Kaoteek

Happily surprised by the Confessions of a Christmas Letter one, despite going in with serious reservations. As for the male lead, it just goes to show how much of a difference a movie can make. In Unwrapping Christmas 1, as the bland rich investor single dad of a precocious teen, he was insipid, seemed completely bored and uninterested (and he wasn't helped by the awful ADR). Here, in this excentric family, he seemed to have fun and enjoy himself, which in turn made him fun and enjoyable to watch.

I liked Jingle Bell Run. Especially after this past fall's annoying Falling Together where Ashley Williams was so hyper that it ended up quickly dragging the movie down for me. Here, she was calmer, less hyper and less grinny, and she had a nice rapport with meathead-mode Andrew Walker. And overall, the movie was different & dynamic enough to be interesting. I'm kind of hesitating on giving the Christmas Letter a go, especially given the returns here : I'm curious about Angela Kinsey in a Hallmark movie, but I've never seen the female lead, and I gotta say the male lead didn't make much of an impression on me in Unwrapping Christmas 1, far from it.

Didn't hate Christmas with the Singhs, but it was very standard Meet the Parents fare with added indian flavor : not good, not bad, just there. But at least it's some welcome ethnic diversity in a season where the "token ethnic and/or gay bff/colleague/boss" trope is back in force. Speaking of diversity, Unwrapping Christmas 2 : Mia's prince was your standard Hallmark Royal movie, only with black actors and a romance novel twist that probably could have led to something better (the exact same movie, but with an ending like "the Prince was all in her head and she's still single, but now she's more confident, stronger, and isnt afraid to speak her mind" might have been more interesting than what we got there). I liked the lead actress, and it was easily better than UC1, but that's about it. (also, since Hot Frosty has been mentioned... I ended up not minding it, despite the dreadful title. It felt very first draft-y, and Milligan's overexcited puppy acting was too much early on, but it all ended up settling down later on, becoming less caricatural and more sincere. Nothing great, but better than I expected... which wasn't hard, since I expected nothing from it)

The Irish one was okayish. A bit slow for me, but I didn't hate it. The first Hallmark + Unwrapping Christmas movie, though, wasn't great. Production-wise, the sound was very uneven, with mediocre ADR ; the leading man was... bland, the kid felt too old for the part, Natalie Hall was overacting (I usually like her, but her vibe was entirely different from the rest of the movie's, here), and the story was the usual "we've gotta save that historical building before Christmas" fare. Meh. Hopefully the other three Unwrapping Christmas movies will be better. (also, enough with the "Die Hard is a Christmas movie" quips, it's getting tiring, to the extent I'm now docking points from Christmas movies that go there)

I wish I liked Santa Tell Me more than I did (and more than most apparently did). If only for the three Nicks who had fun in their roles, and for the overall tone of the movie, much broader and dynamic than most. But the plot was so, so basic/predictable and, dare I say it, shallow to an extent, that it ended up feeling kinda forced (just like that brief, fleeting moment of LGBTQ representation at the end). Also, I must say I couldn't care less about home renovation tv shows, so...

Same. I have absolutely no nostalgia for Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and one of the two aunts fared a lot better here than the other, but it was perfectly watchable, and despite some initial doubts, I ended up really liking the young couple. Nothing groundbreaking, but an enjoyable watch.

I liked Our Holiday Story... until I didn't. I like the main couple, and it was fine for a while, but then, it dawned on me that it was all really just the same old "he's a manly single-dad small town woodworker who believes in fate and is messy, she's a rational, numbers-oriented careerwoman who recently came back in town, yadda yadda yadda", only wrapped into that How I met your mother schtick of telling it all in a fractured way... So overall, meh. Might have worked better without all the unlikely plot contrivances, but then, it wouldn't have lasted 90 minutes.

Gotta say I didn't care much for A Carol for Two. I don't know, I care about Broadway and carol singing about as much as I do about the tough, harsh world of aspiring playwrights & wannabe actors (in 5-year Christmas Party), the cousin was grating, and I must say that, although they've got great voices, both leads felt kinda bland to me. Eh.

Quite enjoyed 5-Year Christmas Party, despite the very niche theater kids framing that doesn't appeal to me at all nad the fact that i gotta admit the leads chemistry wasn't there. That said, there was some sort of Gilmorian vibe in the writing/dialogs/pacing/banter that I quite liked. And funnily enough, I find the HM releases surprisingly decent so far - nothing groundbreaking, but there's clearly an attempt to refresh the roster, or skew younger, more dynamic, and less formulaïc. Then again, I still shudder thinking back at some of those past seasons when there was maybe one or two enjoyable HM movies out of every 10-15 releases - and that's not even taking into account the plethora of bland, mediocre Lifetime/UpTV/ION movies, back when they still tried to compete...

The Christmas Charade was fun, but that's about it. I might have enjoyed it more if Sevier had toned down the gruff FBI agent schtick a little bit. That said, it was still enjoyable for what it was. I really liked Twas the Date before Christmas, though. At first, I was a bit worried that the movie was trying too hard to be kooky, frenetic and excentric, but it all settled down, and I really likes the leads' chemistry in this one. Then again, last year, I wanted Amy Groening to get the lead in a movie because she was delightful in the Santa Summit, and there we go. Could have done without the real estate angle, though, it felt like it was only there to add some unnecessary tension at the end.

Watched Operation Nutcracker. Didn't hate it, kinda liked the more self-aware and laid-back tone, but it didn't quite manage to keep its momentum, and the final "fate a wizard Santa did it" didn't totally work for me. That said, Ann Pirvu is always a welcome addition to those movies, give her her own holiday romance, Hallmark. Holiday Crashers was fun, and felt more modern and dynamic than most HM movies... but it didn't quite stick the landing either, as far as i'm concerned. Once the movie switched to the Vermont lodge, it noticeably slowed down, the lying got old, and honestly, the movie had three writers, and it sometimes felt like it, with uneven character development, and rushed bits here and there. I enjoyed having Daniella Monet back on screen, though. McNally's look ? Eh.

For some reason, I ended up putting GAF's A Vintage Christmas in the background, and... welp, although I liked the leads, it was all so generic and been there seen that ten-fifteen years ago on Hallmark that I've already forgotten most of it.

The Autumn at Apple Hill movie was okay-ish. Quite derivative (oooh, we need to save the Inn, we've gotta set up a big event to raise some funds, yaddayaddayadda) and sometimes felt like a repurposed Christmas movie script (I swear, the bit with the generators "because we've got too many lights and decorations for our old fuse box" was just copypasted from a Christmas script they had laying around), but I like Erin Cahill & Wes Brown, I felt they had a fun chemistry, and the script had enough amusing tidbits (the video game rivalry, the awkward assistant, Wes Brown's relationship with his boss mom) to keep me interested. (also, I liked seeing some actual Halloween decorations and costumes, for once)

There's Haunted Wedding, on October 12th. Ghost hunters, a bride ghost, and all that. Not Halloween per se, but at least it's something.

Watching the movie, I already knew what the reactions would be here. :p Seriously, though, I'm usually fine with Ashley Williams' usual energy and grin, but even I felt this one was a bit overwhelming. I get that the Alzheimer stuff was a personal thing for AW, and I did like the banter between her and Paul Campbell... but the writing just wasn't there, and I disliked most of the characters in the movie : everybody was unnecessarily intense, bordering on rude, AW was too nosy and manic, everything just got solved too easily, it just didn't work for me and felt like a first draft. Oh, and the makup artist was really heavyhanded, too. As for Sweetin's Love Second Act, yeah, it was what I expected : a low-budget, low-energy indie production that ended up bought by GAF, with a Sweetin that looked much better than in the Heiress movie, a fun JP Manoux... and not much more. I ended up ffw through some parts of it.