Movie Review: Our Holiday Story - thank goodness for the B story!

Six stars. Solid. Could be better

When you already know the ending of the A story, the movie needs to do a good job of showcasing the journey, since the destination is already set. Our Holiday Story brings us on this journey, but the stakes are low and does only a passable job at entertaining along the way. 

The A story is the retelling of how Dave (Warren Christie) and Nell (Nikki DeLoach) met 8 years earlier. When we first meet them they are together, married and parents. They are asked to retell this mild tale by the boyfriend of Dave’s daughter, who missed a train, forcing her boyfriend to meet the dad and step mom alone. 

If the story focused on their nearly decade old romance alone, we’d be in for a snoozefest, but never fear, the B story is here! Johanna (Sydney Scotia) and the aforementioned boyfriend Chris (Gavin Langelo) are having trouble (sorta) expressing their very strong and lasting love for eachother, because you know . . . when you really love someone in that mutual way, the real trouble is saying it . . . right?

Throw in a job title of comptroller, a Christmas festival, lots of talk of fruit cake and ugly sweaters, missed trains, dead phone batteries, and missed opportunities– oh, and constantly lying and you have the makings of a low stakes, albeit sweet movie. 

Cast Kudos: 9 stars for Sydney Scotia. She plays 16 and 24 (I think), well and differently. She’s just a joy to watch in this movie because she’s so happy with a great smile, but then things go south and you can feel that too. 

Alternative titles: A Christmas of Missed Chances; How a Comptroller stole Christmas; Meet the Christmas Parents. 

Originally aired Nov. 2 on Hallmark. Watched Nov.

2024 Christmas Movie Rating System

Each holiday movie will receive a rating by stars.

Movie Review: A Carol for Two. Final song, can’t save it

5 stars. Nope. Background noise only.

A final singing number, which is quite catchy and fun, was not enough to save this Broadway dud from getting cancelled from my theater list. Our leads, Violette (Ginna Claire Mason) and Alex (Jordan Litz) work at as singing servers in New York. They have dreams of making it big on Broadway and we’re supposed to be rooting for them.

The trouble is the Cyrano de Bergerac storyline where Alex feeds his cousin Brad (Gino Anania) all the info on Violette and somehow almost wins her over with his yule log (don’t ask, it ain’t sexy). As expected, it all comes crashing down.

Not to put too fine a point on this whole thing, but Brad is the worst. We could have had a helpless in love guy in this part, but he’s made to be an absolute fool and a pure annoyance to everyone who knows him. Not loveable, but quite creepy. This character rips a star or two off this movie.

I enjoyed Mason in A Holiday Spectacular (2022, 6 stars) and the under appreciated A Heidelberg Holiday (2023, 7 stars). When she sings the final song, it’s magic, but when she’s made to sing public domain holiday songs, it’s a waste.
Litz too, is better than the material he’s given. Let the man sing! I see leading man for many years to come, if given the right material.

Cast Kudos: Hallmark veteran John B. Lowe in a cameo as the glitzy producer. Love that guy.

Alternate titles: Christmas comes to Broadway. Cast for Christmas. Singing for supper.

Originally aired on Hallmark Nov. 1, 2024. Watched Nov. 2, 2024

Movie review: The 5-Year Christmas Party is worth the wait

7 stars. Enjoyed it.

In the 5-Year Christmas Party, two theater majors spend 5 consecutive Christmases in each other’s lives, acting out the highs and the lows of post-college. Unlike many Hallmark movies where a single act of kindness means forever love, this tale is grounded in the realities of real life. Things like jobs, family and dreams matter to the leads, and guide their decisions on relationships or other commitments. Aside from an ending that leaves a bit too much to the imagination, this is a solid, non-Old School Hallmark movie that I would recommend.

Our lead is Katie Findlay, who plays Alice, who really wants to make it in theater as a director. Our leading man is Jordan Fisher, who plays Max, an aspiring actor. Kudos all around. These two are great together and definitely play different versions of themselves over the course of 5-years. Success or failure is subtle, but they showcase the differences well.  

Credit to writer Zag Hug, a Hallmark vet, who also wrote the Ghosts of Christmas Always (9 stars), which is one of the best Hallmark movies of all time 

Major kudos to production on this one. Clearly on a budget, we re-use the same party house, kitchen, party venue, alley, parking lot and rooftop—and some of the same actors every year. They dress them up a little (emphasis on little) bit differently each time, but it’s reminiscent of a play where moving a chair or changing the lighting signals a different act. Also, the changing of the season montages were great.

This movie is more sincere than fun, which means realistic laughs, love and tears.

Goofy notes

• They really hate catering the law firm Christmas party. I need to know more!

• Forcing people to become carolers is not a real thing and nobody should do that.

•  I think Jordan Fisher must be wearing lifts, right? He’s great, but she’s pretty tall 

• They make a joke about oranges and scurvy. I don’t think it landed, but I applaud the effort.

• I love that they bonded over watching Ashley Williams (Hallmark) movies. Meta!

• I feel like these long gaps between seeing each other could have meant they might find another person to love. If I got ghosted for a year, I would probably not be so happy to see the person who did me dirty.

• What happened between Daniel (Jeff Avenue) and Micah (Olly Atkins)? They were together for years 2-4, then Micah is MIA in year five? Come on Hallmark. You gave us a gay couple and then didn’t stick the landing. Where’d he go?

Cast Kudos: The really, really bad mustache on Jeff Avenue for year 4. Just no.

Alternative titles: The show must go on, for 5-years; Catering my life story; Christmas Party Again; Alice and Max take the long way to love.

 Originally aired on Hallmark Oct. 27; watched Nov. 1.

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Big Sky Lake
If you’re looking for something to occupy your time until the next Hallmark Christmas movie season starts again, I’d be honored if you would check out my latest book series, Big Sky Lake. My latest novel Fire Canyon releases Jan. 20, 2025 on Amazon. In Big Sky Lake you’ll find clean small town romance stories, a bit of drama and a happy romantic ending you can count on. Buy it now on Amazon.

Movie Review: The Christmas Charade fooled me, so good on them

Six stars: Solid. Could be better.

Spoilers ahead

When librarian Whitney, accidently slips into a date with an undercover FBI agent who is trying to stop a jewel heist, she learns that she has more to offer than just fire-safety tips to kids at book readings. This caper flick is entertaining, funny and offers some actual emotions amongst the twisty hijinks.  

Rachel Skarsten plays our lead, coupled with Josh (Corey Sevier), playing the exact same tired character he always plays. Sorry, not a fan. Skarsten was the Nanny in The Royal Nanny (2022), which was a dreadful movie where she plays MI5 agent, who has to become a nanny. I guess law enforcement is her typecast?  But she’s very likeable in this one and surprisingly grounded. I’ll continue to watch her movies.

I called the bad guy from the minute we saw him, then turned out to be wrong. So, I love that I was fooled. Nice work there.

Goofy notes section

• They go to a Christmas store, which might as well be Hallmark’s Christmas set decoration department to meet Mrs. Claus who makes jewelry as her side hustle. She needs “a few hours” to make an intricate replica necklace complete with a tracking device. Christmas magic anyone?

• Whitney quotes Die Hard, while crawling through air vents. Then declares it the best Christmas movie ever. A bit on the nose, but I’m here for it.

• The game night scene with the parents brings some actual emotion thanks to slow motion looks at our leading man, even if it is Sevier. Museum flag poles are very strong to hold two full grown adults. Bonus issue here—Josh doesn’t wear any hand protection while sliding down a rope for five or more stories from the rooftop.

• The jewel thief made a curious choice by asking a stranger to help plan the event where she steals multiple artifacts.

Questions remaining

• Was the thief’s hubby in on it, or just a finance guy?

Cast Kudos: The very brief appearance of Jefferson Brown, better known as Colton Landry from The Way Home. He plays an agent of some kind jumping from a roof in a TV movie Whitney watches in the opening of this movie. How is that for foreshadowing?

Alternative Titles: Steal the Heart of Christmas; FBI Blind Date; Stop My Parents are Retired FBI!

Originally aired Oct. 26 on Hallmark; watched Oct. 27.

Movie Review: Operation Nutcracker

Four stars: Not good. Sad face.

When a movie has the word “operation” in the title, it’s usually a sure bet that it will have some sort of detailed, military-style plan at the center of its plot. Not this movie. The operation is “let’s go look for a guy named Dave and keep missing him, because he has our nutcracker.”

In order for a charity ball to make enough money to build a new hospital wing, the nice rich folks are auctioning off an antique nutcracker. Yes, whatever someone will bid on this nutcracker will build an entire hospital in Boston. It’s so fancy in fact that it’s brought to Boston in a plain-Jane carry-on bag on a commercial flight. Oh, yeah, and it’s just wrapped in a towel—not locked case for protection. Oh, and our dopey leading man allows the bag to be checked and loses it. Yeah, this movie plot is not great.

A few things to watch for if you want to give it a go.

• The fake beard on our leading man in the first act of the movie

• The random men (I counted three) who are dancing/swaying alone in the final dance scene

• On the nose mentions of meet-cute and rom-coms

• Why is Ashley Newbrough always single? She seems so nice.

Cast Kudos: Nobody really stands out, but it’s interesting that Patrice Goodman and Darryl Hinds (Dave) both were secondary players in ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas. Which aired on Hallmark the weekend before this nutty movie.

Alternative Titles: What happens when you don’t use luggage tags; Hospital wings don’t cost a thing; Where’s Dave?; How to lose a Nutcracker in 7 days.

Aired: Oct. 25 on Hallmark. Watched Oct. 24.

Movie Review: Scouting for Christmas

Six Stars: Solid. Could be better.

Full disclosure—I was going to skip this one, but I’m glad I didn’t. Scouting for Christmas was a charming non-traditional family story. It didn’t break new ground but was perfectly enjoyable.

Ten-year-old Brooklyn (Audrey Wise Alvarez) is a Sunny Scout and loves baked goods and the guy who bakes them, Sir Bakes-A-Bunch, William (Carlo Marks). Brooklyn’s single mom Angela (Tamera Mowry-Housley), is a busy real estate agent who doesn’t like asking for help. She shows up late to things, which is apparently her worst quality as a human. Other than that, she’s pretty great.

Brooklyn and Angela enlist Sir Bakes-A-Bunch to audition to be the caterer/goodie table guy for the Sunny Scout holiday ball. The relationship building centers around that story line.

We also meet Dakota (James Paladino) who is Brooklyn’s dad, but I’m convinced he is 75% Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper. Look him up, you’ll see it too.

The meanie is Den Mom Elizabeth (Jaycie Dotin). She is easy to root against in all things. She’s judgy and snooty to a “working” mom who can’t possibly be a good mom, work and show up to things on time.

This is set in Washington state. They keep showing images of snowy Seattle. That’s not really a thing. We have other cities here, too. Maybe visit Leavenworth if you need a snowy Washington town. Also, nobody here has ever said “tri-state area,” if anything they would say, “the Northwest” which covers Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Also, we drink coffee (home of Starbucks), not tea.

Funniest line: When Brooklyn is asked what she wants for Christmas, she replies that she wants her dad to come home and her mom to be fun. Brooklyn’s friend replies, “Whoa. That’s deep. I want an electric scooter.”

Cast Kudos: Brooklyn (Audrey Wise Alvarez). She’s a very good child actor who is really the driving force of the whole movie.

Alternative Titles: Those who bake a lot, love a lot; Sunny Scout Ball;  A baker for Christmas; Christmas Matchmaker Meritt Badge

Originally aired on Hallmark Channel: Oct. 20. Watched: Oct. 26

Movie Review: Holiday Crashers is one janky movie

Five stars: Nope. Background noise only

Two women who work at an “invitation store” (apparently that’s a thing) decide to steal leftover invitations and crash extremely elaborate holiday parties a few times because they think their lives are going nowhere. The party crashing isn’t even a main theme in the film. It just happens to be a thing they do. I am not recommending this movie, therefore this review contains spoilers.

Lyndsy Fonseca plays Toni, a law school grad, who had a panic attack when taking the Bar Exam and did not become a lawyer (yet). She lives with her invitation store co-worker and bestie Bri, played to perfection by Daniella Monet. Bri likes to organize and give advice–I guess that’s her talent.. 

Toni meets up with Justin (Chris McNally), who is the CEO of an investment company which apparently only has just one lawyer, one office and five or so actual employees.  Toni and Justin, despite being model worthy folks, have absolutely no chemistry. Why do they like each other? What thing in Toni makes Justin a better man? What thing that Justin has, makes Toni change her ways. No growth. No good. I could go on about this storyline, but I just didn’t buy it. She’s a fake lawyer and it’s the end of the world for a while.

The secondary love story is way better. Bri meets a valet named Vinny (Jag Bal)who actually shows an interest in her and looks like he actually likes her. Our first couple should take note. They do some flirting and the big reveal is that he’s not a valet, he owns the company which may or may not be a big company. They never really say. But for fantasy sake, I’ll say he’s loaded. This couple actually gets married at the end of the movie. They are of Indian decent and Bri’s wedding dress is a chic Indian gown that was really great. I’d like to see this culture explored more in these movies. They do celebrate Christmas in India. Let’s look into that. 

It feels like Hallmark had two OK movies and they decided to blend them together and make one janky movie. Bri and Vinny deserved to be the headline couple of this movie. Justice for Bri and Vinny!! 

This movie was also not a Christmas movie. It takes place in the winter and people go to holiday parties, but it is not at all about Christmas. This movie fails the substitution test that tells us that if the holiday of Christmas featured in the movie could be swapped out for another holiday without material changes in the plot of said movie, then it’s not a Christmas movie. Adding snow, or mountains is not enough. Christmas doesn’t even occur in this movie. Huh? 

There are no children in Holiday Crashers, despite having multiple pregnant women. Christmas joy is best seen through the eyes of children. Pretty single people don’t exude Christmas cheer like a kid.

The lawyer's TV advertisements were very funny. They played Sia’s song “Snowman,” which is one of the best Christmas songs ever made. 

At one point in the film someone says, “Well, she did save us $2 billion.” This is not a normal thing to say, or a reasonable excuse for a lie.

This is the second year that Hallmark put Lyndsy Fonseca in a terrible movie. “Where Are You Christmas? (2023) was dreadful. But she starred in the wonderful “Next Stop, Christmas” (2022), so I’ll keep rooting for her. Come on Hallmark, help a girl out. 

Cast Kudos: Credit to Jag Bal who plays Vinny. I need more Vinny. Genuine fella who you could bring home to the parents. 

Alternative titles: Everyone Got a Sitter and Went to a Party; Fake Lawyer for Winter; I lied about being a lawyer, but I’ll save you $2 billion anyway; No Kids Christmas.

Aired on HallMark Channel: Oct. 19, 2024; watched Oct. 20, 2024

Big Sky Lake release day! Jump in, the water is fine

Big Sky Lake is now released and into the world! This novel is the first story I set in Big Sky Lake, Montana, but hopefully not the last.

Paperbacks and Kindle versions are available on Amazon and should be delivered by Christmas if you order right away!

If you enjoyed the story, please drop a review on Amazon or send me an email at dankolbet@gmail.com. Thanks for your support!

See you in the book aisles.

Book Review: Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey

Catriona Silvey writes beautiful prose, but it’s too much effort to wade through when the conclusion is so unsatisfactory.

I have a theory about this story. Let’s call it the ‘mixed paint theory.’ Drop massive blots of paints on a canvas, then swirl them together with a brush in a massive, intertwined mess that’s completely unrecognizable. Some people call that art. Other people might recognize the plot line of Catriona Silvey’s Meet Me in Another Life, a massive mix of confused story that’s not worth the effort.

Recently, I heard the phrase “is the juice worth the squeeze?” The short answer for this story is no. No, it’s not.

Santini and Thora keep meeting each other over and over as different versions of themselves. Each chapter serves mostly as a short story, which in isolation may work for some people with a lot of time on their hands. They are lovers, siblings (meh), acquaintances, etc. If you wade through the tedium, you may recognize vague clues (read my mixed paint theory) that lead to where this story is headed—or ends up—can’t decide which.

My expectations for this story were high, which may be why I’m so annoyed about the payoff of this novel. Time travel (which this story is definitely not) and living a life again and again is a wonderful, fun experiment. The best modern example of this is Ken Grimwood’s Replay (1986) where the same life is lived again and again with decisions driving the plot and creating the consequences. In Meet Me, the decisions of the characters mean nothing. They just chat endlessly until, apparently, they run out of things to say and the pages of the book go dry and float away.

Dig deep enough, you might find meaning, but again, is the juice worth the squeeze?  

2/5 stars. Pass on this one.