel,

Natalie Knepp, Michael Rady, Bonnie Bedelia, Steve Bacic, Marc Senior, Chiara Guzzo, David Lewis, Jillian Walchuck, Jordan Ninkovich, Bobby L. Stewart,
Jaime MacLean, Françoise Robertson, Sam Vincent


Rachel Kennedy (Natalie Knepp) is a self help author. She is also a motivational speaker, but due to hardships in her own experience, her message is all about taking care of yourself first. She believes that if you don’t make yourself happy first, you can’t help anyone else to be happy. She is on a book tour to advertise her newest book and takes the opportunity to head the Christmas Pageant in her home town which is an annual event, but secretly her plan is to use it to promote her new book. But as she gets in touch with the people involved, she begins to learn the error of her ways and how spreading love and good will to others can really help her find the true meaning of the season.

This is one final Christmas movie for this season. I have seen a great many new films, some quite memorable, and others that I could easily forget. This one lands somewhere in the middle, I guess. It’s a nice story, and the performances by Natalie Knepp and Michael Rady are very good. Michael is actually really gentle in his role, and near the end, the story spins off track a bit to back fill his story and though he pulls it off, it is a little to sweet even for me, perhaps. Bonnie Bedelia is a surprise character here, as Joy, one who offers her help and puts in her best efforts to make everything a success. Joy is an angel, although not literally, who has been through a great deal in her life. A lot of the story (and Rachel’s final redemption) comes through a big misunderstanding with Joy that brings all the parts of the movie together. All in all it’s a fairly decent Christmas film, though not perfect, a completely adequate addition to the holiday class of 2017. I have enjoyed once again bringing the new Christmas movies of 2017 to you and am looking forward to a great cinema year in 2018. Merry Christmas Everyone.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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The Hallmark Channel,

Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Martin Cummins, Carter Ryan Evancic, Aren Buchholz, Eva Bourne, Mary Black, Paul Greene, Loretta Walsh, Daniel Lissing, Lori Loughlin, Hrothgar Mathews, Johannah Newmarch


This Christmas Special (2 hours) is actually the first episode of Season 5 of the Hallmark Channel series When Calls the Heart, about a small coal mining town in western Canada in the 1910’s. The town has hardships, but very good people who are happy to help one another. This year, the town develops a new holiday tradition instead of the town Christmas tree in the square, they have erected a Christmas Wishing Tree where the townspeople can take an ornament and write their deepest wish on the back, and hang it on the tree. If the ornament disappears, that means someone is going to make the wish come true. School Teacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow) has one wish, that her husband, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman can return home from the cold north region to be with her for Christmas. The new town Mayor, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) has a plan to bring the disgraced former mayor who is in prison, home for the holidays where he can stay in jail overnight, but do community service in the daytime in order to pay back the town for what he stole. All in all, as Christmas comes closer, more and more people get into the spirit to reach out and help someone else so that they can all enjoy the holiday.

When Calls the Heart is a wonderful series with a lot of heart and the goodness of the times a century ago when people were close and really depended on each other. Some weeks ago I reviewed another wonderful Christmas film as a part of the When Calls the Heart series. It is called When Calls the Heart Christmas Movie. [Here is the review for this film.] That was a wonderful film as well, but this one is a lot different. This one has no big disaster or problem facing the town, no pending major crisis, but just a need for everyone to pitch in and help out each other. But as a quality Christmas film, this one stands up every bit as good as the original one. It is a truly special series and a wonderful holiday treat. Be sure to find them both if you can.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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** Christmas Getaway

Front Street Pictures,

Bridget Regan, Travis Van Winkle, Raven Stewart, Teryl Rothery, Sarah Smyth, Dan Payne, Alvin Sanders, Krystle Dos Santos, Kiefer O’Reilly,
Keith MacKechnie


Emory Blake (Bridget Regan) is a writer, and has a new assignment for a Christmas Day article invoking the Christmas Spirit, but she’s feeling really burnt out. To help her out, her publisher offers her a Christmas vacation at a Christmas Cabin up on the mountains. But when she arrives, she finds the place occupied by a widower Father, Scott Hayes (Travis Van Winkle) and his young daughter Katy (Raven Stewart), who are also booked in the same cabin. Unfortunately there are no other openings as the lovely winter town is booked full months in advance. She decides to spend the night, but has plans to leave right away in the morning, but storms, bridge outages, and other minor disasters keep delaying her return to the city. By the time she’s able to get out, she’s got the perfect story, but more than that, has found her personal joy in the season and a couple very good new friends in the process.

Once again, I found this a wonderful new Christmas Movie. The pacing was great, and the scenery around the town and the cabin is unbelievably beautiful. The Christ Sprit is intense, and the actors are superb. All in all this is a nicely done very festive holiday movie and one that is very worthwhile. The story is very well written and nicely done, and one that is very much worth watching. Look for it on the Hallmark Channel this season. This is one I really did enjoy.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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** Christmas Connection

Autumn Mannitoba Productions, Cartel Pictures, The Cartel,

Brooke Burns, Steve Pacaud, Gino Anania, Erik Athavale, Tom Everett Scott, Pilar Floyd, Kristen Harris, Adam Hurtig, Emily Muir, Sophie Neudorf


Sydney (Brooke Burns) is a global hopping flight attendant who loves the life of glamor and visiting far away places. She’s looking for a wonderful tropical Christmas, but on her last flight she meets a charming little girl name Leah (Sophie Neudorf) who is flying alone to meet her Father. But when they arrive, her father Jonathan (Tom Everett Scott) is nowhere to be seen. Sydney misses her flight, but waits until Jonathan arrives and Leah is delivered to him in good spirits. She still has time to make the next flight, but after Leah and her Dad leave, Sydney sees that Leah left an important package behind. Sydney delivers it and is invited in for some Christmas activity. As time passes, Sydney finds it harder and harder to remember why a holiday in the tropics sounded so appealing as she learns the advantage of missing her flight and spending so time with her new found friends.

This was a really touching film, and a real pleasure to watch. The story was so very well written, and all the primary actors were very good. IT has just the right amount of sentiment to make it a wonderful new Christmas movie, and Sophie Neudorf does such a wonderful job as the little girl that she steals the whole movie. This film was very well done, and I really did enjoy it, and was a real pleasure to watch. Hallmark has once again done such a fabulous job bringing the Holidays to us, and I must say it is appreciated.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Hallmark Movies & Mysteries,

Jill Wagner, Luke Macfarlane, Lauren Guci


When Maggie (Jill Wagner) was a girl, her father walked out on them at Christmas breaking her mother’s heart. Now Maggie is a single Mom who is a divorce attorney with a little boy, Jordon (Lauren Guci) who is anxious for Christmas to arrive. But Maggie’s husband also chose Christmas to walk out on them, so Maggie has very little interest in Christmas, to say the least. Jordon is having trouble in school however, so Maggie and her mom decide it might be best to hire a tutor for Jordan and the principal recommends Casey (Luke Macfarlane) who runs the local eatery but also tutors students. Cases and Jordan get along well, but Maggie is a very hard nut to crack until a major unexpected bit of knowledge turns everything upside down.

This is a really wonderful Christmas tale and one that is very touching. I guess I’m a sucker for interesting plot twists and turns, and this is a really great story which makes it easier to build a great movie when the starting point is so well done. Jill Wagner is very proper and uptight, though she can fight for the right, and believes in marriage even though it turned bad both to her mother and herself. Lauren Guci is a really good Jordon, trying to survive and hoping that his Mom can somehow be happy again. But Luke Macfarlane really nails it is his role as Casey, the gentle teacher who shows kindness and concern from the bottom of his heart. He is very touching in his role and was a pleasure to watch. All in all, this is an amazing mystery story heavy into fate and chances and is a very good entry into this years batch of Holiday films. Try not to miss this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 


 

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