An Exercise In Nonsense

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Review Date 1/29/2018PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN. Now Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB? When one of my reviews gets deleted IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to this review.After their parents separate, two estranged sisters who haven't been on speaking terms reunite in hopes that having a family Christmas all together for the first time in years will bring their Mom and Dad close again. They plan to do this in their old family home... the only problem is someone else lives there now.Now know matter how old you are "You Always Want Your Parents To Be Together" but the premise of this movie just doesn't work. There is no emotional linchpin that holds the movie together. We get scenes that are over done by every conceivable thing you can think of. I think if the film had one of the children on parents be a very young child then I might I have like the film. However they did not do that and the film is just one of many "Christmas Films" that had a good idea but poorly executed!!

At first, this has all the appearance of a low-budget Christmas movie and to be fair that is exactly what it is - however, it is a cut above some of the really bad ones like The Town that Cancelled Christmas. Some of the acting is fairly mediocre, the story though is quite engaging with likable enough characters and some nice scenery to enjoy. There are even a couple of well-known musical numbers to sing along to. You can tell that everyone involved in making the film has at least tried to produce something decent and if you give it a chance, it's quite watchable. One the younger members of the family will probably quite enjoy along with mum on a wet Sunday afternoon.

Excellent for this genre!It is so nice to see a movie that has very little sensationalism. They have their struggles and deal with them. I did not feel my stomach going into knots or my adrenaline spiking! Thank you! It was sweet and touched me and I cried a little. I also guessed the girls had to be rl sisters, and they are.I'll probably watch this one every year. I think it is good and a warm Christmas story even though Christmas is not really the Focus of the movie, but more the context.I hope everyone enjoys it. The house is gorgeous and reminds me of my family home. I don't want movies pushing my buttons. I am happy to just sit back and relax and enjoy a good story.Merry Christmas!

I wanted to like this movie, and I did like the heroine, played by Canadian vocalist and child actress Carly McKillip. She and her real-life sister, Britt McKillip (think "My Little Pony") play sisters who get back in touch after a long estrangement, spurred by their parents' separation.In theory this is a moving tale of family reconciliation. In practice, it tried to do too much with too little, at least on the head of the lead character. Carly gave it a valiant effort, but there was very little story in her character; even for a more experienced actress to work with. This is an okay-enough, even dull, girl's attempt at bringing her family together, without much in the way of struggle or more effort than talking to a stranger (eye-candy Ben Hollingsworth) who is only too happy to make her acquaintance and agree to everything she asks.It's a bad sign when the subsidiary characters are given deep, meaningful problems that cry out to be tackled head-on and overcome, and then those problems are simply ignored for the rest of the movie in favour of our dull girl's dull journey toward a foregone conclusion.All that negativity aside, the romance was sweet and developed gradually. The movie sets have pretty holiday decorations that mostly look normal family scale. And there's some singing, though not of well-known carols for a change. The backdrop, of BC mountains masquerading as Oregonian ones, is lovely to look at although the weather is suspiciously low-snow for a mountain town coming up on Christmas.If you are playing board games or wrapping presents and want some background holiday themed TV, this is fine. But even a holiday movie fanatic like me wouldn't seek it out again on purpose.