Two Turtle Doves (2019)
Inoffensive but wholly inconsequential. Watched on Dish and there was a giant "Miracles of Christmas" bug taking up the lower quarter of the screen, incredibly annoying and distracting. This is not a movie that can afford distracted viewers.
Is it Hallmark? Yes.
Is it Christmastime? Yes
Does it look like Christmas? Yes.
Does it sound like Christmas? Mostly.
Does it feel like Christmas? I guess.
Did it make me cry? It tried but no.
Did I finish it? Yep.
Is it a good movie? Very meh.
Is it a good Christmas Movie? Meh.
The Holiday Calendar (2018)
An obnoxious young woman learns the true meaning of Christmas with the help of a magical advent calendar (oh, sorry “Holiday Calendar”), a not so platonic best friend and a meet cute with a hunky guy. It starts slow but picks up once the magic kicks in, about 15 minutes. It’s also a bit long, they really didn’t need two hours to tell this story. Still pretty decent.
Update: The movie wasn’t two hours long, it only felt that long, Slightly over an hour and a half. Still too long.
Is it Hallmark? Nope, Netflix.
Does it look like Christmas? Yep.
Does it sound like Christmas? Sure.
Does it feel like Christmas? Sure.
Did it make me cry? No.
Laugh? Nope
Did I finish it? Yep.
Is it a good movie? It’s okay.
Is it a good Christmas Movie? It’s definitely above average if way too long for the material,
Beauty and the Beast - God Bless the Child (S2 E5 1988)
From the pen of George R.R. Martin.Starring Hellboy and Sarah Connor.
(I originally thought the episode “Dead of Winter”, wherein the undergrounders are celebrating their Winterfest while their nemesis ploys to kill them, would be a holiday episode. I'm lost since losing my copy of Joanna Wilson's "Tis the Season TV" - my Christmas TV bible. So, I got to watch a pair of not very festive episodes.)
"God Bless the Child" takes place during the holidays but the episode mostly takes place in an unseasonable underground.
Christmas Episode or Special? Episode
Am I familiar with the series? Not really.
Is it Christmassy? Not until the very end.
Would I Rewatch? No.
Pushing Daisies - Corpsicle (S1 E9 2007)
Takes a while to get seasonal, it’s bogged down in the non-seasonal serialized story. Pitch black whimsy is an acquired taste, probably why this series is a cult classic and was not a mainstream success.
Not the series best episode, sadly, but still pretty good.
Honorable mention to season two’s superior “Window Dressed to Kill” which is not a Christmas episode, but feels like it could have been with a slight rewrite.
Christmas Episode or Special? Episode
Am I familiar with the series? Yes.
Is it Christmassy? Not super. And pretty dark. Very dark.
Would I Rewatch? At some point. Maybe. When I do a series rewatch. Not at Christmas.
