Christmas Angel

What a pleasant surprise amidst the onset of Christmas TV movies which appear this time of year without much substance or that are just plain silly. A gem of a story, well acted and filled with truthful moments about the true meaning of Christmas. Great entertainment for the whole family. Kevin Sorbo as well as Teri Polo, Della Reese and young Izabela Vidovic gave wonderful performances. I foresee a bright future for young Miss Vidovic. Hats off to writer Andrea Gyertson Nasfell for a heartwarming script. Two scene standout moments for me occurred first, with Ms. Reese's character, Elsie Waybright and Izabela Vidovic's character, Olivia Meade, as Elsie's character opens up to her young, new and very inquisitive friend Olivia about her daughter. The second scene was when Kevin Sorbo's character shares his story with young Olivia in the church. The thoughtful writing of both scenes and honest performances moved me very much. Well done and thank you as a viewer.

I watched this on UP Channel last nice. The story is about a little girl named Olivia played by Izabela Vidovic who wants to help people that need help. She was raised by a single parent.

She does not know what to do and she meets a older female neighbor who she befriends. The neighbor Elsie Waybright is played by Della Reese. Elsie has a basket to put in written requesting asking for God's help for these request. They are prayer request and Olivia puts her request in Elsie's basket. They talk about God and his love.

Many of these request are answered so Olivia thinks Elsie is an angel.

Elsie is sick but relies on God and trust Olivia. Together they have a bond. During the movie this bond is tested.

The movies teaches, love of God, sympathy for others and ways to show love. It is heart warming and can bring tears to your eyes. This is a truly beautiful and loving movie. The acting is so sincere and genuine. The little girl that plays Olivia portrays her character beautifully. See it if you can.

The year is 2015, its X-Mas, and your humble reviewer has been slogging through one horrific made-in-Canada "holiday movie" after another because (explained in my other reviews) the lower-cost Loonie, and the taxpayer-subsidized Canadian film industry, have more or less taken over the entire "holiday" genre. Most films in this class now unabashedly feature terrible scripts, minimal budgets, and the same familiar set of Canadian faces (the so-called "character actors", all five of them) in each production.

Against this backdrop I was positively in heaven to stumble on Christmas Angel. A solid script. Great acting, especially the little scene-stealer Izabela Vidovic. Even Kevin Sorbo gives what might be the best performance of his one-note career. And to see Della Reese in front of the camera again is always a pleasure.

Good direction, engaging, nice twists, keeps you interested until the end.

Would recommend.

Christmas Angel is one of my favorite modern Christmas movies, one I look forward to watching with my family every year. It's charming, heartwarming, and uses one of the main characteristics of Christmas as the plot: giving.

In the story, a little girl and her friend, Izabela Vidovic and Tyler Humphrey, believe an old, abandoned house in their neighborhood has the power to grant wishes. Before long, everyone in school is shouting their wishes outside the house, hoping they'll be granted by the Christmas Angel. In the meantime, Izabela's mom, Teri Polo, meets the owner of the house, Kevin Sorbo, and sparks fly.

In addition to Andrea Gyertson Nasfell's heartwarming script, the wonderful acting makes Christmas Angel soar high above the other slightly corny Christmas movies. It isn't just another flick you'll see on the Hallmark channel-or in this case, a slightly more religious channel-but instead a movie that will remind you of the importance of family and of the old adage that giving is better than receiving. Della Reese, the title character, is extremely likable and will inspire a lump in your throat on more than one occasion. Teri Polo is also very likable, and her delivery of her lines is so incredibly natural, it'll make you think she truly is her character rather than an actress. You can imagine other actresses in her part, and they would have made the character and script cheesy and bland. She adds so much to the film.

As does little Izabela, who, at only eleven years old, has a tremendous presence. I hope the charming, adorable child enjoys an upward surge to her career; she's someone to keep your eye on as the years roll by. She has a great and natural chemistry with all her adult costars, but I don't know if credit is due to her or to the director, Brian Herzingler. Usually, when everyone in the cast gives good performances, I tend to credit the director, who must have helped foster their talent and chemistry. Everyone in Christmas Angel plays very well off each other, from Teri and Kevin's awkwardness to Izabela and Tyler's camaraderie.

Give Christmas Angel a try this holiday season, and unless you have a strong aversion to films with religious overtones, you'll probably really like it. It's so very sweet!

Most of the time Christmas movies tend to he a little silly...albeit I still enjoy watching them. This movie was not silly at all! It even got me to tear up a little. I really enjoyed Della Reese's character but I thought all the acting was pretty good compared to most of the "made for TV" productions out there. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good family movie with good values...which is not something I often say because I don't enjoy most of the attempts at it and belonging in the younger generation not something I'm usually looking for. A solid 10 for me and towards the top of any movie I've seen in a while, Christmas or not.