Hallmark

A Keller Christmas Vacation – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film A Keller Christmas Vacation.

Story

A nice fusion of European vacation movie and Christmas tropes. The family dynamic is wholesome and funny why still being believable. The story was a nice change from the usual formula.

Score: 1

Characters

Each character was flawed but lovable and despite some annoying choices everyone held their own and I never got annoyed when the movie changed focus from one sibling to another.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue was cheesy but had some hints of genuine emotion. I’m not going to be quoting this one but I’m also not going to cringe.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals were okay but they managed to film on location and still make everything feel like it was shot on a sound stage.

The music was unintrusive but festive.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I’m not usually a fan of family movies that have a parent declaring they’re sick but this was handled well. It was nice that they didn’t treat it as an instant death sentence instead of a long term degenerative condition.

It was light, fluffy, and well acted. Everyone enjoyed it.

Score: 1

Overall

This is a family Christmas movie with a believable family dynamic and lots of fun moments. I think this will be in our yearly rotation.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

A Newport Christmas – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film A Newport Christmas.

Story

I like the fantasy aspects of it, and despite being utterly predictable for the time travel, it was a fun story overall. I found it interesting and a little odd that things disappeared but no one’s memories of those things disappeared.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main character and love interest were a fun “light” version of grumpy/sunshine. I find the age and timeline a little off and a little sanitized, but they were fun and had chemistry.

I was a little annoyed that they introduced a “genre savvy” character and didn’t use him most of the movie.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was mostly good; cheesy with some very sweet moments.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were good but felt a little too set-like. At times, everything felt like a filmed play.

The music was lovely.

Score: 0.5

Fun

Other than guessing the ending when reading the movie description, I really enjoyed the movie. The rest of the family including the 9yo also loved it. The 6yo was bored during some of the longer talking sequences.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice addition to the Christmas fantasies from Hallmark. The acting is decent and the time travel gimmick doesn’t get in the way of the love story.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

The More the Merrier – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film The More the Merrier.

Story

The hospital setting for a Hallmark style romance was a little jarring at first. Being used to medical dramas, I had to remind myself that no one was going to die. Once I got over that, I found the story a great twist on the holiday formula.

Score: 1

Characters

For once, the female lead wasn’t the one moving in from the big city and no one had to give up their careers or lives. The two mains were played with more honest emotion than I’m used to from this genre, and the community a great addition.

The acting still felt a little rushed, like the actors hadn’t had the time to fully process the material, and there were a few odd things for a hospital staff.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was fairly witty and I really liked the faster pace of dialogue between the leads.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The snow storm measured in “feet instead of inches” didn’t look that bad. Other than that, the sets were pretty and the camera work was solid.

The music was unremarkable but in this case that’s a good thing.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It was a lot of fun. Very festive and happy with the babies, and the whole family liked it.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice twist on the Hallmark formula that will leave you smilling.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Christmas at the Catnip Café – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Christmas at the Catnip Café.

Story

Once of the most formulaic Christmas romances I’ve watched this year. It was extremely predictable.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters were cute. The male lead was charismatic and came off as a sweetheart. The main girl was mostly just lost and confused. Both were played well.

The animals really stole the show.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

It shows how fast it was written that the dialogue felt unpolished. Almost overly scripted.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The location was great and decorating was amazing.

The music was lovely and nicely instrumental.

Score: 1

Fun

I really enjoyed this. It’s cute cats and cute people. The whole family seemed to enjoy it. The only issues I had were technical and can be attributed to Hallmark rushing these movies instead of talking the time to do it right.

Score: 1

Overall

A cute and formulaic holiday romance but let’s be honest, we’re watching for the cats.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Mystery on Mistletoe Lane – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Mystery on Mistletoe Lane.

Story

The story had a nice combination of treasure hunt, mystery, and romance. It was a little predictable but in a good way.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters felt bland, and despite the actors being really good in other shows, the acting felt forced.

Score: 0

Dialogue

Most of the dialogue wasn’t very memorable but there were some nice sappy moments.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals are competent and show they were filmed quickly.

The music was okay but not memorable.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie was okay but not very memorable. Everyone liked it enough and the treasure hunt kept us engaged, but mostly it was just okay.

Score: 1

Overall

Unmemorable and very bland. If you like mysteries, you’ll guess all the twists in advance.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Holiday Mismatch – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Holiday Mismatch.

Story

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.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

The Christmas Charade – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film The Christmas Charade.

Story

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.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

The Hunters (2013) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2013 film The Hunters.

Story

This is a mashup of Indiana Jones and Spy Kids, but it works. The story beats are predictable but interesting, and the world building was fun.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There are a few times where I think the writers got confused about which brother was which but besides that, they were passable characters. Thankfully the acting was significantly better than the dialogue.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There was a lot of useless explaining and some mixed-up lines, along with some strange reasons for doing anything. That being said, at least the writers understood how to write a romance subplot.

Score: 0

Visuals and Music

The special effects were bad but the locations were nice (Yay BC!). The fight choreography was passable.

The music did its job but wasn’t particularly good.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I enjoyed it but it wasn’t great. The kids got bored a few times.

I usually love when this sort of story mixes myths and reality but the entire made up story of Cinderella’s shoe was frustratingly under-researched and under-utilized.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A fun take on the archeology/adventure genre but its special effects, terrible dialogue, and poor research take away from the overall enjoyment.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

The Holiday Sitter – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film The Holiday Sitter.

Story

This is the Hallmark Christmas formula at it’s best. I appreciate that they took a little time to show how hard it can be for gay men to date and the trauma involved.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I was worried at the beginning because the main character was a complete ass, but once he calmed down and started to open up about his feelings, he became a lot better. He was actually quite charming and funny when he wasn’t trying too hard to be a jerk.

The handyman next door who just wanted a family was charming and adorable and the two of them had pretty good chemistry.

The kids were cute if forgettable and the rest of the cast was good.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Some of the dialogue was terrible and the only thing that kept them from making the movie unwatchable was the earnestness and quality of the actors.

There are also a few cute quips and lots of family adorableness.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The movie was well filmed and showed that each shot was well thought out from a framing point of view. It bugs me in these movies when people leave on vacation and they still have food out. In this one his popcorn machine was still filled with popcorn.

Early in the movie the little girl wins a massive quantity of stuffed reindeer toys; from that point forward there are stuffed reindeer in almost every scene and it was a lot of fun looking for them.

The music was standard and did it’s job.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This is a Hallmark Christmas movie. You should know in advance if you’re into that sort of thing. I thought the romance was fun and the movie was easy to watch with little to no forced drama.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice gay twist on the Hallmark Holiday movie formula with two actors that had great chemistry. It’s cute, fluffy, and warm; everything a holiday romance should be.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Help for the Holidays  – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2012 film Help for the Holidays.

Story

Adorable story that didn’t take itself too seriously. Everything is wrapped up nicely and well explained.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main character is adorable beyond reason. They manage to make her innocent and full of wonder without infantilizing her.

The kids were adorable and better actors than most, and the love interest was appropriately attractive and sweet.

The actor who played Santa was fantastic and did a great omniscient Santa.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Lots of holiday sweet and lots of optimism. There were several very appropriate confused moments that made for great humour.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The camera work is great, the sets simple but pretty, and the sparse special effects are good.

The music is jingly but forgettable.

Score: 0.5

Fun

If you like saccharine sweet and adorable Christmas movies, this one’s for you. Everyone in the family that watched it loved it.

Score: 1

Overall

Filled with the holiday spirit and lots of adorable charm, if you like your holiday movies with a little more magic, this is a great choice.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5