Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas: A PureFlix Cast Off

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A hard rocking singer, played by Drew Lachey, decides that what he actually needs to have a good Christmas is small town values and the love of Christ.

Is this a faith film? Was this in the PureFlix Christmas selection? Honestly, I have nothing against faith films but this was awful and had a terrible message. The daughter, played by MacKenzie Porter, doesn’t seem to have a will of her own in this film- it is either what the father wants for her or what the leading man wants. The two seem to treat the female lead as though she is a bag of rice to be controlled and bartered over and it’s quite off-putting. However, it does get worse as the wider faith elements that permeate almost all areas of this film just turn it into religious propaganda.

Lachey’s lead isn’t particularly likeable either as he goes from a sleaze to a patriarchal oppressor and that is supposed to be a good change for his character if you can believe it.

Honestly this film just feels like a PureFlix cast off.

Overall, a bad film with a message that becomes more and more off-putting the more you sit and think about it.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It feels like a PureFlix cast off

The message is awful

The lead isn’t likeable

The ending sours the whole film

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Christmas With You: A Sleazey Christmas Message

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A famous singer, played by Andi Garcia, decides to spend Christmas with a fan, played by Deja Monique Cruz, whose TikTok video she likes, and whilst she is there she also decides to hook up with the fan’s dad, played by Freddie Prinze Jr.

Honestly, I just thought this was fairly boring, it wasn’t so bad it was good nor was it redeemable or even enjoyable in any way. As I approached the two thirds mark I was checking to see how long was left which highlights how much of a slog this film is to get through, it is really just aggressively average.

The worst thing about this film is just how little chemistry the two leads have, there is a moment in the final few minutes of the film where they have their big first kiss of the film and it couldn’t be more cold if they were trying for it.

Moreover, there is inherently something a bit icky about a star coming to spent time with her teen fan and then hooking up with her dad and becoming her new stepmother. I don’t know it struck a weird and not wanted chord with me.

Overall, a deeply meh Christmas film that you can easily give a miss.

Pros.

It is watchable

It does have some unintentional humour

It is nice to see Freddie Prinze Jr back on screens again

Cons.

It is boring and a slog to watch

The premise is a bit icky

The leads have no chemistry at all

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Falling For Christmas: Lohan Is Back

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A hotel heiress, played by Lindsey Lohan, has her life turned upside down when she get short term amnesia and is nursed back to health at a ski lodge.

It is nice to see Lohan back, after being away for so long and dealing with so much, she definitely is the life and soul of this film making for a great female lead who is easy to warm to and whose evolution over the course of the film you can both feel and see on screen.

However, even she and her pretty good chemistry with her co-star Chord Overstreet, aren’t enough to save this film from all the hallmarks and cliches of these so bad there good Christmas films. Everything feels very formulaic and happens exactly as you would expect it when you would expect it to, there is no shock and nothing deviates from the trite script. This does takeaway from any potential stakes that the film might have as ultimately you know where this film is going at all times.

Another mark against this film comes from how long it spends talking about all the influencer stuff at the start of the film, it reads like a ninety year old talking about how the youth of today are and it is cringe as hell. Honestly the influencer character of Tad, played by George Young, makes the whole opening ten minutes of this film borderline unwatchable.

Overall, Lohan tries her best but the formulaic nature of this film holds it back.

Pros.

Lohan

The chemistry

Quite a few sweet moments

Cons.

Tad and all the influencer stuff

It is incredibly generic and formulaic

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50/50: Laughter In The Face Of Tough Questions

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam Lerner, played by Joseph Gordan Levitt, finds out he has cancer and that his odds aren’t good.

I thought this film was one of the most genuine and touching that I have watched in a while. It made me cry at several points as I think the beauty of the film really is quite powerful to behold, not only does the film deal with heavy themes but it does so through a lens of optimism and to a degree happiness. I found this to be a really lovely film in many ways.

In terms of performances Levitt proves once again just how great he is here, his character goes on a real journey and in the end when his character is finally free of cancer it is a real fist in the air sort of moment. The film earns that. Seth Rogen is also unusually good here in a more paired down dramatic role, though some of his usual schtick does come through here and there. I think Rogen can be a really charming and talented dramatic actor given the right roles.

The comedy drama mix of the film is fairly mixed, I would say it leans more towards the latter than the former although there are a few funny moments here and there that actually did make me laugh.

Overall, a strong film that everyone should see.

Pros.

It is funny

It is sweet

It takes you on an incredibly nuanced ride

It isn’t afraid to ask and tackle tough questions and topics

Levitt

Cons.

A few minor pacing issues

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The Holiday Calendar

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A psychic advent calendar helps a young woman, played by Kat Graham, to see her future.

I will admit this film’s premise has some goofy appeal, a psychic advent calendar at least feels fresh, I haven’t seen one of them in a Christmas film before, however this freshness is quickly undone as the calendar is merely used as a means to an end to enter into the usual holiday rom-com cliches.

Indeed it seems I hoped for too much with this film as it quickly becomes generic. All of the rom-com cliches and tropes are dusted off and forced out on stage for good measure, the love triangle feels incredibly obvious in where it is leading and there are no stakes at all in the whole thing as we all know how it is going to end.

The acting is all fairly sub-par and for Graham who I know can act because she was okay on The Vampire Diaries this is clearly her slumming it for an easy paycheck.

Overall, even the whacky premise can’t save this film from becoming a bag of cliches and tropes.

Pros.

The goofy premise

It is watchable

Cons.

The pacing

It is generic

It is nothing you haven’t already seen before

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We Wish You A Married Christmas: Cute Alpacas To The Rescue

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A married couple check in to a B and B over the Christmas period in order to try and fix their marriage.

Really the main selling point for me of this film is the Alpacas, I really like Llamas and Alpacas and seeing one on the poster for this film is what made me want to check it out. For the most part the Alpacas aren’t really featured but when they are it is the best moments of the film.

Really everything else about this film is deeply generic and makes the film hard to watch. It is a slog to get through and the central couple have no chemistry at all and instead feel throughout the film, even in the end when they are supposed to be happy with each other again, as though they hate each other.

The pacing is also really incredibly bad, and the film feels like it is on for double or even triple its runtime.

Overall, some cute Alpacas aren’t enough to keep you watching throughout this film, as boring as it gets for bad Christmas films.

Pros.

The Alpacas

It is unintentionally funny

Cons.

It is tedious to sit through

It is deeply generic

The romantic leads have no chemistry at all

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Christmas Under Wraps: Santa Claus Is Real

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A doctor, played by Candace Cameron Brue, moves to Alaska and wouldn’t you know it she falls in love with both small town life and with one of the local sons.

Again this is nothing new, you have seen this same movie reskinned time and time again especially if like me you enjoy watching bad Hallmark Christmas films. This goes beyond being simply formulaic and feels like instead there is a check list of things that need to be ticked off one by one, something mimicking whole moments from other films.

However, where this film shone for me was in the fact that the male lead’s father, played by Brian Doyle-Murray, was actually Father Christmas. Most of these films stick to a samey formula that always boils down to the same conclusion, however, I liked that this film got a little zany and went for something quite different.

The performances aren’t very good, with Brue being especially bad. Although, what do you expect from a Hallmark film.

Overall, I like that they went there with it, but otherwise it was a very by the numbers sort of project.

Pros.

The leap into fantasy

It is unintentionally funny

The pacing

Cons.

Brue doesn’t give a good performance and her character is hard to like

It is very samey and formulaic

The ending feels rushed

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Maple Valley Christmas: The Christmas Rom-Com Every Incel Needs

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The unlikely love story of a rancher and a property developer.

I think in many ways this is an incredibly cliched Christmas rom-com, it did nothing new, everything was incredibly predictable and the ending could have been seen coming from a mile away. It is by no means a good film.

What saves the film to a degree for me is the chemistry between female lead Peyton List and male lead Andrew K. Walker, both of them gave good performances, particularly List, and appeared as quite a genuine and believable couple on screen.

However, in the quality of their romance lies another problem of the film and that is some quite toxic elements. These can best be found in two scenes where Walker’s character uses straight up incel logic and negging to get List’s character to apologies to him and behave how he wants. These scenes are quite problematic and do take away from the enjoyment of the film quite a bit.

Overall, it has some good moments but the incel vibes drag it down.

Pros.

List

The romance

Cons.

The incel vibes

The pacing

It is incredibly generic

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Big Mouth Season Six Overview: The Lows Of Life

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Hearts are broken, families are changed forever, and a new hormone monster is born.

I was eagerly awaiting the new season of Big Mouth, it is one of my favourite adult animated shows and is usually consistently good. This season is good however, it is also far sadder than I was expecting it to be, yes primarily the comedy is still there and the jokes are funny enough to keep you laughing through all the sad, but I thought there was quite a lot of heaviness to this season of the show. Though I suppose that is reflective of life.

I enjoyed the theme of change and reconciliation this season, I thought that in a lot of ways it felt very natural and worked in many of the characters arcs. I think the show continues to delve to new emotional depths despite all of the rather gross out gags.

I only had two real issues with this season, firstly that Lola had way too much screen time and secondly that the Nick’s Grandfather storyline was given far too easy a tying up. Regarding the former, I think that though Lola has interesting moments and certainly still has some areas of exploration open to her character’s journey, often she is used in far too one note a way and the storyline she is given here shows this to the nth degree. In terms of the Nick’s Grandfather storyline I think that for the most part it is very bare bones and lacks a lot of the nuance and depth the show is known for, but also I thought wrapping it up simply by having the characters saying I love you to fix everything is lazy writing.

Overall, a good season on the whole but one that is surprisingly sad.

Pros.

The nuance

The sombre tone

Jay’s storyline

Andrew’s storyline

Cons.

Nick’s Grandfather is overused and underexplored

Lola is given too much screen time

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Weird The Al Yankovic Story: Never Stop Chasing Your Accordion

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A film detailing the supposed life of Weird Al Yankovic, which is also a stand up of modern Hollywood biopics.

This was one of my most anticipated films of the year, and now that I have seen it I feel somewhat disappointed. Don’t get me wrong the film is still a lot of fun and there are a number of good jokes that come about as a result of the parody, but there are also a number of problems with the film that stop it from ever being truly great.

The chief issue for me is the fact that because the film is trying to cram in so many different references and call backs to other famous biopics, and different types of biopic at that, that often the comedy of the film can range far too broadly and not land, I think the comedy is far more miss than hit. Another thing that bothered me about this film is that it leaves a lot of the best of Weird Al’s work out, maybe I have been spoilt by other musical biopics that hit you with maybe one too many songs, but here I found it was far too few.

The film is redeemed in a lot of ways by its performances, Daniel Radcliffe once again proves that he has fantastic comedy chops, Evan Rachel Wood is a scene stealer as Madonna and deserves her own spin off film and finally Toby Huss is great as Al’s disapproving dad.

Overall, fun but not as strong as it could have been.

Pros.

Wood

It’s a lot of fun

Radcliffe and Huss

The ending

Cons.

It barely features any of Weird Al’s songs

The comedy is more miss than hit

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