Making Spirits Bright | 2021 Christmas Movies

What if Romeo & Juliet took place in modern times? And what if, during the Christmas season, the feuding families decorated houses? That is pretty much the plot of Making Spirits Bright.

The Ryan family and the Scotto family used to decorate houses for Christmas together. When Bill (Garry Chalk), and Frank (John Cassini) started fighting, the business broke up. Now their children, Grace (Taylor Cole) and Tony (Carlo Marks), are trying to get them back together in order to beat a new decorating company in the annual neighborhood competition.

At first, I thought I already watched this movie. It seemed very familiar. It wasn’t until I realized that the male lead character’s name is Tony and his sister is Maria that it clicked. Making Spirits Bright is basically Romeo & Juliet. (Tony and Maria are the lead characters in West Side Story, which is a musical version of Romeo & Juliet.) Since this is a Christmas movie, no one dies but Tony’s father, Frank, does fall off a ladder.

I actually kinda liked this one. Sure, there are a few scenes that could have been shortened or cut completely and we didn’t really need the parallel story of Grace and her friend/business partner, Sarah (Sarah Surh). But, otherwise, it was quite charming. I would have liked to have seen a little more of the Christmas displays but I think that is just me.

Is this something everyone would enjoy? I don’t think so. There are a few parts where the movie does begin to drag and it’s easy to lose interest. But if you like the feuding family storyline and want to see it with a Christmas twist, Making Spirits Bright isn’t a total waste of time.

Reba McEntire's Christmas in Tune | 2021 Christmas Movies

“The Queen of Country,” Reba McEntire, now has her very own Christmas movie! There will be singing, of course. And the singing will most likely be decent, of course. This is Reba, after all! But what about the movie itself? Will that be any good? Let’s take a look.

Georgia (Reba McEntire) and Joe (John Schneider) Winter used to be a couple. They also used to be a top country duo. Years after their breakup, the couple reunites to perform at a Christmas charity concert at the request of their daughter, Belle (Candice King). Will there be more than just music in the air?

Considering the stars of Christmas in Tune, I wasn’t overly concerned about the acting in the movie. Both Reba McEntire and John Schneider have had long acting careers. If the movie was going to flop, the blame would be placed solely on the writers’ shoulders.

Thankfully, the writing is not terrible. It’s actually pretty sweet in the love/hate type of way. Both Georgia and Joe love each other deeply but they also both let their pride get in the way. It isn’t until they have to spend time together that they realize how they feel about each other. There aren’t very many of these “established couple fell out of love” Christmas movies but I find they tend to be better than the “strangers falling in love” movies.

Unless you absolutely despise country music, you will like Christmas in Tune. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of country music but I enjoyed all of the songs here. Give it a try. At worst, you’ll walk away with a smile on your face.

Elves | 2021 Christmas Movies

Elves (or Nisser) is a Danish series being billed as “Christmas horror.” We’ve seen what Danish horror series were like back in October. Is a Christmas horror series better? let’s find out.

Josefine (Sonja Steen), or Jose, is a teenager about to spend Christmas on a remote island with her family. On the way to their vacation house, Jose’s father, Mads (Peder Thomas Pedersen), hits something with the car. Unable to find an injured animal or anything wrong with the car and instructed by some locals to stay far away from the nearby fence, the family heads on to the house. However, Jose can’t shake the feeling that they hit something. She heads back to the fence to find the animal. What she finds is something the family has never seen before.

This is as much of a “Christmas” story as Die Hard. They both take place during Christmas but neither are really about Christmas. The family chops down a Christmas tree, angering the head of the locals - Karen (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen); they make some homemade Christmas decorations; they talk about Christmas presents. That is the totality of the Christmas spirit here. The elves in the title aren’t even Christmas elves. They are forest elves.

With that said, it’s not a terrible story. It is only six 30ish-minute episodes. My husband and I binged the whole series in one night and I found it difficult to not binge the series. I wanted to find out what would happen next. It is a very interesting take on the elf mythology. Instead of being adorable woodland creatures, they are terrifying carnivores wanting sacrifices to keep from killing the local people.

My main problem with the series is Jose, herself. She is seriously dumb, even for a teenager. Every time she is told not to do something, she does it. Not once does she listen to a single adult, even when she is trying to escape the danger. The girl is almost killed and she still tries to keep a baby elf as a pet. We get to see why Jose doesn’t listen to adults and why she thinks she can do whatever she wants: She is literally the entire reason everyone on the island is in danger. When Karen straight up tells her this, Jose’s mother, Charlotte (Lila Nobel), tells her that it’s not her fault. NO, CHARLOTTE. THIS IS HER FAULT. ENTIRELY HER FAULT. If she had listened, just once, no one would be in this situation. It would have been nice if the writers could have driven the plot along without making Jose as willful as she is. Or even if she had realized what she had done and tried to resolve it. But she doesn’t.

Elves is set up to have a second season. I’m not sure if one is on the way but the set up is there. So should you watch it? If you are into slow-burn horror movies, you might like this. Just be warned that you might be rooting for Josefine to die.

The Nine Kittens of Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

In 2014, the Hallmark Channel showed The Nine Lives of Christmas. Here it is 2021 and we’re getting a sequel - The Nine Kittens of Christmas. Do you think we’ll get another movie in 2028?

Zachary (Brandon Routh) is a captain at the fire station in Bend, Oregon. A box containing nine kittens was left on the doorstep of the fire station. Thankfully, his veterinarian ex-girlfriend, Marilee (Kimberley Sustad), is back from Miami for the holidays. Together, they need to find appropriate homes for all nine kittens.

No, I didn’t watch the original 2014 movie. I’m sure that means there are inside jokes and references that I missed. Ah well. That is what they get for waiting seven years for a sequel.

While most of the movie was fine, the cat thing was a little annoying. Both Zachary and Marilee let their cats, Ambrose and Duchess, respectively, make decisions in their lives. That is weird. It would have been fine if they just held their cats a lot (which they do) or talk to their cats (which they do) but the movie seriously wants us to believe the cats were tossing cell phones around or answering phone calls. It’s a bit much. Not to mention that they had homes for almost all of the kittens pretty quickly. A side character had to back out of adopting three kittens in order to make the movie last longer. I get that the movie is about cats but the writers didn’t have to shove it down our throats.

I guess if you really, really like cats, you’ll enjoy The Nine Kittens of Christmas. For the rest of us, it’s fairly skippable. There isn’t a lot that goes on that doesn’t involve cats. Put it on in the background and peek in every few minutes to aww over the cute kittens. That is about what the movie is worth.

8-Bit Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

It’s time for HBO Max to throw themselves into the Christmas movie ring with 8-Bit Christmas. Can HBO even compete with the Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix Christmas juggernauts?

Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) wants a cell phone for Christmas. Her father, Jake (Neil Patrick Harris), decides to regale her with the story of how he received his beloved Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 1980s. The story doesn’t go quite the way Annie thinks it will.

I have seen people comparing this movie to A Christmas Story or Jingle All The Way. I can see the similarities that people are noticing but they aren’t really good comparisons. A Christmas Story is entirely told in flashback, like 8-Bit Christmas, but we never see Ralphie as an adult and it’s also a series of smaller stories within the big story of Ralphie trying to get a Red Ranger BB gun for Christmas. Jingle All The Way is the story of a father trying to get his kid the hot toy of the season. The parents in 8-Bit Christmas refuse to buy Jake the Nintendo he so desperately wants. Sure, both the Nintendo and the Turbo-Man action figure were “hot” toys for their respective eras but that is the only real comparison there.

Personally, I really enjoyed 8-Bit Christmas. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor - I did grow up in the 80s so this story pretty much hits me in my childhood. But it was also just fun. Winslow Fegley as young Jake is so emotive. It’s difficult to not feel disappointed when he’s disappointed or smile when he’s having fun with his friends. And he’s not the only one. All of the kid actors were really good. The only one I had difficulty connecting with was Jake’s younger sister, Lizzy (Bellaluna Resnick), which I think was intentional since Jake is the storyteller.

I don’t know that I would watch 8-Bit Christmas every year but I think I will show it to my daughter. It is some good family entertainment. Just keep in mind that it won’t end the way you think it will!

Baking Spirits Bright | 20201 Christmas Movies

A movie about how awesome fruitcake is. We’re really going there? OK, Lifetime. You’re the one that said it.

Varma Fruitcakes is a family-owned company that makes fruitcake. When her parents hire an outside marketing company for their holiday marketing, Mira (Rekha Sharma) is concerned that it will make the company look bad. Will her traditional values be reflected in Brady’s (Dion Johnstone) marketing campaign or will the company go bankrupt?

Let’s start with the truth here. Fruitcake is disgusting. No amount of marketing will make anyone under the age of 60 want to buy it. Your company should really branch out into other baked items.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about Baking Spirits Bright. I hate this movie a lot. And the reason I hate this movie is Mira. This entire movie is based on Mira not wanting to do anything to update the family company. She wants everything to stay just like it was when she was a young child. I’m sorry but, if you want your company to succeed, you have to change with the times. You can’t grow if you want to stay exactly the same.

I’m also annoyed at the two marketing campaigns we are shown. Brady gives us a retro campaign. Fine. He gave into Mira’s irrational fears and came up with a fairly cute campaign. However, we also see a social media campaign from Brady’s junior co-worker, Finn (Riun Garner). This campaign seems solely based on giving some sample products to YouTubers and letting them do whatever they want. That isn’t how a social media campaign works. Companies give the influencers an idea of what they are looking for and the company vets the videos before they go live. No one is sitting there chewing on their fingernails as they watch the videos to see what is said. And why in the world would Finn pick a “Dare channel” to market the product? That is the only influencer we see in the campaign. It was a very stupid decision.

There is seriously nothing redeeming about Baking Spirits Bright. Stay far away from this one. I’m sure there will be plenty of baking-related movies to take its place. This one, and its fruitcake, belong in the trash.

A Kiss Before Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

A Kiss Before Christmas has a sort of It’s A Wonderful Life feel to it. But is it good enough to become a new Christmas classic?

Like most people, Ethan (James Denton) wishes he had more money. Life would be perfect if he didn’t have to worry about paying for a new radiator for the car or college for kids, right? When Santa (John B. Lowe) grants him a Christmas wish, Ethan gets to see what his life would have been if he had made a different decision in the past. Realizing his mistake, can Ethan figure out how to get his wife Joyce (Teri Hatcher) and kids back?

Finally! An actual good movie on the Hallmark Channel! And I’m going to chalk it up to the talented cast they managed to get together. James Denton is heart-breaking as Ethan - a man who wants to give his family everything they deserve but he has trouble balancing his attempts to climb the corporate ladder with a satisfying, loving home life. Teri Hatcher tugs at your heart strings at Joyce - who tries to convince her husband that the family needs him to be present more than they need to be wealthy. And Rod Wilson, as the evil corporate businessman Sean, makes you hate every fiber of his being. If these were lesser actors, the script could have easily come off as cheesy or overly mushy.

I honestly don’t want to give too much away here. Though, to be honest, this isn’t a movie with a lot of twists and turns in the plots. You should be able to predict what will happen. But it’s not the uniqueness of the plot that makes it good. It’s the way it was brought to life.

So, yes, go watch A Kiss Before Christmas. I’m not convinced it will be a new annual classic but it definitely is worth watching a couple of times.

You Make It Feel Like Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

I wonder if this year’s theme in Christmas movies is non-romantic love. Or at least movies where the romantic love is secondary to another plot line. It is an interesting change.

You Make It Feel Like Christmas was originally titled A Christmas Mission. Aaron (Michael Xavier) returns home from active duty to find that his ex-girlfriend and childhood friend, Emma (Mary Antonini), isn’t coming home for Christmas. He takes it upon himself to travel into the city to convince her to spend the holiday with her father, Tom (Alex Poch-Goldin). However, Emma’s shop has caught the eye of the famous design guru Kate Marguiles (Stephanie Sy). Kate insists that they host a holiday charity art sale on Christmas Eve, not leaving Emma time to spend with her family.

As I said in the intro, the romantic relationship between Emma and Aaron isn’t really the main relationship here. It’s the broken father-daughter relationship between Emma and Tom. Unfortunately, most of the conversations with get with these two are Facetime-like video calls where they call to ask specific questions and avoid any real conversation. While their conflict could have been fixed with a conversation or, even better, therapy, they are the reason that Aaron comes back into the picture.

So let’s talk about Aaron. He is the most hands-off suitor I have seen in any of the Hallmark/Lifetime movies. Sure, they have known each other for years but he’s trying to convince her to come home. Why is his angle “I will help. Let me know what you need done - taking out the trash, cleaning the bathroom, whatever.”? And why does he try to rekindle the relationship by starting out with a blatant lie? Instead of pretending he didn’t know she was in the city, he should have just said “I came to see you.” It would have been simple and honest and she probably would have appreciated that more.

The best relationship in You Make It Feel Like Christmas, which we barely get to see, is between Emma’s best friend and shop co-owner Liz (Nadine Pinette) and Aaron’s cousin Sarah (Solange Sookram). They have the sly over-the-shoulder glances at each other and the “I’m interested” subtext in the few conversations they have. I think they would have been much more interesting than either of the main relationships. Too bad they get pushed way to the back of all of the plot lines.

While I appreciate the father-daughter relationship being the main story here, the movie itself is pretty boring. A lot of time is spent watching Emma do nothing as she tries to figure out what kind of wreath to make for the art sale. All of the relationship-building scenes are just as boring. Feel free to turn this on while you’re doing chores or something but don’t dedicate too much time to it. It is not worth it.

A Christmas Together With You | 2021 Christmas Movies

A Christmas Together With You could have easily been a non-Christmas movie. I actually think that this was written as a regular Hallmark romantic movie but then someone somewhere decided they needed another Christmas flick so they added some Christmas stuff to this one. And that is OK.

Megan (Laura Vandervoort) runs a small café in town. Frank (Harry Lennix), one of her regular customers, tells her about his long lost high school sweetheart. Since neither of them have holiday plans, Megan decides that they are going to track down Frank’s sweetheart, Claire (Liza Huget), so he can profess his love to her.

If you tune into the Hallmark Christmas movies to be inundated with Christmas decor and festivities, you aren’t going to find them here. Sure, there’s a Christmas tree getting decorated and there is one scene where they go caroling but that is pretty much it. A Christmas Together With You focuses more on the search for Claire than it does Christmas. As someone who isn’t a giant fan of Christmas, I’m glad they toned down the holiday cheer for this one.

On the romance side of things, the movie mostly revolves around Frank and Claire. We do get a little romance from Megan and Steve (Niall Matter) but they aren’t the main couple in the movie. They honestly don’t interact all that much so I’m not really sure why they fell in love. Unless Megan just likes his dog a lot. I’m not sure they would even know each other’s names if it wasn’t for the dog.

The down side of this movie is the inaccuracies in the script. Frank shows us a black and white photo of him and Claire from high school. While we couldn’t see her full outfit, it looked like the two of them were dressed rather formally. He was in a tie and jacket and she seemed to be wearing a nicer dress. Then Frank claims this is 1971. I’m not sure the photo is time-period appropriate. It looked like it was more 1950s than 1970s. Also, Megan talks about going to culinary school but we don’t see her make anything more difficult than a green bean casserole. (Please note: you can get the recipe for a green bean casserole off of the back of a can of green beans.) She talks about wanting to own a restaurant but we don’t actually see her having any of those skills. Yes, she cooks a dinner for 30 people. That does not make one a chef.

With all of that in mind, I’m not sure A Christmas Together With You is worth watching. I mean, I would watch it because I’m a fan of Niall Matter. I don’t think there’s another reason to watch it unless you are into slow-burning storylines. Because this one does run slow.

Five More Minutes | 2021 Christmas Movies

Whoever thought they should make movies based on songs, they were wrong. Very, very wrong.

Five More Minutes is based on a Scotty McCreery song. After the death of her grandfather, Clara (Nikki DeLoach) comes home to help her mother, Bonnie (Sherry Miller), run the family candy store. Clara, having troubles both professionally and romantically, wishes she could spend more time with her late grandfather in order to work through her issues. When Jay (Alexander Jones), the seasonal store helper, finds her grandfather’s journal, Clara finds the answers she needs in her grandfather’s past life.

I think this may be the worst movie on the Hallmark schedule this year. While the plot works well, the script is so stupidly schmaltzy that it is ridiculous. This is another one of those movies where almost all of the male characters are in the military and all of the female characters have spent their lives waiting for their military men to come home. I don’t have a problem with movies about the military per se. However, most of them make the characters so idealistic about the military that the audience can’t really suspend enough belief to get into the story.

The writers could have easily saved this movie if they left the grandfather as the only military character. This could have been a sweet story of what would have been and that could have pointed Clara in the right direction in her life. There was no reason for Logan (David Haydn-Jones), the love interest, to be a military man. It literally had no impact on the story. So leave him as the old high school sweetheart that Clara doesn’t want to fall in love with again. And stop making everyone so emotional. They can have feelings without having to smother the entire town with them.

Do I have to say it? Don’t watch Five More Minutes. It’s a terrible movie. Pick any of the movies out of the “Just OK” bucket to watch instead. You’ll thank me.