Un Noël enchanté

I avoid Christmas movies like the plague. They are often dumb, tedious, and eye-rollingly boring. The whole genre went down the drain after the first year or two when Hallmark got ridiculous about them.

But I saw this one had Frakes in it.

I'm a huge TNG fan. So after thinking about it I decided to give it a shot.

I am glad I did I enjoyed it. It's a classy movie with a good script, good acting, strong characters and fine production. It goes by quickly.

I like that the main character is fully realized. My memory of these Hallmark Christmas movies is that they were cookie cutter things that had come off an assembly line.

But I did not get that sense here.

There is one character that I found annoying (the woman with the camera) but I even warmed up to her. Maybe I'm just getting old but I enjoyed this and even cried at the end.

I recommend it.

Call me crazy, call this hyperbole, but, this is one of the finest if not THE finest Hallmark Christmas Movies I have ever seen. Clever and creative and oozing with charm and real romance and Christmas joy that does not feel forced or a pale carbon copy of a movie they have already made six dozen times. The two leads give outstanding performances and have sensational chemistry and all of the supporting players have a great time playing with the 1940s parlance and style. In an abstract way, one could almost think of this as a riff of the weepy romantic classic Somewhere in Time, but, with the genders reversed. This is the third movie Hallmark has put out in 2023 that has surpassed my expectations. This is really interfering with my annual holiday tradition of Hate Watching the mediocre ones! Highly recommended, even if you think you don't like Hallmark Christmas Movies!

Really enjoyed the detail they put into this film. Visually it was beautiful to watch, you can tell the production team put in a lot of love and sweat into this project. It has a golden age look to it, especially the costumes.

Although half way through the movie I predicted the ending. I kind of wish I didn't to enjoy it more.

It has a very smiler ending to a recent Hallmark show cliff hanger last season. But still enjoyed the movie, love watching movies based on that time period.

Always look forward to Bethany Joy Lenz. Her characters are always entertaining, glad Hallmark is mixing it up.

Well, credit where credit is due. Hallmark swung for the fences on this one and I'd suggest they knocked it right out of the park.

A Hallmark classic, but also - dare I say? - a Christmas movie classic full stop. No tired tropes. No small towns. No festivals. None of that. Just an inspired, brilliantly-conceived plot that hits all the marks and pulls at all the heart strings.

Casting was perfect. Kristoffer Polaha was born for this role. He is brilliant as Jack Huston, his finest moment, and One Tree Hill alum Bethany Joy Lenz shines as Lucy.

Star Trek alum Jonathan Frakes and Robert Picardo are great.

The Wes Brown and Rachel Boston cameo at the end (with a nod to one of my favourites, 'Check Inn to Christmas') was fantastic.

The Biltmore is a spectacular location, and 'A Biltmore Christmas' makes full use of the historical property.

The music, the sets, the costumes: all astounding. The recreation of Hollywood's Golden Age was perfect.

So, so good. In every way.

Kristoffer Polaha always adds his unique charm to a character, and he doesn't do the same character every time, as some of the actors and actresses in these movies do. We particularly know Bethany Joy Lenz from "A Christmas Secret", which is one of our Hallmark Christmas favorites.

This film has performances that rival old-style big-screen movies, and the plot has a classic fantasy charm with a unique twist ... an hourglass that sends our intrepid heroine to the past for an hour at a time ... unless it gets broken.

The dialogue between the leads is quick and clever, and the plot constructs great atmosphere between them. Highly recommended.