The Nine Lives Of Christmas (2014)

Sometimes I watch so many cheesy Christmas movies at this time of year that I start to wonder if it affects my judgment. Are some of the films better than others, or am I just so relieved when one is less painful that it gets bumped up a few points in my mind? I like to think the former, but bear that in mind whenever you check out reviews that I wrote up throughout December.

The Nine Lives Of Christmas is based on a book by Sheila Roberts. Nope, I'd never heard of it either. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Nancey Silvers adapted it into a screenplay, and Mark Jean was allowed to direct it. And the two of them don't seem to do a bad job.

Taking place in the kind of picture-perfect American small town that now only seems to exist in the world of TV movies, this is the tale of a kind, handsome fireman (Zachary, played by Brandon Routh), a kind and attractive young woman (Marilee, played by Kimberly Sustad), and the cat that brings them together. Unfortunately, Zachary is afraid of commitment, which may hamper any potential progress for the attraction that the two clearly have for one another.

I really expected to have to endure this film, as I endure many other seasonal outings (so that you all don't have to), but I have to say that this was a pleasant surprise. Still not quite good enough to be classed as GOOD, it at least has some amusing moments that will raise a genuine smile and benefits from two leads who are very easy to like.

Routh deserves to be a much bigger star, and I run the risk of saying that every time I watch a movie that he's in. The guy is a decent actor, even if he's not among the very best, and he has the looks and good humour to make a role like this a bit better than it could have been. Sustad is a nice match for him, in terms of the tale being told here, and the two never feel too annoying or sickly in any of their scenes together. Chelsea Hobbs is okay as the woman who most people know isn't really nice enough to be with Routh's character, while Stephanie Bennett, Gregory Harrison, Sean Tyson and Dalias Blake all offer solid support.

As previously mentioned, script and direction aren't too bad either. You're never likely to get any major lesson in cinematic techniques when watching these festive TV movies, but this never feels like some of the worst examples - the ones with stationary cameras and sets that look paper-thin. No, this feels like events are taking place in a real environment. There's movement, and there are a variety of nice sets/locations used.

And there's some fun to be had. Especially if you're looking for something that's both romantic and also tolerable.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Hallmark-Lives-Christmas-Family-Romance/dp/B00PTGRZJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417266259&sr=8-1&keywords=the+nine+lives+of+christmas+dvd

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

Grave Encounters is a found footage movie written and directed by The Vicious Brothers (AKA Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz) that was released last year to a pretty warm reception from horror fans. Of course, some people hated it (many are sick, by now, of the whole "found footage" subgenre anyway) but a lot of people were very impressed. I really enjoyed it but it was almost the very definition of a ghost train/funhouse movie. The jump scares were enjoyable, things were occasionally intense, but it didn't really live up to the promise that it had. In my view, anyway.

That didn't stop me from looking forward to this sequel. I was even more optimistic when I found out that the people involved, and John Poliquin is credited as the director this time, were going to be taking an interesting approach. They were going down the Book Of Shadows route which sounded just fine to me as I am one of the 5% of the population who loved that sequel to The Blair Witch Project.

Richard Harmon (a young man who looks far too much like Robert Pattinson for his own good, sadly) plays Alex Wright, a young man who uploads movie reviews on to the internet and also keeps people up to date on his own blossoming directorial career. He's directing a horror movie with some fellow students involved and he wants it to be something truly memorable. Hopefully, he can make it as memorable as Grave Encounters, a movie that he advised people wasn't really worth a watch but that has played on his mind ever since he saw it. In fact, Alex has become a bit obsessed and thinks that the events depicted in Grave Encounters really happened. When his online videos start receiving replies from a user going by the name of "deathawaits" he decides that he should follow his gut and find out more about the movie. He talks to a number of people and soon becomes more and more convinced that his theory - that the movie shows real events - is correct. But the final proof required will only be found by going to the location and checking it out. The five members making up the group have packed plenty that they think will see them a lot better prepared than the first group.

Surprising as it may seem, I enjoyed this even more than the first movie. The script by The Vicious Brothers is very clever and allows them to have their cake and eat it. When Book Of Shadows was released years ago anyone who liked the film, such as myself, would defend it by reminding people that simply providing another bunch of people getting lost in the woods would be a boring and horrible retread of the first film. In Grave Encounters 2, aspects of the first movie are looked at and the premise gradually moves to what viewers think will simply be a retread of the first movie before it all gets wilder and wilder. That's the real beauty of it. Grave Encounters set things up for a horror movie that had some crazy moments here and there but the sequel basically kicks into gear after half an hour or so and then says "well, if you thought THAT stuff was out there then just strap yourself in and enjoy this lot".

The cast aren't really great but they do good enough. Harmon carries most of the scenes but Stephanie Bennett, Leanne Lapp, Dylan Playfair and Howie Lai make up the full group bravely venturing where things do more than just go bump in the night. Fans of the first movie will be pleased to know that Sean Rogerson returns (though I won't say in what capacity) and has a lot of fun in his role as he gets to act quite differently from how he was in the first movie.

The first movie was enjoyable but slightly disappointing. This sequel has a better script, the courage of its convictions to completely run with the ideas put forward and ends up being slightly better. That's rare in the land of sequels. It's almost impossible in the land of horror sequels.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Encounters-2/dp/B009KOE64I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349374636&sr=8-4&keywords=grave+encounters+2