Christmas Above The Clouds | 2025 Christmas Movies

There have been a wide variety of adaptations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Back in 2020, Hallmark gave us A Nashville Christmas Carol. Then in 2021, they had Boyfriends of Christmas Past. And this year it’s Christmas Above The Clouds. At least they gave us a break in between adaptations this year?

Ella Neezer (Erin Krakow) is the CEO of a travel company. She demands her employees work just as hard as she does. Unfortunately, that means she makes them choose between their families and their work, just as she did when she broke off her engagement to Jake (Tyler Hynes) when she started moving up the corporate ladder. It wasn’t until now, on a flight to Australia with her assistant Bobbi Cratchet (Emily Tennant) and, surprisingly, Jake, that her mentor, Marlene Jacobson (Gabrielle Rose), visits her from beyond the grave to inform her about the impending visits from three Christmas spirits. Will they be able to bring empathy and love back to Ella?

Could it be? Is it possible that we have THREE decent Christmas movies this early in the movie season? Maybe my expectations were low because, this story is told so many times that it feels rare to find a good adaptation of it. But, yes, Christmas Above The Clouds gave us an interesting take. Sure, it’s not anything new and Jake does feel a little tacked on but Krakow makes a very good Scrooge character and I found myself enjoying the three spirits. It might not make the best movie list but I didn’t regret watching it either!

Rating: 4 Christmas Spirits out of 5 - OK, there aren’t five Christmas spirits but the rating still stands!

The Wish Swap | 2025 Valentine's Day Movies

The Wish Swap is Hallmark’s second Loveuary movie of the year. My wish would be for Hallmark to change the word Loveuary. I don’t know why it bugs me, it just does.

Casey (Emily Tennant) and Henry (Jake Foy) happen to share the same birthday. While they are celebrating at the same restaurant, Henry finds that his family never ordered him a cake while Casey’s co-workers ordered her a giant cake. So Casey offers to share. The two blow out the candles on the cake, making their birthday wishes. Amazingly, the wishes come true. Only Henry has Casey’s wish of completing the list of things she wants to do for her birthday and Casey gets Henry’s wish of owning a farm. Now they will have to work together to make each of their dreams actually come true for them.

This was a pretty cute movie but it also felt a little empty. Casey’s first (of three) item on her wish list was to perform in Dance Your Heart Out, a Dancing With The Stars type television show where random couples perform a dance on live TV. While the theater was empty during their rehearsals, of course, it was also empty when they were actually performing. It was just the dancers, the host, and a camera. It felt eerie to me. On top of that, very little seemed to be happening at the form. Sure, Casey collected some eggs from the chickens and she fed some goats but that was it. Most of the rest of the time Henry spent dancing or talking to Casey. He was the least farmery farmer ever. I get that production probably didn’t want to deal with all of the animals but then make it like Christmas On The Alpaca Farm, a specialized farm with only one type of animal that we see more often. Film all of the goat scenes together so you can get the goats out of there.

If you can look past the emptiness of the scenes, they movie itself wasn’t bad. Tennent and Foy didn’t have a ton of chemistry together but they did seem to have fun. The script could have used a little beefing up. Maybe that would have made the movie feel a little fuller as well. Overall, it was fun but it felt like a nicely made amateur movie where the only actors are the directors’ friends. Hallmark could do better.

Rating: 3/5 out of 5 hearts

All I Need For Christmas | 2024 Christmas Movies

The title for All I Need For Christmas reminds me of those Blake Shelton Time For Christmas movies. Thankfully, this is not in that series. So let’s see what it is.

Maggie (Mallory Jansen) is a singer/songwriter who is having trouble getting her career off the ground, blaming technology for making all music sound the same. After her touring gig has been cancelled, she returns to her family’s Christmas tree farm for the holiday. There she meets Archer (Dan Jeannotte), a man with family troubles whose tech company is about to launch two new apps for musicians. Maybe the two of them can help each other in more ways than they originally thought.

When I turned this movie on, I didn’t think I would like it. Boy, was I surprised. In these sort of movies, one of the main characters is usually kinda terrible and they get turned around by the others. On the contrary, both of these people are fairly nice. Sure, Maggie is a little mean to Archer at the beginning when she finds out he runs a tech company but she quickly learns that she was wrong and actually apologizes to him. TWICE! And Archer tries everything he can to stay a normal, even-keeled person, even when his sister, Piper (Emily Tennant), tries to push his buttons.

Despite All I Need For Christmas airing on the subpar Hallmark Mystery channel, I do recommend watching it. It has the perfect synergy between cheesy, saccharine, and conflict. I think this is one that almost anyone would enjoy.

Rating: Can I pet them pigs?

Holiday Hotline | 2023 Christmas Movies

When I’m going through my list of Christmas movies, I try really hard to not learn a lot about the movies before I watch them. All I knew about Holiday Hotline was only what was shown in the commercials. I didn’t even know who the male lead was until I saw the opening credits. I’m glad I was able to keep this surprise for myself.

Abby (Emily Tennant) is a chef in London. When her chef-boyfriend takes the credit for her work, Abby quits her job and her relationship and goes to Chicago for a break. She falls into a job in Chicago answering phone calls from people needing help cooking their turkeys properly. Using an American accent and the name Peggy, she connects with single father John (Niall Matter). Soon the two become more than friends.

I was surprised to find that Holiday Hotline is a really good movie. Tennant and Matter work so well together. This may be the first couple of the season that actually shows some chemistry. Not only that, the story was interesting! I don’t think we’ve ever had a hotline worker as a career trope. For once, we were able to see Abby/Peggy and the other workers actually doing their jobs. We almost never see anyone actually working! And I really loved the way they showed the calls. This is a movie I wouldn’t mind watching again. A very pleasant surprise from Hallmark.

Rating: Let’s Talk Turkey