Christmas-Reviewer BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY REVIEWED THIS FILM. THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS. When you watch a "Christmas theme" film you know what your in for. Now does this film break new ground? "No" but not every film maker wants to do that. Some of them want to tell stories about "Faith, hope and love" and that is what they did here and they made a film well worth watching! Some people might be bothered by the overall religious themes in this but this a "Christmas Film" with a nice message.In this film Mary Tobin has wonderful memories of family gatherings at the Christmas Lodge. When she arrives for a weekend vacation, she quickly realizes that the lodge she loves has fallen into serious disrepair. With a lack of funds she is sets out to find a way to save the lodge. I really enjoyed the film and its message about why traditions are important. Now it never tell you that outright but it shows you. The film is well paced and the leads are very charming. Michael Shanks is excellent and I hope to see him again in other films. If your someone that grew up with large family gatherings for Christmas then you will enjoy this film. I also want to point out this film makes you want to celebrate life with your loved ones! So watch it with someone you love. If your a guy watch it with your girlfriend. I have now watched this every Christmas for the past 3 years. The film just gets better to me.

md-36-796209 Some of the plot elements aren't just impossible to believe, but send a mixed message about values. (See "Flatter than roadkill", which sums this up well.) The casting of Mary's parents and grandfather made it hard for me to follow the story. The mother looked liked the grandfather's age, and way older than the father, so I couldn't figure out how the grandmother could be dead. (What? Then who's the white-haired lady taking care of the grandfather, his second wife?) The least they could have done was have Mary clearly call her "Mom" from the second she was introduced and several times in her first scene. Maybe the intention was to say "it's okay to not dye your hair, work out, etc. if you and your husband share true love", but it was too confusing to work.

ccmulder My wife and I are suckers for a sappy Christmas movie in the classic Hallmark genre. You do not expect Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson type acting. In fact, if you look at the IMDb reviews of Christmas movies, they are almost always on average 2 to 3 stars above what one would rate a non-Christmas movie because people understand these are "feel good" movies designed to inspire Christmas spirit, not win academy awards (and that is why I gave this a "3" instead of a "1"). That being said, as one reviewer mentioned, this movie HAD NO Christmas SPIRIT. There was no Christmas music, no decorations, no snow--nothing remotely Christmasy until the final scene (unless you count the endless references to "Christmas Lodge." And the acting—even giving due consideration to the usual sub-par acting in Christmas movies—was very poor with the exception of Erin Karpluk and the little girl--both did a decent job working amidst a bunch of stiffs.Further, there was too much interjection of the Bible in the movie. I understand that Christmas has its origins in the birth of Christ, but frankly, it has become a secular holiday for many around the world. I typically do not mind and even enjoy some reference to Christ, but even Christmas movies that do that, avoid such overt, over-the-top references to the Bible this movie included. I almost felt as though I had attended a sermon by the end of the movie.Moreover, the single most important aspect of a romantic Christmas movie as this one tries to be—where lonely forlorn man or woman find the true love and the Christmas spirit—is good chemistry between the male and female leads. There was zero chemistry in this movie—nothing, nada, zip.I think the only reason anyone would give this movie above 5 stars (and "5" is generous) is a strong religious or sugary "G" rating bias—that is people who cringe when the realism in a movie moves a hair off dead center of the G rating scale. So if you have that bias, you'll have a chance of liking this movie—not much of a chance, mind you—but a chance. If you prefer real Christmas movies with all the attendant Christmas trimmings to get you in the spirit of the season, you will want to skip this movie—or watch it after you've watched all the others you can possibly rent or find streaming on the Internet.

lyndakf-558-49076 This is a very heartwarming and wonderful movie. Erin Karpluk was so realistic in her love and devotion to her grandfather that she had each of our family members crying, she is like a modern day Margaret O'Brien. And of course Michael Shanks is a favorite, as always, and it was fun to see him in something other than Stargate. This is what Christmas is really about - Family and family traditions, as is also - helping others in need. It touched the hearts of each one of us so much in our family as we sat and watched it, that some of us didn't want to leave the room for anything. It's uplifting and inspiring and it will be a new family favorite for Christmas from now on.