Movie Monday: The Christmas Cure

Sure, it’s no longer the Christmas season, but some movies are great to watch any time of the year. Case in point: The Christmas Cure.

Hallmark Christmas movies are plentiful. Some are top-notch, some are so-so, and there are a few I’ve hit the “pass button” on. The Christmas Cure is one that goes in the top-notch category.

Vanessa Turner decides to spend Christmas at home. A busy emergency room doctor in a large city, Vanessa is ready for some rest and relaxation in her small home town. She reconnects with her mom, dad, and younger brother, Kyle,  all of whom she has close relationships. She also reconnects with a man from her past – high school sweetheart, Mitch. After all these years apart, is there still chemistry between the two of them?

Vanessa’s dad decides to retire. He’s run the clinic, which is attached to his and his wife’s home, for a number of years. It will be difficult to walk away from a job and the patients that he loves, but he deems it’s time. Will Vanessa decide to continue her father’s practice, or will she return to a job, complete with a promotion, in the city?

There are many redeemable qualities in this movie. Vanessa’s parents, Bruce and Martha, love each other and have a happy marriage. The longevity and sincere love of their marriage is a breath of fresh air.

Dr. Bruce Turner has worked as a doctor in his clinic for numerous years. He still cares deeply about his patients and goes out of his way for them. He even makes housecalls. His daughter, Dr. Vanessa Turner, follows in his footsteps and is also a kind and caring doctor as well.

The sibling relationship between Vanessa and Kyle is endearing. They are close and back each other up when necessary. Kyle, as the klutzy younger brother, provides several instances of comic relief.

Vanessa and Mitch have an innocent love that has endured throughout their years apart.

There is nothing objectionable in The Christmas Cure, and it is suitable for the entire family. It contains humor, love, drama, and a wonderful story line interwoven through the lives of a family and a young man who they’ve taken under their wing.

I highly recommend The Christmas Cure and give it a five out of five star rating.

For a listing of movies, please see my collection of Mom-Approved Movie Listings.

 

 

Movie Monday: Switched for Christmas

My favorite type of movie is one that has humor, romance, and a little bit of drama. Switched for Christmas fits the bill on all three counts.

Kate and Chris are identical twins with vastly different lives. Both are jealous of the other, so when one brings up the suggestion to switch places, it gets the ball rolling for a hilarious time of mischief.

Does the other twin have a better life? Kate and Chris are about to find out. Kate is a high-powered real estate developer in Denver, living in a fancy condo with stylish clothes. Chris is an art teacher and single mom living in suburban Littleton. Will they each be able to be the “other one” during the Christmas season with two big projects at stake?

Switched at Christmas is pretty close to the perfect holiday movie. Candace Cameron Bure does a great job playing both sisters. Her daughter, Natasha, is also in the movie as Chris’s daughter.

There were a couple of great themes throughout the movie including loving and appreciating your family, and not taking what you have for granted.

My only suggestion would  have been to “play up” on the lessons the children learned about not taking their mom for granted. It would have been great to see their disrespect at the beginning of the movie addressed more fully. However, if you’re watching this with your tweens and teens, this could be a great discussion starter.

So grab the entire family and enjoy this fun movie that will have you laughing and rooting for each sister. It’s appropriate for all ages, and there is nothing objectionable in it.

I give Switched for Christmas a full five stars out of five. 🙂

Movie Monday – Silver Bells

This week’s Movie Monday family movie suggestion is Silver Bells…

Bruce Dalton works for a local TV station as the sports anchor. With an inflated ego and impatience to match, Bruce expects everyone everywhere he goes to recognize him and the nightly tagline he uses after reporting the latest sports news.

Bruce is a man with a family – a wife, a daughter in law school, and a son named Jason who has lately been distancing himself from his father. Bruce’s selfishness is portrayed in many ways, from “fighting” for a parking spot at the local Kmart to putting his job above the needs of his family.

So what happens when Bruce takes his self-centered attitude too far? What happens when, in his anger and lack of self-control, a ref is injured at his son’s basketball game?

Will Bruce’s punishment finally show him what’s really important in life?

Silver Bells is a great movie on so many levels. When Bruce has to commit to community service as part of his punishment for injuring the ref, viewers get a glimpse inside the Salvation Army and how hard the bell ringers and other volunteers work to serve the less fortunate. Discussion questions abound, including:

• The importance of family and their needs and why that should come first, after our relationship with the Lord. Bruce is not a Christian, but his son shows an interest in Jesus and church. Bruce wants nothing to do with either.

• The importance of carrying out God’s command to serve others and care for the less fortunate. Bruce has no desire to ring the bell for the Salvation Army and finds himself in a bind many times regarding his attitude.

• The importance of listening to wisdom, rather than focusing on ourselves. Major Lowell, the Salvation Army leader and pastor is a Godly man with much foresight. Will Bruce bother to listen to his gentle answers to the problems Bruce is facing in his personal life?

• The importance of not sinning in our anger and keeping keeping our self-control in check.

Silver Bells has ingredients of a great movie. It has drama, humor, a wonderful plot, and a touching ending. Expect to laugh throughout the 88 minute movie, shake your head at Bruce’s shenanigans, and rejoice in the hope and redemption offered.

Bruce Boxleitner plays Bruce Dalton and gives a commanding performance as a versatile actor who can effectively play either the “good guy” or the “bad guy.”

I highly recommend this movie for all ages. A Christmas classic for years to come, this movie has quickly become one of our family favorites.

I am passionate about finding movies suitable for families. For a complete listing of family movie suggestions and an archive of past reviews from a Christian worldview for Movie Monday, please go to my Mom-Approved Movies Page.

For an archived list of movie reviews, go to my newly created Archived Movie Reviews page. This page will be updated regularly to show all movies included in Movie Review Monday.

Movie Review Monday – Christmas Oranges

This week’s Movie Monday family movie suggestion is Christmas Oranges…

As a movie reviewer on a quest to find wholesome family entertainment, I’m always thrilled to find a heartwarming movie that I hadn’t heard much about and discover a gem in the process.

Such is the case with Christmas Oranges.

Rose was abandoned as a baby on the steps of Greenwoods Orphanage. The motherly caretaker, widow Mrs. Hartley, takes Rose in to the orphanage and raises her, along with the other children of the orphanage, as if they were her own. The children enjoy a loving environment and all is well until the unspeakable happens.

Rose is then transferred to Irongates Orphanage, a place opposite in every way from the Greenwoods Orphanage. Under cruel Mr. Crampton’s direction, the children at Irongates are under strict rule with no love and very little attention.

Rose is immediately grateful for the new friends she finds at Irongates, as well as, Mr. Crampton’s kind brother Joe, and Polly, the cook. She hears of the stories of what happens on Christmas – the only day Mr. Crampton allows the children to have any fun. It’s on that special day that Joe brings each child an orange – oranges he has hung on the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Rose finds it difficult to wait for Christmas Day.

Along the way, Rose encounters difficulties at every turn with Mr. Crampton. When she discovers he harbors a secret, will her gentle spirit sway him to realize the mistakes he’s made and that it’s never too late to start anew?

Christmas Oranges has quickly become one of my favorite films. Delightful, heartwarming, and humorous in parts, I was thrilled to have stumbled upon it. Christmas Oranges is not a Christian film, but it does have some wonderful lessons for discussion. For example: love despite biological ties, loyalty, friendship, forgiveness, grace, and serving others. There is nothing objectionable in this movie.

But I will give you one word of caution: you may need a kleenex. I know I did.

I highly recommended this movie for all ages for Christmas and for any time of the year.

I am passionate about finding movies suitable for families. For a complete listing of family movie suggestions and an archive of past reviews from a Christian worldview for Movie Monday, please go to my Mom-Approved Movies Page.

For an archived list of movie reviews, go to my newly created Archived Movie Reviews page. This page will be updated regularly to show all movies included in Movie Review Monday.

 

Movie Review Monday – Coming Home for Christmas

This week’s Movie Monday family movie suggestion is Coming Home for Christmas…

Kate and Melanie were once as close as sisters could be. Until one day when Kate did what Melanie deemed to be unforgivable. Five years later, the girls still aren’t talking, which is taking a toll on their parents, who decide to separate.

Kate decides to make it her mission to not only bring her parents back together for Christmas, but also to restore the loving friendship she once shared with her sister and best friend. Kate longs for the days when her family was close and the fond memories they shared in a house her parents have since lost due to the bad economy.

But will her plan succeed?

Melanie seems to have the perfect life. She married into money, has a 5,000 square foot home, indulges in spa days, and has a seemingly wide circle of influential friends. But is everything as it seems? When Kate discovers her sister’s real life, will she be able to convince Melanie to make amends?

Throw into the mix a budding romance with a handsome soldier, some humor, the loss of a father, and the sad background of one who never had a family and you’ve got an interesting mix meshed into a delightful story.

While Coming Home for Christmas is not a Christian movie, it is a feel-good, fun-to-watch show that highlights some great discussion topics, such as,

Forgiveness – can Melanie ever forgive Kate for what she did? The Bible tells us to forgive others in various passages in the Bible, including Matthew 6:15.

Importance of family – Kate and Melanie grew up in a family that shared a lot of love for each other. They spent time together, sang together, and made each other a priority. God highly values family.

Grief – throughout the story, we see the grief of a young boy who has lost his father. He’s not the only one who has suffered loss. Enter Mike who knows firsthand all about grief and loneliness. The Bible discusses how we can comfort others after knowing firsthand the way God comforts us in our time of need. (2 Cor 1:4).

Marriage – Can Kate and Melanie’s parents move past their differences and once again experience the deep love they had for each other? Marriage is of utmost importance to God.

I highly recommend Coming Home for Christmas, especially for those mom-daughter nights or movie nights with the girls. It contains nothing objectionable and is appropriate for tweens and up.

I am passionate about finding movies suitable for families. For a complete listing of family movie suggestions and an archive of past reviews from a Christian worldview for Movie Monday, please go to my Mom-Approved Movies Page.

For an archived list of movie reviews, go to my newly created Archived Movie Reviews page. This page will be updated regularly to show all movies included in Movie Review Monday.

Movie Monday – The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Today’s family movie suggestion is The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey…

We first watched this movie a couple of years ago and just recently watched it the other night. I’d forgotten what a delightful movie it is!

Based on the book by Susan Wojciechowski, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey is a movie of the value of family and of new beginnings. Thomas has recently lost his father in the War. When he and his mother move to the country from their upscale city home, Thomas finds it difficult to adjust.  How will he ever survive without his father? And to make matters worse, Thomas accidentally left the beautiful Nativity Scene figurines at the train stop. Figurines that are a reminder of the Christmases past with his father.

Jonathan Toomey is no stranger to grief. Having lost his wife and child, he shuts himself out from the world, and instead is content to hide behind the doors of his rented cabin carving items to sell at the local shop. Some of the children in town mock him including calling him “Gloomy Toomey” and throw pebbles at his home. Rumors abound when the children make up stories about just what it is that Mr. Toomey does.

When the paths of Thomas, his mother, and Mr. Toomey cross, lives change. Can those who have lost the most find true happiness again?

This is a wonderful movie with themes of not judging others (Luke 6:37; Matthew 7:1), caring for those less fortunate , and doing to others as you would have done to you (Matthew 7:12). It is a story of healing with some humor dabbled in and some refreshing scenes about the importance of family. It’s a film you’ll want to add to your annual Christmas collection.

This movie contains nothing objectionable, and I would highly recommend The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey for all ages.

For a listing of movie suggestions, followed by archived movie reviews, please see https://pennyzeller.wordpress.com/mom-approved-movies-for-families/

Join me each week for a new movie suggestion of recommended movies suitable for the entire family with reviews written from a Christian worldview.

Movie Monday – A Song for the Season – 11/12/12

Today’s Movie Monday movie suggestion is A Song for the Season * (released by Feature Films for Families).
Fern has recently lost her parents and is living with her uncle Cal, who travels around the United States looking for ways to cut school budgets and save schools from closure.  Fern despises the constant traveling to new towns so her uncle can fulfill his job requirements. So when Cal accepts a job in the small town of Bethlehem, Kentucky where her WWII veteran grandfather lives, Fern is none too thrilled.

Lily Waite gave up her career as a professional musician years ago to care for her mother in the tiny town of Bethlehem, Kentucky. Now Lily is a beloved music teacher at Bethlehem High School.  She has changed lives for the better through a love of music and is thrilled to embark on yet another Christmas production. What will happen when she discovers the school is looking for ways to streamline its budget and that some programs will have to be cut? Will her music program be among the programs deemed “unessential” so that the school can continue to stay open? Throw in the complicating issue that she is drawn to Cal and enjoys spending time with him and that Lily has taken Fern under her wing and the plot thickens.

A Song for the Season is an enjoyable watch with themes of sacrifice, forgiveness, and finding hope after a loss. It is a story of priorities, investing our time in the lives of those struggling, and using the gifts and talents God has given us.

While A Song for the Season is not a Christian movie, it was great to see Christmas songs performed in the school. It was also refreshing to see veterans, such as Cal’s dad Jake, honored for their service to our country.

A Song for the Season features Gerald McRaney, Naomi Judd, and Andy Griffith among its cast. The version I watched, released by Feature Films for Families, contained nothing objectionable (however, there was a strange song at the Christmas dance). I would recommend this movie for those ages 9 and over.

For a listing of movie suggestions, followed by archived movie reviews, please see https://pennyzeller.wordpress.com/mom-approved-movies-for-families/

Join me each week for a new movie suggestion of recommended movies suitable for the entire family with reviews written from a Christian worldview.