Christmas Lodge (2011)

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY REVIEWED THIS FILM. THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE ABOUT THESE FILMS. When you watch a "Christmas theme" film you know what your in for. Now does this film break new ground? "No" but not every film maker wants to do that. Some of them want to tell stories about "Faith, hope and love" and that is what they did here and they made a film well worth watching! Some people might be bothered by the overall religious themes in this but this a "Christmas Film" with a nice message.In this film Mary Tobin has wonderful memories of family gatherings at the Christmas Lodge. When she arrives for a weekend vacation, she quickly realizes that the lodge she loves has fallen into serious disrepair. With a lack of funds she is sets out to find a way to save the lodge. I really enjoyed the film and its message about why traditions are important. Now it never tell you that outright but it shows you. The film is well paced and the leads are very charming. Michael Shanks is excellent and I hope to see him again in other films. If your someone that grew up with large family gatherings for Christmas then you will enjoy this film. I also want to point out this film makes you want to celebrate life with your loved ones! So watch it with someone you love. If your a guy watch it with your girlfriend. I have now watched this every Christmas for the past 3 years. The film just gets better to me.

While the story works OK for a 'cute' movie and is very family friendly, I found the main couple (Mary and Jack - such original names!) in this movie to have no chemistry at all. None! In fact, Mary seemed downright embarrassed and uncomfortable around Jack, especially when he brought up any serious topics. And as for Jack, after watching this actor in many of the Stargate shows, I know he is capable of much better acting and have no idea why he was pigeonholed into something like this.The show was ultimately not realistic, and Mary would have known better than to go begging about how her project was a labor of love - very unprofessional. The story line was very amateur at times, with plenty of time dedicated to watching everyone be called to dinner and eating, Mary and the family all joining in for care-taking, etc. While an instance or two of this is good and emphasized family involvement, showing it over and over again was tedious overkill and added nothing to the plot. It was almost as if they were looking for filler fluff. Overall, fine for a family showing, with good moral lessons, but lacking if you were looking for anything more.

Very cute love story that just makes you feel all fuzzy inside. Its a definitely must watch! Its not some huge budget film but if you are looking for just a feel good movie this is it! I honestly thought after watching it, it was a hallmark movie. Ha. Its a very wholesome family Christmas movie with no foul language or nudity. Its a Christmas love story at its finest. I don't understand the other reviews that rated it so poorly- my guess is that they expected more nudity and foul language. But if you want a tear jerker amazing heart warming Christmas movie, this is it. =) Oh and "Holiday in handcuffs" is a good Christmas comedy and the "Call me Mrs Miracle" number 1 and 2 were also good wholesome Christmas movies that were good. So add those to your Christmas movies list!

Way too preachy to my taste. In all honesty, it felt like a catholic priest was directing the movie.The characters were not believable and never once there were real conflicts or disagreements. The majority of the time they were smiling like idiots without any reasons.The two boys and their father did not even say boo!!! They just stood there like props. I can't believe that in a 2011 a man would say to a women "I wish you could come live with me at the lodge if we were married". It was a ROFL moment for me.I've seen school plays with more feelings.Please save yourself money and don't even rent it, unless you are a bible thumper. Only they'll be satisfied with this drivel of a movie. Too bad I cannot give zero out of ten. This is basically the worse Christmas movie made in the past 30 to 40 years.