Category Archives: Live Action Movie Reviews

Christmas in Conway Review

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It’s time for one of those really emotional kind of Christmas titles. Naturally, there’s nothing wrong with being more on the emotional side but it can be hard to compete with the more upbeat adventures. This one has its moments but on the whole I would say it’s definitely going too far on the tragic side and ends up potentially being Hallmark’s weakest title. It definitely needed more pop!

The movie starts off by introducing us to Suzy who is terminally ill and will be dead soon. Her husband Duncan has been taking it pretty hard of course and is hoping to at least spend their final days together. Unfortunately for him she now has a live in nurse named Natalie who Duncan seems to consider to be an intruder the whole time. He makes it very clear that she is not wanted here and then he gets the idea to make a Ferris wheel for Suzy. This will be a way to recreate their first date but he will have to work really quickly and in the meantime one of his neighbors wants to shut him down. Will he have to rely on the ex-convict Tommy?

Now you have to give the film credit for having a fairly large cast here. One of the big supporting characters is Tommy who made some huge mistakes in his past and the film slowly goes over this. For those reasons Duncan doesn’t trust him at all, the guy never even forgave him in the first place. So there is a lot of tension there the whole time and then the film seems to potentially be setting up a romance with him and Natalie. After we learn the truth of what happened, I can definitely see why Duncan is upset. It would be really hard to trust Tommy again after that.

In the present he seems nice enough although I do think it is irresponsible of him to try and get Natalie on dates when she needs to be available for Suzy. Being gone for 20 minutes can be the difference between life or death here. As for Natalie, I would say she takes her job very seriously. She is good at it and continues to work even as Duncan doesn’t make things easy for her. That’s certainly commendable on her part and in the end Natalie really does help free up time for the others to get things ready. She was also a good friend to Suzy.

Suzy is a solid heroine here who tries to get Duncan under control the whole time. Considering that she is facing her own demise, Suzy stays strong for the most part. Duncan tends to look bad for most of the film as he takes everything out on the others. He’s upset about Suzy dying and of course that can make it tempting to vent but he really needed to control himself more. It takes pretty much the whole film for him to finally turn the corner and handle his feelings properly. I would have liked that to have happened a bit sooner.

Meanwhile, the neighbor is about as petty as you can be. She wants to win the front yard contest and so that’s the main reason why she tries to sabotage the Ferris wheel. It’s all for a contest and she doesn’t even seem to care that someone is dying. The film lets her off rather easy without even getting a proper talking to. I would have liked her to have seen the neighborhood turn against her or something.

At least everyone supported Duncan when it counted at the end. Even the guy with a gun who was rather stand-offish the whole time finally came through. That was definitely a good moment and made for a fun climax. If the whole film had that energy then I think it would have been a lot better. At the end of the day the main problem here is just that most of the film is rather dreary.

For example Suzy needs to drink some tough medicine in order to stay strong and it apparently tastes horrible and is hard to get down. So we get some moments there and just general reminders that she’s not going to make it. So even the ending can only be so happy because it doesn’t actually extend her ending. The film isn’t allowed many moments to be happy so it has 0 replay value. This isn’t the kind of film you will be watching a second time so automatically that means it wouldn’t be considered as a good film.

Then even on the initial watch, it just isn’t as good as any of its rivals. You want the fun Christmas celebrations, food, and all kinds of cheer. Sad films can work but they are extremely rare and ultimately I wouldn’t say this is one of them. At the end of the day it’s just not an enjoyable watch and that is ultimately the #1 purpose of any film. Maybe if the whole film was about Duncan trying to get the Ferris wheel working then it could have been different. I appreciated him having to stand up to someone with a gun in order to get the ball rolling and the verbal fight with the main police officer was intense. They ended up being good distractions at least but in this case it never took away from the main plot which was the problem. You needed to flip it so that was the main plot and focus.

Overall, Christmas in Conway is definitely a very different kind of title and that just didn’t work. I can always appreciate the attempt to shake things up even if it didn’t work out though. If you are looking for a very gloomy movie where things won’t work out then this could be for you though. As long as you like that kind of atmosphere then it’s safe to say that this one pulls that off. It’s just not what I’m really looking for and so the premise already doomed the film right out of the gate. There’s not much you can do at that point.

Overall 4/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review

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It’s time to look at one of the all time best films. Sonic 3 is the kind of title that reminds you just how awesome the franchise is. It’s got nonstop action and laughs for all of the viewers. You won’t be the same person you were by the time you finish this movie, that’s just how good it is. Now the tough part is going to be waiting for that sequel!

The movie starts out with the ultimate life form known as Shadow breaking out of his containment unit. He quickly takes down GUN and starts a fire fight in Japan. At this point they are forced to call in Team Sonic but the heroes are quickly taken out as well. Their only hope may be in Eggman but the villain is in retirement after his crushing defeat in the second film. Is he even in a position to help this time or the heroes are barking up the wrong tree here?

Within 15 minutes we’ve already got different action scenes and the film keeps that energy up the whole time. How much you enjoy the film will really be connected to how much you enjoy the action and the characters running around. Fortunately that is all handled really well by the film. There really aren’t any bad characters here and everyone has their roles to play. Additionally the fights are all really intense and show how far the franchise has come.

Naturally the highlight of the film is Sonic vs Shadow but beyond that it was fun seeing the various chase scenes. Eggman even gets a big fight of his own near the end of the film which was pretty fun. His battle is definitely super over the top which is really the whole point of it but it works well. You’ll probably be cackling the whole time. The effects have never looked better so you can expect to see top tier visuals throughout the movie. This really should have been 2 hours so the movie could show off even more but I have no real issues here. Naturally the climax is absolutely top tier. You will be at the edge of your seat here.

As for the soundtrack, quite a few really good tracks there as well. The Shadow danger theme works really well and there were some really nice nods to the games. Some jingles here and there and even a big remix. It’s clear that they really wanted to make this a nice tribute to the fans and it definitely worked out well. Of course the big deciding factor for folks was always going to be the humans. Would they be able to keep up with the creatures or would the humans hold all of the scenes back.

Well, fortunately the humans are really solid. Generally speaking the humor was operating at a very high level. I was cracking up for most of the jokes. In any comedy film there will be some that don’t land of course and that was the case here as well but the important thing is that most of them landed. I was consistently chuckling as the characters got up to all of their nonsense. Sonic has the best jokes for the most part and they really nailed his cocky persona. The fact that he is always making light of everyone and not feeling like he is in danger is a really big deal. I would expect nothing else from the blue blur! I guess some highlights are the marble scene, the play on kunichiwaaaaaat, and reminding an opponent that if you’re gunning for the fastest thing alive then you better not miss.

Sonic learns about teamwork and things here but for the most part he’s still a one man show. When the going gets tough, Sonic gets going and doesn’t have time to wait for the others. I could really appreciate this because Tails and Knuckles mean well but obviously they are nowhere near Sonic’s level. So when there is a big threat that needs to be defeated, it’s not like Sonic can just wait and let them help. Worst case, they would just get in the way. This solo effort is portrayed as a bad thing but if Sonic had waited then they all would have died.

So yeah Sonic was on point here. I’d also give a shoutout to both Knuckles and Tails for both getting some really important moments. Knuckles in particular saved the day on multiple occasions which was really impressive. Meanwhile on the human side of things, Sonic’s guardians got their moments to shine as well. The whole GUN scenes were pretty cheesy of course but it’s probably hard to write in a plausible way for them to help out anymore so I’ll cut them some slack.

On the villain side, Agent Stone looks pretty solid here. He gets a really intense opening scene to the point where I was wondering what character was easily taking out the drones. Stone’s got more of an emotional subplot compared to the others which is tactfully handled with a good blend of humor and seriousness. That’s what the movies really specialize in after all. It can be hard to tell when a scene is supposed to be serious and emotional or when you’re laughing with the characters. The movie really plays with your emotions in all the best ways.

As for Eggman, he gets a lot of good insults and burns the entire time. His opening scene may have been a bit rough but after that he was really ready for action. The way he easily betrays everyone reminds you how the guy is a complete villain through and through. Don’t let all the joking fool you, this is a man who will do whatever he needs to in order to win. Then of course we have Gerald as well who acts a lot like Eggman but a bit more serious. He was another fun villain. I may have preferred Eggman but he was a good contrast.

Now I’m not going to say the movie is absolutely perfect. For every fun comedy scene that really landed like Wade showing up briefly you would eventually get a joke that didn’t quite land. Well the ratio might be more like 10-1 of jokes that worked vs didn’t. I would say Sonic not knowing where his heart is might be a little weak for example. Still, nothing that would really knock you out of the film at any point. Then of course you always have a lot of fun moments where the film wins you back anyway.

A good example of this is the Chao Garden when we get a double fake out. It’s just a really brilliant scene because it shakes you up multiple times. I dare say that a lot of films would not be able to pull that off. The movie gets a whole lot done in under 2 hours so this is also an example of top tier pacing. This even carries over to after the film is over. There are two scenes after the credits and the second is solid but the first may be the best across all of movie history. I have to think about it carefully but I can’t see anything else passing it.

Typically these scenes are very short, maybe a few seconds or so. This one includes a whole fight, real dialogue, and just continues things really well. It was an amazing moment and I can only imagine all the yelling in theaters when this happened. This is absolutely great news for Sonic 4 and I will be there for sure. Sonic continues to prove why it is such a top tier franchise. After the climax of this film with all the DBZ type action, it’s pretty easy to see how they can handle the rest of the fights that will be coming up. This looks better than 99% of all live action movies and I expect that to remain as the case for the sequels.

Meanwhile Shadow’s character arc was really top tier. They did the game justice for sure and I can already see how they will adapt his future story arcs. There is a ton of potential here without a doubt. Because of his high power level it might be a little tough to balance him though. They properly showed that he is significantly stronger than Sonic to the point where we needed some plot armor so who could possibly come in to challenge him? The main villain for 4 seems like a good pick and then we have Infinite but after that it’ll get difficult. Well, at this point I trust the writers. They seem to really have a strong understanding of the characters so I have absolutely no worries here.

Overall, Sonic 3 is an absolute masterpiece! Definitely check it out as soon as possible. I’m definitely going to be rewatching the fight a whole lot! Right now the quality online isn’t all that great though so it’ll be more fun in a few months or so. This was really a great adaption of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and really hit just about all of the major notes I could have hoped for. It may not have done everything and left a little meat on the bone but I was still content. The Sonic movies continue to be better and better each time so the stakes are really high for the 4th one.

Overall 9/10

Nowhere to Go Review

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After a heist, the average criminal will quickly realize that he has nowhere to go. You’re now on the run for life and eventually the law will catch up. Well that’s the general premise of this film and it definitely makes for a good thriller right out of the gate. It’s very high energy with a lot happening at all times and a really solid cast of characters.

The film starts off in the present with Paul escaping from prison and getting to a nearby hideout. We then get a flashback to the events leading up to this and the flashback was so long that I forgot it was a flashback halfway through the adventure. Basically he decided to swindle an old lady out of her famous coins collection. To do that, he quickly became her friend and took her out to dinner many times. Unfortunately she ended up trusting him so he sold the coins and split. The plan was always to get caught though. He figured he would do a few months and then be out in a snap but instead the judge sentenced him to 5 years.

So Paul breaks out and all he has to do is get to the safe where he has the money stored. If he can make it there then he is now rich and can make a new life for him. It won’t be easy though as his old partner Victor wants a bigger cut of the pie and the cops may be onto him. Paul can’t really trust anybody, he can’t even trust himself. Is he accurately seeing the world as it is or is he starting to jump at ghosts?

Paul really sells the role of the tricky villain here. He acts a lo like a classic Bruce Wayne kind of character. He’s very confident at all times and they say even in the real world that this is the real trick to being successful. When you have other people believing that you are in the right spot, then that ends up being the case. He certainly manipulate a number of characters here even if I think that it was a little convenient for him to meet a lady named Bridget who is into lost cases.

She even says she has a title to that effect and it is readily apparent as she is willing to help this guy. It’s not like Paul is a secret hero who has been framed or anything, he’s straight up a criminal. So it’s not admirable to see Bridget helping him, it just shows that she is not a good character either. It’s a pretty bad look for her and she is definitely one of the weakest characters in the film. She should have been trying to stop him especially with how suspicious the living arrangements were. From her point of view it would certainly seem like he did something to her fiancé.

Victor is a criminal just like Paul but he made for a solid rival. I liked how he was always laughing and was not afraid of Paul. No this guy was talking as big as possible and made sure that Paul knew the score. Victor just wasn’t a particularly smart guy. Threatening someone and then giving them all day to come up with a plan is never going to end well. He was practically begging Paul to do something to him the way that he acted. When you double cross someone, you’re going to need to bump them off right away or things are going to get messy. it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

Paul made his own share of mistakes to be sure but nothing on that level. Of course each mistake is appreciated since you are rooting for the cops the whole time. You need Paul to be taken down because taking advantage of the elderly is absolutely one of the worst things you can do. There’s not really much coming back from that. This is yet another example of how the noir genre can churn out solid films even with the whole cast being bad.

There really aren’t any characters to root for here and yet the film is still pretty good. So why is that? Well, that’s because the story and writing are really on point. You may not have someone to root for but you certainly have someone to root against. The film never gives the villains too many wins or makes things too dark but still establishes why you want them to fail. The movie is very measured about this at all times and the pacing is also good. You’re really at the edge of your seat here.

The movie may not be really long but they certainly squeeze in a whole lot of action. The film also covers a long period of time as the main character’s dinner dates are shown in montage format. You can assume this was over the case of weeks to maybe even months. A successful criminal is often looking at things in the long term which is why you really need to keep your eyes open and not lower your guard. You never truly know another person after all and before you take the leap of faith you better give yourself a lot of time to think about it.

Overall, Nowhere to Go is a very solid film with a satisfying ending. I would definitely recommend it to any Noir fans. It reminds you to always keep a careful eye out because it is so easy for anybody to be lying about something. Particularly if you are in a new environment then you need to be able to analyze things on your own without being told. The more you can figure out on your own, the less susceptible you are to being tricked. This goes 10 fold if you are rich or have something worth a whole lot of value. People will tell you any kinds of stories to get close to you and you just have to be able to see through that. It may be a tough burden to get around but at the end of the day it is your burden. The price of being rich as they say.

Overall 7/10

A Christmas Carol (1984) Review

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The Christmas Carol is one of those classic stories that has been told many times over the years. It’s a story that will continue to be retold for generations because the whole thing is easy to understand and has a good moral at the end. You can’t ask for much more than that right? This one is a pretty solid adaption, I won’t say it’s the best or anything like that but I didn’t have any issues with it.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Scrooge who runs a really tight ship. He has earned a lot of money over the years and has decided that he won’t see any of it be squandered! No, he will work in a cold office if needed but the money will remain his. Everyone around him tells Scrooge to lighten up but he refuses. He heads home one night only to be visited by the ghost of his old partner. This ghost named Marley is trapped in chains and laments how his fate is already doomed but perhaps Scrooge can still be saved. He threatens Scrooge with visits from 3 supernatural creatures and then fades away. Scrooge aims to stay strong but these ghosts will use every trick in the book in order to get at him. Can Scrooge properly resist such an onslaught??

Now this version of Marley was a bit confusing. In the film they act as though he was a fairly nice guy and even in his speech it sounds as though he did use his money to help people out. So why is he trapped in chains and about to be doomed for all eternity? That part just didn’t seem particularly clear here. In a way they should have mentioned more about him being just as bad as Scrooge and not paying heed to the lessons which is why he’s in chains now.

Well after that the ball is in Scrooge’s court. Of course we all know the story by this point so the fun is in seeing how strong this Scrooge can be. Some of them break down almost immediately and side with the light while others make it to the end. I would say this was one of the tougher Scrooges. He made it midway through the second ghost before really breaking down. This version of the second ghost was also one of the most aggressive ones as he actively threatened Scrooge so you have to keep that in mind as well. Often times the ghosts try to be a little more subtle than that.

Scrooge was basically someone who took things a little too far. Nothing wrong with deciding to live a quiet life of not spending any money if that’s what you want to do. It really just starts to get dicey with how he treats his partner. The reason why Scrooge is a character that still works though is because he’s not too exaggerated. You could argue that the way he treats his partner is the only thing that is objectively bad. He does other things that may not be socially popular but he’s not breaking any rules or actively murdering people. And as he points out during the movie, he was ultimately able to achieve these riches in part due to his lifestyle.

He sacrificed a lot to get to the top such as his relationships and family. He basically became a loner and at the end of the day he doesn’t really have anything important in his life other than money. He’ll end up having a lonely existence and that’ll be that. It is still a little surprising to see how Scrooge is surprised by this outcome though. Surely that was just part of the choices he made right? I’d have expected him to realize that he would be all alone in death since he actively did his best to make sure he had no friends in life.

Meanwhile the families may have all been upset at Scrooge even to the end but it makes sense. From their point of view this change of heart is incredibly sudden. His nephew was really glad at Scrooge’s presence the whole time since he had always held out hope for this but the others will take some time. Ultimately Scrooge is in a good place in the present and now it’ll just be a question of where he draws the line. He has a fortune large enough to completely change many lives but of course he won’t be able to do that for everyone. Then he would run out of money and things would get dicey. For now we can at least be reassured of the fact that he will have a support network and friends to talk to.

As for the ghosts, they were all fun enough. Like I said the second ghost was a lot tougher this time around. He seemed to be the most sinister out of the 3 because he tries to have a nice facade the whole time until it breaks. That makes him incredibly suspicious. Then you’ve got the first ghost who could be a bit sarcastic at times but was trying to get through to Scrooge. Finally the third one is just hear to put some fear into him as normal. This may be a ghost of few words but he gets the job done. Considering how many people in the town are now saved, maybe Marley did deserve to break the chain and get a happy ending too.

Overall, A Christmas Carol is one of those films where you know all of the story beats so the critical factor is really in how well they are executed. I would say the film was handled pretty well overall. I didn’t really have any issues with it here. The whole story plays out well and it’s a classic uplifting kind of tale. I think the next really influential adaption will be another one to have a little fun with the format like Scrooged though. You gotta throw a wild card in there and yes it will be risky but sometimes you really have to take a risk in order to pull something like this off. Without that, the film is limited a bit by just how predictable it is. Still, check this one out and see where you stack it up among all the versions.

Overall 6/10

A Visit to Santa Review

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So blurry!!! That’s what you’ll be thinking right away but even 4K visuals would not have been able to save this short film. All films should have some kind of point. Even if we’re talking 10 minutes, there should be some reason that you want to watch the product right? I mean if there isn’t, why would you be watching this at all right? Unfortunately it didn’t seem like this movie actually knew what it wanted to do at all and that’s absolutely disgraceful.

The film starts with two kids whining about Santa. The parents quickly get them off to bed so they can get out of there but Santa learns that the kids want to see him thanks to their message. So he has his elf bring them in and the kids get to see all about how Santa’s workshop works. It’s an intense experience but someone forgot to tell the kids that as they are visibly bored the whole time and want to go home. Here we have Santa being a nice guy and showing them things that almost nobody has seen before and they are bored??? It was such a mean thing for these kids to do.

I’m not saying they had to be yelling up and down but these are rather fantastic events. They are moving at high speeds and seeing such big secrets. At least a bunch of “thank you” responses and general excitement would be good. Unfortunately while I say this would be big for the kids, it’s not so entertaining for the adults though. The effects haven’t aged extremely well at the end of the day and even the costumes are really weak. They could learn something or two from how we have the Macy’s Santa costumes lined up.

Like I said earlier, it’s also hard to find any point to this. What lesson is the film teaching us? How do they want the audience to react and feel? It’s all just aimed so low that anyone over the age of 2 will be bored and anyone under that age will just fall asleep. This film isn’t effectively targeting anyone and so in the end it will just blend in with the background. That is definitely not a good thing at all. It’s only around 10 minutes or so, so at least it doesn’t drag on for as long as it would have otherwise.

Still, there isn’t really much to defend about the film at all. In fact I would say there is a lot to attack instead. Giving us a quick antagonist would have been good even if it was the parents. Like maybe they tracked the kids down and are looking for them so Santa says they will have to move quickly or something like that. At least then you will have a sense of urgency that could push the whole thing forward. Perhaps I am asking for too much but that would have been a nice way to make it all more exciting if you ask me.

Overall, A Visit to Santa is definitely a film to stay away from. It doesn’t do anything particularly bad or offensive but the problem is that it doesn’t really do anything period. I wanted something to excite me but this film just didn’t pull that off. At the end of the day it’s one of those film that has lost its way. I can see why it has been lost to time since nobody would have cared enough about it to preserve this piece of history. It’s best left in your memories so for that reason I would say to give it the boot. Watch Jingle All The Way instead.

Overall 3/10

Mr. Miracle Review

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It’s time for me to look at a film where something extremely rare happens. Hallmark actually missed the mark on this one. They just leaned a little too hard on Mr. Miracle not knowing anything to the point where it is actively distracting and also makes no sense with the storyline. I couldn’t ultimately escape this and so the film couldn’t be as good as it should have been.

The film started off with Harry getting super excited because he has been chosen to finally go to Earth and help somebody out. He has been waiting a long time for this chance because if he does well then he gets to stick around on Earth permanently as he helps more and more people. His mission is to help out a girl named Addie who has strayed off the path and isn’t super fulfilled at school Is Harry up to the task or is he about to fail?

The first big problem I have here is that for some reason Harry doesn’t know anything about anything. When he is told to “take a seat” he literally grabs it to walk off with. He takes everything literally and doesn’t know basic concepts like humor. They act like he’s an alien but at some point he had to have been a human before being an angel. Maybe he died as a baby but he’s been waiting years for his turn so it sounds like he should have picked some things up. Ultimately it just makes it so that you are shaking your head whenever he appears. The guy is wayyyyy too overdone.

It actively goes against the storyline of the movie since we never saw that problem with any other angel. I would have to attribute this to be a writing problem because the film could have easily portrayed him as naive or gullible without going this far. The film ends up being illy but not in a particularly funny way. If it was really funny then naturally the issues wouldn’t matter at all. You’re rooting against Harry here because you know that if he succeeds then he will get to stick around.

Fortunately Celeste is around to try and help. The problem is that Harry naturally doesn’t want her help. That is what makes him even worse to be honest. So not only is he terrible at his job but then he is also not willing to accept help. You can’t have a giant ego when you’re this bad. Sure, eventually he accepts the help but it took way too long to get to that point. Celeste probably should have taken a stronger stand against him as well. I’d even recommend reporting him to the other angels for making a mess of things.

As for Addie, the film is mainly supposed to be about her so she is a big character. I thought she was fairly reasonable the whole time. She’s not particularly outgoing and doesn’t like to stand out. I wouldn’t call those objectively negative qualities. I can also see why she didn’t want to help the local bully since they never got along particularly well before. Naturally a romance does bloom out of this which was hard to buy into. I was fine with them finally making amends and getting along though. No sense in holding grudges forever and it seems like things were never too personal.

It’s just hard to take this guy seriously because apparently he was a player for a long while. Sure, no girls are seeing him now that he’s broken his leg but once he is better then that could all change. Addie is doing well to look after him while his mother is out and about but she doesn’t owe him anything more than that. She also has to deal with Harry constantly embarrassing her at school and everything which isn’t easy.

The fact that things go so well for Harry will also have you shaking your head each time. The plot has to bend over backwards to try and make things work out for him and it’s just so forced. They really needed to do something to make this more of a learning experience. If you are going to write Harry like this, then it should be a movie about humility as things get worse and worse until he begs Celeste for help. Another part of the problem here is that he never really does that and she just volunteers help. Right through to the end he just never feels particularly apologetic even though it’s all his fault.

Take Harry out of the film and the whole thing gets way better. After all, it still has the nice Hallmark vibes. It’s generally a pleasant movie to watch and the pacing is fine. You have some fun characters here and it’s the kind of film that you know will have a happy ending. Without Harry I have no doubt that it would hold its own with the average Hallmark experience. So this is a good example of how a film can completely change directions all on account of a single character.

I’ll start wrapping up by saying that it is still an interesting idea to have a main character with powers like this. It’s certainly not the only time we’ve seen this happen and usually it’s a lot of fun. So the takeaway shouldn’t be to remove the supernatural element. In fact, if Harry knew how to use his powers then that would have at least made him look a little competent and could have helped his character.

Overall, Mr. Miracle is one of those films where there is nothing terribly wrong for it but it can be a bit of a hard watch. Harry is just that over the top and I haven’t seen a character that grating in a minute. Side characters sure, but the main character? The film definitely had a serious misstep there and couldn’t course correct in time. If you want to watch a Christmas movie then you should watch just about any other Hallmark movie instead. This one isn’t really going to wow you but if you have no other options left or have already seen all of the Hallmark movies then I guess you should watch this one.

Overall 5/10

Looks like Christmas Review

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It’s time for a Christmas battle as two parents and their ideologies clash. I like it when the two main characters are going up against each other like this because it often makes for really good banter. At the same time it will also usually mean that the romance will end up being rather cheesy. It just doesn’t make sense to get together with someone that you’ve been fighting with right? Well that’s the dilemma that this film has to deal with.

The film starts off with Terry and his daughter moving yet again and so it’s time for her to make friends. She isn’t thrilled about this so Terry decides to be a good sport and try being more involved with the school this time. So he joins the board and plans to help with the Christmas ceremony. Apparently it’s been a massive succeed every year and so Terry decides that they should switch things up. He announces that a new approach is in order which really rubs the lead of the festivities, Carol, the wrong way. She will have to stop this.

Now that clearly wasn’t the film’s intent but it’s definitely how I took it. Carol is a hardcore traditionalist who likes doing things the old way. If she has a system then that will absolutely remain as the system for many years to come. She is well loved by the whole community though and we are told numerous times that everyone loves the Christmas party. So it’s not a negative and a lot of this is exposition. Terry only knows on a very basic level that she is loved and likes her traditions.

So when he shows up at the meeting and immediately says that they should try something new, it makes no real sense. The film should have had someone tell him that the party was boring or the kids didn’t like it. That would have given him reason to blow it all up but instead he comes off like he’s picking a fight. Then the principal is also on board with it right away which is a bit iffy. You’d think he wouldn’t want to risk anything here and making Terry the co-chair with Carol was a bold move.

You could say he was just trying to help Terry fit in but I would say that it was all a bit much. Carol was mainly a jerk to Terry for the rest of the movie and clearly in the wrong in most instances but at least you can say that Terry started the fight. Terry does well with the ideas and participating though. I don’t really have any issues with him as a character. There is a dilemma in the film later on where his daughter gets mad at him for not being around more but the way I see it, there wasn’t much more he could do. He was really trying his best and that should be good enough. Terry is under a lot of pressure in a rather high stress environment after all.

The film stacks the deck a bit here as he is also in charge of shutting down the library that Carol is fighting for. He comes through with a pretty good solution at least but once again it brings you to the main challenge which is why Carol would fall for him at all. There’s just too much bad blood for most of the film in order for this to work out. So like most Hallmark films you do have to get past the romance but then the rest of the film is really solid.

As expected, the kids are the weak links here. The daughter comes off as rather annoying with how she blames her father for everything. He does make promises too easily which is something she could call him out for but otherwise she made the whole thing too dramatic. Carol’s son was more reasonable although his study group was rather bad. They clearly weren’t focused much at all and it seems like the kind of place to go if you don’t mind dropping a few points on your next exam. Otherwise there isn’t much reason to go through with it all.

I spoke a lot about Terry but not so much on Carol so lets get to her. For starters I would say she is a solid character. While she is an antagonist for most of the film with Terry, we do see that she is kind to everybody else and has long been known as an upstanding individual. Generally speaking if you have someone like this, then I will still consider them to be a good character. If she had an attitude with everybody then it would be different but that was not the case.

When there is just friction with one person you can cut a whole lot of slack for her. If anything I think it would have been nice to have seen some more support for her from different townsfolk. Maybe have the principal and a few others find out about Terry’s big library mission and defend her or call him out. I’m thinking the film wanted to be careful about totally burning any bridges or making thing too personal but I do think it would have been nice for her to have had some characters in her corner. Instead she was practically gaslit at times into thinking she was the problem. There’s one scene where Terry buys her a Christmas tree and I totally get why she would be upset there. That’s the kind of thing you want to do on your own and she was completely in the right about getting rid of it. At least that’s how I see it.

Overall, Looks like Christmas is a pretty good film. The banter and conflict for most of the film definitely helped to elevate it. I always find that it makes the film a lot more energetic and this title was certainly no exception. It goes by quickly and the film is able to solve the dilemmas without it being too cheesy. The Christmas party also looked pretty fun so that was nice. The romance tends to be a bit more on the eye rolling side but hey that’s just how it goes sometimes. I would definitely recommend checking this film out. It’s a good film for the Christmas season.

Overall 7/10

One Christmas Eve Review

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It’s time for one of those classic Hallmark films and this one definitely gets intense as someone even pulls out a gun. I wasn’t expecting that so it really showed that this would be a different experience. It makes for a fun title and has a good amount of humor in it. The romance may not hold its own as well as some of the others but the story still keeps it all afloat.

The film starts off with Reggie finishing up a tough shift at work only to find that someone left a puppy outside. He can’t leave it alone but doesn’t really want to spend the effort and time of taking care of it. So he aims to leave it outside the door of a random person but he trips on the ice and breaks his leg. The lady named Nell showed up and helps him but now she’s stuck with the dog and taking care of this guy. She takes him to the hospital but then one of her kids falls in a trap and gets injured. Could it be that the dog is somehow causing them all bad luck?

You could say that the whole film is basically a long string of bad luck after bad luck for all of the characters. They just can’t escape it and gradually the group gets larger as this also includes a night watchmen/security guy who gets in trouble as well. All they want is to enjoy a nice Christmas but the goal gets farther and farther away. This even includes a house burning down so the characters really go through a whole lot here. The film does a good job of keeping the bad things funny without it ever getting too mean spirited though.

This is a happy/wholesome Christmas film first and foremost though. That said, it is also why there would really be no shot at a romance here. After the crazy day that Nell had and how it’s basically 90% Cesar’s fault you don’t really forget that. Nell’s a solid heroine though as she always tries to do the right thing and didn’t just ditch Cesar immediately. She was definitely verrrrry reluctant for a while there but ultimately did things with a good nature.

Her kids were a little more on the annoying side since they didn’t contribute much. The daughter was really bad at singing and didn’t seem to be making much of an effort to improve her skills. The son was busy falling into holes and getting into trouble which didn’t help anybody. Cesar is a character who has his whole character arc and everything but ultimately I wouldn’t say he was a great character. You have to wonder if he really changed or if he’s just nicer now since he likes Nell but otherwise is the same person on the inside. The whole thing with leaving the dog on the front porch like that is super hard to get away from.

I’d say Reggie was easily the most entertaining character. He always had a good one liner for the occasion and he’s a quick study. He went from just knowing a few lines in Spanish to knowing quite a bit during the latter part of the film. The guy also handled being held at gunpoint rather well compared to the rest of the characters who would have probably been panicking a whole lot. The movie did a super good job with the music and atmosphere for that moment too. You could feel the danger.

Then we have Dr. Chen who is another solid character. He was ready to support the heroes as needed even while the nurse was trying to rush them out. He had a lot more common sense and wasn’t just going to be pushed around. It’s always good to have a friendly face out there because otherwise the heroes were really going to be on their own. The film tries to have the nurse suddenly be a little more friendly during the climax but it definitely didn’t work out so well. It was too little too late as they say.

Because the characters are always moving it also makes the plot feel pretty expansive. It already had more main characters than the average film so it was nice to see them all pal up and everything. A film like this is only as good as its writing o fortunately the film didn’t falter there. You could tell that most of the characters were still good people and so that was the same as usual except they just weren’t immune from the bad luck. Like we had a moment where a guy comes over to help tow their car and naturally it goes terribly. Usually that would have instantly been the solution but not here.

I like the idea of a dog that brings bad luck as well. It makes you face a difficult dilemma because the dog himself is quite innocent but it’s not a super comforting thought because you are going to be experiencing the bad luck either way. I was glad that the characters don’t take it out on the dog either. Reggie for example is quick to defend the dog when the nurse tells him to take it outside. He wasn’t about to obey that order and that’s a good thing because it would have absolutely tanked his character!

Overall, One Christmas Eve is a pretty fun film. It doesn’t feel quite as much like most other Hallmark movies since there is so much travelling and running around instead of staying in one place but it still has the right vibes. You’ll have a good time watching the movie which is the most important part as well. The writing is solid and the pacing is good so there aren’t really any issues. If you’re up for a film about how a bunch of strangers all band together to support each other during the holidays, then this is the title for you!

Overall 7/10

Silver Bells Review

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It’s time for a whole lot of drama here. Silver Bells is one of those films that brings in the Christmas cheer but also puts the characters through a lot before that. It may not be able to take down some of the classic Hallmark titles but there’s a good amount to enjoy here. It’s always fun to see the big city after all and the writing is solid. The length is also fairly short so the movie really flies on by.

The movie starts off with introducing us to Christy and the family as they sell Christmas trees for a living. It’s been a really good family business but unfortunately Danny is not very satisfied with this arrangement. He’s always felt that he could do a lot more with his life and his passion is in photography. One day he runs away and vanishes. 1 year later, Christy has come to the city again and he is determined to find Danny but is the kid even still okay after all this time?

From the jump I can say that Danny didn’t handle things well. I get wanting to do his own thing and all but the way he handled it was absolutely dangerous and irresponsible. It’s completely possible that things could have gone badly here. If anything that would be the most likely outcome and he just got lucky a bunch of times. While the film makes it clear that Christy wanted Danny to follow in the family business, at no point did I get the impression that he would be violently against it.

I believe if Danny had built up to this long enough then he would have been okay. Instead he actively makes things harder on Christy like when he ran off to take pictures during one of their really busy days. He just felt really selfish the whole time and unfortunately he is also not very good at hiding his tracks. A lady named Catherine decides to help him out and he gets real close to putting her career in jeopardy many times. He leaves snacks lying around, the computer open, forgets to lock doors or close windows, etc. You wonder how he could have really lasted a year.

Also I know he was proud of his photos and remaining a mystery but the fact that he wouldn’t even tell Catherine the answer to where his big photo was taken is crazy. She could have easily been fired and then there would be no more connections for him. In short, I was not a big fan of Danny here, I thought he made too many blunders.

I also didn’t care much for Christy. He definitely made a mistake with how he handled Danny’s wanting to skip on the opera show but beyond that at least he did a good job in finding him. My main problem is with how dismissive he is of Catherine by the end and how quick he is to turn on her. That was an absolutely terrible look and it definitely made it so that you could not root for the romance in the end. The whole climax feels very unbelievable as a result and you will just be shaking your head. It doesn’t feel very plausible and even if it’s going for an unrealistic view, you’re actually hoping that it won’t work out.

As for Catherine, she’s one of the better characters here. You don’t see how she could possibly like Christy after everything they’ve been through though. Catherine is good at her job and doesn’t let herself get distracted too easily. She’s exactly the kind of worker you want to have in your company because she will give it 110%. Manipulating Christy in order for Danny to see his sister was definitely on the underhanded side but she was in a sticky situation.

I also liked corporate here. The son of the CEO is a pretty big character and he is forced into the role of the antagonist due to what’s going on here but he is very reasonable. Look, if someone is constantly breaking into your company and sneaking around then you have to do something about it right? Made perfect sense to me and even then he tried to de-escalate at every turn. I don’t think there is much more you can ask for him. His final emotional scenes were maybe a bit heavy handed though. That subplot about wanting approval from his father felt rather random.

His father also made for a good CEO. He cared about making a difference and seeing the long term vision instead of the immediate bottom line. That is absolutely the way to go here. It’s clear that the company is in good hands. The movie does a good job of fleshing out the world pretty well beyond the immediate main characters. I’d even say I probably cared more about the city and Catherine’s project than with the drama about Christy and the others. Maybe it’s because Danny felt so petty and Christy had his moments as well. They weren’t the best pair of main characters.

His little sister Bridget was okay but doesn’t really contribute much to the adventure. The only main weakness here is the romance like I said before. The film gives too many reasons for the main pairing to despise each other rather than falling in love. It felt pretty bold for Christy to even show his face at the party in the end. Catherine’s friend was definitely a bad influence with how hard she kept trying to make this happen though. That was going a little too far if you ask me.

Overall, Silver Bells is a pretty good film. It may not be an absolute top tier but I had a good time with it and it fits right in with the Christmas themes. You know right from the jump that you will be in for a fun time with lots of fun visuals and a wholesome ending. That’s the main appeal of these films after all, even after things get rocky for the cast, you know it’ll all end up well in the end.

Overall 6/10

November Christmas Review

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It’s time for one of the more emotional Christmas experiences. This one keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time as you wonder what will happen to the main character….or does it? The movie unfortunately makes the massive mistake of spoiling the entire point of the film in the intro scene by having a fast forward. It’s still one of the craziest kinds of decisions no matter how often I see it. I mean it doesn’t happen often but it shouldn’t happen at all. In a way you’re better off skipping the first 10-15 minutes here.

So ignoring that, the film starts off by introducing us to Tom and Beth who have two kids. Unfortunately their daughter Vanessa is incredibly sick and the treatments have not worked so far. It seems likely that she will be dying soon and so Tom has the idea of celebrating every holiday early so that Vanessa will get to experience them one last time. This is a very unusual plan but Beth gives in and they decide to go for it. It’s time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Is it possible that they will be getting a Christmas miracle at the end?

Naturally it’s an incredibly difficult situation to deal with when you have a sick kid like this. Tom and Beth are both trying to stay strong throughout the circumstances but they have different ways of handling it. Beth figures that Vanessa should really be isolated and kept away from anything requiring effort so that she can heal better. Meanwhile Tom wants her to have fun and encourages her to move around in order to build up some strength. Due to this there is some fighting initially.

I tend to be more on Tom’s side so I felt lie Beth was being unreasonable but it’s not a large part of the film. They both have to team up once the holidays part comes into play and from then on it is pretty smooth. I was glad about that because if we had a subplot about them fighting, that would have been pretty rough. The film is dramatic enough without any of that after all. I also think the idea of the early holidays is really fantastic too. No reason you can’t just celebrate early and whether it looks weird or not, it’s certainly worth it in case Vanessa does die.

We also have a subplot where the nearby farmer Jess shows up to help. He noticed a connection in all of Tom’s questions and decided to put his best foot forward. He even mended his relationship with his best friend. There’s a lot more drama there but basically Jess had a death of his own to think about and so he wasn’t around for his friend during a tough period. You sot of feel like the friend could have been more understanding there but we don’t know the exact context of how it all went down. Meanwhile the friend has a new girlfriend after his wife died and I didn’t think we needed a rebound romance in this film. Focusing on the main plot is good enough for me.

As always it was fun to see the strong sense of community spirit that you always see in these Hallmark type films. Everyone pitched in to help once they knew the situation with Vanessa and so she had a lot of support. It’s always nice to imagine a town where everybody knows each other and they plan evens and things like that. If you’re introverted it’s probably a nightmare but otherwise it’s like something is always going on.

This one can be a little relentless with how sad it is the whole time. Part of me thinks that is why they spoiled the final outcome in the beginning of the movie so that people wouldn’t be too on edge the whole time. I get it but I do think that it weakens the impact for that very reason. You have to commit at that point and just go all in. I’m a bigger fan of happy films generally but if you handle the tone and ending right, a somber one can work too.

The ending was ultimately satisfying here so it ended up working out. It’s no exaggeration to say that the ending could have swung the film 2-3 stars in a single move depending on how it went. So this is a complete experience and has good writing throughout. It’s more of a holiday merge as opposed to a full Christmas film but it works well for each of them. The writing is pretty good and as always the film’s length is pretty short. That means there isn’t a ton of time for fluff or any of that. Instead the film really dives into the heart of things right away.

The only plot that seemed really out of nowhere with no reason to be included was the rebellious nice and her uncle at the cafe. She was basically rebelling and wanted to be a good artist instead of waiting tables. She comes off as very irresponsible the whole time especially once we learn about her backstory and how he came through for her when nobody else did. The film never paints him as being unreasonable at all so this plot needed some more cooking. The problem is that there just wasn’t much time for it and so they really ended up rushing the whole thing. She basically just learns to be a better person right away but putting more time into the holiday celebrations would have been a better use of the movie’s time.

Overall, November Christmas is a pretty good film. At times it can be a little too somber though. The ending really helps things out but I do feel like the replay value for this title would be very low. I suppose you would just need to really be in the mood for this kind of flick but I don’t see that being the case too often around the holidays. It’s well made and there are a lot of fun moments to be had but it does lag behind the average title. There aren’t a lot of big competitors in the somber arena though so if this sounds good then you should definitely check it out.

Overall 6/10