Adding the third look-alike added a few interesting possibilities and it was well done. It thankfully didn’t get as dark as it could have and kept that light, angst free, Christmas feel.
Score: 0.5
Characters
Again all the characters are loveable, even the villains. Hudgens does a spectacular job at making us forget she’s playing 3 roles.
Score: 1
Dialogue
Lots of playing around with the three look-alikes and some adorable lines from the love interests. The scenes between the prince and the kid are some of my favourites.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
Filming on location really pays off in this one. Scotland looks magical and the architecture seems to just fit perfectly.
The music was nice but forgettable.
Score: 0.5
Fun
Everyone enjoyed this one but it had a higher angst level and will be more fun in re-watching. The whole family liked it.
Score: 1
Overall
A great idea for a sequel with some nice twists but it isn’t quite as good as the original.
A fun take on The Prince and the Pauper. Like the other early Netflix Christmas movies, it avoids too much angst.
Score: 0.5
Characters
The male characters are pretty and adorable, but it’s Vanessa Hudgens that rightfully steals the show. The adorable littler girl does a good job too.
Score: 1
Dialogue
Clever and cute with a few good social commentaries. I don’t think we’ll be quoting this one much in the future but it was fun.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
Filmed at a real castle and in a place that gets snow so it was partially believable. It was however obvious that the majority of the scenes that weren’t bridging shots were filmed in summer..
The music was cheerful and unintrusive.
Score: 1
Fun
I expected a lot of awkward and angsty scenes but it wasn’t; it was fun and light and I really enjoyed it. The rest of the family felt the same.
Score: 1
Overall
A lovely Christmas romance with lots of flirting and little angst. Hudgens shows that excellent acting doesn’t have to only be depressing.
The story was fascinating and well set up, however the ending wasn’t great. They tried to find a middle ground between sappy Christmas movie and real life grit. It didn’t work at all.
Score: 0.5
Characters
Like most Christmas Carol style stories, the main character was a complete ass at the beginning and grows as the story moves along. The main problem with the likability of the rest of the cast is that we have no idea what happened to them, or if they even exist.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
Excellent and wonderfully played. I was confused as to why every member of the family had different accents but maybe that’s a British thing.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The filmmakers did an amazing job at matching the style of cinematography from each decade.
The same can be said about the music, and although it was a little overdone at times, it was well done.
Score: 1
Fun
The ending kills any fun there was in the movie. It’s sentimental in all the wrong ways and I haven’t been as pissed off about an ending since the director’s cut of The Butterfly Effect (not that the cinema ending was any better).
All the adults agreed that the ending was terrible and the kids didn’t like any part of it.
Score: 0
Overall
This is a Christmas movie for those who don’t like joyful movies. It’s depressing and has one of the worst endings I’ve been forced to experience. The acting, music, and cinematography are fantastic, but they don’t save the film from being overly sad and downright horrifying if you think about it too hard.
The influences of World War Two are felt throughout the story and it adds a certain grounding that is missing from some fantasy films. As much as there are some things that bother me about the story, it is extremely well-crafted.
Score: 1
Characters
When I first watched it, I disliked the boys but rewatching it, I see the struggles they have both in family and in a world that expects them to do nothing.
The rest of the cast was great, and despite not being a huge fan of the voice of the lion, it isn’t as bad as I remember.
One thing that really bothered me was the stereotype of “beauty is good and ugly is bad”. They went out of their way to make all the good guys look pretty and all the villains, except the witch, ugly.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue is mostly from the book and I’m really glad they removed some of the sexist language. The banter between the characters was nice and family-like.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The special effects, sets, and camera work hold up extremely well for a twenty-year-old movie. The clothing and armour are fantastic and it’s easy to forget that the animals are CGI.
The music is epic and really sucks you into the story.
Score: 1
Fun
Jen and I had seen the movie a few times already and knew we liked it. It was really cool to watch the kids watch it. They both liked it but said it was a little scary.
Score: 1
Overall
A classic story done extremely well. The acting, music, and special effects hold up twenty years later.
Adorable meddling mothers and a sweet romance. I love the symmetry between the relationships. That being said, it’s just two different tropes smushed together.
Score: 0.5
Characters
The mothers had incredible comedic chemistry and the love interests were adorable. Both sets together worked great. The dad and brother were entertaining as well.
I do hate when all the drama comes from a misunderstanding or a character not keeping a secret. It felt a little forced.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue is funny, flirty, and cute. I liked the multiple jokes about the mothers being witches.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The snow was ridiculously fake and a few scenes were obviously filmed in summer. But the camera work and the scenes were well done and excellently decorated.
The music did it’s job and accentuated when it was needed. Could have used more holiday music though.
Score: 1
Fun
This was a nice break from the traditional angsty holiday movie. It was sweet and everyone but the 5yo loved it. He thought it was boring.
Score: 1
Overall
A fun and rewatchable holiday movie that avoids the angst often associated with romance. It thrives off the chemistry and charisma of the mothers.
A standard buddy-cop action movie dressed up for the holidays. It has some facinating world building and leaves some unfortunate story threads. (Why bring up that the kid didn’t know his father if it wasn’t important?)
Score: 0.5
Characters
At first, I thought the characters were flat, but around half-way through the movie, I started to see their depth… for an action movie anyway.
The two main heroes were the disillusioned cop and the criminal with a heart of gold.
The supernaturals were far more interesting. Their take on Santa was fun and interesting, and I’d love to see more about M.O.R.A.
Score: 1
Dialogue
There were plenty or great quips and ridiculous dialogue said with a straight face. The speech from Jack to his son at the end was nice and heartfelt.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The visuals were great. Lots of over-the-top action and special effects. The fight scenes and camera work were done cleanly and made it easy to follow.
The music was good but could have been done so much better by integrating more holiday music into the action scenes.
Score: 0.5
Fun
This was a movie made for fun. Everyone in the family liked it and we all finished with a smile. It also had a lot of great supernatural and fantasy elements that made me happy.
Score: 1
Overall
This is a Christmas action movie mixed with a fantasy. It’s not the most original plot, but the setting and action is worth the watch.
Saturday the 13th of December, 2003 – Westmeath, Ontario
Running over to them, Jason checked the boy’s pulse and it was extremely weak but still present. “It’s not petrification. They’re fine.”
“Wasn’t there a tree in the middle of the dance floor?” Kennedy asked, before shouting, “Duck!”
Over a year of training together and a trust built on saving each other’s lives countless times meant he dropped to the floor without thinking about it. The silvery ball that would have hit him in the shoulders flew past and hit Dr. Amita. She froze on the spot, her face contorted in confusion.
People screamed and would have panicked but Kennedy said, “Everyone please move toward the exit in an orderly fashion.” Westmeath had enough strange things happening that people walked quickly but not fast enough to hurt each other. There were still quite a few people left, all frozen.
“Where did that come from?” he asked as he kicked up from the ground and landed on his feet.
“The tree,” Kennedy said, “But I’m not sure which one.” She joined him near the boys.
The five trees seemed to shiver at the sound of her voice. Jason used his shadow power to stretch his senses out and see if they moved.
“How does a tree that’s in a pot move around?” he wondered aloud. He felt the attack and movement before seeing it. Grabbing Kennedy’s hands, he swung her around to avoid a volley.
“I can’t tell which tree it’s coming from,” she said, annoyed.
“Even my shadow senses aren’t helping with that. It moves too fast. But only one is moving”
“The cake!” Kennedy exclaimed and ran to the buffet, weaving and dodging around attacks. She lifted up the large red Yule log cake and said, “We just need to figure out which one moves and we can use the cake to mark it.”
It was a good idea, but a shift in the lighting and shadows made Jason turn away from her. The room had gotten darker as the moonlight from the wall of windows was blocked.
Surrounding the room from outside were massive pine trees. The christmas trees inside stood just over two and half metres tall, the ones outside were easily ten times that height.
Kennedy gave a small squeak and said, “Well, that’s not good.”
The doors flew inward, followed by a figure in silver full-plate armour. He had a longsword on his left hip and a dagger holstered on the opposite side. His helmet was down but he looked around the room and lifted it before saying, “You need to get out of here. It’s not safe.”
Laughing, still comically holding the cake, Kennedy said, “Jeepers, that was dramatic, and we know.”
“Kennedy?” the man said, looking surprised.
“Albert?” she replied. “For heaven’s sake, is everyone I know from Baker magical?”
The armour was the symbol of the Gatekeepers and organization that was dedicated to protecting the world from Aether incursions. Creatures created from imagination and magic could cause havoc if not controlled. The creatures were returned or hunted, while the people or Aetherborn were educated and placed in communities like Westmeath.
“Not to break up the reunion but—” Jason was cut off by a volley of flying ornaments. It seemed the tree took a little time to reload.
“Right. Sorry. I am Gatekeeper Therien. I tracked a part of a rogue tannen-bomb here.” He looked out the window and replied, “and it looks like the rest of it just arrived.”
“Part? You mean this is all one creature? Like a magical Pando?” Kennedy asked. When the knight didn’t reply, she added, “Pando, the giant organism that’s one root system with tens of thousands of trees?”
“Yes.” He drew his sword and swatted at the ornaments that were flying toward them. “Why are you holding a cake?”
“It’s to throw at the tree so we know which one it is,” she replied sheepishly.
“Ah. Good idea, but it’s the one next to your husband.”
Jason whipped around, not used to being snuck up on. He raised a hand in defence but was struck by a freeze bomb. It didn’t hurt, and he could hear and see everything happening.
A cake flew into his vision and smashed into the tree, covering it in red icing, and some splashing on Jason’s face and hair.
“I just have to grab it and I’ll be able to banish the whole thing,” Albert announced.
Kennedy picked up two covers from the warm Hors d’oeuvre trays and said, “I’ll distract it.” With a few long strides, she made it to Jason and whispered, “Sorry and I’ll save you.” then she pecked him on the cheek. “Yum, strawberry icing.”
“Try to get it to run to me,” Albert said.
Banging her trays at the obviously marked tree, she said, “I was being sappy. Are you ent-ertained? Wood you please move toward the knight? No pining and no barking!”
The tree let out a horrifying shrieking noise and ran toward Kennedy.
“You said distract, not taunt,” Albert said, sounding amused.
“It’s following me, so it’s distracted,” she yelled. “Come on tree, are you that easy to needle?”
Despite Kennedy running as fast as she could, the tree was catching up. “Hold on,” she said. “It’s a tree!” Turning around with her makeshift shields, she braced for impact. Surprised, the tree reversed course right into the Gatekeeper.
Putting his hands on the tree’s branches, he shouted, “Ga Bort!” and the tree disappeared, replaced by an equal mass of clear pine scented goo. It was followed a second later by the rest of the trees outside and a wave of goo that covered the windows.
Everyone started to wake up and as Kennedy was distracted, the knight tried to walk away. “Albert, stay and enjoy the party,” she said, before running to check on Jason and the boys.
“If you insist,” he replied, making a magical gesture that transformed his armour into formal clothes.
The guests who had run away had been trapped in the lobby but now they were moving back to the party. It wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen in Westmeath. Not even this year.
Later, as everyone was enjoying good food and drink, minus a strawberry Yule log cake, Jason said, “The thing that bothers me about the whole situation is that I didn’t get to make a single tree pun.”
Kennedy kissed his now-clean cheek and replied, “Next time, when you’re not frozen. But I always have you covered, just leaf it to me.”
The story was written by Jen and Éric Desmarais with the help of Dragon Desmarais.
Assassins! Accidental matchmakersMonsters! Incidental Wedding GuestsCrushing ItWinging It
Saturday the 13th of December, 2003 – Westmeath, Ontario
They were halfway down the corridor to the cafeteria before the music reached their ears.
“Maybe that’ll be you in a few years,” Kennedy said to her teenage brother, Tommy.
He cocked his head, listening. “Nah, that’s a string quartet. I don’t plan on changing instruments.”
Jason chuckled. “They don’t get the same band year after year. You have a chance.”
“I think I’d rather spend my time eating that delicious smelling food,” Tommy replied. “And dancing with my boyfriend,” he added, squeezing Carter’s hand.
“I love the variety of decorations,” Carter said. “You’d think the mishmash of cultures would be chaotic, but it works really well.”
“You should tell Amita that,” Kennedy said. “This party is all her doing. She’s been talking about it for weeks.”
“Oh, it’s Amita now?” Jason murmured. “You finally managed to drop the ‘doctor’?”
Kennedy grimaced. “She had me practise. To her face. I still feel awkward about it, though.”
The corridor opened up to the large room, and the teenage boys halted in awe, almost tripping the older couple.
“I forget that you’ve never visited me at work,” Kennedy said. “We’ve had school groups in for field trips. Didn’t you come last year, Carter?”
“Yeah, but there weren’t five ginormous Christmas trees in the building then,” he said, shaking his head.
“We’re supposed to come in early January,” Tommy said absentmindedly, eyes wide as he took in the two full walls of floor-to-ceiling windows.
Through them, even with the lighting creating a mirror effect, they could make out the snowy courtyard and the fields beyond.
Carter recovered first. “They’re making some of the Everdome recipes we brought back with us! Come on!” He grabbed Tommy’s hand and pulled him to the buffet tables.
Kennedy was about to follow them, but Jason tugged her hand, pulling her against him. He pressed his nose to her neck, his fingers trailing down the mostly bare skin of her back as he inhaled deeply.
Her knees went weak. “Jason?” she murmured.
“Have I told you exactly how much I want to tear this dress off you?”
Kennedy bit her lip to hold in her laughter. Her emerald green dress, styled after the iconic Jessica Rabbit dress, never failed to drive him wild. “Many times. But if you tear it, I can’t wear it again.”
“The torture would end,” he teased.
“Excuse me,” said a new voice.
They side-stepped out of the doorway and she pinned him against the wall. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“That waistcoat and your rolled up sleeves are doing things to me.”
He grinned at her. “What kind of things, and can I get involved?”
Kennedy walked her fingers up the buttons on his chest. “Absolutely. When we get home.” She pulled away. “But right now, I want food, and then I want to dance with my handsome husband.”
Jason looked around comedically. “Where is he?”
She laughed and caught his chin in her hand. “Right where he’s supposed to be.” She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “Let’s be sociable.”
“If we must,” he groaned dramatically.
“Oh good, I was hoping I would get to say hello before the New Year,” Dr. Amita teased them when they approached the near-groaning buffet tables.
“You outdid yourself,” Jason said. “How will you surpass this next year?”
Amita waved a hand. “Pssh, nobody will remember this one next year.”
“I remember that you only had four trees last year, and this time you’ve got five,” Kennedy pointed out.
“Is it some sort of pardonable offence that you cut down trees to bring inside?” Jason asked.
Amita raised an eyebrow. “I only cut down trees from the side of the family that I don’t like,” she said dryly.
They glared at each other for a moment before Amita chuckled, followed by Jason. “You know they’re replantable trees,” she said.
“And yet I will continue to pretend you murder your family members every year,” he replied.
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I forget that you two go way back. I should’ve known Jason wouldn’t insult someone like that otherwise.”
“Go dance. You haven’t fulfilled the romantic quota for the night yet.” Amita shooed them onto the dance floor.
“We can be romantic and eat cheese!” Kennedy protested half-heartedly.
“You like this song,” Jason said, sweeping her into his arms. “One dance and then we can feed each other bites of cheese.”
“It doesn’t have to be cheese,” she replied. “Oh, look at the boys! They’re so cute.”
They were swaying slowly in place near the big tree in the middle of the dance floor, looking deep into each other’s eyes.
“We can’t let them out-cute us!” Jason teased.
“I don’t think the word ‘cute’ ever crossed my mind when it came to you,” Kennedy said thoughtfully.
“Oh?” He spun her under his arm.
“No. More like hot, handsome, jaw-droppingly gorgeous…” She laughed when he flushed. “Okay, maybe now you’re a little cute.”
“Whoa, watch out—” Jason pulled her against him, away from the couple they almost bumped into.
The other couple didn’t move.
Jason frowned. “Are you two alright?” he asked.
Kennedy circled them. “They’re frozen in place,” she observed before scanning the room. Several other people were not moving either. “Tommy,” she breathed, whipping around to the teenagers. They hadn’t moved since the last time she’d looked over at them. “Oh no, mom’s going to kill me!” she groaned.
A flavourless take on spy movies with absolutely nothing new to add.
Score: 0
Characters
Together, the main actors have great banter, and all the supporting cast are fantastic, but apart or talking spy stuff, it’s bad.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
Romance and Christmas dialogue is excellent, but the cop or spy dialogue is terrible.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The movie is obviously low budget but visually they do a great job with what they have. A few sets look ridiculous but overall pretty good, and the cinematography is decent.
The music is a nice combination of the two genres and does a great job.
Score: 1
Fun
Most of the movie had me shaking my head at how bad it was but the chemistry and banter between the leads was fun. The rest of the family felt pretty much the same. I could actually see the large thought bubble over my wife’s head that said, “I could write this better.”
Score: 0.5
Overall
This movie is only entertaining on the charisma and chemistry of its stars. Anyone who enjoys spies will be disappointed, anyone who enjoys Christmas romance will see it once and forget about it.
We will be at the Queer Christmas Craft Fair tomorrow (Saturday November 16th!) Come join us.
Get ready for the Queer Christmas Craft Fair at The Good Companions – it’s going to be a holiday shopping spree like no other!
️ When: November 16th Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM Where: The Good Companions (670 Albert Street) FREE PARKING!!
Prepare for an unforgettable day full of festive vibes, fabulous finds, and a whole lotta cheer! We’re bringing you 23 amazing vendors from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in and around Ottawa, all serving up an irresistible mix of treasures. You can expect dazzling jewelry, cozy knitwear, vibrant artwork, luxurious artisanal soaps, locally sourced honey, flavor-infused coffee beans, unique speedo’s and more. These one-of-a-kind gifts will have your holiday shopping done in style!
And while you’re shopping up a storm, treat yourself to our famous homemade chilli and cornbread combo for just $6.50! Not only will it hit the spot, but every dollar helps The Good Companions keep bringing diverse and inclusive programs to life.
This is the perfect event for everyone who loves to support, celebrate, and show up for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community!
Allies, friends, and festive souls,
Let’s make this season sparkle together – see you there!
Get ready for the Queer Christmas Craft Fair at The Good Companions – it’s going to be a holiday shopping spree like no other! 
️ When: November 16th
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: The Good Companions (670 Albert Street) FREE PARKING!!