Christmas Movies 2015

One of the things I do each December is watch Christmas movies to get into the holiday spirit.  I try to watch a variety of films, old and new, comedy and drama, blockbuster and made-for-TV.   This year I must have been busier than usual, because here we are almost at Christmas and I have only watched five movies.  Here are mini reviews on the ones I did watch, ranking them from lease favorite to favorite.  (Caution:  Although I tried not to give too many details, there may be some spoilers below.)

A Christmas Eve Miracle (2015)

     Synopsis:  Sharron, a stressed out mother, wishes that she had not had children young so she and her husband could have been more successful in their careers and could have traveled the world first.  On a family trip over Christmas break, Santa did his magic and the couple’s children suddenly belong to two other families in the resort.  The parents have become high powered professionals consumed with their careers, trips, and expensive gifts.  Sharron soon realizes that this is not all that she hoped and prefers to experience the Christmas season with her children again.

     Review:  This was an absolutely dreadful movie.  I am really easy to please when it comes to family entertainment.  I expected predictable and corny.  What I got was stupid and painful.  The movie could have been written by my seven year old stepson and had more intelligent dialog.  The characters mostly just announced random lines that did not flow very well as conversation.  Additionally, there were all these side plots that appeared and then disappeared at random.  The acting was wooden, but seriously I doubt anybody could have done well with this script.  I almost turned it off, and when it was over I wish I had.

Christmas Crush (2012)

     Synopsis:  Georgia goes home for Christmas disillusioned with her life.  She has no friends, no boyfriend, a rocky relationship with her father, and a career that is not what she intended.  When she arrives home, she finds out that her school is throwing a winter wonderland reunion over the holiday season.  She intends to go so she can win back her “perfect” high school boyfriend, wow everyone with a faked career in fashion design, and dazzle the town with her solo in the old glee club performance.  She is so busy trying to recreate her old life, she almost misses the fact that Ben, one of her best friends from school, has secretly been in love with her the whole time.

     Review:  This is very predictable and corny, but it was perfect for what I wanted to do the night I watched it.  If you just want to sit back, laugh, and not think too hard, then this movie is for you.  It is not a tight story and has a number of plot holes in the action.  The characters often act in peculiar and unrealistic ways.  However, there are many laugh-out-loud scenes and touching moments between friends.  Also, I can identify with the desire to look through rose-colored glasses at those old high school days when everything seemed so much simpler.  Finally, Ben as played by Jonathan Bennett is very cute and drool-worthy throughout.

Love Actually (2003)

     Synopsis:  This is a collection of nine love stories woven together in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  1) Sarah, burdened with the care of her mentally-challenged brother Michael, has been in love with Karl from work for years.  2) Mark’s friend Peter marries Juliet.  While he has always shown disdain for her, she discovers that he has been secretly in love with her the whole time.  3) Harry and Karen have been married for decades.  Harry is suddenly being tempted by the young Mia in his office who is making her desire for him obvious.  4) Jamie goes to France to write a novel.  He develops feelings for his Portuguese maid Aurelia despite the fact that neither speaks the other’s language.  5) Daniel’s wife has just died, leaving him the sole guardian for his young stepson Sam.  While they both grieve for their lost loved one, Sam develops his first love for Joanna, a girl in his class.  6) Colin desperately wants to get laid, and decides that going to America is the best way to do this.  7) David has taken on the position of Prime Minister.  Natalie has been assigned to be his assistant, but David finds her too distracting to do his job properly.  8) John and Judy develop a friendship while doing scene setups for a pornographic film.  9) Billy Mack is an aging rocker who has been forced into doing a Christmas cover of his old hit song by his manager Joe.

     Review:  This movie is not the easiest film to watch.  Some of the pieces seem very fragmented and hard to follow.  Plus, you have to have a good grasp on British humor to like the plotlines.  However, I found it pleasant and enjoyable.  The film has a very respectable cast (Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, among others) which shows in the quality of the performances.  The two things I like most about the film are that the situations are gritty and realistic, and that not every story is an actual love story.  Family and friendships are well represented throughout the film.  My personal favorite story lines are Daniel, Sam, and Joanna, and David and Natalie.  They have reasonably happy endings without being too syrupy sweet.

The Holiday (2006)

     Synopsis:  Iris and Amanda have had enough of love at Christmastime.  Amanda has called it quits with her boyfriend, and Iris has just found out her not-so-ex-boyfriend is marrying the other girl.  They decide to switch houses for the two weeks over Christmas.  Amanda heads to England, where she meets Iris’ brother Graham and falls in love.  The story is slightly complicated by his situation of widower with two small children.  Iris lands in LA to enjoy warm weather with some new friends.  She quickly meets Arthur, an aging movie writer who needs some cheering around the holiday season and a gentle push to accept his lifetime achievement award.  She also strikes up a friendship with Miles, who is going through a rough relationship patch of his own.  The feelings grow stronger as the two of them help each other overcome their hurts.

     Review:  I love this movie.  It has been one of my favorite Christmas movies since it came out, and I watch it almost every year.  The cast is fantastic with the five main characters played by Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Eli Wallach.  I love that one story line is a traditional love story, while the other focuses more on friendships during the bulk of the film.  I feel the characters are interesting and show genuine growth by the end of the film.  It offers hope to those of us who feel we are stuck in a rut (love, life, or otherwise).  Maybe everyone should take an unexpected, far away vacation at least once in their life to get a little perspective.

Arthur Christmas (2011)

     Synopsis:   The current Santa (Santa the 20^th) uses a whole host of updated techniques to ensure that every child receives a present on Christmas.  Santa flies a sleek super-fast ship complete with sky-copying camouflage to keep it from being detected.  A contingent of elves help to put all the presents under the tree in every house in record time.  Steve, Santas’s eldest son and heir apparent, manages everything from the control center back in the North Pole, with tracking equipment and schedules arranged to cover the tiniest details.  But what happens when one bike does not get delivered to a little girl in England who desperately wants to believe that Santa Clause is real?  Santa’s younger son Arthur sets out with the help of Grandsanta, the old traditional sleigh, eight reindeer, and some magic Christmas dust on an adventure to make sure this little girl’s Christmas wish comes true.

     Review:  This is an animated feature perfect for the whole family that is edging into number one this year due to the sheer Christmas joy of watching it.  Although the story of saving Christmas is a repeat, I really enjoyed all the behind the scenes updates that answer that burning question of just how does Santa deliver all those presents to all those children in just one night.  I loved the fact that Arthur is basically a screw-up that everyone has written off, and yet with a little belief in himself he pulled off a Christmas miracle that everyone said could not be done.  This was loads of fun, beautiful animation, and of course plenty of happy endings to go around.  In fact, the ending montage gave an update on every character which ended “And they were happy”.

I hope you all were able to enjoy some wonderful Christmas movies this year.  Have a happy holiday season, however you may celebrate it.  See you next week!