Un Noël à la maison

This movie stands out in the Hallmark Christmas buffet as one of the best. Of course you have the usual Hallmark fare with a dose of Christmas magic. However, this movie is more subtle, intelligent, and thoughtful than most. They addition of the former boyfriend and his wife as significant characters in the movie added a dimension and a little bit of comedy to the picture.

The heroine had to make a life choice to continue to follow a dream that did not seem to be working out, (but maybe could if she continues to work on it) or to follow a new path for another dream. That is frankly a much more realistic choice pattern than the usual you can have it all theme for most movies or the Disney movie premise you must follow your dreams and if you do your dream will come true. The question in this matter is what happens when the dream does not appear to work out? This movie could be funny at times and in the right places that gives it a less melodramatic tone than a lot of these movies tend to have, especially in hour 2.

I have enjoyed Tis the season as much or more the third or fourth time around than when I first saw it. Which when you have a two month movie marathon is a good trait to have for Hallmark.

Also of note my nine scored is based on the genre and style of movie. A perfect Hallmark Christmas movie would be a 10. If you do not like the genre you are not going to see this movie the same way as I. So to be clear this is not the second coming of Cassanblanca or Gone with the Wind (which I think is overrated). But its fun around Christmas.

I actually had very low expectations about this movie. The title didn't make me excited, a neither did the plot or the few images I saw. I thought the same thing the first 15 minutes of the movie, but as it continued I found myself enjoying it. Both leads do a pretty good work, and so does the supporting cast. It's not the best Hallmark has made, and the end is very predictable, but it's a lovely movie to enjoy in a boring afternoon.

Fact: The actors who play Barry and Dean perform as brothers in Hallmark's "Chesapeake Shores", and I think this was shot before or during the production of the show so it was nice seeing them, even though they are not goofing around.

'Tis The Season For Love' is a movie with a good heart. The main theme that seemed apparent was 'choice'; the far reaching ripple effect on our lives, from simple decisions made early on. Nina Weinmans story evolves with a perfectly timed pace and the main character, Beth ( Sarah Lancaster) is portrayed with honest sincerity, while her journey to become her authentic self unfolds. Terry Ingrams vision is very well executed, with beautiful cinematography – wonderful colors and rich set detailing make for an enjoyable visual experience. The attention to detail set this movie apart, placing it in the top tier of the TV Holiday Movie genre (which I must admit, I love). Brendan Penny (Dean) creates a believable love interest and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop on screen. This movie is about love, family and the importance of community and how the surface appearance of success can actually be a mask covering doubts and insecurities. The musical score by Hal Beckett is heartfelt and playful; twinkly and sparkly in all the right festive places. He perfectly accents the intimate romantic moments with his delightful piano and string moments and the fun woodwind motifs really make those light comedic scenes work. Heartwarming stuff indeed.

The lovely Sarah Lancaster stars in this predictable but enjoyable Hallmark Christmas movie. Sarah plays a struggling actress who returns home for the holidays to the small town she left years before. She returns having never realized her dreams of stardom and discovers her ex now has a happy small town life, married with adorable kids. This makes her wonder if she made the right choice leaving all those years ago. Then there's some weird stuff with Santa Claus and you'll just have to see the rest for yourself.

I really like Sarah and will pretty much watch anything she's in. I can't say I loved this movie but I also can't say much against it, since my expectations are generally low on TV movies. Every now and then you watch a Hallmark movie and feel like someone just mashed together a few previous Hallmark movies and came up with something that seems to be new but doesn't really feel like it. That's what we have here. But even the weakest of scripts for these things can often be saved by the charisma of the leads and how well the romance works. The problem there is, while Sarah is certainly beautiful, she just seems kind of bored in this. There also isn't much of a spark between her and love interest Brendan Penny. It's not a bad seasonal romcom by any stretch, just not particularly great. If you're a fan of Sarah Lancaster, you'll probably like this fine. Otherwise you might find yourself trying to put together the puzzle of which Hallmark movies you previously saw the different pieces of this one.

This movie really is nothing new - it is realistic enough, but too dull, seen it all in these movies before. The worst part was when the lead told the children they 'did not miss a note' when they were off with the piano. I wouldn't intentionally watch it again, because I prefer more contrast / variety in these stories and there's nothing unique here to merit a re-watch. However, there are still a lot of good points regarding decision making and it might just give a bit of clarity when there's big decisions to be made. I also like that the lead was realistic about where she could afford to live - often homes in movies are too expensive for the characters' situations. I just wish they'd shown her two ideas of life in parallel and joined them together again at the end for a more original format for this genre - a bit like Sliding Doors but all-age friendly.