Letters at Christmas

The cover for the 2024 Christmas movie "Letters at Christmas" from writer and director Jim Burleson seemed extraordinarily goofy and campy. And thus, I have to admit that I was sort of expecting a light-hearted Christmas movie.

But turns out that the storyline in the movie is rather depressing, dealing with a couple going through divorce. The movie doesn't really have the traditional Christmas cheerful spirit to it, and that made for a rather gloomy viewing experience.

Some of the dialogue was really cringeworthy to bear witness to. It felt very forced and awkward, doesn't really coming off as natural conversation between the characters.

The only face on the cast list that I was familiar with was Dean Cain. The acting performances in the movie were a mixed bag of nuts, some of the lines and interactions were soulless, and other performances were fair. However, they could have found a better actor for the role of Luke, as actor Raejon Jones wasn't really skilled.

If you enjoy Christmas movies, then "Letters at Christmas" is not one that I would recommend you to sit down and spend 84 minutes on watching. I made it halfway through this sluggish attempt of a Christmas movie before I tossed the towel in the ring out of sheer and utter boredom.

My rating of writer and director Jim Burleson's 2024 movie "Letters at Christmas" lands on a two out of ten stars.

There wasn't anything keeping me in this movie while I watched it. I never got invested in anything. Junior is the most interesting character because I never knew what was going on with that guy, what's he gonna do next, is he scatterbrain or what? The actors seem good but aren't given great dialogue to work with. Some shots could end far sooner than they do. The premise is reasonable, a parent trap- kind of thing, but I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. I didn't think that any character liked anyone else that much, except Nadia and the kids. Maybe I wasn't listening with the volume up loud enough but I didn't seem to hear much background music and it made everything feel tense. I was reminded of Birdemic multiple times while watching but without the CGI and dancing. And birds.

Letters at Christmas is an incredible film about love and the hardships that come with it. With amazing acting, cinematography, and writing, this film not only got me in the Christmas spirit, but also brought up many more emotions.

The story takes place at a hotel, with a couple (Dean Cain, Janeshia Adams-Ginyard) wanting to sell it in order to have enough money to divorce. However, their children (Hanna Huffman, Raejon Jones), find old toys and love letters in a wall - letters that were written back in the 1950s. They attempt to get their parents to stay together by forging love letters, all while finding out more about the writers of the found letters.

One thing I adore about this film is the storyline about the writers of the found letters. That impacted me and I wanted the best for them, despite knowing how it turns out. The letters are written beautifully, especially one poem. The acting is quite good; I especially appreciated the acting from Dean Cain, Janeshia Adams-Ginyard, who plays Jason and Nadia, and teenage Laura (Elizabeth Hemmingsen). Each of them brings their character to life in a believable way, so much that it made me empathetic whenever something bad happened. The comedic acting is also great, particularly in Junior (Steven Micheal Quezada) - I laughed out loud multiple times the first time I watched it. The cinematography is great - making everything look real, and still very pretty. The background music is well selected, adding to the holiday spirit. My favorite part is the relationship between the two parents. All of their scenes together feel extremely real, and the chemistry between them feels natural. The kids' roles are well acted also, showing how parents' relationships can affect their children. The ensemble works so well together that they feel like a real family.

The film's message is to never give up on love, despite the challenges and obstacles that are in the way. Be forewarned that some racism is shown - it is shown negatively, however it's still present.

I give Letters at Christmas 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 18, plus adults. It is currently available to watch on Prime Video. By Isabella V., KIDS FIRST!

This could have been a decent Hallmark-esque Christmas time movie, but it fell quite short from making it the level of being a feel good movie for the holidays. The acting throughout the entire movie was some of the worst I've seen in a long time, and the storyline/writing/plot is far from being finished. There were frequent times through the movie where lines were delivered in a way that made it seem forced and awkward, and then the actors would just stare at each other in awkward silence. Very cringe-y and uncomfortable. Overall, I would definitely say it's not worth the time for watching it.

This is far from the worst thing I have ever seen but it's far from being The Godfather. The biggest consensus from all the reviews is the dialog or the writing in general. Everything is completely predictable and the dialog is clunky and awkward with zero character development. I'm unsure what method was used in developing the script, it just seemed that the end goal was to get this done asap and the movie is a complete wreck as a result. The acting is quite stale and the camera shots seem kind of uninspired. So-so production, but I seem to doubt the 3 million dollar price tag that is listed.