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I must admit, it took me some time to get into this one, but if you can get past the first 30 minutes or so, it turns out to be a pretty good Christmas movie. Leaving the shortcomings aside, 'Angel Falls Christmas' is a heart-warming story with some noble and decent underlining messages about love and relationships, the work vs. Life balance, and about having confidence and believing in yourself. The story follows Ally (played by Jessica Lowndes), an ER doctor who loves her work but is struggling with findings a balance in her daily life, especially, finding time for her love life. The result is a heartbreaking break-up with Josh (played by David Reale) shortly before Christmas. Consequently, her Christmas is not looking very festive this year until she meets Gabe (played by Chad Michael Murray), an angel posing as a barista who helps Ally through this difficult time and regain the Christmas spirit she once had years ago (before the loss of her parents). And so, our story begins as we watch these two grow closer as they check off all the activities on Ally's Christmas list. As others have already pointed out, the story here is similar to the 2017 Hallmark movie, 'Christmas in Angel Falls'. The concepts are similar, but the outcomes are different. If I had to choose between the two, the Hallmark one is (marginally) better, both in terms of the writing and acting. Anyway, the strength of this story, I felt, is the dialogue between Ally and Gabe, the heart-to-heart scenes they have together. The dialogue here is warm and touching with some decent underlining messages to boot. One of the issues I have with the script is the dual romance storyline for Ally: Gabe and Ally vs. Josh and Ally. The first is unsatisfying. The writers could have done a better job of setting this up via Gabe's character. For example, a backstory would have been nice. I thought the acting, overall, was pretty good. Now I agree, Murray had a 'stiff' performance (as other reviewers point out) for roughly the first 30 minutes of the film. This, I believe, is intentional. I think he is trying to portray an angel not accustomed to human emotions, hence the stiffness in his acting, especially early on in the story. Murray's manner, expressions, and dialogue do begin to change as we watch him fall for Ally (experience emotions) as the story progresses. And this is what I think he is going for in the film. Did it work? Well, it did for me, but as you can see in other reviews, it did not for others. That said, the scenes where he teaches Ally life lessons or is encouraging her are quite lovely to watch on-screen. He does a brilliant job of portraying Gabe's passion and feelings for Ally, portraying a sense of sincerity, a sense of caring for Ally that is convincing. Lowndes is at her best in these moments as well. Indeed, in these scenes, the chemistry between them is great. The scene where Lowndes and he sing/play Noelle is one. Their final scene together is another. Lovely scenes to watch. The supporting cast is strong. Samora Smallwood (as Ally's best friend Dawn), Reale (as Josh), and Jane Luk (as Maureen, the other Angel in this one) all have excellent performances. Finally, the movie has plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer from baking cookies and decorating a tree to some gorgeous (Christmassy) decorations and scenery throughout. All in all, 'Angel Falls Christmas' is a pretty good Christmas movie. Not one of the best, nor one of the worse this season. If you can manage to get past the first 30 minutes or so, you're likely to enjoy the rest.

Hallmark did a wonderful job of picking the closing act to this year's 'Countdown to Christmas'. 'Tis the Season to be Merry' is a lovely Christmas romance with a well-written and entertaining script, brilliant acting, and some remarkable chemistry between the leads. The story follows Merry (played by Rachael Leigh Cook), a social media influencer who specializes in love and relationships. Merry has just finished her first book on the rules of love based on her relationship with her fiancé named Dale. However, there is a catch, there is no fiancé; she made Dale up. She decides to accompany her best friend and editor, Darlene (played by Amy Groening), to snow-covered Vermont to spend Christmas and to figure out what to do. In Vermont, she soon runs into Adam (played by Travis van Winkle), her best friend's brother, and sparks begin to fly. Will Merry take a chance on her feelings for Adam? Will she figure out what to do about her book and rules of love? The story is an engaging one from start to finish. The writers do a great job of developing and building the romance between Merry and Adam as the story progresses. You, in a way, get to watch this grow on-screen, which is one of the appealing aspects of the movie. The dialogue and interaction between the two are great. Though not a straight-up comedy, there are multiple scenes with some nice banter and comedic moments. The writers also do a decent job of weaving together (in 84 minutes) three different love stories in this one, all of which I enjoyed. As others have pointed out, though a minor shortcoming, I did find the story regarding the parents and the sale of the family farm to be a bit off/odd. Not discussing the selling of the (third-generation) family farm and business with the children seemed in direct conflict with the close family bond that the writers wanted to portray in the story. There is a disconnect between the two, and the writers' attempt to square the circle, so to speak, is unsatisfying, I'm afraid. What makes all this work on-screen, of course, is the acting, and it was brilliant. Cook's portrayal of Merry is fun and playful, and she has this sort of sweet and innocent vibe to her performance that is very appealing to watch in this genre of film. Van Winkle's performance is also impressive. His portrayal of Adam is both fun and easy-going while at the same time warm and sincere. A perfect combination for a romance-comedy of this nature. What stood out for me is the chemistry between the two. Put simply: it is outstanding. They do a great job of building the attraction they have for each other as the story progresses. Indeed, you could feel and see the tension, sparks, and electricity between them. Impressive performances. Finally, the movie also has a nice warm Christmas vibe to it with plenty of Christmas spirit and festive cheer. All in all, 'Tis the Season to be Merry' is a wonderful Christmas romance, one of Hallmark's best this season. I highly recommend it.

I was excited to watch 'The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls', as I loved the one last year. From the 'Handsome Justice' clips and father jokes to the maniacal sibling rivalry, 'The Christmas House' was one of my favorite Christmas movies in 2020. And it was one of the funniest Hallmark Christmas movies I have ever seen. So, as you can imagine, 'Deck Those Halls' had a lot to live up to, and I am happy to report that it does not disappoint. It is a fun, clever, and cute film with several laughing-out-loud moments and even a couple of touching scenes to boot. The story follows the Mitchell brothers, Mike (played by Robert Buckley) and Brandon (played by Jonathan Bennett), as they compete against each other on a TV competition show for the King of Christmas. Who can create the best Christmas House this year? Hopefully, the two don't end up destroying everything that gets in their way. The script is great. The writers do a wonderful job again with the dialogue, especially between the brothers. The sibling fights are not only fun to watch but also feel real, a sign of some good writing. This time around the writers spend more scenes developing Mike and Brandon's (back)stories. That is, they add depth to these characters. As a result, we get to know them better, allowing the viewer to invest more in and engage more with their stories. The writers again do a wonderful job of developing the dialogue and interaction between the family members more broadly. Indeed, the family dynamics is what makes these two movies so successful, I think. The setup of the movie in this one is also fun to watch, as there is (competition show) interview footage of family members where they discuss the Christmas House, family traditions, and themselves. These are some of the funniest scenes in the movie. By the way, the magic guy makes an appearance in this one too. Speaking of magic, the cast, like in the first, is brilliant. The chemistry between the family is what makes all this work on-screen. Buckley and Bennett again have impressive performances with some great back-and-forth. I also appreciated the worries and vulnerability they brought to their characters, though in different ways. Though less screen time than the first, Treat Williams (as the Dad) and Sharon Lawrence (as the Mom) still have great performances. They were fun to watch, making me laugh or chuckle a few times (especially their interviews). The rest of the cast also does a great job this time around. Finally, there is plenty of Christmas cheer in this one, as you might expect when the story is partly about the Christmas decoration competition. All in all, 'The Christmas House 2' is a lot of fun from start to finish with some brilliant performances and great (on-screen) chemistry between the cast. It's one of Hallmark's best this season. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a third movie.