The Finnish Line | 2024 Christmas Movies

Frequently, Christmas movies that heavily feature dogs are the worst Christmas movies out there. I’m not sure why. It can’t possibly be the fault of the dogs, right? Well, Hallmark is giving us another dog Christmas movie with The Finnish Line. Cross your paws that this will be better.

Anya (Kim Matula) learned dog sled racing from her father. After he passed, she decides to participate in the 40th annual Joulurauha race in Finland. When her lead dog gets injured in the qualifying race, she borrows a dog from dog-sled-racer-turned-reporter Cole (Beau Mirchoff). As if that isn’t bad enough, she also has to face her father’s racing rival, Monty (Páll Sigþór Pálsson). Will she be able to pull through and win the race or will she bring shame to her family?

So this movie isn’t really about the dogs. The dogs are there and they do take up some of the scenes but they aren’t really the focus. While I wished the movie was about the dogs more, I suppose it is a good thing it’s not because this movie wasn’t half bad. Sure, they completely botched the rules of dog sled racing (the racers don’t leave all at once…they are staggered starts and the winner is determined by time) but unless you are into dog sled racing, you wouldn’t know any different. Having them start at the same time heightens the stakes between Anya and Monty.

And while the romance between Anya and Cole is fine, I think the romance between Anya’s friend, Elyse (Nichole Sakura), and Anya’s cousin, Lavi (Benedikt Karl Gröndal), was much more interesting. They actually had a real conflict that stood in the way of their relationship. And I’m glad that it was secondary in the plot so we could really focus on Anya’s personal journey.

Rating: Can I pet that dog?

Checkin' It Twice | 2023 Christmas Movies

Good old Hallmark gives us our first Christmas movie of the year, Checkin’ It Twice. I want this title to be a pun but if that is what they intended, it’s a terrible pun.

Ashley (Kim Matula) is a real estate agent living in New York City originally from Idaho Falls. Scott (Kevin McGarry) is a hockey player who has just been traded to a team in Idaho Falls. After a mix-up at the airport, the two become friends. Ashley helps Scott realize what he really wants out of life and Scott helps Ashley realize that maybe New York isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Of all of the boring Christmas movies I have watched, this may be the most boring. Literally nothing happens. There is the big airport mix-up with their debit cards, which is resolved in the first 15 minutes of the movie. There is a stupid game where they try to catch plastic fish ornaments out of a container of other Christmas ornaments. But that is about it. They talk about decorating a Christmas tree but we don’t actually get to see it happening. (Well, they stand next to the tree with ornaments in their hands. That doesn’t count.) And the biggest Christmas faux pas?

THERE IS NO KISS.

Hallmark made me sit through 90 minutes of nothing and I don’t even get The Kiss at the end. Bah. No one watches romance movies for there to be no romance. This is more like a “becoming friends” movie.

Rating: Not Worth Your Time

Ghosts of Christmas Always | 2022 Christmas Movies

Every year, we get at least one take on the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. This year, Hallmark gives us Ghosts of Christmas Always. Let’s hope it’s better than some of their other versions of the story.

Arlene (Lori Tan Chinn), Katherine (Kim Matula), and Roy (Reginald VelJohnson) are the ghosts of Past, Present, and Future, respectively. They get assigned to help Peter (Ian Harding) recover his Christmas spirit. After the trio finishes their task, they realize there was a mistake. Peter is not the one that needed their help. It turns out the one needing their help is a little closer to home.

Usually, these remakes of A Christmas Carol are terrible. They are uninspired and boring. Not this time around. Ghosts of Christmas Always is entertaining and somehow manages to keep the audience guessing about what will happen next, even though everyone knows the classic story. Chinn as Arlene is magic to watch. She may not be the main character but I would watch a million movies featuring Arlene and Roy traveling around time helping people. As for Katherine and Peter, it was really refreshing to see the two leads honestly have a will-they/won’t-they relationship where you know they will because it’s a Hallmark movie but HOW will they? They had the right amount of flirting and the right amount of “we shouldn’t do this” overtones without being creepy.

But I think my favorite part of the movie is how humble the writers made Peter. He is a wealthy man who has grown up in a wealthy family. Yet every step he takes, without his father’s condescending looks, is to try to make other people’s lives better. Even when Arlene takes him in the past, he responds with “I should have given away more of my presents” instead of any sentiment that should have landed him the Scrooge role. Again, it is a very nice twist on Dickens.

If you are still asking me if you should watch this, yes, absolutely, definitely. It is still early in the Christmas movie season but I can see this making this year’s top Christmas movie list. This may actually be a movie I actually watch again at some point. And that almost never happens!