Bria Lou Reviews

  I haven't done any round-up posts this year, but I really want to keep doing them for Blogmas. So here are all the movies I watched for Blogmas 2023! A Christmas Duet | Blogmas Day 1 - A great start to Blogmas 2023. Merry & Gay | Blogmas Day 2 - Loved the title, wish the movie was more merry and gay and less generic. Mistletoe Match | Blogmas Day 3 - Interesting premise and good characters. A Fiancé for Christmas | Blogmas Day 4 - My first favourite and still one of the best this year! Christmas Everlasting | Blogmas Day 5 - Explores loss well, but not particularly festive. Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas | Blogmas Day 6 - Biggest Blogmas surprise - loved it! A Christmas Masquerade | Blogmas Day 7 - There are better masquerade movies out there. EXmas | Blogmas Day 8 - Fun premise, engaging and enjoyable. Best. Christmas. Ever! | Blogmas Day 9 - Unique plot and likeable characters. Reindeer Games Homecoming | Blogmas Day 10 - Unfortunately not for me. Christmas on

  It's Blogmas day 24! Christmas Eve! I have to admit, I picked this film entirely for the name. The premise was fine, and I like the two main actors, but the only thing that stood out to me was how much I loved the title! Noel (Paulina Chávez) helps her grieving father (Mario Lopez) find his Christmas spirit through online dating. I really liked this film. It's a lot better than the premise suggests! The relationship between father and daughter is really sweet, and the actors have good chemistry, which is true for most of the actors and their characters in the film. I really liked all the characters, and David (Lopez) and Sophie (AnnaLynne McCord) were really fun to watch. They worked really well together. A lot of Christmas movies that deal with loss or grief tend to do it in a superficial way, with a throwaway comment here or there. This one deals with the topic really well. I was engaged throughout and definitely think this is one of the most compelling Blogmas movies this

It's Blogmas day 23! I loved 'Your Christmas or Mine?' so much last year! So when I heard that a second movie was coming out, I immediately had to add it to the list for Blogmas. When Hayley (Cora Kirk) and James' (Asa Butterfield) families decide to spend Christmas together, a mix-up at the airport is just the start of events that test the couple's relationship. This was okay, but definitely not as good as the first one. I was actually a bit disappointed by the end. But having said that, the chemistry between the main actors is still there, and it's still great! They're a really believable couple and I love watching them. The best thing about the first film was how loveable and fun the supporting characters were, and this is still the case. They're just as fun this time around! We got to see the main characters spend more time together in this one, which I liked in comparison to the first. But the first film had a much more enjoyable story, and a really

It's Blogmas day 22! This is a new film that came out on Disney+. I didn't know much about the premise, but because it was new, I definitely had to watch it. Eddie (Ludacris) no longer believes in the magic of Christmas. While spending the evening with his daughter (Madison Skye Validum), they meet a mysterious man claiming to be Santa Claus (Lil Rel Howery). This was okay. It was fun in places, particularly at the beginning, but it definitely lost its way a bit as it continued. From the beginning, it feels really modern and unique. It's funny, but some of the humour was a bit over-the-top at best, and cringey at worst. Once the novelty wears off everything becomes a lot less fun. It's really sweet, but the story isn't as interesting as it could be. Once the audience understand the premise, there are many options the film could take, and it ends up just being Eddie and his daughter running around town following 'Santa'. It doesn't particularly seem geare

It's Blogmas day 21! This was another random one, picked pretty much at the last minute. But the premise was unique and looked fun so I definitely wanted to see it! When six friends reunite for a treasure hunt, sparks fly between Austin (Taylor Frey) and his former best friend Everett (Kyle Dean Massey). I really wish I'd liked this more, but unfortunately it wasn't that great. For a start, although it was advertised, there were way too many characters. Especially because at least three of them looked really similar and it took me a while to work out who was who. The thing that made this film original for me, outside of the reunion of friends, was the treasure hunt. But so little time was spent actually hunting for treasure! It was the only interesting thing about the movie and it was cut down way too much. None of the characters are really developed to the point of having real personalities. In addition to that, none of the couples really had chemistry, which is crazy beca

 It's Blogmas day 20! This movie had a really cute premise, and I loved the title, so I was really looking forward to watching it! When Steph (Kathryn A Davis) creates 'Six Degrees of Santa', a Secret Santa gifting programme, she helps entrepreneur Jason (Steve Lund) find his Secret Santa to hide the fact that it's actually her. I loved this film. I also noticed while watching that the main actress in this is also the actress from 'Christmas on 5th Avenue', and I loved her in both. The characters are really sweet, and I loved watching them together. The romance starts off as 'enemies-to-lovers', and it does this quite well (or as well as a 90-minute Christmas movie can). All of the actors were great, and the main actors had good romantic chemistry. Overall, this was a really lovely, light, undeniably Christmas-based romance movie that I really enjoyed watching. Title - 7/10 Originality - 6/10 Christmas Spirit - 8/10 Christmas Music - 3/10 It's 5 days

 It's Blogmas day 19! This was the most random pick of Blogmas. When I was due to watch a movie for day 19, I didn't like the look of anything of the options I had planned. So when I saw this on the Lifetime website, I picked it at random. When Dodie (Tia Mowry) finds a box of trinkets in her antique store, she sets out to find the rightful owner. This was okay. The premise sounded a bit unique but it does end up being a generic Christmas romance. The characters are sweet and fun to watch, but the story definitely lets them down. For most of the film, the primary theme isn't either romance or Christmas. This makes it a bit more original than some other Christmas romance movies, but it always makes it quite an unsuccessful Christmas romance movie. After a while, you realise that the characters don't really have discernible personalities, the investigation storyline is bland, and the whole film is a bit boring. And then there's the romance - it was cute at the beginni

It's Blogmas day 18! This was a random one that I picked to fill out the Blogmas list. I didn't really know what it was about, and wasn't particularly looking forward to it. After a break-up, Cait (Jessy Holtermann)   goes home for Christmas and meets handyman Drew (James Liddell), who is helping her father fix their family bed-and-breakfast to be sold. But can Cait find a way to save the B&B? I didn't really feel anything about this movie. I wasn't disappointed by it, but I also didn't enjoy it, it was just meh. The characters, story and 'venue' (aka the B&B) were all a bit bland, and things mostly stayed that way throughout the entirety of the film. Because I didn't really know what this was about, I was surprised when the plot changed about 30 minutes in. I liked the change but felt disappointed that it didn't start earlier, given the movie was so short. The most endearing character was the one we're not supposed to like. Why was h

  It's Blogmas day 17! This was a late addition to the Blogmas list, but as there is always a new Sky Original for Christmas, I definitely had to include it! Just when everything in his life is going wrong, Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) dusts off an old jewellery box and accidentally summons a genie (Melissa McCarthy). I had no expectations for this film whatsoever, so I'm so happy that I ended up completely loving it! It was so much better than I thought it would be. The main character, Bernard, is really likeable from the very beginning. The audience are rooting for him right away. Melissa McCarthy is amazing in the role of the genie. The role is similar in personality to most of the other characters she's played, but it works so well for a mythical creature! Bernard and the genie have great chemistry, they work really well together and are a pleasure to watch. Not only is the movie really fun, but it's also genuinely funny. I had such a good time watching it. Overall, this

  It's Blogmas day 16! I always like to have a couple of musical Christmas movies on the list for Blogmas, and this one looked quite musical, so I added it straight away! Abby (Mya), once an aspiring singer-songwriter, now writes jingles. While home for the holidays, Abby helps a local music teacher put on a show to save the school's arts programme. I didn't like this as much as I wanted to - and it definitely wasn't as musical as I thought it would be. It took me a while to connect with the characters, and even when I started liking them more, I never felt like I really knew them. The story itself isn't particularly engaging. I was interested in one aspect of the plot, regarding Abby and a song she wrote, but this wasn't explored in great detail. Which is unfortunate as it was more interesting than the main story. It was enjoyable enough, but nothing really happened. The events were all quite run-of-the-mill. The main couple weren't the most likeable charac

It's Blogmas day 15! I have to admit, I only picked this one because it stars Chad Michael Murray. I've reviewed his Christmas movies during Blogmas 2021 and 2022, so I wanted to keep the tradition alive! TV producer Maggie (Jessy Schram) decides to bring her boss's three sons home to her for the holidays. This was cute. I didn't really understand the premise fully before watching it, but it was better than I thought it would be. I really liked the couple. For the last two Chad Michael Murray Christmas movies I've reviewed, one of my criticisms has been the lack of chemistry, but this problem was definitely solved this time around! This will be what you expect - cute, classic Hallmark fare. I didn't feel particularly connected to any of the characters, but because they were fun to watch, it didn't matter too much that I didn't actually know anything about them. It definitely starts to lose its way a bit towards the middle, but it regained my attention by

It's Blogmas day 14! When I was picking Blogmas movies, for some reason, this one really stood out to me. I don't know exactly why, but something about the poster felt really comforting, and I hoped the actual movie felt the same way. Suzy (Jacky Lai) goes home for Christmas in the middle of a huge work project and has to balance working for a promotion with participating in her town's gingerbread house competition. I loved this film so much! It's definitely one of my favourites this year! The opening scene alone was so sweet! I found myself tearing up while watching it, which definitely says something! The entirety of the film is about baking, so it will definitely put you in the mood to do some yourself - and it's a perfect one to watch while actually baking!  I loved the way the character described everyone she knew using a variety of baked goods. It was really creative and unique. All the characters were so fun to watch! But Suzy in particular was a great main c

It's Blogmas day 13! This is one that I was really looking forward to. It was new and looked like it would be a really fun watch. I love Hallmark romance Christmas movies, but it's also nice to have these more family-oriented movies. In order to make his house perfect for Christmas, Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) makes a deal that inadvertently brings the 12 days of Christmas to life. I was really disappointed with this. It definitely wasn't as fun or enjoyable as I wanted it to be. It starts off really slowly and doesn't make us care about the characters. And this was a theme that continued throughout - I never cared about the characters and couldn't really connect with them. I was bored almost instantly, and the film did nothing to recapture my attention. The story doesn't always make sense, but even if it did it wasn't that fun. But that is taking into account that it's aimed at a younger demographic and would probably be a great watch for children. The

  It's Blogmas day 12! I always try to choose something a bit special for Day 12, as it's my birthday. But for this year, I had actually planned a different film, but that film ended up being so disappointing I ended up switching it for this one instead, as I liked this one much more! When a family accidentally switch bodies, their journey to find their way back to themselves ends up bringing them closer to each other. I liked this movie. It wasn't my favourite, but it's definitely a fun one to watch. The cast is great (the film stars Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon and Rita Moreno), and the characters are really likeable, and only get moreso as the film continues. It's not the most original plot, but setting it at Christmas definitely gives it a hit of originality and makes it feel fresh. It's well-written and funnier than I expected. And while some of the humour comes across as quite juvenile and cringey, some of it works well. My biggest gri

It's Blogmas day 11! This film had a really interesting, explicitly Hallmark-y premise, and I was really looking forward to seeing it! Hired to decorate a penthouse on 5th Avenue over Christmas, Eva (Kathryn A Davis) is surprised to learn that she will be sharing the penthouse with its owner, writer Lucas Blade (Olivier Renaud). But can her bubbly personality bring him out of his slump? I loved this! For any booktube/tok fans, this is the grumpy/sunshine trope and it's done so well here! I loved the main characters from the beginning and was rooting for them almost immediately. It was really lovely watching them get to know each other. This is perfect if you want a generic lifetime-esque movie that's actually an enjoyable watch. The only negative I have about the film is that, because not much happens, it can feel a bit longer than it is. But I didn't mind spending more time with this couple. They're adorable. Overall, watch this one if you're in the mood for a

It's Blogmas day 10! I will admit, the thing about this film that caught my eye was Sarah Drew. I love her in Grey's Anatomy, and I always love seeing her in other movies. I didn't really know what the film was about other than that she was in it. After the death of her father, MacKenzie (Sarah Drew) works hard to keep the 'Reindeer Games' tradition alive. But when her high-school crush Chase (Justin Bruening) returns home, sparks fly between the pair. I didn't like this one as much as I wanted to. It takes a while for the film to have a discernible plot, and when it did become about her potential romance with her crush, it just wasn't that interesting. The characters are fun and enjoyable to watch, but they're also a bit two-dimensional, which can often be the case in Lifetime movies. One of the main plot points is the 'Reindeer Games' themselves, and while you can see that they may be fun to actually take part in, they weren't that fun to w

It's Blogmas day 9! Of course, there's always an obligatory Netflix original to review during Blogmas, and this year there's two! Here's the first one. Fed up with receiving over-the-top Christmas letters from her friend Jackie (Brandy Norwood), this year Charlotte (Heather Graham) tries to prove that Jackie's life isn't as amazing as it seems. I liked the premise more than the execution, but I still enjoyed it.  I really liked most of the characters. Even the ones that were supposed to be unlikeable I found something interesting in them. The cast was great and played their characters really well. The film is filled with Christmas music and decorations that make you feel really festive. In terms of the actual events of the film, it's definitely one of the more realistic Christmas movies. There's nothing outlandish or unrealistic (until the end), though that also means not a lot of fun. Overall, this film had some really heart-warming, sweet moments. It&#

It's Blogmas day 8! This wasn't originally on the Blogmas list, but after seeing the trailer I definitely had to add it! When Graham (Robbie Amell) comes home for Christmas, he discovers that his family are already celebrating with Ali (Leighton Meester), the ex that broke his heart. I really liked the original premise of the movie, and while it wasn't as festive as I wanted to be, I still had a really enjoyable time with it. I liked all the characters almost immediately - Graham's family are all really fun to watch, and you can understand why Ali wanted to spend Christmas with them. The two main characters have a really interesting dynamic that's enjoyable to watch. They have great chemistry. At times the film feels more like a family drama than a festive Christmas movie. It's definitely one that you could probably watch at any time of year. Overall, this is a very enjoyable movie. I would have liked it to be more Christmassy, but it's still definitely wort

  It's Blogmas day 7! I feel like a masquerade-themed movie is essential Christmas viewing, so I definitely had to add this one to this list. When Julianne (Erin Agostino) is mistaken for her boss while attending a masquerade party, she keeps up the ruse to help her boss impress an aloof businessman (David Lafontaine). This wasn't the best masquerade movie I've ever seen. Though I will say it's one of the most festive movies of Blogmas so far. 8 minutes in and there was a Christmas tree and decorations in the background of every shot, and this continued for a long time. The main couple didn't have a lot of chemistry, and it was hard to imagine them getting together. It moves really slowly and not much happens, including much in the way of romance. It actually becomes a bit boring after a while. I never really cared that much about the actual story. Being invested in the couple would have saved the film, but sadly they didn't really give us anything to root for.

It's Blogmas day 6! I've been meaning to watch this movie for years. When it's time to plan Blogmas I always go to Disney+ to see the Christmas selection, and every time I've seen this movie there are always ones that look more interesting, but this year was the first time I really understood what it was about. I loved the premise and couldn't wait to watch it! After dying on the way home from an amazing first date, Jess (Aisha Dee) is stuck with unfinished business, waiting to move on to the afterlife. I really liked this movie. So far it's probably my second-favourite of Blogmas, but it's definitely the best-written and probably the best-made movie of Blogmas so far. The characters were likeable and the main leads had great chemistry right off the bat. The plot was really original. I was waiting for it to become generic and boring and it never did! Of course, there were a couple of cliché moments, but that just added to the charm. I was actually interested