L'ange gardien de Noël

This is a Hallmark movie, so the ending is predictable, but it features an excellent performance by Sergio Di Zio who plays an angel tasked with bringing two people together. That alone makes this worth watching once.

2014 was a bit hit and miss when it came to Hallmark Christmas films, and perhaps even Hallmark in general. While there were good ones such as 'A Royal Christmas' and 'Christmas Under Wraps', there were also misfires like 'One Starry Christmas' and especially 'A Cookie Cutter Christmas'. There has never been any bias against Hallmark, far from it. Have actually been impressed by a good deal of their work, though a lot of it is average or less especially in the past few years even when judging them for as they are intended to be.

A very strong contender for the best of the 2014 Hallmark Christmas films is 'Angels and Ornaments'. Was not expecting a massive amount, and it delivers a lot better than expected. While not masterpiece level or perfect, there is a lot that works absolutely beautifully and it is very highly successful when taking the film for what it is. Not only is 'Angels and Ornaments' to me the best of Hallmark's 2014 Christmas films it is also perhaps among their best ever work, with it being one of their not many very good ones.

It's not a perfect film. Dave is a rather dull and one-dimensional character and Graham Abbey doesn't have an awful lot of spark playing too.

Did think too that the ending was too easily telegraphed and too tidy.

However, as said a lot of things work absolutely beautifully. 'Angels and Ornaments' pleases visually, lovely festive locations attractively and never drably or garishly shot. The music isn't as intrusive as it tends to be with Hallmark while the direction gets the job done well. The script doesn't get too cheesy or sentimental and does have a more natural flow when it becomes more settled. The story is not too heavy while taking itself seriously and is both warm-hearted and has a light touch when necessary.

On the whole as well it isn't too predictable, there are elements that are different than the usual Hallmark Christmas film and they are elements that feature a lot but not rammed down the throat. On the most part, the characters are worth caring about. Jessalyn Gilsig is a charming female lead but do agree about Sergio Di Zio giving the best performance and making the film. He did start off a little too intense at first, but softens quite quickly and brings understated sincerity to an entertaining and wise character without any signs of being on autopilot.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10.

Sergio Di Zio wonderfully underplays his role as Harold, the Christmas angel that has a no nonsense approach to true love. I am coming at this from a different perspective than most people who will watch this film because I have lost love to death, knowing that I will never again be with my wife during this life. Casual couples who take one another for granted may be caught up in in the same predicament as Corrine and Dave in the film if they refuse to put themselves out for love. At the center of the simple storyline is that Corrine's grandfather had to go off to war and never came back. He loved fully, but his relationship was cut short through no fault of his own. In what I think is the pivotal scene when angel Harold unbelievably asks Dave, "You're not willing to fight for her?" we see the pathos of true love and his all-consuming disappointment in casual love. I certainly felt it. I was with Harold all the way. Don't take love for granted, it's embedded in human beings and human beings are fragile creatures.

This Christmas TV movie does not stink (most do, some really badly). It was a story that I'd never seen before, and the characters had a believability despite the fact that this was a fantasy. Of the characters' performances, Harold, the angel was great, showing really good intensity and real feeling (not your typical angelic performance). In a nice twist he, as an angel, wasn't some know-it-all. Dave, the store owner, was game, sincere, and believable -- but not a total standout performance -- I suspect that he was constrained by some of the dialog. However Corrine was the most typical Hallmark heroine -- ie., a weak characterization. As other folks indicated, stating this was based in New York was silly -- a two-story store and a front-door of Corrine's home with a large-ish front yard and tiny stoop are so not NYC. Maybe the authors were too constrained by story length to make it Providence RI, Buffalo NY, Harrisburg PA -- so they said New York to mean some generic big city with cold winters. I also hated the "one-year-later" scene. This seems like a prerequisite for these Hallmark Christmas movies. Haven't they ever heard of "and they lived happily ever after"?

This was a real "10" for a Christmastime movie. They may all arrive at the same predictable place in the end, but the journeys vary. This was a sweet journey. The plot was a bit intriguing and the casting was very well done, in my opinion. Of course, it may have gotten a little "soupy" in the end, but it's a Christmastime movie and I loved it. Probably my favorite for this season. I always make sure to check out every new Hallmark Christmas movie or Lifetime or where ever I find them. 2014's were, overall, pretty darn good. If you like the them, be sure to see this one. I actually watched it twice! Good story too! Christmas Under Wraps was good too.