The Christmas Gift, 2015, Lifetime, is the Day 12 selection for my Christmas Movie Review. Interestingly, it is also a very popular title as versions of The Christmas Gift aired in 1986, 2001, 2009, 2014 (short), 2015, and is in development for 2016.
My gift to this movie is to get in and get out with my review. Continue reading
We’re almost to the halfway point in my Christmas Movie Review as we countdown to Christmas.
Of course, I’m hoping for coconut and dark chocolate.
One of the most famous lines in “Forrest Gump” is “Life is like a box of chocolates….” Well, watching Christmas movies is like picking a present from under the tree. (Unless you peeked), you never know exactly what you’ll open until you finish unwrapping it – maybe there will be a gem stashed somewhere inside?… Or you’re like Ralphie in “The Christmas Story“ and the real present isn’t under the tree – but hidden elsewhere. Continue reading
On Day 11 of my Christmas Movie Review, the calendar shows that it is exactly two weeks before Christmas, which means shopping opportunities are growing limited. So, in keeping with that… here are my thoughts on 12 Gifts of Christmas, 2015, Hallmark.
I thought about saving this for Day 12, but it didn’t go with my two week shopping theme.
Cute guy, Marc, is so busy with his career that he doesn’t do well at Christmastime (or any other family time for that matter), so under a frantic corporate deadline, he hires a personal shopper who turns out to be none other than the cute girl, Anna, who took pity on him when she overheard him struggling to pick out a cookie at the local bakery for his secretary’s birthday. Continue reading
Yes, I’m feeling a little Scroog-ey. I watched these two movies almost back-to-back. They are so similar, I couldn’t help but lump (no pun intended) them together, especially as they are both 2015 offerings. Here they are:
The Flight Before Christmas, 2015 – Lifetime (Not to be confused with The Flight Before Christmas, 2008 – with animated reindeer that now I want to watch!)
A Christmas Detour, 2015 – Hallmark
This is pretty much the show.
There’s that vision board…
I’ll be as brief as I can without spoiling anyone’s holiday spirit. Continue reading
I’m on a magic sleigh ride! For Day 8 of my Christmas Movie Review, the fun continues with Northpole: Open For Christmas, 2015 – Hallmark, which is a sequel to Northpole, 2014 (seen, but not reviewed).
Warning: Again, I will be using the word “magic” repetitively.
Some of the devices are familiar: Snow globes with special powers, quirky elves, a really cool workshop where toys are made, and Santa’s magical sleigh. Oh, and magic snow. Continue reading
The Day 7 selection for my Christmas Movie Review embraces all that makes me fall in love again with the magic of Christmas – The Santa Clause, 1994, because it’s timeless. Thank you, Walt Disney.
The basic premise is that the main character, Tim Allen, finds himself in a position where he cannot refuse becoming Santa when he inadvertently agrees to a magical contract. Continue reading
Hitched for the Holidays, 2012, Hallmark, is a surprisingly refreshing movie. This is the selection for Day 6 of my Christmas Movie Review.
Two people, pressured by their parents to “have” someone by New Year’s Eve, find themselves backed into proverbial corners. Continue reading
As a screenwriter, I find myself analyzing movies on two levels. For the Day 5 selection in my Countdown to Christmas Movie Review – Christmas in Boston (ABC TV Movie – 2005), my screenwriter side kicked into auto-pilot and overrode my want-to-be-entertained-holiday-viewer side even sooner than usual.
I love the concept; a couple of pen pals who’ve been intimately close on paper except for one gentle lie: They’ve both hidden behind their best friends’ photos, but will they come clean when they have to meet when their work lives intersect right before Christmas – in Boston, of course? Continue reading
My pick for Day 4 of my Christmas Movie Review is Angels Sing (2013 – Hallmark) with Harry Connick, Jr., Connie Britton (think Friday Night Lights and Nashville), Kris Kristoferson, Lyle Lovett, and Willie Nelson.
With such a star-studded cast, what could go wrong, right? Continue reading
I can’t help it.
For Day 3 of my Christmas Movie Countdown, it’s back to the The Holiday Yule Log – with Happy the cat and Happy the dog. Hallmark, of course, 2007. The original version dates back to 1966.
Warning: It’s three (3!) hours of nothing but a burning Yule log, Christmas music, and watching the dog and cat bliss out by the fire, or maneuver with each other for the best spot (the cat always wins). Continue reading
Gayla Betts Screenwriter 