Eine samtige Bescherung

This is a charming film that contains all the best things; romance, humor, and animals. It's rare you find two extremely likable leads yet Nine Lives of Christmas has managed to do just that.

Sustad is an underused actress whose roles are usually only supporting. She is wonderful as a lead. Beautiful with a wonderfully expressive face, she needs to be cast as the main character in so much more. Routh is eye candy, but he does it so well. Their chemistry is believable and I enjoyed every second of this movie. For you Hallmark fans, I highly recommend putting this at the top of your watch list.

I found this film by chance whilst flicking through my television channels. I was not familiar with any of the actors except Gregory Harrison who once starred in a Christmas film with Olivia Newton John. I am often told that I didn't marry because I don't like to make commitments which is pretty true for me. Because of that I felt some sympathy for Brandon Routh's fireman character. However, the delightful Kimberley Sustad was perfect for the role as a young woman with a love for animals who eventually fans the flame of love in the fireman's heart. This is a much better than average Christmas film even though we all know that it is going to turn out well in the end.

This is a typical Hallmark Christmas romance movie, but more captivating than most. Of course, you know how everything will turn out, but the process depends upon how attractive and appealing the main characters are. Both leads in this film, Brandon Routh as fireman Zachary Stone and Kimberly Sustad as veterinary student Marilee White, are A-one. They are both instantly likable (in Miss Sustad's case exceedingly lovable) and romance lovers will immediately be rooting for them and intrigued by how they will get together.

OK, this may be enough, but then throw in the animal characters, and those who are pet owners or who love animals will find the two cats adorable. And the pets are not there just for their attraction, but they play essential roles in the plot. So what we have is indeed a warm and fuzzy (pun intentional) love story that is just fun to sit back and enjoy without expecting anything more than that--it is enough.

My wife and I enjoyed the movie so much that we purchased a copy of the short novel by Sheila Roberts that it is based upon. The plot of the book has some major differences, but the adaptation for the screenplay was very well done and was true to the overall effect of the novel.

I would love to see Kimberly Sustad featured in more Hallmark movies. She is such a talented and endearing actress, with a different kind of beauty all her own--a unique look that is far more interesting than that of the cookie-cutter Miss America types.

If you're a cat person, check out the Hallmark sweet movie, The Nine Lives of Christmas. If you're a dog person, check out The Search for Santa Paws. My fellow feline lovers will adore this one about cat playing cupid with an unlikely pair. Okay, that's not exactly the premise, but it does happen.

Handsome firefighter Brandon Routh gets adopted by a stray orange marmalade kitty when he wanders into his house and refuses to leave. Brandon doesn't have the ideal lifestyle for a pet, but he can't help himself and the kitty quickly becomes the station's mascot. Meanwhile, Kimberley Sustad is struggling to afford her tuition and keep her job at a pet store, and also to keep her landlord from finding out she has a cat in her apartment. They meet buying cat food, and even though one wants commitment and one doesn't, they just might fall in love. Even if this movie didn't take place during Christmas, and even if there weren't cats in it, I'd really like it. The dialogue and chemistry are refreshingly natural. Brandon is very convincing as a bachelor afraid of commitment, supported and egged on by his coworkers and friends Gregory Harrison, Dalias Blake, and Sean Tyson. Kimberley is equally convincing as a woman with other priorities besides love, but who feels pain as deep as the next person. Check out this sweet kitty Christmas movie; it'll surprise you how much you'll enjoy it.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE

Zachary is a handsome bachelor who enjoys the liberties of being single. When a stray cat adopts Zach as his owner, Zach falls in love with the little guy in spite of the fact that he wants to stay away from responsibility. His new pet brings him into contact with Merilee White, a beautiful woman who is Zach's opposite. Through his new pet, Zach begins to see that being accountability-free isn't as fulfilling as he thought and that the wrong woman might just be the perfect match.

Now I have been a Brandon Routh fan since "Superman Returns". I think if that film had a better Lois Lane then Brandon would have become a household name.

What is great about this film is that the relationships people have with one another "feel real". I love the relationship between Brandon and his boss.

Now we all know how these Christmas films will end and this is no different. However it's the journey that takes to wonderful and almost unexpected places!