Holiday Movie Reviews // Part 2

Since there are so many holiday movies out there to watch – and let’s face it, I’m going to watch as many as I can – I am doing bulk holiday movie reviews instead of individual. To see the first installment, read Holiday Movie Reviews // Part 1.

Life Size 2: A Christmas Eve

Plot Summary

The CEO of Marathon Toys is sent to prison leaving her twenty-something daughter in charge of the company. The toy company is going under and the new CEO doesn’t know how to save it, so she calls upon the help of an old friend.

What I Thought

It has been almost twenty years since the first Life Size movie came out and I remember absolutely loving it as a kid, especially as a kid with the biggest imagination ever. Although this movie doesn’t came anywhere close to the magic of the first movie, it gave it a good go. I’ll give them credit for actually getting Tyra Banks to sign on to be Eve again, but Eve just wasn’t the same. Maybe it’s because I’m an adult now, but she just seemed like she was trying to hard. The movie was full of endless tropes and cliche everything, but it was still enjoyable. Not necessarily a Christmas movie, but sending the message that it’s a good thing to be different and to believe in yourself is never a bad message to hear.

 

101 Dalmatians

Plot Summary

Dalmatian couple have ten puppies who get stolen by the evil Cruella Deville. The movie follows the fearless couple as they do whatever it takes to get their pups back.

What I Thought

This was my husband’s pick. He firmly believes that 101 Dalmatians is a Christmas movie… I don’t necessarily agree with him, but it’s a cute movie, so I don’t complain too much. Honestly, there isn’t much to say. It’s a classic Disney movie that is very cute and chalked with adorable one-liners that you will catch yourself repeating.

Elf

Plot Summary

Elf is the story of Buddy, a human who grows up at the North Pole believing he is an elf. After learning that he is indeed not an elf and is adopted, he embarks on a journey to New York City to find his real father and hopefully himself.

What I Thought

I’m not particularly a fan of Will Ferrell, but I think he does such a fantastic job as Buddy the Elf. Buddy is funny, true to his beliefs, and undeniably hilarious. There are a couple moments in this movie I could do without, but for the most part it is a fun ride full of laughs from beginning to end! Highly recommend if you haven’t seen it already.

 

The Christmas Chronicles

Plot Summary

Two sibling’s Christmas Eve plan of staying up all night and catching Santa in the act turns into an all-nighter of helping a stranded Santa complete Christmas.

What I Thought

This movie was recommended to us by Jeremiah’s parents and it was definitely worth the watch. Kurt Russell makes a great santa if I do say so myself. The movie is fun and fast paced with some great moments throughout. Not to spoil anything, but there is a musical moment that is just grand and I want to buy the song and listen to it on repeat!!

We also gave The Christmas Calendar and Christmas Wedding Planner a go, but quit after about fifteen minutes of each. They were extremely slow and cheesy.

What holiday movies are you watching this year?

Holiday Movie Reviews // Part 1

Since I have already – and will be – watching a lot of Christmas movies this year, I have decided to do reviews on a few at a time with a quick synopsis and what I thought instead of doing an individual long post for each movie. If you haven’t found anything to watch, I hope these reviews help you out.

Over the past few days, I have watched the following four movies, stay tuned for if they were worth it or not.

Falling for Christmas

Plot Summary

An injured professional figure skater stays at a rehab center in a small northern town where she meets a local handsome hunk – who happens to be a kind, divorced, dad. Although she didn’t quite fit in when she first arrived, the townspeople (especially that hunk) thaw her heart and show her what healing and the holidays are all about.

What I Thought

This was the best holiday movie I have watched so far. Although it was cheesy and oh-so-predictable, it had a full storyline and developed characters. I didn’t quite like the main character, but the love interest was a great pick. Sometime a predictable, cute story is all you can ask for.

 

The Rooftop Christmas Tree

Plot Summary

Big city lawyer comes home to her small northern town in search of something more. A few days into her stay, she realizes that her odd neighbor who has been putting up a Christmas tree on his roof every year is being sued to take it down. He has been sued for the past few years and spends every Christmas in jail for not complying. She decides to take his case and find a way to keep him out of jail on Christmas.

What I Thought

Not terrible, but excruciatingly predictable. It was so obvious what was going to happen at every turn. The dialogue is really plain and forced. Not very good acting and the storyline is a little bit slow. Of course there is a love story and it wasn’t the worst. Hot shot city attorney comes home to her small town where she meets another hot shot attorney and her disdain for him blooms into love. Cheesy, oh definitely!

 

Crazy for Christmas

Plot Summary

Single mom who drives limos is offered a job on Christmas Eve to drive around this rich old guy. Over the course of a few hours, he throws around money like it’s candy and drops hints that he knows her parents. Little by little the truth is unfolded. On the other hand, an aspiring reporter catches on to the story deeming this man the ‘secret santa’ and chases the limo all around town.

What I Thought

This movie had an interesting plot, but could have done without the love story that they decided to thrown in there for no reason. Honestly that is my only beef with this movie. The secret that is unfolded is done pretty well, but the man and woman falling in love is ridiculous – even for a Christmas movie. This reporter sees this woman three times in one day… speaks to her maybe twice, and then decides he loves her and gives up a reporting gig in DC to be with her. Ummm nope, I’m not buying it.

 

Home for the Holidays

Plot Summary

The parents of three young children die in a car crash a few weeks before Christmas. Their aunt decides to take them in, but not before child welfare steps in. The aunt seems to run into problem after problem when it comes to caring for and adopting her niece and nephews. In the end, the town comes together to keep them together for Christmas.

What I Thought

Very boring and very early 2000s. I tried to get into this movie, but it was so slow and dragged on and on with dull characters that you don’t even care to root for. The last fifteen minutes were the most interesting and even then I could have turned it off without knowing the outcome and been just fine.

What movies have you watched this holiday season?

Set It Up Movie Review

One is a beautiful woman with dark hair and a fierceness that’s both scary and inspiring. The other is a guy. -Harper

Two bosses who work too much + two assistants who have to work too much = a match made in Heaven.

Plot Summary

This is the story of Charlie and Harper; two assistants who aren’t quite living it up, because their bosses never stop working. After getting fed up with not having any time for themselves, Charlie and Harper team up to set up their bosses… with each other.

What I Thought

Absolutely Adorable! Set It Up gave an unexpected performance that had me laughing so hard and smiling so wide.

Charlie and Harper, the two main characters, have undeniable chemistry that has you rooting for them from the very beginning. As an awkward fangirl myself, I related to Harper in so many ways. And Charlie wasn’t the guy you would typically swoon over in a romantic comedy, but he worked so well with the story. The bosses are terrible, horrible, workaholic, self-absorbed…. the list goes on. But having them so over-the-top made the plot run. They were the worst, but they were hilarious at the same time.

As a romantic comedy enthusiast, I have to say that it has been quite some time since there has been a truly likeable and rewatchable (is that a word?) rom-com, but Set It Up knocked it out of the park.

My Rating: 4 Stars

I’m giving Set It Up 4 stars, because it is obviously not a timeless classic, but it is a great modern rom-com that has the potential to be watched many times.

| Lauren