Christmas Belle (2013)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Can I give a zero? or a negative number? Where do I even start? Shirtless guy running for about 85% percent of the movie, which seems like it's the same shot, just repeated over and over. There is no story line, no real explanation for his so-called "beastly" behavior, no chemistry between beauty and the beast. Spoiler..maybe??? Why was Belle and the two random guys the only ones dressed up for the Christmas dance, which I may add, did not really have any dancing. In fact, they left the DANCE to dance...it doesn't really make any sense. In fact, the parallels drawn between beauty and the beast and this god-awful film are so vague that it takes a while to see that it is, in fact, a spoof. The music didn't really bother me, but maybe that was because I was so fixated on the terrible acting. A real waste of an hour

Absolutely the WORST. There is LESS than no chemistry between the leads Belle and Hunter They go from being gruff enemies to love in a split second after an abusive session with Hunter almost halfway into the film. The estate manager, Angie, intervenes and -voila- bad behavior gone poof! Background music never stops and has no holiday feel at all. The story is lame and Tony's pursuit of Belle using her scatterbrained father is dated and ridiculous. This movie has as much Christmas appeal as Armageddon. Hayley Duff isn't a terrible actress, but she moves like a cardboard cutout doll with no depth. Her look for most of the film is matronly, shes overweight for such a young woman, and her prominent nose is three times the size of the male lead -- well just about everyone else in the cast. Maybe some acting lessons and an appointment with Hillary's plastic surgeon...

While the acting was great, the actual making of the movie wasn't. If you have seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast, you know EXACTLY everything that goes on. It is essentially the same plot down to the characters and scenes except everyone is human, there isn't a curse and a more modern take on the story (although there is a less violent ending to the male "bad guy"). The music is rather annoying after the first few minutes (and it continues through the rest of the movie) and the plot goes SOOOO slow! Also the music is very depressing - ruined the whole romantic feel. There could have been much better crafting of the film itself. There are many scenes that just seem redundant and unnecessary. The actors seem to be perfect for their roles. They did a great job. The set is also very pretty and fits well for the premise of the movie.

I love holiday romance movies. This one was a disappointment. It was so formulaic that I called out the next action before it happened. The actors were interesting and the boys are pretty. The scenery was gorgeous. The music was the typical holiday romance music, but rather than enhancing the romance, it seemed to try and replace what was missing in the story and rather distracting. A tighter script with fewer distracting side stories and better editing could have made this one I'd want to watch every year. Also, better character development would have been helpful for the lead and the anti-hero guy who was nothing more than an annoying plot point (despite the pretty).