This is part 2 of my new Christmas movie round up and I am starting with,
Sky Movies
Silent Night
A grieving father enacts his long-awaited revenge against a ruthless gang on Christmas Eve. I always thought John Woo was a talentless hack, and, after 6 years away from our screens he seems to be proving me right. Dialogue free, stylised to a ludicrous degree, this is a boring, empty movie.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
Genie
Richard Curtis wrote this remake of the 1991 TV film Bernard and The Genie, and he has received a critical evisceration for it. It is predictable and, at times, sappy, but a restrained Melissa McCarthy is good value as the genie, producing a number of laughs. She also has good chemistry with Papa Esdiedu, who plays Bernard.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Over on Amazon Prime
Your Christmas or Mine 2
Your Christmas or Mine was one of the better Xmas films last year, so it was pleasing to see a sequel come out a year later. The main cast returns as the two families try to go skiing in the Alps for Christmas, but a mix-up means they are staying in each other’s accommodation. It is great to spend more time with the eclectic bunch of characters, and the festive feel of the first film remains. However, it has fewer laugh out loud moments.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Both of the following are doing the rounds on the Movies24 Channel:
Christmas in Notting Hill
Football star, Graham Savoy, has always been too busy for love, but when he comes home to Notting Hill for Christmas, he changes his mind after meeting an American woman who has no idea who he is. This must be the worst Hallmark Christmas movie for some years. William Moseley, who plays Savoy does not look like a footballer thanks to some horrible on pitch footage, and he certainly does not sound like he comes from that part of London. There is some hilariously awful CG crowd scenes and notba single word of the dialogue concerning the sport rings true. My guess is that writer Alex Yonks watched a couple of episodes of the execerable Ted Lasso and reckoned she understood the game!
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
A Biltmore Christmas
A magical hourglass sends a modern-day screenwriter back in time to 1946 and into the making of the classic Christmas movie for which she is currently scripting a remake. This one of the best Hallmark Christmas films. As well as the novel premise, It has a nice feel for the period and better than usual dialogue. It also provides a worthy role for the always charming Kristoffer Polaha.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Finally, available on ITV X
Yuletide the Knot
A small town wedding planner is planning her biggest ever Christmas wedding when the bride’s manager turns out to be her first love and high school sweetheart. The characters are either unbelievable or unlikable and the script stilted.
Rating: 2 out of 10