Please welcome the inaugural post of our new feature Quickies. Get your mind out of the gutter! Quickies are brief reviews of films that don’t need all the bells and whistles of our longer formatted reviews. Some of these films are older, lesser known, or just pop up on television during a specific time of the year. Please let us know what you think of this new format in the comments.
Photo: Hallmark Movie Channel
The Three Gifts
Starring: Dean Cain, Jean Louisa Kelly, Mimi Kennedy, Reginald VelJohnson, Dylan Sprayberry, Alex Zubarev, and Spencir Bridges.
During the holidays, a couple (Dean Cain and Jean Louisa Kelly) offer a temporary home to three orphaned boys well known for their bad behavior. When the boys begin to hope one of them will be adopted by the couple, they start a fierce competition.
Verdict: An enjoyable, albeit predictable, film about the true meaning of the holiday spirit. Sentimental. If you are easily moved to tears, keep the tissues by you. If you roll your eyes at knowing the ending within seconds, turn the channel.
Photo: Hallmark Movie Channel
Help for the Holidays
Starring: Summer Glau, John Brotherton, Dan Gauthier, Mason Cook, Izabela Vidovic, Eva La Rue
An elf takes a job as a nanny in order to help a family revive their Christmas spirit, which has dwindled over the years as the parents’ business has taken off. The elf, meanwhile, forms a bond with the kids and their uncle.
Verdict: A truly winning film. Glau is charming as Christine the elf. There’s no denying her chemistry with Brotherton, who plays the children’s uncle. Everyone is perfectly cast and the storyline is enjoyable rather than eye-roll inducing. It’s believable (or as believable a movie centered around an elf can be). Add to the yearly must-watch holiday fare list.
*Check back throughout the weekend for new reviews.
Summer Glau was really amazing, so charming and wonderful as an elf coming to Los Angeles to help a family recover the Christmas spirit; her smile would melt ice. It was such great entertainment for the family.
No wonder it was Hallmark’s most watched original movie of the year