Zíza

Positive in that we get into the heroine's life at a time when she has a good job she enjoys, a boyfriend she likes. Then the dad she hasn't seen in three years arrives, old wounds are opened, new people and old habits come into the mix. A classic pre-Christmas sweetheart movie, clear as day from the start, but easily watchable. The kid is as wise as an amateur psychologist, the fort is fine, the mother is like she has a ruler up her ass, but luckily she was able to squeeze it out... A cute family film set during Christmas and broadcast on TV. 52%.

Finally a Christmas movie where there's real snow and not even a hint of Christmas in it, let alone dialogue that doesn't sound like it was written by someone from Wattpad (maybe the whole script was written from there!), and acting performances that I wouldn't be surprised if they got a Golden Raspberry. So the only bonus is the real snow. The other thing is the resurrected Bobby on speed, which I have no idea if it was a plus or just a wtf. Anyway, nothing like investing millions in someone when you just met them a few days ago. Overall illogical, unsympathetic, but at least they were cold and it was snowing.

Way too long for this kind of idiocy. No atmosphere. No decent acting performances (with TV movies I don't even look for them, but still... it was mediocre to below average even for TV). And most importantly, explain to me... what do the Americans think is so wondrous about giving up your corporate job and starting to do something "you've always enjoyed/now find fulfilling"?

What would you rather be? A gift shopper or a painter? Obviously you'd rather paint, but you know what... if no one is interested in your paintings, you're just wiped out and have to make a living somehow... and by chance you're good at picking out gifts, so you give that a try... well, then you meet a wealthy guy in the cafe next to the gallery who doesn't have time, he's always working, but of course you change him in a few days, because you're great at picking out gifts and you're great at painting, and that's exactly what he needs. Bullshit without Christmas spirit. A weak 2 stars.

If you think Christmas and the Christmas atmosphere is all about how well you’ve decorated, this is the movie for you. For me, it's pretty weak, nothing really works in it, not the acting, not the setting, let alone any atmosphere, and it will very quickly fall in between similar non-snow weepers. A weaker 2 stars.

It's that Christmas-not-Christmas idyll again. Even though it takes place a few days before Christmas Eve, it doesn't really matter, so I wouldn't even call it a Christmas movie. The Christmas atmosphere isn't there at all. But otherwise, it's just a feel-good TV romance. While it may seem like it's about the heroine finding herself and choosing her career (like in 12 Gifts of Christmas, which incidentally used the same gallery and even the same cafe next door), I don't think that's really what it's about at all. It doesn't play the most important role. It's more about relationships that don't involve turbulent changes. The main character was great, the way she acted reminded me of a friend of mine, so maybe that's why I liked her a little more. Then we have a pretty handsome history teacher and boom. These two know each other and high school love never dies... 50%.

Before Christmas (sometimes since August, sometime since November...) I've been skimming all the Christmas horror movies trying to find something among them that even remotely evokes the Christmas spirit. This movie isn't it, BUT it's not even as goofy as that plethora of others. In fact, the main character doesn't act like a ditz (and subsequently a reformed ditz), but simply like a person who, while at some point she doesn't have what she wants, doesn't bitch and just throws herself into the job she signed up for. So at first I didn't really like her, but as time went on I kind of got to know that she was such a great person. Plus Andy the repairman was also likeable and acted like a human being too, not Mr. Perfect or Angry. Because of that, there wasn't really any terrible twist, no terrible fight to fix. And I liked it. It was short and breezy, with a little of that American Christmas charm. And then, of course, the fake snow and aurora borealis sucked and all... but what can you expect from a TV Christmas production... 55%.

If you're a fan of Ayumi Hamasaki, feel free to go for it. You'll be interested to see how Ayumi suffered through the early days and how she became a big time star. The series only covers a fraction of her career, but it's an interesting fraction. It shows the background she grew from, who helped her, how she worked on herself. That's interesting. But what brings it down is the format – it’s weirdly edited, the script isn't exactly the best (like it just skips over something somehow without explanation or hints, and I think I can figure a lot of that out). Another bad thing was the acting by Anzai KaLen (I get it, good as a singer, but as an actress... she better either quit or work on her acting), who basically dragged down everyone else's acting as well. Eventually, it seemed to me that no one really felt like trying anymore. Add to that the weird character of Reika who was unnecessarily psycho, the story would have been much more interesting without her psycho appearances. Not to mention the miraculous psych-out at the end... The idea is fine, for an Ayumi fan I'd say it’s a must, but for the rest of the audience... at most before bedtime.

Such a very enjoyable romantic comedy, some situations straight from life, some far-fetched; pretty much the way consumers of romantic comedies like it. It's not over-sweetened or awkward, and only slightly fecal. There may be a Christmas tree on the poster, but don't look for Christmas spirit in it, or even holiday spirit. It's more about two people and what they’re searching for, and in the end it doesn't matter what season it is. A better 3 stars.

A very pleasant diversion. It may star a witch, but nothing really happens in the series; we watch her gardening, getting lost in her travels, and eating all sorts of goodies. A slice of life, just spiced up with some magic here and there. But I'd say it's aimed more at men than women; at the very least, I simply didn't expect so many shots of breasts... Somewhere with a witch on a broom. A strong 3 stars.