I wanted to include some movie reviews, recommendations, and general thoughts this year, since these are usually the biggest piece of my holiday cheer! I do love the holiday books, of course, but the movies are what REALLY gets me in the mood. I watch many of the same ones each year but always try to mix in some new favorites. In this little roundups, I’ll be sharing “reviews” of both new-to-me movies and repeat watch feels. They’ll be going in chronological order based on when I watched it this season!
Coming Home for Christmas
Number of watches: First time
Source: Hallmark original movie
Rating: Worth the watch, especially if you read the book
I loved the book by Jenny Hale, so I HAD to watch this one! It ended up being my first Christmas movie of the season and it was enjoyable. Hale’s holiday books are my favorite because she has the most Christmassy feels of ALL the holiday books I read. They’re atmospheric and super cozy, which is exactly what I want. The movie did a pretty good job of capturing those feels, as all Hallmark movies should/do! I don’t remember as much of the book as I’d like, so I can say that in general… it definitely lined up with the overall plot of the book. It seemed like a pretty true adaptation. I wish the movie was a little longer or something; the romance didn’t develop as nicely as I remember in the book. It felt kind of rushed instead of slow-burn-realization-of-feelings. It could be because my brain kind of tuned out during some parts, honestly, but I think it could have used a little more oomph.
Scrooged
Number of watches: First time (I think)
Source: On one of the apps/websites we use…
Rating: Bill Murray is in it, so what do you think?!
One of my favorite movies of all-time is What About Bob? (and who doesn’t love his other classics like Caddyshack or Groundhog Day??), so it’s WEIRD that I never got around to this movie! We finally sat down to watch it after saying repeatedly throughout October “I can’t wait until it’s December and we can watch this!” Well, we ended up watching on November 29th but whatever. I was ready. I really liked this one because it was honestly such a classic performance by Murray. Chris is convinced we watched it a few years ago but I don’t remember, so there’s a chance it’s not entirely memorable, lol… In any case, I’m always a fan of Scrooge/Christmas Carol retellings, so I enjoyed this funny take on the story. Some parts were definitely weird though, which dampened my enjoyment a litttttle bit.
Daddy’s Home 2
Number of watches: First time
Source: Dine-in movie theater in Maine
Rating: So funny and Christmassy!
I really enjoyed the first movie and love that they went the Christmas route with the second one! I wasn’t expecting to see this so soon and be able to include it here, but here we are. I also wasn’t even sure how Christmassy it would be, but it definitely fit the bill. I think this sequel was just as funny as the first movie, which is saying a lot for comedy sequels. Some scenes made me laugh SO much but the whole thing overall was really enjoyable. It does sort of stand alone, so you will probably enjoy it if you haven’t seen the first one. (Honestly you can probably watch the trailer for the first movie to get a sense of the family dynamics, and that would be enough to watch this sequel!) Chris is very picky about movies and I could tell he enjoyed this one too. I laughed a lot throughout and the father characters were spot-on (even if I don’t love Mel Gibson for obvious reasons).
Let It Snow
Number of watches: First time
Source: Hallmark original movie
Rating: Cozy and cute Christmas movie worth watching
The best thing about these Hallmark movies is how predictable and sweet they are, and I really mean that. I love knowing exactly what will happen and just being able to enjoy the Christmas vibes without much thought. The premise is that this resort executive is sent to evaluate this little lodge and decide how to make it updated for their company’s normal vision (owned by her dad). She ends up falling for the place, the son who helps run the place, and the holiday itself. I forced Chris to watch this one with me because of the ski lodge setting AND it happened to be in Maine too! I loved the family-owned lodge setting because it was just incredibly Christmassy. The atmosphere was so perfect and I loved the little traditions they talked about throughout. I can ignore the cheesiness if there’s the right setting and enough Christmas love.
Charlie Brown Christmas
Number of watches: Millionth time
Source: YouTube
Rating: Absolute Christmas classic
This is one of my favorite Christmas movies just for the songs alone, to be honest. My friend in high school always wanted to kill me because I would ALWAYS hum the theme song (Linus and Lucy)…like every single day of school. I just love the Christmas feels of this one. I have a cute little Charlie Brown tree as a decoration too. My one gripe about this is how mean everyone always is to Charlie Brown. I know that’s basically the point of Peanuts for some reason but it always makes me sad. I love the scenes with the Christmas tree and the play (specifically when everyone dances like crazy). The more I watch this, the more I realize that I essentially know every word to this movie by heart. I guess it’s inevitable when you see it every year for your entire life!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Number of watches: Millionth time
Source: YouTube
Rating: Another absolute Christmas classic
We watched this one back-to-back with the Charlie Brown Christmas movie, so it was a nice night of mini Christmas classics. I always forget how short both of them are! This one is definitely one of our favorites (Chris included) because of how Dr. Seuss-y it is. I mean, that goes without saying I guess, but it just has perfect animation and rhyming and everything that makes a Dr. Seuss movie/book so fantastic. All of the little kids in this are drawn so tiny and cute; I can’t handle it. Chris’s favorite parts are when they have weird instruments and toys. Just another Christmas classic.
I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Charlie Brown!! Such classics 🙂 Mostly I love the Grinch because of that one song: You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. It’s such an absurdly lovely song with such random but amazing lyrics. I’ve also been watching Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas so I saw Coming Home for Christmas as well and I have to agree with you: it was so lovely and cozy feeling. I haven’t read the book yet but it’s definitely one that’s going on my TBR. Lovely list, Lauren!
Laura @BlueEyeBooks
Thank you 😀