This weekend I took it upon myself to binge watch Netflix’s never ending release of Christmas movies so that you didn’t have to decide which ones were actually good. Some of these movies turned out to be very good, filled with solid writing and directing and then some of them…. well you will just have to see for yourself.

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“Dash & Lily” 

A “Citizen Kane”/”Knives Out” multiple perspective type of show, this series jumps between the two main characters, Dash and Lily. Lily is a Christmas loving, cheerful spirit who tends to be a loner in her social life. Dash is similar to Lily, except takes a more pessimistic perspective about the joys of Christmas. One day at his favorite book store, Dash stumbles upon a red notebook entitled, “Do you Dare…?” which happened to be placed there in a last effort by Lily to not feel alone at the holidays. These two characters write dares and passages to each other back and forth in the notebook, but can their writing manifest a relationship in real life?

My Review: From the moment I viewed the trailer for this Netflix Original Series, I knew that I would like it. I mean, it would be my dream to meet my significant other through a writing journal at a bookstore during Christmas, seeing that I love journalism and all. I thought that this was going to be a cheesy romantic kind of story before I indulged into this series, but what I thought was a typical meet-your-soulmate-at-Christmas kind of story turned into a very beautiful coming of age series that shows its audience that love isn’t always perfect. Kind of made me believe in love again. 

10/10

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“Operation Christmas Drop”

This movie was based from a real story about the United States Military program that drops crates of presents, school supplies and human necessities every Christmas to less developed countries surrounding out-posted bases in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In this specific story, Erica, a Congressional assistant is tasked to investigate a Military Base in the Pacific and recommend it’s closure. Upon arrival, she meets Andrew, a Commanding Officer who leads Operation Christmas Drop who tries to convince her to do the opposite. What will happen, Will they fall in love? Will Erica relearn the true meaning of Christmas? And will the base get shut down?

My Review: Unfortunately, this movie was a bit hard to sit through. I think I might have been more entertained if I had watched two seasons of “Love it or List it” on HGTV. It  would have made a good Hallmark film. It definitely followed the plot points of a cheerful Christmas guy showing a business woman with no kids and a dead parent the true meaning of Christmas. The only reason I give this rating and nothing lower was because it did have good intentions trying to shed light on a very good project our military does every year. 

5/10

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“Holidate” 

A fun feel-good movie takes a modern look at the pressure to have a date during the holidays. Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey) meet each other at a mall in the aftermath of Christmas, returning passive-aggressive gifts their family gave to them out of hopes they would be married by then. With the pressure to find ‘the one’, Sloane and Jackson agree to be each other’s platonic dates for every holiday. 

My Review: I enjoyed watching this movie. It was definitely filled with a very humorous yet serious take on dating, and I genuinely laughed at many of the jokes in this film. If you end up watching it, make sure that you stay tuned during the Halloween part of the film; it is definitely worth watching. 

8/10

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“The Princess Switch: Switched Again”

If you haven’t lived under a rock during Christmas time these past couple of years, then you should already know what this movie is about. Every year, a different Christmas Hallmark-like Netflix movie starring Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella from High School Musical) in whatever her latest Christmas shenanigans are. A sequel to “The Princess Switch” in 2018, this movie picks up right after the main character, Stacy, marries Prince Edward. Margaret on the other hand, has broken up with Kevin and a third lookalike is promised to spur up some mischief this holiday season. 

My Review: I always wondered what Vanessa Hudgens went on to do after “High School Musical” because I mean, Zac Efron seemed to star in a lot of promising films. I just did not expect her to star in a movie like this every Christmas, I guess is what I am trying to say. If you are unfamiliar with the first film, “The Princess Switch” takes on a “Parent Trap” type scenario where two people meet at some event in which they discover they look exactly alike and then proceed to switch places with each other for some apparent reason. But in this movie… there are three look-alikes? I mean… even two kinds of pushes the boundaries of reason. But regardless of twins and triplets, this movie is hilarious, just not in the right way. It is one of those movies that doesn’t seem to know that it isn’t an Academy Award winning movie, and instead comes off as so serious, despite the very, very mundane plot. This happens to be my favourite lines of the movie: “You’re not just about to become the Queen of Montenaro, you’ve also become the queen of my heart,” and “Have you been naughty or nice? Between us, the correct answer is naughty.” Nice.

3/10 in reality but the weird lines like that bumps it up to a 6/10.

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Although most of these movies were not the most appealing to me this Christmas season, I definitely was entertained for most of my Thanksgiving break. Whether my ratings hold any truth to the films themselves, I believe that you will be thoroughly entertained by trying to rate them yourselves. Merry Christmas, and may the Queen of Montenaro bless your holiday season.