Ed's Review Dot Com

Teri Polo, Martin Cummins, Jordyn Ashley Olson, Sidney Grigg

Sally Brown is a popular children’s book author and a war widow. The only thing left that connects her to her soldier husband is his German Shepherd named Buddy. But when a really big storm hits, Buddy runs away and is lost. He’s found by the daughter Emma (Jordyn Ashley Olson) of widower Mark (Martin Cummins). They decide to keep Buddy for the meantime, but when Sally finds out that Buddy has been found, she aims to get him back. But this will break Emma’s heart. This heartwarming Christmas movie revolves around the dog and his connection to both families.

Halmark brings out a dozen movies per Christmas and this is one of the premiers for 2014. There are always a Christmas dog movie in there somewhere, sometimes more than one, and I’m not sure of the connection between dogs and Christmas, but they seem to work. Teri Polo was pretty good in this movie. I haven’t seen her much since her roles as Ben Stiller’s wife in the Meet the Parents series, but she handles this one pretty well. The little girl, Emma is also very charming and scene stealing, but let’s face it, the true star has to be Buddy himself. He’s a good looking dog who seems to have lots of talent at showing dog emotions. Not a mind blowing movie by any means, but nice enough. I enjoyed it, and dog lovers especially will appreciate it, but certainly not close to one of the best of the new movies this season. In the end, it’s a decent doggie based Christmas romance, and that’s what people love this time of year, so I suspect it will fill the bill.

[Click here for the Hallmark Channel page for this film]

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Bull Market Entertainment, EKZ Productions, Lainie Productions,

Kaley Cuoco, Chris Klein, Dennis Farina, Jonathan Bennett, Dylan Walsh, Teri Polo, Tricia Helfer, Jonathan Banks

A group of wanna-be writers have a club where they meet to help each other. It’s all for one as they read some of their writings and offer suggestions. When they invite newcomer Hannah Rinaldi (Kaley Cuoco) to the group, she fits in quickly. But her sudden success in finding an agent, getting published, and her career taking off sets in motion lots of feelings of jealousy and envy as everyone tries to complete with her success. But thing deteriorate quickly with lots of other issues coming to the surface.

I did enjoy this film, although it wasn’t wildly fascinating, it wasn’t boring. The story is a lot like A Star is Born, and many other copycats of that basic story of a young newcomer finding easy success and the jealousy it sets off in those not so lucky. But there are also many other facets in this story that really help to keep it going strong. With great performances from the likes of Chris Klein, Dennis Farina, and Teri Polo, plus the others, this is really a ensemble movie. Kaley doesn’t have to carry the film on her own, which, as good a group actor as she is, I’m not sure she could really pull off. Fortunately with such a cast, no one has to carry the film, and the depth of the characters really helps the story along. It’s not too long, though major events happen, the overall feel is light and enjoyable. It’s a quirky story, and one that I would never have thought of. I found it unusual, but fun to watch, and if you’re so inclined, I’d suggest giving it a shot. It’s surely not a movie you’ve heard of, and those kind of surprises are sometimes a lot of fun.

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Julijette, Xmas Heart Films,

Teri Polo, Paul Essiembre, Adam Hurtig, Tess Harper, Ty Wood, Arden Alfonso, Cruise Brown

Matt Norman (Ty Wood) is an athletic 15 year old with a undiagnosed heart problem. When he collapses on the basketball court, he is doomed without a heart transplant immediately. His younger brother and his parents and the whole neighborhood are hoping for a miracle. Meanwhile Jimmy Mars (Adam Hurtig) is a troubled young man who’s girlfriend is about to give birth and he’s in big trouble and needs to leave town in a big hurry. To top it all off, a huge storm is headed in on Christmas Eve making bringing in a new heart essentially impossible, even if one can be found.

This is a really good brand new Hallmark Christmas story. It’s a real tearjerker, and highly unlikely, but everything does come together as only they can in a Hallmark Christmas movie. But this is a really good film, with lots of life lessons, a mean grinchy guy, a hopeful kid with lots of faith and trust, and conflicted parents where Mom is a pillar of faith and Dad doubts there is even a God. There are a number of different stories going on, which naturally will all intersect at the final moment. Conflicts, doubts, faith, family, a little holiday spirit, and everything is in here. This is a great addition to the long, long list of Holiday movies, but probably one that won’t stand up to repeated viewings as other films do. It’s a little too sugary for repeated viewings, but certainly well worth the effort to watch out for this one this season! This is a movie with lots of redeeming qualities!

Here is the link to the official Hallmark page for this film.

Pure Flix Entertainment,

Kevin Sorbo, Teri Polo, Tamera Mowry, Della Reese, Izabela Vidovic, Victoria Wolsefer

LIttle girl Oliva (Izabela Vidovic) has but one wish for Christmas. She wants a new Dad and husband for her Mom (Teri Polo). Across the street is an old boarded up house that the kids think is a “wishing house”. When you break a window with a stone after making a wish, and the wish will come true. But when a young doctor shows up who owns the house, Mom decides to fix the place up a bit, decorate it for Christmas, and install a “wish box” on the front gate to stop all the windows from being broken. But when the wishes start coming true, and the kids see a strange old woman appearing inside the house, they begin to wonder if perhaps it’s an angel at work here.

Not to be confused with the 2006 “Christmas Angel” [Click here for Ed’s review] , this is a brand new for 2012 Made for TV movie. It will premier later in November, but for now, it’s available on DVD, and can be purchased on Amazon.com or even seen via Watch Instantly on Netflix. This is a Christian film, but the message is very subtle. Also starring the incredible Della Reese, the lady with a secret, it’s a wonderful family film. It does show the troubles and pleasures of childhood Christmases. It has a wonderful message about faith and trust, and the importance of charity and the family. It’s a very good film for the whole family to enjoy.

This is a great addition to the mass of holiday films that are shown year after year. I can see this one popping up for years to come. It’s a nice story, and an excellent film to share with the kids.

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DW Films, DW Studios, Everyman Pictures

Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Ericka Jensen, Barbara Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Laura Dern, Kevin Hart, Daisy Tahan, Colin Baiocchi, Thomas McCarthy, Harvey Keitel

Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) are ready to celebrate the twins 5th birthday.  They want the whole family to gather for the event.  Greg and Pam are planning a move to a new home, and the plan is to hold the party with a bounce house and all in the back yard of the new house.  But contractor Randy (Harvey Keitel) is dragging his feet and everything else he can drag.  Plus Dad Focker (Dustin Hoffman) is in Spain on some kind of mid life crisis learning how to dance the Salsa.  Meanwhile, Teri’s father, Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro) who was also a fan of Doctor Bob (Thomas McCarthy) since he was so much better than Greg, but Dr. Bob has cheated on Teri’s sister and now is divorced leaving Greg in line to manage the family.  Meanwhile, Greg and Teri are trying to get the twins into a very expensive private school called “The Early Human School” run by Prudence (Laura Dern).  The only thing that could mess things up worse is if Kevin (Owen Wilson) (who just loves Teri, his ex) would show up, and of course he does.  The final straw is a sexy drug rep name Andi Garcia played by Jessica Alba who seems intent on seducing Greg.

Little Fockers is the third in the series.  It’s much better than the last one (Meet the Fockers), but not near as good as the first (Meet the Parents).  That first entry falls into the category of one of the funniest movies of all times!  The characters were really well developed and played off each other wonderfully. With characters so well developed, the only thing that could really go wrong is if they have nothing to do.  I think that’s what happened here.  After the third movie with the “circle of trust” and Jack misinterpreting what Greg is doing, and Greg’s parents being over sexed and crude, and so on, it’s the same recycled jokes.  That is the problem with this film.  It’s like a comedy series that has already run it’s course and run out of new jokes.  Most everything here has been used before.  But still it’s very funny, as always, and these are the same characters we know from before.  It’s like going home again in a way.  Owen Wilson has a slightly longer part this time around, and we get to know him a little better.  Jessica Alba is a good add, as we haven’t seen Greg tempted before.  Greg is supposed to be the one to carry on the Byrnes family crest as “the Godfocker”, and immediately he gets stressed and starts losing it and proving he’s not worthy.   It’s comfortable around this time, and I think a good deal better than the last go round.  If you don’t want to see it in the theater, watch it on DVD when it comes out. It should make the move to small screen very well.   Oh, and one last thing.  Take note of the PG-13 rating very carefully.  Though nothing is shown, there are quite a few crude and rude jokes and gags that, although not shown, may be tough to explain to a small kid.  I was unhappy to see a lot of 8-10 year olds in the theater which made me very uncomfortable for them.

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