Bria Lou Reviews

  Rather than doing a normal post round-up this month, I thought it would be better (and more fun) to do a round-up of this year's Blogmas posts! Love Hard | Blogmas Day 1  - Blogmas Day 1 started with this Netflix movie, which I really enjoyed. It isn't as Christmassy as some of the other movies, which made it the perfect film to start with. Office Christmas Party | Blogmas Day 2  - This is a Christmas comedy that didn't end up being that funny, but it was still somewhat enjoyable. Throwback Holiday | Blogmas Day 3  - This film had a really interesting concept, but the execution wasn't that great. Too Close for Christmas | Blogmas Day 4  - This was a generic Christmas rom-com that didn't work well because of the lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star | Blogmas Day 5  - The third of the Princess Switch trilogy wasn't as captivating or interesting as the first two. Snowed-Inn Christmas | Blogmas Day 6  - ...

  It's Christmas Eve! And as it's Christmas Eve, what better film to end Blogmas with than a film that's literally about, and titled, Christmas Eve! Two college sweethearts, Corrine (Kyla Pratt) and Rob (Brooks Darnell) part ways when career opportunities take them in different directions, promising to meet again the next Christmas Eve. Years later, they reconnect while planning a Christmas wedding. This film is almost exactly the same as the film 'Merry Matrimony' that I reviewed on Blogmas day 11. They are both about couples who break up for one reason or another, and are brought together 7 years later to plan a Christmas wedding. The only difference between this film and 'Merry Matrimony', is that this film was good. Because I didn't like the other one at all, but I really liked this one. For a start, the couple have such natural chemistry, which makes them really fun to watch. In fact, I loved all of the characters, even the minor ones that I didn...

  It's Blogmas day 22! This is a Netflix movie, and I mainly picked it because I saw that there was a sequel coming out this year, and I thought it would be cool to review both of the movies one after the other. So tomorrow, I'll be reviewing the sequel. A wealthy man (Josh Swicard) poses as a ranch hand to convince a farmer (Lauren Swicard) to sell her family's land. The film has an interesting premise - however, it basically tells you exactly what's going to happen in the first 10 minutes - particularly what the act 3 conflict will be. There were a few too many storylines. For only a small amount of characters, there is way too much happening. The characters are all likeable enough that the film is somewhat entertaining even if you don't love the premise, or you find it too predictable (because it is very predictable). After a while I found myself watching just to see the characters finally get together. Not only did I care about the two main characters while watc...

  It's Blogmas day 21! I found this film on Disney+ and picked it for two reasons. One, I love Tia Mowry (who plays the main character), and two, it was a musical, which I also love. When Holly (Tia Mowry) doesn't get into her neighbourhood Christmas singing group, she and her co-workers form their own group, The Mistle-Tones. This was the Christmas musical that I had been waiting for this year. I've seen others, but none where the story and music are both important, and both good! The story is unique and interesting - particularly because of the character of Holly, who is sweet and endearing from her first second on screen. Speaking of the characters, I completely loved all of Holly's co-workers. They didn't get a lot to do, but they rounded out the story really well and were so fun to watch. Now the songs. This film takes Christmas songs that we already know and remixes them slightly. They're not unrecognizable, but they're different from what we hear ever...

  It's Blogmas day 20! I added this film to my Netflix watchlist as soon as I was able to because I loved the concept. It wasn't completely original, but it looked like it would be a modern, fun watch - perfect for Blogmas! After a break-up right before Christmas, Peter (Michael Urie) persuades his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to go home with him for Christmas, posing as his boyfriend. But this gets complicated when Peter's family gets involved in his love life. I really liked this film, though it wasn't what I thought. At first, I assumed the movie would completely focus on fake dating, which would have been interesting (if a bit overdone), but actually, that doesn't really come to fruition at all, and I was pleased that the film went in a different direction. I really loved the characters. Yes, Nick and Peter were great, but for me Peter's family was the best part of the film - I loved every one of them. Not only are they all well-written, three-dimens...

  It’s Blogmas Day 19! This is a Lifetime movie, which I picked because I really liked the premise, and it looked different to most of the other Blogmas movies that I’ve reviewed so far. When Christy (Kelley Jakle) has to learn about Hanukkah at work to land a big account, she enlists the help of Jonathan (Jake Epstein), who needs to learn about Christmas to impress his girlfriend's father. Even before starting the film, the concept is original – not only because of the mix of Christmas and Hanukkah, but also because the main characters are in separate relationships when the film starts. The idea of the story feels fairly realistic – not necessarily the reasons for these people needing to learn about the other’s culture, but just the idea of two people teaching each other about their worlds and falling for each other as they learn more about each other. I love that. The actors, and their characters, have good chemistry and are fun to watch. I have mentioned that the main characters...

It’s Blogmas day 18! This is a film that I found on Disney+. Not only did it look cute, but it added a time-loop film to my Blogmas list, which I didn't have previously, so I definitely wanted to include it. After a bad blind date on Christmas Eve, Kate (Amy Smart) finds herself reliving the day over and over again. I quite like the concept of the film. You want to see how Kate develops, and you want to know how her life will change as a result of the loop. The dialogue in the film isn't great, and I found myself getting distracted by it a few times. There were a few instances where the characters just didn't sound like real people. This film is definitely driven by plot rather than character, and because of this, the characters felt a bit underdeveloped, and I never really warmed to them. However, when I actually did get to know the characters, I think it ended up having the opposite effect than was intended, because I really didn't like Kate. She was selfi...

  It’s Blogmas day 17! This was probably my most highly anticipated film of Blogmas (because yes, I was a huge High School Musical fan back in the day). I thought I would miss it because it premiered in America before the UK, but fortunately, it came out in the UK a couple of weeks ago.     Childhood dance partners Lucy (Monique Coleman) and Barrett (Corbin Bleu) reunite to re-create a beloved Christmas tradition in their hometown. I really enjoyed this film. The characters have great chemistry. It may be because I had already seen them act together (albeit more than a decade ago), but they seemed very natural together, and like an obvious pairing for a romantic movie. They are a cute pair, and it is easy to root for them. Having said that, one problem that I had with the characters was that they didn't ever feel like they existed outside of this world that was created for them. They never felt like they could be real people – I would have liked to believe that this ...

  It's Blogmas day 16! This film was on the Lifetime Movies website. Not only did it look interesting, but I haven't seen enough gay Christmas movies in my life, so it's always nice to be able to add them to the Blogmas list. When Hugo (Ben Lewis) and his best friend Madelyn (Ellen Wong) go back to Hugo's hometown for Christmas, he finds that his mother (Fran Drescher) is trying to set him up with old classmate Patrick (Blake Lee). The description is quite straightforward, although it does seem to suggest that not much happens, and unfortunately, it is right. Not a lot happens in this film. The two leads are cute, and have good chemistry (they're married in real life, which might help), but neither of the characters have enough personality to carry the film. It feels like the story never really gets going - we are waiting for something to happen and nothing ever really does. Ultimately the film was a bit boring, which is saying something considering there are about ...

  It's Blogmas day 15! I picked this movie because, despite it being quite old now, I've never actually seen it. It's also the first (and probably the only) animated movie that I'll be reviewing this Blogmas. A boy who has stopped believing in Santa Claus takes a trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express. The first thing I'll say after watching this film is that I waited too long to see it, because I'm definitely not the target audience for it, and that definitely affected how I saw it. Having said that, even before watching the film, this is such a lovely idea for a children's Christmas movie. The film makes you want to re-capture the magic that Christmas had when you were a child. Not enough Christmas movies (particularly for adults) have that magic in them that Christmas had when we were younger. Not only are the characters really sweet and well-written, but the voice cast was amazing. As I said, I'm not the target audience, so there were parts of t...

It's Blogmas day 14! I found this movie in Disney+ and picked it without realising that it's a sequel. I'm hoping that didn't matter too much, but maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had seen the first film? Hannah (Jen Lilley), a book editor, must work with her former rival, Ryan (Carlo Marks) to spark inspiration in a writer (Rachael Crawford). As already stated, I didn't enjoy this film that much. The film starts by trying to make the audience understand the backstory and relationship of these two characters, without giving us a chance to actually get to know the characters individually. As a result of that, I didn't really care about the characters. I found it interesting that the main story (which wasn't about a romantic relationship) was so heavily featured that at times it's easy to forget that this is either a Christmas movie, or a romance movie. I'm not sure if I liked that or not, but it's definitely unusual. The two main characters...

  It's Blogmas day 13! This is a Lifetime movie, and I was initially interested in the premise because it seemed cute and light, and ultimately what we're all used to seeing in Christmas rom-coms. After finding out that her ex-boyfriend is bringing his new girlfriend home for Christmas, Jolie (Hilarie Burton) is dreading going back. But after a suggestion from her best friend, Jolie and Jack (Robert Buckley) realise they can use each other for their mutual benefit. I fell in love with this pairing in the first 5 minutes of the film. Weirdly, this is one of the only Christmas movies I've watched so far where I enjoyed the build-up to the main plot as much (if not more) than I enjoyed the rest of the story. There is great chemistry between the main characters. You're rooting for them to get together from the beginning, even though you know what will happen. Fake dating isn't a new concept, so the film isn't that original, but I enjoyed that. It's comfortable a...

  It's Blogmas day 12! Blogmas day 12 is my birthday, so usually I try to watch something a bit special, but I've abandoned that for the last couple of years (other than this being my first Disney+ film review). However, it just so happened that Noelle has been my favourite film of Blogmas so far! After inheriting the mantle of Santa Claus, Nick Kringle (Bill Hader) takes a break from the North Pole. But when he doesn't return, it's up to his Christmas-loving sister, Noelle (Anna Kendrick), to bring him back. As stated, I loved this film. For a start, it has a great cast. Other than Hader and Kendrick, the film also stars Shirley MacLaine, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty and Kingsley Ben-Adir, and all of the cast were perfect in their roles. Speaking of the cast, the film had a great group of characters that were really fun to watch.  The premise was interesting and unique, which was really nice after watching a lot of reality-based romantic Christmas movies (which I also ...

  It's Blogmas day 11! I chose this film mainly because the plot was slightly different than the movies that I've been watching so far, because the main couple start the movie as exes, rather than love interests. When Brie (Jessica Lowndes) is assigned her dream project at work, she is thrilled. Until she discovers that she has to work with her ex-boyfriend (Christopher Russell). So, while they start off as exes, this isn't a particularly original setting because after a while you forget that they were even exes in the first place. The characters have an interesting dynamic, particularly in the beginning of the time jump, when they meet each other again. You want to see where this is going to go. Speaking of the time jump,  it was too long (7 years) for me to really believe it. These characters look and act exactly the same, and they definitely don't behave as if they haven't seen each other in close to a decade. The characters were really bland, and the story itsel...

  It's Blogmas day 10! Today's pick is a Lifetime movie. I picked it because it looked exactly like a Lifetime Christmas movie, and I loved that. It's nice to change it up, but these movies are really what my Blogmas is all about. Erin (Tatyana Ali), a hotelier working in the city, has to return to her hometown to open a hotel that the town's residents are against. But when she decides to get the residents onside by turning the hotel into a Christmas hotel, she realises she will need the help of childhood crush Connor (Sean Patrick Thomas). I liked the premise of the film immediately. Not only did it feel somewhat realistic, but the fact that Christmas is tied up in every move this character makes causes the film to feel implicitly Christmassy. The love interests have natural chemistry, and their friendship/rivalry feels real. You really believe what they're saying. Even though the film is heavily based on business, it is also very much made in the spirit of Christm...

  It's Blogmas day 9! I picked this movie for Blogmas because not only did it sound different from the usual Christmas movies, but it also heavily hinted at being a musical (or music themed), and I love a Christmas musical. An estranged mother/daughter music duo, Bonnie Rose (Catherine Mary Stewart) and Ashlyn Rose (Beverley Mitchell) reunite after 10 years to release a Christmas single. As I've already said, this story sounded different from the other Christmas movies that I've been watching, and it was. And while it does make it clear that there will be a romance or two within the movie, that's not what it focuses on. My biggest problem with this film was that I didn't believe that our main characters were actually mother and daughter. They aren't believable, and their chemistry doesn't work. Speaking of chemistry, there also wasn't really any chemistry between the main character (Ashlyn Rose) and her love interest. To be honest, his character could ha...

  It's Blogmas day 8! This one enticed me because it felt slightly different from the usual Christmas movies I've been watching, in that, it wasn't about falling in love, it was about someone having to make a choice between love and their career. Lindsay (Eloise Mumford) has to make a choice between staying in her hometown to marry her boyfriend, or taking a job teaching at a prestigious college thousands of miles away. With the help of a mysterious stranger, she is transported 3 years into the future to help her make the decision. This film starts from an interesting place. It's not 100% clear what the plot will be because there are a few different routes that it could take. The film has an amazing cast, including Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner - one of the reasons that the film caught my eye in the first place was because of the cast. The downfall of plots like this is how long it takes the character to realise that they are in the future/past/a time loop, and ...

  It's Blogmas day 7! This film had been advertised by Netflix for a while before it came out, so it had been on my list for a while, and I was looking forward to seeing it. To escape a scandal, author Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) goes to Scotland to visit the castle that her grandfather grew up in. What she doesn't expect is to clash with the castle's owner (Cary Elwes).   This was such a sweet, heartwarming story. It's so nice to see a romantic story about an older couple - we don't see it too often and it adds a new dynamic to an otherwise unoriginal story. There is such good tension and chemistry between the two main actors - their relationship (whether romantic or hostile) is always believable. The story outside of the romance isn't that interesting, but it is somewhat original, so it gets points for that.  I really like the characters that Sophie comes across and befriends. They round out the story really well. Even if the story isn't explicitly about...

  It's Blogmas Day 6! This is my first Blogmas film directly from the Lifetime website, and I chose it because I didn't really have an 'opposites attract' Christmas movie picked out, and this seemed like a cute one. When co-workers Jenna (Bethany Joy Lenz) and Kevin (Andrew Walker) volunteer for a Christmas assignment, they end up stranded in Santa Claus, Indiana. But as they become invested in saving a Christmas inn, will they discover that there's more to each other than they always thought?  Spoiler alert: yes. This is a really cute movie. The plot isn't really anything new, but as I said, I wanted to include at least one 'opposites attract' Christmas movie. The characters are obvious stereotypes, but I actually quite liked them. They are enjoyable to watch, and the actors did a great job with them. The actors also had good chemistry, which really helped.  In fact, the characters are a lot more interesting than the story itself. I for one didn't c...

  It's Blogmas day 5! These movies are now a tradition and I love it! I hope they keep making them for years to come! In this third instalment of The Princess Switch, when a royal artefact is stolen, Margaret (Vanessa Hudgens) and Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens) team up with Margaret's cousin Fiona (Vanessa Hudgens) to get it back. I look forward to seeing these characters every year. This film sees Fiona take the spotlight, with Stacy and Margaret taking a backseat. While I was intrigued by this new direction, Fiona was never a character that I cared about in the previous movies, so I didn't love that the story focused on her rather than the characters that I had already grown to love. The story itself is less compelling this time around. But because we are so familiar with this world, it doesn't matter that much what the story is. The film could have been shorter, and the story could definitely have been a lot more fun. It started to drag on after a while. It also doesn't...