A very merry streaming Christmas
Christmas is just around the corner, which means it’s time to hop on the couch and turn on your favorite Christmas movie — or try a new one. There are a variety of new movies released for the Christmas season. Some movies were released in theaters, such as “Spirited” and “Violent Night,” but streaming services have also released new holiday movies this year that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home. To help with where to start, here is a review of a few holiday movies, series and specials released by Netflix and Disney Plus.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: 9/10
Including all of your favorite characters from “The Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, this holiday special is a unique comedic take on Christmas and the holiday season. Christmas is not celebrated in space, but one of the Guardians, Peter Quill — played by Chris Pratt — is from Earth and remembers celebrating Christmas as a child. Two other guardians, Mantis and Drax, want to give Peter the best Christmas possible. After years of hearing Peter talk about the legendary Kevin Bacon, who saved a small town by dancing, Mantis and Drax decided to take a trip to Earth — to give Bacon to Peter as a Christmas present.
I found this special to be funny and very on-brand with the previous “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie. The soundtrack was very well done, including the song “I Don’t Know What Christmas Is,” sung by Bacon. It is unique to any other Christmas movie or special I have seen before. Overall, I found this holiday special to be very fun and entertaining.
The Noel Diary: 7/10
Another Netflix Christmas movie from this year, more of a drama, is “The Noel Diary,” starring Justin Hartley and Barrett Doss. Hartley plays Jacob Turner, a bestselling author who is seen as a rich, handsome, eligible bachelor. When Jacob’s mother dies, he returns to his childhood home to sort his mother’s belongings. He is visited by a woman named Rachel Campbell who is looking for answers about her biological mother, who lived in the house and worked as the Turner family nanny when Jacob was very young. In a search for answers and with hope for reconciliation, Jacob and Rachel set out to visit Jacob’s father, who left him and his mother when he was young, to see if he has answers about Rachel’s mother.
I found the plot to this movie to be quite slow. Though it was an interesting concept and a good story, I felt things were dragged out unnecessarily. I did not like how the main characters fell for each other or how Rachel cheated on her fiancé, who had done nothing wrong. This movie had a lot of potential to be great, but didn’t quite make the mark.
The Santa Clauses: 7/10
Disney Plus had a few new releases this holiday season, including a series titled “The Santa Clauses,” a sequel to the three movies of the same name starring Tim Allen. The first of these movies, “The Santa Clause,” premiered in 1994. The new series follows Scott, who has now been Santa Claus for close to three decades, and his family. Scott and his wife Carol, who took the role of Mrs. Claus, have had two children, Cal and Sandra, and live in the North Pole. Scott decides it is time to retire from being Santa and move his family back to the real world. But, things with the new Santa don’t go exactly as planned. This series has a total of six episodes.
It brought back a lot of memories from my childhood of watching “The Santa Clause” movies, and the nostalgia of old characters such as Bernard the Elf. I found the plot to be a bit of a mess and hard to follow. Though it is a fun throwback, overall I don’t feel like this series was a necessary addition to “The Santa Clause” franchise.
Falling for Christmas: 4/10
This Netflix original movie is a romantic comedy starring Lindsay Lohan. Heads turned to hear of Lohan starring in a new movie, as she has not been on the big screen in years. Lohan plays Sierra Belmont, a spoiled hotel heiress who goes on a ski trip with her influencer boyfriend, Tad. He proposes on a mountaintop, but moments after the proposal, Sierra falls off a cliff. She is found by local bed-and-breakfast owner Jake Russell. Sierra wakes up with amnesia, having no memory of who she is or of her life. The hospital labels her as a Jane Doe. Because she has no place to go, Jake invites her to stay in an empty room at his bed and breakfast. Days go by, but no one knows she is missing, and Sierra beings to bond with Jake and his young daughter.
I thought it was really fun to see Lohan have a major role in a movie again. However, I was quite disappointed with the rest. The storyline wasn’t very unique — it seemed like an average, run-of-the-mill Hallmark Christmas movie. All around, it was very cheesy, and the acting fell flat. I didn’t find this movie to be very entertaining or enjoyable.
Christmas With You: 6/10
Another Christmas romantic comedy produced by Netflix this year, “Christmas With You” stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Aimee Garcia. Garcia plays a pop star named Angelina who feels as though her career is dying — she hears her music is a bit outdated and her style is vintage. To maintain her record deal and keep her popularity, Angelina is tasked with writing a new Christmas song — against her wishes. As she struggles to find inspiration, Angelina is touched by a video made by one of her fans, a 14-year-old girl named Cristina, and decides to go and visit her. Though the visit is meant to be brief, Angelina and her manager end up staying the night with Cristina and her father Miguel, played by Prinze Jr. After hearing a Christmas song Miguel had begun writing, Angelina asks him to co-write her new Christmas song with her.
With very similar themes and plot points to “Falling for Christmas”, I found this movie to also be quite basic. It was very predictable, and I saw the ending coming from the very beginning. Aside from having good music, nothing about this movie stood out to me, though I enjoyed it more than “Falling for Christmas.”