DipitySkillful
an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Ariella Broughton
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Lachlan Coulson
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Jack Vasen
This is a nice Christmas story about a resort executive who can't remember much about Christmas growing up because her father and she never did anything to celebrate it. She is sent to totally remake a newly purchased resort into a young person's happening resort.Stephanie meets Brady, the son of the previous owner, who leads her through a journey of remembering what Christmas is all about. This resort has everything you would want for Christmas including several old ethnic traditions and legends.It is not surprising what happens. It is a little incredible how quickly Stephanie loses her grinchness and just takes in everything with an open heart. This includes her performing the ritual required to dream about the man she will marry.The two leads make a fine couple falling in love, including the requisite hate each other scene when they meet. Alan Thicke plays the role of the true Scrooge of a father who basically wants to bulldoze the existing facilities and start over. ****SPOILER** He even fires her for failing to follow his instructions. His reformation at the end is totally abrupt, but possibly almost believable after he reads his daughter's Santa letter which was slipped into his coat pocket before he left the resort.
Rob-o
How do you pronounce Candice Cameron Bure's married name? Boo-ray? Byueree? My wife and I are confused about it. Perhaps the opening or closing credits can provide a pronunciation of her last name. It would be more helpful if it was the closing credits because we only watched the last 30 minutes of this movie on the Hallmark Channel this morning. This movie is really helping us look past Thanksgiving and toward Christmas, which is then followed by New Year's and Martin Luther King Day. I am now really excited for Martin Luther King Day.So this movie not only starred Candace Cameron Boo-ray, but also Alan Thicke and a guy who looked kind of like Channing Tatum. Alan Thicke has no Christmas spirit - this is evidenced by him eating at an empty restaurant on Christmas Eve. He then realizes his life is sad and he makes up with his daughter and gives his blessing for poor-man's Channing Tatum to become his son-in-law. I was pleasantly surprised by the explosion at the end of the movie. Seeing the closing credits roll over all of those charred bodies was the kind of twist that you don't see in too many Hallmark movies. Merry Xmas!
jonathanrspalding
When you watch a Hallmark movie, especially a Christmas one, you know what you are going to get. You know what is going to happen no spoiler alert necessary. I enjoy the Christmas season and by definition the movies on the Hallmark Channel. They are kind of background noise to what I am doing during this time.In that spirit I think this movie might be the best of the bunch. The character dynamics seem more real and the romance more believable than most of genre. The family drama rang true with both characters. I also think the choices facing the characters seemed real and relatable.Unlike other reviewers I thought Alan Thicke was very good in this movie. He had to look like a clueless jerk because that is what is character was supposed to be.Mrs. Bure is very good in this movie as this type of role suits her well. But I also felt the cast outside of her, except perhaps the male leads mother, was very good.Hence, I would high recommend this next November.
Jay Stevens
Not a whole lot to say about this typical Hallmark movie. And to me that is a good thing. I'm kind of tired of the whole high-strung "grim 'n gritty super realistic" vibe of so many movies, and around Christmas I like my no-problem-everything-will-be-alright movies.Hallmark delivers on that.It's an enjoyable movie with actors that seem to really like what they are doing, and there's a constant undercurrent of a child-like happiness about Christmas. The leading lady conveys her slowly rediscovering of the joys of Christmas very well, with tons of odd 'n funny traditions thrown into one, giant basket, so to say. (just see what a "spinster" has to go through to see the man in her future in her dreams) The Vancouver locations are fantastic. Snow aplenty, no need for fake snow, unlike some other Hallmark Christmas movies, and used very effectively for a bit of physical comedy.All in all, an enjoyable (there's that word again) movie, and clean, non-convoluted entertainment.
