THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – BEVERLY HILLS PUPPY

 

This is a good Christmas movie aimed at a family audience, with a wonderful message in which, with help from a guardian angel, a spoiled rich and very materialistic teenage girl learns that true value is found in assisting others and not in material possessions.

It has a great cast to tell the tale, Donna Spangler (Angelina Foxworth), Dean Cain (Archangel Gabriel), John Savage (Mr. Winters), Ravin Spangler (Ravin Foxworth), Brittan Taylor (Hannah), Simona Fusco (Yvonne), Cindy Marinangel (nurse), Brandon Russell (Jerry), Vincent De Paul (James Foxworth), Sue Wong appears as herself and of course the ridiculously adorable Jack Pomeranian steals the show as Bunny the dog.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – 29TH STREET

 

On Christmas Eve, Frankie Pesce Jr (Anthony LaPaglia) of Queens wins $6 million in New York State's first lottery.

But instead of joy, he's in a rage, breaking church windows and disturbing the peace after which he is arrested.

At the police station, he tells his story to Sgt Tartaglia (Robert Forster) beginning with his hazardous birth and all the ins and outs of life in the Pesce household, from his father (Danny Aiello) losing his trucking business to a Mafia wise guy, right up to the point he lost his job as a teamster.

But all in all it’s a fairly ordinary life for a New Yorker so why after winning $6 million, is Frankie so disconsolate?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – PRANCER RETURNS

 

The teenage Holton brothers live with their divorced mother, Denise (Stacy Edwards), in a rural town.

Ryan (Robert Clark) is the older brother, who hates the rural life and makes no secret of the fact and wants to go and live with their father, in Chicago.

The shy young Charlie (Gavin Fink) doesn’t understand his attitude, he is happy there even though he gets victimised by the bigger school kids'.

One day on the way home from school he finds two reindeer, one is dead who he believes to be one of Santa's team called Prancer, the other one is younger and Charlie thinks he is his son and heir, also called Prancer which he tries to hide at home and Ryan helps him which brings the brothers closer along the way.

Charlie believes that his Prancer is “the” Prancer from the towns’ legend and will take off and join Santa on Christmas Eve.

Unfortunately when Prancer gets out he bites evil vice-principal James Klock (Michael O'Keefe) and he wants the danger to the public put down.

But a rescue operation is mounted and then Charlie runs away with his protégé to the woods,

His mother Denise is unable to cope, but thankfully her ex-boyfriend, handyman Tom Sullivan (John Corbett), comes to the youngster's rescue in this engaging family film.

Watch out for the wonderful Jack Palance as Old Man Richards.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – FIR CRAZY (2013)

 

Elise MacReynolds (Sarah Lancaster) is no fan of Christmas because as she grew up on a Christmas tree farm it meant every holiday was spent selling Christmas trees on a cold street corner.

But when she loses her job and her dad breaks his leg, Elise agrees to run the family tree stand for one last season.

Unfortunately for Elise, the family business that has always hosted the MacReynolds' Farm tree lot has been acquired by home decor conglomerate “Brook Glen”.

Elise gets off on the wrong foot with surly Brook Glen CEO Gary Dixon (Colin Mochrie) when she almost knocks him down while unloading a big tree.

Gary thinks the trees are horrible for business and sets in motion a plan to get rid of the lot, for good, however despite her battles with Gary, Elise finds herself catching the holiday spirit as she helps the good citizens of New York City to find their one perfect tree:

Everyone from a couple with their first on the way, a professional basketball team, and a young boy picking out his first tree.

Christmas also proves to be the season for romance when charming repeat customer Darren Foster (Eric Johnson) admits he's been buying trees simply in the hopes of talking to Elise.

 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MERRY MIX UP (2013)

 

Shop owner Alice Chapman (Alicia Witt) is a beautiful woman who recently became engaged to go-getter businessman Will Mitchum (Scott Gibson).

When she travels to meet her future in-laws for the first time before Christmas, she is very nervous because she is arriving ahead of her new fiancé.

Alice's trip becomes more stressful when her luggage is lost and her phone is damaged, and chaos ensues as she loses contact with Will.

But then she runs into, who she believes to be Will's brother, and starts the Christmas celebrations with the wrong family.

But is this just a silly Merry mix up, or is it the fates with a message for Alice.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LAST CHANCE CHRISTMAS

 A smart, sassy, 34-year-old Kristin (Shiri Appleby), who is estranged from her family and alone on Christmas Eve goes to sleep alone on Christmas Eve and wakes up Christmas morning seventeen years into her past to relive the worst Christmas of her life.

So once she gets over the initial shock she realises she has an opportunity to change her imperfect past, so she styles herself as an older mentor to her younger self (Hannah Marks)

Paramount to these changes is mending the broken relationship with her mother (Elizabeth Mitchell), something that seems impossible.

But if she can’t fix her past then maybe she could do something about her less than perfect future.

The film has an altogether credible cast that makes this film well worth watching if for no other reason than that.

But the story is excellent and well-structured and although the main target audience of this family safe Christmas movie will be women past their teens, men should not be put off by that because it’s very good.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS TRUCE (2015)

 

In the bitter winter of 1944 in the depths of the Ardennes Forest, an American Army Captain John Myers (Craig Olejnik) and a Belgian girl named Alina (Ali Liebert) meet and fall in love during a brief 24-hour Christmas truce amid the Battle of the Bulge.

When the fighting resumes and they have to go their separate ways they promise to reunite on the first Christmas Eve after the end of World War II, providing they're both alive.