Christmas Unwrapped

The main reason we switched off this movie half-way through was the annoying voice of Amber Stevens West. I know they don't get the best actors for some of these Christmas movies, but at least they could get someone who can talk properly.

Watching this movie and main character has a very bland non identifiable name : Charity Jones. All's good. Who's the evil villain who wants to ruin the life of the other main character by exposing them in the media? Janet Cohen - an obviously Jewish name. Really? Did Tiffany Haddish put her name on a movie without actually reading the script? Sad.

I really like the concept of caring for our fellow humans in this film and the fact that the ending is left open so that you can still believe that there might be some magic involved. The lead male is very cute, which always helps me to appreciate these films and the lead female is nice enough too. It's full of lovely, festive and cheery things and actually they do squeeze a lot of Christmas in. It is your usual girl meets boy story and the same formula as all the rest of these Hallmark films, but it is endearing and has a charm all of its own. 6ish?/10.

I've found Lifetime's selection this holiday season to be lackluster at best. Deleting one 30 minutes in. But I loved everything about this one. Both leads did a phenomenal job with the acting plus actual chemistry. This movie also brought back what the made for TV Christmas movies have been shying away from. It infused the romance with the magic of Christmas and Santa. So many of the Christmas movies focus on not much more than the romance as of late. So this was a breath of fresh air with its air of mystery and wonder. I truly loved this one. This production also didn't skimp on the Christmas decorations and back drops of their sets, which I really appreciate! Plus I'd watch Amber Stevens West mime on a street corner. I hope to see her in many movies to come!

I watched this movie about ten days ago, and today when I was killing time writing IMDB reviews I honestly couldn't recall the plot. So I rewatched the last fifteen minutes: Oh yeah, investigative reporter falls for a mysterious millionaire charity guy, her story is rewritten by her mean boss, but she writes a heartwarming blog, gets a big kiss & forgiveness from the rich guy and a job offer from the "Times." Well, why the heck not? I dunno, maybe what bothered me here was everyone was doing their job and acting and all that, but I just didn't find it engaging, believable, and wondered briefly if the cast actually knew each other's names during production. Know what I mean? Like they phoned it in. If it feels like they didn't care, why should I? I could be completely wrong here and this really is a hidden masterpiece, and I just didn't get. It happens.