Christmas movies 2023

Author: apexskier

content/posts/2023-12-26-christmas-movies-2023/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+title: Christmas Movies 2023
+date: 2023-12-26
+tags: [christmas]
+---
+
+My wife and I (and her parents) tend to watch a lot of Christmas movies this time of year. Here are my rankings of those we got to this year:
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-13">12/13</time> - [The Claus Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Claus_Family)
+
+Especially considering the _two_ sequels, not very good. Pretty unconvincing and to-be-expected storylines, both about Santa Claus and saving the biscuit factory. The humor wasn't great either, but this was probably made worse by watching a dub.
+
+★☆☆☆☆
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-16">12/16</time> - [Family Switch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Switch)
+
+Family _Freaky Friday_, but not as good. Tenuous connection to Christmas. Lots of writing that had the appearance of jokes.
+
+★☆☆☆☆
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-16">12/16</time> - [Love Hard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Hard)
+
+Pretty good Christmas romantic comedy. The writing and acting were quite good in general, and the characters had more dimension than most rom-coms, especially Josh.
+
+★★★★☆
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-17">12/17</time> - [Holiday in the Vineyards](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/holiday_in_the_vineyards)
+
+Pretty standard Hallmark-style Christmas romantic comedy, meaning not much comedy and a stretched connection to Christmas (who has a real estate deadline on Christmas Eve?). The son of a fancy wine company has to sneak around a small town to get inside info on buying the vineyard. Falls in love with a sexy local wine lady, and has to reveal his lies. Some gratuitous shirtless abs, and way too public sexy dancing.
+
+★★☆☆☆
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-18">12/18</time> - [Christmas with You](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_with_You_(film))
+
+A slight deviation from the standard format, an aging pop star surprises a fan for the holidays, falls in love with the dad, and writes a hit Christmas song with him. Not terrible, but not one I need to watch again.
+
+★★★☆☆
+
+### <time datetime="2023-12-25">12/25</time> - [Candy Cane Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Cane_Lane_(film))
+
+This one was a wild ride. A neighborhood's Christmas decoration contest escalates dramatically. This one was laugh-out-loud funny and I found the animation for the figurines quite effective.
+
+★★★★★