Christmas Movie Reviews # 6

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HOLIDAY HELP

A single mom, Nicky Talbot (Alicia Witt) is going from door to door to find a job and boost her finances but without success.
Then a friend tells her that a big store is hiring so she goes along and gets a holiday job at Cartwright’s department store but not as floor staff, she gets the job as Santa Claus in the grotto.
This was achieved when an angel, Harry Osbourne (Wallace Shawn) entered her life and brought about some positive changes, including the spark of a new romance.
She of course was unaware that he was an angel and she thought he was from corporate.
Her head elf in the grotto was Peg (Linda Kash) and she thought Nicky was wonderful in fact everyone loved Santa Nick, except the evil Fiona Aldrich (Gabrielle Miller) who was her boss.
Nicky’s daughter Becky (T.J. McGibbon) is cute without being precocious and the love interest is supplied very ably by department head Bill (Gabriel Hogan) and her landlady Mrs. Rositani is played by the excellent Jayne Eastwood.
This is a great film, believable yet magical and any Christmas film with an Angel in it gets my vote.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A GRANDPA FOR CHRISTMAS

Bert O'Riley (Ernest Borgnine) is an old-time entertainer who is retired from showbiz and estranged not only from his daughter Marie (Tracy Nelson) but also his 9-year-old granddaughter, Becca (Juliette Goglia).
And it would have remained that way had Marie not been badly hurt in a car crash and had to be hospitalized for a prolonged period.
Social services has to find someone for 9 year old Becca to stay with, her father isn’t on the scene her grandmother is dead so they turned to Bert.
He was about to sell his house and move into a retirement home but suddenly finds himself caring for a granddaughter he didn’t know he had.
It’s very awkward at first, Becca is horrified she has to live with her Grandpa because not only has she never met him, but everything she had ever heard about him her whole life is what a bum he was.
But gradually the bond between the two of them grows and she realises that Bert isn’t a bum after all, in fact she gets to meet his old show-biz friends, Roxie Famosa (Katherine Helmond) Adam Johnson (Jamie Farr) and Karl Sugarman (Richard Libertini) and she learns that her Grandpa is a pretty good guy and that her Mom was wrong about her Dad all along.
While Marie was in hospital he showed tender loving care towards Becca and took charge in her life and when she was ready to be discharged she accepted that she and her daughter had been brainwashed into thinking that Bert was an ogre and agreed that they should go and live with him.
It's a wonderful story emphasizing strong family traditions which is most appropriate for the holiday season.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA CLAUSE

Divorcee Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is disgusted to learn that his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson) and her husband Dr Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) have tried to break it to their 6-year-old son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) that Santa isn't real, thankfully they failed but a huge argument ensued.
But on Christmas Eve, after Scott has read “The Night Before Christmas” to Charlie and put him to bed Charlie is awakened by a bump on the roof so he wakes up his Dad.
They discover a man in a Santa suit on the roof and when he's startled by Scott calling out to him, he falls, leaving only an 8-reindeer sleigh and an empty suit with instructions to put it on if the previous occupant was involved in an accident.
Scott does as the card says and is transported all around the town dropping gifts through chimneys until he's taken to the North Pole and informed by a group who claim they're elves, led by Bernard (David Krumholtz), that he is now Santa Claus.
Charlie is so proud of his dad's new job, though Scott is convinced that it was just a dream, that is until his hair turns white, his beard keeps growing back, and he inexplicably gains a lot of weight.
He finds himself unable to come to any other conclusion other than to accept that he is Santa, however there is just one problem, how is he going to keep it secret from his disbelieving family.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE

Santa Claus (Tim Allen) had problems, it was only a few days before Christmas and production was lagging, Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell) was about to give birth to their first child and wanted family time, and the Counsel of Legendary Figures had called an emergency meeting to discuss Jack Frost (Martin Short) and at the end of the meeting he is left with Santa, on probation and under his supervision.
To appease his wife he flew her parents (Alan Arkin and Ann-Margret) up to the North Pole but had to pretend to them that they were in Canada.
He also brings his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson), her husband Neil (Judge Reinhold), and their daughter Lucy (Liliana Mumy) to surround his wife with family.
But while Santa is busy with the family Jack makes mischief inside the toy factory and hatches a plan to become Santa and with Santa juggling so many things he manages to trick him into invoking the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS BOX

Richard Evans (Richard Thomas) a struggling ski-shop owner reluctantly moves himself, his wife Keri (Annette O'Toole) and his daughter Jenna (Kelsey Mulrooney) in to an old estate as live-in help for an elderly widow, Mary Parkin (Maureen O'Hara).
While he struggles to balance his career and family life, he has recurring dreams about an angel.
The relationship between Keri, Jenna and Mrs Parkin is very revealing and the moment of the tree decorating is particularly heart-warming but it’s her interactions with Richard that exposes the secrets and sadness of her past.
This is a great holiday film with a classy performance from Maureen O'Hara and Richard Thomas puts in a gem of a performance.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ANGEL IN THE FAMILY

Sarah Bishop (Tracey Needham) and her estranged sister Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner) are reunited after their father Buddy (Ronny Cox) suffers a mild stroke.
Buddy, who's never accepted the loss of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter), has only one wish and that is for her to return home for Christmas.
With the sweet memories of Christmas‘s gone by brought to mind, Sarah makes an impossible wish, namely that her mother could be there too and make the family complete.
And by morning, the Christmas prayer had been answered when her mother returned from beyond the grave to spend one final Christmas with her earthbound family.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – GIFT OF THE MAGI

Mark Webber and Marla Sokoloff star in this modern take on the classic tale the Gift of the Magi.
Newlyweds Jim and Della Young move into their new apartment, that they can barely afford and despite having to make do with second hand furnishings they are happy.
However after Della’s car is stolen they have to use up all their saving to buy another one.
As a result they agree not to buy Christmas presents that year.
Secretly however they both decide to do so anyway.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS VISITOR

A remarkable Christmas story of loss and renewal in which the Boyajian’s have not celebrated Christmas in 11 years not since they lost their son to the Persian Gulf War and their faith was lost with him.
But that all changed when a stranger joined them, who was around the same age their son would have been.
George (William Devane) struggles with the past and his wife Carol (Meredith Baxter) searches for answers and his daughter Jean (Reagan Pasternak) fights for the future.
They wonder if the stranger, Matthew (Dean McDermott), is a con artist or if he is perhaps the miracle their family has been waiting for.
Slowly his influence reawakens their faith and appreciation of Christmas in a way that will change them forever.
It’s a lovely endearing tale of small town America and learning to appreciate what you have through what you’ve lost.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 2015

Jamie Patterson Mason Douglas is jealous of his rich friend Blake Matthews (Juliocesar Chavez) so when he gets annoyed at his parents (Antonio Sabato Jr and Shannen Doherty) he makes a wish to swap families with his wealthy best friend at Christmas.
To his delight his wish comes true and he finds himself living the extravagant lifestyle he always dreamed of true However despite having everything he ever wanted, his new mother and father have little time for him, and he grandmother has been dumped in a home and so he ends up trying to put things back the way they were.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS LIST

Krissy Kringle (Hilarie Burton) dislikes Christmas intently, mainly because she’s had to go through life with the name Krissy Kringle.
But she also suffered the indignity of having her street renamed “Candy Cane Lane” as a result of her name and the street name she gets regular deliveries of Christmas mail.
This particular year however was worse than normal when she is fired from the Ad Agency where she works instead of getting the promotion she was expecting and is forced to take a job as a present wrapper at the Mall and must dress as an Elf.
When she arrives home and forces open her front door, amidst the mountain of Christmas mail she finds a special delivery intended for Santa Claus, the Naughty or Nice book which he had left behind while visiting a child.
Krissy uses the power of the book to expose the naughty deeds of those around her, but soon finds that her newfound power can have devastating results.
Gabriel Tigerman is excellent as Krissie’s partner in crime at the Mall, Marco Webb and Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter put in a convincing performances as her parents Walter and Carol Kringle.